Does the Bible talk about guardian angels? Does every child and even every adult have a guardian angel? If guardian angels exist, when does God assign those to particular individuals? Does the blessing of little children have anything to do with God’s assignments of guardian angels to them? What about those who were never blessed as little children, but come to the faith later in life—do they not have guardian angels?
We say the following about guardian angels in our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World”:
“Many have speculated over the years whether or not the Bible teaches the existence of ‘guardian angels,’ that is to say, a specific angel that God has assigned to a particular person. The Bible leaves no room for doubt that guardian angels do exist. [In] Genesis 48:15–16…, Jacob acknowledged the presence of his guardian angel throughout his life. We read in the Revised English Bible, ‘The God in whose presence my forefathers lived, my forefathers Abraham and Isaac, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who rescued me from all misfortune, may he bless these boys.’ Jacob was convinced that God had been with him all of his life, and He was specifically present through a particular angel whom He had assigned to watch over Jacob.
“Acts 12:15 shows that the disciples thought that Peter’s angel had appeared, as they believed Peter to be in prison. They specifically said, ‘It is his angel.’ In other words, they thought it was the particular angel whom God had assigned to watch over Peter.
“Notice, too, the following remarkable statement of Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:10, in talking about little children that believe in Him, as well as true Christians who must become ‘as’ little children: ‘Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.’
“In addition, Paul makes an interesting comment in 1 Corinthians 11:10. The context is the wearing of long hair for women. We read, ‘For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority [i.e., long hair, compare verse 15] on her head, because of the angels.’ Paul’s point is this: A woman is to submit to the authority of her husband (compare verse 3), and her wearing long hair is an outward symbol of such willingness. Paul went on to say that a woman should do so ‘because of the angels,’ implying that in such case, the woman can be assured of angelic protection. Here, angels are referred to in the plural, showing that God may sometimes assign several guardian angels to one person. Notice also Psalm 91:11 where it says God ‘shall give His angels charge over you.’
“We read that a star appeared to the wise men from the East, leading them to the place where Jesus Christ dwelt, after He had been born. We read in Matthew 2:1–2, 9–11: ‘Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”… When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.’
“This star appeared to them in the East and led them to Jerusalem and from there to the place where Christ lived. This was not an ordinary star, but a bright, shining angel. The Bible identifies and compares stars with angels on numerous occasions (compare Revelation 1:20; 9:1–2; 12:4). Note that the wise men from the East refer to this star as ‘HIS star’—that is, the star, or angel, of the Christ Child. They understood that Christ was the newborn King and they came from the East to worship Him.
“If they understood that the star was an angel, then they also knew that this angel was assigned to the Christ Child. This is not to say, of course, that only one angel watched over Christ. On one occasion, He mentioned to Peter that He could ask His Father for ‘more than twelve legions of angels’ (Matthew 26:53)—more than 72,000 angels. Remember also that ‘angels’ ministered to Christ after His lengthy fast (Matthew 4:11). Notice, too, Christ’s statement in John 1:51: ‘…hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
“Christ knew that He was surrounded by angels. Angels were very real to Him. He did not doubt their existence—after all, it was He who created all of them. We also saw that God may assign one angel to guard or protect numerous people, or an entire nation. For instance, the archangel Michael is described to Daniel as ‘The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people’ (Daniel 12:1).”
The Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates continue the practice shown by Jesus Christ to bless little children (Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17). In blessing the child and laying their hands on it, they ask God to set it apart for His holy purpose of protection, guidance and a special relationship with Him. We normally conduct the blessing of the little children ceremony by setting aside a time during the annual Feast of Tabernacles. When the minister blesses the child, while laying his hands on their head , he may ask the Father in prayer to assign a special guardian angel to the child for protection.
Does this mean then, that the child did not have God’s protection, including through His angels, prior to its blessing? Does a person not have a guardian angel if he is not blessed as a child?
When does God assign a special angel to children and adults? Do all people around the world have guardian angels?
We can clearly see in the Bible that not every person enjoys God’s protection. This world is cut off from God, and unless God calls someone to salvation in this day and age prior to Christ’s return, he or she is subject to “time and chance” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). However, an important exception is made for children who have at least one converted parent, or for an unbelieving spouse who is married to a believer. We read in 1 Corinthians 7:14:
“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.”
The unbelieving spouse is sanctified by the believing spouse; that is, he or she is set aside for a holy purpose and can therefore also enjoy God’s specific protection, as long as he or she does not depart from the believer. The same is true for a child of a believing parent, as long as the child does not forsake God’s Way. That child is “holy”—that is, “sanctified” or set aside for a holy purpose. As we have seen, when focusing on the blessing of a child, to be sanctified has a direct relationship to God’s protection and, by extension, to having a guardian angel. We are told that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve and minister for those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:13)—in other words, who are sanctified for that very purpose of ultimately inheriting salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The connection between prayers of the “saints” (those who are “sanctified” or “holy”, including “holy” children) and the role and function of (their?) angels can be seen in passages such as Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4.
We read in Mark 10:13-16:
“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.”
With His blessing of little children coming to Him comes God’s protection, and God protects many times through His angels. But this does not mean, of course, that only those who are particularly blessed in the ceremony of the blessing of little children will receive a guardian angel. For instance, the Bible does not say that Peter or Jacob, when they were children, were blessed by Christ [or by one of His New Testament ministers or Old Testament priests] in a particular blessing ceremony so that God assigned a guardian angel to them. Still, as we have read, they had guardian angels rescuing and protecting them.
In addition, we don’t read that the Christ Child was especially blessed in a specific ceremony to become sanctified and be given a guardian angel. But clearly, He had guardian angels assigned to Him, and that from the very moment of His conception.
When considering adults in general who were never blessed as children and who did not grow up in the Church, but who came to the Truth later in their adult life, it is not to be assumed that they were only given special guardian angels when they answered God’s call for salvation. We can safely say that they had God’s protection, through His angels, much earlier than that as they had been preordained to be called in their lives prior to their birth (Please read our free booklet, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”). As they were predestined, God had to see to it that they would be protected and not die “prematurely,” so that they could be called in their due and allotted time.
One might ask why there should be then a specific blessing ceremony if a guardian angel had already been assigned to the child prior to the blessing ceremony? First of all, the blessing ceremony by believing parents, through the ministry, constitutes a plea to God for the protection of their child. In addition, God would have known that the child would be blessed, and God would have inspired the blessing ceremony as an outward sign—as proof and assurance—that the child would be protected continually.
We might think of the following analogy in this regard: When a person is ordained, God had already decided that he or she would be ordained, and He inspired the ministry to carry out His decision as an acknowledgement and outward manifestation of God’s Will. A person to be ordained as a minister has shown prior to his ordination that he was qualified by God to become ordained by the ministry. In that way, the blessing of a child in a special ceremony gives proof and assurance that that child meets the conditions and is “qualified” to be blessed.
Asking God to assign a guardian angel to the child in that particular blessing ceremony does not exclude the fact that a guardian angel had not already been assigned to the child before the ceremony. It is a plea for the continuation of such protection with the further plea to look after the child so that it will grow up in the Truth and stay in the Truth, without falling away. It is no guarantee that the child will become converted, and it is ultimately up to God whether He will call such a person to salvation (if that person was preordained to be called, then of course it will happen), but we do not necessarily know God’s Will and preordained purpose in that regard.
As long as the child is willing to be subject to the converted parent, his or her sanctification and protection through God’s angels is guaranteed. (And in passing, as long as the unconverted spouse is willing to live with the converted husband, his or her sanctification and protection will continue with the potential of having a special relationship with God.)
If parents have an opportunity to have their children blessed, with a plea for special guidance and protection, and the realization that their angels will always see the face of the Father in heaven (compare again Matthew 18:10), they should most certainly take advantage of that special privilege.
In conclusion, we should also mention the right and the wrong approach towards angels, including and especially regarding our guardian angels. We should never try to make contact with our guardian angels, lest we make contact with the wrong kind of angel.
We say in our booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World”:
“The more we study the Scriptures about the world of angels, the more we will be struck by the awesome truth that unfolds in front of our eyes. We will learn about unknown and unheard of powers and abilities that angels possess. Their tremendous strength and might could perhaps motivate us to worship angels in our thoughts. The study of the angelic world might also tempt us to seek to get in contact with angels, and to literally worship them. These actions would be a terrible mistake. The Bible warns us explicitly NOT to do so… In addition, the Bible warns us not to make contact with angels… Colossians 2:18 states: ‘Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.’ Most commentaries and translators point out that the Greek conveys here the meaning of someone who tries to initiate contact with the spirit world…”
Lead Writer: Norbert Link