The Signs of the Times
April 27, 1904
Lessons from the Story of Cornelius—Part 4
Angel—Messengers
The experience of Cornelius should bring great encouragement to those who are seeking the Lord with an earnest purpose to do His will. A heavenly messenger was sent to Cornelius for the express purpose of bringing him into touch with one who could teach him more about God. Today angels of God draw near to those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance. Heavenly messengers are passing through the length and breadth of the earth, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the impenitent, to win the hearts of men to Christ. No one is neglected or passed by. God is no respecter of persons, and He has an equal care for all the souls He has created. ST April 27, 1904, par. 1
To the worker for Christ, also, the experience of Cornelius should bring strength and courage. Angels of God are co-operating with His servants in their efforts to bring to the full light of truth those who are walking in all the light they have. They unite with men in sympathy and labor for the saving of the lost. We can not see them personally; nevertheless they are with us, guiding, directing, protecting. ST April 27, 1904, par. 2
Angels protected Lot, and led him safely out from the midst of Sodom. So they protected Elisha in the little mountain city. When the encircling hills were filled with the horses and chariots of the king of Syria and the great host of his armed men, Elisha beheld the nearer hill-slopes covered with the armies of God,—horses and chariots of fire round about the servant of God. ST April 27, 1904, par. 3
So in all ages, angels have been near to Christ's faithful followers. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them. From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, till in the light of eternity we see the meaning of the providences of God. Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day. ST April 27, 1904, par. 4
The very angels who, when Satan was seeking the supremacy, fought the battle in the heavenly courts, and triumphed on the side of God; the very angels who shouted for joy over the creation of the world and its sinless inhabitants; the angels who witnessed the fall of man and his expulsion from his Eden home,—these very heavenly messengers are most intensely interested in the work of all who are seeking to restore the image of God in man. ST April 27, 1904, par. 5
Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when the shepherds listened to the angels’ song. Humanity is still as much the object of Heaven's solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noon-day, and talked with heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields. Angels from the courts above attend the steps of those who come and go at God's command. ST April 27, 1904, par. 6
Heavenly beings still visit the earth, as in the days when they walked and talked with Abraham and with Moses. Amidst the busy activities of our great cities, amidst the multitudes that crowd the thoroughfares and fill the marts of trade, where from morning till evening people act as if business and sport and pleasure were all there is to life, where there are so few to contemplate unseen realities,—even here heaven has its watchers and its holy ones. There are invisible agencies observing every word and deed of human beings. In every assembly for business or pleasure, in every gathering for worship, there are more listeners than can be seen with human sight. Sometimes the heavenly intelligences draw aside the curtain which hides the unseen world, that our thoughts may be withdrawn from the hurry and rush of life, to consider that there are unseen witnesses to all we do or say. ST April 27, 1904, par. 7
We need to understand better than we do the mission of the heavenly visitants. It would be well to consider that in all our work we have the co-operation and care of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God. Cherubim and seraphim and angels that excel in strength,—ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,—stand at His right hand, “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” ST April 27, 1904, par. 8
“Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” ST April 27, 1904, par. 9