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Angels Prove to be Powerful Contemporary Presence
On Highway 51, between Chicago and Milwaukee, thousands of city-worn travelers stop to see the angels. The Angel Museum, nestled in the town of Beloit, WI attracts 17,000 visitors a year. Since the museum opened in 1998, more than 45,000 people from all 50 states and 35 countries have come through the doors to get what Director Nora Gard describes as “a spiritual uplift.”
Messengers of God
The past decade has seen a phenomenal rise of interest in angels. The evidence for this is displayed on television, the Internet and jacket lapels; and in book stores, films, women's magazines, magazines devoted to the topic of angels, the New York Times, gift catalogues, and greeting card stores.
Touched by an Angel??
The other day a friend of mine was wearing one of those little angel pins on her shoulder. You know the one: cute and cheruby. You can pick them up at the card shop, right by the cash register. I have never seen an angel. The closest I have come was the time someone cleaned two feet of snow from our driveway. I could swear the mark left behind came not from a snowblower but from a feathery wing.
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 Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels
by Gustav Davidson
The result of 16 years of research in Talmudic, gnostic, cabalistic, apocalyptic, patristic, and legendary texts, the classic reference work on angels is beautifully illustrated and its reissue coincides with the resurgence of belief in angels in America. Buy it |
What about Angels?
It seems as though angels have captured the imagination ofpeople everywhere. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformationabout angels, along with superstitions and
unscriptural understandings. (Adobe Acrobat Reader needed - free download here)
Does the Reformed Church believe in angels?
My first response to this question, this month of angels, is to smile. I am always glad to realize that the existence of angels, or God for that matter, is no way affected by whether we believe in them or not. But after the smile comes a bit of a sigh. For, although I have never heard about a report or paper expressing our belief concerning angels, I want to confess with the man who came to Jesus in order to have his daughter healed, "I believe; help my unbelief."
God's Messengers
As our prayers go up to God, so his spirit comes down to us. Sometimes we may feel a personal response, as though a divine messenger had delivered a specific answer to need. Then there are moments of closeness to God, when we feel palpably carried by his strength, perhaps even by the loving arms of some unearthly being.
Angel Pages
The English word "angel" comes from the Greek angelos, which means 'messenger'. In the Old Testament, with two exceptions, the Hebrew word for "angel" is malak, also meaning 'messenger'. The prophet Malachi took his name from this word.
What about angels?
Angels seem to be big news lately--accounts of people being helped by angels, books on how to get in touch with your guardian angel, even movies about angels playing baseball. Several television networks have carried magazine-type programs featuring angel art and supposed interactions between angels and people. Then there are the popular TV series in which angels feature prominently.
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