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There are 7 Archangels.
The
archangel Raphael describes
them
as angels who "stand
ready
and enter before the
Glory
of the Lord!"
The
"el" at the end of each
angel's
name means
"Shining
Being."
The Beginning
In the beginning, God created all living
beings. Angels and man alike. Along
with all the animals in His earthly
kingdom. The angels roamed Heaven
with God as free as the wind that blows.
Their main purpose in being created
was to worship and adore their Creator
and to do His biding. At the time, they were
His only companions. They loved Him as
much as He loved them. For you see,
whenever someone 'creates' something,
He/She puts part of Himself/Herself into
the object being created. Within the ranks
of the angels, there were those who
have more power than others. Each has
its own place and purpose. Michael and Gabriel are just two of the more
common angels. And since angels were created to be immortal beings they,
along with their Creator, are just the same today as they were the
day that God created them. But there was one angel that thought HE should
sit on God's throne. His name is Lucifer. He wanted to rule where his Creator
did. So, in His majesty, and loving him as much as He did, God sent him
from
his presence.....kicking him out of the Heavenly realms.
The Bible credits angels with
a significant role in both
Jewish and Christian history.
Angels number in the
"myriads" (Hebrews 12:22),
and heavenly hosts
announced the birth of Christ
and were present at the
empty tomb. Angels also
appeared to Abraham, Lot,
Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David,
Mary, Peter, Paul, John and
others. "The word 'angel' in
Hebrew means
messenger,'"'according to Dr.
Jeffrey Seif of Christ For The
Nations Institute in Dallas,
Texas. "It was understood that
these angels were God's
messengers."
Myths
Many of today's popular books are
permeated with what might be
called "celestial quackery."
Here's a brief sampling of books that hold
no biblical merit, yet they're found in many bookstores:
New age techniques that are used
to contact angels include meditation, visualization, breath control, exercises
with chakras (alleged energy centers in the body), tuning in to angel frequencies,
channeling and
divination.
New age angel authors suggest that
a great way of communicating with
angels is through writing letters to
them. In fact, some angel writers
suggest that if you are having
interpersonal problems with a
particular person, you may want to
consider writing a letter to that
person's guardian angel. Let the
angels work the problem out.
A great way to hail an angel, we
are told, is to color-cordinate our
wardrobe. For example, guardian
angels allegedly like rose or pink
and soft green, while Gabriel is
said to be attracted to tans, browns
and dark greens.
New Agers say the main lessons
angels want to convey are that we
are love, we are god on earth, and
it's time to love ourselves and open
our hearts.
Angels can allegedly heal you. We
are told that they can rearrange
your cells on a microscopic level
with the help of your own imagination.
You merely need to visualize
the angels programming immune your system with
healing messages
and
charging it up with energy.
Angel enthusiasts say angels can
help us with 12-step programs.
"From their point of view, the 12
steps make a lot of sense."
Michael the Archangel is said to be
a strong proponent of free thinking
and he encourages people to create
their own religion.
This
information was provided by
Harvest House Publishers,
Eugene, Orgeon.
Facts
WHO BELIEVES IN ANGEL?
72%
of all Americans
76%
of all teenagers
78% of all women
POPULARITY OF ANGELS!
Five of the top 10 paperback books
are about angels.
There are more than 30 specialty
stores and catalog houses devoted
to angels.
Universities such as Harvard
Divinity School and Boston College
offer courses on angels.
WHY ARE ANGELS SO POPULAR
TODAY?
Time magazine suggests: "For
those who choke too easily on God
and His rules...angels are the
handy compromise, all fluff and
meringue, kind non-judgmental.
And they are available to everyone,
like aspirin."
DID YOU KNOW THAT HEAVENLY
ANGELS ARE RANKED?:
In
fact, these celestial beings are
organized
in order of authority and
glory.
ARCHANGELS:
These angels are generally the
highest ranking in the celestial
hierarchy. Scripture designates
only Michael as an Archangel
(Jude 9), but there is biblical
grounds for believing that before
his fall Lucifer, was also an archangel. This powerful
angel will also play a
significant role at the end of times.
It is with his loud command, and
with his voice and with the trumpet
call of God that the dead in Christ
will rise first.
CHERUBIM:
Some theologians would argue that
the cherubim are of the highest
order. That's because they're not
the cute cupid-like creatures the
name connotates. These powerful
angels "surround God's throne" to
guard its purity. Interestingly, God
sent cherubim to guard Eden after
the expulsion of Adam and Eve
(Genesis 3:24).
SERAPHIM:
These are angelic beings who
spend their time worshipping and
praising God. If you see the phrase,
"Holy, holy, holy," chances are a
host of seraphim has spoken.
Isaiah describes these creatures as
having six wings-two covering their
face, two covering their feet and
two used for flight.
ANGELS IN NUMBER
At His betrayal, Scripture says that
Christ could have called for twelve
legions of angels (Matthew 26:53).
If a legion is 6,000 angels, as
described during the time of Julius
Caesar, 12 legions could have have
been as many as 144,000 angels.
Matthew 18:10 says that the
number of angels total the number
of humans in history. Many believe
that every person has an angel, or
a guardian angel, but this concept
holds no biblical merit. (See
"Frequently Asked Questions on
Angels.")
In Revelation, the apostle John saw
a vision of an exceedingly great
number of angels: "ten thousand
times ten thousand, and thousands
and thousands." When multiplied
out, that comes to 100,000,000,000,000
or 100 trillion angels.
FOUR angels will stand on the four
corners of the earth and control the
four winds of the earth
(Revelation 7:1)
SEVEN angels will stand before
God to give them seven trumpets to
call for judgment on the earth
(Revelation 8:2).
SEVEN angels will administrate the
seven last plagues
(Revelation 15:1).
HOW
ANGELS ARE DIFFERENT
THAN MAN
Angels cannot call "God" their
heavenly Father.
Angels are not heirs of God:
Christians are joint heirs with
Jesus Christ through our
redemption through His death at
Calvary. The angels in their glory
must stand aside when believers
are introduced to their boundless,
eternal riches.
Angels have no knowledge of the
indwelling of God: Nothing in the
Bible shows that the angels can
experience a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ.
Angels do not marry or have
children: Because of this, we know,
that the number of angels remains
constant. However, at the end of
time, the obedient angels will
remain constant, and the fallen
angels will suffer judgment.
Angels have more knowledge than men:
However, they do not know everything and
are
limited in knowledge about the
second
coming of Christ.
Angels have more power than
men: The Bible describes God's
angels as "mighty." However, they
are limited in their strength and
their might is used for the benefit
of believers.
Angels are not persons, they are
spirit beings. They take
"bodily-form" while visiting man.
They have no weight, no mass and
can move at a great speed. But like
all created beings, they have
limitations. They are creatures. |
