Messenger in Revelations

Makestraightpaths.com examines the teachings of the religious group variously known as “the Family,” “The Family International,” the “Children of God,” or the “Family of Love,” and evaluates these teachings from a Christian perspective.

This page is one in a series examining the Family teachings about spirit helpers.

The Messenger in the Book of Revelations

One of the most controversial Family teachings concerns their long-standing belief that Christians may freely communicate with “spirit helpers.” To the Family, spirit helpers are people who have died, or angels, or other spiritual beings who are active in the ‘spirit world,’ an unseen dimension that coexists with the visible material world. According to the Family, these beings are unrestricted by human limitations and actively assist Christians in their work for the Lord.

The Family believes that much of the book of Revelations was given to the apostle John by a departed saint. Therefore, according to the Family, Christians may contact the spirits of the dead in order to receive prophetic messages. This belief is based on these verses:

Rev 22:8-9

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, "Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."

NASB

According to the Family, the one who was talking to John was not actually an angel, but was the spirit of a person who had been a prophet in life, and after he had died he had been used by the Lord to bring messages from God to people. The reasons for this belief are:

The angel says that he is "of your brethren the prophets" meaning (according to the Family) that he is human, not angelic.
The word 'angel' actually means 'messenger.'

However, neither of these reasons are valid.

First, the text does not indicate that the messenger is human. The NASB translation (above) shows that the angel says that he is a servant of John's and a servant of John's brethren the prophets. It does not say that he is one of John's brethren.

Other translations indicate that the angel was saying that he is also a servant of God, just as John is a servant of God. This is the likely meaning, given that the angel was responding to John's ill-placed worship.

Rev 22:9 But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" NIV

Rev 22:9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” NET

Rev 22:9 but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." RSV

Rev 22:9 But he said, "No, don't worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God" NLT

Rev 22:9 but again he said, "No, don't do anything like that. I, too, am a servant of Jesus as you are, and as your brothers the prophets are, as well as all those who heed the truth stated in this book. Worship God alone." TLB

Second, the text clearly indicates the identity of the messenger. A quick scan back through the text finds him identified in the previous chapter:

Rev 21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." NASU

Jesus himself identified the messenger as an angel.

Rev 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." NASU

This was no human spirit. This was a mighty angel of God.

Third, it is true that the Greek word translated 'angel' can sometimes refer to a human messenger. It is used in this way in Luke 7:24 to refer to John the Baptist's disciples who were sent to Jesus with a message from John, and a few verses later in Luke 7:27, quoting an Old Testament prophecy referring to John the Baptist himself.

However, the word clearly also refers to non-human angels. In Matthew 28:2, it is used of the angel who rolled away the tomb stone at Jesus' resurrection. In Luke 1:11 it is used of the angel Gabriel who came to Zacharias, and then again to Mary in Luke 1:26. It is used of the angels who came to the shepherds when Jesus was born (Luke 2:9). It is also used of the angels mentioned throughout the book of Revelations (Rev 7:1, 14:18, 16:5 etc).

This means that the only way that the Family can claim that the messenger of Revelations 22:8 was a human spirit is for them also to claim that all instances of angels in the Bible are also human spirits. Clearly this would be untrue.

In Revelations 19:10, a similar incident occurred.

Rev 19:10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." NASU

This angel was also specifically identified.

Rev 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. NASU

Conclusion

The messenger speaking to John in the book of Revelations was not the spirit of a departed saint; he was an angel.

Therefore these verses may not be used to support the Family's doctrines of hearing from the dead. In fact, the Bible strongly condemns such actions. See Hearing from Spirit Helpers for a summary of all the pages on Make Straight Paths on this topic.

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