The Truth About Angels

Cornelius and Peter

The same Holy Watcher who said of Abraham, “I know him,” knew Cornelius also, and sent a message direct from heaven to him.—The Acts of the Apostles, 133. TA 230.1

The angel appeared to Cornelius while he was at prayer. As the centurion heard himself addressed by name, he was afraid, yet he knew that the messenger had come from God, and he said, “What is it, Lord?”—The Acts of the Apostles, 133. TA 230.2

“Send men for one Simon, whose surname is Peter, who lives with one Simon a tanner. And he told him the very place where Simon the tanner lived. Then the angel of the Lord went to Peter, and prepared his mind for the reception of the men.—The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1746. TA 230.3

Cornelius was gladly obedient to the vision. When the angel had gone, he called “two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; and when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.” ... The angel was not commissioned to tell Cornelius the story of the cross. A man subject even as the centurion himself to human frailties and temptations was to tell him of the crucified and risen Saviour. In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for truth into touch with fellow beings who know the truth.—The Review and Herald, April 6, 1911. TA 231.1

Immediately after the interview with Cornelius, the angel went to Peter, who, at the time, was praying upon the housetop of his lodging in Joppa.—The Review and Herald, April 13, 1911. TA 231.2

It was with reluctance at every step that Peter undertook the duty laid upon him by divine command. When relating his experience, he does not defend his action on general principles, but as an exception, done because of divine revelation. And the result was a surprise to him. When Cornelius had related to him his experience, and the words of the angel who had appeared to him in vision, Peter declared, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.”—Manuscript Releases 6:328, 329. TA 231.3