Angels: Blessings from God
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The Angels of the Lord
- “Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:24).
In this verse, the Angel of the Lord is described as being a pillar of fire and cloud. There are times while preaching that this same pillar of fire comes and anoints you with fire. Could it be that the same Angel of the Lord gives us the power to preach the good news of Jesus Christ?
- ““And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire‘” (Hebrews 1:7)
There is a connection between the anointing and the Angel of the Lord. Many say that the Angel of the Lord recorded in the Old Testament was Jesus Christ himself. Old Testament references that capitalize the word “Angel” could be referring to Jesus Christ. At other times it is thought that Jesus appeared and spoke as a man (Genesis 18:2-22, 32:24-30, Joshua 5:13-15). Any reference that does not capitalize angel could be referring to one of the other angels of the Lord.
There are many passages in which the expression “angel of God” is certainly used for a manifestation of God himself (Genesis 22:11, 12, Exodus 3:2, 6, 14). Those who believe in Jesus Christ have Him living within them; therefore, the same pillar of fire could manifest itself today through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in an individual.
- “And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’” (Revelation 19:10).
The first time I preached and prophesied in a church in February 1988, a dear woman shared with me after the service something she experienced. After preaching under the anointing of the Lord and prophesying in the spirit of prophecy, several people came to me to ask questions.
However, this particular lady did not have a question, but rather wanted to share with me what she had heard and seen during the meeting. Now, this lady was by no means spiritually minded and really doubted whether the gifts of the Holy Spirit were for today. When I saw her come towards me I began to prepare myself for a good tongue lashing.
To my surprise she was crying and a bit shaken. I asked her what was wrong. She replied that, while I was prophesying, the Lord spoke to her and gave her a sign. I was pleased to hear that she had heard the voice of the Lord. I was even more stunned, however, to hear what she had seen as a sign from God. This dear lady was told by the Lord to tell me that every word that was spoken by me was protected and that not one word would touch the ground. I was ready to do the Holy Ghost dance right then and there, but that was not all she had to say.
The sign of the Lord was shown to her while I was ministering. Every time I moved from the pulpit a bright light would blind her eyes until I stood still. She told me it appeared as if the light was hiding behind me. I believe this sign was given to her from God as her confirmation that she was to give me the word that He wanted me to hear. I did not know at that time how important that word would be to me later that day.
When I finally returned home and laid down to rest, I felt the anointing leave me. As soon as the anointing left, the devil began whispering words of doubt and confusion. He told me I needed to get up and call various people I had prophesied over. He was telling me that the words I delivered were incorrect. He continued to torment my thoughts.
He tried to convince me I had messed up someone’s life and that they would perish because of what I had spoken over them. This went on for a few minutes. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of the word I had received from the woman who had seen the blinding light. I simply told the devil what the Lord had said, rebuked him, turned over and took a little nap. I experienced what Jesus promised us would happen as soon as we deliver His word. The devil will try to steal it.
- “And He [Jesus] said, ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God those by the way side are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away, the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved‘” (Luke 8:10-12).
I learned many things that day, but this one lesson I hope never to forget. Whenever God gives a word for someone and you are commanded to deliver it, the devil will try to steal it. It is by your faith that you delivered the word and it will be by your faith that the word will come to pass.
- “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith” (Romans 12:6).
The devil will try to get you to come into agreement with him that the prophecy you delivered was incorrect. If you come into agreement with the devil and his word, you will give the promise of God over to him, robbing the person of their prophecy and promise. Many nights I have resisted the devil as he has tried to steal the promise of the words delivered to the people through the gift entrusted to me.
Receiving Blessings through Angels
We shall know all things by the Spirit. The things you have need of cannot always be successfully obtained by human knowledge. That is why God has given us the window of prayer to find answers on how to obtain the things we need. If you have need of anything, you can find out how to get it through the Spirit. When you pray, God will be faithful in sending His ministering spirit to bring the revelation of how you will obtain your needs.
- “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
One of the recorded events of angels interacting with man is that of Jacob’s ladder. It is a Sunday school teaching many of us have forgotten. This recorded event is biblical proof that angels do co-exist between heaven and earth.
The Angels of the Lord are continually ascending and descending between heaven and earth, delivering messages from and delivering prayers to the throne of God. In a dream, Jacob saw angels traveling up and down a ladder that extended from God’s throne. The angels were making way for the word of God to be delivered to Jacob while he slept.
- “The promise of the Lord was given to Jacob during this dream and Jacob knew when he awoke that God had revealed Himself” (Genesis 28:10-16).
The New Testament gives confirmation that a similar occurrence took place during the days Jesus, the Son of Man, ministered on earth. While Jesus was ministering in the word of knowledge, He gave the gift of discernment to Nathanael (1 Corinthians 12:8). Philip, from Bethsaida, found Nathanael and told him about Jesus, who claimed to be the Messiah. Nathanael did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah who was prophesied about in the Old Testament. When Jesus saw Nathanael, He spoke a word of knowledge to Nathanael telling him He had seen him sitting under a fig tree. Nathanael knew there was no way that Jesus could have seen him sitting under the fig tree, thus Nathanael believed that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:47 & 48).
- “Jesus answered and said to him [Nathanael], ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man‘” (John 1:51).
After Nathanael publicly, recognized Jesus as being the Son of God, the Lord gave him spiritual eyes to see how Jesus knew and operated in these supernatural gifts by giving him the gift of discerning of spirits (angels and demons) (ref. I Corinthians 12:10).
In 1995 we were asked to go on television by a friend who worked at LeSea Broadcasting. This individual and his wife became friends of ours after they traveled from Hawaii to Fort Worth, Texas to meet with Andrea and me to receive a word from the Lord. While we ate dinner in a crowded restaurant, he and his wife began to tell us about all of their problems. They were destitute; they had lost everything and did not know where to go or what to do. I had brought a small tape recorder and a blank tape to record their prophecy. It was not long before I received the message the Lord had for this man and his wife.
The spirit told me to tell them to go back to Hawaii. There would be someone there to meet them who would give them a place to live. This portion of the word was not too difficult to believe, but the next part was. He was also to go on Christian television and begin to pray for people over the air.
He and his wife flew home to Hawaii shortly after our visit. Just as God had said, they were met at the airport by a friend and were given a place to live, rent free. The second part of the prophecy was fulfilled within weeks of their returning home. This man had no money; however, he was still able to start a TV program, to be aired weekly. Within the first few months he was unable to pay the expenses for his program and went off the air. Stressed out, he sent in his last $50.00 for a prophecy tape and waited for his word.
The word he received was, “This very day things will change.” The day he received his prophecy, he also received a phone call from the television station. The station asked if he would start up his program again, but this time as a paid employee of the station so that his television program would not cost him anything. What a blessing it was for this family in Hawaii!
I have shared this story in order to set the stage on how the Holy Spirit took us through an awesome spiritual journey. Becoming friends with this television minister became a wonderful blessing. Eventually, he asked if I would produce a program to be aired on LeSea’s Network of television stations. We started our program the first part of 1996 with teachings and prophecies to the viewers. Within a few months, they asked if I would sign a contract placing our program on all eight stations and the satellite LeSea owned. I called PMT’s trustees to conduct a meeting regarding this request of LeSea. The board of trustees talked about the lack of funds and discussed whether we could afford to air a television program. We all agreed this was not a good time to accept LeSea’s offer.
Just before we were to take a vote, Andrea spoke up and said the Spirit had told her we were to go on all of LeSea’s stations. Now, you have to have known Andrea to know how remarkable this was; she was a very conservative woman and did not take many risks. However, if she heard the voice of God to do something she would not hesitate to do it. All of us in the meeting knew that she had just heard God. Our planning and guessing would not give us the answer we needed to know what God wanted us to do in this situation. The Lord had sent His messenger just in time and we gave LeSea our answer that day. I immediately called my minister friend in Hawaii who worked for the station and told him we would go on all 8 stations plus the satellite programing.
Our Lord truly is blessing His people with His Angels, making the way for His Word to come to pass for those who believe.
Written by Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet