What are Angels? Part 2 (final)

When Daniel received revelation from the unnamed angel after fasting for 21 days, he was told in Daniel 10:20, 21,

²⁰ Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. ²¹ However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.”

High-ranking angels are often called princes. This includes both good and bad angels. The prince of Persia was the ruling entity in the spiritual world over the territory of Persia, working primarily through the kings themselves. I have found that they are territorial, but they also have influence throughout the world when it comes to each angel’s peculiar nature.

Likewise, each prince comes to establish his own form of government among men. So Persia was a Constitutional Monarchy, Greece was a Democracy, and Michael works to establish the Absolute Monarchy of Jesus Christ, wresting it from the kings of Babylon, who too had an Absolute Monarchy. Babylon’s prince was the red dragon, so we find Michael fighting the red dragon in Revelation 12:3, 7.

God’s angelic princes have what I call natural enemies, each assigned to overthrow the evil princes so that Christ may receive dominion in a Universal Kingdom. God’s angels and princes are also assigned to men and women on earth.

Angels Minister Through Us

Hebrews 1:14 says,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of [dia, “through”] those who will inherit salvation?

The NASB translators were scholars, but they had little grasp of spiritual things. Hence, they thought that angels were sent to minister to and help the believers in their struggle to become righteous. But the author used the word dia, “through,” telling us that these angels minister through us to accomplish their tasks. Hence, Michael was Daniel’s prince, and when Daniel fasted for 21 days, he was engaged in spiritual warfare. Michael’s actions, in essence, were Daniel’s as well. The warfare was in the heavens, but the tide of battle was determined on earth.

Most of us have only a dim revelation of the manner in which we are engaged in this great cosmic battle in the heavens. Some are given flashes of revelation, others receive visions, but no one sees the full scope of the battle, and even fewer understand it. That is mostly due to the fact that our soul has difficulty comprehending spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14), and more often than not, we are led by our soul, “the natural man,” rather than by our spirit.

Nonetheless, we are all participants in this great warfare, because each of us has at least one “guardian angel,” who is empowered to perform at least one specific task in establishing God’s Universal Kingdom. Michael was Daniel’s prince (in his generation). I believe that Michael ministers through at least one person in each generation, providing continuity in this battle. The war will be won (fully) when all are reconciled to God, because only then will every ministering spirit be able to win his own particular battle in the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the battlefield in the heavens is reflected in the conditions on earth. The events we witness on earth show us how the battle is going in the heavens. Most believers struggle daily as they grow spiritually to the place where they are overcomers. Some are prisoners of war and need deliverance through others. Like Jesus, we are anointed to set the captives free (Luke 4:18), to heal the sick, and to give sight to the blind.

We are ultimately called “to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:19), that is, the Jubilee. The law of Jubilee must be written on our hearts in order to complete our calling and enter into God’s rest.

The Unity Principle

We function as a body. At the present time, this body is quite sick and is in need of much healing. The Laodicean Church in Revelation 3:17, 18 is largely unaware that it is “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” They are in no shape to fight spiritual battles, and yet they are all involved in some way.

Even unbelievers are involved, for the demonic forces fight through them as well. The devil is empowered by unbelief and by sin, for he has no power in himself here on earth. He only uses the power given to mankind in Genesis 1:26. Man’s sin sells his God-given dominion to the devil according to the judgment of the law. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:56, “the power of sin is the law.” Sin makes men debtors to the law, and because those sinners are unable to pay their debt, the law sells them into slavery to sin. This is done in accordance with the law of God.

The point is that we are all in this together. We are all affected by the condition of other people, whether we realize it or not. At the very least, we cannot rest fully until every knee bows and every tongue professes (exomologeu) Christ (Philippians 2:11). Isaiah 45:23 says that every tongue must swear allegiance to Christ. Paul interprets this in Romans 14:11, saying, “every tongue shall give praise to God.”

To give praise to God is possible only when our hearts are circumcised (Romans 2:29) through the New Covenant.

Only when all have had their hearts circumcised will our warfare end. Only then will our callings be fulfilled. For this reason, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:20, 21, 26,

²⁰ But now there are many members, but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”… ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

Hence, even if we were perfected, we still suffer with the rest of the body, even as Christ Himself suffered on behalf of the body. You might say that this is the disadvantage of being part of a body. We are not islands to ourselves. We are all connected spiritually in one way or another, and the body will not be healed fully until all have been reconciled to God.

We see this principle also when Michael came to the aid of the nameless angel, which I believe was the angel Peniel—the natural enemy of the prince of Persia. Both angels were ministering spirits working through men on earth. The men on earth were actively engaged in spiritual warfare, but their angels (or princes) were fighting on their behalf in the heavens.

It seems clear, then, that Daniel and his prince came to assist someone else and his prince. Someone else, unknown and unnamed, was engaging in spiritual warfare at the same time. Being in need, he was assisted by another member of the body—in this case, Daniel and his prince. No doubt this principle has been repeated countless times. In fact, every time one member of the body helps another, even in a small way, it is a reflection of angelic assistance in the heavenly battle that strengthens the weak.

So also, Michael came to strengthen Daniel, for we read in Daniel 10:18, 19,

¹⁸ Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. ¹⁹ He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

 So let us be aware of our surroundings and how events in the world are determined by heavenly events and conditions. If we understand the connection between heavenly events and earthly events, we will better understand our callings, the need to overcome all things, and to assist other members of the body.

A Final Note

As we come into unity with our angel, not only do we grow spiritually but we also come closer to the point of full agreement with Christ. I picture this as a process of absorbing our angel into our spirit, so that, in essence, there is no difference between the ministering spirit (angel) and our own spirit.

This agreement empowers our angel in the heavenly warfare, and it can also be said that our spirit is engaged in spiritual warfare as much as the angel himself—because they have become one through the principle of unity. Our awareness of this can encourage us and strengthen us as much as it did with Daniel, and when adversity strikes us here on earth, we may see it in a new light in terms of the heavenly battleground.