Welcome to the Days of Praise podcast, a daily devotional by the Institute for Creation Research. Lord of Hosts, thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew twenty six fifty three. This short verse is packed with important theological information. Not only did the Lord Jesus once again claim God was his Father, making himself equal with God, but he also made a direct reference to his divinity using powerful Old Testament terminology.
In numerous places across the scriptures, God referred to Himself as the Lord Yahweh of hosts, or Lord Yahweh God Elohim of hosts. Yahweh is a unique name of God, and Elohim is the grammatical plural of God, giving veiled reverence to the Trinity. Hear, O Israel: the Lord Yahweh, our God, Elohim, is one Lord. Yahweh. In the era in which Jesus made this statement, a Roman legion was six thousand soldiers.
So, twelve legions of angels would have been seventy-two thousand strong. If a single angel could kill one hundred and eighty-five thousand men, according to Isaiah thirty-seven thirty-six, Jesus was basically inferring that as the Lord of Hosts, he could employ enough angels to kill every person on Earth and then some.
So, obviously, he did not need Peter's sword to defend him, as he was being betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Likewise, when the Roman governor Pilate said, "Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release thee?" the Lord Jesus responded, "Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from heaven." Praise be to Jesus, that He gave Himself for our redemption, so we can say, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. 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. Verse Timothy three sixteen. If you've enjoyed today's devotional, be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and please rate and review so more listeners can find us.
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