Angels Among Us

My first exposure to the fact that angels can be involved in the prophetic came through hearing a story about Paul Cain. Paul Cain is a person who is widely recognized as a modern day prophet. He has given many very detailed and very accurate prophetic words, and has been able to prophetically tell people he has never met some very specific details about their lives, such as the ages, sexes and names of all of their children -- things like that. The Paul Cain story I heard was that an angel frequently showed up in the meetings were he ministered, and that angel gave him the specific details to share. Paul could see and hear the angel and occasionally others present at the meeting could see the angel, but most of the people in the meeting were unaware of it's presence. The angel stood next to Paul Cain and gave him information as he prophesied to people -- and this was reported to be what enabled him to move in that incredible depth of accurate details.

When I first heard that story (many years ago), it troubled me greatly. I had heard of Paul Cain's reputation and believed that he was indeed a prophet of God. However, I thought that type of angel story was fabricated by people and not truth about his ministry. That type of angel story bothered me greatly, so I decided to do some research on angels in the prophetic. To my surprise, I discovered that there is actually a very strong Biblical precedence for the activity of angels in the prophetic. Later, I heard Paul speak in Toronto. He made a reference to the angel who used to come to his meetings and give him specific and detailed information. So it turned out that it was a true story.

As I began to move more in prophetic circles, I heard similar stories from many different prophets, including some that I am in personal relationship with. So far, I haven't had an angel come speak to me while I am ministering in a meeting. But I have had angels appear to me in private to instruct me and to give me prophetic insights.

The angels seem to play a real role in the prophetic. There are many examples of this in the Bible. Let's look at a few of them...

An angel prophesied to Hagar about Ishmael and his descendents which would become the Arab nations. We find this in Genesis 16:10-12: "Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, 'I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.' And the Angel of the Lord said to her 'Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren'" (NKJV).

An angel brings a prophecy to Abraham about the nation of Israel that he will father. That happened just after he demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, on the altar at God's command. We see this in Genesis 22:15-18: "Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: 'By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son-- blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice'" (NJKV).

1 Kings 13 is a troubling story about one prophet who was sent on a mission from God to deliver a prophetic word of judgment on the altar that Jeroboam set up for idolatry. That prophet had been given a commission of God to not eat or drink anything until he returned home, a several day journey. In the story there was a 'retired' prophet who heard about what the prophet had done and wanted the status of having him as a house guest. So he lied to him and said that God sent him to bring him to his house and feed him. The prophet believed the retired prophet's lie and went home to eat with him, breaking the fast that God commanded him to be on. God judged the prophet, who was lied to, for breaking his fast. God struck him dead. However God did not punish the retired prophet who lied.

I may address this seemingly troublesome story in another teaching. But the part I want to examine now is the content of the lie the retired prophet gave in 1 Kings 13:18. "He said to him, 'I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, "Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water."' (He was lying to him.)"

The reason I bring this up is because the lie was convincing to the legitimate prophet. It demonstrates that it was normal for prophets to get directions and words from angels. In other words, angels were involved in the prophetic even back in the Old Testament times. Prophets were used to having angels appear to them and to give them prophetic messages to share.

In Zechariah chapter 1, the prophet is given a vision to share with the nation of Israel. He does not understand the vision and an angel is sent to explain it to him so he can prophecy from it. Verse 9 says, "Then I said, 'My lord, what are these?' So the angel who talked with me said to me, 'I will show you what they are.'" We see another example of angels explaining a vision to another prophet, to Daniel, in Daniel 8:15-16 and in Daniel 9:21-27.

Zechariah 1:14-17, is where an angel tells Zechariah what he is to prophecy. E.g., the angel gives Zechariah the message from God that he is to turn around and give to men. The verses say:

So the angel who spoke with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, and they helped--but with evil intent.

Therefore thus says the Lord: I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,' says the Lord of hosts, 'And a surveyor's line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.'"

"Again proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The Lord will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.'"

Zechariah 1:14-17 is very direct and clear. The angel was sent to give a prophetic message to the prophet, who was then to deliver it to the people. It demonstrates direct involvement of angels in the prophetic.

Angelic activity in the prophetic is not limited to just the Old Testament. We see their involvement in the New Testament as well, particularly in the book of Revelation. I am going to summarize a few of these for you and let you look them up at your leisure. Rev 10:1-11 is the story where an angel gives the Apostle John a book of prophetic words for John to eat. In Rev 17:1-18, an angel shows John the judgment of the "great harlot" (Ancient Babylon and modern day Iraq).

In Rev 21:9-27, an angel "shows" John the future state of the Church, telling him verbally that this is the Christ's 'bride' and showing him a vision of a city in heaven inhabited by "only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." John records this in the prophetic book of revelation where it gives hope to all generations of the church, including our generation.

Finally, Rev 22:6 tells us that "God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place." In other words, the bible says point blank that God sometimes sends His angels to give His prophets details about things that are going to take place in their future.