Bible
Study: Daniel 7, 9 to 14. And John 1, 47
to 51.
The
existence of angels is a fact not easily comprehended by human reasoning.
Angels form part of what St. Paul talks about when he said: “What no eye has
seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for
those who love him.” 1st Corinthians 2, 9.
Though the
Bible speaks about angels in many instances, there are only three whose names
were specifically mentioned in the Bible and that is why we refer to them as
the Archangels.
In the book
of Jude 1, verse 9, we read: But when the archangel Michael, contending with
the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a
reviling judgment upon him, but said: “The Lord rebuke you.”
Michael is
again mentioned in the book of Revelations as waging war against the devil.
“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon;
and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no
longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that
ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole
world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with
him.” Revelation 12, 7 to 9.
Even as
far back as the Old Testament, Michael is mentioned as a warring prince who
fights on behalf of God’s children. Daniel 10, 12 to 13 reads: “Fear not,
Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to understand and humbled
yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because
of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one
days; but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, so I left him
there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia.”
In the
book of Tobit, we encounter the Archangel Raphael as a travel companion, a
healer and a demon-destroyer. Tobit 3,
verse 17 reads: “And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away
the white films of Tobit's eyes; to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel in marriage
to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobias
was entitled to possess her.”
Archangel
Gabriel plays the role of the messenger of good news by bringing the message of
the Annunciation to Mary in Luke 1, 26 to 28 we read: “In the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a
virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favoured one, the
Lord is with you!” He was also the angel that announced to Zechariah that at
his old age, he would have a child. (Luke 1, verse 19 and following).
The power
and working of the Angels is a testimony to the greatness of God and the fact
with him, nothing is impossible. As we read in the Gospel passage, Jesus said
to Nathanael, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I
saw you.” This statement shocked Nathanael, it revealed to him the power of God
and he was converted instantly. Angels also reveal to us the power of God at
work in the midst of men. They represent a dimension of reality that reason
alone cannot grasp. Just as Nathanael couldn’t understand how Jesus was able to
see him under the fig tree, we cannot fully understand how the angels work but
we know that they are real.
Let us
pray:
Angel of
God, my guardian dear, to whom God commits me here, ever this day be at my side
to light and guard, to rule and guide me. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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