Why does God have host of angels? Does He keep ammunition and has the habit of attacking others?
Those sentences which are colored in orange are from Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) and those which are colored in black are Jerry Thomas’s response.
"And as Jacob went on his way the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim." (32:1, 2.)
C. Now there can be no doubt that the Christian God is a man as He also deeps an army (host). He must, therefore, also have war implements (arms and ammunition), and be in the habit of attacking others and fighting with them; otherwise it would be of no use to keep an army.
Answer: If Maharishi had understood Genesis 1, where it has been clearly taught that God is the creator of heavens and the earth, Maharishi would have understood that there is no need for army of hosts for God to do anything.
For Holy God of the Bible to destroy the blasphemers, He does not need an army.
God of the Bible can do mighty wonders ALONE (Psalms 136:2-6).
By His mere looks, great and mighty armies are troubled and destroyed:
Exodus 14:23 “And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.
Moreover, we read in Revelation that even when the army of host accompanies the God almighty, it is just the word from His mouth that destroys nations and Satan who are against the true God.
Revelation 19:14-16 – And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on [His] robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Now, the question is does the blasphemers deserve even a direct punishment from God. Is not one of the angels sufficient to execute those punishments (e.g. as we see in Revelation 14-6).
Further, war or execution of judgments is not the only purpose of the host of armies. Believers who need attention but who may not be able to stand in God’s awesome presence may have the benefit of being ministered by angels.
There are many other activities that angels do.
Dr. John Bechtle writes about the different activities of angels. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html
Worship and praise – This is the main activity portrayed in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4-5).
Revealing – They serve as messengers to communicate God's will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses (Acts 7:52-53), and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel, and Revelation.
Guiding – Angels gave instructions to Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2), to the women at the tomb, to Philip (Acts 8:26), and to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8).
Providing – God has used angels to provide physical needs such as food for Hagar (Genesis 21:17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:6), and Christ after His temptation (Matthew 4:11).
Protecting – Keeping God's people out of physical danger, as in the cases of Daniel and the lions, and his three friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3 and 6).
Delivering – Getting God's people out of danger once they're in it. Angels released the apostles from prison in Acts 5, and repeated the process for Peter in Acts 12.
Strengthening and encouraging – Angels strengthened Jesus after His temptation (Matt 4:11), encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5:19-20), and told Paul that everyone on his ship would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25).
Answering prayer – God often uses angels as His means of answering the prayers of His people (Daniel 9:20-24; 10:10-12; Acts 12:1-17).
Caring for believers at the moment of death – In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit of Lazarus to “Abraham's bosom” when he died (Luke 16:22).
Now, one wonders what this self-styled Vedic teacher would say about Vedic deities.
Apart from the regular wars those Vedic deities waged, there was hymn dedicated to the weapons of war in Rig Veda.
Rig Veda 6: 75: 1-19
1. THE warrior's look is like a thunderous rain-cloud's, when, armed with mail, he seeks the lap of battle. Be thou victorious with unwounded body: so let the thickness of thy mail protect thee.
2. With Bow let us win kine, with Bow the battle, with Bow be victors in our hot encounters. The Bow brings grief and sorrow to the foeman: armed with the Bow may we subdue all regions.
3. Close to his car, as fain to speak, she presses, holding her well-loved Friend in her embraces. Strained on the Bow, She whispers like a woman-this Bowstring that preserves us in the combat.
4. These, meeting like a woman and her lover, bear, mother-like, their child upon their bosom. May the two Bow-ends, starting swift asunder, scatter, in unison, the foes who hate us.
5. With many a son, father of many daughters, He clangs and clashes as he goes to battle. Slung on the back, pouring his brood, the Quiver vanquishes all opposing bands and armies.
6. Upstanding in the Car the skilful Charioteer guides his strong Horses on whithersoe’er he will. See and admire the strength of those controlling Reins which from behind declare the will of him who drives.
7. Horses whose hoofs rain dust are neighing loudly, yoked to the Chariots, showing forth their vigour, with their forefeet descending on the foemen, they, never flinching, trample and destroy them.
8. Car-bearer is the name of his oblation, whercon are laid his Weapons and his Armour. So let us here, each day that passes, honour the helpful Car with hearts exceeding joyful.
9. In sweet association lived the fathers who gave us life, profound and strong in trouble, unwearied, armed with shafts and wondrous weapons, free, real heroes, conquerors of armies.
10. The Brahmans, and the Fathers meet for Soma-draughts, and, graciously inclined, unequalled Heaven and Earth. Guard us trom evil, Pūṣan, guard us strengtheners of Law: let not the evil-wisher master us.
11. Her tooth a deer, dressed in an eagle's feathers, bound with cow-hide, launched forth, She flieth onward. There where the heroes speed hither and thither, there may the Arrows shelter and protect us.
12. Avoid us thou whose flight is straight, and let our bodies be as stone.May Soma
kindly speak to us, and Aditi protect us well.
13. He lays his blows upon their backs, he deals his blows upon their thighs. Thou, Whip, who urgest horses, drive sagacious horses in the fray.
14. It compasses the arm with serpent windings, fending away the friction of the bowstring: So may the Brace, well-skilled in all its duties, guard manfully the man from every quarter.
15. Now to the Shaft with venom smeared, tipped with deer-horn, with iron mouth,Celestial, of Parjanya's seed, be this great adoration paid.
16. Loosed from the Bowstring fly away, thou Arrow, sharpened by our prayer. Go to the foemen, strike them home, and let not one be left alive.
17. There where the flights of Arrows fall like boys whose locks are yet unshorn.Even there may Brahmaṇaspati, and Aditi protect us well, protect us well through all our days.
18. Thy vital parts I cover with thine Armour: with immortality King Soma clothe thee. Varuṇa give thee what is more than ample, and in thy triumph may the Gods be joyful.
19. Whoso would kill us, whether he be a strange foe or one of us.
Applying the same standard of Maharishi and imitating his language, one can say that Vedas were written by uncultured violent war lords who believed in cult of violence so much so that they made a hymn of prayer for weapons and includes those in the supposedly divine scriptures.
O dear Vedic Hindus, we urge you to leave the cult of violence and come to the peaceful path of LORD Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace.
