Angelic Rank

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Sun, 09/06/2024 - 00:00

Which little boy has never dreamed of wearing an army uniform while marching about his kitchen or backyard? I called at Chelsea’s National Army Museum last week. More impressive than the more famous Imperial War Museum, it displayed a number of uniforms, hats and weapons, detailing our Army’s beginnings with Oliver Cromwell down to the present day.

When I gave a talk on angels last month for our 2024 Bible Week, I suggested that the differences in angel (cherubim, seraphim, archangels and probably more) was on account of two possibilities. The first is that there are different species of angel. Hence their descriptions and sizes vary, for they are different types of creature, albeit of greater intelligence and glory than man. Others, however, such as Louis Berghoff, attribute these differences to mere function and rank. Whereas a British Army platoon, company or brigade are all made up of human beings, their individual appearances are altered by their ranks, expressed in uniform. A sergeant major, a captain and a cook will all appear differently to the private soldier, not in substance, but in apparel and function. Likewise, a soldier’s uniform will differ depending upon regiment and duty. We would not expect the Welsh Guards to fight in Afghanistan wearing the same scarlet tunics and bearskins in which they guard His Majesty the King at Buckingham Palace.

One day we shall understand angels the better, correctly comprehending their nature, number and differences. Until then, let us content ourselves with understanding our own place in the divine order, our own rank and function within the army of Jesus Christ, which wrestles not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities.

Whether we are called to lead, to pray, to cook, or to evangelise, let us do so with cheer and zeal. We are likened to an army, yet the average Christian often lacks discipline and drive, as though he were engaged in a hobby rather than a spiritual war.