If men were angels, James Madison wrote, no government would be necessary, If angels were to govern men, neither external or internal controls on government would be necessary. (Fourth President [18O9-17].
Our text is quoted from the Psalms 8: 4-5. What is man, that thou are mindful of him? And the son of man, that you visit him? Thou made him lower than the angels, to crown him with glory and worship. As we look at this text from (Hebrews 1:1-4; 2: 5, 12). The author of Hebrews picks the universe as a hierarchy , with God on top, then the angels, humans, animals, and on down the created order to inanimate things. This philosophically has been referred to as the great chain of being. The letter of the Hebrews understands that in the incarnation Jesus Christ moved from a higher to a lower place- thus the discussion about the placement of angels.
In times past God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, including Abraham, Moses, and all whom through whom God spoke. For Gods revelation of his saving purpose is achieved through his Son now in our last days (final stage). Jesus role as redeemer, and mediator being made the (heir) of all things through his death and exaltation to glory., yet he existed before He appeared as a man. The Messianic Enthronement: for to which did God ever say, this is my son, this day I have begotten you? or again " I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.?
And again when He leads the first born. " Let the angels of God worship him." Of the angels he says:" He makes his angels winds and his ministers a fiery flame.
It seems as though angels have captured the imagination of people everywhere.
Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation about angels, along with superstition and unscriptural understandings, so we will look at the biblical perspective on angels.
DO ANGELS EXIST!
The word of God-not popular T.V. shows or magazine articles- is our only reliable source for knowing what angels are, and what they do. The Bibles teach that angels were made by God during the six-days of creation. Before creation their was only God. (John 1;1-3). and after creation we are told that on the seventh-day God "rested" from all the work of creating he had done. (Gen. 2:3) The Bible does not say on what day of creation god made angels. But angels are very real.
WHAT DOES THE WORD "ANGEL" MEAN?
The word "angel" comes from the Greek word that means "messenger." Angels are God's messengers. Elsewhere in the Bible angels are described as spirits (Acts 23:9). ( Heb.1:14). The word "angel" is actually a description of what they do
WHAT ARE ANGELS.
Angels are spirits. They are beings who do not have a physical body. Jesus himself said, " a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39). Evil angels too are described as not having "flesh and blood" (Eph. 6:12). In the scriptures, when angels do appear in human form, this is only a momentary appearance for those who need them. Angels are not Gods. They are Gods creation and serve his Holy and perfect. will. The good angels are said to be ministering "spirits." sent by God to serve us (Hebrews 1:14).
ARE ANGELS HUMAN?
Human beings are the crowns of God' creation. only human beings, and no other creature, did God say, " Let us make man in our image" (Gen 1:26). Angels are not human beings, and do not become angels when they die. (when our children are born, we often call them our little angels).
DO HUMAN BEINGS BECOMW ANGELS WHEN THEY DIE?
The Scriptures are clear on this point. Until the last day, the souls of the dead are before the Lord
enjoying peace and rest in His presence, awaiting. the final day when the receive glorified bodies for all eternity see 1Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 5:17; Rev. 7).
ARE ANGELS INTELLENT BEINGS?
The Bible describes angels as having both intelligence and a will. The good angels know and follow the wisdom of God, which He has revealed through Christ to his church. (Eph. 3:10) they gladly serve us, who are the heirs of the salvation Christ has done for us. (Heb.1:14). However angels do not know all things. For instance, they do not know the thoughts of our hearts. (1 Kings 8:39).
HOW POWERFUL ARE ANGELS?
Angels are extremely powerful beings. They are described as mighty "ones." (Psalm 103:20; 2nd Thess.1-7.) The good angels guard and protect God's children (Ps. 91:11-13.)
The power of the angels is unlimited, but is always subject to the will and authority of God. Evil angels are powerful beings. The Bible tell us that they hold captive all unbelievers (Luke11:21,22).(Eph. 2:20.Believers in Christ are able to withstand the temptation of evil angels through the power of God. (Eph. 6:10-17).
WHERE ARE ANGELS?
Angels like God, do not inhabit the same physical dimension. Thus, while there are times when angels will make at a distinct place (ACTS 12:7). They inhabit no physical space.
HOW MANY ANGELS ARE THERE.
The Bible does not give us an exact number, but does clearly teach that there are incredibly large numbers of angels who serve God.. Scripture speaks of: "ten thousand times ten thousand times (Daniel 7:10) Elsewhere Scripture speaks of a" great company of the heavenly host." ( Luke 2:13).
From every indication in the Bible, there are an unimaginably large number of angels, of whom we are totally unaware most of the time. There is a fixed and limited number of angels, never increasing or decreasing. Unlike human beings, angels do not marry and have children (Mark 12;25). They are immortal.
ARE ALL ANGELS THE SAME?
Within the large number of angels there are apparently certain orders or classes of angels. scripture speaks of "cherubim" (Gen. 3:24; Ps. 80-1), "seraphim" (Is. 6:2). " thrones or powers or rulers or authorizes" (Col. 1:16) " Archangel" (1 Thess. 4: 16). Also among evil angels there are ranks and classes of angels (Matt.:25:41). We know Satan is the prince of the evil devils, who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
I know that you risk appearing like some old age goof-ball, if you say you believe in angels, but I do believe in angels, along with all of Judaism. I want you to reconsider your naïve and erroneous belief that angels do exist. If God cares and loves us so strong that even death of our bodies will not end that love, then the "olam habah" is real, and similarly if God did speak to us somehow someway through the Torah. God needed a way to talk to us. For Christians the "Bible" is God's last word to us, It is not reasonable that the Torah is God's last words to us. God needs a way to speak to us, to chastise us, to direct us, to encourage us, and to nudge us. God has given each of us unique gifts, and God needs , from time to time, to show us how to use those gifts to help His creation. One of the ways God does this is by sending angels into our lives.to ask us the great short questions. Abraham Lincoln referred to " the better angels of our nature," and he was right. When we are about to lose our way it seems to me absolutely obvious and unarguably true that God will send someone into the fields of our lives to ask us, "What are you looking for?" If their is such a God, and there is, then there are angels and their is life after death where we will meet all of them and you can slap your foreheads, in wonder and say: "shees" " It was all true." That is when you will know, about all the things you heard over your Christian lifetime and doubted! Indeed rabbinic legends teach that the [Messiah] will appear on earth as a beggar waiting for some act of kindness by a stranger before announcing himself. If you can learn to see street bums as potential messiahs, you can learn to see angels when they meet you in the fields of life. When God takes your breath away, and your begins its glorious eternal life in the world to come, when the two angels with the fiery swords guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden, the portal through which all souls must pass., say to your soul, " you can go right in," and when you arrive safely in the place where there are no questions only answers.
No pain, only love, All the angels that appeared in your life will welcome you, and say: " Let me tell you everything. as they lead you into the pastures beside the still waters, where all the flocks have come home. to rest and where all brothers and sisters and parents and children have found each other at last. They will explain the place you are looking for, ever since the day you realized he world is full of angels. ma t' vakesh." What are you looking for?"
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