While some only think of the winged Cupid around once a year, others believe the realms of angels surround us all the time.
By DeNae Thomas
Assistant Lifestyles Editor
It’s that time of year when bows and arrows and chocolate angels abound. Valentine’s Day is infamous for the winged cupid, who flies around shooting his arrow into the hearts of unsuspecting victims.
Most people brush aside the idea of Cupid, the young son of love goddess Aphrodite, as a Greek myth. Others also deny the existence of angels altogether and think of them as fairy tale creatures that are pleasant to imagine but have nothing to do with the real world.
However, for some, the existence of angels plays a significant role in their life and faith.
In fact, the three largest religions of the western hemisphere, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, all believe in the inclusion of celestial beings in their cosmologies.
The Christian Bible includes many references to angels.
Psalms 91:11 says, “He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.”
For those who interpret scripture with a literal perspective, this has important meaning.
“The gospel affirms that angels ministered to Jesus while he accomplished his mission,” said Dr. Stuart Love, religion professor at Pepperdine. “On a personal level, I believe in angels largely because of what the Bible affirms.”
From the New Testament perspective, angels are supernatural, heavenly beings created by God to radiate and proclaim God’s glory, Love said.
The Bible says that angels are particularly concerned for the salvation of humankind.
“(Angels) serve, therefore, as guardians of individuals and churches,” Love said.
Although Love has not had a particular experience when he thinks an angel intervened in his life, he said he knows people who believe in angels because they are sure they have felt the paramount effects of their intervention.
“My mother, who was a widow, believed that angels cared for her at critical points in her life,” Love said. “I have not experienced what she believed, but her faith has informed my own.”
Many people have stories about times when they think a supernatural being was behind a significant event in their past.
Freshman Katrina Spencer said she remembers her mother telling about being in a closet when a sewing machine fell from the top shelf and almost hit her. Her mother would not have been able to catch the machine and lift it back onto the shelf if it were not for what she thinks was divine intervention.
“It’s a blessing to believe in angels,” Spencer said. “It’s a blessing to know that you’re not distanced from God and that there is someone down here looking out for you.”
Junior Robbie Sagers clearly remembers a time when he is sure he was being watched over by his guardian angle. Sagers was traveling in France and one night did not have a hostel to stay in. When the train station was locked up for the night, Sagers was forced to walk the streets of Paris.
“I kept running into drunken people, prostitutes and all kinds of people who sleep on the street,” Sagers said. “But the whole night I had this overwhelming feeling of protection around me. I think it was my guardian angle because I shouldn’t have felt any comfort considering my circumstances.”
Sagers said he thinks everyone has a guardian angel.
“At some point in their life, everyone has felt the comfort and protection of guardian angels watching out for them,” Sagers said.
Christian author Elisabeth Elliot tells about her father’s experiences with angelic helpers in her book, “A Slow and Certain Light.”
“My father, when he was a small boy, was climbing on an upper story of a house that was being built,” Elliot writes. “He walked to the end of a board that was not nailed at the other end, and it slowly began to tip. He knew that he was doomed, but inexplicably the board began to tip the other way, as though a hand had pushed it down again. He always said it was an angel’s hand.”
Christian evangelist Billy Graham wrote an entire book about his experiences and the experiences of others who are convinced that at moments of special need in their life, they were attended by angels.
“Millions of angels are at God’s command and at our service,” Graham said in his book. “I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide unseen aid on our behalf.”
Others hold that when caring for the poor, people can actually be caring for one of God’s angels in disguise.
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it,” Hebrews 13:2 says.
In a world where rationality and reason is emphasized, maintaining belief in unseen supernatural powers may seem illogical and unscientific. But for many people, angels represent a force beyond the understanding humans possess about this world and God’s power.
“Somewhere, in a terribly rational world, there is a place in my faith for a God who intervenes and ministers to those who seek his will,” Love said. “There is a place for the simplicity and beauty of faith that the Lord of creation brings deliverance for his people through his ministering servants, his angels.”
There has never been an official declaration on the celestial hierarchy of angels, but the New Advent catholic encyclopedia says that there is in fact a highly structured environment.
Angelic Facts
FIRST REALM
1. Seraphim: They exist in the highest realm and are considered to be closest to God. Seraphim are characterized by their fiery love.
2. Cherubim : Cherubim are associated with intellect. They share a deep insight into God’s secrets and understand the requirements of salvation.
3. Thrones: Thrones symbolize submission and peace and help people abide by God’s will. God rests on them and imparts his spirit, which they pass on to lesser angels and to mankind.
SECOND REALM
4. Dominations: Rules the second realm and leads lesser angels to carry out God’s commands and make God’s authority known.
5. Virtues: Fulfills the work set by the Dominations and, through them, God oversees the seasons and visible heavens.
6. Powers: The powers, by tradition, are the favorite of mortals, assigned to fight evil spirits and defeat their plans.
THIRD REALM
7. Principalities rule over the lowest hierarchy, guarding countries and make announcements to mankind. They govern souls and bodies.
8. Archangels: Archangels by tradition guard great persons and protect the Church.
9. Angels: Angels form the lowest rank. They include guardian angels and stand ready to follow where God sends them.
February 13, 2003