Joshua 5 recounts Christ’s appearance to Joshua as he prepared to conquer Jericho:
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” (Joshua 5: 13-14 NASB)
In Hebrew, the word hosts is translated as tsebaah, which means warriors or soldiers organized for military service and equipped for war. The Lord’s hosts, therefore, are a mass of angelic beings. This scripture makes it clear that there is a very real and organized angelic army. We often unconsciously think of angelic beings as imaginary or having little purpose, but you can see by now that this is far from the truth! They are created to carry out God’s plans under the command of Christ Himself. They are mobilized by His words, including those spoken forth by the saints. Psalm 103: 20 (NLT) says, “Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.” This means they listen and respond to the words of God that we speak (including Holy Spirit-inspired prophetic words and decrees of faith) organizing, fighting, and campaigning to bring them to pass. They are heavenly warriors.
This angel army does what armies do. What is it that armies do?
-Guard and protect a king and his kingdom.
-Guard the inhabitants of the kingdom.
-Implement the king’s strategies, plans, and laws Protect kingdom boundaries (patrol the borders).
-Enforce the king’s jurisdiction (where his authority reaches).
-Steward the king’s resources or the kingdom’s resources.
-Facilitate and enforce covenants (whatever a king decrees).
-Keep weapons and weapon systems in operating condition.
-War against threats to the kingdom
-Protect and assist a king’s family (heirs).
