Message from Heaven

Author: Pastor Thomas G. Wilson
May 19, 2020

Luke 22:41-43 KJV ⁴¹ And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, ⁴² Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.  ⁴³ And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
 
In our passage for today, the Greek word translated “angel” is the word “angelos” which literally means, “messenger”.  Throughout the scripture there are many examples of angels in the role of special envoys from God.  However angels are also seen fulfilling many other God given assignments in scripture such as tours of heaven (Ezekiel, Daniel, John), the flaming sword guardian of the entrance to the Garden of Eden, worship in heaven, war against demonic forces, guardians of God’s presence and in the passage above strengthening the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are several things that we can learn about angels from Luke 22:43:
 

1. They are servants of God.  Luke says the angel came from heaven, where God rules and His will is the sole purpose and direction of heaven and all it’s creatures.
2. They are able to strengthen.  It is not said exactly how the strengthening of Jesus took place, however, there is no reason to believe that it was not through a message/word from God which imparted strength.  Remember Jesus was 100% man & 100% God.  The man side of Jesus was weak and God imparts all that He is to man through His word.
3. Satan, a fallen angel is the reason for the torment Jesus is suffering.  Since Satan is a fallen or failed angel, it can be understood not only that he failed as a messenger of God but also that his primary activity today is STILL to distort, confuse, pervert, or demean God’s message.  To cause doubt and unbelief regarding what God says.

 
As a fallen angel Satan’s status is less than it was when he served God.  Clearly in times of intense torment, God is willing to dispatch an angel from heaven to maintain the integrity of His word.  The chief weapon of Satan is deception.  He will represent himself as an angel of light to cause human beings to believe he is there for their benefit, just as he did in the Garden of Eden.  Our safeguard against the enemy’s deception is knowledge of the truth of God’s word/message.  Knowledge of the truth always uncovers and disables the devils lies.   Angels dispatched from heaven by God will always glorify Jesus Christ, urge the worship of Jehovah God and Him alone and promote the pursuit of God’s word, which is God’s will.
 
 
For further reading:  Rev. 22:8-9; 2 Cor.11:14; Ezek.28:13-16; 1 John 4:2-3; Rev.12:7-11

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