How Do Angels Interact with People Today?

Question: Four questions my wife and I are discussing:

1. Are there any examples of angels engaging in combat in the Bible?
2. Are there any examples of angels engaging in a healing process in the Bible?
3. What are the methods of angels interacting with humans and do you have any references
4. Do angels deliver messages today to believers and if so, is there a limit here to what messages, and could they deliver it through other people?

Answer: There is a surprising amount of information in the Bible about angels. In answer to your questions…

1. Daniel 10 depicts an angel who came to answer Daniel’s prayer with a message from God. He related to Daniel that the “prince of Persia” resisted him until the archangel Michael’s arrival to help him get free to come to Daniel. It seems the conflict between angels in heaven affects the lives of people on earth. Various political entities have angelic and demonic beings associated with them seeking to accomplish things in and through them. The demonic prince of Persia did not want the angel from God to encourage Daniel, but Michael made sure he got through. In addition to this passage many others speak of angels as the Host of God, and angels are seen in battle or ready for battle in such passages as Numbers 22; 2 Samuel 24; 2 Kings 19; and Matthew 25:63 among others.
2. After Jesus’ temptation (Matthew 4:11) and his prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) angels came to Jesus and ministered to or strengthened him.
3. Angels are seen in Scripture accompanying the Israelites in the Exodus (Exodus 32:34), bringing messages from God (Matthew 1:20; 2:13; Luke 1:11-13, 26-28; Acts 10:3-6; 27:23,24; et al), participating in the last judgment (throughout the book of Revelation) and various other activities involving humans. Admittedly, these are few and far between, but they on occasion act on behalf of God to accomplish His purposes.
4. It is entirely up to God as to whether He wants to use angels today to deliver messages to believers and He may indeed choose to do so, as many have attested. Hebrews 13:2 encourages us to entertain strangers since they might be angels. This isn’t the only reason Scripture gives for helping those in need, but it shows us that God may still use angels in this way. The only limit I can think of as to what they might communicate to people is that it cannot be in contradiction to God’s revealed Word in Scripture. As to whether they can communicate through another person, that seems a little too much like demon possession and the Scripture never represents angels as doing that.