Questions a friend asks me. Today's is based in Matthew 18:10.

Matthew 18:10 NASB "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

• What are these angels doing in Matthew 18:10, do they guard children?

When I look at the notes in my Dake's bible I am referred to Psalm 34:7

Psalms 34:7 NASB The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
So I can understand that angels operate on our behalf. But what does a child understand about fear for and of the Lord? They don't unless we indoctrinate them with the notion that God can kill them, which He can, but that is not the nature and character of God, and certainly would not explain the caring and compassion God has for children.

Knowing that God cares for children, then why would He allow such horrible things to happen to them, especially since there are angels assigned to them, just as they are assigned to us?
I am not sure I can answer this appropriately, as there are innocent children, on a daily basis, kidnapped, tortured, blown up, and they were nothing more than innocent victims. One of my friends read a statistic that said there were 200,000 children that go missing every year in America.

• Where then were these angels?

Perhaps God's plan surpasses our understanding and is, therefore, a part of this mystery.

In what other ways do angels surround us?

• In the case of Elijah and Gehazi, they were surrounded by the Syrian army. Gehazi was the only that seemed terribly concerned by this and cries to Elijah about the situation as though Elijah did not know.

2 Kings 6:15-17 NASB Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" (16) So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." (17) Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

• On behalf of Daniel, an angel shut the mouths of the lions.

Daniel 6:22 NASB "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime."

• The angel Gabriel came to deliver a message to Daniel and had to physically fight.

Daniel 10:13 CJB  The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha'el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia.

• Angels are commissioned to work for us.

Hebrews 1:14 NASB Are they, not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

• In the latter days (days which we may see.) Michael will stand up and deliver those whose name is found written in the book.

I can apply this to the church, or to the Jews in general. If I project the idea of latter days into the time of wrath, then it becomes those who are to be delivered because of their testimony. Sadly, for many, deliverance comes by the sword or some other form of death.
Daniel 12:1 CJB  "When that time comes, Mikha'el, the great prince who champions your people, will stand up; and there will be a time of distress unparalleled between the time they became a nation and that moment. At that time, your people will be delivered, everyone whose name is found written in the book.

• On our behalf

Psalms 91:11 CJB  for he will order his angels to care for you and guard you wherever you go.
The standard argument is, why then did He let me go through (insert the horror you experienced here?) The answer lies in God drawing your heart back to Him, and, should you survive it, making you the great witness that you are today.

• If God knows already who his heirs are, then why do we need angels to guard us, and how does play into fate/destiny vs free will?

The angels guard us because we are flimsy, weak, mortals, with an inherent genetic defect that drives us to sin. To prove my point the flood scenario depicts a pre-flood world left to its own devices, the world was filled with violence and every thought of man was evil.


Free will works in opposition to God most every time. Free will is overrated. And fate is an allusion to sin. God is in control, no matter what it looks like, and sometimes it looks like the bad guys just won.