Angelic Overview Essay Example For Students

Angelic Overview Essay ANGELIC OVERVIEW: Angels are spirits, proclaimed St. Augustine! St. Thomas Aquinas believed that angels were purespirit, having no matter or mass, and taking up no space; but Thomasbelieved angels could assume bodies at will. The purpose of angelsis the same as mankind: to love and serve the Lord. However, beingthat angels are not material beings, and possibly from a differentdimension, they can serve the Lord in many different ways. Angelshave far greater will and intellect than we have. Whereas mankindmust sift through and experiment with natural laws, angels can graspall natural laws with a single thought. Eventually we find thatangels cannot work miracles per se, but they can perform manyspecial effects that appear miraculous, such as protecting Danielfrom the lions in Daniel 6. When angels appear to man, they usuallyappear with wings, but the wings are not the method of loco- motion. The angels seem to slip in and out of the fourth dimension; thustravel is more or less instantaneous. If you have access to aCatholic Bible (it MUST be Catholic), check out Daniel ch. 14, toread how the prophet Habakkuk was instantly carried, via angel, fromJudea to Babylon, a distance of 600 miles. The primary general duty of angels is as messengers of God. (Theword angel means messenger in Greek.) But angels can do Godschores, such as busting Peter out of jail in Acts 5, or destroyingSodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. But some angels obey only thedevil, and those angels are known as demons, as is Satan himself. Satan had been an angel, but decided to do his own thing. Angelscan see all aspects of a situation instantly, since they are so very Angels, and the dimensions they live in, were apparently createdbefore our visible world and universe. (The Bible tells us inGenesis ch.1-2 that mankind was created (or evolved) last.) Thenumber of angels are countless. One reason they are count- less isthat the Bible holds that each person who is or has lived, in theuniverse, has a guardian angel (Matthew 18:10). Additionally, somepeople who have died may have been transformed into lower angels. Many people witness small miracles, and attribute them to God,when, in fact, angels may likely author the event. Speaking ofmiracles, some people believe that the reason more asteroids donthit and damage planets is because each planet also has a guardianangel. In this school of thought, we owe our very existence to There are MANY stories of loved ones appearing after they havedied, and helping the loved ones. Poss- ibly the loved one neverdid appear; possibly the loved ones physical appearance was takenover by an angel. The Bible tells us to respect strangers, as theymay actually be disguised angels, as in Genesis 19, Hebrews 13:2,and Tobit chapters 4-12 (in Catholic Bibles). They also intercedefor us before God, such as was proposed in Job 33:23, and Psalms ANGELIC ORGANIZATION: There are three hierarchies of angels:the Supreme Hierarchy, the Middle Hier- archy, and the LowerHierarchy. Within earch hierarchy, there are three choirs (orranks), of angels, making a total of nine choir s. The choirs withinthe hierarchies differ because of angelic form, rather than matteror quantity within the choir. The Supreme Hierarchy is always inGods inner circle, meditating on Him. The Middle Hiearchy keeps theuniverse running according to Gods physical laws. The lowerhirarchy carries out particular tasks. SUPREME HIERARCHY: The Seraphim (Singular, Seraph) is the firstchoir of the Supreme hierarchy. The name means the burning ones,or ardor. They sit at Gods throne, or a little above it, andunceasingly sing praise to Him, and bear light and love to lessorangels. The Seraphim are completely ruled by divine love, for thereis nothing more important than love according to 1 Corinthians13:13. Isaiah 6:2 tells us the Seraphim have three sets of wings,one set to cover the face out of reverence, one set to cover thefeet out of modesty and respect, and one set to fly with. (But as Ipreviously wrote, they dont actually use their wings to fly.) The Cherubim (singular, Cherub) is the second choir of theSupreme Hierarchy. The Cherubim sit beside Gods throne, and act asthrone bearers, keeping unwanted entities away. (This isillustrated in Catholic Bibles, in Ecclesiasticus ch.49.) They havea great insight of Gods secrets, and the workings of the universe. Comparing the Escape Theme in Raise the Red Lanter Essay The lowest of the angelic realm is simply called Angels, andtruly are messengers of God. That is because their primary duty isto be more in direct contact with visible and earthly things. Theyare also known as Guardian Angels. They protect us when the Lordwills it, such as in Psalms 91:11-13. I also mentioned in the fifthparagraph that they act as intercessories to God. Some people alsobelieve that if you say a prayer to your guardian angel, asking areconcilliation with another person, your Guardian Angel willintercede to the other persons Guardian Angel, thereby improvingyour chances at the reconcilliation. There are many tales of peoplenarrowly escaping death, and many people believe that GuardianAngels are responsible for those favors, rather than God himself(see fourth paragraph). That is because in the many Biblereferences I indicated, the passages say that angels were SENT to doa specific task, rather than God effecting the task himself. Theseangels are not disheartened that they are of the lowest rank,because they know that to serve God in ANY capacity is a greathonor. They are referenced in 1 Peter 3:22. Once again: the nine choirs of angels, in descending order, arethe Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Domin- ations, Sovereigns, Powers,Princip- alities, Archangels, and Angels. Bibliography:In compiling this, I have used several different Bibles, butwhere I indicate a Catholic Bible, I used the Jerusalem Bible. Mostof you probably know that the Catholic Bible has books and passageswhich do not appear in Protestant Bibles. Many may question theauthenticity of these passages in the Catholic Bible, but I decidedto use them as the Catholic Church is the ONLY Christian churchwhich seriously attempts to explain about angels, and why they werecreated, and how they fit in the angelic realm of things. My booksource was primarily Beyond Space, written by Father PascalParente in 1957. I also used St. Michael and the Angels, put outby the Marion Publications. They are privately published books, soyou wont find them at book stores or the library. If youd likethe books, you can order them from Tan Books P.O. Box 424, Rockford,IL 61105. I also used A Book of Angels written by Sophie Burnhamin 1990, and Do you have a Guardian Angel written by John Ronnerin 1985.