Angels, An Objective View - Unexplained

A poll that was published in TIME magazine showed that 69 percent of people believe in Angels, 46 percent of which believe they have a personal guardian angel. Descriptions of these angels include a wide range of appearances. Some are only lights or a hovering golden halo; while others describe their angel as human, half human, or even animal! Angels are said to descend upon those who are in need of salvation (from evil or hell), or who need direction in life, in pain or suffering physically or emotionally, or to those who need simple things such as directions or a winning lottery ticket. Angelic encounters are sometimes life-changing, but always leave the experience spiritually/physically/emotionally revived, comforted, and less negative. "Rocky" situations in one's life are handled easier and with less stress.

"Angel contactees" usually describe an instance when things are so bad that they go to a solitary place alone (a bedroom, etc...). An angel then appears. Heavenly music and/or joyful music is heard, a warm, tingly light is felt, sometimes invisible arms are felt embracing the person in distress. Communication is usually telepathic, not always in words but emotion (like a transfer of positive energy).

There are numerous other angel stories which involve deceased loved ones visiting those they left behind to reassure the grieving of their well being after death. Or someone will get a vivid image or sudden thought of a close friend or family member minutes before learning about their death. Other stories include lights from familiar sources "forming" into angels (or angelic shapes), a halo suddenly hovering over one's head, or even a mysterious person who saves one's life or helps them out in any way. The "angel" then disappears before being thanked, giving the bewildered a conclusion that they were "touched by an angel". Sometimes angels are not seen but felt. For example, someone may be approaching unseen danger when they are suddenly yanked or pushed out of harm's way by an unseen force. An old wives tale says that when you hear your name called, and you look around to find yourself alone, your guardian angel just saved you from danger or temptation.

Angels or angelic-like beings are mentioned in many other religions including several middle-eastern religions, often as animal spirit guides in native American or pagan cultures. However, the majority of angels are reported by people of Catholic or Christian (Protestant) faiths. This is probably due to the fact that angels are mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.

According to the Christian Bible, angels are workers and messengers of God, who work in Heaven and on Earth. Two distinct angels are named including Gabriel, the messenger angel who gave Mary the news of her divine pregnancy (Luke), and Michael the arch angel. Other Biblical angel encounters include the two men that warned Lot of Sodom and Gomorra's destruction (Genisis); the multitude who proclaimed the Christ Child's arrival to the shepherds (Luke); the angel who escorted the apostle John in the book of Revelations and defeated Satan; and the angels who comforted Jesus at the garden of Gethsemene on the night before his execution.

The Bible also mentions other types of Angels or heavenly beings called the Seraphim and the Cherubim as described in Ezekiel and Revelations.

Ezekiel 1:5-14 | Revelations 4:6-11

The majority of angels mentioned in the Bible depict wingless beings who take the form of a man. The only exceptions are the Cherubim and the Seraphim mentioned above and only one mention of a winged, female angel in the Old Testament.

Oddly enough, the description of winged women and children angels are found mostly in non-Christian mythology. Cupid, the sprite who makes lovers out of people by shooting them with special arrows, resembles the flying children made popular during the Victorian and Renaissance period.

According to palm-readers, the angel line is found running next to the life line. They can see how influential one's guardian angel is in their life by deciphering the angel line.

Skeptic's Notes

The problem with the majority of alleged angelic encounters is that highly religious people are likely to interpret coincidence as divine intervention; or a mysterious "human" hero as an angel sent from God, when infact, they were just benevolent human beings.

Also, mara-like experiences or dreams could be interpreted as angelic visitations. Maras, OBE's, NDE's, and Alien Abductions all share similar aspects of an angelic encounter. Some UFO believers (usually the religious ones) think of extraterrestrials as angels (or demons). So called "space brothers/sisters" are supposedly watching over and protecting humankind, and playing a role in evolution of the human race.

In every angelic encounter I have read, the person experiences positive emotions, comfort, and peace. If you take a look at the majority of angel appearances in the Bible, those who came in contact with angels were struck with terror. The first words out of the angel's mouth was always "Fear not!" (See Gabriels visit to Mary, and the shepherds visitation.) Why has the fear or startled reaction to a strange entity suddenly appearing before you ceased?

Also, angels never appeared as animals or halos hovering over peoples heads. The only animal-looking angels were the Cherubim and Seraphim who, according to the Bible, never leave the proximity of God's throne in Heaven. So, why would an angel come all the way from Heaven and choose a person, not necessarily in danger (when so many others are), and make a mysterious apparition which is not understood by the experience? That doesn't make any sense!

And another thing - there are those who charge money to contact your personal guardian angel, describing them and communicating with them. And there are those who channel angels, especially Michael, the Arch Angel. Why is it that one can contact God or a heavenly being through "Bible forbidden" methods such as divination?

Conclusion

I am not attempting to debunk the existence of angels altogether, but I am sure, as with any paranormal report, the majority of eye-witness accounts are lies, hoaxes, or misinterpreted. Whether these are real experiences or not, angelic encounters have a profound effect on many people's lives. And it would appear, according to the media, that angels are a popular belief. So, what do you think? Do you believe in angels? Guardian angels? Or do you think this, along with the UFO phenomena and others, are merely a mass delusion?

Comment from Zandi for Angels, An Objective View

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Comment from Sam for Angels, An Objective View

Been there. Done that. My experience was that of fear. And today, I still live in fear. She was or is beautiful, but she, my angel, destroyed my world. On that day, my free will was strip. On the day the belief in God was lost. God exists. The next level of existence existance exist, but why me. I was happy. So very, very happy, I had changed my life in the pursuit of God. And then, I saw the angel. She came to me. She defied logic. I can't explain. And, feared sleeping for 6 years. She defied Physics. And, there is an after life. And, no matter how many souls exist on Earth, God knows ME. Sucks to be me. I don't/hardly sleep no more!

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Comment from roseanglaise for Angels, An Objective View

The concept of angels and proctective forces is much older than Christianity and is found in most cultures all over the globe in one form or another. The most important thing, that goes beyond religion, society indoctrination, culture or anything else, is what an individual feels to be true; everything else is just intellectual discourse. When you have felt your guardian angel, seen or heard him/her, there's no point in discussion!

Comment from Cameron for Angels, An Objective View

Angels are the messengers of God when related to the world of men. The bible records the events they were used as messengers to men or a man. Each instance, with the exception of the coming of Christ, was for the occassion of a terrible message or event. (ie. the flood, the story of lot). The bible also mentions the war in heaven in which a third of the host was expelled for their evil deeds. These are the false messengers that come to people with new age messages such as the idea of personal guardian angels (which are not mentioned in any place in the bible). They create a false feeling of peace, calm, etc. because it is then easier to manipulate the person visited into accepting the false message and feeling. This is helping to prepare mankind for the coming of the evil foretold in the book of Revelation(no "s"). It helps create the false faith that God will allow those without true faith to be suject to. Simply put then, these modern angel visitations are not to comfort or aid but to take advantage of people who are at their most vulnerable to manipulation. What Eleasha and others like her need to remember is that the need for Angelic visitations also passed with Christ's sacrifice. The next time they were meant to visit after his ascension was at the time of the book of revelation.

Comment from darryl for Angels, An Objective View

it is a matter to be believed. you should beleive in angels especially if you had something spiritually profound happen to you that was good.

Comment from Eleasha for Angels, An Objective View

I am a fourteen year old Christian and I have been raised with a devout belief in angels and their interaction with humans as messengers and servants of God. I realize that this may be considered an indoctrinal tactic- however unintentional- on the part of my parents, and I completely understand this doubt by unbelievers and even wonder about my own credibility on unbiased matters of paramormal activities, etc. But, utilizing the knowledge with which I have been raised, I think I can shed some light on some of the questions about angels at the end of the article, 'Angels, An Objective View'. "If you take a look at the majority of angel appearances in the Bible, those who came in contact with angels were struck with terror.... Why has the fear or startled reaction to a strange entity suddenly appearing before you ceased?" The reason that the Bible appears to have only accounts of people experienceing great fear or terror during an encounter with an angel is not because that was the only feeling present in every single visitation, but because the Bible records only the pertinent occurances with angels and these were those that required a strong warning or message to be delivered, and the angel's countenace, or 'energy', was most likely rather stormy and frightening, not to mention that it's message induced trepidation in the hearer. Also, to get into the blatantly theological- which carries no less weight in a discussin of this type than does the obvious or 'real'- most of the visitations by angels that brought fear and trembling occured before the death of Jesus. The Crucifixion was not merely a symbol of Satan's defeat and the attonment of sins, but it also was the deed that brought about a greater familiarity between God and Man by clearing a way to 'heaven' for humanity. Before the death of Jesus the only way for a person to enter heaven was for them to adhear to the law of Moses and continually sacrifice animals or objects of significant worth to them as atonement for sin. But, with Jesus's death, that method was dispensed with and it is now possible for people to simply pray for forgiveness and repent of their sin. Before the Crucifixion, however, humanity was still in the clutches of hard-to-repent of sin and was still, basically, a 'child society' in the terms of religion and the angels were required to deal harshly with us, as God did. After the Crucifixion we were much closer to God in relationship terms. An analogy of this would be a baby, or toddler, being babysat by its older siblings while their its parents were away. During that time the older brother or sister would, by necissity, have to be quite commanding and superior to the small child. Once the parents returned, however, the older sibling would once again become simply another child and would relate to the toddler as a protector and brother/sister- even while, obviosly, older and smarter-, while the parents would take back their authority and benefactorship over the baby. "Also, angels never appeared as animals....So, why would an angel come all the way from Heaven and choose a person, not necessarily in danger (when so many others are), and make a mysterious apparition which is not understood by the experience?" While I haven't heard all the stories that are being used as a focal point of the above statement I can cite one as an example of the explanation for this behaviour. A woman's dog had gone missing and she and her sister had been searching for hours and hours for it, in a snowstorm. The area was rural and night was falling in the forest in which they had been looking, so they returned home. By her house a huge white dog met them and, in the manner of dogs, led them back into the woods and to her dog, which had been trapped under a fallen fence. The dog disappeared and no-one in the surrounding area had seen it, or ever did again. This is not necissarily an angelic manifestation, but, if it is, you can understand why it took the form of a dog rather than a man or woman. Would you follow a stranger into the woods at night if they told you they knew where your lost dog was? A dog is far more trustworthy in such matters than a person. "Why is it that one can contact God or a heavenly being through "Bible forbidden" methods such as divination?" The reason for this is not so much that the diviner or seer is false or even mistaken, but that methods of phsyic divination are easily susceptible to demonic attacks, completely unbeknowenst to the physic. My family and I know many people who have come from a New Age circumstance into Christianity and most say that they have contacted demons and not known it, while trying to speak with dead people or angels. The physic gifting is very real and credible, in many circumstances, but those without the discernment to know the difference between a malevolent demon and an angel are easily tricked by the former, by no fault of their own except not knowing how to combat demonic influence. A Christian has no need of divination, however, since we can simply pray to God without ceremony. I myself have experience with demonic presences speaking to me and telling me things, but when an unknown presence does contact me all I have to do is ask God to either banish it if it is a demon, or increase my understanding if it is Him or an angel speaking. The reason divination is "Bible forbidden" is for our own protection. Comparatively to an angel or demon our singular wills are extremely weak and we are easily overtaken by an evil spirit without the assistance of God. A christian is protected from this by the intervention of God, but, even then, divination is an unprotected manner of contact with the spirit world. I cannot presume to speak for God on these matters, or even understand his reasons for the rules he puts in place, but I can tell you what I know and percieve.