The Angelic Invasion: The Significance of the Angelic Host at Bethlehem

On the night Jesus was born, an angel appeared to a special group of shepherds near Bethlehem to announce Christ’s birth.

When the angel finished delivering His heavenly announcement, Luke 2:13 and 14 tells us, “…Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The word “suddenly” in the original language means unexpectedly, suddenly, or taking one off guard and by surprise. It could be translated unexpectantly, suddenly, or without warning.

What happened that took those shepherds off guard and by surprise without warning? Besides the sudden appearance of one angel, which in itself is a very uncommon supernatural occurrence, Luke 2:13 says there was with the angel “a multitude of the heavenly host.”

The word “multitude” in the original text depicts a colossal, enormous, huge, immense, or massive number, and the word “host” is translated from a Greek word that describes an assembly of warring soldiers.

Because the entire phrase says “a multitude of the heavenly host,” it means that suddenly the shepherds’ eyes were opened, and overhead, the shepherds beheld a colossal, enormous, huge, immense, massive number of warring angels from Heaven — that is, heavenly angels dressed like soldiers. That host had suddenly joined the lone angel, who had been addressing the shepherds prior to this moment.

Wow — can you just imagine what the shepherds witnessed that historical night? First, they were dazzled by a beam of light that suddenly shone on them. Then a single angel appeared to announce the birth of Jesus.

But after that, an incalculable number of heavenly angels that were dressed like mighty soldiers “materialized” in the heavens above them! These angels were dressed like a mighty army — as the armies of Heaven.

But why did this massive army of Heaven’s angels appear at the birth of Jesus?

The answer can be found, in part, in First Timothy 3:16, where the apostle Paul wrote about the Incarnation — the great mystery of godliness — the birth of Jesus Christ. Speaking of the Incarnation, Paul said, “...God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

For the First Time, Angels Beheld the Face of God

We learned in the last chapter that Jesus divested Himself of His glorious appearance in Heaven as God and, in humility, clothed Himself in human flesh in “the form of a servant” (see Philippians 2:7) in order to save mankind. And we know from Exodus 33:20-23 that no man could look directly into the face of God’s dazzling glory and live.

In that passage, we are told that God placed Moses in a “clift of the rock,” covered Moses with His hand to protect him from His glory, and then removed His hand only so Moses could look at His “back parts” (vv. 22, 23). Looking directly into the face of God was not possible because no human flesh could survive the glory of it.

Prior to the miraculous birth of Christ, even angels — though they lived in the presence of God — were not able to look directly into the face of God. The prophet Isaiah wrote that he saw angels in Heaven’s court covering their faces (see Isaiah 6:2), because even they cannot look directly into the blazing glory of God’s countenance.

Just as a person must hold his hands over his eyes to protect himself from the blinding light of the sun, Isaiah told us that angelic creatures used their wings to cover their eyes from the blinding light of God’s glory. The glory of God was (and is) such that even though angels lived in the immediate presence of God, no angel had ever gazed directly into the face of God Himself.

But Paul wrote in First Timothy 3:16 that when God was manifest in the flesh as Christ at Bethlehem, a multitude of the heavenly host came to witness this miraculous event. In the human personage of Christ, these angels were enabled, literally for the first time, to look into God’s face. A massive army of heavenly angels had come to finally peer directly into the face of Almighty God.

It was an unprecedented, magnificent feat when Jesus appeared as an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, revealing the face of His Father and, ultimately, our Father. John 1:14 says, “…And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In Second Corinthians 4:6, we are told, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” When Jesus was born, it was the first time ever that the glory of God could be visibly observed “in the face of Jesus Christ.” After His birth as a Babe at Bethlehem when He appeared as a human infant, angels came in massive numbers to witness Him — to behold the face of God for the first time ever. In Christ, God had indeed let the angels, and mankind, see His very face.

Wrapped in Human Flesh, Jesus Was Still Commander-in-Chief

Notice that this incalculable number of angels appeared at that moment dressed like heavenly soldiers. The reason they appeared as soldiers was that, even in His human birth, Jesus was their Commander-in-Chief. The angels came dressed appropriately because they were looking into the very face of God, their Chief Commander, for the first time.

As heavenly troops — Heaven’s armies — they were appropriately dressed to salute their great Commander-in-Chief, who had entered the world in Bethlehem and was beginning His assignment in the earth.

It is amazing that before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, Heaven’s hosts used their wings to shield their eyes from God’s glory — but we, with unveiled faces, are able to behold His glory (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). There is no need for us to draw any screen between our eyes and the Face in which we behold “…his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father…” (see John 1:14). Furthermore, those who trust in Christ, who are in their resurrected bodies, will finally be able to look directly into the face of God (see Revelation 22:4).

But also notice that Luke 2:13 and 14 says this massive multitude of heavenly angels were “…praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The word “praising” in the original text means to extol, exalt, or to praise. The word “saying” in the Greek language means to say or to speak, but the tense used here means they were saying, saying, and saying, or they were announcing, announcing, and announcing. With one voice, this throng of Heaven’s armies were harmoniously and simultaneously announcing the birth of God in the flesh over and over again.

Most think these verses say the angels sang at Jesus’ birth — but if you look closely at the passage, you’ll notice it doesn’t say that. Perhaps they did sing, but the passage never articulates this fact. It would certainly not surprise me if they sang, but amazingly, there is not a single instance anywhere in Scripture that refers to angels singing.

In the book of Zephaniah, we find that God sings over His people (see Zephaniah 3:17) — and in Revelation 5:9 and 10, we read that the 24 elders sing a song to the Lamb of God. But if we’re going to be honest with the passage in Luke 2:13 and 14, there is no mention there of the angels singing when this grand and glorious announcement of Christ’s birth was made to the shepherds in the fields that night.

The Role of Angels

As you study Scripture, you will discover that the role of angels is to listen and speak verbatim what God has instructed them to speak. Angels are repeaters. Once an angel — or a group of angels — delivers the exact message it was dispatched to speak exactly as God dictated it, that angel disappears as quickly as it appeared.

Angels are God-sent heavenly messengers who make word-for-word announcements. In the entire New Testament, there are only a few instances when angels conversed with a person — one of those instances was the case of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and another was with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In Mary’s case, the angel Gabriel appeared to make the announcement that she would give birth to Jesus. Mary responded, asking, “…How shall this be, seeing I know not a man” (see Luke 1:34). As God’s messenger, Gabriel answered the question (see v. 35), but was nevertheless only permitted to speak what He had been instructed to speak. So once Gabriel’s mission was completed, he disappeared. Although Gabriel was an archangel, even his function was to repeat verbatim the message that God entrusted to him and nothing more.

The Bible is replete with illustrations of angels being sent from Heaven to repeat word-for-word announcements from God.

• Luke 1:11-17 relates that an angel announced to Zacharias that his wife would give birth to a son — which, of course, was John the Baptist.

• Luke 1:26-33 states that Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to Mary.

• Luke 2:9-14 records that an angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.

• Three Gospel accounts — Matthew 28:5-7, Mark 16:6,7, and Luke 24:5-7 — testify that angels announced Jesus’ resurrection.

• Acts 1:11 says two angels appeared to the apostles at the time of Jesus’ ascension and announced that He would return in the same manner as they saw Him go into Heaven.

• First Thessalonians 4:16,17 foretells that the voice of the archangel will announce that moment when believers will be caught up together, along with those who are resurrected, to meet the Lord in the air.

• The book of Revelation is filled with angelic announcements that initiate judgments upon the earth and its unbelieving inhabitants.

• And now, for the purpose of my retelling the story of Christmas, Luke 2:13,14 tells us that a massive multitude of heavenly angels “…were praising God, and saying….” In other words, they were announcing something — the birth of the long-awaited Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we have seen, the word “praising” means this massive multitude of heavenly angels were extolling, exalting, and praising God, but it does not say they were singing. In fact, according to the original text, “praising” can also mean they were saying. Then the word in this verse actually translated “saying” also means to say or to speak, as we’ve seen, and the tense means saying, saying, and saying, or announcing, announcing, and announcing.

Perhaps the angels did sing as many people imagine, but the verse says they over and over announced: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

Then in the typical fashion of angels that we read about throughout the Bible, when those angels finished making their declaration to the shepherds, Luke 2:15 tells us they immediately disappeared and returned to Heaven.

Just like that…as suddenly as the heavenly host appeared to those shepherds, the angels in the same manner disappeared — and all their splendor with them — leaving the shepherds in the darkness of the night they’d stood in just minutes before. By the distant light of the stars and the golden glow of the Migdal Eder tower, the shepherds made haste from the fields to begin looking for the Messiah who had just been born.