“With angels and archangels” (Revelation 12:7-12; Luke 10:17-20)

Revelation 12:7-12
Luke 10:17-20

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Pastor Tom Johnson, September 25, 2016

All our Scripture today pulls back the curtain so that we can see what is going on in the spiritual realm around us. Our reading from Revelation is particularly vivid. There is war between God’s angels led by Michael and the fallen angels led by Satan or the Devil. Michael and the angels fight to protect us from the Deceiver and the Accuser. That is evil’s goal—to deceives us. It holds us captive to lies about the world and ourselves. We call that captivity “sin”—we cannot free ourselves from its power. Sin is not just merely bad or harmful things we do, say, or think. It is part of a grand scheme to keep us in bondage to unhealthy and damaging patterns to ourselves and those around us. As Paul says, “Our struggle is not against the enemies again
st flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12)

Michael and the angels fight against the Accuser and his work to destroy the Gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ. It is Satan who accuses us. He brings up our imperfections, our sinfulness, and reminds us of all the wrong we have done. He makes his case like a prosecutor before God the Judge to bring about our conviction and condemnation. Thankfully, God won’t listen. Instead, he sends Michael and the angels to fight for our names to be cleared as the Gospel promises. For true righteousness is a gift from God. We are declared righteous because of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lamb. The angels conquer by the blood of the Lamb. That is to say, their victory over evil is because of Christ and his strength.

God has sent his archangel Michael and his whole army to fight for us. They follow after their King—the eternal Son of God—Jesus of Nazareth. And their secret weapon is his blood—the blood of the Lamb—which washes away all our sin and thwarts the enemies’ weapons of evil and death. What this sneak peak into the spiritual realm does is show us the way of victory. If the angels serve us by stopping the deception and accusation, we ought to join the same fight—to lift each other up out of guilt and despair. And we do so, not by our own strength, but by the strength of Christ and his blood. “For we were not purchased with gold and silver,” Scripture says, “but with the precious blood of Jesus, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet 1:18,19).

Angels not only reveal to us the spiritual conflict going on all around us and how we have victory because of Christ, they also model worshippers. They are leaders in worship. Every Sunday, we sing a rich variety of songs in our worship. They are called canticles. And if you look in the margins of these songs in your bulletin, you will see Scripture references. We are singing the songs of angels. We are also singing with those sisters and brothers in Christ who have preceded us in death and now stand triumphant with the heavenly host. As I think about it, we have all joined choir. We join our voices to the heavenly choir of angels and the redeemed. We sing, “Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God!” “Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen!” We sing the ancient angelic song in Hebrew, “Alleluia,” which means “Praise the Lord!” Give him the credit. Celebrate the victory he has won for us. There are angels called the seraphim who day and night the angels never cease singing, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might: Heaven and earth are full of Your glory!” (Isa 6:3).

Michael and the angels show us how we need to delivered from evil as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. They teach us that the path to victory is not our own strength or power but the blood of the King of kings and Lord of lords—the Lamb, Jesus Christ. And, even more than that, they go ahead of us in worship. They are the Lord’s soldiers and the Lord’s singers. One of my favorite reminders of this is in the words that precede our receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus in Communion: “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify your holy name, evermore praising you…” And today, a slight variation, “The cherubim and seraphim sing your praise, and with them we laud and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising you.”

What a beautiful and powerful reminder today—that as we drove, took the bus, the train, and walked to church, the celebration had already begun…not hours ago…but eons ago…in the timeless eternity of God’s throne. We enter into worship together. We join in a global, universal, and multidimensional reality. Those who have gone before us are singing and celebrating. Michael, his angels, the cherubim, the seraphim, and all redeemed humanity are together in a multitude that no one could count. And our number is increasing that multitude day by day. That is something to celebrate—that our names are written along with the esteemed name of Michael, the archangel and all his angels.