Angel visitation a bible study

            God loved the world He often sent His angels with various purposes in mind, usually helpful though there also were on occasion death angels to bring His judgment. This bible study will include explore some of these various purposes, such as provision, rescue, and communication. In several of these stories they also were directly or perhaps indirectly responsible for miracles that happened while they interacted with the people. The first of these appearances here is where an angel appeared to Hagar concerning her pregnancy with Ishmael in Genesis 16, after she fled from Sarah:

(Genesis 16:6)  But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

(Genesis 16:7)  The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

(Genesis 16:8)  And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai."

(Genesis 16:9)  The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her."

(Genesis 16:10)  The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

(Genesis 16:11)  And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction.

(Genesis 16:12)  He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

(Genesis 16:13)  So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

(Genesis 16:14)  Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

(Genesis 16:15)  And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

(Genesis 16:16)  Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Then it was time, after Isaac’s birth to send Hagar and Ishmael away, an angel would appear there, too with prophecy and also a well for them to drink:

(Genesis 21:14)  So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

(Genesis 21:15)  When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.

(Genesis 21:16)  Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

(Genesis 21:17)  And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

(Genesis 21:18)  Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

(Genesis 21:19)  Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

(Genesis 21:20)  And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.

God went to Abraham’s place, supposedly with 2 angels then sent the two angels to Lot’s place and their purpose was to check on Sodom and then remove Lot’s family before the place was destroyed. Meanwhile Abraham also interceded for Sodom while the angels were traveling, but not no avail as there were not even ten righteous- the men of Sodom even tried to force themselves on the angels.

(Genesis 18:1)  And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

(Genesis 18:2)  He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth

(Genesis 18:3)  and said, "O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

(Genesis 18:4)  Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,

(Genesis 18:5)  while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."

(Genesis 18:6)  And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes."

(Genesis 18:7)  And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.

(Genesis 18:8)  Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

(Genesis 18:9)  They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."

(Genesis 18:10)  The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

(Genesis 18:11)  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.

(Genesis 18:12)  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"

(Genesis 18:13)  The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'

(Genesis 18:14)  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."

(Genesis 18:15)  But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

(Genesis 18:16)  Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

(Genesis 18:17)  The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

(Genesis 18:18)  seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

(Genesis 18:19)  For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."

(Genesis 18:20)  Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

(Genesis 18:21)  I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

(Genesis 18:22)  So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.

(Genesis 18:23)  Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

(Genesis 18:24)  Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?

(Genesis 18:25)  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"

(Genesis 18:26)  And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

(Genesis 18:27)  Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

(Genesis 18:28)  Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."

(Genesis 18:29)  Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."

(Genesis 18:30)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."

(Genesis 18:31)  He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

(Genesis 18:32)  Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

(Genesis 18:33)  And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

(Genesis 19:1)  The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth

(Genesis 19:2)  and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square."

(Genesis 19:3)  But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

(Genesis 19:4)  But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.

(Genesis 19:5)  And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."

(Genesis 19:6)  Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,

(Genesis 19:7)  and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

(Genesis 19:8)  Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."

(Genesis 19:9)  But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.

(Genesis 19:10)  But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.

(Genesis 19:11)  And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

(Genesis 19:12)  Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place.

(Genesis 19:13)  For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

(Genesis 19:14)  So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

(Genesis 19:15)  As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."

(Genesis 19:16)  But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

(Genesis 19:17)  And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."

(Genesis 19:18)  And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords.

(Genesis 19:19)  Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.

(Genesis 19:20)  Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be saved!"

(Genesis 19:21)  He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

(Genesis 19:22)  Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

(Genesis 19:23)  The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

(Genesis 19:24)  Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.

(Genesis 19:25)  And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

(Genesis 19:26)  But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

(Genesis 19:27)  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.

(Genesis 19:28)  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

God was displeased because Balaam wanted to ride with the men to go to Balak, who had bribed him to curse Israel, so he sent an angel to oppose and impede him:

(Numbers 22:21)  So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

(Numbers 22:22)  But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.

(Numbers 22:23)  And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.

(Numbers 22:24)  Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side.

(Numbers 22:25)  And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again.

(Numbers 22:26)  Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left.

(Numbers 22:27)  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

(Numbers 22:28)  Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"

(Numbers 22:29)  And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you."

(Numbers 22:30)  And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No."

(Numbers 22:31)  Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.

(Numbers 22:32)  And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.

(Numbers 22:33)  The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live."

(Numbers 22:34)  Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back."

(Numbers 22:35)  And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you." So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

The angel let Balaam go, but admonished him again to speak only what was spoken to him, which is exactly what happened.

The next story is where an angel would rebuke the people of Israel for sin in the book of judges

(Judges 2:1)  Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you,

(Judges 2:2)  and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

(Judges 2:3)  So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."

(Judges 2:4)  As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

(Judges 2:5)  And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.

An angel would then visit Gideon, to commission him for the task at hand, saving Israel from the Midianites:

(Judges 6:11)  Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

(Judges 6:12)  And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor."

(Judges 6:13)  And Gideon said to him, "Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian."

(Judges 6:14)  And the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?"

(Judges 6:15)  And he said to him, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."

(Judges 6:16)  And the LORD said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

(Judges 6:17)  And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.

(Judges 6:18)  Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you." And he said, "I will stay till you return."

(Judges 6:19)  So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them.

(Judges 6:20)  And the angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them." And he did so.

(Judges 6:21)  Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.

(Judges 6:22)  Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."

(Judges 6:23)  But the LORD said to him, "Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die."

(Judges 6:24)  Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

Gideon feared but God gave him peace, then Gideon would indeed go on to deliver Israel. Then, in Judges 13, an angel came to Manoah and especially his wife to tell them they would bring forth a deliverer for Israel:

(Judges 13:1)  And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

(Judges 13:2)  There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.

(Judges 13:3)  And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

(Judges 13:4)  Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

(Judges 13:5)  for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

(Judges 13:6)  Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,

(Judges 13:7)  but he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'"

(Judges 13:8)  Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born."

(Judges 13:9)  And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her.

(Judges 13:10)  So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."

(Judges 13:11)  And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am."

(Judges 13:12)  And Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?"

(Judges 13:13)  And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.

(Judges 13:14)  She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe."

(Judges 13:15)  Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you."

(Judges 13:16)  And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.)

(Judges 13:17)  And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?"

(Judges 13:18)  And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?"

(Judges 13:19)  So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching.

(Judges 13:20)  And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.

(Judges 13:21)  The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.

(Judges 13:22)  And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

(Judges 13:23)  But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."

(Judges 13:24)  And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him.

(Judges 13:25)  And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

An angel actually brought food and drink to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 after Elijah had fled in fear after Jezebel’s threats to kill him:

(1 Kings 19:5)  And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat."

(1 Kings 19:6)  And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.

(1 Kings 19:7)  And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you."

(1 Kings 19:8)  And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

The Lord sent some sort of ministering angel to the prophet Zechariah. This angel talked with Zechariah in several chapters of the of the book. I present an example from chapter 1 of the type of dialog that they had:

(Zec 1:8)  "I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

(Zec 1:9)  Then I said, 'What are these, my lord?' The angel who talked with me said to me, 'I will show you what they are.'

(Zec 1:10)  So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, 'These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.'

(Zec 1:11)  And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, 'We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.'

(Zec 1:12)  Then the angel of the LORD said, 'O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?'

(Zec 1:13)  And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

(Zec 1:14)  So the angel who talked with me said to me, 'Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.

(Zec 1:15)  And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.

(Zec 1:16)  Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

(Zec 1:17)  Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.'"

(Zec 1:18)  And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns!

(Zec 1:19)  And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" And he said to me, "These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

(Zec 1:20)  Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

(Zec 1:21)  And I said, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it."

An angel of the Lord, specifically Gabriel, appeared to both Zechariah and Mary to talk about respective births, with differing results- Zechariah concerning John the Baptist and Zechariah was then muted until his child, John the Baptist for his disbelief of Gabriel’s words of prophecy, and Mary concerning the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior:

(Luke 1:11)  And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

(Luke 1:12)  And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

(Luke 1:13)  But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

(Luke 1:14)  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

(Luke 1:15)  for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

(Luke 1:16)  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,

(Luke 1:17)  and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

(Luke 1:18)  And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

(Luke 1:19)  And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

(Luke 1:20)  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."

(Luke 1:21)  And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple.

(Luke 1:22)  And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.

(Luke 1:23)  And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

(Luke 1:24)  After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,

(Luke 1:25)  "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people."

(Luke 1:26)  In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

(Luke 1:27)  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

(Luke 1:28)  And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

(Luke 1:29)  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

(Luke 1:30)  And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

(Luke 1:31)  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

(Luke 1:32)  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

(Luke 1:33)  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

(Luke 1:34)  And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

(Luke 1:35)  And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God.

(Luke 1:36)  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

(Luke 1:37)  For nothing will be impossible with God."

(Luke 1:38)  And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

An angel rolled away the stone of the grave in Matthew 28 and also was described how majestic and frightening he can be, because the guards became like dead men:

(Matthew 28:1)  Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

(Matthew 28:2)  And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

(Matthew 28:3)  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

(Matthew 28:4)  And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

(Matthew 28:5)  But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

(Matthew 28:6)  He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

(Matthew 28:7)  Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you."

(Matthew 28:8)  So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

In Acts 5, the apostles were freed from the prison that the Pharisees and Sadducees had put them by an angel and told to go back and preach the gospel to the people:

(Acts 5:19)  But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,

(Acts 5:20)  "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."

(Acts 5:21)  And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought.

(Acts 5:22)  But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,

(Acts 5:23)  "We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside."

(Acts 5:24)  Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

Peter would be rescued from prison by an angel in Acts 12:

(Acts 12:4)  And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

(Acts 12:5)  So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

(Acts 12:6)  Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

(Acts 12:7)  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands.

(Acts 12:8)  And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me."

(Acts 12:9)  And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

(Acts 12:10)  When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

(Acts 12:11)  When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

(Acts 12:12)  When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

(Acts 12:13)  And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

(Acts 12:14)  Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

(Acts 12:15)  They said to her, "You are out of your mind." But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, "It is his angel!"

(Acts 12:16)  But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed.

(Acts 12:17)  But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Tell these things to James and to the brothers." Then he departed and went to another place.

As the above often indicate in different ways God uses His angels to warn, help, reprove, and other ways, even judgment on occasion. What I included is a sample of how the angels are indeed used. God does indeed love us, and sent His Son to die on the cross so we may re-establish fellowship with Him after our sin separated us. It is easy to do so, too, and I am including a prayer which will enable you to repent of Your sins and to come to Jesus or return to Him. Please pray with me:

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours.