kingdom, this cannot take place until due preparation has been made: There is to be the great battle of Arma geddon (Rev. 16:16). God sends an angel who stands in the sun and makes this invitation to the birds: “ Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” (Rev. 19:17, 18). The Devil, the enemy of God and of His people, is the one who has wrought such havoc in the world. He has induced men to sin and to rebel against God. Before there can be a millennium there must be an end to the work of Satan. So God commissions one angel to in carcerate the Devil for this period. The angel came down from Heaven “ having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Rev. 20:1-3). With restraint to sin removed during the tribula tion, “ evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse” called into service again. This is not a ministry of (II Tim. 3:13), as Paul warned us. The angels are then assistance, but of judgment. Jesus tells us: “ In the time of harvest,” thei end of the age, “ I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them” (Matt. 13:30). The Lord explained the terms when He said: “ The tares are the children of the wicked one” and “ the reapers are the angels” (Matt. 13:38, 39). To angels is committed the task of separating the good from the wicked, a task that is refused to men because of their lack of discernment. With their amaz ing knowledge and skill, the angels will have no diffi culty in distinguishing between the children of the Kingdom, and the children of the Devil. With their superhuman ability they make the eternal separation. As eternal happiness comes to the people of God, so eternal damnation comes to the sinner. Angels are God’s officers of judgment as well as of blessing. As Matthew Henry has put it so well: “ The angels are skillful, strong and swift, obedient servants to Christ, therefore holy enemies to the wicked, and faithful friends to all the saints, and therefore fit to be thus employed.” As the Son of God is to reign in righteousness, all wicked institutions as well as wicked men are to be removed. The angels “ shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend” (Matt. 13:41). There are to be no more nightclubs, fortune-telling houses, horse-racing tracks or gambling dens. The angels will destroy all the disorder that man has created on the earth. God has revealed our eternal home, the place that Christ has gone to prepare (John 14:2). John’s de scription of it in the Book of Revelation assures us that it is perfect in every way. One detail of that description gives the final work of certain selected angels. We read: The city had “ twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels” (Rev. 21:12). Angels will not have the privileges of citizenship in this magnificent city; that is reserved for the people of God. Their hum bler task will be that of guards at the gates, just as they were earlier at the gate of Eden (Gen. 3:24). God’s obedient servants have then so much yet to do. Meantime they are serving us in many ways though we do not see them. To quote again Hebrews 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” 15
“ him that sitteth upon the throne, and . . . the Lamb” (Rev. 5:13), individual angels are sent forth on special missions. They will control the forces of nature in ac cordance with God’s plan for the world. John says: “ I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” Another angel then came and told them not to harm earth, sea or trees until others had “ sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev. 7:1-3). After an angel had added incense to the prayers of the saints, seven angels with seven trumpets prepared to sound. These were the accompaniments of God’s seven judgments (Rev. 8:11). Angels are to shout to the wicked inhabitants of the earth, telling them what to do and warning them of the consequences of disobedience. They exhort men to fear God; they announce the fall of Babylon and declare the consequences of worshipping antichrist (Rev. 14:6-11). Seven angels “ clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles” (Rev. 15:6) receive seven shallow bowls which are filled with the seven judgments of the wrath of God. God’s judg ment on sin will declare to men His eternal opposition to all evil. Some time after the angels have shepherded us to the presence of the Lord, they will turn to another group of men, this time the Jews. Jesus tells us: “ He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt. 24:31). This is to take place “ after the tribulation of those days,” years after Christians have ascended to the presence of the Lord. So the “elect,” here must be Israel, those who are “ beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:28) as Paul put it. While many Jews have returned to Palestine, not all of them have stayed; there has been emigration as well as immigration. Further, millions of Jews are still scattered over the face of the earth. What is spoken of here is their great regathering. They will not need then to depend on geographical knowledge, for they will be in the hands of the angels of God. They will guide them back to the land which God had promised to Abra ham thousands of years earlier (Gen. 15:18). Rulers will no more be able to prevent their exit from their countries than Pharaoh was able to prevent Israel from leaving Egypt. When the tribulation ends, Jesus is to return to the earth. This time He will come for judgment. John says: “ I saw . . . a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. . . . And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19: 11, 12:15). Our Lord tells us that once again angels will attend Him and fulfill His commands: “ The Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. 25:31). Writing his second letter to the Thessalonians (1:7, 8), Paul expressed this truth in these words: “ The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” While Christ’s return is to set up His millennial OCTOBER, 1965
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