What Do We Know About Angels?
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The Truth About Angels
PROJECT CONNECT PROJECT CONNECT PROJECT CONNECT The Truth About Angels by Donald L. Deffner I grew up during the Great Depression in the early 1930s. My father was a minister. Behind our small home was a dirt alley which led nine blocks to downtown Wichita, Kansas. I can remember when I was a boy the hungry, destitute men who came to the back door begging for food. My mother never turned them down. She shared what little we had, even if only a couple of pieces of bread and a glass of milk. My mother didn’t just say, “Depart in peace! I’ll pray for you! Keep warm and well fed!” (See James 2:16.) No. She acted. She gave. Often I was curious about these mysterious and somewhat scary men. I had a sense that they were “different” than I was, not worse, not better, just different. I always watched these strangers heading back up the alley toward downtown, and sometimes, in a cops-and-robbers fashion, I secretly followed them, jumping behind bushes so I wouldn’t be seen. I think I half expected them to suddenly disappear. After all, my Sunday school teacher, encouraging us to be kind and care for strangers, told us the Bible says that, by doing so, many people have entertained angels without knowing it (see Hebrews 13:2). I never saw any of the men disappear. They were ordinary, hungry human beings. But my Sunday school teacher was right. God does send His angels to us, and they do interact with us—not just to test us and see if we are kind, but to protect us and guide us. -
Angelology Angelology
Christian Angelology Angelology Introduction Why study Angels? They teach us about God As part of God’s creation, to study them is to study why God created the way he did. In looking at angels we can see God’s designs for his creation, which tells us something about God himself. They teach us about ourselves We share many similar qualities to the angels. We also have several differences due to them being spiritual beings. In looking at these similarities and differences we can learn more about the ways God created humanity. In looking at angels we can avoid “angelic fallacies” which attempt to turn men into angels. They are fascinating! Humans tend to be drawn to the supernatural. Spiritual beings such as angels hit something inside of us that desires to “return to Eden” in the sense of wanting to reconnect ourselves to the spiritual world. They are different, and different is interesting to us. Fr. J. Wesley Evans 1 Christian Angelology Angels in the Christian Worldview Traditional Societies/World of the Bible Post-Enlightenment Worldview Higher Reality God, gods, ultimate forces like karma and God (sometimes a “blind watchmaker”) fate [Religion - Private] Middle World Lesser spirits (Angels/Demons), [none] demigods, magic Earthly Reality Human social order and community, the Humanity, Animals, Birds, Plants, as natural world as a relational concept of individuals and as technical animals, plants, ect. classifications [Science - Public] -Adapted from Heibert, “The Flaw of the Excluded Middle” Existence of Angels Revelation: God has revealed their creation to us in scripture. Experience: People from across cultures and specifically Christians, have attested to the reality of spirits both good and bad. -
The Book of Revelation Bruce Metzger, Breaking the Code, 62
The Book of Revelation Bruce Metzger, Breaking the Code, 62 “The sequence of the opening of the seven seals, broken by chapter 7, is now resumed: one more seal is to be opened, the last. And that, one would have thought, would be the end of the drama; after the earth had received such punishment, what more could still be in store? And so, with the seventh seal, the reader expects the final cataclysm. But nothing happens. Instead, ‘there was silence in heaven for about half an hour’ (8:1). It is like the solemn hush before the bursting of a hurricane. The effect of the pause is to heighten the horror of the next series of God’s judgments, each to be announced by the sounding of a trumpet.” The Seventh Seal (8:1-6) • Silence – trembling, fear, solitude, death because of divine judgment (Psa. 31:17; Isa. 47:5; Ezek. 27:32; Zeph. 1:7, 11; Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13) • This is in contrast to the great noise heard thus far and is very drawn out (a half-hour of silence?!) • Like a drumroll or delay before a jury shares a verdict • Seven Angels – Jews believed there were 7 archangels who were given authority over the nations (Psa. 78:49) – these were named Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel (Tobit 12:15; 1 Enoch 20; cf. Dan. 10:13; 1Thess. 4:16; Jude 9); could be cultural or merely symbolic like the other sevens throughout the book The Symbolism of Trumpets • A signal that holy war was about to begin; thus another symbol of judgment • A call to assemble for attention/war/attack (Num. -
Seven Angels and Seven Trumpets
Seven Angels and Seven Trumpets The opening of the seventh seal in chapter 8 of Revelation leads immediately to a new series of sevens—seven angels with seven trumpets. With this new series of seven come violent signs upon the earth beginning with hail and fire mixed with blood. Though the events unfolding are dire, God’s mercy is shown through only a third dying (9:18). Some are sparred, offering yet another chance to repent. The Seven Angels—whileAngels this is the only reference within the Bible to “the seven angels,” there is a reference to them in the Book of Tobit, which was written between the time of the Old and New Testaments. Tobit 12:15 says, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord.” Also, the Prophecy of Enoch, an influential Jewish prophecy not found in scripture even names the seven angels as Uriel, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel. These non-scriptural references would have been familiar to many in the churches who first received the Revelation to John as a letter. PlaguesPlagues—all commentators on this series of angels blowing trumpets note the similarities between the Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7-10, Psalm 78:44, 105:27-36 and Amos 4:6-11) and the disasters that come here in Revelation. The thrust of the similarities show that Rome and other governments like it fall into the same patterns as Egypt did under the Pharaoh who countered Moses. Like the Pharaoh, they face the wrath of God. -
The Angels Tarot for Ascension
The Angels Tarot 78 Different Angels to Awaken Your Inner Powers MEANING OF TAROT ROTA – TARO – ORAT – TORA – ATOR (The Wheel – Of Tarot – Speaks – The Law – Of Hator/ Nature) Karma: How We Manifest Our Reality Through Vibrations (Beliefs, Thoughts, Desires, Feelings, Actions) 78 Cards: 5 Elements • Spirit: 22 Major Arcana (Higher Consciousness) • 56 Minor Arcana (4 elemental suits): – Swords: Air (Mental) – Wands: Fire (Will) – Cups: Water (Emotional) – Coins: Earth (Material) (10 number and 4 courts each) Reading the Angels Tarot • Focus upon the Issues at Hand • Make an Intention to Receive Accurate Guidance and Healing • Meditation to Connect with Higher Self and Angelic Kingdom • Reverse half the deck and Shuffle gently to Randomize cards Layouts • Spread the Cards into an Arch on a Smooth Surface • Intuitively Pick the Cards and place them face down • Open Sequentially in Meditative State and Bring Each Angel In Angelic Healing and Meditation • Visualize the Angel on the card appearing before you • Ask the Angel to Guide you and Listen to the Answer through all Senses • Channelling the energy of the Angel for any of the Chakras or Aura, or into the Situation Reversed Cards • Fallen Angels or Dark Aspects of any Card to be Transformed • Blocked Energy of the Card to be Healed • Meditation with the Straightened Card to Understand and Accept the Lesson Major Arcana Spirit’s Journey from The Fool to The World For Ascension of Collective Consciousness The Fool ADAMAEL (Earth God) 0 of Spirit – Unknown Self Uranus and Rahu: Search for -
Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham
HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD IN THE APOCALYPSE OF ABRAHAM The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of the celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story – the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic. ANDREI A. ORLOV is Professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University. His recent publications include Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Selected Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2011), and Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (2011). Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.209.6.50 on Thu Aug 08 23:36:19 WEST 2013. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139856430 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2013 HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD IN THE APOCALYPSE OF ABRAHAM ANDREI A. ORLOV Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.209.6.50 on Thu Aug 08 23:36:19 WEST 2013. -
The Greatest Mirror: Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha
The Greatest Mirror Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha Andrei A. Orlov On the cover: The Baleful Head, by Edward Burne-Jones. Oil on canvas, dated 1886– 1887. Courtesy of Art Resource. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2017 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Dana Foote Marketing, Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Orlov, Andrei A., 1960– author. Title: The greatest mirror : heavenly counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha / Andrei A. Orlov. Description: Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016052228 (print) | LCCN 2016053193 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438466910 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438466927 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Apocryphal books (Old Testament)—Criticism, interpretation, etc. Classification: LCC BS1700 .O775 2017 (print) | LCC BS1700 (ebook) | DDC 229/.9106—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052228 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For April DeConick . in the season when my body was completed in its maturity, there imme- diately flew down and appeared before me that most beautiful and greatest mirror-image of myself. -
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes ‒ Marian High School, February 11
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes – Marian High School, February 11, 2019 Most Reverend Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades “It was 161 years ago today, on February 11, 1858, that the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to the 14-year old Bernadette Soubirous at the grotto of Massabielle near the village of Lourdes in France. It was the first of 18 apparitions. At this first apparition, Bernadette first saw a light, then she saw a young lady who she said was “beautiful, more beautiful than any other.” She did not know it was the Virgin Mary. Bernadette said that the lady smiled at her and spoke to her with much tenderness and love. She described the woman to others as ‘the beautiful lady.’ She was beautiful in every way, not just physically. It is hardly surprising that Mary should be beautiful, given that – during the last apparition on March 25th, 1858, she revealed her name to Bernadette. She said: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Is this not the greatest beauty of Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of Jesus? She was without sin from the first moment of her existence. She was preserved by God from every stain of original sin. We call her Mary most holy. Her holiness was perfect. That’s why she’s the greatest of all the saints, the Queen of All Saints. That’s the patron title I gave to Bishop Dwenger High School some years ago, when I gave to your high school Our Lady of Lourdes as patroness. The young Bernadette saw the beauty of Mary. -
Rites of Maymar of Archangel Michael ﻣﯾﻣر رﺋﯾس اﻟﻣﻼﺋﮐﺔ اﻟﺟﻟﯾل ﻣﯾﺧﺎﺋﯾل
Rites of Maymar of Archangel Michael ميمر رئيس المﻻئكة الجليل ميخائيل Fr. Jacob Nadian St. Bishoy Coptic Orthodox Church of Toronto Stouffville, ON Canada 1 H.H. Pope Tawadros, II Pope and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, The Coptic Orthodox Church In Egypt and Abroad 2 Rites of Maymar of Archangel Michael طقس ميمر رئيس المﻻئكة الجليل ميخائيل Table of Contents Part 1: The Archangel Michael ....................................................................................................4 1. What is Maymar? .................................................................................................................... 4 2. The Meaning of the Name “Michael” ..................................................................................... 4 3. The Archangel Michael in the Holy Bible .............................................................................. 5 Part 2: Miracles of Archangel Michael ........................................................................................9 Part 3: Rites of Maymar of Archangel Michael ........................................................................10 The Prayer of Thanksgiving...................................................................................................... 11 Verses of Cymbals .................................................................................................................... 14 Adam Verses of Cymbals (Sunday to Tuesday) ................................................................... 14 Watos Verses of Cymbals (Wednesday to Saturday) -
Silence, Smoke, Fire Ch 8 7Th Seal
Silence, smoke, fire Ch 8 7th seal • Fire from altar thrown on to earth which is act of God visiting the earth w judgment • Seven trumpets are divine acts of judgment executed as justice for suffering of the faithful we hear in rev 6:9-11 • 8:6-11:9 • Seven messages perspective of Christian community • Seven seals perspective of all humanity • Seven trumpets perspective of cosmic point of view • 8:1-silence prefigure God judgments (hab 2:20, zeph 1:7) • Seven archangels (tobit 12:15-Uriel, Raphael, raguel, Michael, saraqael(sariel) Gabriel, remiel 8:1-6 • 8:3-Angels are liturgical ministers and mediators between God and people: communion of saints: trumpets are sign of God intervention • See Isaiah 27:13, Joel 2:1, zeph 1:16, Zech 9:14, 1 cor 15:52-53, 1thess 4:16 • Trumpet- alarm, fanfare announce arrival, summons to battle • Golden altar heavenly counter part to altar incense (2 chron 4:19, lev 16:12, num 16:46) • Prayers are sacrifices that angels carry to God; God responds to prayers by throwing fire to earth • 8:5 recalls Ezekiel 10:2- act of divine judgment throwing fire to earth 8:7-12 • First three trumpets are modeled after plagues of exodus • Each blast diff part world effected: earth, sea, fresh water, heavenly bodies • Wormwood: bitter plant symbolizes sorrow and distaste of human affliction (jer 9:15, lam 3:19), wormwood associated w idolatry ( dt 29:17-18 8:13 • Woe woe woe is prophetic warning that judgment is at hand ( Is 5:8-23, Amos 5:18, Nahum 3:1 • Anticipate the the three trumpets to come 9:1-12 • Fifth trumpets : -
The True God Vs. the D[E]Vil, Ie, the Origin of [D]Evil
The True God vs. the d[E]vil, i.e., The Origin of [d]Evil (7 of 12) “For this purpose the Son of God [Jesus] was revealed: to destroy the works of the d[E]vil” (1 John 3:8). Spiritual things must be inquired his power made the earth. He is the spiritually. To that end, God The one who by his wisdom established Father, allow us to inquire spiritual the world. And by his things spiritually through God The understanding he spread out the Holy Spirit, in God The Son: Jesus we skies” (Jeremiah 10:12). Simply put, ask you: Amen! God is the head of everything there is and will ever be. He is Supreme. God, i.e., God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit, is There are no “founders”, “leaders”, Supreme: aside from Him there is “visionaries”, etc…: God alone is no God (Isaiah 46:5-9). Seeking The Head: Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Supremacy itself is futile for God is Hallelujah! Supreme: God alone is The Head. Know the difference Lucifer went from Self-denial to Mistake not Power for violence. In Self-seeking: Evil/Sin. God endowed other words, God is power, not Lucifer: full of wisdom, and perfect violence. Therefore, God Is Not in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12-19). Violence. Violence is what the However, Lucifer corrupted kingdom of Evil/Sin employs to himself, as did the third part of the achieve its Evil/Sin purposes: self- heavenly beings. seeking. When no other means employed works, the kingdom of God alone is the head (Colossians Evil/Sin resolves to force, i.e., 1:18). -
The Empyrean War
THE SAR'IM CHRONICLES BOOK 1: THE EMPYREAN WAR DAVID P. AGUILAR JR. THE SAR'IM CHRONICLES Volume I: THE BOOKS OF WAR Book1: THE EMPYREAN WAR INSPIRED BY YAH'S holy spirit ii Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................... iv Cast Of Characters ..................................................................... v Chapter 1: The Tragic Prince ..................................................... 1 Chapter 2: A Rift in the Substance ........................................... 10 Chapter 3: Drawing the Kherev ............................................... 18 Chapter 4: The Song of Israfel ................................................. 25 Chapter 5: Creation and Desolation ......................................... 32 Chapter 6: The Second Day ..................................................... 40 Chapter 7: The Unfolding of The Shekinah ............................. 49 Epilogue .................................................................................... 62 iii THE Empyrean War INTRODUCTION The Sar’im Chronicles is the title given to a series of books that will be divided into five distinct volumes. The first of these, The Books of War, contains three books that deal primarily with the theme of the eternal conflict between the powers of angels and demons. The Books of War set forth the history of this conflict, from its origin until it became fully manifest on Earth, bearing not only on the spiritual characters that are its principle players, but also the humans who are caught in the middle. Volume 2: The Books of Conflict, deal with the theme on a more personal level. Gone are the grandiose battles that take place in the Heavenly Kingdom, above the Ark, at the Tower of Babel. The three books that fall under this heading show how individual characters, such as Abraham and Moses, deal with the spiritual world and its factors, and they reveal the fact that individual choices have a great impact on the history of our world.