By Bayo Ogunmupe
One Sunday afternoon, Kenneth and Mary who live in Mushin, Lagos; went to visit a married couple with whom they were conducting a Bible study. When they arrived there, Kenneth narrates, the house was shut. But something told him people are inside the house. He then called the wife. The lady answered the phone explaining that her husband was at work. However, she opened the door and invited them in. They noticed the woman had been crying. As soon as they began the study with an opening prayer, the woman started crying again.
When asked what the matter was, their host explained that she had planned to kill herself that very afternoon and that she was writing a suicide note to her husband when Kenneth's phone stopped her. She told them she was suffering from depression; so they comforted her with some Bible verses. Kenneth and Mary thought God had intervened with an angel enabling him to make the call that stopped her from killing herself. We do know God uses His angels to help humans advance spiritually. For example God used Philip to help an Ethiopian official looking for spiritual guidance.
In Africa, we believe in the supernatural. The Bible portrayed angels as benevolent creatures who carry out God's will; selecting them to guide people aright. What we know about angels is that just as God is a spirit, angels too are invisible spirits who do not have flesh and bones. The angels loyal to God reside in the heavens. They have direct access to God's presence- Luke 24:39. At times, angels have appeared in human form to carry out God given assignments on earth and then dematerialize after completing their assignments- Judges 6:11-23.
Although angels have been presented in the Bible as males, there is no male or female distinction among angels. Angels don't marry and reproduce their kind. Angels were created by God like He created man. Thus, the Bible calls them sons of the true God- Job 1:6. Though angels have language and speech, for He uses them to communicate with humans; He does not permit us to worship or pray to angels- Corinthians 13:1. There are myriads upon myriads of angels and are mighty in power; much more powerful than humans.
Angels have superhuman intelligence. They can travel at tremendous speeds, far beyond the limits of the physical world- Psalm 103:20. Angel have personalities and have free will like humans. That was why some angels chose to rebel against God. Angels are organized with Archangel Michael as the chief angel. The scriptures actually indicate that Saint Michael is another name for jesus Christ- 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 9. Seraphs are ranking angels in attendance around God's throne. Cherubs too are God's servants. Every person has a guardian angel; this is verified by Jesus, who once said: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones (Christ's disciples), for I tell you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Father who is in heaven,"- Matthew 18:10.
But there are evil angels who because of their free will rebelled against God. The chief of the rebel angels, Satan succeeded in instigating Adam and Eve to rebel against God- Genesis 3:1-7. In Noah's day some angels forsook their dwelling place in heaven, came down to the earth, took on the human flesh to pursue a depraved and immoral course of mating with humans and bearing hybrids- Jude 6. When the deluge came the depraved angels dematerialized and returned to the spirit world.
But God did not admit them into His presence- because of their depravity. Instead God confined them to a spiritual darkness called Tartarus,- Jude 6; Peter 2:4. Then these demons placed themselves under the control of Satan- Matthew 12:24. Since these demons were confined to the earth- the rampant wickedness and immorality are evidence of their destructive influence- Revelation 12:9-12.
However, faithful angels are keenly interested in humanity and are actively carrying out Allah's will. The Bible shows that Jehovah uses the angels to accomplish His tasks on earth. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, angels helped righteous Lot and his family to flee- Genesis 19:1. The book of Revelation said angels are helping people earth wide in opening their minds to spirituality. So whenever you are confronted with danger, penury or family squabble, ask the appropriate angel for protection. When in danger ask St Michael thus- Saint Michael, archangel of God, command your legion of angels to preserve, protect and prosper me, my wife and children, in His holy name I pray. Saint Michael is bound to come to your aid. Saint Ariel is the angel in charge of prosperity. But you must ask them, without asking for help none will visit you.
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