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What are angels?
An angel is
a pure spirit created by God. The Old Testament
theology included the belief in angels: the name
applied to certain spiritual beings or
intelligences of heavenly residence, employed by
God as the ministers of His will.
The English word "angel" comes from the Greek
angelos, which means 'messenger'. In the Old
Testament, with two exceptions, the Hebrew word
for "angel" is malak, also meaning 'messenger'.
The prophet Malachi took his name from this
word. He was himself a messenger, and he
prophesied about the coming of "the messenger of
the covenant", Jesus Christ (Malachi 3:1).
Although the word "angel" in the Bible, meaning
a messenger, nearly always applies to heavenly
beings, it can occasionally apply to human
messengers. Malachi himself said a priest was a
messenger (malak) of the LORD of hosts (Malachi
2:7), and in the Book of Revelation the elders
of the seven churches of Asia were called angels
(1:20; 2:1 etc.). But when we meet messengers
doing supernatural things, there is no doubt
they are heavenly beings - God's messengers,
working for Him and for the ultimate benefit of
mankind.
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How
do we know angels exist?
The Scriptures give us no indication of the
precise time of the creation of angels; their
existence is assumed at the earliest times. Our
Lord often spoke of angels; in the New Testament
they are numerous and seven orders are
mentioned: Angels, Powers, Principalities,
Dominions (ations), Thrones and Archangels the
Old Testament specifically mentions two others
Seraph (im) and Cherub(im). God bestowed upon
angels great wisdom, freedom, and power, and
their many appearances in the New Testament are
indication of the lead role assigned to them.
Both the New Testament and Old Testament refer
also to the fallen angels. The Temptation of
Adam and Eve presupposes the existence of bad
spirits or demons who were cast into hell from
which they have no hope of redemption. Angels
are purely spiritual or bodiless persons (Mt
11:30), some of whom behold the face of God and
thus are in bliss (Mt 18:10). These spiritual
beings comprise the celestial court and are
called angels (from the Greek for "messenger")
because, according to the Bible, they carry out
missions at God's command. In order to complete
these missions, they can at times assume bodily
form. According to the Bible, their missions are
sometimes of great importance - eg, the
Annunciation (Lk 1:26; 2:9-14). Like us , the
angels are the objects of God's grace and love.
But because, unlike us they are non-bodily
creatures, their response to God's love did not
require time and reflection to grow and mature.
As soon as they were created and received grace,
they had the opportunity to respond to God's
love and thus be welcomed into bliss. While many
did so, some did not. Perhaps the most
significant continuing activity of the good
angels is to be the agents of God's particular
providence for mankind. Thus, the Church teaches
that everyone has a guardian angel, based on
references to them throughout the Bible.
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Why
did God Create Angels?
The Creator Himself is so powerful and glorious
that He cannot be approached in person by human
beings. He alone "hath immortality, dwelling in
the light which no man can approach unto: whom
no man hath seen, nor can see (1 Timothy 6:16).
Angels do not have man's shortcomings, and can
therefore act for God and represent Him when
communicating with men and women. They bridge
the huge gap between the holiness and perfection
of God in heaven and the shortcomings of dying
people on this planet. Angels were made immortal
(that is, never to die). Their eternal quality
was spoken of by Jesus when he said:
"They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain
that world, and the resurrection from the dead,
neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
neither can they die any more: for they are
equal unto the angels; and are the children of
God. being the children of the resurrection."
(Luke 20:35.36)
Jesus was saying that, in the same way as the
angels (the children or "sons" of God) live for
ever and are of one gender, so those who will be
called the "sons" and "daughters" of God when
Jesus returns will also live for ever and will
not marry.
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Angels with Names
Only occasionally are the angels given names.
"Michael",
for instance, was "the great prince which standeth
for the children of thy people (Israel)" (Daniel
12:1). Undoubtedly, among the most significant
of angelic appearances were those by the angel
whose name was
"Gabriel".
He was sent twice to the prophet Daniel. On the
second occasion Daniel was at prayer, and
Gabriel, "being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me ... and talked with me" and proceeded
to prophesy the date of the first coming of the
Messiah, Jesus Christ (Daniel 9:21-27). There
was therefore great expectation among the Jews
at the time when Jesus Christ was about to be
born, and this was heightened by the personal
appearance of
Gabriel
again, firstly to Zechariahs the
priest while on duty in the temple, and then to
Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph. To Zechariahs,
the angel announced. "I am
Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God:
and am sent to speak unto thee" (Luke 1:19). We
notice that angels can stand in the glorious
presence of the LORD. whereas men cannot. and
angels are sent to do whatever God wishes. His
mission here was to announce the miraculous
birth of John the Baptist.
Six months later,
Gabriel appeared to Mary, who was in the
royal line of King David. Her prayer, said the
angel, had found favor with God, and she would
be the mother of the expected Messiah.
Gabriel told her that she would conceive
through the power of the Holy Spirit and her son
would be Jesus, the Savior, and he would be the
Son of God and would occupy the royal throne of
David (Luke 1:26-33). It was an extraordinary
meeting because Mary was not yet married.
Nothing is impossible with God! Joseph, her
husband-to-be, also received angelic messages
advising him what steps to take in this unique
situation.
When Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem, the
birth was the signal for a glorious witness of
divine approval, seen by shepherds:
"An angel of the Lord (could this have been
Gabriel?) appeared to them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them, and they were filled
with fear ... And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is
pleased!'" (Luke 2:9-14, RSV)
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Who
are our Guardian Angels?
No evil shall befall you, nor shall
affliction come near your tent, for to His
Angels God has given command about you, that
they guard you in all your ways. Upon their
hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your
foot against a stone.
Psalm 91: 10-12 A heavenly spirit assigned by
God to watch over each of us during our lives.
The doctrine of angels is part of the Church's
tradition. The role of the guardian angel is
both to guide us to good thoughts, works and
words, and to preserve us from evil. Since the
17th century the Church has celebrated a feast
honoring them in October throughout the
Universal Church. Since the last calendar
revision this feast is Oct 2.
He has charged His angels with the ministry of
watching and safeguarding every one of His
creatures that behold not His face. Kingdoms
have their angels assigned to them, and men have
their angels; these latter it is to whom
religion designates the Holy Guardian Angels.
Our Lord says in the Gospel, "Beware lest ye
scandalize any of these little ones, for their
angels in heaven see the face of My Father." The
existence of Guardian Angels, is, hence a dogma
of the Christian faith: this being so, what
ought not our respect be for that sure and holy
intelligence that is ever present at our side;
and how great our solicitude be, lest, by any
act of ours, we offend those eyes which are ever
bent upon us in all our ways!(top
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Angels of the early Church
Revelations the Lord addresses each of the seven
Churches by means of instructing angels to
record His dictation. These 'secretary' angels
are the angels of the Churches:
- Church of Ephesus (Rv 2:1)
- of Smyrna (Rv 2:8)
- of Pergamum (Rv 2:12)
- of Thyatira (Rv 2:18)
- of Sardis (Rv 3:1)
- of Philadelphia (Rv 3:7)
- of Laodices (Rv 3:14)
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Man
Made Lower than the Angels
When the first man was being created, the angels
gave him a form resembling their own:
"Let us make man in our image. after our
likeness ... So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he him: male
and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27)
This does not mean that the first of the human
race had exactly the same physical nature as the
angels, for the angels were made to live for
ever. Adam and Eve were not made never-dying:
they did sin, and they suffered death as the
punishment for it. That is why the whole human
race has been dying ever since. The fact that
man was created in the image of the angels
speaks of God's ultimate intention for His
creatures.
Psalm 8 is a Psalm in which the creation of the
earth is extolled. Here we are told that man's
position is lower than the angels:
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? ...
For thou hast made him a little lower than the
angels, and hast crowned him with glory and
honor." (Psalm 8:4,5)
The New Testament quotes this passage, and tells
us that mankind - including the Lord Jesus
himself - was made a little lower than the
angels, "for the suffering of death" (Hebrews
2:9). Angels do not die, but men and women do.
Even Jesus, the Son of God, was mortal, but has
now received the glory and honor which was his
due when, as he said after his resurrection,
"all power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth" (Matthew 28:18). (top of the page)
The
Fallen Angels (Demons)
These beings, because of pride, did not return
God's love. God did not destroy them, but
permits them a limited scope of activity. Their
condition is permanent for no creature can turn
away from the perfect good of the beatific
vision once he has come to enjoy it, and no
additional reflection could change the mind of a
purely spiritual being who has turned away.
Demons are fallen angels under the command of
Satan, those who are still free after the Gen. 6
affair. Satan is called the Prince, or Ruler, of
all demons in Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22;
Luke 11:15. Demons are also called the
ministers, or ambassadors of Satan, Luke 4:35;
9:1,42; John 10:21. Satan is brilliant, an
administrative genius. He has an excellent
organization, mentioned in Eph. 6:10-12 (READ)
The Bible also makes a distinction between demon
possession and demon influence.
Demon possession occurs when an actual fallen
angel, a demon, enters and occupies the body of
an unbeliever. Demons cannot enter the bodies of
Christian believers because the Christian's body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Demon Influence is the residence of evil in the
soul; can be unbeliever (ROM. 1:23) or believer.
This is the method that Satan uses to trap and
neutralize the believer, by introducing, if
allowed, the Doctrine of Evil inside the soul of
the born-again believer.
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