Choosing to Serve.

 

Discussing angels because we need to know their reality. We dismiss them out of hand and rarely think about them. Oh, many think of their dead loved ones and call them angels, but we know through Biblical fact and truth that that can't be true. Not a single loved one turns into an angel, angels are beings created by God prior to the creation of human beings. Satan himself was a created angel whose pride reared up and he allowed it to corrupt him completely. No dead human being has ever turned into a real angel. I say 'real' angel because I call my little cat an angel- but ONLY as a term of endearment, NOT that I think she's an angel of God's, she's not and never will be.  

As I stated above, we rarely think of God's angels in their all their truth, in all their reality. 

Heb 1:10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 

Heb 1:11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 

Heb 1:12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 

Heb 1:13  But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 

Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? 

To which of the angels….. SAID THE LORD at any time….

Stop there for a moment. The Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth- yes, the very earth we live upon. The heavens are the works of the Lord's hands. All that, earth and heavens are perishing, growing old, wearing out.. And they all shall be changed. The earth and the heavens will be changed! The Lord will never change! This very Lord did NOT say to ANY of the angels to sit on the right hand of God.  Not a single angel was ever told to be a God with the three God's- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. No angel was ever created to become a god, to grow into being a god. We as human being were NEVER created to be gods, to become gods in and of ourselves. We have our LORD and SAVIOR as our God who died as our GOD to give us salvation, to be sons and daughters of God, but NEVER to ever take the place of GOD- not God the Father, not Got the Son and Not God the Holy Spirit!

We're discussing angels… and the verse reads- 'to which of the angels said he (the Lord) at any time, sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool?'  The answer we know is to NONE of the angels were those word ever spoken. Angels are not dead humans and angels are NOT gods. Angels have their own order- 'they are ALL ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.'

God's angels are created being that minister to us! 

Satan would have us believe that this somehow makes angels servant in the sense of they are our slaves, as if their purpose in serving God is to minister to those who will belong to God, is somehow a bad thing. That they are chained in serve, forced to do God's bidding. LIES! LIES! LIES!

We only think that way because Satan has corrupted us into beings that force others into servitude. And don't get me wrong here, I mean what I just said. Satan has corrupted US as a whole. We think very little of others being forced to serve others. Wait? Am I talking slavery? That's been abolished right, except for third world, underground, black market scum, illegal slavery? Slavery exists all around us in many forms and I don't say that to take away from the awful slavery men and women have endured in various ethnic groups throughout time. The Hebrew slaves under the Pharoah's of Egypt. The many slaves in societies throughout time, the African slavery brought to the United States and condoned for hundreds of years, the Irish slaves, the Indian slaves… and so on. Other countries besides the United States have had slaves for years and years. Slavery is an awful thing no matter where, no matter when, no matter who is enslaved. God enslaves NO ONE for His service. To serve God is a CHOICE freely made. Satan would have mankind believe otherwise, Satan lies.

One third of created angelic beings allowed themselves to choose not to serve God freely. God did not force them to remain with Him when they made that choice. They were always free to leave God's service, always. He did not chain them to Him, He did not force them to stay, He did not coerce them into agreeing to serve Him. They were FREE to rebel, they were FREE to leave, they were FREE to choose who they wanted to serve, if not God. That one third of the angels chose to leave God's service and aligned themselves with another angel that designated himself as their leader, as their god to be worshiped, as their powerful dignitary.  Two-thirds willingly chose to stay with God, to serve God, to do God's will forever without end. 

Those two-thirds of all the created angelic host chose to remain God's and in doing so, chose to be ministering beings towards the created human beings who also choose to belong to God. Freely, lovingly, the angels of God desire to help those who love their God as they love God. 

More on angels tomorrow- by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

All through the love of God our Father! By the Holy Spirit! 

AMEN!!!!!!!

*******

(Excerpt)

7. THE DIFFERENT ORDERS OF ANGELS

Wherever the handiwork of God is seen, we behold the most perfect order and harmony. From the smallest blade of grass to the largest planet in the starry heavens, the most complete order is manifest. God is emphatically a God of order. 

It is an old and true proverb that order is Heaven's first law. It is only where sin has left its footprints, where the trail of the old serpent is seen, and where the wicked bear rule, that we find insubordination, disorder, and confusion. 

That "in union there is strength" is a self-evident truth, as well as an established maxim. This can be secured only by law and order. Then do not nature and reason teach us that the angels must be subject to law and order in all their doings, and that there must be different grades among them, as there are in every society of men, in the army, etc. That this is the case the Bible seems to teach. 

Speaking of the coming of Christ, it says, "And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses." Rev. 19:14. 

Here we see that Jesus (the Archangel, 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:26-29), 

(((1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. ))))

Here we see that Jesus (the Archangel, 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:26-29), the Son of God, who stands at the head, is the Commander-in-chief of the angelic armies. The same is again expressed in Rev. 12:7: "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels." 

God has given to Christ the command of all his armies. Thus Paul says: "Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2:9-11.

Now if the angels are marshaled in armies, and are subject to a chief Commander, it is necessarily implied that there are also subordinate commanders, and captains of smaller divisions. We often read in the Bible of seraphim (Isa. 6:1-6), of cherubim (Eze. 10:1), etc., of dominions, of principalities, of powers, etc. (Col. 1:16). All these, we conclude, are different orders of angels. We may further conclude that each company is subject to its

commander, and he to one higher, till we reach the Commander-in-chief, the Son of God. Thus all things go on in union and order, and the entire universe of God, except within the influence of Satan's rebellion, is preserved in the most perfect harmony. In all God's works we see harmony in diversity, and higher and lower grades. Why should it not be so among the angels? That it is so is both reasonable and scriptural.

(((Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 

Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 

Isa 6:4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 

Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 

Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar

Eze 10:1  Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him))))

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Stranger Angels.

 Angels- can appear unassuming as well as glorious, and frighteningly awe-inspiring.

Jesus says this--

Heb 13:2  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares

Angels unassuming. 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 

Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 

Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 

Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

 

Angels of God give us opportunities to share the love of others, the love that comes from the Lord.  Don't wait for a mysterious generous spirit to take over you causing you to love others when in truth you are wary of others. From as far back as I can remember and that's 53 years at this moment, I've been very shy. My shyness is a trait I was born with. This trait of mine makes it hard for me to be outgoing towards others. To top it off I have an extreme tendency towards panic attacks, and this contributes to my preference of the familiar, which doesn't include interacting with strangers. You could say the cards are stacked against me when it comes to helping others such as Jesus described above. I can only imagine how an outgoing person could react to others in the scenarios given. Easy or difficult, we are all called to love others in deed not just in theory, in word, in ideas. In actuality we are called to serve-

-the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoners. 

Our world is filled with these, filled! Are we serving them?

Angels can give us opportunities to serve, but they aren't going to appear with a flaming sword indicating that we are serving angels.

The thing we need to remember here is that we CAN'T know when a stranger is an angel or human, and we shouldn't differentiate between them- we can't. We shouldn't want to. We should not want to serve a stranger angel above a human stranger, we should be always serving knowing this is God's will - angel or no.  God wants this! God would have us know that our being servants is a REAL thing, a very REAL thing.

Please, Lord, help us be the servants you would have us be. Please.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior! Now and forever, Amen!

(Excerpt)

6. THEIR EXALTED CHARACTER AND SURPASSING GLORY

When sin entered into the world, God's glory was withdrawn, and a dark pall of gloom was spread over it; God no more talked with man. We have only a few fading flowers, a few bright spots, to remind us of the departed glory. Even the angels have but seldom been seen by mortals. The most lovely objects that we behold are marred with deformity and tarnished with decay. Hence we can have but slight conceptions of the surpassing loveliness and glory of the heavenly beings. A few times a rift has been made in the clouds, through which some  privileged ones have been permitted to behold a few rays of the glory of heaven. And then these have been so overwhelmed by it that they feared that they should die. Thus the prophet Isaiah, upon having a view of heaven, exclaimed, "Woe is me! for I am undone; . . . for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:5.

As Moses came down from the mount where he had been with the Lord for forty days, his face so shone with the reflected glory of God, that the Israelites in fear avoided him. Ex. 34:29, 30. 

How bright and glorious, then, must be the angels who dwell in the immediate presence of the Almighty! Some of the rays of this light and glory encircle them as they visit this world. Thus, when the angel came to Peter in the prison, it is said, "And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison." Acts 12:7. 

Of the angel who appeared at the tomb of our Saviour it is said, "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." Matt. 28:3. 

And Daniel thus describes the appearance of an angel who came to him: "Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz; his body also war like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude." Dan. 10:5, 6.

Let the reader consider for a moment what majesty and glory are here described. The most gorgeously-appareled monarch would appear mean in comparison. No wonder that Daniel says of the men who were with him, "A great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves." Verse 7. And so exceedingly glorious was the angel that came to John upon Patmos, that the apostle fell down to worship him, supposing that it must be the Lord Himself. Rev. 22:8.

 From these facts we can form some conception of the surpassing glory of the holy angels.

Of the might and power of the angels, the Bible also speaks in the strongest terms. John says: "A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea." Rev. 18:21. 

The Psalmist speaks of those who remained loyal to God, as "angels, that excel in strength." Ps. 103:20. 

When the angel came to call Christ from the tomb, he made the earth to quake, and the soldiers fell like dead men before him. Matt. 28:3, 4. 

The angels move with the velocity of lightning. Ezekiel says that they "ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." Eze. 1:14. 

And Daniel says that Gabriel flew from heaven to the earth while he was praying. Dan. 9:21. 

The angels also have control over the elements. Thus when the king of Babylon caused the furnace to be heated very hot, and the three Hebrews to be cast into it, the angel of the Lord came, and stood and walked unharmed in the midst of the fire. Not only so, but he protected those men of God so that their garments were not even scorched.

Dan. 3:19-27. The angels also control the wild beasts. This we see in the case of Daniel being thrown into the den of lions. Those ferocious beasts became as harmless as lambs. The angel of God was there. Dan. 6:22. 

Again, heavy bars are drawn from the bolted door, and the massive iron gate flies open at the command of the angel, when a child of God is to be delivered. Acts 12. 

Thus we see that all the elements of nature, and men, and beasts, are subject to the control of angels.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Earth Has An Expiration Date.

 Trapped. No way out. No help to be seen. Can you imagine how this must feel? Elisha's servant felt this way. Elisha and his servant were sleeping and when the servant woke up he went and spied out the land. To his dismay there were enemy horses and chariots all around the entire city surrounding them. With fear filling him to his very core he cried out to Elisha, asking what they were going to do.  Elisha wasn't fearful at all, why? Read the following… 

2Ki 6:15-17  And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

… FEAR NOT for they that be with US are MORE than they that be with THEM. 

Yet, the servant couldn't see ANYONE on their side, let alone MORE than those that were surrounding the city! Then Elisha PRAYED and asked the LORD to open the servants eyes so he could see.  When the young man's eyes were opened it did indeed see that the MOUNTAIN was full of horses and chariots of FIRE all around Elisha! What a vision to have, what a blessing to see the unseen.

We often feel alone, defeated, demoralized, despairing, ready to scream in frustration as we walk our Christian walk. We, like the servant of Elisha, have no clue what we are going to do in our awful, seemingly unsurmountable circumstances. We long to see the unseen army of angels on our side. We have to walk by faith, not by sight. We have to take God's word into our hearts. God's word is written for US, for our learning! We need to believe in God's word.  Elisha had an army of angels to protect him and his servant. We have angels to protect us as well! We have ministering spirits as we are those who are going to inherit salvation, and those ministering to us are angels, real angels.

Does this mean that in every situation we will be miraculously helped- that we won't go through awful times, horrific trials, nightmarish tribulations? NO! A very resounding NO, it doesn't mean this at all. It means that we have angels on our side and as God wills, and if we aren't meant to endure the trial, we will be given supernatural help. It means that most of our trials and tribulations are refining us in ways we can't comprehend, preparing us for God's kingdom as we hold fast to God in spite of Satan trying his hardest to rip our faith in God from us. We will do a lot of suffering now, but joy will come.

People often wonder how anyone would believe in God after they go through horrific situations, and that person of God will tell them that we live in a Satan ruled world, and God is in control of our eternal life and this is why. We understand that in this world there are going to be lots of nightmares, lots of them, but we also know that in the world to come there will be NONE, not a single nightmare. We know the world to come is for ETERNITY, while this world has an expiration date stamped on it. Knowing these truths, we know that angels are here to comfort us and see us through the trials, to keep us from the despair as they minister to us God's truth. 

May we belong to God when this world expires. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be ours now and forever! Al through HIS LOVE!

AMEN!!!!!!!

*******

(Excerpt)

5. NUMBER OF THE ANGELS

The definite number of the holy angels is not given in the Scriptures, yet there are declarations from which we may form an idea of the vastness of this host of God. Jesus said: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?" Matt. 26:53. 

John, as he had a view of heaven, the glory and majesty of God, and the vast host of angels worshiping before the throne, spoke of their great numbers thus: "And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands Of thousands." Rev. 5:11. 

Bengel, in his Gnomon, translates this, "Myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands." He adds the following excellent note: "A myriad consists of ten thousand; myriads, if only two of them are meant, make twenty thousand; a thousand taken twice, makes two thousands. But there are myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, i. e., the myriads are multiplied with each other, and, likewise, the thousands. In order to more easily conceive the meaning, it could be imagined thus: Here is a regiment consisting of ten thousand angels; then there would be ten thousand such regiments, and this not only once, but at least twice. In the same way are thousands to be taken thousand-fold; that is to say, if one counts a thousand angels to one body, then there are of such bodies of thousands (in the plural) at least two thousand bodies. The myriads make two hundred millions, and the thousands two million, a Vast throng!"

While this gives some idea of the greatness of the throng, it is by no means certain that the computation is nearly large enough. Instead of being simply two myriads, as the plural must contain, it may mean many more, which would enormously swell the aggregate. And all these were only those whom John saw worshiping around the throne at one time. We have no language in which to express the number of the heavenly family; we can have no conception of the number. The Bible declares that they are the messengers of God to carry out His will, and it is reasonable to believe that they are His messengers to other worlds. On a clear night view the stars, consider the millions

in the milky way, and remember that each one is a sun, with a whole system of worlds revolving around it, and consider that the angels are God's messengers to all parts of His dominions, to all these countless worlds, and then we shall best be able to appreciate the words of Paul, that there is "an innumerable company of angels." Heb. 12:22.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Heir of Salvation- Angel Ministered.

 The following excerpt from an article on Angels is truly fascinating to study.

The gist of it is the angels have material bodies, they are beings with forms, and yet they aren't always visible to us. Just because they aren't visible to us does not make them formless.  

Seen one moment, gone the next- to our sight, not to reality of their existing.

The article excerpt brings up water as being unseen as it evaporates into vapor and we can't see it any longer. Ice, steam all forms of water but not all the same to our sight at all times. I find this fascinating I really do.

We are going to be like the angels after Christ comes to take us to heaven with Him, but we will NOT become angels. We will have some of their attributes. We will have a spiritual form as well as flesh. Christ had flesh and bones after His resurrection, He never lost that flesh and bones, but it was changed. We will be changed, our flesh and bones, our bodies will be changed but we will still have forms, not willowy wisps of air. Our forms will be like those of angels in that sense we will no longer have any of the attributes that cause death. We will be altered as our bodies take on incorruption and immortality. 

We will NOT be the same when we become immortal in Christ! We don't know exactly how or what will all take place but we know it will be our NEW reality, our NEW existence.

Angels are beings. There are individual angels. Each angel has a name of its own. Every angel is a ministering angel to help those who will inherit eternal life. 

Heb 1:13  But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 

Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? 

Heirs of salvation. Are YOU an heir of salvation? I pray I am, all through the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness, the love of my SAVIOR who died so I could be an heir of salvation!

As an heir of salvation I CAN KNOW that I have angels ministering for me! I don't know how, I don't know in every instant it's happening, I just know that the Lord has angels that ministered to Him and every heir of salvation has ministering angels as well. We must trust in this truth. These very real beings are in our everyday lives. Angels are a blessing to us, may we comprehend their reality. 

(Excerpt)

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

4. ANGELS ARE REAL BEINGS

The angels of God are not mere incorporeal phantoms, as is generally taught. They are real personal beings, possessing form and substance. The tendency of investigation, in the present day, is toward Spiritualism; there is, on almost every hand, a needless and very unreasonable prejudice existing against the idea that all created beings must be material. The Spiritualistic view is not at all the theory of the Scriptures.

On this point J. H. Kurtz, doctor of theology, has some just remarks in "Bibel and Astronomie," chap. 4, sec. 14, on 1 Cor. 15:40. He says; "We cannot conceive of a creature without a body, because everything created can only as creature live, act, and exist in space and time, and it is bodily form alone which binds the creature to space and time." "If we conceive of the angels as being ever so spiritual and heavenly, ever so exalted over the obnoxious laws of our bodily form, over the hindrances of our grosser substance, still they are creatures, and must, as such, pay the tribute of bodily form, be this ever so ethereal, fine, and incomprehensible to our senses." "Therefore in creation, bodily form is the condition of all existence."

To the same intent Zeller's Bible Dictionary, art. "Angels," says: "They are not without body, as we cannot very easily conceive of any creature without bodily form; but they have a higher, finer, ethereal bodily form, which is according to the heavenly world system to which they belong."

The same idea is taught in many instances where the angels are mentioned in the Scriptures. Isaiah describes them as possessing a face, feet, wings, etc.: I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly . " Isa. 6:1, 2. Ezekiel also describes them in a similar manner. Of the cherubim he says: "And their whole body [margin, "Heb ., flesh"], and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and their wheels, were full of eyes," etc . The whole description indicates an actual bodily existence-a body having hands, feet, wings, etc. In Gen. 18:1-8 we read: "And the Lord appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day, and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant; let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on; for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat."

Here it is said that they did eat the food which Abraham prepared for them. That they were angels, we learn from what follows: "And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way." Two of them went on to Sodom. "And there came two angels to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat." Gen. 19:1-3.

Here those who met Abraham are called angels. They are represented as having hands and feet; and it is said they did eat material food, which shows that they were material beings. It seems, also, that angels have food expressly prepared for their use. David says: "Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna upon them to eat, and given them of the corn of heaven. Man did 'eat angels' food." Ps. 78:23-25. Manna is here called the grain of heaven, and the food of angels. Therefore, angels do eat food, and are material beings. We could not imagine that immaterial beings should eat material food, such as the manna which God sent from heaven.

This idea is further sustained by the fact that Jesus, after His resurrection, had flesh and did eat. At His appearing to His disciples, He said: "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have." Luke 24:36-43.

But Jesus is the first fruits, the example of the saints in the resurrection. He ate with His disciples; and so He promised them that they shall eat and drink with Him in His kingdom. See Matt. 26:29; Luke 12:37; 22:16, 18, 29, 30. And speaking of the new earth, where the immortal saints shall dwell, the Lord says; "From one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me." Isa. 66:23. The saints will be called flesh in the kingdom of God. And as Christ is, and the immortal saints will be, material, so also we conclude that the angels are material beings.

In the history of Balaam we have an interesting incident bearing upon this point. Thus we read: "And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand, and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way." "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand." Num. 22:22-31. The angel appeared to Balaam with a sword drawn in his hand. 

Spiritualists tell us that the angel created his body and the sword, for the occasion, out of the materials which surrounded him, making it appear like a body and a sword when there was none. Then the angel really deceived Balaam, leading him to think that he had a body and a sword when he had none; and the record deceives the reader in the same manner. But it will be observed that the record says, "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel," and not that the angel created an appearance that might be seen. 

As soon as Balaam's eyes were opened, he saw the angel. The idea is conveyed clearly that the angel was just the same before Balaam saw him as he was afterwards. This is further evident from the fact that the beast could see the angel, while Balaam could not see him. With regard to this occurrence, one of  two things is true, either the angel had a material form before the eyes of Balaam were opened so that he could see him, or the dumb brute saw an immaterial spirit. The last will scarcely be claimed; therefore it must be acknowledged that the angel was there in his own bodily form before Balaam saw him. An objector says, "If the angels are material, how can it be that they can be present and be seen at one moment, and not seen the next moment, while occupying the same position?" It is not correct to claim that all matter can be seen. Air is material, but its presence is not detected by the eye, though it is by other senses. Much of the prejudice upon this subject arises from not duly considering the almost infinite diversity of forms under which matter may appear.

Here it is a ball of mud, and there it is a fine gold watch. Both are material, but how different! Here is a piece of ice, and there is a jet of the hottest steam. Each seems to be exactly the opposite of the other; yet they are only different conditions of the same matter. One is water frozen; the other is water highly heated. So some matter we see in a gross form, and some most exquisitely organized. Still it is all matter, and the same matter may be visible at one time and invisible at another, as is the case of water converted into steam and dissolved in the air.

An objection is raised on the fact that angels are called spirits. Heb. 1:13, 14. But there is no just ground for the objection. The saints will have bodies after their resurrection, yet they will be spiritual bodies. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:44. On this point Dr. V. Baader, Anthropolog. Schr. , remarks: "A spirit without body is also, according to the Scriptures, simply a shadow, and in this sense the Scriptures are all the way through materialistic, in opposition to the spiritualism of the moderns; only they place imperishable matter everywhere in contrast with the perishable matter."

And so also Rudolph, in Die Lehre Vom Menschen, says: "The Holy Scriptures do not know of any formless being or life." These remarks are truthful, as every careful reader has perceived. Not a text in the Bible can be produced which teaches the existence of a formless or immaterial being.

(to be continued…)

Let Me Sleep

 Why do you want me to witness your pain?

Why do you want me to see every hurt?

Why is it important to you that I agonize with you?

I can't understand why.

To see your grief, watching every single tear fall, why?

Your pain would be my pain. 

I would ache in the very core of my being to see you suffer.

My heart would break if I had to see all the agonies of life heaped upon you, upon your children, upon their children…

You say things like- I'm glad they are no longer suffering, 

Yet you say I am where I can see you, watch over you, and see you suffer.

What horrific pain it would be to watch and not be able to help.

To see your every action, to witness every step.

To watch you draw near to danger over and over, and never be able to stop you.

How can I not suffer terribly to see you suffer terribly. 

I would need to be made of stone to watch without my heart breaking over and over again. 

Tell me how I could smile as you cry? 

Convince me of the happiness I feel when you live in pain?

Shout out that I am at peace, all the while I see you at war.

Why do you want me to witness your life as it marches on towards death?

Why must you place me as one viewing it all, just so you can believe I know how much you love me?

How do you find comfort knowing I see your anguish every day? 

I am given no reprieve from the tortures of life if I must watch yours. 

I would rather endure my own endless pain than have to see you suffer, unable to stop any of your pain.

But I can no longer hide, if you believe I am a witness, then I do endure endless pain as I am forced to see yours.

Why, I ask, can't you imagine me at peace, unable to see, unable to know the agonies of the life you have left to live?

Does it sadden you to know I'm missing the joys of your life so much that you think I should endure the pain just to witness the joy?

How is this different from life?

How is this better than life?

How is this not something much worse?

How can you call it heaven?

Tell me, do you want to watch your loved ones suffer- is that your idea of joy in heaven? 

Is that your idea of a better place? 

The ultimate viewing box uncensored in any way for all those I love.

I get to see it all, and by all, I mean all.

You cannot pause heaven's view at will.

If you seek comfort from me when you hurt, I hurt to have to comfort, I hurt because you hurt.

And you call that joy.

And you call that happiness.

And you call that peace.

And you call that love.

For me to be able to see it all is evil.

I am not the Creator.

I am not the Redeemer.

I am not the Father God.

I am not able to endure, I am not given the power of God to know the end from the beginning.

I do NOT become a god!

What if…

What if I have to watch you slip from God's embrace into Satan's claws, and I can do nothing but watch as you are forever taken from me?

Let me sleep.

Let me be at peace.

Let me rest now.

Find your comfort in knowing I know nothing.

Find your comfort in knowing the next thing I will know is my Savior waking me from my sleep, calling me to be with Him- and with you as you join us on that great day of Jesus' return for all His children!

Let me sleep.

Do not keep me awake.

Let me sleep.

I knew you loved me.

God has you, look to Him, not me.

I am at peace. 

I trusted God to keep you, and He will.

Let me sleep now, knowing my God has you.

Let me sleep in peace.

Let me know nothing - peace.

Let me sleep undisturbed by the lives that continue on after I'm gone.

Let me sleep.

Ecc_9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing

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(Excerpt)

2. ANGELS ARE NOT THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD

We cannot admit that the spirits of dead men ever come back to communicate with the living. And we affirm, upon the authority of the Holy Bible, that they know nothing concerning their friends here or of what is done in this world. Thus Job says: "Thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou prevailest forever against him, and he passeth [i. e., dies]; thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Chap. 14:1-21.

This testimony shows that after a man dies he has no knowledge of what befalls his friends here. It plainly contradicts the idea that our dead friends become our guardian angels, watching over us, sympathizing with us in our sorrows, and rejoicing with us in our prosperity. It plainly declares that after a man is dead he knows nothing of what befalls his children in this world. Here is Another testimony still more decisive; "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything. . . . Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6.

This text declares positively that the dead know nothing concerning things in this life. They have no part in anything that takes place under the sun. So says the word of the Lord, and so we believe. Indeed, it would be the source of the keenest anguish to a mother, after death, to see her children left destitute, abused, and led into crime and to degradation, as orphan children frequently are. How much of a heaven would this be to her? What good could result from consciousness in heaven under such circumstances? But there is neither reason nor revelation to support such a theory. Spiritualism is one of the greatest schemes that Satan ever devised for the deception and destruction of the human family. It is based upon the supposition that all the spirits who communicate are the spirits of the dead. We propose, therefore, to enter into a Bible investigation of this subject.

3. THE HEAVENLY FAMILY

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." Eph . 3:14, 15. By this we learn that there is a family in heaven.

Who compose that family? Not the spirits of our dead friends, but the holy angels who were created in heaven before man was made upon the earth. We read in many places of the angels in heaven. Thus in Rev. 5:11: "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands."

Spiritualists claim that these angels are the souls of the departed ones who once lived on this earth. As a man cannot die till he is created, of course if angels are only the souls of dead men, there could have been no angels until after the sixth day of creation; no, not even then until one or more men had died. But angels did exist before man was created, or even the foundations of the world were laid. If this be proved, the theory above named, that angels are the spirits of dead men, must fall to the ground.

In Gen. 3:24 we read that God placed cherubim to guard the way of the tree of life when Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. Cherubim are a high order of angels. This was before any man had died; therefore they were not the souls of dead men. The word of the Lord to Job was: "Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:3-7. 

By this we see that when God laid the foundations of the earth, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. This proves that the heavenly family did exist before man was created; therefore they are not disembodied spirits.

Furthermore, men and angels are not of the same nature. Thus, the Psalmist says: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? for Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels." Ps. 8:4, 5. 

Speaking of Christ, Paul says: "For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." Heb. 2:16. Then in their very nature angels are different from men, and of course are not men. 

But does not the Bible say that at the resurrection we shall become angels?-It does not. Jesus says that the saints shall be equal to the angels, in that they can die no more.  Luke 20:36. But this does not intimate that angels and men are of the same nature.

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Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Twisted Truth.

 LOVE ALL.

BUT…  don't ever love evil in any of its forms. 

Do not ever call evil good, not ever. 

If a person wants to embrace evil and call it good that is their prerogative, but a child of God will NEVER call evil good. (I shouldn't say never, they might do this and by the grace of God repent and seek forgiveness for doing it- I know I have had to do just this very thing -be forgiven for being deceived for calling evil good, more than once!)

Don't get me wrong, many who believe they are children of God and call themselves so, will call evil good and in truth they are NOT God's children. The reality isn't there, it's a deception when they say they are God's children,  they are DECEIVED themselves, blind to their own condition, unable to see, not wanting to see.

Many want to justify the reasons for their calling evil good, you might be doing it right now. Satan wants us to make excuses - really good, thought out, excuses and he'll help us coat them in what we believe is love so long as we keep pulling that wool down over our spiritual eyes. He'll make it feel good, he'll make it feel right, he'll make it feel like love- he'll squish all the feel goods together he can if it means we support evil in some way- great or very small.

I can love a sinner. I am a sinner. Jesus loves only sinners, because that's what we are - all sinners. Jesus does NOT love the sin we commit and does not encourage us to keep sinning. 

Like Jesus, I can LOVE the sinner and hate sin. 

Go and sin no more. Jesus' words. 

Joh_5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Joh_8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

For Him to utter those words means sin had to exist and had to be something we could do, or not do. If that sin was of no consequence, Jesus would not have said to sin no more, it wouldn't have mattered.  To sin no more we have to know what constitutes a sin, because we have to know what not to do. 

We have to know what is evil so we are not in danger of calling evil good. We have to comprehend there are wicked people, that there is REAL wickedness. 

We live in a day and age where so little is called evil and wicked because to do so causes offense to the evil doers who want to be told they are not evil doers, that their evil is good. They want to force others to say evil is good just so they can fool themselves that they are doers of good. They call the good evil because only evil would not be accepting of them and their wickedness which isn't wicked at all to them.

Such a world we live in and we were told it would be this way. 

Isa_5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

This is reality.

More and more people every day are calling evil good, and good evil so that all but the very elect are going to be deceived.

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

False Christs- but CHRISTS!

False prophets- but PROPHETS!

GREAT SIGNS!

GREAT WONDERS!  

ALL DECEPTION!

The false Christs and prophets will be showing wondrous things and by these wondrous things they will bring great deception!  They will be calling EVIL - GOOD and GOOD- EVIL, and they will deceive the majority of people!

Love is paramount, and people have divorced love from God's ten commandments! They believe the laws are no longer applicable, that Jesus, who was with God when those commandments were etched in stone by His finger, somehow no longer believes in them. He kept them all, all ten of those commandments. How can I say that? Because sin is the breaking of the law! And He broke NO LAW meaning He committed NO SIN.

1Jn_3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law

There HAS to be a law in order to keep that law, or sin against that law by not keeping it. Without the law there is NO sin. If you tell me you are NOT a sinner by telling me there is NO LAW to keep, I'll call you a liar! To not sin is to be perfect, as Jesus is perfect. Are we perfect? NO. We sin! Jesus IS our perfection! And just because Jesus is our perfection and Jesus kept the law perfectly and remained completely sinless, doesn't mean we are not to follow the law. 

We seek forgiveness when we sin against the law- because remember- sin IS the breaking of the law. Tell me you don't need to seek forgiveness, and I'll tell you that you're a liar! We need to seek our Savior daily, and by daily I mean always- because salvation is in Him. He'll give us FORGIVENESS, but we have to recognize we NEED forgiveness and we can ONLY do that by recognizing there are laws we are breaking. And guess what? We do NOT get to pick and choose which laws we think are the ones to keep, God chose already and gave them to us! Jesus expounded on them, He didn't take one dot of an i or a cross of a t away from the laws, not one. They are there and we are told to KEEP THEM, not ignore them, not do away with them, not change them.  God's LOVE for us in in all those commandments! Loving Him and loving others, it's all there!

He did do away with the CEREMONIAL sacrificial laws because HE became the SACRIFICIAL LAMB. 

He did NOT do away with the royal law, the ten commandments, to say He did would mean to say He did away with our ability to sin and that we can't sin at all because there is no law we are held to keep. 

Right and wrong, the Bible doesn't hide the truth. The Bible calls ALL of us to a higher standard than Satan would have us attain. 

EVERY single one of us has sins we are partial to. EVERY single one of us has to overcome. There are NO favorites who aren't given any temptations to overcome. Each of us no MATTER our race, creed, orientation, beliefs etc whether genetic, learned, it doesn't matter, none of that matters. We are EACH called to obey God and that means SACRIFICING our self pursuits and it doesn’t matter WHAT those self pursuits are.  We label them saying that person has a harder road to walk, they have to give up so much more- but that's NOT true! To outward appearances it WILL seem that way, but it's not. Your burdens may seem miniscule to me, or mine to you, but they could be giants to me or to you. 

We are called to seek God's truth, ALL of God's truth no matter what that truth may be! When we turn our backs on the truth because it doesn't align with our pursuits, we will be held accountable for that. If we choose to call evil- good because it appears God got it all wrong and doesn't really mean all that stuff in His word, then we are accountable. If we choose our own version of what love should mean, and disobey God's, then yes, we are accountable.

We can love each other (we are all sinners) without loving the sin we commit. We can love each other without calling evil good.

The wicked will NOT accept this truth, the wicked will try to convince us that we are the evil wicked ones for not accepting their ways.

The wicked will be triumphant in the majority wooing those one might never think possible to believe their evil is good. They'll call it truly loving, when in truth it will be calling evil good and good evil. Love will have nothing to do with what they want from those who stand by truth. Submission, capitulation, yielding to evil under the guise of good is what Satan wants from all.

Can there be those who say we must hate those who are calling evil good? Yes, but we are not called to hate them, we are called to hate their evil. We are to love all as Jesus loved all, even those wicked who had Him crucified. He loved them, but that doesn't mean they are all going to be His in the day of judgment. He wept over corporate Jerusalem because they would not accept His love, because He loved them so much. He pronounced sentence on them, still loving them and wanting the individuals to come out from the corporate judgment. It was to the Jews that on the day of Pentecost the apostles preached to and many were converted.

God would call all of us out from the corporate Satanic world that exists today, the awful Babylon, and as God called out those before- there will be few compared to the many who truly want His love.

You can't twist the truth into something you want to follow, the truth must remain pure, straight, and very narrow. Beware of all the twisted truths that Satan has brought to life all around us. You'll want to grab hold and believe a twisted truth because it will seem very pleasing and as if it really is truth, deception- counterfeit- barely perceptible as a lie. Go to God's word for the truth, all of God's word as a coherent truth. 

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 

God help us all! Please, Lord, we would be YOURS, wholly Yours! We do not want to be blinded by the twisted truth Satan has seduced so many into believing! Help us to LOVE as YOU loved- You loved saving people from their sins, not condoning the sin. Help us LORD JESUS, help us, we believe! Help our unbelief!  Forgive us! Keep us!

Thank you, Lord! All glory, all honor, all praise to YOU! Now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

Ministering Spirits.

 Angels.

We need ministering spirits. Spirits ministering on our behalf. We need God's angels all the time. The thing is, Satan has angels too and Satan uses them against us all the time. This is a spiritual battle. We fool ourselves into believing it's not because the spiritual is unseen. We have no qualms in believing unseen things, we place our faith in other people even though we have no way of knowing if it’s a safe thing to do. Even when other people destroy that faith, we go on to place our faith in others again. We do this with people and yet we know that faith is unseen no matter how often it is tried. How many people believe wrongly in others they can see, touch, love? Yet, they keep on believing in that faith even if they only do so because they meet someone they consider special. At one time, the person who broke their faith was special too. We do this time and again, and know of countless others who do this too, it's a part of being human.  Still, we balk at placing faith in God. 

We cite incident after incident of where we tried to place our faith in God only to not have that faith realized. We believe God has turned His back on us because of all the extreme hardships we go through over and over. We are told by God we will go through hardships, He never lied to us and told us to believe in Him and we will have carefree lives here and now, never. He told us that all things would work together for our good, but what is that good- His good- His eternal promise- His salvation for us. He told us to ask and we would receive if we don't ask amiss, and then we ask in ways we do not think are amiss and we devastated when don't receive what we ask for. The thing is, we are asking our Heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need, and that's Him…Him…. That's being led not into despair by this world's AWFULNESS… even at its worse because we KNOW every single thing is temporary to eternity and as Christ follower after Christ follower has been tortured by extreme measures- daily put in agonies beyond our ability to comprehend- we know it is still temporary to eternity. Our reward isn't here, it isn't now, it's in eternity and we need to believe that our God asks His angels to minister to us so we are kept for HIM for eternity!  

Please, God, please! Send YOUR angels to minister to my sister Elizabeth right now, cover her with your ministering angels giving her all she needs to live for eternity with YOU, please, LORD, please….please… thank You!  Ease her pain, please! Thank You, Lord Jesus, my Savior. Thank you! All glory, honor, and praise to You always! Amen!

*******

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry

 (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Are they [the angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?-Heb. 1:14.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.-1 Peter 5:8.

The enemy of God and the human family has left no means untried by which he could pervert the truth, and draw away men from a knowledge of the true God and of His law. It seems to be his invariable plan to lead men first to forget or disbelieve what God has taught them concerning any truth, and then, as a substitute, to instill into their minds some error which, in its main features, closely resembles the truth, but which is, nevertheless, opposed to it. Thus when he had led men to forget God, Satan turned their minds to worship the sun and the host of heaven. When they had forgotten the word of God, given

through His prophets, he introduced in its stead the pagan oracles and priests. So it is with the truth in regard to the ministration of angels. They are the divinely commissioned messengers sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. But this glorious Bible truth has been so far lost from sight that many, even of those who call themselves

Christians, have no clear ideas concerning it, and little practical faith in it. Yet the

need of some ministering spirit, some heavenly visitant from the world of light, to

instruct us in the things of God, is widely felt.

Satan sees that this necessity must be met. A substitute must be invented. What shall it be? To answer this we have only to look at the history of those nations who have forgotten God. Ps. 9:17. From the Egyptian priests to the modern spirit mediums, we find them teaching that the spirits of the dead return to minister to their friends in this world. But while the Bible often speaks of the visits of holy angels to our world, to minister to the children of God, it is entirely silent concerning the return of the spirits of the dead for that purpose. Go to the heathen who know nothing about God and His word, and we find them extolling the souls of their dead friends as gods, demi-gods, and protecting spirits. Come

down to the last generation, even in so-called Christian lands, and we find an extensive unbelief in the existence of either good or bad angels, or but vague and indefinite ideas of their character and office. 

Thus far Satan has well succeeded. A vacuum has been formed, which, as both reason and revelation teach, must be filled. As a substitute, he has introduced the supposed souls of the dead, as ministering spirits from the other world. To uphold his counterfeit work he cunningly uses all the arguments, both from the Scriptures and from nature, which prove that there are, or ought to be, messengers to communicate between this and the other world. If he can convince men that they are spirits that communicate, he has gained his point, inasmuch as the people in general have no definite faith in the existence of either

good or evil angels, except as they learn it from this source.

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