Thanks for this post. We have shared some good testimonies of how God has
sent us help. This is a good reminder about what the enemy is doing to try
and the things of God in this last day.
>From: Soaring Golden Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: [RR] Angels
>Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000 08:44:51 -0600
>
>An Angel article is at
>http://www.cfaith.com/Cfaith/SUB/S100/100Article/0,1266,2357,00.asp by Mac
>Hammond (actually an excerpt from his book, Angels at Your Service) sheds a
>little more light on this topic. Terry Law has also written an excellent
>biblical book on Angels.
>
>Angels All Around Us
>by Mac Hammond
>
>As a recent writer in the Washington Post put it, "We are in the midst of
>an extraordinary boom of interest in angels."
>
>According to Publishers Weekly, more than 100 new nonfiction books about
>angels appeared in one publishing season recently. Scores of angel sites
>have surfaced on the Internet and three glossy national s devoted
>exclusively to angels recently began publishing.
>
>You can now purchase a book that claims to teach you how to consult your
>angels on investing, home improvement and how to cook a great dinner. There
>are books on how to harness your "angel energy." Books that turn angels
>into fortune-tellers and financial counselors. Books that teach you to look
>for angels in floating feathers, tinkling bells and passing pigeons. And if
>you need to drop a few pounds, "The Angel's Little Diet Book" is your
>ticket to a heavenly waistline.
>
>This would all be amusing if the implications weren't so serious.
>
>You see, there's just one problem with this avalanche of angelology. Most
>of it is at odds with the only reliable source on angels we have - the
>Bible. The good news is, God's Word has quite a lot to say on the subject.
>In fact, the word angel appears more than 300 times in the Bible.
>
>Until recently, many Americans never considered angels to be anything more
>than an image to be fanned in the snow, baked into sugar cookies, or
>perched atop the Christmas tree. But today, an explosion of interest in
>angels has forced Americans to consider the reality of these beings that
>have been written about for millennia.
>
>In a 1996 Gallup survey, 55 percent of those polled said angels are higher
>beings created by God. Fifteen percent believed angels are people who have
>died. And 23 percent said angels are merely religious symbols. Needless to
>say, there is a broad diversity of opinion about angels.
>
>Yes, over the past 15 years, there has been an astounding increase in
>people's curiosity about angels - not just in religious circles, but in the
>secular world as well. Never before have people been as interested in any
>spiritual subject as they currently are about angels. The proliferation of
>literature about angels and demons and the realm of the spirit they
>inhabit, reveals that these days almost everyone, whether religious or not,
>is fascinated with the supernatural.
>
>Signs of the Times
>This increased fascination with spiritual beings may seem remarkable when
>you first think about it. But actually, it isn't so remarkable if you
>consider the day in which we live. We are in the final days of this age. We
>are living in the generation that is going to usher in the millennial reign
>of the Lord. And already we are witnessing many biblically predicted signs
>that indicate the time is near. The most significant of these is the
>reestablishment of the nation of Israel.
>
>History records that after Jesus was crucified, intense persecution came
>upon the church in Jerusalem. The persecution was so severe that it
>scattered the Jewish Christians throughout the world. Then in 70 A.D., the
>Roman emperor leveled Jerusalem and massacred anyone who was remaining. For
>almost 1,900 years after that, the Jewish people had no homeland. Then an
>amazing - in fact, a miraculous - thing happened. In 1948, the
>international community recognized the sovereignty of Israel as a nation,
>and Jewish people from all over the world began to return to their
>homeland.
>
>What does that mean to those of us who watch for Jesus' Second Coming? It
>means a lot! In Mark 13:30, Jesus proclaimed that the generation which
>witnessed the regathering of Israel (a process that began in 1948 and has
>been continuing ever since) won't die: Verily I say unto you, that this
>generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. We are that
>generation!
>
>The Bible states clearly that no man will know the exact day or hour of the
>coming of the Lord. (Mark 13:32.) However, it also says that day shouldn't
>take us by surprise. (1 Thess. 5:4.) If we are alert to the scriptural
>signs, the Bible says we will know when Jesus' return is near.
>
>As far as I'm concerned, there is no doubt about it. The signs are all
>around us. We are the generation that will see the close of this age and
>witness the establishment of Jesus' millennial reign.
>
>It is so thrilling to think about that reign and the age to come. In that
>day, God will bring His kingdom, the realm of the Spirit, into contact with
>this natural, temporal earth. Then Jesus will literally and physically set
>up His earthly reign.
>
>As we move closer towards that time, we will see more and more
>manifestations of the spiritual realm. Appearances of the angelic host, the
>seraphim and the cherubim and a variety of different angels will be
>increasingly commonplace in our generation.
>
>Don't Believe Everything You Hear
>It shouldn't surprise us that people are starting to talk about these
>events or that there are so many reports about angels. In the coming days,
>we can expect secular newspapers and s to publish an increasing
>number of reports about people's encounters with angels. There will be
>television specials about them, and more books will be written about them.
>
>Certainly, those things will be to hear and read about, but we
>must be discerning. It is important to remember that not everything we hear
>through these sources will be accurate. In fact, much of the information
>that will be promoted will be deceptive and even dangerous.
>
>The reason for all this erroneous information is very simple. Even though
>angels are real and the realm they inhabit is real, the human intellect
>alone can't understand them. Our minds have been created primarily to
>accommodate our needs in this earthly world. Our minds, in and of
>themselves, aren't spiritual. Thus, on our own, we simply don't have the
>capacity to properly interpret the spiritual manifestations that are
>becoming more and more commonplace.
>
>If you want proof, just look a little closer at the results of the 1996
>Gallup poll mentioned previously. They reveal the extremely inaccurate
>assumptions many people have made about the spiritual realm. The only good
>news in this study is the finding that despite how technologically advanced
>and sophisticated we like to think we are, seven out of 10 Americans do
>believe in angels. The bad news is, of those seven who believe in angels,
>50 percent believe only in "good" angels. They don't believe there is an
>evil angelic host. They believe that angels, by definition, are good and
>are sent by God to bring blessing to those who are in need.
>
>Furthermore, 55 percent of those polled said they believe angels are a
>higher order of being (meaning higher than human beings) created by God.
>Fifteen percent of those polled believe that angels are people who have
>died and somehow acquired harps and wings. Twentythree percent of those
>polled believe angels hold an important, symbolic place in a variety of
>religious persuasions but that they probably aren't real. Finally, seven
>percent of those polled simply believe that angels are figments of the
>human imagination.
>
>What makes this study so significant? Two things. First of all, it reveals
>that this isn't just a "fringe" topic of study. This isn't something of
>interest to only a small minority of people because the majority of
>Americans believe in, and have some degree of interest in, angels.
>
>Second, this survey demonstrates that ignorance about angels and the realm
>of the spirit is almost universal. It amazes me how little most people know
>about the subject. There are some people, I'm sure, who are well-versed in
>this area. However, the vast majority - Christians included - don't know as
>much as they should know about the mission and mandate of angels.
>
>How can we solve this problem? How can we gather more accurate information
>about angels? We can do this by studying the only reliable resource we have
>- the Bible.
>
>The Word as Our Guide
>You can't discern spiritual truth with your natural senses. Therefore,
>anything you hear or read that doesn't originate from the Word of God has
>to be the opinion of man and, as such, should be taken with a grain of
>salt.
>
>For that reason, it is my purpose to approach the subject of angels with
>the Bible as the final word on the subject. In the chapters that follow, we
>will look into the Word of God to define who angels are, how they were
>created, for what purpose they were created, what their capabilities and
>capacities are and how we are to relate to them. With the Word as our
>guide, we will be better able to judge encounters angels have with people.
>We will also come to understand the role angels play in the realization of
>our eternal destiny and our life on this earth.
>
>Please understand that this article isn't meant to simply satisfy your
>curiosity about angels. It is meant to help you understand what God created
>them to do for you. How important is it to have this understanding? Well,
>let me put it this way. After studying what the Bible says about the
>subject, I'm firmly convinced that if you don't understand and draw upon
>the ministry of angels, it is unlikely that you will ever realize God's
>highest purpose for your life. Without the ministry of angels, you will
>probably never experience the fullness of His blessing or the magnitude of
>the destiny He has planned for you. It is that important. As Christians,
>all of us need a greater revelation of the ministry of angels if we are to
>be used in the way God wants to use us.
>
>
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