Help From God's Angels

Chapter 11
Help From God’s Angels
SOME people say that they believe only what they can see. But that is foolish. There are lots of real things that we have never seen with our eyes. Can you name one?—
What about the air we breathe? Can we feel it?— Hold up your hand, and blow on it. Did you feel anything?— You did, but you can’t see the air, can you?—
We have already talked about spirit persons, whom we can’t see. We learned that some are good but others are bad. Name some good spirit persons whom we cannot see.— Yes, there is Jehovah God, there is Jesus, and there are good angels. Are there also bad angels?— The Bible says there are. Tell me what you have learned about them.—
One thing we know is that both good angels and bad ones are stronger than we are. The Great Teacher knew a lot about angels. That was because he had been an angel before he was born as a baby on earth. He had lived with other angels in heaven. He knew millions of them. Do all these angels have names?—
Well, we learned that God gave names to the stars. So we can be sure that all the angels have names too. And we know that they can speak to one another because the Bible tells about the ‘language of angels.’ (1 Corinthians 13:1) What do you think angels talk about? Do they talk about us on earth?—
We know that Satan’s angels, the demons, are trying to get us to disobey Jehovah. So they must talk about how they can do this. They want us to be like them so that Jehovah won’t like us either. But what about God’s faithful angels? Do you think that they also talk about us?— Yes, they do. They want to help us. Let me tell you how some of God’s angels helped people who loved Jehovah and served him.
For example, there was the man named Daniel who lived in Babylon. Many people there did not love Jehovah. People even made a law that would punish anyone who prayed to Jehovah God. But Daniel would not stop praying to Jehovah. Do you know what they did to Daniel?—
Yes, bad people had Daniel thrown into a lions’ den. There Daniel was all alone with some hungry lions. Do you know what happened then?— "God sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lions," Daniel said. He was not hurt at all! Angels can do wonderful things for those who serve Jehovah.—Daniel 6:18-22.
Then there was the time Peter was in prison. You will remember that Peter was a friend of the Great Teacher, Jesus Christ. Some people did not like it when Peter told them that Jesus was the Son of God. So they put Peter in prison. Soldiers were guarding Peter to make sure that he didn’t get away. Was there anyone who could help him?—
Peter was sleeping between two guards, and there were chains on his hands. But the Bible says: ‘Look! Jehovah’s angel came, and a light began to shine in the prison cell. Touching Peter on his side, the angel woke him, saying, "Rise quickly!"’
At that, Peter’s chains fell off his hands! And the angel said to him: ‘Get dressed, put your sandals on, and follow me.’ The guards couldn’t stop them because the angel was helping Peter. Now they came to an iron gate, and a strange thing happened. The gate opened by itself! That angel had set Peter free so that he could keep on preaching.—Acts 12:3-11.
Can God’s angels help us too?— Yes, they can. Does this mean that they will never let us get hurt at all?— No, angels do not stop us from getting hurt if we do foolish things. But even if we don’t do foolish things, we may still get hurt. The angels are not told to keep this from happening. Instead, God has given them special work to do.
The Bible talks about an angel who tells people everywhere to worship God. (Revelation 14:6, 7) How does the angel tell them that? Does he shout from heaven so that everyone can hear him?— No, rather, Jesus’ followers on earth talk to others about God, and the angels guide them in their work. The angels make sure that those who really want to know about God have a chance to hear. We can share in that preaching work, and the angels will help us.
But what if people who do not love God make trouble for us? What if they put us in prison? Would the angels set us free?— They could. But that is not what they always do.
Jesus’ follower Paul was once a prisoner. He was traveling on a boat during a bad storm. But the angels did not set him free right away. This was because there were other people who needed to hear about God. An angel said: "Have no fear, Paul. You must stand before Caesar." Yes, Paul was to be taken to the world ruler Caesar so that Paul could preach to him. The angels always knew where Paul was, and they helped him. They will help us too if we really serve God.—Acts 27:23-25.
There is another big work that the angels will do, and they are going to do it soon. God’s time to destroy wicked people is very near. All who do not worship the true God will be destroyed. Those who say they do not believe in angels because they cannot see them will find out how wrong they are.—2 Thessalonians 1:6-8.
What will that mean for us?— If we are on the same side with God’s angels, they will help us. But are we on their side?— We are if we serve Jehovah. And if we serve Jehovah, we will be telling other people to serve him too.
To learn more about how the angels affect the lives of people, read Psalm 34:7 (33:8, "Dy"); Matthew 4:11; 18:10; Luke 22:43; and Acts 8:26-31.
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What did God do to save Daniel?
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How did an angel help Peter get out of prison?
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What is the angel telling Paul?