Angelic Enounters

Dear God seekers,

I'm back today with the second part of my study on angel visitations. In my first article called Angelic Visitations in Scripture, I cited most of the biblical instances in which people were visited by angels that appeared to them. In this present article, I want to share with you many encouraging testimonies from people in our own day, who have had their own angel encounters, including our own family's experiences at the end. Here we go;

“Angels Catched Me”

"Two-year-old Ethan Payne fell out of a second-story window. Doctors worried he would have brain damage or never walk again. But through the power of prayer, Ethan was better within six hours." -- The Christian Broadcasting Network. Video

 
 

Two-year old caught by an angel after jumping from third-story window
Irma De Alba
2 years ago
Thanks for your testimony i have experienced the same miracle in my family. My oldest daughter was two years old when she jumped out a third story Window, down to the concrete floor. She has no major injuries. No internal bleedings, no inflammations, no Broken Bones. Now she's twenty Seven and a mother of two beautiful healthy kids. God is great!

Angel caught a 3-year old girl who fell out of third-story window
Jared J wrote 9 years ago: 

My 3 year old daughter fell off our 3rd story apartment balcony and said the same thing. She said she did not want to "go to the sky" and that "a boy had caught her" when she fell. We had never been spiritual or church going at the time and had never talked to her about heaven or God or any of that. I don't care what anyone says, I know there is a God and I know that he most certainly works miracles in our lives. I have recently started changing my life around and started walking with the Lord!
 
Angel catches 3-yr old boy who fell from second-story window
Josh Dub wrote 6 years ago:

This exact scenario happened to my first born son. He was three years old and upstairs on a sofa in our game room. The back of the sofa was against a window and he leaned on the screen and fell out of the second story to the concrete below.  My wife heard someone outside so she went out the front door and there he was standing on the sidewalk.

I was away working 30 miles away in a nearby town called Ellensburg, Washington when this happened and do you want to know what he said? He said "daddy caught me". I was 30 miles away!!

Well my wife called on the way to the hospital and I had to rush from Ellensburg to Yakima which is 30 miles away to meet her. He was perfectly fine after all the tests and ct scans. Just the scratch (which is a scar to this day) to remind us of that day. 
 
A Strange Encounter: A Real Life Angelic Visitation

"Jimmy Jones was driving his delivery truck in 2011 when he found himself in the cross hairs of an F-4 tornado. Frantic, he was forced to seek refuge under an interstate overpass which is where he ran into someone he wasn't expecting." -- The Christian Broadcasting Network. See Video.

Angels Among Us – My Husband’s Encounter with an Angel

Jenny Bussee shares in this video her testimony about her military husband's encounter with an angel in Afghanistan. She wrote: "Without a doubt the most exciting video I've ever uploaded! In this video I share with you about an encounter with an angel that my husband had while he was on deployment. Angels are REAL!!!!Such an amazing story I literally cannot re-tell it without getting goose bumps! I hope this brings you encouragement today!"

 
Air Force Veteran’s Encounter with an Angel
Sarah Ritter shared 1 year ago:

I can relate being prior Air Force security forces myself. I had a recent angel experience myself. I even made a video about it on my channel. My angel reminded me just how much Jesus loves me...God bless you in a powerful way today! Video

 
Angel called woman’s name and saved her house from burning down
Anita Napp wrote 1 month ago:

I heard my angel twice calling my name, after leaving something on the stove and I went outside and got lost in thought. I looked around wondering who was calling me! I ran inside and smoke was getting thick. Thanks Lord for our Angels
 
Angel calls woman’s name and saves her from being killed by falling tree limb
Marian Keller wrote 1 year ago:

I never believed until the day my life was saved...I didn't see an angel, but I heard one's voice. I was outside in front of the house pulling weeds..it was calm and sunny.. Suddenly the wind came up. I looked up, and the trees over me were bending with the wind. I tried to hurry with what I was weeding when a woman's voice behind me said, "get up and go inside." I sat back and looked behind me and all around the yard. No one was there. Thinking I was just hearing things, I went back to work. Again I heard, "go in the house ." I sat back and looked everywhere for who was talking, and still couldn't see anyone. Bending back down and pulling weeds, I heard a loud voice say, "Go in the house. NOW!" 

I got to my feet and ran for the door. I went up the steps and grabbed the door knob and stepped inside just as a huge tree branch fell hitting the roof, and landed where I had been kneeling seconds before. 

When my husband got home I told him what happened. It took 45 minutes to cut the branch into pieces and haul it off. Later I found out all the neighbors were gone and I was the only one in the neighborhood still at home. If the branch had fallen on me, it would have killed me. I might have laid there for hours before my husband found me. I have read that angels tell you 3 times. Must be true. Mine did.
 
Angel helps a woman close her car door
A YouTube viewer by the user name Twilightsummerbreeze wrote 1 year ago:

I once found myself on the reservation after a store just closed.  The parking lot emptied within three minutes.  I could not get my door to close and stay shut on the car. After about 10 minutes I started to get scared, as I had heard scary stories about that area at night. I prayed and I almost started crying when suddenly, a little boy about 9 years old eating a chocolate ice cream cone appeared, asking what was wrong.  I explained my door was broken.  He fiddled with it and then slammed the door shut, saying, "There you go."  I thanked him and looked down to start the car, and when I looked up, literally two seconds later, he was gone.  That was a huge parking lot and nowhere for him to disappear to.
 
Rescued by an Angel from Burning RV Motor Home 

Betty Houk wrote 1 year ago:

A few years I dreamed I smelled smoke but not like wood  ! It was more like a car’s electric wiring I jump out of bed a started looking for the source of smoke as I could still smell strong smoke Odor ! Now no one in our house smokes, and this didn’t smell like cigarette smoke! Like I said a car electric wires! We checked everywhere but all was ok! About two weeks later my mom and step dad came for a visit and she said the wiring in their motor home caught fire!  My step dad was 80 years old and was crippled so he was stuck in the front seat of the motor home! My mother said she was trying to help him out of RV! A white truck came driving up, and a man got out  and went in the RV, picked my step dad up, and carried him out away from the RV, got back in his truck, and drove off! {He did so without [saying] a word, and before my mom could thank him!  If he wasn’t an Angel, he was that day !
  

Angel whispered to lady that her Dad would die, but it would be ok
Jackie Ortero
1 year ago
Jesus is real and angels are real, I lost my Dad about a month ago and 6 days before he died, I was in my room sleeping and right when I was about to wake up a voice whispered in my right ear, "Your Dad is going to die, but everything is going to be ok." I heard that voice clearly and felt like a breeze in my right ear. Then 6 days later my Dad died.
 
This event has given me peace and has shown me that Jesus is real and that he beat death. The lord knows I used to love my Dad a lot and that I had a lot of plans and dreams that I wanted him to be a part of.

Also the day he died I went to the hospital to see him die and I pray to God to forgive him and [take] him [to] a better place. And when I came to the parking lot to pick up my car, there was another car parked right next to me that [had a[ license plate [that] said 23 psalm 1. When I got out of the parking lot, I looked for that psalm on google, and I read it from 1 to 6. And it was God answering my prayer and letting me know that my Dad was in heaven.
 
An angel was taking care of a man in ICU (Intensive Care Unit)
Jenny T wrote 1 year ago:

I have seen an angel. It's a long story, and I'm Finnish, so pardon any possible grammatical errors.
I was still a medical student back then. We were at an ICU and at the time there was only one patient there. A young man who'd been in an MVA. He was running a high fever, so he was naked, he had a urinary catheter, he was intubated, had a nasogastric tube, his abdomen was cut open and covered with, what is called a Bogota bag*. He had all kinds of i.v.-lines going into him. He was in the prime of his life, physically well built, but still weak as a newborn in that situation. So vulnerable. So pitiable.

Seeing him I spontaneously felt great compassion towards him and this earnest question arose in my mind: "Who is taking care of him?" I still don't quite know what I meant with that question, as I wasn't pointing it to anyone, it was just a question that came from deep within my heart.
However, as soon as I had said the question in my head, I felt this extremely gentle warm "wind" against my back. It wasn't a physical wind, by no means, but I nevertheless felt it very real. Words arose in my mind "There's an angel behind you", and yet, they were not words, more like an extremely warm and gentle thought - from someone else.

I immediately turned to look, but there was nothing behind me, so I turned back to my fellow students, feeling a bit silly.

The wind and the thought repeated.

I didn't turn. I felt silly for having turned in the first place.

Now the wind repeated for the third time and again that thought, but with more intensity this time, with more weight and command to it, while still immensely gentle: "There IS an angel behind you".
Almost sighing to myself I turned for the second time, believing it was in vain, thinking I'm stupid even while doing so. And true: at first my eyes saw nothing... Until I started seeing something (hard to describe exactly how I "saw" this - I saw this with my eyes, but yet at the same time not with my eyes but my mind, it's confusing to explain, but it was very natural in that situation) something starting to appear approximately 6 - 8 metres from me (I don't remember the distance exactly, as this was nearly 20 years ago):

It was an angel. Firstly, it was huge, well above 3 metres tall (the height of an average room ceiling) and it emanated immense, totally unconditional love and absolute power, and everything in them was made of this glowing energy. They had a golden, totally smooth helmet on, no face, just this light instead, that can only be described as love. They were neither a man nor a woman - there was no gender (therefore I'm using the word "them", even if it was one single angel). They had a long flowing gown on, moving gently as if floating in waves, and weirdly, from where I was standing, I could see to the microscopic level of the fibers of the thread in the fabric, it was all energy. They had a sword in front of them, the sword's tip was leaning against the floor and their arms were resting on the hilt. But, despite this sword and helmet there was no presence of aggression or violence from them, it's like they were symbols, and their most striking physical feature was the wings. They were bright white, folded against their back, the arches reaching above their head and the tips going below the floor level. I could see to the individual structures of the individual feathers, all glowing energy.

But, despite this all, what got me the most was really the love and the unnegotiable power: absolute love that no words do justice and absolute power, that  emanated from them... It was something... out of this world.

This whole thing felt like it lasted for a long time, but in reality it lasted maybe not more than a couple of seconds, when I already felt this gentle encouragement (for the lack of a better word, "command" is too aggressive a word for what I felt) to turn away. And I did - only to turn immediately back again, but by that time the angel was gone - and my original question had been answered.
I don't think anyone else present even realised what I had just experienced.

*A Bogota bag is a sterile plastic bag that can be used for closure of abdominal wounds. 
 
An angel came into my car from the top
Victoria De Hoyos-Ramirez wrote 1 year ago:

I saw an angel  a few years ago.  It came into my car from the top.   It was transparent and had a big smile.   Remember angels don't do whatever they want.  They do God's bidding.  I thanked God for sending me an angel.  
 
Psalm 103: "The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command. Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.…:
 
Four-year old saw guardian angel
Joanie King wrote 9 months ago:

When I was about 4 years old, I saw my guardian Angel standing at the doorway of my bedroom with his arms crossed. He had blonde hair
 
My children's angelic visitations 
Now here are some testimonies of my own about my own daughter Charity, who is now an adult, regarding her angel encounters as a child. I also have one at the end that my son Christopher, who is now seventeen, experienced as a child.

 
Dec 7 2003
Charity (age 5) just told me that she saw an angel last night in her room while she was lying in her bed.  She said she was afraid when she saw it, and she turned her face into her pillow.  Then the angel said to her "God is going to restore your Mommy and your Daddy to life and health and strength."  We have been very ill for over a week with the flu.
 
Jan 16, 2007
My wife Jennifer was sitting on the couch with the children reading from the Bible about angels appearing to people and saying, "Do not be afraid."  She told the children not to be afraid if one of God's angels appears to them.  That's when Charity (age 9) said, "I'm not afraid.  In fact, I saw an angel today in the bathroom."  She went on to describe how it happened.  She saw the angel today while she was washing her hands in the bathroom here at our apartment.  He was standing in the corner next to the shower to the left of the toilet.  She said he had a white robe reaching down to his feet and his feet were covered by his robe.  His skin on his face and his arms was very smooth. He had a golden sash across his chest.  He had really bright blue eyes.  They were brighter than anybody else's eyes in the whole world.  She couldn't see his eyeballs because they were so bright, but she saw the color blue in there.  She said the brightness of his eyes hurt her eyes, so she could not look directly at them.  His hair was really bright blond, bursting white like the sun.  He was about 7 feet tall and his head reached the ceiling.  He was huge and looked mighty strong.  She said he was stronger than Daddy, so strong he could lift the entire house.  She first noticed him out of the side of her eye when she was washing her hands and singing "la, la-la, la, la".  She stopped singing and looked up at him wondering, "Who is this?"  He just looked down at her with a serious gaze, yet she said it was as though he had a loving look on his face.  He knew whom she was and he was just making sure she was safe. Then she started drying her hands and she kept looking up at him with a puzzled look on her face.  She didn't say anything to him and didn't feel scared at all.  She said it made her feel ticklish and joyful inside. Then as she opened the bathroom door to leave the room he disappeared.
 
Jan 17, 2007
The next day, Charity  (age 9) was sitting on the couch, braiding Faith's hair, and Hope was lying down next to her.  Charity prayed in her heart that the Lord would allow her to see another one of His angels, since she saw one yesterday.  Right after she prayed that, an angel appeared in the living room by the sliding glass door to the patio.  His face was very bright, like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.  He had huge sleeves.  He was a very tall, about 6 feet tall, and he was floating in mid-air with his wings.  She could see his wings from the side. His head reached to the very top of the glass doors and his feet were a few inches off the ground. She could see his feet.  He moved closer to her and reached out his hand, put it on her head and said with a voice like whispering waters, "You will be blessed with a lot of children."  She felt the Holy Spirit when he touched her.  Then he disappeared.  She immediately ran into my bedroom where I was working, in order to tell me about this.  She hopes she takes good care of her children and that they feel well, and that she finds the right husband who loves Jesus.  I asked her sisters but they did not see the angel.  Charity said this was not the same one she saw yesterday. She said this was not a guardian angel, so he was not as mighty and strong as the one she saw yesterday.  She said this one was a messenger angel and he looked like he was about as strong as her Daddy.  She said she saw a little bit of yellow on his chest, so he may have had a golden sash, but she didn't notice for sure, because his arm was outstretched.  She said...the left side of his chest...was bursting bright...

 
Aug 20, 2008
We had family devotions this morning, and studied Rev. 18 and 19.  It was about the coming judgment on America and Jesus soon return.  Then we had our usual time of family prayer together.  Afterward while I was brewing my tea, my ten-year-old daughter Charity came and told me that during our prayer time, she saw two angels appear in the dining room.  One was standing behind Christopher's chair and the other standing behind Hope's chair, but neither Christopher nor Hope were in the chairs at that time.  She said the two angels looked very similar to one another and she was very surprised to see them.  She said they smiled at her and looked like they were in their mid to late teens.  They were males about 5.5 feet tall and had light-colored hair with white robes.  They each had something tied around their waste, but she said it was not a belt.  She could not quite describe it.  She said that after she returned a big smile to them they disappeared.  I asked her why she thought they were present, but she didn't know.  So I said, maybe they wanted to hear the word of God as we read from Revelation and talked about the things to come.  As soon as I said that, I immediately felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.  So I said, "That's what it was.  I'm sure."  Then the presence of the Holy Spirit got even stronger.

April 29, 2012

During our nighttime family prayer meeting, my seven-year old son Christopher saw (with his eyes closed) an army of holy angels.  He saw their leader in front of them and the army marching behind.  He did not see this in detail, but as a bright light moving from his right to his left and he knew it was an army of angels.  He assured me he was being truthful.

My Own Personal Encounters with Angels

I (the author of this blog) would like to share some of my own personal encounters with angels.

September 2, 2012

On my second missions trip to Romania, while in a city called Ploiesti, I prayed for a pastor named Marian (pictured below) inside the church building after the service ended. He sensed a “refreshing” from the Lord, and there was a lot of joy on his face. He was praising God. 

I prayed for a band of angels to help him in his ministry. Afterward my translator Stefan said that even before I started to pray it, he actually saw a band of angels coming quickly, fully armed for war, standing behind the pastor, and beside him. The two beside him were bigger and had spears and swords. Fully equipped. They were ready to do whatever he said; he was their commander. There were also smaller angels; they were fiercely determined to do their job and protect him. He was in good hands. There were in the background many warrior angels inside the church, standing around the perimeter of the room. They were fiercely determined to do their job to defend. 

I learned later in the evening that Stefan has seen angels and demons before, and has even seen the Lord Jesus.

October 12, 2012

I made the following journal entry on October 12, 2012, regarding what occurred that evening in my hotel room in Sheffield, England, while I was there for a conference:

In a book I am reading, called School of the Supernatural, Wyatt states: “Holiness and purity matter…As we remain loyal and pure He will give us free and open access into the things of the Spirit, into His most holy place, to His very throne…and the world will once again discern the difference between the holy and the profane through you.” Wyatt 140. 

While reading p. 163-165 of Wyatt, I prayed and asked the Lord to grant me an angelic visitation. I immediately sensed the presence of the Lord upon me and I began to worship. It remained for about a minute. It was so real I had to look behind me to see if I could see the angel. 

I asked the Lord that since He had sent His angel into my hotel room, what is the message the angel has brought to me. I just immediately felt the strong presence of the Lord once again. 

I turned off all the lights and laid down on the couch to be still before the Lord. I asked Him what was the purpose of this visitation. He said, “Ordination.” So I asked Him to clarify what He meant. He said, “I’m ordaining you.” 

March 18, 2012

In my article called, Gems from Heaven, I recount another one of my own encounters with what I believe was either the Lord or an angel in my bedroom. I hope you will take a moment to check it out, as well as the others linked below in the author's note.

Child Rescued from Drowning

My wife Jennifer shared the following account with me of how she was rescued from drowning when she was a four-year old child:

"I recently asked my mom about an incident where I almost drowned in a lake when I was four years old.  From what I recall, I had kind of wandered out away from my father and ended up totally under the water and, of course, didn't know how to swim.  A young man (maybe in his late teens?) pulled me up out of the water.  And somehow, I ended up on the blanket that my family had set up on the beach.  It was such a big deal for me, that I remember telling the neighbors about it when we got home.  Neither my mom or dad even remember the incident."  

Closing Words

We have angelic forces around us all the time. We don't see them. In fact most of us never see them, but nevertheless, they are there. 

If you have had your own personal angel encounter, please leave it in the comments below. If you're interested in more amazing, true testimonies of angelic encounters, please see the links in the author's note below.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright 2011 Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission.  "Under God's Protection" painting © 2022 Danny Hahlbohm of Inspired Art, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins, Carried on Angels' Wings, Gems from Heaven, Supernatural Encounter While Drawing Closer to God, Angelic Protection in Afghanistan, Head on Collision with Highway Overpass Abutment, and Escaped Having a Possibly Fatal Accident. Also see Angelic Visitations in Scripture, Activating Your Angels, Various Types of Angels, You can find more of my articles on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Various Kinds of Angels

I hope you have been enjoying this series on angels. I felt it was necessary to do one more on the various types of angels. 

One of my favorite books was Angels on Assignment by Charles and Frances Hunter, regarding the supernatural experience with angels that Roland Buck had, who was a pastor that had numerous angelic encounters. In that book, he explains that there are four types of angels -- warring, special forces, ministering, and worship angels. 

Let me begin by saying that angels are not generalists, but specialists. It's the same way in the kingdom of darkness with the devil and his angels, who are all fallen angels. The demons all specialize in something, whatever sin or malice they do, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, murder, greed, bitterness, etc. They all specialize in something, having various ranks, as well as authorities and powers (Eph 6:12). Likewise, the Lord has created the holy angels to specialize in certain areas of expertise, and they too have various ranks and levels of power and authority that the Lord has given to them. Let me just mention a few of them here. 

Warrior angels 
There are angels that specialize in warfare and they fight the Lord's battles. We see this all throughout Scripture where they are involved in battles, and this is one of the types we are most familiar with. A couple examples will suffice:

The angel that brought a message to Daniel the prophet said that the evil prince of Persia had resisted him for twenty-one days, but that Michael came and helped him.

"But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia." (Dan 10:13)

This is referring to Michael the archangel, who is in charge of the Lord's warrior angels. In fact, the angel specifically told Daniel that Michael is the great prince who protects the people of God -- the saints (Dan 12:1). 

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven." (Rev 12:7-8)

In my previous article on Angelic Visitations in Scripture, I mentioned the angel who appeared to Joshua, who said he was the commander of the Lord's army (Josh 5:13-15). There are many other references in Scripture, but these will suffice to show that the Lord has an army, and there are obviously warrior angels in that army, fierce, heavily armed, determined to defeat the enemy, and mighty in battle. 

We know there are also guardian angels, and it would stand to reason that since guardians protect us, they are part of the warrior class of angels. But this is merely my opinion, and not explicitly stated in Scripture. 

One thing I will say about guardian angels is that even in the first-century church, the saints believed in guardian angels. In fact, when Peter was rescued by an angel from prison in answer to their prayers, and he knocked at the door to the house where they were praying, they assumed it must be "his angel" at the door (Act 12:15). Our guardian angels are always working for us and have protected us from more trouble and harm than we could every imagine. We should be very thankful to God for them. They are our friends, and they love us dearly, as do all the angels.

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (Psa 91:11-12). 

The Lord also spoke about the little children having guardian angels who always see the face of the Father in heaven (Mt 18:10).

Special Forces and Messenger angels

There are also angels that specialize in bringing messages from the Lord to the people of God. In fact, the very word angel (Gr., angelos) means messenger, so all angels are messengers in one sense, but this is a primary function of this type of angel. 

We see many instances in Scripture of these types, but the angels that carried messages to Daniel would be one example. We see that Gabriel brought messages to Daniel about the end times. Daniel wrote:

"...while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, 'Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:'" (Dan 9:21-23)

You can read more about the messages that Gabriel brought to Daniel in Daniel chapters 8 - 12. But Gabriel also brought messages to other people at other times in history.

The angel said to [Zechariah the priest], "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news." (Luk 1:19)

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary." (Luk 1:26-27)

Of course, there are other messenger angels besides Gabriel, but he plays a very prominent role, since he is the archangel in charge of all the messenger angels.

Worship angels

While all angels praise the Lord, there are angels that specialize in praise and worship, and these are spoken about in Scripture.

"Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will." (Psa 103:20-21)

"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'" (Rev 5:11-12)

 

Ministering angels

Another type of angel is the ministering angel. For example, angels ministered to Jesus in the wilderness following His temptation by the devil:

"Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." (Mat 4:11)

Another example would be the angels that ministered to Him in the garden of Gethsemane:

"An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." (Luk 22:43)

Still another example of a ministering angel in Scripture would be the one that came and ministered to Elijah when he was running from Jezebel and was so exhausted that he laid down under the broom tree and prayed to die:

"Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.' He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.' So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God." (1Ki 19:5-8)

While other angels spend time in heaven before the throne of God in His glory and radiate the glory of God very brightly, it has been said that some ministering angels abide here on earth and do not necessarily have the same brilliance. They may appear as humans and not be recognized as angels by some people who are unaware. They may be dressed in plain and simple clothing and even drive a vehicle. They could appear as a child, a teen age person, an adult, or even an old man. They could appear as a poor person, or as a stranger.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:2)

There are also angels that specialize in the ministry of healing and miracles, and a number of people have testified to this. But one example in Scripture will suffice, and that is the one where the angel would come to the Pool of Bethesda and stir the waters, at which time the first crippled person to touch the water would be healed.

"Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed -- and they waited for the moving of the waters. From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had." (Joh 5:2-4)

"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." (Joh 5:7)

Cherubim and Seraphim

There are nearly seventy verses in Scripture about the cherubim. God sits enthroned between the cherubim, so they are very close to the Lord, and constantly worship Him. Ezekiel saw the cherubim more than once, and also referred to them as living creatures having wings and four faces each, and he described them as having four wings.

Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body." (Eze 1:8-11)

Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River." (Eze 10:14-15)

The prophet Isaiah also saw mighty angelic creatures around the Lord's throne, which he referred to as seraphim. He described them as having six wings.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" (Isa 6:1-3)

The apostle John also saw these four living creatures around the throne of God in heaven. He described them as having six wings. He wrote:

"Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" (Rev 4:6-8)

There is so much more we could say about cherubim and seraphim, but it is sufficient for this study to give these few references to them, in order to describe what they are like and what they do.

Closing Words

I hope that this brief study has helped you to understand more about the different kinds of angels. I trust it has helped to show that God has created various types of angels for different purposes. But please remember not to seek angels or pray to them. They cannot accept your worship. 

Be encouraged that God has angels on assignment helping you in your walk with Him, if you are a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ His Son. All the angels, archangels, seraphim, cherubim, powers, and authorities are under His direction. For He sits at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and power in submissions to Him (1 Pe 3:22; Col 2:10). 

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright 2011 Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission.  "God Has My Back" and "Guardian Angel" paintings © 2022 Danny Hahlbohm of Inspired Art, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy Angelic Visitations in Scripture, Angelic Encounters, Activating Your Angels, Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins, Gems from Heaven., and Spiritual Warfare. You can find more of my articles on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

Activating Your Angels

In my previous articles in this series, I discussed biblical examples of angels appearing to people, as well as modern day testimonies of angelic encounters. In this brief post, I would like to explain how to activate your angels.

Each of us who has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as our own Lord and Savior has angels assigned to us. You could say that each of us has our own guardian angel. But there are other angels on assignment that are sent from God to serve us, as I previously mentioned.

Scripture says:

"The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them." (Psa 34:7).

"In speaking of the angels he says, "He makes His angels spirits, His servants flames of fire.'...Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Heb 1:7, 14).

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (Psa 91:11-12)

How to Activate Your Angels

There are some things you can do in order to release or activate your angels.

Faith - We walk by faith and so do the angels. When you exercise your faith in God through the Lord Jesus Christ, this activates the angels. The Lord taught us that our faith is needed for answers to prayer,  and when we use our faith, He releases His angels to perform His Word and do His bidding on our behalf. 

"Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey His Word." (Psa 103:20)

Scripture - When we speak forth the Word of God, this too, activates the angels. Scripture says that everything came into existence through the Word (Gen 1; John 1:1, 3), including the angels that He created, and they carry out His Word. God calls things that are not as though they were (Rom 4:17). So make it a regular practice to speak forth the Word by faith.

Prayer – When you pray to the Father in Jesus' name, this activates angels. We do not pray to the angels, but to the Lord, and the angels are released to carry out the answers to our prayers.

"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people." (Rev 5:8)

You can even pray and ask God specifically for more angels for a specific purpose to carry out His will, even as Jesus said that if He asked the Father, He would send twelve legions of angels to assist Him. But in that instance, if He had done so, then He would not have gone to the cross, and we could not have been saved.

"Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Mat 26:53-54)

God's will - They are involved wherever kingdom business is going on.  They’re not interested in unbelief, gossip, rebellion, or any other sins. But they love Jesus, they love the Father, and they do His will. Therefore, whenever you are involved in doing the will of God, this will activate the angels.

"Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will." (Psa 103:21)

Loosing - Jesus taught us that whatever we bind on earth will already have been bound in heaven and what we loose on earth will already have been loosed in heaven. You can find this in Matthew 18. The angels can be released by your words spoken in faith when you loose them to perform His Word and carry out His bidding.

"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Mat 18:18)

One of the ways you can do this is by thanking God each day for the holy angels that He has assigned to your life and ministry, and say out loud: "I release the holy angels right now to perform your word and do your bidding. Go to work, O mighty ones, in Jesus' name!" Or in a certain situation where you sense that you are under demonic attack, you could pray to the Lord, "I dispatch a band a warrior angels to fight against the forces of darkness that are arrayed against me right now, in Jesus' name." Alternatively, you could simply ask the Father in Jesus' name to dispatch warrior angels to help you fight that battle.

Closing Words
I hope that these simple suggestions will help you to activate the holy angels to assist you in whatever you need to do for the Lord as you serve Him faithfully all the days of your lives. If you are a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, then I assure you this is one of the blessings you and I enjoy every moment of every day. Now go ahead and put what I have taught you into practice and see the mighty hand of God revealed in your life.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright 2011 Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission.  "Not Alone" painting © 2022 Danny Hahlbohm of Inspired Art, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy Angelic Visitations in Scripture, Angelic Encounters, Various Types of Angels, Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins, and Gems from Heaven, Changing the Atmosphere, Speak to the Storm. You can find more of my articles on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

How to Pray for the Devil

In two previous posts, I discussed the importance of Divorcing the Devil and Spiritual Warfare. In this post, I will assume you have already followed those instructions, that you have a relationship with Jesus, have put on the full armor of God, and have divorced the devil. If you haven't done so, then please go back and do so before doing what I suggest in this article. If you try to do what I recommend in this post without first divorcing the devil, you could get hurt, and I don't want that to happen to you.

Now to our topic, which is "How to Pray for the Devil". Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies, and the devil is our enemy, so we need to pray for him. However, Jesus taught us to bless our enemies, but we are not to bless the devil. We should always stand against him and pray against him, as we should also do against his demons. The fear of the Lord is to hate all evil (Pr 8:13). Here is one possible way that you could pray for the devil.

Powerful Prayer Against Satan

"Lord, rebuke satan, in Jesus' name! 

I want to remember the devil in prayer before You. It's time for his daily beating. Crush his head like an egg. Shatter his jaw and teeth. Cut out his tongue. Fill his mouth with dung. Give him a splitting migraine headache. Put him in so much pain he won't know his own name. Cut off his horns, poke out his eyes, rip out his hair, pull out his claws. Strike him with nausea and dizziness. Roll him up tightly like a ball, lift him up and slam him to the ground. Knock him senseless. Break his neck and back in several places. Break his arms, legs, and wings. Rip his belly open and spill his guts out like mud in the street. Publicly humiliate him before all his minions and the whole universe. Give him one hundred trillion to the one hundred trillionth power times more torment than he can bear. Strike him with panic and terror. Give him a total and complete nervous breakdown. Throw him into great confusion. Detonate a nuclear explosion inside the devil's head. Bring down a torrent of blazing holy fire upon his head, and consume him to ashes. Bind him with everlasting chains, in Jesus' name!

May the devil now arise and oppose himself, and may his kingdom be divided. May all the forces of darkness now arise and attack each other relentlessly until they are completely destroyed. Let them wear each other out, so that they will have no strength left to attack the saints. Throw them into great confusion and strike them with terror, in Jesus' name!

Everything that can go wrong for the devil from this point forward, will now go wrong. Foil all his plans and frustrate all his purposes, in Jesus' name!

Lord, send forth your mighty angels to cut off all the devil's supply lines and deprive him of all energy sources. Take away all of his weapons. Jam all of his lines of communications, so that no messages would get through -- not even a word -- and so that none of them would know what's going on, in Jesus' name!"

Scriptural Basis

If you would like to know the Scriptural basis for such a prayer, then simply read the Bible. It's full of examples. Read the stories of warfare in the Old Testament. But especially read the imprecatory Psalms. Major imprecatory Psalms include Psalm 69 and Psalm 109, while Psalms 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 79, 83, 94, 137, 139 and 143 are also considered imprecatory. For example, Psalm 69:24 cries out to God, "Pour out Your indignation on them, and let Your burning anger overtake them."

Another passage is in Mark's gospel, in which Jesus said, "If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!" (Mar 3:26; cf., Mat 12:26; Lk 11:18). 

There are two passages that come to mind about the enemy turning against each other. One was when the Levites of Israel stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel in song, with a very loud voice (2 Chr 20:23), whereby their enemies arose and attacked each other until they were completely destroyed.

"When they began singing and praising, the LORD set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped." (2Ch 20:22-24)

Another instance that comes to mind is when Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and the Lord caused their enemies to turn and attack each other with their swords.

"When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath." (Jdg 7:22, NIV).

Moreover, the Lord promised to throw the enemies of His holy people into confusion.

"I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you." (Exo 23:27)

"But the LORD your God will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed." (Deu 7:23).

Furthermore, the apostle Paul said to the saints in Rome, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." (Rom 16:20; cf., Ps 89:23)

And Jesus said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you." (Luk 10:18-19).

And in the context of what Jesus said in Mark 3, which I quoted earlier, regarding satan not being able to stand and being terminated, the Lord also said, "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house." (Mar 3:27).

"But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" (Jud 1:9)

"When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." (Col 2:15).

The psalmist King David said, "Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets." (Psa 18:42). The NIV says, "like mud."

The psalmist said, "The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples." (Psa 33:10)

The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah: "He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there the chariots you were so proud of will become a disgrace to your master’s house." (Is 22:18)

Jude wrote, "And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day." (Jud 1:6, NIV)

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Mt 17:20)

Putting it All Together

I hope this little post has helped to give you some ideas for how you can pray for the devil, as you remember him in your prayers each day. You don't need to be a spiritual giant to do this. All you need is faith as small as a mustard seed, and when you say to this mountain, "Move from here to there!" it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB version of the Bible, copyright Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. Where noted, Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved. Used by permission. The image of the Battle for the Soul painting by Danny Hahlbohm, copyright 2011 Inspired Art, all rights reserved worldwide, used by permission, www.inspiredart.store.

Author's note:  I also recommend reading Divorcing the Devil, Spiritual Warfare, Speak to the Storm, The Name of Jesus, The Name Above All Names, Supernatural Power for All Disciples, and Baptized with the Spirit. I invite you to visit the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

True Freedom

The world may define freedom as being free to do whatever you want and being free from all oversight, all government, all rules, and all laws, being free to come and go as you please. However, the Bible has a different definition of freedom.

The Truth Will Set You Free
"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" (Joh 8:31-32)

Notice He said this to the Jews who had believed in Him, which means they were believers. He said that the way he would know if they were really His disciples was if they would hold to His teachings. In other words, if they would put His words into practice (Mt 7:24), they would really be His disciples. And we all know that the only people who ultimately make it to heaven are disciples of Christ. This is the difference between believers and disciples.

I observe a cause and effect relationship in these verses. The first cause is "if you hold to My teachings." The effect is "then you will know the truth." From this we learn that the way you come to know the truth intimately and personally is by holding to Jesus' teachings. It is not simply through head-knowledge of the truth, but through putting it into practice that you come to know the truth much like you come to know a dear friend through experience together. 

The second cause I observe here is the same as the above effect. In other words, "then you will know the truth" now becomes the second cause. That second cause brings about another effect, which is "the truth will set you free." It's the truth that sets you free, and Jesus is the Truth (Jn 14:6). The converse of this statement is that the devil's lies keep you in bondage. The world falsely believes that indulging the sinful nature is true freedom, which is a lie of the devil, but in reality it is the truth that sets you free. It sets you free from all sorts of bondage, including (but not limited to) fears, phobias, mental illnesses, physical illnesses, sin, and addictions of all kinds.

If you could come to know the truth just by learning it in your head, then everyone that has memorized a few Bible verses would be set free. But we know that many people who have memorized Bible verses are not free but still in bondage. What Jesus taught was that when we come to know the truth by holding to His teachings, then the truth would set us free. As I said, Jesus the Son of God is the One who sets you free.

Sinners are Slaves, But Jesus Sets You Free Indeed
"Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"  (Joh 8:34-36)

He plainly taught here that everyone who sins is a slave to sin, but if the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed. You will be truly liberated from the sin that once enslaved you. He's a chain breaker.

I have personally experienced this in my own life. I used to be in bondage to so many different sins, including cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and sexual sins, but Jesus set me free indeed.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is There is Freedom
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2Co 3:17-18).

Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, you will find freedom. In that atmosphere, anything is possible. You might dance, or laugh, or cry, or fall down under the power of God, or lift your hands in worship, or leap for joy, or weep with repentance for your sins, or speak in tongues, or even prophesy. You are free to worship God in Spirit and in truth.

Illustration
"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose." (Act 16:25-26).

This is a great illustration of what happens in the spirit when we worship God in spirit and in truth. Doing so brings about a shaking in the spiritual atmosphere and chains are broken off of you. 

God's Word is Not Chained
Paul wrote, "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained." (2Ti 2:8-9).

Even when Paul was chained like a criminal, God's Word was not chained, because it cannot be chained. It is invincible! Nothing can stop it or hold it down.

Death Could Not Hold Him
Jesus is the Word, and even death could not hold Him down.

"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."'" (Mar 16:5-7)

"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." (Act 2:24). Since death is the last enemy to be conquered and death could not even hold Him down, Jesus has proven that He is victorious over all. There is nothing that can stop Him, and nothing in your life that He cannot set you free from.

He Frees Those in Slavery to the Fear of Death
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." (Heb 2:14-15)

The devil uses the fear of death to keep people in slavery to sin. It's one of his biggest tricks. But Jesus has broken the devil's power and frees those who are held in slavery by their fear of death.

Jesus Proclaims Freedom for the Prisoners
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free..." (Luk 4:18)

The good news is that Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. So if you are a prisoner to sin, I am proclaiming freedom to you today in Jesus' name! If you are a prisoner of anything, He can set you free. If you are oppressed, He can set you free. He died on the cross for you, shed His blood, and rose from the dead to make it all possible. 

He Liberates Us From Bondage and Brings Us Into Freedom and Glory
"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." (Rom 8:20-21)

This passage teaches us that all creation (including all people) has been subjected to bondage, but it will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God

Through Faith In Him We May Approach God With Freedom
"In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." (Eph 3:12)

We Were Once in Slavery
"So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world." (Gal 4:3)

We Are No Longer Slaves
"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods." (Gal 4:6-8)

Hagar - Mount Sinai - Present Jerusalem in Slavery with Her Children
The apostle Paul taught that Hagar represents Mount Sinai where the Law of Moses was given, which represents the present city of Jerusalem. "Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children." (Gal 4:25)

Heavenly Jerusalem is Free
"But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother." (Gal 4:26)

The heavenly Jerusalem is free and that is our home if we know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

We Are Children Of The Free Woman
"But what does Scripture say? 'Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son.' Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman." (Gal 4:30-31)

For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Gal 5:1)

Christ set us free to experience true freedom, so don't let yourselves go back under slavery again.

Called to Be Free, Not to Indulge the Flesh
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal 5:13-14)

Grace is not a license to sin. Jesus didn't set you free so that you could go and do whatever you want. You are His slave now.

"Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves." (1Pe 2:16)

A Man is a Slave to Whatever Has Mastered Him
"They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for 'a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.'" (2Pe 2:19)

There are preachers and others who promise people freedom, but are actually themselves slaves to depravity. Watch out that they don't deceive you with their lies. Whatever has mastered a man, that is what he is a slave to. When I was mastered by alcohol, I was a slave to it. When I was mastered by cigarettes, I was a slave to it. It's that simple. Check yourself to see if you are mastered by anything, because if you are, then you are a slave to the thing that has mastered you.

To Be Led By the Spirit Is To Be Free
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal 5:16-21)

You don't get to do whatever you want. You must be led by the Spirit, and then you will not be under the law, nor will you do anything in conflict with the Spirit. When you walk by the Spirit, you will not carry out the acts of the flesh, which are diametrically opposed to the Spirit. This is how to continue in the freedom you have received.

No Law Against the Fruit of the Spirit
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22-23)

This is what the Spirit will produce in your life when you walk by the Spirit, and there is no law against any of these things.

The Word is the Perfect Law That Gives Freedom
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." (Jas 1:22-25)

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom..." (Jas 2:12)

What is this law he was talking about?

James was speaking in this passage of the perfect law of love. John Wesley said, "He who keeps the law of love is free. He that does not, is not free, but a slave to sin, and a criminal before God."

Matthew Henry wrote: 
Observe here, [1.] The gospel is a law of liberty, or, as Mr. Baxter expresses it, of liberation, giving us deliverance from the Jewish law, and from sin and guilt, and wrath and death. The ceremonial law was a yoke of bondage; the gospel of Christ is a law of liberty. [2.] It is a perfect law; nothing can be added to it. [3.] In hearing the word, we look into this perfect law; we consult it for counsel and direction; we look into it, that we may thence take our measures. [4.] Then only do we look into the law of liberty as we should when we continue therein - “when we dwell in the study of it, till it turn to a spiritual life, engrafted and digested in us” (Baxter) - when we are not forgetful of it, but practice it as our work and business, set it always before our eyes, and make it the constant rule of our conversation and behaviour, and model the temper of our minds by it. [5.] Those who thus do, and continue in the law and word of God, are, and shall be, blessed in their deed; blessed in all their ways, according to the first psalm, to which, some think, James here alludes. He that meditates in the law of God, and walks according to it, the psalmist says, shall prosper in whatsoever he does. And he that is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work which God's word sets him about, James says, shall be blessed. The papists pretend that here we have a clear text to prove we are blessed for our good deeds; but Dr. Manton, in answer to that pretence, puts the reader upon marking the distinctness of scripture-phrase. The apostle does not say, for his deeds, that any man is blessed, but in his deed. This is a way in which we shall certainly find blessedness, but not the cause of it. This blessedness does not lie in knowing, but in doing the will of God. Joh_13:17, If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. It is not talking, but walking, that will bring us to heaven.

As the psalmist said, "I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts." (Psa 119:45)

Closing Words
Through this study in God's Word we have been reminded that true freedom is not like the world sees freedom, where you can do whatever you feel like doing and indulge your sinful nature. True freedom that Christ gives is the freedom to truly live life to the fullest the way God intended it. It's an abundant life, free from sin, free from bondage, free from fear, free from addictions, free from vain religion, and free from slavery to the devil and his lies. This is what it means to be free indeed. If you hold to Jesus' teachings, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. True freedom is found only in Christ through a personal relationship with Him.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan. 

Author's note: I also recommend reading my articles, The Evil Spirit of Alcohol, Sin and Consequence, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, The Kingdom of Darkness, Demonology 101, Demons Disguised as Humans, Rock, Rap, and Reggae Music -- Five Divine Revelations, Alcohol and Cigarettes -- Ten Divine Revelations, as well as the articles available through the Home page of this blog.  You may access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.