Messengers From Above Have A Prominent Role In Christmas Story
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Angels will be seen across the country this Christmas season as decorations on trees, pictures on walls and drawings on Christmas cards.
In the Bible, angels heralded the birth of Christ as messengers of God.
"The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.'" Luke 1:30-31.
Cheryl Phillips, clerk-treasurer of Mentone, is a believer in angels. She wears a small angel pin on her clothes everyday and everywhere.
"It's something that has kind of been there ever since I was a kid," Phillips said.
"Sometimes people look at me and think I have a bug on my shoulder until they get close.
"I feel more comfortable with the angel on my shoulder. I feel lost without it. I keep it on my shoulder as a reminder of Christ," she said.
People are more aware of angels during the holiday season, Phillips said. She said angels help put Christ into Christmas.
Pastor Greg Hall, Warsaw Church of the Nazarene, said, "The angels were basically messengers from God to announce the coming of the Christ child."
He said angels told Joseph that his betrothed, Mary, was going to have a child and that the child would be the son of God. An angel also appeared to Mary to bring her the same message, Hall said.
"Generally, the whole idea of angels and their popularity relates back to their proclaiming of Jesus," Hall said.
Pastor David Eastis, North Winona Church of the Brethren, said not only were angels messengers to Joseph, Mary and the shepherds, they were also singers of praise and joy.
"They appeared to the shepherds in the field. Then there was an angelic choir that appeared in the sky," Eastis said.
Hall said, "There's a whole lot going around about angels that don't have any Biblical support."
He said some people may believe each person has their own guardian angel. Or, he said, some people may think there's an angel that serves them.
"We don't know that for sure," he said. "The only references we have about angels and what they look like is what we have in the Scriptures."
Eastis said there are guardian angels and they were an Old Testament teaching. He also said there are several types of angels mentioned in the Bible.
The seraph angel is mentioned in Isaiah chapter six, Eastis said. He said seraph means "the burning ones," and that they "burn with the holiness of God."
Isaiah, chapter six, says, "Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying."
Another type of angel, mentioned in Ezekiel chapter 10, is the cherubim, Eastis said. He said cherubim means "to plow or till the ground."
Ezekiel, chapter 10, reads: "Each of them had four faces, four wings, and what looked like a human hand under each wing."
The other type of angel is the archangel, which Eastis said only appears twice in the Bible. They carry trumpets because they "trumpet the call of God." Michael and Gabriel are two archangels mentioned. The third archangel was Lucifer, the fallen angel, who became Satan, Eastis said. Michael is mentioned in Jude verse nine. Gabriel, Eastis said, was "the mighty one of God."
Principalities, a fourth type, are the angels of God's army, Eastis said.
Hall said some people have claimed to have seen them, but it is uncertain if that is true or not. He said God can make angels look any way he wants and makes them do whatever he deems necessary for them to do.
"The Bible is the best authority, in my opinion. Where else would you go to except to the word of God?" he said.
Eastis said there is a reason angels are popular, especially during the Christmas season.
"As human beings, we all have a desire to be hope-filled. One image we have of being hope-filled is the angel," Eastis said. "Angels remind us of God and heaven."
Eastis said it is important that people not use angels as a conduit to God. He said idolizing angels is wrong and they should never take the place of God. He also said humans do not become angels, like many may think.
"The Scripture says you become like an angel, but you don't become an angel," he said. [[In-content Ad]]
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Angels will be seen across the country this Christmas season as decorations on trees, pictures on walls and drawings on Christmas cards.
In the Bible, angels heralded the birth of Christ as messengers of God.
"The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.'" Luke 1:30-31.
Cheryl Phillips, clerk-treasurer of Mentone, is a believer in angels. She wears a small angel pin on her clothes everyday and everywhere.
"It's something that has kind of been there ever since I was a kid," Phillips said.
"Sometimes people look at me and think I have a bug on my shoulder until they get close.
"I feel more comfortable with the angel on my shoulder. I feel lost without it. I keep it on my shoulder as a reminder of Christ," she said.
People are more aware of angels during the holiday season, Phillips said. She said angels help put Christ into Christmas.
Pastor Greg Hall, Warsaw Church of the Nazarene, said, "The angels were basically messengers from God to announce the coming of the Christ child."
He said angels told Joseph that his betrothed, Mary, was going to have a child and that the child would be the son of God. An angel also appeared to Mary to bring her the same message, Hall said.
"Generally, the whole idea of angels and their popularity relates back to their proclaiming of Jesus," Hall said.
Pastor David Eastis, North Winona Church of the Brethren, said not only were angels messengers to Joseph, Mary and the shepherds, they were also singers of praise and joy.
"They appeared to the shepherds in the field. Then there was an angelic choir that appeared in the sky," Eastis said.
Hall said, "There's a whole lot going around about angels that don't have any Biblical support."
He said some people may believe each person has their own guardian angel. Or, he said, some people may think there's an angel that serves them.
"We don't know that for sure," he said. "The only references we have about angels and what they look like is what we have in the Scriptures."
Eastis said there are guardian angels and they were an Old Testament teaching. He also said there are several types of angels mentioned in the Bible.
The seraph angel is mentioned in Isaiah chapter six, Eastis said. He said seraph means "the burning ones," and that they "burn with the holiness of God."
Isaiah, chapter six, says, "Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying."
Another type of angel, mentioned in Ezekiel chapter 10, is the cherubim, Eastis said. He said cherubim means "to plow or till the ground."
Ezekiel, chapter 10, reads: "Each of them had four faces, four wings, and what looked like a human hand under each wing."
The other type of angel is the archangel, which Eastis said only appears twice in the Bible. They carry trumpets because they "trumpet the call of God." Michael and Gabriel are two archangels mentioned. The third archangel was Lucifer, the fallen angel, who became Satan, Eastis said. Michael is mentioned in Jude verse nine. Gabriel, Eastis said, was "the mighty one of God."
Principalities, a fourth type, are the angels of God's army, Eastis said.
Hall said some people have claimed to have seen them, but it is uncertain if that is true or not. He said God can make angels look any way he wants and makes them do whatever he deems necessary for them to do.
"The Bible is the best authority, in my opinion. Where else would you go to except to the word of God?" he said.
Eastis said there is a reason angels are popular, especially during the Christmas season.
"As human beings, we all have a desire to be hope-filled. One image we have of being hope-filled is the angel," Eastis said. "Angels remind us of God and heaven."
Eastis said it is important that people not use angels as a conduit to God. He said idolizing angels is wrong and they should never take the place of God. He also said humans do not become angels, like many may think.
"The Scripture says you become like an angel, but you don't become an angel," he said. [[In-content Ad]]