Chapter 24

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 it. Can we feel it?⁠— Hold up your hand. Now I’ll blow on it. Did you feel it?⁠— Yes, but we can’t see the air, can we?⁠—

Are there also people that we can’t see?⁠— Yes. God is one. I have never seen him, but I have seen the things that he has made. You have seen those things too, haven’t you?⁠— So we know that God is real.

And the Bible says that God made lots of persons to live with him in heaven. God can see them, and they can see God. But he made them so that we could not see them. He also made them very strong, much stronger than men. They are called angels.

The Great Teacher knew about angels. When he was in heaven he was an angel. And he lived with the other angels. He knew millions of them. And those angels are interested in us if we serve Jehovah.

There was a man named Daniel who served Jehovah. Daniel lived in Babylon. Many people  there did not love Jehovah. They even had Daniel thrown into a lions’ den because he would not stop praying to Jehovah. There Daniel was with all those hungry lions. What would happen? ‘God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions.’ Daniel was not hurt at all! Angels can do wonderful things.​—Daniel 6:18-22.

Another time Peter was in jail. Peter was an apostle of the Great Teacher. Some people did not like it when he told them that Jesus was the Son of God. So they put Peter in jail. Soldiers were guarding Peter to make sure that he didn’t get away. Was there anyone who could help Peter?⁠—

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 Peter up, saying, “Get up! Quick!”’

At that, Peter’s chains fell off his hands! And the angel said to him: ‘Dress yourself, put on your sandals and follow me.’ The guards couldn’t stop them because the angel helped Peter. Now they came to an iron gate, and a  strange thing happened. The gate opened by itself! Peter and the angel went out. That angel had set Peter free.​—Acts 12:4-11.

Will the angels help us too?⁠— Yes, they will. Does that mean that they will never let us get hurt at all?⁠— If you were to run out in the street in front of a car, would an angel protect you?⁠— No. Angels do not stop us from getting hurt if we do foolish things. If you jumped off a tall building, would the angels catch you?⁠— The Devil tried to get Jesus to do that once. But Jesus wouldn’t do it. We can learn from that.​—Luke 4:9-13.

God has given the angels special work to do. The Bible talks about an angel who tells people everywhere to worship God.​—Revelation 14:6, 7.

How do angels do that? Do they shout from heaven so that everyone can hear them?⁠— No; but true Christians 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 work, and the angels will help us.

But what if people who do not love God make trouble for us? What if they were to put us in jail, as they did to Peter? Would the angels set us free?⁠— They could. But that is not what they always do.

One time when the apostle Paul was a  prisoner, the angels did not set him free right away. There were people in prison who needed to hear about God and Christ. There were rulers who needed to hear too. Paul would be taken before them, and he could preach to them. But 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 too, and they are going to do it soon. God’s time to destroy all 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. But it will be too late. None of the wicked will get away. The angels will find them all.​—2 Thessalonians 1:6-8.

What will that mean to us?⁠— If we are on the same side as the angels, they will be like brothers to us. There will be nothing to fear. They will help us.

But are we on that 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 angels influence the lives of men, read Psalm 34:7 [33:8, Dy], Matthew 18:10 and Acts 8:26-31.)