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What are Angels? – Pt. 1
As we have discussed in other books angels are messengers. In the book on guardian angel we explain how the work of angels is often seen as showing people the door that is open or closed for them so they can make the right choices. This would also apply to archangels.
That being said, the archangels may have an additional function as seen and unseen interventionists. For example, there was the situation of Balaam going to curse Israel.
The angel in the road served both as a messenger to Balaam and an interdictor to the cursing journey. At first he was unseen and then he visually manifested. This is generally assumed to be Archangel Michael.
It is those two functions that we will be looking at.
It should be noted that the concept of angels is not a strictly Judeo-Christian concept. In all religions and worldviews there is the concept of numinous beings that intervene in human affairs to a greater or lesser extent. We will be discussing the universal concept of archangels.
So in this book we will not be limiting our research to the Bible.
Many of the brothers in christendom have just done a double take. While the Bible is a book of truth about angels, when properly understood, it is not a book of all truths. And when we view it as such, we get tunnel vision and miss many helpful truths.
The Bible does point this out in the book of Daniel that Archangel Michael was one of the chief princes. “… but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me …” This indicates that there are others not named in Biblical sources. We must learn about them elsewhere.
From another direction there is the situation of the Hittites. They were an ancient civilization referred to in the Bible. Many in academia rejected this because as everyone knew there is not evidence of the Hittite people.
However, archaeology accidentally discovered ancient Hittite cities and even a library of their writings. You can now purchase a grammar of the Hittite language. The “scholars” had tunnel vision. They thought that what was in their academic library was the truth on the matter of supposed Hittites.
Angels and archangel are mentioned in the Bible, and what it tells us is true. But they are also mentioned in other traditions. The jargon may be different, but they in Biblical jargon are called angels. And those other traditions can have truths that are not in the Bible.
For example, the angel guarding the tree of life in the garden of Eden is not named. In extra Biblical sources we find a name for it. And we also learn that it is an archangel. As you will learn later, that can be useful information.
to be continued
