It would not surprise you for me to point out that people are fascinated by angels. And I suppose they are quite fascinating. But you want to know what is even more fascinating? The gospel.
It’s no stretch to say that more people would probably attend a seminar on unlocking the mystery of the end times than they would one on unveiling the different facets of the gospel. More people would probably take a class on angelology than they would on atonement.
Yet, this is really not surprising; angels are comfortable, the gospel isn’t. You can talk to a stranger (even if he hates Christianity) about some angel named Gabriel. Worse thing that will happen is that he will probably consider you a fruitcake and leave smiling. But the gospel will get you killed. I cannot remember reading of people getting persecuted to death for belief in angels. And why would they? Angels do not divide history. Jesus does.
Undoubtedly Satan, an angel himself, would be rather content with you spending your time concerned with angels instead of looking into what angels are concerned with; namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ. What, then, is this thing that angels are concerned with? “…that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”. This is what angels long to look into, and Satan longs to distract you from.
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I wrote something very similar to this a couple of years ago but because I am preaching on 1 Peter 1:3-12 on Sunday evening I thought it might be beneficial to pull this one out of the archives.
Steven Curtis Chapman sings a song called "Angels Wish" that's based on this passage. If you haven't heard it, check it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary. I don't listen to a ton of Steven Curtis Chapman so I haven't heard it. But I'll give it a listen. Thanks.
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