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.

Micah 4: 4,5. Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid

Today I want to focus on Micah 4:4. However, I quickly realized that I needed to keep this verse in context, and since some people only stumble onto one blog post, I need to bring them up to speed as well. If I could tell you to study the previous two verses as it would probably take less time, but I know the casual reader won't do that. How do I know that? I sit by you in church, and when I try to talk to you about spiritual things or the Word of God, things that excite me, you turn your back to me or come back with standard religious answers.

There is entirely no doubt in my mind that the days are going to get darker because of this apostasy we have talked about, and the fear and dread will become overwhelming to some. I feel so strongly that we, as the church, need to get skillful in the Word of God. In light of that, So let's look at Micah 4:2-4 and see if I can show you what is going to happen during the millennial kingdom.

Micah 4:2-5 NASB Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (3) And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. (4) Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (5) Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

At this point in time:

• Jesus has returned to earth as the warring Messiah Israel has longed and called for.

This idea of Israel calling for the Messiah to come should not surprise us. Having studied eschatology for some time, I primarily see Israel as the one who rejects God. But I have recently learned that Israel still longs for Him, but only in one form, as the warring Messiah.

Having been aware for some time that Islam believes that their Mahdi will come in the midst of chaos, the idea that other nations such as Israel are also genuinely motivated by a similar end times eschatology. In the case of Israel, they too believe that the Messiah, in this case, will come in the midst of chaos. It makes sense when you start putting the pieces of the scriptural puzzle together. I watched a video where the elder Rabbi has an Israeli government official brought to him. The official is wearing a Yarmulke and begins saying all the standard niceties appropriate for such a meeting. The Rabbi cuts the man's words short and says, We are expecting the Messiah any moment now, and we know that He will come amid chaos. You have not done enough to create this chaos, and you need to do more, quickly.

• The battles have ended; the Jews have returned to the flock and taken their place as teachers of the law; the Father's true nature and character being taught, and now the nations are coming to the New Jerusalem.
• These people who are coming have one purpose, to be taught of the Lord and to learn His ways.
• And, there is one other thing to keep in mind. This stream of nations, all started with the catching away of the church – which is the body of Christ. Caught up we are instantly changed, but into what? An immortal body with no physical constraints, like the one Jesus has, and he walked through walls to enter a building, could be touched and felt, and ate fish with the disciples. If, we are interacting with the people on the earth, can they, in any manner, harm us? Not a chance, and therefore no fear. Now, how about those who have migrated into the millennial reign of Jesus, what kind of bodies will they have? They will come with the same mortal bodies that are subject to death. I know, it's a weird conversation, but it is a reality. Do these mortals have the possibility of a change into immortality? It certainly seems so, for the tree of life grows in abundance along the river that flows from the throne of God, and we have the opportunity to take that life (those leaves bring about the change and give the immortality) to those that come and receive the life of Christ in them.

As I sit here thinking about the inequalities of life I have experienced, I have a difficult time picturing heaven being any different than what I have found here on earth. Scripture can also give that impression when it says,

Micah 4:5 CJB  For all the peoples will walk, each in the name of its god;

If some are merely doing their own thing, then what keeps people from being bullies? The obvious answer is a swift, silencing judgment, that stops the problem before it starts.

1 Chronicles 28:9 NASB "... for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts...

Since there have always been bullies, why not now? The answer comes out of verses two and three.
"for the law will go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.  (3)  And he will judge between many peoples and will arbitrate for strong nations far away, and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up a sword against a nation, and they will no longer learn war.”

Peace will reign because Jesus now sits as a judge and dispenses law. I am not sure what that looks like, but it will be swift.

The word judge, as used in Micah 4:3 is the Hebrew word shâphaṭ. It is a primitive root meaning; to judge, that is, pronounce sentence (for or against); by implication to vindicate or punish; by extension to govern.

Other verses that speak to His judgment during this time are:

1 Samuel 2:10 NASB "Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth, And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed."

Psalms 2:5 NASB Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,

Psalms 110:6 NASB He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.

Isaiah 11:3-4 NASB And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; (4) But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

So the “He” we see in Micah 4:3 is Jesus? A similar picture is painted for us in Revelation, and there any word picture you see of God, is defined as Jesus. So this is Jesus sitting in judgment. Is that so unusual? Not according to John's gospel.

Look at what else Micah 4:4 tells us.
“Everyone will live in peace among their own vineyards and fig trees, and no one will make them afraid. .. Micah 4:4 GNB

Again the question, how is this possible? The answer is found in Micah 4:3 where it says,
"and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up a sword against a nation, and they will no longer learn war.”

Having learned a bit, I know that when the Messiah comes back to earth, He comes to the battle against those who are willing to fight. (Zechariah 14:16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem ...) So, naturally, there will be some who are left, and those who did not fight. I know that hatred and fighting skills are taught to Muslim children as soon as they are capable of responding intelligently. Does that mean mama and her five-year-old son are arbitrarily killed when Jesus returns? Not unless they were physically fighting against Him. That means they can carry their anger and hatred with them into the millennial reign? Apparently, but as we have seen, if these mortals act out in any manner that demonstrates that violent nature, they will be swiftly silenced. And weapons are no longer allowed as you don't need them.

Perhaps for some this entire scenario is hard to grasp; I know it is for me. What I see is the garden that Adam walked in. A vegetarian with no complaints, and here the “mortals” are at peace, sitting in the shade of their gardens. Weapons were turned into gardening tools and perhaps a pocket knife as there will be apples to peel, but no one has the thought of killing the neighbor who doesn't control his pets. Wild beasts, there are none, for human dominion over animals has returned. And, for a thousand years, with no tempter, there will be peace.


 At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time, and he will deceive the nations. Does that mean that some continue to live outside of a relationship with God? Apparently, but as I said, there will be peace. A final judgment comes. It is the only judgment, and it is reserved for “the dead.”
What of those alive? Again, it is logical to assume that those alive have been brought into the kingdom of peace. All the dead will be brought before the great white throne and judged. Matthew 25 shows us an image of this, and a portion of those summoned before the throne are given mercy and entrance into the kingdom. Why? Because they operated in a manner consistent with God's nature and showed kindness.