In Hebrews 13:2 it says we are to be hospitable because in doing so some have entertained angels unawares. I’m trying to understand if this means there is a possibility we could show kindness to an actual angel (appearing as a human), or if by “entertaining” it is talking about them being entertained (i.e. rejoicing) by what we do to real humans during our lifetime.<\/p>\n\t
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The command to entertain strangers is given support by noting that some in the past have entertained angels without being aware of who their guests were. For example, Abraham served a meal for angels (Genesis 18). Lot took two angels into his home (Genesis 19). It isn’t that everyone has entertained angels or that this is a common occurrence. The point is that no one ever knows when they might be entertaining an angel, so being hospitable should not be neglected.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: In Hebrews 13:2 it says we are to be hospitable because in doing so some have entertained angels unawares. I’m trying to understand if this means there is a possibility we could show kindness to an actual angel (appearing as a human), or if by “entertaining” it is talking about them being entertained (i.e.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1502,1149],"class_list":["post-38779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-angels","tag-hospitality"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18580,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-dont-we-see-angels-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":0},"title":"Why don’t we see angels today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can you tell me why Christians today cannot see angels as the apostles did? I realize that only those baptized with the Holy Spirit (the apostles and those they laid their hands on and Cornelius and his household) were able to perform miracles, but Acts 5:19-20 and Acts 12:7-8\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28243,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-it-a-miracle-when-a-person-sees-an-angel-or-receives-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":1},"title":"Isn’t it a miracle when a person sees an angel or receives the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What about people who see angels these days? Is that not a miracle or are you teaching that is of the devil? What about receiving the Holy Spirit is that not a miracle? Answer: Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4211,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/angels-and-other-spiritual-beings\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":2},"title":"Angels and Other Spiritual Beings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Daniel 10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Men have long been fascinated by angels \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is a bit of mystery involved because not much is written about them \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yet what we do know leaves us in awe of these beings II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What are angels? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The words for angel in both Hebrew and Greek simply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57754,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-angels-eat\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":3},"title":"How can angels eat?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother in Christ, Can you please explain Genesis 18:8 where it says Abraham offered them a calf, curds, and milk and they ate. Thanks. Answer: Before Abraham meets the three strangers, we were told that the Lord appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:1). As the story progresses, one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95004,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-your-congregation-have-a-hospitality-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":4},"title":"Does your congregation have a hospitality team?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am seeking to better understand whether certain practices are becoming more common among congregations of the Lord's church. Would you please reply to the following question: Does your congregation currently have an organized 'Hospitality Team' (or similar group) that is tasked by the church with planning, coordinating, promoting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-angels-look-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":38779,"position":5},"title":"What do angels look like?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you so much for putting the\u00a0pictures online.\u00a0 I am trying to prepare for a Bible class as a substitute without resources.\u00a0 Many of these pictures are exactly what I need to present the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord to second and third graders; but I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/top_16-300x203.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}