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“Lord, into your hands I commend myself, my body, and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.” This is how Dr. Luther encourages us and instructs us to conclude our prayers every morning and every evening. These are wonderful prayers. They acknowledge our sin, ask for forgiveness, give thanks to God for protecting us, and pray for physical, mental, and spiritual protection and guidance.

In our highly technological world the spiritual is often relegated to fantasy. To much of the world we might as well be praying for elves and wizards to protect us against trolls and goblins. As we draw closer to All Hallows Eve, much of the world would have us believe that angels, demons, and the devil are all make-believe. In their minds we should fear such things in the same way we fear a child wearing a Halloween costume. On the one hand, this is helpful. On the other, not so much.

For some, making light of such things can be a healthy way of coping with traumatic experiences. Rather than living a life of fear they make light of spooky things as a way to say that such things can’t hurt them. It is a safe way to experience fear. It’s a safe way to experience all the anxiety and tension that comes with fear without real danger. For some it may even be a sort of exposure therapy where they expose themselves to gruesome and terrifying things without risk. On the other hand, those who are more empathetic find that sort of thing too disturbing. Such things are indeed real dangers. It is not wise to give a foothold to the devil.

Make no mistake about it, angels are indeed real, both holy angels and fallen angels. Many of the struggles we face are indeed spiritual battles. Nothing would make the devil happier than for you to dismiss him as make-believe. Nothing would make him happier than for you to think that hell is not real. He would be delighted for you to think that there are no such things as fallen angels. Historically, people attributed. Nearly everything to the spiritual. Some cultures still maintain that perspective. In our western culture, people look at you a little funny if you speak of angels. They think of the cute little chubby cherub.

Angels are indeed real. I have many stories from combat that defy explanation. Make no mistake. Angels are real, both holy and fallen. In our text this morning we hear of St Michael who does battle with the devil. He and his army defeated him and cast him out of heaven. He casts him away from the presence of God. Last week we heard how Christ defeats another enemy. He defeats sin and death. The cause of death is sin. By bearing the burden of sin, He destroys death itself. He approached the dead man, touched him, then commanded him to rise from the dead. (When we touch the unclean we become unclean. But Christ’s touch turns the unclean holy!) One day Christ will stand at the foot of your grave as well. He will command you to rise. This morning we hear about the defeat of another enemy, the devil.

We don’t get a lot of information about angels in the scriptures. Only two angels are mentioned by name. We heard of Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel was the angel who made the announcement of the birth of Christ. Michael defeats the devil in battle. We also know that there are countless other angels. We hear about angels in disguise. It is clear from Genesis to Revelation that there are indeed angels among us. The good angels defend us and fight in our behalf. They rejoice with us in the divine service. The angels were rejoicing this morning at the baptism of Jordan, Erika, Cassie, and Malachi. They rejoice with us as we confess the faith. They rejoice with us and commune with us as we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

At the same time, the evil angels are hard at work. If anyone doubts the existence of evil angels, simply read the news headlines. Evil angels convince women to murder their babies. They convince others to sympathize with those who murder their babies. We can indeed have sympathy for mental illness while holding them accountable for their actions at the same time. They convince societies that killing the elderly who can no longer contribute is the compassionate thing to do. They convince nation to rise against nation. They snatch the word of God away from the believer and whisper words of doubt and disbelief.

It is the devil and his angels that convince someone to cheat on their spouse. It is the devil and his angels that convince someone to murder. It is the devil and his angels that convince someone to steal from his neighbor; hurt or harm his neighbor; put the worst construction on something they heard or saw; to covet their neighbor’s spouse or their belongings. It is the devil and his angels that cast doubt on the Word of God.

Peter describes the devil as a roaring lion, prowling about looking for someone to devour. We are not immune from such things. We are warned to be on guard against such things. The angels are indeed powerful. They are stronger than man. They too have a knowledge of the scriptures. When the devil tempts Jesus in the wilderness, he quotes the scriptures. Although, the evil angels will twist their meaning. It is not unusual to see so called ministers of the church twisting the scriptures to fit their own ideas when it should be the other way around. Our thoughts and ideas should be formed by the Word of God. All too often we begin with an idea then search the scriptures to justify our thoughts; rather than searching the scriptures first to develop and inform our thinking.

When Peter himself protests the death and resurrection of Jesus, he is immediately corrected by Jesus. “Get behind thee, satan!”  Peter knows all too well how anyone can be tempted and fall. This wouldn’t be the last time Peter sins.

However, we are not left defenseless. The book of Revelation describes a great battle. The great dragon, the devil himself fought against the angels. Filled with pride, he and the fallen angels thought they could overcome God. Even during the incarnation of Christ, knowing the prophetic Word, the devil still thought he could win. For a brief moment, he thought victory was his. But soon after the crucifixion, the devil learned that he had indeed lost. He and his fallen angels were cast out of heaven following their defeat at the hands of St Michael. Now Christ himself descended into hell to declare the final victory over sin, death, and the devil.

Christ assures us in our Gospel reading that we indeed have angels watching and guarding us. We pray rightly in the morning and evening prayer for the holy angels to be with us that the evil foe may have no power over us. God only knows how many times the angels have protected us or nudged us in one direction or another. We do know that they are indeed rejoicing today because of the baptisms we all witnessed. They are rejoicing at the confession of faith. They are rejoicing at the proclamation of the Gospel. “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

For the greatest battle took place on the cross. Christ destroyed death. Through the forgiveness of sins Christ erases death.25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11).

The cause of death is sin. Christ’s death and resurrection completed the satisfaction for sins. As His word now promises, all who believe in Him shall never die. Your sins are forgiven in Christ.

There is still a lot of confusion regarding angels. Popular culture has a lot of false information about angels. One popular idea is that we become angels when we die. This is false. The angels were created by God sometime within the six days of creation. The fall of satan and the angels who followed him happened sometime before the fall of Adam and Eve. We don’t know exactly how many angels there are. We do know that there are a lot of them. We know that there are different ranks: cherubim, seraphim, and archangel. We know that Michael is referred to as an archangel. The Apocrypha refers to Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel as archangels as well.

The word “angel” literally means messenger. Pastors are sometimes referred to as angels when they serve as messengers of God’s word. We know that angels are spirits who are also able to assume a physical form. “Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13). There are many examples in the Old Testament regarding the “angel of the Lord.” In many cases this is the pre-incarnate Christ. Other angels will not allow people to bow down in worship. The pre-incarnate Christ speaks as God and allows worship.

Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Know this. You do not fight alone. The brothers and sisters sitting around you fight by your side. The angels and the archangels take up the sword on your behalf. Most importantly, Christ has already defeated our greatest foe. Sin, death, and the devil have been defeated. The devil struck Jesus’ heel. Jesus has crushed the head of the serpent. You are free. Your sins are forgiven. You have been given everlasting life and salvation through Christ. Lord, into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things. Let your holy angel be with me that the evil foe has no power over me. Amen.