|
Freeme2.co.za |
|
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free |
|
Are God’s Supernatural Angels Real and Who are They?
Renette Vermeulen
[Acknowledgement to the person who published this image]
© COPYRIGHT NOW UNBANNED PUBLICATIONS NONE OF THESE BOOKS, DISCUSSIONS AND ARTICLES ARE FOR SALE, YET THE CONTENT AND CONTEXT MUST NOT BE ALTERED, SOLD OR USED IN MATERIAL THAT IS FOR SALE, CLAIMED OR PREACHED AS PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REVELATION, OR MISUSED IN ANY WAY Þ IF YOU FIND MY BOOKS FOR SALE, PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE ARE FRAUDULENTLY SOLD BY PEOPLE WHO EXPLOIT MY WORK FOR PERSONAL GAIN
———————————————————- Find the Scriptural answers to the following important questions about angels · How many angels are there, and is it possible to fit little ‘cherubs’ into God’s description of the angels? · How can we know that God created all the angels and that they are not gods? · Do humans become angels when they die; watching over their loved ones from heaven? · Do angels cry, or show other human emotions? · Do angels procreate in heaven? · Do we all have personal guardian angels? · Should we consult, command, worship, and revere angels? · Is Jesus “the morning star,” Lucifer the light bringer? · Is ‘The Angel of the Lord’ Michael the archangel or the Man Jesus Christ?’ · Were Elijah and John ‘angels,’ and was the Man Jesus Christ God’s ‘Angelic Messenger?’ · Is Jesus a mere “commander” of God’s Angel armies, or is Christ Jesus God Himself?
WHO ARE THE HOLY ANGELS OF GOD? The Eternal God created all the spiritual beings called “angels” in an era that existed in a time described as “everlasting.” This was ages before God created physical time on earth by creating the sun, moon, stars, days, seasons, and years, as described in the Book of Genesis, (Gen. 1:2-5.) So, the angels have been living with God in heaven since all eternity. Jesus is God Himself; High Priest Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, King of Salem, (King of Peace,) and “He is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but, [by becoming a mere human being,] made like [in the form of] the Son of God…” (Heb. 1-14; 7:2-3; Col. 2:9; Jn. 1:1-13.) In Job 38:7, the angels are called “the sons of God.” Thus, just as God is Spirit, (Jn. 4:21-24,) His angels are also supernatural spirits and are, therefore, also immortal, (Heb. 1:7, 14.) Nevertheless, all of them were created by God, (Heb. 1:1-14!) Creation Science or Answers in Genesis twists the facts in Job 38:4-7 to say the angels were only created after God created the earth, as the “sons of God shouted for joy” when it was finished. They allege the “morning stars” that sang when God laid earth’s foundations “refers to physical planets.” And some people even allege that the angels created earth. However, Job 38:4-7 discredit all those false doctrines. It states, “...I [God Himself] laid the foundations of the earth… [I] determined its measures and stretched a line upon it, fastened its foundations and laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy [at the marvelous completion of God’s creation.]” Firstly, the context of this passage leaves no doubt that the angels already existed when God began to meticulously make earth with His own hands. Literal “stars” or planets cannot sing. And according to the sequence of God’s creation on earth as described in the Book of Genesis, the physical stars were created after God made the earth. (Gen. 1:5-17!) Secondly, the word “stars” are often, particularly in the Book of Revelation, used to symbolically refer to angels. Job called them “the morning stars,” which actually refers to “bright spirits” or “lights;” the angels that were already present with God before He made the earth, and created literal time here on earth. As said, in Job 38:4-7 they are also called “the sons of God.” In both instances, (where they sang as the morning stars and shouted for joy as the sons of God,) their presence at God’s creation of earth is indisputable. James also called God “the Father of lights” in reference to these “stars.” In Job, the term “morning stars” pertains to “those who were created before the dawn of God’s entire creation,” long before He made the earth. If angels were created in the time when Adam reigned in the Garden as Creation Science says, who shouted for joy at God’s creation of earth? (Jam. 1:17; Job 38.) Thirdly, from this passage in Job we can be certain that the angels did not create the earth. Where the hierarchy of God’s ‘heavenly hosts’ or angel armies are concerned, the Bible speaks of only one archangel, Michael, while we accept from the context of Scripture that Gabriel is the ‘chief’ or ‘commander’ of all the messenger angels, (Heb. 1:7, 14.) On God’s creation scale, angels are the highest form of life. Humanity is next on the scale, whom He made “a little lower than the angels,” (Heb. 2:5-9.) Animals are next on this scale, followed by insects and flora, (Gen. 1:27-28.) Besides God Himself, angels are the most powerful beings in the universe. They are intelligent, free-willed entities of the highest rank in God’s creation, but they are not Jesus Christ Who Is God Himself. Thus, none of the angels can create anything. What’s more, the angels were created to worship God Alone, (Rev. 19:10; 22:9.) As His supernatural spirit-servants, the holy angels of God execute His power and authority on earth according to His will alone, (Heb. 1:6-7; 14.) God’s angels, just as God Himself, are invisible, unless, for a specific reason, God commands them to show themselves - even in the form of human beings, (Gen. 19:1; 18:1-15; Heb. 1:5-14; Acts 12:7-10.) Unlike Hollywood-films, which portray God’s holy angels as beings who long to partake in physical lusts, God’s holy angels are exalted high above the sinful nature and fleshy desires of humanity. Holy, supernatural angels are the paranormal soldiers, messengers, and sentries of the living God. Angels, fallen angels too, can move as quickly as lightning, (Lu. 10:18.) They are as fast as the wind, (messenger angels,) and as powerful as fire, (combat angels — Heb. 1:7, 14.) In fact, seraphs are angels of a very high rank according to Jewish Scripture, and the word “seraphim” literally means, “burning ones.” According to Isa. 6:1-8 and Rev. 4:8, seraphs live very close to God and cry continually to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory!” In unseen, and for humankind mostly in unknown ways, God’s holy angels execute God’s will in every situation on earth - where and as He Alone commands. Often, in cataclysmic circumstances, they remain quiet bystanders when, for reasons unknown to us, God chooses to stay His hand from Divine intervention.
HOW MANY ANGELS ARE THERE, AND DO LITTLE ‘CHERUBS’ FIT INTO GOD’S DESCRIPTION OF THE ANGELS? The holy, all-powerful, angelic ‘strike force’ of Jesus Christ is neither cute, nor cuddly, nor bored. Cherubs or “naughty, playful” ‘baby angels;’ “drifting on clouds while shooting little love arrows” at people, (as represented by Roman Catholic/Protestant “Saint” Valentine’s day,) do not exist. Those entities are demons parading as holy angels. Jesus’ angel troops are to be respected as immensely powerful, supernatural beings, who function under the direct control of their all-powerful Commander-in-Chief, the Lord God Jesus Christ, (Heb. 1:1-14.) Someone asked how many angels God created, and whether God created each angel individually, or whether God simply ‘cloned’ one angel. God proclaimed in Isa. 40: 25-26, “To whom will you liken Me, or to whom will I be equal? Lift up your eyes on high and see Who has created all these things. Who brings out His [angelic] hosts by number; Who calls them all by name? By the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is overlooked.” The exact number of angels are not mentioned in the Bible. God could have created trillions of angels individually without resorting to ‘cloning,’ or any such sinful human technique. There is no darkness or sin in God. God’s angel armies are also invincible and number “more than those who are with them,” (the forces of darkness.) John wrote in Rev. 5:11-12, “Then I… heard the voice of many angles around the throne… the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands…” Jesus said in Mt. 26:52-53, “Put away your sword, for… do you not think that I can now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” Jesus referred to more than 72,000 angels! 2 Kings 6:17 testifies, “And Elisha prayed… And behold, the young man saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Some of the angels, such as those, who were mounted on fiery horse-drawn chariots all around Elisha, (most likely seraphim,) are immortal guards who also protect the way to the Tree of Life, (or to Christ Jesus Himself,) with ‘flaming swords,’ as described in Gen. 3:24. Scripture also speaks of huge, mighty, avenging warriors who can stand “between earth and the heavens with drawn swords in their hands,” (1 Chron. 21:15-16.) God’s holy angels are the forceful protectors and wardens, who stand one-on-one at the “four corners of the earth,” holding back the evil forces of devastation, (Rev. 7:1.) A gigantic angel even “set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars, that there will be delay no longer, and that the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets,” (Rev. 10:1-3.)
HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT THE ANGELS ARE NOT GODS? There is only One God and His Name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is God Himself, not a creature of God like an archangel. Col. 2:9, “In Him dwells [present tense] the Godhead [of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] bodily. [In His risen, glorified body.]” Jesus created all the angels, the universe, and everything in it. “All the angels are His ministering spirits [or servants,]” (Heb. 1:1-14.) The context of New Testament Scripture leaves no room for error concerning this most important truth. Paul wrote in Col. 1:16, “[Jesus God Himself,] is the Image of the Invisible God… [in the form of a Man.] By Him all things were created that are in heaven and on earth; visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” [Read Jn. 1:1-3 as well.] The Spirit Filled Bible states, “[Jesus God Who became a Man] is the firstborn of all creation... [This means, Jesus existed long before His creation; He has no creator or genealogy, and everything that exists came into existence through Him. However, when He became a Man to atone for our sins,] as in Hebrew custom, Jesus became the “firstborn son” [from all the human, believing, born again children of God, who would follow Him as His disciples.] The firstborn son was especially favored, and thus inherited the leadership of the family… To give more explicit proof of Jesus’ role as “the firstborn of all creation,” Paul depicts Him as Mediator [between man and God,] Agent, [of salvation, redemption and blessing,] and [the heavenly] Goal of all things. This includes declaring His authority [as Creator of the universe] over [Satan and his demons,] which are also subjects of His creation, although they [chose to fall] from their first [perfect] estate. Paul’s reference point is Gen. 1, [where Jesus Christ, Creator of the universe, was active in the Genesis creation here on earth, (Heb. 1:1-14.]” Moreover, all God’s holy creatures, the angels, must worship Jesus! (Heb. 1:6.) When John, in Rev. 22:8-9, wanted to worship the angel, the angel said, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant... [you serve God in the physical realm and I serve Him in the spiritual world,] worship God. [Worship Jesus.]”
DO HUMANS BECOME ANGELS WHEN THEY DIE; WATCHING OVER THEIR LOVED ONES FROM HEAVEN? In God’s Word, human beliefs, doctrines, and myths mean absolutely nothing. The “entirety of God’s Word is truth” and His Truth is all that matters, (Ps. 119:160.) According to the Word of God, even the sincerely born again, spiritually alive but physically dead human spirits in heaven know nothing about the affairs of those who are still living on earth. “Nevermore will [the deceased] have a share in anything done under the sun,” (Eccl. 9:5-10.) The departed have finished their lives and works here on earth. For them, life on earth as we know it, is over for all eternity. Therefore, all of humanity is “destined to die once,” thereafter, to face “the judgment” of the Almighty Creator God, (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 1:6-8.) Hence, God views human attempts to consult supernatural spirits - either angels, demons, or the human spirits of the dead, as the sin of idolatry, (Eccl. 9:5-10; Isa. 8:19.) Those who think they speak to their ‘personal angels,’ deceased loved ones, dead ancestors, dead Catholic ‘saints’ such as Mary, etcetera, are actually communicating with demons that pretend to be disembodied human spirits. So, we can never contact, consult, or command God’s holy angels. And when God’s holy angels must converse with us, it is just on a need-to-know basis; so to speak, (Rev. 19:10; 22:9.) Living human beings must consult God in all their perplexities and needs, and praise and worship Him Alone. Should we try to contact angels or the human spirits of dead people, we will only meet deceiving, fallen spirits or demons, who are masquerading as holy angels or the human spirits of the departed, (Deut. 18:10-12; 1 Cor. 10:14, 21.)
In addition, the Lord Jesus Christ declared that angels are not dead people who lived ‘good’ lives on earth; innocent little children who died and supposedly became ‘cupids’ or ‘little angels,’ dead Roman Catholic ‘saints;’ ‘good’ people living on earth, human ministers of the Bible, or even the Scripturally born again human spirits of deceased believers, who are already living in heaven with Jesus, (Lu. 20:34-36; Mt. 25:41.) God created the angels as a totally different species from humankind. Paul explained in 1 Cor. 15:40, “There are celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies. The glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.” While humans are living on earth, their supernatural human spirits and natural minds or ‘souls’ are contained by their physical bodies, (1 Ths. 5:23.) Thus, they are “lower than the angels” on God’s creation-scale, (Heb. 1:7,14; 2:6-7.) This means, holy angels are citizens of the higher spiritual plane or “fourth dimension.” As a result, angels are of a different ‘substance’ than physical human beings, who are citizens of the ‘lower world’ here on earth. So, Jesus created all the angels first during some time in eternity. Then, He made humanity as the crown of His creation here on earth to care for and protect all the creatures on the earth, while everything on earth reproduce after their own, natural kind, (Gen. 1:27-29.) Neither living humans nor the human spirits of departed people can become angels; and angels can never become human beings or human spirits. There are examples in the Bible where angels changed themselves to look like humans, but they still remained angels. However, when born again believers of the Lord Jesus Christ die, their departed human spirits (1 Ths. 5:23) become “like angels” in heaven. This means that in heaven, the departed, disembodied human spirits of sincerely born again believers have become citizens of the ‘upper world’ or spirit world. Thus, they became ‘equal to angels,’ being on the same spiritual level as the angels before the throne of God, but they remain human spirits, (Mt. 22:30; Lu. 20:36.) Although the human spirits of the Scripturally born again departed and the angels are on the same level before the throne of God in heaven, humans spirits will remain disembodied until the resurrection of the dead in Christ. At that moment, “[Jesus] will descend from heaven with a shout, [not as an archangel but] with the voice of an archangel, and with the [seventh and last] trumpet of God, (Rev. 11:15; 10:7.) Jesus will descend physically/spiritually in His glorified body, (Col. 2:9,) in “flaming fire” and with great power — accompanied by innumerable companies of angels. And those who have departed this life in Christ “will be raised imperishable.” Then, “in the twinkling of an eye,” the physically alive in Christ will be transformed into physical/spiritual, immortal beings, resembling Christ’s glorified, resurrected body, (Jn. 20:26-27.) Then, they will “be caught up with the resurrected saints to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Ths. 4:17.)
DO ANGLES CRY, OR SHOW OTHER ‘HUMAN’ EMOTIONS? I know that holy angels do have emotions such as holy joy, (Job 38:4-7,) which has nothing to do with the hysterical, unholy, and ungodly laughter that manifests among Charismatic Christians, (Lu. 15:10.) Angels worship God, make music in heaven, and sing songs of praise to God, (Rev. 5:8-11; 7:11-12.) Angels are also curious about the holy revelations of God, (1 Pt. 1:12.) Yet, I could not find any contextual Scripture to verify the possibility that angels cry. In Rev. 21:4, John tells us that in heaven no one, (neither God, nor angles, nor the human spirits of the departed) ever weep. The truth of Scripture refutes teachings that equate human emotions, frailties, and especially sinful actions to God’s holy angels, turning them into emotional beings who cry, giggle, laugh hysterically, play pranks, etcetera. Angels are inhabitants of God’s ‘higher,’ holy, spirit world. It is most presumptuous to perceive God’s holy angels in human terms. God warned us not to be “proud and think above that which is written… [which] makes us differ from one another [in belief and Scriptural doctrine,]” (1 Cor. 4:6-7; Heb. 2:10.) When we meet angels who show unholy or human emotions like crying, and do unscriptural or unholy things, we can be certain we have encountered unholy angels or demons. I share the following as a testimony to this fact. It happened during an exceptionally sorrowful time in my life. For a while, overcome by incredible shock and dismay, I simply gave up living. Struck down en stripped of everything dear to me, I surrendered myself to the Lord and asked Him to end my life. That bitter cup was the one misery I thought I would never be able to bear. By the grace of God, I never stopped talking to Him during that seemingly endless and hopeless tribulation, and He gave me the strength to keep on wrestling with Him, intent on not letting go until He answered me, (Gen. 32:24-30.) Then, one day, while I was tearfully speaking to God, an angel suddenly stood beside me. I could not see him, but I ‘knew’ or ‘perceived in my spirit’ that he was there. He did not startle me. It seemed as if he had been there all the time, but chose to reveal his presence at that moment. His presence was awesome and nearly tangible, but I was not afraid. The angel knew I would not accept his presence and “believe every spirit” without “testing the spirits to see whether they are of God,” as commanded in 1 Jn. 4:-1-4. Before I could ask him to identify himself, he clearly spoke the ‘thought’ ‘into my mind,’ “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” This is the Scriptural declaration, which only “spirits who are of God” can utter – while people are capable of stating anything, (verse 3.) Thus, when a spirit cannot make a human vessel speak for him, he cannot confess that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” I perceived in my human spirit (1 Ths. 5:23) that he did not come to fly off to heaven. So, I thanked God for sending the angel, expecting him to deliver a special message or bring some form of encouragement, but he did not utter another word. He did he attempt to reach out to me, or comfort me. He was neither sympathetic nor apathetic. He was not aloof, yet not emotional either. He just stood there like an immovable anchor in a dark and stormy sea until the peace of God flooded my distressed soul. I slowly realized that the angel did not come to show allegiance to me personally, but to show his continual protection over me in obedience to God alone. Clearly, God did not command him to bring me a prophecy, remind me of Scripture, or anything else. The angel simply manifested his presence to emit the greatness of God, Who has always been, and Who always will be in complete control of everything we might experience in this life. Then, just as suddenly as he came, the angel disappeared into ‘nowhere,’ but I knew he did not leave me. He only stepped back into the unseen spirit world, as he is perfectly capable of watching over me ‘from out there somewhere.’ That day, the angel did not remove my terrible affliction. He did not lift me up to carry me over the raging seas. Yet, in some unexplainable, marvelous way, his mere ‘tangible’ presence did a great miracle for me. God’s healing finally began to crack the cage incarcerating my deeply wounded soul, that day when His angel revealed himself to me. In many ways, that encounter with God’s angel also left me a changed person, just as Old Testament Jacob, who wrestled with God that night at the Jabbok and limped after the angel left him at daybreak. The Spirit Filled Bible explains Jacob’s encounter with God at the Jabbok as follows, “Jacob’s limp symbolizes that character transformation costs God’s people in terms of ego death… Personal character transformation is an important element of Jacob’s encounter with the angel.” Regardless of the tendency among traditional church denominations to deny the manifestation and even the existence of angels (and demons,) it remains a Scriptural, as well as a practical reality that holy angels do appear, speak, and propel many of the thoughts and actions of human beings.
DO ANGELS PROCREATE IN HEAVEN? Disgustingly, someone actually wrote to me saying, “Angels have sex in heaven, as they were created with the necessary tools, according to Gen. 6! They do multiply themselves, as there are female angels as well as males…” “You must read the Bible,” was my reply. In Mark 12:25, Jesus did not say that angels are male and female and multiply themselves. Jesus’ discussion in Mt. 12:25 answered the question whether husband and wife will continue their marriage covenant in heaven. Jesus refuted this belief, because born again human spirits will be “like” angels, who "neither marry, nor are given in marriage," because neither angels nor departed human spirits procreate in heaven! Jesus did not say that born again believers will become angels in heaven. He said they will become “like” supernatural angels in heaven. Therefore, they will not marry or have any need of a marriage partner! God commanded His material creation on earth to multiply after their own kinds. And our most holy God created the marriage covenant for humans to multiply and raise Godly families here on earth. On this side of the grave, humans, who are still "lower" than the angels, do marry, (Lu. 20:36.) But there is no such need in heaven where everyone lives for all eternity. Angels remain a different species from departed human spirits, as explained in Hebrews chapters 1 and 2. The holy angelic species is incomprehensibly higher and drastically different from the human species. However, in heaven, human spirits and angel spirits have two things in common: they continually worship Jesus, and they certainly do not multiply themselves! The devil fell from glory as he became the pervertor of everything that God had created so “very good” in Eden, but his perversion did not and cannot pollute the angels who chose to remain holy and loyal to God. Because Satan is not a creator of any kind, he cannot change anything of God’s holy creation, except in the minds of sinful, perverted humans. Thus, the evolution theory is a satanic lie. To think, therefore, that holy angels have intimacy with one another in heaven, is simply a filthy distortion of God’s holy creation and the truth of His Word. (Continue) |
