... Research has redirected my own interests and collecting pursuits down paths I never expected to go.  Dusty vintage journals, old leather bibles, and items as rare as ancient Greek coins and medieval illuminated manuscript leafs have now found their way into my archives of angel images.

With all of my cataloging and study, people often ask me if I believe that angels are real.  When I say yes, some skeptics demand to know why spirits would bother with wings.  Others tentatively ask if it's okay pray to angels, while still others wonder if they will see angels when they die.

What do Angels look like?

According to the Bible and most other sources, angels can appear in different forms.  Sometimes they reveal themselves as creatures superior to humans with halos and wings.  Other times they take the forms of mortals with no outstanding features other than perhaps a glowing hint of “glory.” 

Because angels are spirits, wings and clothing are probably not actually necessary for their flight or warmth.  They may manifest such features simply to accommodate human expectations and lessen the shock of their visitation.  In art, spirits are depicted in almost every form imaginable.  They are represented as ghostly white figures in some works, or as stunning mythological apparitions in others.  When depicted in human forms, they are shown with wings from small to large, or  again, with no wings at all.  Throughout history they have been painted in fashions from every age, or occasionally shown nude, but their most common covering is a loosely fitted robe.

Contacting Angels:

As for contacting angels, the Bible suggests that we should not pray to them, but to God.  Recently much has been written about reaching out to angels through meditation, trances, channeling, and even occult rituals.  The Bible teaches that God loves us, and that we prove our love and trust by turning directly to Him.  He may send angels to help us, but we are not to let fallen spirits exploit our needs by positioning themselves between us and our Creator. 

If any "angel "encourages you to initiate, sustain or be in fellowship with any spirit other than the Holy Spirit of God Himself, it is certain that you are dealing with a fallen angel.  Even though contact with spirits may seem "exciting" at first, be assured that over time these spirits will twist the truth and pull you down to destruction.  Fallen Angels and Demons merely flatter vulnerable humans as a way to get their hooks into our world so that they can pursue agendas of their own.

Prayers & Angels:

Angel illustrations often show people in prayer with angels gathered around listening intently.  The Bible says that angels do listen to our prayers and that they do watch over God's people in times of danger.  "Guardian Angel" illustrations with such scenes are among many people's favorites. 

The danger of these images is that they may tempt some people to begin addressing their prayers to angels, rather than to God.  We must remember that God's holy angels serve God and take delight in doing God's work.   Only fallen angels would enjoy seeing a person pull their focus off from God and then misdirect a prayer to a spirit.  A true holy angel enjoys being God's servant, and not God's substitute.  According to Revelation 5:8, angels bring the prayers of God's people to the throne.  They do NOT want the prayers for themselves.

Angels & Death:
Also found in art are many sad angel scenes showing a guardian angel, or an angel of death, taking a person's soul to heaven.  Jesus himself promises that those who die in faith can know that God will bring them "home" safely, and he suggests in Luke 16:22 that angels escort, or even carry, God's blessed children to their place in heaven. 

For much, much more on angels and what the Bible teaches about spirits, browse these pages and study the captions and Bible verses found in the image galleries.
     

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Angel Research...

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Angel Research...