you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Jesus is the bridge. He unites heaven and earth. He unites humanity with his divinity.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
When we praise Jesus we do so in the presence of the angels.
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
He is enthroned in heaven. He has taken his seat at the right hand of God (cf. Mat. 16:19). When we seek the things above "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (cf. Col. 3:1) we find ourselves in the presence of the angels. It isn't as though we're calling Jesus in a distant household where the angels also happen to live. We find ourselves in that very house together with them. Jesus tells us, "behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (cf. Mat. 28:20). Yet while he is with us, he still reigns at God's right hand (cf. Heb. 10:12). He is the bridge. When we come to him we find ourselves standing in heaven.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (cf. Heb. 12:22-24).
The presence of Jesus is always available to us. That means that the presence of the angels is always available to us. We are not to neglect them. They are not optional extras. They are not nice-to-haves without whom we can get along just fine. Their presence is made available to us as a gift.
They pray for us.
And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne (cf. Rev 8:3).
They protect us.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (cf. Psa. 34:7).
They fight for us.
War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
Of course Jesus does not need myriads upon myriads to minister to him. He does not need to use angels to help us, either. But he delights in his angels. His angels reveal something of the magnitude of the awesomeness of God. Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael reveal aspects of God's power. They perfectly fulfill his will in specific ways so that we can see what that might look like. We can see the perfect messenger, the perfect soldier and commander who knows that there is no one like God, and the perfect healing remedy for Tobit. Yet they are more than mere ideals or exemplars. They are real beings with whom we can be in relationship day to day. They can help us with their power, they can pray to God for us, and they can show us how to more perfectly embody his will in the specific ways that they are made to embody it.
Jesus knows us just as he knows Nathaniel. He gives us the angels because he knows precisely what we need in the depths of our hearts. Let us not neglect them! Let us sign God's praise together with their company.
In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
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