Eden Life | Lesson 5, Part 1

Greetings MOL Family!

Do we truly understand the many efforts that are being made on our behalf? God has assigned heavenly messengers to minister to us, for the salvation of our soul…

Angels: Our Problem Solvers

The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. – Psalm 103:19-20

We want to study a bit today about the angels: how they are working for us, and how we can work with them. The angels are the greatest problems solvers. God has been using them to solve problems for 6,000 years; they’ve had more experience than any of us. And we are told, that if we will allow them to, they will give us the benefit of their education and experience. Isn’t that wonderful? Yes.

Now you notice, they are working in connection with God whose throne is in the heavens and His kingdom ruleth over all. There is nothing in the universe beyond or outside of the kingdom of God. Is that right? He’s on the throne. Thank the Lord.

You’ll notice the angels in the 21st verse are called His ministers, and in the previous verse it says that these angels do His commandments, harkening unto the voice of His word. The thought of this word that’s translated “harkening” unto, the thought in the original is ‘leaning over, just anxious to get the slightest whisper from God’. Isn’t that a beautiful picture? Think of it, if we could visit Heaven, and there our dear Lord is on the throne and around are these myriads of angels, an innumerable company, Paul says. And what is their attitude? Ah, friends, God never has to send one angel after another angel to get him in and get his directions. The angels are just anxious to get their directions. So, they’re harkening unto the voice of His word – leaning over, just anxious to get their orders for the day.

Now, if we will go to Hebrews the 1st chapter, we’ll see what it’s all for. Oh, I think this is wonderful. Speaking of the angels, the 14th verse:

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. – Hebrews 1:14

Who’s the “them”? You and me. God’s angels are sent forth to minister for us. Isn’t that wonderful?

We think of the power of the angels. We think of their exceeding brightness and glory. One angel put the Roman guard out of the way when he came to bring Jesus from the dead. One angel slew that mighty host of the Assyrians who had come against Jerusalem. But here are myriads of angels, and they are all ministering spirits. What does the word ‘minister’ here mean? Servant. Angels are servants – serving God and serving us. They’re His messengers, His ministers.

Now, because they have such a deep interest in us, we either make them happy or unhappy. There’s no way to separate love from pleasure on the one hand or sorrow on the other. If somebody loves you, you’re either making them happy or making them sad. The only way to change that, and the only way to do away with that fact is to make them quit loving; then it won’t make any difference. What you do that’s good won’t make them glad, and what you do that’s bad won’t make them sad; but as long as folks love you, you either make them glad or sad. And so it is with the angels; they love us very much, because they reflect the love of God.

I have seen the tender love that God has for His people, and it is very great. I saw angels over the saints with their wings spread about them. Each saint had an attending angel. If the saints wept through discouragement, or were in danger, the angels that ever attended them would fly quickly upward to carry the tidings, and the angels in the city would cease to sing. Then Jesus would commission another angel to descend to encourage, watch over, and try to keep them from going out of the narrow path; but if they did not take heed to the watchful care of these angels, and would not be comforted by them, but continued to go astray, the angels would look sad and weep. They would bear the tidings upward,… But if the saints fixed their eyes upon the prize before them and glorified God by praising Him, the angels would bear the glad tidings to the city, and the angels in the city would touch their golden harps and sing with a loud voice, `Alleluia!’ and the heavenly arches would ring with their lovely songs. – Early Writings, pg. 39

Think of it, friends: you and I can stop the music of Heaven, just by discouragement or anything else that gets us out of the way. If there’s anybody that’s discouraged [that’s reading through this lesson], there’s at least double angels guard about you. We read a moment ago that we can stop the music of Heaven, but thank God we can start it again. Oh, I hope it will be very real to us today. There are angels hovering around. They will carry tidings home to the New Jerusalem. So, we want to make the angels happy today.

The Golden Card

Now, let’s read the next paragraph here; this is something very interesting:

There is perfect order and harmony in the Holy City. All the angels that are commissioned to visit the earth hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out. – Ibid

The angels have a golden card. That’s what I want to study with you today; the golden card. If we understand the reason for this golden card, and how it’s used and why it’s used, then we’ll co-operate with these angels; and it is written that we, too, soon shall enter into those same gates.

There is perfect order and harmony in the Holy City. All the angels that are commissioned to visit the earth hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out. Heaven is a good place. I long to be there and behold my lovely Jesus, who gave His life for me, and be changed into His glorious image. – Ibid

I wonder why the angels have a golden card? I wonder if they always present it. It says they present it to the angels at the gate of the city. In our imagination, let’s suppose something like this – I’m sure this doesn’t happen, I’m absolutely positive it doesn’t happen, but let’s just imagine it: An angel comes rushing out. He’s on his way down to the earth. The angel at the door or the gate says, “Your card please.” “Oh, do I have to show my card; don’t you know me? The Lord has given me a job too, and I’m in a hurry”. Do you think that ever happens? No. No.

Here’s another angel who’s just coming in from a space trip and he’s about to go right on in; but the sentry says, “What about your card? Do you have your card?” “Oh, you don’t really mean that I have to stop. I have an important message, an important report to give to Jesus, and you would stop me to show my card to you? Who are you anyway?”

Does anything like that ever happen? Oh, no, nothing like that ever happens. The angels love to cooperate with the plans that establish and maintain order and discipline. Is that right? And that’s what the golden card stands for.

Now in Volume 1 of the Testimonies, I find what makes this all so important to me:

Angels work harmoniously. Perfect order characterizes all their movements. The more closely we imitate the harmony and order of the angelic host, the more successful will be the efforts of these heavenly agents in our behalf. – Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, pg. 649

Isn’t that wonderful? A good friend of mine told me about a visit he had with a well-meaning brother who has imbibed the principles of one of the, you might call it the off-shoot movements. This friend of mine was telling this well-meaning brother, he said, “You know brother, even if you are all right in what you are teaching, you are all wrong in the way you’re going at it.” And I’ve been thinking about that way of putting it; I think he had it about right. This thinking suggests that if you and I want to help with the angels, I’d hate to do anything very important without them, wouldn’t you?

I’d hate to try to run the sanitarium without the angels, wouldn’t you? I’d hate to try to carry on a Sabbath school without the angels. I’d hate to try to carry a successful person home without the angels, wouldn’t you? The more closely we imitate the harmony and order of the angelic host, the more successful will be the efforts of these heavenly agents in our behalf. So, just as we can stop them singing, or get them started again, we can neutralize, hinder, defeat all their good efforts on our behalf. Or on the other hand, we can cooperate with them in such a way as to make their efforts worthwhile and successful. I’m sure we want to do the latter, don’t you?

But you know, friends, sometimes we listen to some other angels. There once were more angels in Heaven than there are now. Do you know who’s going to take the places of those angels that left? You and I are destined to. But I want to ask you something: Do you think we’ll have to learn the lesson that they failed to learn if we’re to take their places? Yes. You know why they’re not there anymore, don’t you? This is the reason: they could no longer tolerate the order and discipline of Heaven. They said, “It’s more than we can take.” If they had been using the language of this generation they would have said, “We’re not babies. We know enough to make our own decisions. We don’t need someone else telling us what to do.”

How many of the angles were there that took that attitude? One third. That’s almost a half, isn’t it? If one third of the folks at [one of our institutions] should move out and say they had stood all they could, it would look kind of bad, wouldn’t it? To most people it would look rather bad for the administration, wouldn’t it? That’s what happened in Heaven and in the universe. When one third of those who were closest to the throne said, “We can’t take this dictation anymore”, things looked bad for God.

But praise the Lord; it’s going to come out all right. Isn’t it? Yes. It’s taken 6,000 years and it’s not over yet. But when it’s over, it’ll be settled, and every creature in Heaven and earth, even Lucifer and all those who rebelled with him, all alike will kneel down and say, “God is right. God is love. God is good, and His law is the only way.” Is that right? Oh, friend, how wonderful it is that we can learn it while it can do us some good.

Angels work harmoniously. Perfect order characterizes all their movements. The more closely we imitate the harmony and order of the angelic host, the more successful will be the efforts of these heavenly agents in our behalf. If we see no necessity for harmonious action, and are disorderly, undisciplined, and disorganized in our course of action, angels, who are thoroughly organized and move in perfect order, cannot work for us successfully. They turn away in grief, for they are not authorized to bless confusion, distraction, and disorganization. – Ibid

This one paragraph would settle many, many minds on this question of relation to the church and its organization. The test to you and me is our relationship to those officers of the church, or the home, or the institution that are closest to us. That’s the test of our belief in these principles.

Join us next week, to learn the truth about angels and their special work, on our behalf.  Invite a friend, and we’ll see you then…

–Continue on to the next study–

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* This study has been adapted from classes taken by Elder W.D. Frazee.