Appreciate that. If you will, let's open our Bibles
today to the book of Daniel, chapter 9. This will make the fourth. and
the last Sunday morning that I will speak to us from one of
the prayers of an Old Testament prophet. We looked at Habakkuk,
Elijah, and last week at Daniel. And I pointed two things out
to us last time about Daniel's prayer. First, We saw the connection
between his prayer and the Word of God. If you notice in verse
2, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books
the number of the years. where of the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years
in the desolations of Jerusalem and I set my face unto the Lord
God to seek by prayer. So we saw the connection between
the word of God and Daniel's prayer. And secondly, we saw
that most of his prayer consisted of confession of sin. Again,
if you will, in verse 4, and I prayed unto the Lord my God
and made my confession. Most of the prayer is made up
of Daniel confessing his sin, the sin of the people, the sin
of the princes, the sin of the kings, the sin of Israel. Now today, I want us to think
about the ministry of an angel to Daniel while he was praying. Look down, if you will, in verses
20 and 21. Two times he tells us that it
was while he was praying that an angel came to him. Verse 20, and while I was speaking
and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people,
Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the
holy mountain of my God, yea, while I was speaking in prayer,
even the man Gabriel." This man, of course, was an angel who appeared
unto him in the form of a man. The man, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
at the beginning, This refers back to the previous chapter.
We won't look there, but this is the way Daniel recognized
him when he appeared to him this time while he was praying. Being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation, and he
informed me and talked with me and said, oh Daniel, I've now
come forth to give thee skill and understanding. I want us
to think this morning about the ministry of angels. I have two
parts to the message. First of all, the general ministry
of angels. And then second, we will look
at the particular ministry of this angel to Daniel. But first
of all, the general ministry of angels. What do we know about
angels? Well, the first thing I should
say, and the first thing all of us should be in agreement
upon, what we know about angels must come from the Word of God. Don't take your understanding
or your knowledge about angels from some movie or some television
program or anything like that. What we know about the ministry
of angels must come to us from the Word of God. And I have six
things this morning that I want to show us briefly about angels. First of all, we know about their
creation. They are part of the all things
created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, all things were created by him and for him. And that's
found in Colossians 1 and verse 16. Angels are part of the invisible
things. All things were created by him
and for him. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God, and all things were created by Him,
and without Him was not anything created that was created. Now we know that they are part
of the invisible creation of God. If you will, keep your places
here, but turn back with me to Psalm 148. Psalms 148. And don't we love the Psalms? Don't we
love the Psalms that give us words of praise and thanksgiving
and prayer unto our wonderful and faithful God? Praise ye the
Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise
you him, all his angels. Praise you him, all his host. Praise you him, sun and moon. Praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, you heavens of heavens,
and you waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise
the name of the Lord. Now notice, for he commanded,
and they were created. You notice angels are mentioned
here. He commanded, the Lord God commanded,
all things that are made were made by him. Made by him and
made for him. Angels included in the sun and
the moon and the stars and every other part of the physical creation. When I think of them as being
invisible, That is, that angels are invisible. I remember this
that we find in the history in the life of Elisha. Elisha was
a prophet of God and he had a servant. And one morning his servant went
out and he saw that all around them, all around his master Elisha,
there was armies. There were soldiers. And he was
afraid. because he knew the Syrians had
come to capture his master, Elisha, the prophet of God. And when
he expressed his concern to Elisha, Elisha prayed and asked the Lord
that he would open that servant's eyes. Well, they were already
open. He saw the Syrian soldiers. They were all around him. Oh,
no. open his spiritual eyes that
he might see that there are more for us than there are for them. And so God opened his eyes and
he was able then to see the invisible. And that leads me to believe
that at all times, all around us, even in this building this
morning, angels are present. I believe that we can also say
this about their creation. They were the morning stars. In Job chapter 38 in verse 7,
we read about the morning stars that sang together and the sons
of God that shouted for joy. On the morning of creation, time had a beginning. God began
time. In the morning of creation, the
stars, the sons of God, they shouted for joy, and they all
sang together, and they all praised their Creator. All things were
made by Him, and all things were made for Him. So the first thing
we know about angels, we know that they are part of the all
things, that is, the creation of God. Second, we know that
they were created higher beings than men. In other words, in
the order of creation, the angels are above men. And we know that
from Psalm verse eight and verses four and five, the psalmist said,
what is man that thou art mindful of him? That's a good question,
isn't it? Does that humble you? Does it
humble you to know that God passed by the angels and he took upon himself the
form of a man? Does that humble you? It should.
It should, all of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior,
to think that he would do that for us. What is man that thou
art mindful of him? For thou hast made him a little
lower than the angels. Angels are pure spirits, and
in the order of creation, they are higher beings than men. Number three, we know that some
of the angels, and this is the way it is written in the New
Testament, they kept not their first estate. but left their
own habitation. What does that mean? It means
that they were created holy. God looked at his creation. We
read about this in Genesis chapter one, don't we? And everything,
now listen, boys and girls, listen. Don't be looking away when I'm
talking to you and talking about creation. Because listen, you're
going to hear from the world that this just happened because
of a big bang and we are the products of evolution. And I
want you to hear today from the Word of God, that's not true,
that is one of Satan's lies. God created the heavens and the
earth and all things in it. And when he did so, he looked
upon his creation and he saw that it was good. Good! Everything that he created was
good. But these angels that we read
about in Jude, they kept not their first estate. Created holy,
but they fell. Now, We believe from Revelation
chapter 12 that when the devil, that is, he's pictured there
as a dragon, we know he's not a dragon, he doesn't have a tail,
but spiritually that's a picture of him, but he drew a third part,
we believe, a third part of the angels out of heaven with him. In other words, the great host
of angels, which may be billions, Many of them kept not their first
estate, they fell unto the earth. So we know there are both good
angels and there are evil angels. The good angels are those that
the Apostle Paul writes about and tells us that they are the
elect angels. God chose them and constituted
Christ to be their head so they did not fall. They are holy angels. And so I'm speaking to us primarily
this morning about holy angels. Number four, here's the fourth
thing that we know about the angels. We know that they were
privileged to announce both the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his resurrection. It was this same angel by name
Gabriel who came to marry a young woman, a young virgin of Nazareth,
and revealed to her that she was going to have a son. She asked how that would be possible,
seeing that she did not know man. She had never had any relationship
with a man. How is that possible? And the
angel told her how that was going to take place. God, the Holy
Spirit, was going to come upon her so that that Holy One that
was conceived in her would be called the Son of the Highest,
the Son of God. An angel announced that to Mary. And then on the night that he
was born into this world, an angel announced to the shepherds
who were out keeping their flocks, fear not, for I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ
the Lord. That's the best news that has
ever been sent to this world. That's the best news that any
sinner can ever hear. Unto you a Savior's bar. A man thinks he has a lot of
needs, but I tell you there's one need that is above every
need, and that is the need of a Savior. Because if I don't
have a Savior, I'm going to go out into eternity to face God. with all my sins to answer for. I need a savior. That's the best
news that this world ever received. And it was announced by an angel. And then, after the Lord was
crucified that first Sunday after his death upon the cross, those
women went out to the tomb and they fully expected to find his
body. They were carrying spices. to
anoint his body, and it was the angels who said, why seek ye
the living among the dead? He's not here. He was here, his
body was here, but no longer, for he is risen. Number five, we know that they
will ascend with him when he comes again with all of the saints. One day there's going to be the
shout of the archangel, the trumpet's going to sound, and the Lord
Jesus Christ is going to come from heaven and all of his saints,
his people that he has saved who have gone on to be with him.
Many of you have loved ones who are there with him this morning.
And you know there's coming a day when he's going to come and he's
going to bring them with him And along with Him are all the
holy angels. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him. And number six,
we know, and listen, this is very important, we know that
all are ministering spirits. All the angels are ministering
spirits, listen, sent forth to minister for them that shall
be heirs of salvation. That's the way it reads there
in Hebrews chapter one, verse 14. All are ministering spirits. Sent forth, God sent them forth
to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation. The ministry
of angels is to the heirs of salvation. Do you know what an
heir is? H-E-I-R. Do you know what an
heir is? An heir is someone who receives
something for nothing. That's what an heir is. Pardon this personal example,
but I was an heir. When my mother passed away, I
was an heir. I have five siblings, and I can
honestly say we all received the same. I was the less, how can I say this? I was the
least one who should have received anything. That's just so. I know it. No one could convince
me any different. But I received the same thing
that they received. And we all received it for nothing. It was a free gift. And the reason I point this out
to us when we read that the angels are ministering spirits sent
forth to minister for those who are the heirs of salvation. I
just want to remind us again that salvation is free. That
salvation is a gift. You can't merit it. If you had this whole world everything
at your fingertips to give in exchange for your soul. It would not avail. You cannot
merit salvation. You do not deserve it. We are
heirs. That is, we receive everything
freely by His free grace. And anyone who tries to attain
salvation by any other way will find in the end an awful mistake
they have made. Salvation is a gift. It's received,
not earned. The apostle said, to as many
as received him. Have you received Christ? Have
you received Christ? You say, what does it mean to
receive Christ? Well, the apostle tells us in
that very verse, doesn't he? To as many as received him, to
them gave he the power to become the sons of God. Now listen,
even to them that believe on his name. Have you received Christ
as your Lord and Savior? Have you bowed to him, receiving
him? to as many as received him, become
heirs of salvation. The angels minister to God's
people, to the heirs of salvation, both in life and in death. Let me explain what I mean. The angels minister to God's
children, both in life and in death. In life, the ministry
is in many ways. They minister unto us in many
ways. But one way seems to be mentioned
the most in the scriptures. For instance, in Psalm 34 in
verse seven, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them
that fear him and delivereth them. Deliverance. Also, turn back, if you will,
to Psalm 91. This is a favorite psalm of many
of us here. But in Psalm 91, in verses 9 through 12, and I know
this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
I know that, but it also applies to all of God's children, all
of His sons. Beginning with verse 9, Because
thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High,
thy habitation. Well, stop right there. Have
you made the Lord your refuge? Is He your refuge? If He isn't, no need in reading
any further. We're talking about the ministry
of angels. but they're sent forth to minister
unto those who are the heirs of salvation. So those who have
made him their refuge, verse nine, there shall no evil befall
thee, neither shall any plague come
nigh thy dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee in all thy ways, They shall bear thee up in their
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Only in heaven, only in heaven,
my friends, will God's children know just
how many times they were delivered by angels. They were delivered
from harm, they were kept from danger, And think about this,
how many times kept from temptation? How many times kept from temptation? We don't understand that, do
we? Because they're invisible. We walk by faith and not by sight. But I said they minister to us
in life primarily, we see that they They are around us to protect
us and to keep us and to deliver us. But also, the angels minister
to God's children in death. In death, they escort the child
of God into the presence of the Lord. We know that from what
our Lord said about a beggar. His name was Lazarus. Oh, if God blessed you, you would
have a lot of money. Here was a man who was blessed,
my friends, and he was a beggar. He was blessed with the knowledge
of Christ. He knew the Lord. That's the
greatest of all blessings. This world has got things upside
down. Don't ever, don't ever base your
thought of God's blessing upon material things. That's a great mistake, my friends.
Some of the wealthiest people who have lived in this world
and some of the wealthiest people who are in this world today are
blind as a bat spiritually. They don't have any understanding
and they don't want any understanding. They don't care for any understanding
of the things of God. Oh, if you base blessings on
material things, the world would say, oh, they're blessed. Not every material thing is a
blessing. And let me say this, any material
prosperity that will take you away from God is not a blessing. Any, I don't care what it is.
If it causes you to have less time and less interest in the
things of God, how could you call that a blessing? But Lazarus,
I said they minister to God's children even in death, escorting
them into the presence of the Lord. Our Lord said it came to
pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom. And that's the way the Israelites,
the Jews, thought about heaven, that is, Abraham's bosom, into
his presence. Okay, that's just a general.
Now I want us to go to this particular ministry of this angel to Daniel. Verse 22. And he informed me. Daniel 9
and verse 22. And he informed me and talked
with me and said, O Daniel, I've now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding. Now this is how the angel ministered
to Daniel. He gave him skill and understanding. We see this in other places here
in the book of Daniel. I want you to look back to chapter
2. Daniel chapter 2. And the point here is that this
king of Babylon, by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, he had a dream. And Nebuchadnezzar had a lot
of magicians and people who were supposed to be able to read the
tea leaves and all of that stuff, you know, the stars and know
everything and be able to reveal things that were future. So the
king, he said, I want you to tell me my dream and the interpretation. Okay. Tell us the dream. No. You tell me the dream and
the interpretation. And if you don't do it, you're
going to be put to death. All of you. Well, no one's ever asked for
anything like this, they said. It's unreasonable. Most death
spots are unreasonable. They're so lifted up and full
of pride. Well, look here in Daniel chapter
2. That's the stage in verse 17. Then Daniel went to his house.
He found out the news. He was one of the wise men, considered
as one of the wise men. Not a magician or soothsayer
or anything like that. His knowledge was of the true
God. But he went to his house and
he made this thing known unto Hananiah, Meshele and Azariah,
his companions, that they would desire mercies of the God of
heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellow should
not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed
unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven, and Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of
God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his, and he changes
the times and the seasons. He removeth kings and setteth
up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise
and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth the
deep and secret things. He knoweth what is in the darkness,
and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee and praise thee,
O thou God of my fathers. who has given me wisdom and might,
and has made known unto me now what we desired of thee, for
thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. And then
down in verses 27 and 28, then Daniel answered in the presence
of the king and said, the secret which the king hath demanded
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers
show unto the king. But there is a God in heaven,
thank God. Amen. There's a God, there's
only one God. There's a God in heaven that
revealeth secrets and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar
what shall be in the latter days. And then he revealed unto the
king In other words, he was given skill and understanding by God. And another time, if you look
in chapter 5, when I believe it was Nebuchadnezzar's grandson
by the name of Belteshazzar was the king and he threw a big party
one night and he got so proud of himself that he sent over
there to where the The vessels that had been taken out of the
temple in Jerusalem were stored and he said, bring them over
here. We're going to drink wine and praise the gods of wood and
stone. And you know the story, that
hand appeared on the wall, writing many, many Tikal Uppsaran. And no one could interpret it.
And I think it was his mother who said, there's a man in your
kingdom who can do this. Well, let's have him. And Daniel
comes and he reveals unto him the interpretation that weighed
in the balances and found wanting. This night shall thy kingdom
be taken from thee. Notice back in our text. We'll read on. Seventy weeks
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish
the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation
for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and
to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
For time's sake, Let me just say this, the 70 weeks which
it was revealed to Daniel that was determined by God upon his
people, that is the Jews, and their city, Jerusalem, each day
represents a year. So there's 70, 70 weeks, and
that amounts to 490 years in all. Now this prophecy It is believed when the Lord
Jesus Christ was born, there was a general expectation all
over the world that some great person was going to come into
this world. Many believe that this contributed
to that idea or that thought that was general in the world
because the 70 weeks were determined upon his people. And then what
we see is the Messiah would come. Now these weeks are divided into
three divisions. Three divisions. There's seven,
then there's 62, and then there's one. And that has allowed men
in the last 200 or 300 years, I believe it is, for the most
part, to separate that last week from the 69th week. I don't believe
that. I don't agree with that at all.
I believe everything that is told would take place, would
take place in these 490 years. And if you could separate these
divisions and thousands, now two millenniums, intervene between
one and the other, I don't see how anyone could ever understand
prophecy. That's my opinion. But I want
to notice, and I see I've taken too long to get to this point,
but I want you to notice what would happen when Messiah came. There's two sets of three. There's six things that we're
told there in verse 24. There's six things, and we look
at them as two sets of three. The first set is to finish transgression,
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity. The one verse of scripture that
comes to my mind in the New Testament, which explains all of that, I
think, Hebrews 9 verse 26, now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Because that's what those three
things are talking about. A literal translation would be
to shut up the transgression, to seal up sin, and to cover
up iniquity. When I read this again this past
week, I thought about how nuclear waste, our government tries to
deal with nuclear waste. They put it in an iron container,
and then they seal that iron container with concrete all around,
and then they bury it into one of the mountains out in the western
state of, I believe it's Utah. That's exactly what this is saying. It is, first of all, taken away. There's the sin. It's sealed up and it's covered
up. The difference between nuclear
waste and the sins of God's people is that nuclear waste can be
found. the sins of God's people, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has so done away with them that
they're gone and they can never be found. If you are a child
of God here this morning, you've been saved from your sins, but
you still have remembrance from time to time of your sins. Well, listen, know this, they're
gone. As far as God is concerned, they're
gone. They are removed from you as
far as the east is from the west, and search may be made for them,
but they cannot be found. That's what the scripture says
in Jeremiah. In those days and in that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for. And there shall be none. None. Oh my. It's gone. It's gone. Amen. Did you hear? Will you sing that
little chorus? Did you hear what Jesus said
unto me? Thy sins are all taken away. They're all taken away. And I
mean they're gone. And the second three, the second
set, to bring in an everlasting righteousness. That's that righteousness
of God that is imputed unto everyone who believes in Christ. That's
a perfect robe of righteousness covered from head to foot. The
righteousness of God. to seal up the vision and prophecy. All of the Old Testament prophecies
of Christ, he fulfilled them. They're all sealed up. And then
the last thing, to anoint the most holy. Some believe this
refers to heaven. I believe it refers to his mystical
body that is the church. that was anointed on the day
of Pentecost with God the Holy Spirit, who is with us and will
be with us forever. To finish transgression, what
did he say on the cross? It's finished. It's finished. Amen. It's finished. Man, that
causes God's people to be happy, doesn't it? It does me. We're
going to sing hymn 150 and we'll be dismissed.