A Book Review: Angels by David Jeremiah

Do you believe in angels? Everybody kind of believes in angels. The real question is whether our beliefs in angels or spirit messengers or guardians matches truth. Are our perceptions accurate? Do they align with Scripture?

We’ve all heard stories of angel encounters. Jungle natives come to Christ because soldiers in shiny uniforms protected the missionaries the tribe had planned to murder. Someone is pulled from a burning car by fearless men who instantly disappear once the victim is safe. A whole family sleeps peacefully while a fatal gang fight rages literally on their front porch. I’ve shared a story of my own here on this blog.

Do we believe the stories? Are they really angels or is it our simple way of explaining what we don’t understand?

I’ve been reading David Jeremiah’s book on this subject and must say it is an excellent resource. Angels does exactly what the subtitle suggests; it lays out “what the Bible reveals.”

Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us a lot, but it reveals much. Let me explain what I mean. The Bible contains over three hundred direct reference to angels, but it doesn’t have a specific book or passage that explains exactly how angels work or why God uses them. It doesn’t even expound upon the relationship or responsibilities between us and them. There are clues. There are stories. There are glimpses. David Jeremiah pieces all these together to offer an accurate picture in a condense and approachable package.

The content includes discussion about:

• What angels are
• God’s relationship with angels
• How they work
• How they worship
• Jesus’ relationship with angels
• When they appear
• Our relationship with angels
• Famous angels (and lesser known ones)
• Fallen angels and Satan
• Eternity with angels

There are several things I like about this book. The conversational, easy-to-read nature is one, but two attributes stand above the rest.

It is flooded with Scripture. Bookstores contain hundreds of books about angels, miraculous sightings and spiritual encounters. Experience is valuable, but its interpretation is subjective. I want to know the truth and the only way to know that is to study God’s Word. This book does contain relevant stories, but its focus is more on what Scripture teaches us about these heavenly beings.

Its purpose is to glorify God. From the very beginning through the middle and into the end of this book the author repeatedly shines the focus on God. Let me prove this with a few quotes from the book.

“The writer of Psalm 73 shows the right heart when he tells God ‘Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.’ Besides God there is no one on earth and no one in heaven — not even angels — who can give your soul true fulfillment.” (p. 23)

“That, in fact, is the only sufficient aim in a study of angels: that you might draw closer to God. If you study angels and the result is anything less — if you build up only a file of information about angels or a fascination with them or even a supposed relationship with one, but haven’t encountered at least a tug toward humble submission to the Almighty God … you’ve totally missed what angels are all about.” (p. 25)

“Angels can help lift our eyes from this troubled and temporal earth. But they are meant to draw our gaze to the Lord, not to themselves. All glory is due to God, and he has no intention of sharing it with angels … as we go honestly and carefully into a deeper study of angels, our spirits cannot help but experience the desire to worship. If you remember any words at all that you’ve heard angels speak in Scripture, remember especially these two: Worship God!” (p. 56)

“God’s angels always point us to God … [Ezekiel] isn’t being shown this vision just to learn about cherubim, but rather to hear a word from the Lord.” (p. 145)

“Again and again in Scripture we see this pattern: Those who are given the privilege of a direct visible or audible ministry from angels are those with mature hearts who want to encounter God — not angels. … No one got excited about seeing angels. They were excited about what the angels said.” (p. 192)

You can currently purchase the book from Amazon.com for $10.19. It’s a great read, one I highly recommend.

Please note this is a 2009 repackaging of Dr. Jeremiah’s book What the Bible Says About Angels, published in 1996. This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.