Do I Need Angels To Bring Me Blessings? The subject of angels is an interesting one. And if you live in Africa, you will no doubt recognise that you can’t imagine African Christianity without the subject of angels.
Angels are believed to be good spirit beings, sent by God to release blessings for the African believer.
Partly that’s because the African traditional worldview is always in awareness of the presence of the spiritual world, where there are two competing powers.
Good vs. Evil: The African Traditional Worldview
You have the power of angels – who are believed to be good spirit beings, that have been sent by God to release blessings for the African believer. But you also have spirit beings that are called demons, that are basically out to harm, to hurt, to oppress to possess all those who are Christians.
So, when we come to the African Church, we find that the subject of angels is one that is very much talked about. But most likely very little understanding exists really about angels. So, what does the Bible really say angels are? And what happens when you go wrong on angels?
Aren’t Angels Meant To Bring Us Blessings?
For so many Christians in Africa, angels are actually supposed to be powers that God has put at work to bring blessings for us, to protect us, to act as our guardian angels. To make sure we do not have accidents. To make sure when we marry we give birth to twins. Or maybe, when we are at work, we get promoted easily.
We have come to look at angels as channels of prosperity… which is why everyone wants an angel.
So in fact, we have come to look at angels as channels of prosperity, of blessings, of health and wealth. Which is why everyone wants an angel.
We Give Angels Authority Above Scripture
We are living in times today, where people would eagerly listen to somebody who claims to be an angel. Rather than open the pages of Scripture to find God’s word and will for them. If today a pastor stands and said “an angel visited me and said the following…” his followers are likely to believe everything he has said without question or discussion. Because it is very much believed that once an angel has spoken, that’s it! So whatever it is he allegedly has said is either equal to the authority of Scripture, or sometimes even more authoritative than Scripture.
But many people will go to the prayer mountains. Many people will go into phases of fasting. Many people will hunger and become desperate for angelic voices. But very few are opening their Bibles to understand God’s will and word for them.
Who Are Angels In The Bible?
But who are angels really? According to Scripture, in fact, angels are created beings – like us. Angels are not gods. Angels, contrary to the thinking of many African Christians, are not dead ancestors who have been deified. But angels are spirit beings in a different category from human beings that God has created and put to the service of those who will inherit salvation – as we read in Hebrews, especially in Hebrews 1:14.
Angels are not dead ancestors who have been deified.
Angels are God’s servants. They are specifically designed to serve those who will inherit salvation. In the scriptures we see from time to time God sending them to deliver some specific messages in a context limited situation.
But we do not see much ministry of angels becoming very central in the Church, and especially in the New Testament. Which is one reason why Christians should not make a big deal about angels and put an overemphasis on angels – even sometimes at the expense of Jesus himself.
The Real Blessings That Angels Cannot Give
Quite often you will find people more in love with angels than Jesus who died and rose again for them. Very absurd! We need to understand as believers, that our relationship is really with God through Jesus Christ. He is the only mediator between God and men.
Our relationship with God is through Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator between God and men.
We do not need angels delivering special messages in order for us to draw closer to God or to discover God’s will.
The Dangers of Believing in The Ministry of Angels
And as some of you may already know, today we have so many Christians who have been used, who have been abused, and even misused in some cases. Simply because, rather than open the scriptures and find God’s will for their lives, they’ve been believing in the ministry of angels and pastors who claim to be receiving angelic messages. Only to find that they were misled.
The messages contradicted God’s will and word. They were above or even beyond, or even against the scriptures. And many of them have ended up being hurt.
Many Christians have been used, abused, even misused.
Some people have lost their property in ‘the name of’ the angel of the Lord said “if you give this, you will get this much in seven days”. It’s really very challenging and sad. Especially for believers who thought they were hearing from God through an angel, only to find that God had not spoken. They have been misled and have been hurt.
Shifting The Focus From Angels & Blessings
What can Christians in the Church in Africa today do? We recognise the presence of angels. We recognise that God has sent them as servants to serve those who will inherit salvation. But the focus of the Christian faith is not on angels. It’s on Jesus Christ who died and rose again.
It is only through Jesus that we are blessed.
It is only through Jesus that we are saved; it’s only through Jesus that we are blessed or gain blessings. Only through Jesus are we sustained in this world, as we wait for His glorious return.
Dark Powers Masquerading As Angels
We must also remember, brothers and sisters, that not everyone who claims to be an angel actually is. While we have the angels of God as we see them in scriptures – who by the way rarely appear to people in our day – we also have those that masquerade as angels but are really powers of darkness.
And we must always remember, that it is very possible that most of the messages we are hearing today in the name of angelic messages, could actually be demon-inspired messages that have nothing to do with God.
Look To Scripture, Not Angels, To Understand Blessings
So, what can you do? I encourage you to open the scriptures and hear from God’s word directly, rather than listening to subjective messages from angels who might not be.
I encourage you as Christians to learn to test before you trust. That everything you hear, whether from a man of God or from a spiritual angelic power, must be brought under the scrutiny or search light of scripture. That you will only believe it in as far as you find it consistent with what the scriptures teach. Like the Bereans did in Acts 17:11.
