Recognizing Your Angels

Have you noticed that in recent years there has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the subject of angels and demons? Much of the current fascination is simply due to New Age philosophy and the belief that we are all a part of one big unified existence, God with every part of His creation. We are all one being, and with New Age philosophy, reincarnation is also included in the philosophy. But these teachings do not come from angels, as many would have you believe.

The talk of angels is meant to be uplifting and inspiring, leading people to greater faith and higher understanding of the purpose of life. But as many good and helpful angels as there are, there are plenty of demons that masquerade as angels, and care must be taken to be sure that you recognize your angels. There are books available that speak to the issue of "contacting" or "communing" with angels, calling on them to help and act as intercessors with God. But the Bible does not offer permission to contact angels. When people attempt to call on or contact angels, it is not divine angels who answer. The answer comes from demons who have disguised themselves, and people who don't know how to tell the difference will be deceived.

Some "experts" on angels tell people that they should love angels and ask them for health, prosperity, and guidance. But the truth of the matter is that angels are tasked with being God's servants, not His representatives. God specifically says in Isaiah that "I will not share my glory with another." All the attention and solicitation for help should go to God, not to His servants. The Bible does not speak about loving angels - it only talks about loving God, His people, and the Word. The Bible does not tell us to pray to angels - only to God.

Some speak of special knowledge, instruction, or insight they have been given by angels. So-called "angel teachers" say that angels are attempting to contact us so they can help us attain deeper knowledge of spiritual matters. But this "knowledge" they speak of is actually a combination of truth and lies, and cannot compare to the absolute truth found in the Scriptures. Two teachings appear repeatedly in many New Age texts - that God welcomes and embraces all forms of religion, and that reincarnation is divinely inspired. Other teachings of angels are that everyone is a part of God, the followers of angels are set apart from others because of the "deep knowledge" they have been given, and that anyone who seeks out contact with these angels will get to meet a shining Ascended Master angel. But these encounters are far from being holy meetings - they are encounters with demons.

The Bible says that angels are messengers, not teachers, and their purpose is to minister to us. God has given us everything we need to know to live our lives in godliness and virtue. So any knowledge that so-called spirit beings attempt to give us is surely demonic. The message we must understand is that we need to recognize the fact that we are one with God. We need to establish a strong discernment ability built on the foundation given by God's word. There are three truths about angels that should be constantly discussed and reinforced. The actions of real angels will always be consistent with Christ's character and teachings; the ministry of angels will never be in contradiction to the Bible; and an encounter with a genuine angel will be to the glory of God, not the glory of the angel. Real angels will never draw attention to themselves; they will do their work, fulfill their mission, and then vanish.

Hebrews 13:2 says that many people have "entertained angels unaware," and this is certainly true. But before putting your faith in a so-called angel encounter, we need to be sure that we are "entertaining angels" that are the right kind of angels.