ANGELS OF THE BIBLE

He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. — Psalm xci. 11

I have been instructed that the men of the Most Ancient Church (The Golden Age) were of a genius so heavenly that they spoke with angels of heaven, and that they were able to speak with them by means of correspondences. From this the state of their wisdom was rendered such that whatever they saw in this world they thought about not only in a natural way, but spiritually also at the same time, so that they thought unitedly with angels. Emanuel Swedenborg

ANGELS

The word "ANGEL" appears more than three hundred times in the Bible. But only the Archangels Gabriel and Michael are refered to by name. In the Apocryphal Book of Tobit, an angel identifies himself as Raphael:

...For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord. And when they had heard these things, they were troubled, and being seized with fear they fell upon the ground on their face.  And the angel said to them: Peace be to you, fear not. For when I was with you, I was there by the will of God: bless ye him, and sing praises to him. I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men. It is time therefore that I return to him that sent me: but bless ye God, and publish all his wonderful works. —Tobit 12:15-20

In the Second Book of Esdras, we also encounter the Archangel Uriel who teaches Esdras about many Heavenly things:

And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer, And said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the most High? Then said I, Yea, my lord. And he answered me, and said, I am sent to shew thee three ways, and to set forth three similitudes before thee: Whereof if thou canst declare me one, I will shew thee also the way that thou desirest to see, and I shall shew thee from whence the wicked heart cometh. —II Esdras 4:1-4

Angels in the Bible provide guidance, sustenance and protection. They are the messengers and servants of the Lord who usually make their appearance when human beings are in a state of receptivity to Divine Love and Wisdom. They sometimes appear as physical human beings or, at other times, communicate in spiritual visions or in dreams. We often find that they show up at the most critical times in a person's life.

The life of the angels is the love of uses. Selfishness and death are with them synonymous. Their offices, employments and duties, all for the good of others, are of infinite variety. Many of them are engaged in secret and constant services to the human race. There are angels of birth and death ; angels who comfort in sickness and sorrows; angels who instruct and enlighten; angels who defend from evil spirits; angels who lead the sweet thoughts of innocent children; angels who inspire conjugal love;and a thousand other genera and species of heavenly ministers. (paraphrased from Swedenborg)

The Lord, Heaven and angels are closer to us than we may think. The spiritual world is the world of our consciousness, mind, thoughts and feelings. Like the natural world is enlightened and heated by natural light, the spiritual world of mind is enlightened and enlivened by the Truth and Love of the Lord in the Heavens of mind. The Kingdom of Heaven is within us because it is the Kingdom of higher mind and Love.

Swedenborg, who could see in the spiritual world, says that Heaven is like a human fractal or self-similar organization. Every individual angel or society of angels appears in the image and likeness of the Divine-Human, who is the Lord of Heaven. So even a whole society of angels appears as a beautiful angel. He even says that the Archangels, such as Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are these higher societies. And the more angels there are in an angelic society, the more beautiful it appears. And since Heaven is infinite, there is no limit to the number of angels Heaven can contain. Every angel is engaged in some employment in a location of Heaven or the Divine-Human. Angels are in the Lord and the Lord is in each angel. An angel always represents the Lord because he is always expressing the Wisdom, Love and Will of God.  The expression "Angel of the Lord" in many Bible passages communicates this Truth. So we should never worship angels in-themselves but the Lord whom they represent. In fact, the angels in the Bible are always pointing this out to human beings:

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them,
I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.
But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers
the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"---Revelation 22:8-9

The message that we should receive from reading about angels in the Bible is that  the Lord and His angels in Heaven are always watching over us and leading us to the Divine Peace and Love of Heaven.  But, if we wish to benefit from their influences, we must be in a state of complete receptivity because angels can never interfere with our freewill. The suffering that we encounter in our life is usually a sign that we are straying from the path that leads to Heaven. This is the only purpose of suffering; it is not punishment from God, as some falsely believe. God punishes no-one because He is All-Goodness, All-Love and "... All Light, and, in him, there is no darkness at all." We punish our own selves when we move away from  God's Light and walk into dark states of selfishness and ignorance. But God's Light of Love and Wisdom is always there awaiting our return. Whenever we experience exalted states of Clear Consciousness, Peace, Love and Joy, it means that we are very close to the Lord and his angels.

... The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:  Neither shall they say,
 Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. —Luke 17: 20

Swedenborg says that angels derive all their eternal joy in Heaven from being creative and useful to others and the Lord. If we wish to enter the spiritual community of Heaven, we must also become pure, innocent, wise, loving, giving and forgiving. The Kingdom of Heaven is within our heart and consciousness. And it is the Lord's "...good pleasure to give us the Kingdom..." No one is keeping us from being in Heaven but our own selfishness and ignorance. The gates of Heaven are always open but the quality of our soul must be vibrating at the same harmonious, wise and loving frequencies as Heaven in order to be in the company of angels.

A. C.

 

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