2 Kings 6 – 8 and Revelation 1 – 2
And when the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he saw that an army with horses and chariots surrounded the city. And his servant said to him: “Ah, my lord! What will we do?”
(2 Kings 6:15)
A few years ago there was a literary boom on the subject of angels. It became fashionable to talk about them and recognize them in their supposed facets and activities. Many people shared their experiences and even movies and television series had enough material for a good winning script. The interest extended not only to Cupid and the guardian angel, but also to the dark fallen angels, generating a wave of angel mania that reported succulent income to some economies that knew how to take advantage of the public interest in the subject.
In the Bible the presence of angels is permanent. His presence is silent and helpful, and in other cases, glorious and surprising. But what is clear is that they are not given to fame and recognition, they hate publicity and by nature they like to keep a low profile. Although there is talk of an uncountable number of them, yet, apart from Gabriel and Satan, no other is known by proper name. Its main function is to collaborate with humanity in the plans and purposes of God: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to serve for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14). Hence, his presence among us is not strange. But, be careful: not everyone seeks our good because also, “…His adversary, the devil, prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8b). Not all that glitters is gold, even on the spiritual spectrum.
His silent and quiet work means that we do not perceive his interventions. That is why only when we are in the presence of God will we know exactly how busy we had some of them in their service as our spiritual bodyguards. However, more than one must have some testimony of angelic presence in his life. I will tell you my own story.
He was just 20 years old. She was running on September 24, 1984. That year was extremely difficult for me and my family. Various kinds of problems arose and I began to waver in my spiritual convictions, overwhelmed by difficulties that seemed never to be resolved. That day I was coming home around eight at night. He was driving the same road that he traveled every day. I was listening to music, but I was mostly absorbed in my thoughts. He always had to cross an avenue flanked by a long park and stop at the intersection with another main avenue. I looked at the clock in the car… eight twenty-nine at night.
I woke up in a completely unknown place. It was a small room with no windows and the door closed. My head ached and my body felt very lethargic. I raised my hand to see the time, but I couldn’t, because the watch, my arm, and my whole body were covered in a viscous liquid that I couldn’t recognize at that moment. After cleaning the face of the clock I could see that it was eleven thirty-one at night. What happened? What did I stain myself with? I tried to stand up and couldn’t, and little by little I realized that the liquid was blood and that something serious must have happened to me. At that moment, a nurse gave me a look from the doorway. She told me very quickly that I had crashed into a bus at the crossroads, that they didn’t take me out of the car because they thought I was dead, but that someone noticed that I was alive and they brought me to the clinic that was a few blocks away. from the accident site. Now they were just waiting for the arrival of a plastic surgeon to be able to operate on me.
Shortly after the operation another nurse entered my room. She came to challenge me for my recklessness. She was traveling on the bus I collided with and she told me that she had had the scare of her life. She believed that I was driving drunk and high, and the most terrible thing was that the person who was with me in the car abandoned me after the accident. “Which person?” I asked curiously. “The man in white who was with you in the car.” “No, I was alone, no one was with me,” I replied. She didn’t believe me, and she left angrier, confirming that on top of being reckless, she was a liar. Later I found out that in the police report, all the witnesses, including the bus people, assured the presence of a co-pilot. The person who took me out of the car also told my mother that I was not alone, but that she did not know when my companion disappeared.
After seeing the wrecked car, I realized that the Lord had freed me from death. How did he do it? I do not know. I only know that an angel left the testimony of his presence as a sign of God’s protection of my life. In the same clinic I asked for my Bible. I wanted to listen to God, I wanted an explanation for this accident that would only bring more problems for me and my family. Everything got blacker, and on top of that I should have a scar on my face for the rest of my days. However, the first thing I did was ask him for forgiveness for my straying, I surrendered my rebellious life to him, and I asked him to make sense of everything that was happening. I opened my Bible, and this was the first thing I read: “What profit is there in my blood (my death) if I go down to the grave? Will the dust praise you? Will it announce Your faithfulness?” (Ps. 30:9). At that moment I realized that the Lord wanted me alive to announce and bear witness to Him. That accident was God’s rudder to give my life another direction, and the presence of the anonymous angel only confirmed his compassionate love for with me.
When Elisha’s servant saw the enemy army, he felt fear sink into his bones. There was nothing to do, just run away or expect the worst. However, Elisha replied:…Nor fear, because those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha then prayed, and said: O Lord, I beg you to open his eyes so that he can see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:16-17). Elisha was aware of a permanent spiritual activity around his life. In an attitude of compassion towards his anguished servant, he asked that he too could see what was daily for the prophet: the presence of angels sharing his vicissitudes.
I would not like to end without reminding you that the angels are nothing without the will of the Lord. They are at the service of God, and only follow his orders. Finally, the one who loves us and cares for us is Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. He says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). If we look for angels without God, we may find demons. If we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him, and with Him we will also know that His silent servants will be wherever He sends them.