The Unseen Battle

Sometimes when I study the word, I try to imagine the scene, the thoughts, the politics, prejudices, pressures, mindset, fears, emotions and the rest. Often this is a guess, but I’ll give you one that has been rolling around in my noggin’ and more so at this time of year. Dream with me.

Luke 2:8-14
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

The glory of the Lord shone around them. Was God there?

Goose chase #1:

Exodus 3:1-6
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

In Exodus 3 we see this “angel of the LORD” language. Interestingly Luke 2 says “an angel of the LORD”. Exodus 3 says “the angel of the LORD”.

I don’t read Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic, but interesting none the less.

Point: Jesus is not mentioned by name in the Old Testament, but this “angel of the LORD” language is common. In Exodus 3, it is synonymous with God himself.

I have heard some students of the word, tell me the O.T. angel of the LORD, is Christ himself.

Don’t know.

Just trying to paint the picture for where we are headed.

Back to the story #1

My point from Luke 2 is this: the angel of the LORD came and suddenly there was a great company of the heavenly host…

Why?

Wasn’t God or this Angel sufficient to announce all by themselves.

Was it an overflow of pure joy? Was it because God was there? Was it because their King, Jesus Christ, who was with God in the beginning had just completed the most stunning, jaw dropping, mind blowing, unimaginable, knee buckling thing you can imagine. Very God of Very God became flesh to take on our sin and to suffer and die.

I like to imagine that the angels could not contain themselves. They were overwhelmed with unfathomable riches of His grace. How could they possibly not participate?

When gratitude and praise fill you, you can’t help, but go where He goes, do what He’s done and say what He says. You can’t contain it. It is your essence to praise Him.

When you understand that our best if filthy, our heart is on evil from our youth and that none is righteous no not one.

Then you pair this understanding of depravity up with an overwhelming understanding of His grace, love and mercy you can’t help, but go and declare it, to shout it from the roof tops.

Why did the angels come? They could hardly contain themselves? Angels serve God. Where God is - there they are. God came.

Step #2:

Matthew 4:5-6
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Psalm 91:11-12
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Next question. Were the angels ready for this possibility? If their King ordered their intervention. The answer to this, a resounding

YES.

Revelation 20:1-3
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

“An angel”. Just one. Not a “great multitude of the heavenly host”.

Contrast

Revelation 12:7

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
 Lots of angels for the war – just one for satan. God did not fight. He did not have to move a “muscle”.

The Point

A great multitude of angels came for the birth of the King of Kings. Very God of Very God came. Unto us a Son is born. The One who was from the beginning, the creator God, the Omnipotent, came.

Philippians 2:5-11
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

If the angels were there at His birth, in force. If they were ready at any moment to defend Him during the temptation. If one angel is powerful enough to take the one, who was a liar from the beginning, by the scruff of the neck and lock him into the abyss, then wouldn’t the army of God be an awesome sight to behold at the cross.

Armed to the teeth. Swords razor sharp. Absolute unity, tension, eagerness, brokenness, anger and singular devotion.

Their King is ridiculed, beaten, mocked, scourged, stripped naked, tortured, humiliated and crucified.

The King of Kings was dying and heaven raged at the suffering of the Holy One and mourned the blackness of the sin burden He was made to carry.

God is angry. Very angry. The skies are black. The sun is eclipsed. Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani. Heaven is in distress and all of heaven is focused on Christ.

God turns His face away. Why? Because He couldn't endure the pain of His son? NO! He is with us always, no matter what. Would He abandon His son? God turned His face away, because another moment and He would have released the angels.

One word from Christ. A nod. A whisper. He could have tapped out at any moment. Had Christ muttered a word, the angels would have been unleashed and every thing that draws breath would have been destroyed in a moment.

God would have brought His Son home and God would put us all in the sea of forgetfulness and remembered us no more or sent us all to eternal torment.

God can forget if He wants to:

Psalm 25:7

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, LORD, are good.

Psalm 88:5
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.

Psalm 103:12

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
In the garden the Father encouraged His Son and the Son chose. He chose in that moment and set His face for the cross (not that that hadn’t already happened, as it certainly had).

Interesting at the cross, Jesus declares, “Father, forgive them…”. Why? Was this to fulfill prophecy? Was this simply a son’s dialogue with the Father? Or was it the Son encouraging His Father? The Father was heartbroken, enraged as all the fullness of sin was firmly poured in wrath on His son. Was the Son encouraging Father to hold?

God’s anger was in full furry. Angels are armed to the teeth. Metaphorically, hearts beat fast. Tension is thick.

Even after all of the torture, ridicule and crucifixion, Jesus is ridiculed, despised and spit on. This is not trivial for us and it certainly was not for Father.

I really don’t know how tense things were in Heaven. I know there was anger and heartbreak. I do know the world could have been destroyed in a flash and the workers were completely ready to go to work had it been necessary.

I don’t know God’s thoughts. No one does, but I have a glimpse of the enormity and I am in awe.

If we could simply see, even briefly, the unseen, we would be in awe.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.