  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: Becky Simpson  
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Have you ever had something unexplainable happen to you? I have, in college many times money was tight and seemingly miraculously I would receive what was needed. Was it a guardian angel? I don’t know but, the most fascinating creatures in the Bible are the angels. Many believe that they have a guardian angel that protects them from all sorts of evil. There is no real evidence of this in the Bible though in Matt 18 we are told that the angels (plural) are always watching over us. This does not lend itself to one particular angel for each human being, though I would never deign to limit God’s ability.
The meanings of angels, their appearance and purposes vary throughout history and the world. Artists have given us their visions of angels as winged creatures, usually beautiful figures that are glowing, shining, floating, in human form or as a voice. So this month we will look at angels from several different points of view and possibly learn something new together. I hope you will join me in my investigation of God’s most enigmatic creations. I also must preface this with a note of thanks to Vivian Zabel, as last month my internet was not working and she graciously helped me by preparing last month’s newsletter.
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"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones (children), for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."
The English word angel is a transcription of the Greek word "agaylos". In Hebrew, angels are called "mal'ak" meaning messenger. "Mal'ak" originally meant shadow side of God. Hebrews thought of angels as emanations of Yahweh, part of the same divine spirit that He was able to project. In the Christian church, angels are not believed to be emanations of God, but spirits created by God at the time He created the material world, who were made for a multitude of purposes.
Muhammad the great prophet said angels were sent by God to seek out those places where men and women honor the deity. The angels then report back to heaven what they have heard. Angels have been thought of as creations of a separate order from human beings and also as the spirits of highly evolved humans. Doesn’t this confuse you? It does me.
It is said that Eros is a spirit who carries messages back and forth between men and gods. Another angel-like figure from mythology is Hermes, the winged messenger. We also find similar beliefs in supernatural beings in the vision of the Shaman. The Shaman takes a bird form, travels in search of the soul of his patient. Indian cultures generally thought that illness was caused by loss of soul. Perhaps this is the origin of guardian angels? Actually not, guardian angels got their start around the time of Constantine. Prior to that time literature and art depicting angels is rare. So, after Constantine there was an explosion of angels and angelic works. Some of which are very fanciful. Today we remain intrigued by angels and have created many movies, TV shows, literary works, art, and even music. In case you are not aware of it Constantine is where the Catholic religion got its start.
From the beginning to the end of the Bible angels participate in God’s plans for men, In Genesis they block the way to the Garden of Eden when man was forcefully removed. As with the first book of the Old Testament so it is with the first book of the New Testament. Where an angel explains God’s will to Joseph:
"Angels of the Lord" "As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife." Matthew 1:20-24
Though there is no mention of one angel being of higher order than another man, just as he always seems prone to do created a hierarchical order for the angels. The first appears to have been Dionysius, a 5th or 6th century writer who gave us the first ordering of the angels. The first group is the seraphim, cherubim and thrones. The word seraphim (singular is saraph) is taken from the fiery imagery often associated with the Presence of God-- Ezek. 1:27. Cherubim are represented as guardians with many wings. Thrones have been depicted wearing stoles and kneeling before God.
"Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew" . Isaiah 6:2
"So He drove out the man; and placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life". Gen. 3:24
The 2nd group is composed of dominations, virtues and powers. Each group is associated with specific symbols. The dominations held scepters and wore crowns. The virtues are shown with flasks of perfume, trumpets, and rays of lightening. The powers are depicted wielding flaming swords. Archangels: The 3rd group includes the principalities, protectors of nations, the archangels, and the angels who protect humans. The word "archangel" is not found in the Old Testament. In our efforts to categorize the angels we even gave them names.
Know who they are? Well, I did not so here are the ones I found:
Raphael is the healing angel. Many nurses and physicians claim angels have guided them.
Gabriel, the angel of the enunciation, in Daniel. 8:15-26 and 9:21-27. Gabriel also appears in Luke 1:11 Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. 19 Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!.
Uriel is an angel of death who was also thought to be the angel of transformation, is believed to be standing by people on the verge of death.
Michael the archangel appears as a warrior angel in 1 Thess. 4:16 and Jude 9. Michael is said to be the defender angel who does battle Daniel 10:13, 21; and 12:1. Also in Romans. 8:38, Eph. 1:21, and Col. 1:16. It is from Michael that the guardian angels seem to have their beginning in. They are all forms of Michael, from personal guardian angels, to those that help armies and protect nations. They say that even the earth has an angel.
There is another angel that appears if a person has died. There is said to be an angel called the Gatekeeper who comes to gently lead them into the spiritual realm.
There is one other very well known angel that I have not mentioned: Satan, he at one time was one of God’s angels until a time came when he deemed himself equal to God and refused to be in submission to God. His fate was to be cast from heaven and to be condemned to the ever burning lake. Even our friends here on Writing.Com are fascinated with the subject, some of their thoughts follow:
Genesis 1-1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
It plainly states in the Bible that the heavens were first created. It may be that God created angels immediately after He created heaven, before completing the earth.
Job 38:4-7 says, "the sons of God shouted for joy," when He laid the foundation of earth. Since all angels are referred to as "he," and since God created thousand upon thousands of them, they would more than likely be called, "the sons of God." If in my theory I am correct, then God finished heaven before he completed the earth. He also filled the heavens with his celestial beings know as angels. My theory is also, that He created all He needed, for reasons unknown to us mortal men/women. He does not add more angles to the throng He already has. Angles do not suffer death or become extinct. Therefore, they neither decrease in number, nor do the multiply.
Angels are not omnipotent.
In my opinion they are dispatched according to God's demands.
Not all angels harkened to the dispatch made by God. We must understand the war in heaven. I refer to it as the war of Superiority. God created His most beautiful angel, giving him the name Lucifer. Lucifer decided to convince some of the other angels that he had greater powers than God had. In order to prove his rebellious point, he orchestrated a war between God, himself and the angels. God, who had already won the war, after all He created all the angels, simply opened the doors of heaven and cast Lucifer out. Lucifer did not leave alone. With him he brought thousands of angels.
The war that began in heaven continues today. Good spirits continually going to battle against evil. We see it and feel it in our personal lives, nearly on a daily basis.
However, God is still in control. Being on God's side is a very wise choice. Once the wicked angels are used for God's unknown purpose, they will be defeated.
Angels are mentioned frequently in the Bible. The first mention is in connection with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. A cherub was placed in the garden to prevent access to the tree of life.
We understand from reading the scriptures, God named at least two of the angels. He called them Michael and Gabriel. The names have astounding meanings. Michael-Who is like God. Gabriel-Champion of God.
Gabriel is the angel who gave the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. He also proclaimed, "I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God.
The word angel, comes from the Greek word Aggelos, which means messenger.
I believe angels can and will take on human form. For example, Hebrews 13:2 points out that we, "entertain angels unaware." An angel therefore may appear as a king’s ransom or as a beggar on the street. He may also take on the culture and skin color of any race he chooses.
Some tend to believe that humans become angels. Angels are not glorified humans beings. Hebrews 12:22-23 explains the difference. We will be met by myriads of angels. That within its self separates us from the angels. The creation of the angels also destroys the theory that we will someday become an angel. It would certainly be a wonderful legacy to leave, but it will never happen. God created all that He needed for eternity, even knowing to exclude the ones that followed Lucifer, now know as Satan and his angels.
If in fact humans could become angels. I believe that all mothers should grow wings and fly. They certainly have a job that needs commended and awarded, but becoming an angel is not one of the merits.
Angels are mentioned 108 times in the Old Testament and at least 165 times in the New Testament, thus giving us plenty of information and insight mingled with our knowledge to admit that angels truly are of the household of God, and that they do exist. As I stated earlier, I believe that God dispatches them to certain scenes, and events as messengers, returning to the throne of God.
All the contained information is of my own opinion, using Dr. Paul Eymann website in part, as an informative article.
My thanks to Awand for his efforts but, it does not end there let’s look some more:
""Angels""
baby-girl
Angels always come and go
Flying high then flying low
Angels watch us from above
Sending down all their love
Angels keep us safe at night
Always tucking us in real tight
Angels always hear our prayers
Making sure they're always there
Showing us how much they care
Giving us a lot of love to share!
Perhaps one last peek into Writing.Com for another touch of angels, hope you don’t mind. Oh, by the way, there are 1,279 works dealing with angels on Writing.Com, which will make it hard to even begin to capture the feelings on our site. With that I present:
"May Angels Watch"
by:VictoriaMcCullough 
May Angels watch from distant lighthouses,
May they always find nature's cure,
May they give luck to your spouses,
May they finally keep your kindred pure.
May Angels fill your blue skies,
May they lift you up to heaven, on their wings
May they strengthen your family ties
May they send you all good things.
May Angels watch for your fate,
May they break your falls when in too deep,
May they find grace for you before it's too late,
May they live through your memories to keep.
May Angels steer you into morning dew,
May they warm you and live in your heart,
May they bear the burden of your sorrow too,
May they find you when you depart.
Thank you, Vicki, for a beautiful expression of love. Angels are indeed God’s messengers and they are also ministers unto us. For the Bible tells us that we may entertain angels unaware of their spiritual nature. Though angels may not act individually to protect us, they are indeed around us every moment of our lives and if it be God’s will you can rest assured they will protect us. For Gehazi fearing for his life because of the army arrayed against his master Elisha, was amazed when his master said there were many standing with him. I can almost see him looking around and returning his gaze to his master asking where. Whereupon his master asked God to open his eyes and he saw thousands of angels in flaming chariots.
What we must remember though is that we do not worship angels fro they are creations of God and therefore lower than God.
As always I am at your service.
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The following members of Writing.Com are some of my favorite writers on Writing.Com. They exhibit and understanding and skill that, simply put, amaze me. I hope those I have forgotten will forgive me, but as time goes on and my memory prods, me this list will change.
Vivian 
Puditat
Dreams - Anon, who are you?
Lexi
intuey of House Lannister 
Andrea
revdbob
dbrown
SUGGESTED READINGS:
My suggested readings for this month:
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Questions and comments from last month my thanks to those who wrote in, if you wish to comment this month feel free, I shall answer them individually.
Submitted By: wrdz2liveby
Submitted Comment:
Becky,
Great News Letter! Don't stop here. Your on a roll. God Bless You. Thank you for putting in my interpretation of the twenty third Psalms. wrdz
Wrdz, please, don’t thank me for sharing something special with others. I was truly impressed with your interpretation. Hugs– Becky
Submitted By: johnmcc
Submitted Comment:
Dear Becky,
It took courage to share one of the moments when God touched you. I really appreciate the article. I, too, was 'touched' by God, felt I heard his voice, my own personal ephiphany, I guess.
Thanks for the wonderful newsletter. John
John, God has since touched me many times. He has touched me through you and the others on Writing.Com who have responded so wonderfully toward me. Hugs – Becky
Submitted By: donald
Submitted Comment:
Hi Becky there are many angels around you and I.
I have been touched by many. To be honest with you Becky one saved my life. Also you should never be ashamed of any skeletons in the cupboard because God has all ready forgiven them all....Don.
Hi Don, it is so funny you say angels are all around me, and so right. I hope you will not be offended that this months newsletter deals with exactly that. Hugs –n- love Becky
Submitted By: weeowl flying free!
Submitted Comment:
God has touched my life on several occasions. I recall one particular time, I was being attacked in an empty college building. It was after hours. I couldn't get this guy off me and so I prayed, "HELP ME! I CAN'T GET HIM OFF ME!"
Thirty seconds later, a security guard walked into the building...getting him off me. It just shows that Something is right there when you need them. Weeowl
Dear weeowl, God is good. He even takes those bad things that happen to us and turns them to good if our hearts are pure. I am not sure but perhaps you have angels watching over you too. Hugs – Becky
Submitted By:diana
Submitted Comment:
I always enjoy your newsletters. Whether or not people like what you write is beside the point. You have faith in yourself and that's what counts, and lets hope your brother can forgive himself and overcome his alcohol problem. He's held himself accountable far too long for those turbulent teenage years--and the wrong crowd. May God bless you both.
Hi Diana, Part of being able to forgive others is to learn to forgive yourself. I too hope my brother forgives himself. Thank you for your very kind and encouraging comments. Hugs – Becky
To all the rest that wrote in during the month of February my thanks and apologies for not being able to prepare last month’s newsletter.
May God bless you all who have read this newsletter and to the rest of you kind readers who made comments about last month’s newsletter; thank you. If it were not for your kind words, I would be inclined to find another way to spend the time I spend here.
If you have a question, comment or just an observation concerning this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter, please feel free to send it to me. I would also like our newsletter readers to send me their favorite work. Please include the writer’s name. I prefer works from Writing.Com.
Next weeks editor:Puditat
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Spiritual: April 04, 2007 Issue [#1638]
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