Currie, Jim: Angels-04 Destiny 1Peter ~ Richmond

It's good to see you all here tonight again, and we do trust that God will bless his word once more to our hearts as we continue in our study. Very, very wide subject in the scriptures, that of the angel. It's good to have you here, and we trust you'll be able to come back tomorrow night if you can. Tomorrow night we'll be dealing with the devil and his angel, and that too is a subject that we should know at least something about. Now, again, as we've done on nights previously, we'll be reading some scriptures that are more representative than anything else, although we will try to touch on them, each one as we have read it, but the subject is so vast. I've already pointed out that something like two hundred and seventy five references in the scriptures to the subject of angels, and the biggest portion of them, more than half of them, to be found in the New Testament. So that actually we're dealing with a subject that is vast and deeply interesting, and of course, as we see tonight, very, very practical as well. Now, our first reading this evening is in First Peter. I'm not going to be reading these in the order they're found in the New Testament, but rather in the order that we'll be dealing with them. First Peter and chapter one. I think that most of them are fairly well known to us. It may be that some of the meaning of these scriptures will have escaped us, perhaps, but at any rate, the scriptures themselves are well known. First Peter, chapter one, and we'll read from verse eight. Whom having not seen, you love, in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, unto whom it was revealed that not unto us, not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into. Now, our second reading is in Ephesians chapter three, verse eight. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers and heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. First Corinthians chapter four, The ninth verse. For I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. Now, chapter eleven, Reading from verse two. Now I pray you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances or the traditions as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesyeth with her head uncovered, dishonoureth her head. For that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power or a sign of authority on her head because of the angels. Now, our last reading for tonight, at least at the beginning of the meeting, is in Hebrews chapter two. We've already read it, I believe, the first Sunday afternoon when we dealt with the subject for the first time, but again, it comes in to our subject this evening. Pertinent then are these verses from verse five of chapter two of the Hebrew Epistle. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. On a certain place testified, saying, what is man that art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and did set him over the work of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put unto him. But now we see not yet all things put unto him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again I will put my trust in him, and again, behold I and the children which God hath given me. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all a lif- lifetime subject to bondage. For verily, he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. Now, we do trust that God will bless these readings of his word tonight to each of our hearts. Now, the subject before us is that of the discipline and destiny of the angels. Already we have looked at their dignity, their identity, and their ministry. Not necessarily in that order. I believe that we spoke first of all with regard to their identity, then their dignity, and last of all, their ministry. As far as their identity goes, well, it's very clear from the Word of God that they are spirits. They are, as the scripture tells us in different places, watchers, principalities, authorities, powers, thrones, and dominions. Their dignity is signified by this fact that they are called in the Old Testament, in the book of Job specifically, sons of God. But not only so, they are looked upon as being, uh, these principalities we have already spoken of and thrones with authority, and as we have noted in their ministry, they appear to have very wide powers in the spirit world. And then, of course, their ministry that we spoke about last night had a threefold aspect, perhaps more, but I can see it as three aspects of their ministry, one Godward, one Christward, and also one manward. Godward, they stand before the throne, priestly in their ministry. That can be seen, I think, in the different references, both to the angels themselves and also to the cherubim specifically, and of course the cherubim in their link to with the throne of God. So that the ministry of angels Godward is very evidently one of priestly service, uninterrupted, holy, perfect. And as far as our Lord Jesus is concerned, it was one of succoring and strengthening, as we know, while he was here on earth, but more specifically, while the Lord was here on earth, the angels were witnesses, having to do with all that pertained to the Lord, their Lord in incarnation. And that may be summed up in the words that we used last evening to do just that from First Timothy chapter three where it is said, seen of angels. That is the Lord himself in incarnation, seen of angels in every aspect of his pathway down below. Then, as far as man is concerned, manward their ministry, as we noted last night, a twofold one. First of all, in grace to the believer and in government to the unbeliever. We have seen as well that their ranks, probably the various ranks of these angelic beings, starting with the archangel Michael himself, working right through the Seraphim and the Cherubim, and then, of course, or perhaps maybe the order ought to be reversed, although we have noted that as far as any height and, uh, uh, or lowliness of rank is concerned, we may not necessarily say that one is greater than the other, but it would seem as though the Cherubim are closer to the throne, whereas the Seraphim have a very definite relation to the throne, but more specifically, a relationship to the servants of God as to their holiness. And then, of course, we have, as we have noted already, the watchers in their political activity with regard to things that happen here on earth. And nothing, as we have pointed out, happens by chance, but these agents of the throne see to it that all is brought about in view of God's eternal purpose, and that will be brought to its completion by their agency in a day to come. And then too, they are seen to be executors, particularly executors of the, the outpourings of God's wrath. And we see that specifically again in the book of the Revelation. There are certain things with regard to these angels that one can determine very easily by references as we have given them here and there throughout the scriptures. And of course, they're also seen to be ministers. Possibly eight different ranks, if we may use that term with regard to them, but invariably their ministry, the sphere of their ministry, is that of the spiritual world, the world of the spirit. We are told in the book of the Ephesians, the Efe- the letter to the Ephesians by the Apostle Paul, that our blessings are all in Christ in the heavenlies. And I believe that we may say that in the heavenlies is almost a synonym for the spiritual world, the world that you and I cannot tonight see by the natural eye. But as far as that world is concerned, we must not think that it's a way off there somewhere, millions of miles out in space. The world of the spirit is as close to us as we are to one another. C. S. Lewis, the very famous and rather different writer of spiritual things, uh, from England, many years ago wrote a book with regard to this, and he said that the spirit world, it seemed to him, was as close as his own elbow. Now, that was a rather different way of putting it. He was inclined to use things like that to try and illustrate his point, and the point, I think, is taken. That is to say, the spirit world is so close to us that if we had the ability to see it, we would be indeed amazed just to note how close it really is to us. Now, we find, of course, that when our Lord Jesus Christ was in resurrection bodily form, he moved back and forth instantaneously and at will between the world of the spirit and the world of material things. Now, it's very, very evident, brethren and sisters, is it not, that the spirit world goes beyond anything that we know with regard to physics, because if the spirit world was some billions of miles away from us, and we began to think about it in the, in the physical sense of the distance, well then, of course, the time taken for any, even a particle of matter to travel from such tremendous distances to where we are would beyond our, be beyond our imagining. No way can we in any way apply the laws of physics to the world of the spirit. It's close to us, so close indeed, that the things that go on in the world here are but a mere reflection of what is actually taking place in the world of the spirit. We must remember that. And so then, the things that are being outworked on Earth are actually the reflection of that which has taken place, and we know that there are constantly these conflicts in heaven, as we see in the book of Daniel. When Daniel prayed to God in his prayer, the answer to it at least was hindered until Michael interfered, and finally Gabriel was able to come at the bidding of his God to bring the answer to Daniel with regard to those things that he had seen. Now, that is basically what we have looked at so far. Up to this moment, we have looked at those three things with regard to the angels, and tonight we're going to deal specifically with their discipline, first of all, and then their destiny as well. And mind you, brothers and sisters, this is a very, very practical, uh, aspect of this subject tonight. First of all, with regard to the angels' discipline, or if you will, their instruction. We have read together in First Peter chapter one that they desire to look into these things, that is, the things pertaining to our salvation. This salvation, says Peter, was first of all spoken by the prophets. They didn't understand the message that was given to them. They searched diligently with regard to the prophecies given to them, and as we go back into the Old Testament and search some of the prophetic teachings there, prophetic utterances by these men of God, we must indeed marvel how they understood so much as they did. But there was a great deal hidden from their eyes, and they, as First Peter tells us here in chapter one, they searched diligently as to what manner of, or indeed what manner of time these things that they were caused to speak concerning were to take place, and whether or not they had to do with themselves, but in the end they eventually understood that it wasn't for themselves they spoke, but for people of a later day, for people like ourselves. Things pertaining to our salvation. But with regard to that salvation, Peter goes on to say, which things the angels have a desire to look into. The word there is a rather intensified one. It's the idea of stooping down and peering at something very intently. And so the angels have this attitude with regard to those things pertaining to our salvation. Have you ever asked or wondered why they should be so interested in the salvation of men? In the Gospel according to Luke, you remember that we are told that there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth. Why should they joy so much in a sinner repenting? Now, I know that there are many who would teach, and perhaps they may be right, although I don't think they are. They would teach that this is a synonym for in the heavens, because in the other gospel where it's mentioned, it just more or less says in heaven, there's joy in heaven over sinners who repent. But the idea of Luke, I believe, is that the very angels themselves rejoice when a sinner repents. Why? Because that's something they never can experience. No angel has ever known what it is to sin and repent. Have you ever thought of the wonder of that? The sinner that repents is brought into God's salvation, and there too the angels fall short, that is as to their experience. We have noted how high and dignified and majestic their beings are. We are told, as we have read already this evening in Hebrews chapter two, that man was made a little lower than the angels. In what way? On account of the suffering of death. No angel ever will taste of death. No angel can ever experience death. Not even the worst of them can ever taste death, because death has to do with a body of flesh and blood. The life of a flesh, as the scripture, is in the blood. And so in resurrection, the Lord Jesus said, a spirit hath not flesh and bone, as you see me have. So that not only do they not possess a body of flesh and blood, they don't even possess a body of flesh and bone. But the angel then, he sees individuals like you and like me, brought into salvation as a result of the manifold grace of God, Ephesians chapter three. This is what they're being instructed in throughout, through that great edifice which God, in the person of his son, is building for his own glory, the church which is Christ's body. Christ himself, of course, is the builder. But there we are told that it is by this church that they're be instructed, they are being instructed as to the many colored wisdom, the variegated wisdom of God. The wisdom of God has so many different facets to it, and one of the most important ones, one of the most relevant ones as far as we are concerned, is that it manifests, wisdom does, it manifests itself in grace. The Ephesian epistle teaches us that. Ephesians two, you remember, teaches us that it's not of ourselves, the salvation, it's by grace alone, and it is the gift of God. The angels see that and they marvel, and so they rejoice that it is possible, because in their own ranks it wasn't possible, that those that sinned could repent of their sin and be forgiven of their sin and brought in to the blessings of God's salvation. So then, says Peter here, they peer intently into the things pertaining to your salvation and mine. I wonder, do we do the same? You know, brothers and sisters, when you think that angelic beings who cannot themselves ever experience such a wonderful thing as being saved out from sin itself and the ultimate judgment of that sin, and they have such a desire to understand it. Should it not encourage us to be more and more earnest, more and more zealous in our attempt to appreciate the great salvation that we have received as a result of the work of a greater savior? I believe that that's one of the practical lessons that we must learn from the attitude of the angels. We have learned many little things as we've moved along during these nights as to their reverence and their humility and their continual service for their God, unceasingly. We have learned many little things along the way, and here's still another. Their desire, their earnest desire to understand this marvelous work that God has wrought in the person of his son in the salvation of sinners like you and like me. But as we think of that, the drama of redemption, they were called upon to partake in its revelation. We noted that last night, particularly with Gabriel in his appearance to Daniel and the seventieth to seventy weeks. And then suddenly, five hundred years later, the same Gabriel appears, and he announces to Zechariah the birth of the forerunner, John the Baptist, and of course, with the ultimate that the Lord himself would become man, and that he would go to the cross eventually and bear the sins of many. Now, the angels weren't asked to announce that, but they were asked to announce the birth of the forerunner. The birth of the Lord Jesus was also brought, as you remember, by angelic ministry too, the announcement, that is. They then have a part to play in the drama of redemption, but they never, of course, are recipients of its blessings, not in the sense that you and I are. In a moment or two, we'll see just in the way they do find themselves blessed as the result of the work of the Lord Jesus. But what they did- did they witness in eternity past? They witnessed a number of their own vast multitude rebelling against God, Satan and his angels as their call. What happened when those angels sinned? They were immediately cast down to hell. Shall we look just for a moment or two at those verses? They're part of what we're speaking about tonight, the discipline of the angel, and then, of course, their eventual destiny. Second Peter chapter two, we read words like these, well known to us, I believe, again. If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and so on. And the point of chapter two of second Peter is to be found in verse seven: He delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Then verse nine: the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. The point of chapter two of second Peter is this. It's a twofold one. The three examples of judgment are given, the angels and the old world in Noah's day and Sodom and Gomorrah, examples of fearful judgment. Now, says Peter, it's very evident that if God did this and also saved just life out from that carnage, God is able not only to preserve the righteous, but he's also able to preserve the ungodly to the day of judgment. That's the point of these verses that we have read, at least a few of, in second Peter chapter two. But the point that we want to make is in verse four. For God, if God spared not the angels that sinned, who are they? I believe, brothers and sisters, they are the angels who were linked with Satan in his or- original rebellion. I believe firmly that there was only one rebellion against God among the angelic hosts, and that took place before Adam was created. And those angels that sinned were immediately, says Peter here, cast down to hell. Now, I've emphasized those words, cast down to hell, because in the original there's only one word. And if we were to take that word and apply it, or interpret it, or transliterate it into the English language as it ought to be, we would make a sort of a different word or a new word altogether. Rather awkward, actually. It would become something like this, tartarsized. I know that that's an unusual way to put it, but that's exactly what is meant because it's a verb, it's in verbal form. What does it mean? Look, if you will, to the little letter written by Jude, and you have, of course, similar words by Jude referring to the same thing. In Jude's epistle chapter, verse six, he says, and the angels which kept not their first estate. Their estate was a marvelous one, a majestic one, servants of the Most High God, sons of God, as Job, uh, whoever wrote that book puts it. Yet they kept not their first estate. They followed Satan in his pride, aiming at the very throne of the Most High God. Now, brothers and sisters, don't think for one moment that a created being could have the arrogance to aim at the throne of God itself, especially in the spirit world, knowing as much as they knew. But what did they do? They apostatized. Satan and his angels apostatized. They actually sinned against their own essential character. Sons of light. That's what they are called in the scripture. Their very being emanated, or rather, it from their being there came rays of light, as it were. Their very essential being was one of light. They sinned against that light, and they were cast immediately into darkness. So says Jude here, the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains on their darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. Now, both of these scriptures we have read together, second Peter two and Jude verse six, they tell us that these angels who sin are thus held in chains of darkness or chains of gloom. What does that mean? It means, I believe, in a figurative way, the state, it states in a figurative sense, the state in which the angels which sin are to be found at this present moment. The idea of being cast down to hell, as our English Bible puts it here, is not that they were cast down to some great ba- deep, deep, deep glooms, uh, pits of gloom. I know that that is one of the, uh, variant renderings that you find in some of the older manuscripts, uh, that are handed down to us, but I do believe that Jude's word is the last word on it and explains Peter chapter two. Now, what me- what- what does it mean? The moment the angels sinned, Satan and his cohorts, the moment they sinned against their God, they were immediately, morally, cast down to this awful state of gloom and darkness, held by these, figuratively, figuratively speaking, chains of darkness, until the day when they will be actually judged and cast into the lake of fire. What does it mean in a practical way? It means that the angels which sin are so deeply chained in the state of darkness that not the slightest ray of light of God's truth, of God's love, of God's righteousness, of God's goodness, not the slightest ray of light can ever enter their darkened, deepened souls. They're held like that in chains until such times as God then finally cast them into the awful lake of fire, prepared, as the scripture tells us, for Satan and his angels. So then, the angels which sinned, leaving their first estate, keeping not their first estate and leaving their own habitation, the awful example of judgment that Peter and Jude speak of here must have spoken volumes, and indeed must still speak volumes to the angels who, in perfection, the holy elect angels who still serve their God. When we're reminded of that through these scriptures, again, brethren and sisters, does it not make us realize the tremendous grace that has reached us? Why should God? Is that not exactly what David said way back in the Psalms when he looked out and saw these vast multitudes of stars, linked as they are in the scripture to the very angels themselves. I firmly believe, I've stated already, I believe that the word of God would teach us that the movements of the stars are under the administrative, uh, regency and power of the angels. That's why they're linked together so often, the host of the heavens, and they are spoken of not only as the stars themselves and the planets, but the angels too. They have some special and unique relationship to the movements of the bodies in the cosmos. And these vast hosts of angels, with all their magnificence and dignity, the moment a group of them sinned, a large group of them sinned, they were cast down to this awful state without ever any hope of repenting, with ever, without ever any hope of being saved or being restored to their former position. They apostatized, and just as it is with men, when apostasy takes place, there's no recourse. That's it, final and finished. And so says the Hebrew epistle with regard to men, that if they, after having received the knowledge of the truth, they sin against it, then there's no room for repentance left for them, just like Esau. Even though he sought a way to change his mind, says the scripture, and sought it earnestly with tears, there was no room for him to change his mind. He apostatized, just as the angels did. Do you see the awfulness of the sin of apostasy? It links men and women with that which Satan and his angels, uh, brought about when they sinned against God at the very beginning. And so there held us in darkness, morally so. We pointed out last night that Satan, he still has his rank, but that rank, while it's still probably the highest of all, probably higher even than Michael's was originally, at the same time, morally, he's held in this awful darkness, and the book of Job teaches us that when it came to a man who would serve his God without any hope of reward, whether reward was given or otherwise, Job was able to say, yea, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Satan couldn't understand that, and he believed that it was an ulterior motive that caused Job to turn away from evil and seek to serve God. But of course, God was justified and vindicated by the man Job, in spite of his weaknesses and in spite of the many, many misunderstandings that took place later on, particularly as a result of the arguments of his three friends. But the point is, the whole of the book of Job shows that God was vindicated in trusting such a man as this, to show that he could trust his God even though there was no hope of reward. Satan didn't understand that in the least. Why? Because, as I said, he's held in such awful darkness that not the slightest ray of light can ever penetrate it. And so the scriptures teach us then that these examples of judgment are given to make us understand. These examples of judgment are given to make us understand the awful hatred that God has towards sin and rebellion, whether it's to be found among the angels or among men. But then, as we think of them also being instructed with regard to the church, now this is a happier note, of course. These are the good angels because, as I've pointed out, the wicked angels, those that have sinned, they're in such a state of darkness that they can never understand anything of God's truth. Therefore, when you find in Ephesians chapter three principalities and powers spoken of, these are angelic beings who, of course, serve their God. They are not the sinning angels. Perhaps chapter one may refer to the sinning angels, and then the later reference at a later time in the Ephesian epistle may include both. But chapter three specifically, I would say, has to do with the angels who are serving their God today in holiness and perfection. And to them, there is given a wonderful example of God's grace. First of all, they had an example of God's terrible government, God's awful judgment when their own members of their own number sinned against God. And now God has given to them just the very opposite, an example of his marvelous, immeasurable, fathomless grace in bringing men and women into this place of nearness to himself, the very bride prepared for his son. And so in chapter three we are reminded that by the church, to these principalities and powers in the heavenlies, is, of course, unfolded the manifold wisdom of God. They're being instructed then by the building of this great edifice which our Lord Jesus Christ is building for his own glory. But then when we come to chapter four of Corinthians and chapter eleven, we find that they're instructed presently by individual believers and their behavior, as well as the assemblies of saints. In chapter four of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul, and I know that the apostle there is referring to himself and to his fellow apostles, but I believe by extension it must apply to all believers too. The apostle says there that I think that the Lord has set us, the apostles, last. Now this, of course, is the context would link itself with what was going on in Corinth. The apostle says with regard to these Corinthians, why you have reigned as kings, but without us. They were settling down in the world, as we know. The various aspects of the world was ma- were making inroads to the assembly in Corinth, and the Corinthian believers were being puffed up in their knowledge and in their pride. And so says Paul, with regard to their attitude to the world and the things that they were carrying on, he says, you have reigned as kings, but you've done so without us. For, he says, I think that the the Lord has set us the apostles last, that is last of the procession, that the triumphal procession of a a conquering general going through and marching around the arena where there were the banks of spectators all sitting watching. He says, we have been made a theater, a play acting to both m- the world, the, the cosmos at large, and to men and angels. And so the angels then look on, and they see the individual believer in his obedience, and again they marvel that the grace of God and the wisdom of God should, should devise such a plan that would restore men and women who were on the way to perdition and bring them into that place where voluntary, voluntarily, willingly, lovingly, they bow in obedience to the word of God, the word of their God. I believe that that's the idea, the principle at least, in first Corinthians chapter four, which again we find in first Corinthians chapter eleven, having to do with the assembly of God's people. Very, very often, the question of the practical, symbolic illustration of the headship of Christ in the midst of his people, in the assembly of the saints, is isolated from the overall context of First Corinthians eleven, and I believe that's a very, very grave error. If we understand the right First Corinthians chapter eleven, the first section of it, I do believe that not one of us would ever, under any circumstances, desire in any way to set aside the wonderful symbolism that is found here, taught in First Corinthians chapter eleven. The subject, of course, is that of creation. In God's creatorial order, the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the man, and in exactly the same way in that creatorial order, the man is the head of the woman, and of course we're also told that God is the head of Christ. Now, in what way? God, in creatorial glory and in his wisdom, has ordained that this whole creation, this whole material creation, will one day be brought under subjection to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will wear the authoritative diadem of the ruler of the cosmos. Meanwhile on Earth, and originally in the Garden of Eden, God placed a vice regent, if you will, a man representing his Lord, his head, the Lord Jesus, and that man was to rule the universe. He was to rule the c- the creation at that time. To an extent, he still does, to an extent. Sin, of course, has robbed him of his dignity, but nevertheless, he still does to an extent. Then there was brought alongside a woman, taken from his own side, and that woman, the scriptures tell us, was a help suitable for him. She was created with this specific purpose in mind, that she would be a help suitable for the man, because among all the animals to which Adam had given names, why, there was none there suitable as a help for him. But the woman was brought along. And of course, in this we see such a wonderful type and figure of a coming day when our Lord Jesus Christ will be in that place of supremacy, and at his side there will be his bride completely and entirely suited to him. A wonderful picture. But in the Garden of Eden, as we well know, God's order was completely upturned, overthrown. Just as the angels before, Satan and his colleagues, those who joined with him in their rebellion, they did not keep their first estate. They did not stay in their habitation appointed of God. Neither did Eve. She stepped out of that habitation that was given to her of God, appointed by God. And the result was, again, once more, chaos was brought into God's creation. The whole thing was overturned, and from that day till this, that is what has marked our world. Rebellion, wickedness, and chaos. When we preach the gospel, we must never forget that we're preaching the gospel to a world that has already rejected God and his ways. Our gospel is to such people. We were part of that at one time, until God, by his grace, brought us out. Eve then, and Adam following her, they upturned and upset God's order in creation, and the world has followed that from that day till this. But, again, in the grace of God and in his wisdom, what do we find? Scattered across the globe, and in every age, as we pointed out last evening, in every age there have been groups of Christians gathered together in scriptural simplicity, acknowledging no other head than Christ and bowing to his will. And the outward symbols of that acknowledgement of the headship of Christ, why, of course, First Corinthians chapter eleven, the long hair of the sister, the covered head, the uncovered head of the man, and the short hair of the brother or the male. Now, brethren and sisters, we're dealing here with something that is an outward symbol. There's no question about that. Some have said merely an outward symbol, but let us just stop and ponder for a moment or two the background to it. It takes us away back to the Garden of Eden, when once again Satan, in his subtlety, wise subtlety, it wasn't just a question of wickedness, but there was wisdom in it. In that he was aiming for his own purpose to fulfill it, and he did so. And from that till this, the world has been marked by the chaos which Satan the destroyer has brought in. But by God's grace, here and there, down the centuries and over the face of the globe, God's purpose is once again being fulfilled, and it's being fulfilled in a s- in an assembly of saints, a company of God's people, gathered to the person of Christ alone. And the outward symbol of that great truth is when our sisters cover their hair and allow their hair to grow long, and the brother does the opposite. And in our gatherings, the brethren are able to audibly take part, whereas the woman sits quietly in the place of subjection. It doesn't, as we have pointed out, and others with us many, many times, over and over again, not in any way infer inferiority, but it does acknowledge that both men and women alike, redeemed by the blood of Christ, are bowing in humble acknowledgement that Christ is Lord in the midst of his own. Now, why should we try in any way to interfere with those symbols? Sometimes our sisters ask, and perhaps they ought to in a sense, but sometimes they ask, how long is long? Well, I believe that the word in First Corinthians eleven is just simply this, lengthening hair. Indeed, if you look up some of the more correct, uh, lexicons, you will find that that's exactly how they translate it. Lengthening hair. In other words, it's continually allowed to lengthen. I believe that that settles all questions, and it ought to. And for what reason? Verse ten, because of the angels. They look on, and they see such a company of saints, and the outward symbols are manifest, as well as the inward knowledge, or at least the inward appreciation of the heart. But brethren and sisters, the angels can't see our hearts. They are not omniscient nor omnipresent. Some are here and some are elsewhere. They cannot delve into the very thoughts. Our dear brother, late brother Mr. Hay used to tell us in early days in Japan, you know, when there's a brother or sister here going on for God, I hate to write their name in a letter. I hate to mention their name audibly in prayer, because then he says they become the objects of Satan's attack. What he meant was this, as long as their name was kept hidden, as it were, in the heart, Satan didn't know any better. But you mention the name, or you write it in a letter, he's looking over your shoulder, one of his minions may be looking over your shoulder, and you put the brother in danger. Now, I know he was exaggerating to a little extent, but nevertheless, the principle is there. Satan cannot see our hearts, neither can the angels, but thank God they see the symbols of simple scriptural obedience and that Christ is acknowledged in the midst of the community of the redeemed. Would we in any way dare to upset that? I don't believe we should. I don't believe we would. If we understood it right, if we do understand aright the teachings of First Corinthians eleven and that the, excuse me, that the angels look on and are thereby instructed. But leaving for the moment then their instruction, their di- their discipline, and looking just very simply and briefly at their destiny. I think most of us appreciate just exactly what the angels will be in a coming day. We are told in Hebrews chapter two that the world to come is not going to be put under their subjection as the present material universe is. Today, I believe the angel angelic ministry is such that the whole of the material universe is being run, as it were, by these angels for the purposes of God and to exhibit his glory. Of course, they're being opposed by Satan and his angels, and that's why I've said that in the spiritual realm there is a conflict constantly taking place, which is only being, in a sense, illustrated by or manifested in the material realm, in the upheavals of politics and other ways, morally, of course, as well. But the day that is to come, Hebrews chapter two tells us that the world to come will not be put under their jurisdiction. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes, he will be accompanied by the angels of his might, and they will, of course, be the agents of judgment, rooting out of the kingdom all that offends and pouring out the judgments even prior to that, as we find in the trumpets and vials or bowls of judgment in the book of the Revelation. But then, not only so, these angels, says Hebrews chapter two, have not been those upon whom the Lord Jesus laid hold off in order to save, and that we've already noted in passing. Never at any time will the angels, either in the past or in the future day, know anything of God's salvation. The Lord Jesus, according to Hebrews two, laid hold of Abraham's seed in order to bring them into the blessing of salvation, and they are the ones he calls my brethren. But none of the angels are ever spoken of as Christ's brethren. Isn't that remarkable too? Does it not immediately cause us to wonder in amazement at that goodness of God that brings us into such an intimate position and relationship to the Lord Jesus. They're going to be subservient to us. Paul says, do you not know that the saint- the saints shall judge the angels? Not in the sense of meting out penal judgment, but administrative, guiding and directing in the day that's to come, and they're going to be subservient. They're going to witness that wrath poured out not only on the earth dwellers, but on their fellows who have sinned, and of course the binding of Satan and the eventual casting of him and his evil colleagues, the Antichrist and the false prophet, into the bottomless pit, into the abyss, and then eventually into the lake of fire. And then, of course, they're going to be linked with the redeemed in their praises for eternity to come. Now, that's the point that I think that ought to be mentioned, because it's something that's overlooked. We often hear that the angels don't sing. I mentioned that in passing the other evening and said that we'd maybe deal with it before we got to the end of the subject. I sometimes wonder, if the angels don't sing, why they don't. Or put it another way, if the angels don't sing, I wonder how they can. Because such is the blessing of their God upon them. Now remember, they're also called holy, saints. The same word is used of them as is used of us, holy ones. They're also spoken of as being the elect angels. All of the things that are mentioned, well, I shouldn't say all, that would be too much. Many of the things that are mentioned with regard to the blessings that we enjoy through salvation, they enjoy as a result of their direct creation at the hand of their God. You wonder, indeed, if they don't sing, why they can't and why they shouldn't. Well, whether they do or not, let me point out just something with regard to them and then apply it to ourselves as well. Revelation chapter five will give us just a little incident and a little hint as to what we're talking about. In Revelation five we read in verse eight: and when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sung a new song. Who sung the new song? Well, I think that this refers specifically, exclusively to the four and twenty elders, but they are associated here with the four living creatures. Now look what it says. They sang a new song. Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. There are those who would change that to read, so thou wast slain and hast redeemed men to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, inferring, of course, that the twenty four elders are also angelic beings. I don't believe so. The angel know no- knows nothing of the aging process. How can there be elders among them if they know nothing of the aging process? I believe the elders represent the redeemed of this age. And so, having said that, they are able to say, thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every nation, kindred, and tongue, and people. Of the old manuscripts that have been handed down from centuries ago, from the fourth and fifth and sixth centuries, and all the various versions, like the old Latin version and the old Syriac version that date away back to the third and second centuries even. Of all of these ver- versions and of all of these ancient manuscripts, only one of them omits the word us. It's left blank, and it's right at the end of the manuscript, right at the end. And, uh, some of you who have seen pictures of these old manuscripts will realize that the scribes, they tried to get into the page as much as they possibly could because the material they used was, of course, very, very valuable. And so they tried to get as much as they possibly could into each page, and right up to the very edge of the manuscript they were writing fully. Remember the, the scriptures tell us about the little book. It was written on the inside and out, full of words. It was full, just as they did in those old days. And of course, if the manuscript was torn in any way, or as some of our older Bibles, my old and big Bible that I use sometimes for Bible readings, the pages are beginning to get all kinds of little nicks here and there all around the page. And that's what happened, I believe. And the word us, of course, has been taken off that one manuscript by age. All the rest have it, so I don't see any reason for discarding it. In fact, the proof lies on the part of those who hold that it should be included. Thou hast redeemed us, men. But then go on and read a little further, and what it says is, thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. Now, the angels are linked with them this time. And the number of them were ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. Note what they say. Saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Not a word about redemption. The angels do not sing, chant, or say anything about redemption because it's something they know nothing about experimentally. The four living creatures are linked with the four and twenty elders when they sing the song, Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. And why? Because the cherubim, as we've already noted when we were dealing with the cherubim a night or two ago, they were the ones who were very specially linked to God and his throne and the guardians, as it were, of the holiness of the throne of God, demanding, as they did in the tabernacle, with their wings outspread over the, the, the lid of atonement, watching for the blood to be sprinkled before any individual, the representative of the nation, could draw an eye, the blood had to be sprinkled. The cherubim demanded it, as it were. The very presence of the cherubim demanded that the holiness of God and all its demands be met. Having been met by the freshly split, the fleshly, freshly slain lamb of chapter five, now the four living creatures, the cherubim, are linked here with the four and the twenty elders as the song of redemption is raised, thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. All the demands have been fully met, and redeemed man can stand before God, and not even Satan himself can accuse them, or accuse God, if you will, of any unrighteousness whatsoever. But then, as the ten thousand times ten thousand angels join them in their praise, redemptive thought is completely omitted, and it has to do with the power and the majesty and the might and the creatorial glory of the God who is their creator as well. But now, having said that, does that mean that the angels have no connection whatsoever with the work of redemption that the Lord Jesus Christ has procured? I believe they have, and I believe they have a very, very intimate link with it. Let your mind go back to Hebrews chapter twelve. In the twelfth chapter of the Hebrew Epistle, in the last but one reference to the angels in that epistle, we have eight specific blessings that are linked with the conditions of the New Covenant, in contrast to the seven, or is it six, of the Old Covenant. And one of the blessings to which we have been brought in the blessings of this New Covenant, Covenant is this. To an innumerable company of angels who are in festival array, or, as some have put it, to an innumerable company of angels who are gathered to keep the feast. Perhaps I ought to read it as it is in the King James Version so that we will see exactly what words we're talking about, because they span two verses, and the division of the verse, or the two verses rather, would be inclined to throw us off somewhat as to the true. Chapter twelve of Hebrews, the last sentence of verse twenty two, to an innumerable company of angels, the first sentence of verse twenty three, to the general assembly. Now, one would suspect from the reading of our King James Version, we have two separate things here, an innumerable company of angels and a general assembly. But in actual fact, they join together, and the better rendering is, as I've just put it, to an innumerable company of angels gathered in festive array, or to an innumerable company of angels gathered to keep the feast. There is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth. But I believe, brethren and sisters, that in their ministry, service, worship for God, the angels are marked constantly, unceasingly, by a deep-seated joy. For what reason? The work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary guarantees that never again will sin enter the ranks of the angels. Isn't that a marvelous thought? That the angels in heaven understand this. They may not understand fully your salvation and mine, but they understand this, that the work of their creator who became a man, lived among men, went to the cross of Calvary, and there subjected himself to an experience that they can never know anything about. That that work he wrought on the cross, allowing himself to be the object of scorn and scoffing rude, but the work he finished there at Calvary's tree demands and guarantees that never again will sin break the ranks of the angels who serve their God. You ask, why do you say that? How do you say that? Well, the angels are, we are told here, gathered to keep the feast. It's a continual thing. But beyond that, just stop and think. If ever again there was a possibility of angelic sin, the whole process of redemption would have to start all over again, and that is absolutely grotesque. It's just grotesque in the extreme. There's absolutely no way in the which sin can enter the universe again. Why? Because when Christ died, he said it's finished, and he meant it. It was finished for eternity. Oh, brethren and sisters, we have a salvation that cannot be fathomed. And just you think of those ten thousand times ten thousand of the angels constantly praising their God because they realize that the work of Christ is for them a guarantee that keeps them in that position, the elect and the holy angels of their God. Oh yes, I believe they sing. I believe they can't help but sing, but they don't sing as we sing. There's an old hymn that some of us know and some of us used to sing from the old Redemption hymn book, and it expresses it exactly. There is singing up in heaven such as we have never known, as the angels chant their chorus to the Lamb upon the throne. Their sweet harps are ever tuneful, and their voices sweet and dear. Oh, that we could be more like them as we serve the Savior here. For holy, holy, holy is what the angels sing, and I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring, but when I sing redemption story, they must close their wings, for angels never knew the joy that my salvation brings. Brethren and sisters, surely our hearts tonight should be filled with praise and adoration to the one who has done so much for us. Shall we pray? Our Father, we thank thee tonight for thy grace and thy goodness in revealing to us something of thy truth, bringing us into thy family, calling us thy sons, and placing us in that position where we can be before thee in our worship and in our ministry as priests of the Lord God Almighty. Help us then to walk in the dignity of that, in realization that there are spectators watching, looking on to see how the grace of God is worked out in the lives of sinners such as we, something that they can never know. Lord, grant to us the desire and the knowledge so that we might walk before thee and bring honor to thy name and exalt thy son, our Lord Jesus. It is then with thanks that we commit one another to thee and ask thy blessing as we separate tonight in his precious and holy name, and all for his glory we pray. Amen. Now, perhaps we could sing number seven.