NINE CHOIRS OF ANGELS.

In Christian theology, there are nine choirs of angels. At the top of the ladder and nearest to God are seraphim, who have three pairs of wings. Following them are cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.

PERCENTAGE OF BELIEF from Newsweek 11/28/94

Percentage of Americans who say they have seen or sensed the presence of an angel: 13

AIRCRAFT LANDING BY AN UNSEEN POWER Sophy Burnham, Angel Letters (New York: Ballantine Books, 1991), pp. 3-5

"Our aircraft carrier was steaming in a northerly direction in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Sea of Japan, one late fall day," wrote a former pilot. The seas were heavy but not too rough to prevent air operations that day. "Our flight, the last one for the day, launched around 3:00 p.m. and lasted for an uneventful hour and a half," he recalled.

He was unprepared for what would happen when he returned to the aircraft carrier. "We found the ship pitching up and down and rolling in such heavy seas that our planes had great difficulty landing. Six times I tried to land and 6 times was waved off. I became anxious." His plane was running out of fuel. He was running out of options and was in serious danger. "On my 8th attempt I was again waved off. I could either climb into a parachute altitude and eject before I ran out of fuel or make one more attempt to land, with no chance of parachuting to safety. If I failed, the plane would go into the sea."

"As I flew downwind and prepared to turn onto the base leg of my approach, I prayed out loud into my oxygen mask but not over the radio: 'Lord Jesus Christ, I need your help now or I will die. This is beyond my ability to control.'" He thought of his wife of only 6 months who was expecting their 1st child. He cried out, "I want a family. I want to see my children." As he turned for his final approach, "Suddenly a feeling of great warmth, love and indescribable joy came over me. My anxiety was gone. Although my hands were on the controls, a far better pilot than me was flying that plane. I knew instantly my prayer was being answered and that I had nothing to fear." He landed safely. Later the aircraft line chief told him that his plane was bone dry of jet fuel when he landed.

A BOY, A SNAKE, & AN ANGEL R.Digest 8/88 p.95ff

Mark Durrance, age 12 had been out one February afternoon in SW Florida shooting his BB gun. Jumping a ditch, Mark landed something that seemed to roll under the pressure of his foot. Instantly, he felt an explosion of pain. The massive head of an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake was plastered across his foot. His dog Bobo attacked the snake several times before the diamondback finally let loose its grip from the boy's shoe.

One hundred and fifty yards from his house, Mark realized he couldn't even move, the pain was overpowering. He felt weak all over and everything began to get fuzzy. Though Mark did not know it, the rattlesnake's fangs had injected a massive amount of venom directly into a vein. The poison was racing thru his body, launching multiple attacks upon his respiratory system, his heart, his body's ability to clot blood. It would take a miracle for the boy to cover the 150 yards over rough terrain and then mount the steps to his door.

At the hospital, some time later, "the boy had quit breathing on his own," said Dr. Michael Nycum. "He was practically dead."

Over the next 8 hours, four doctors and batter of nurses worked ceaselessly over Mark. "His whole cardiovascular system was on the brink of collapse," says Dr. Nycum. "And then his kidneys shut down." The venom prevented Mark's blood from clotting - causing internal hemorrhaging. All this was complicated by the failure of his respiratory system. "For the first 12 to 14 hours, the only thing the little guy had going for him was his heart, and that was under tremendous stress," says Dr. Nycum. Medically speaking, there was no realistic chance of saving the boy's life.

"Usually, in such a dramatic case, we begin to see some turnaround within a couple of hours, or we lose the battle," says Dr. Nycum. "We didn't see this with Mark. He was as critical after 8 hours as he was when we first saw him."

Over a period of four days, Mark was in Coma from which he recovered on the fourth day. Throughout that period, the mother never left the hospital, praying over her son and comforting him: "He may have been in a coma, but I believed he might hear my words to him and to God."

On the fourth day, when he did recover, he told his parents of an extraordinary event that took place in the desolate field - an occurrence that harks to the Old Testament stirring accounts of men and angels.

Mark explained with perfect composure about a white robed figure who appeared just when he knew that he could not walk the distance to the house. The figure took him in his arms and carried him across the field and up the steps.

"I know it was God," Mark said. "He had a deep voice. I felt calm. He picked me up and carried me all the way. He told me that I was going to be sick but not to worry, that I would make it. Then he went up into the sky. The last thing I remember was opening the door to our house.

A minister was astonished at the welcome he received at an ancient Coptic monastery. The monks treated him as if he were the most important guest they had received since the place was established in the 12th century. They served him a fine meal, showed him to a comfortable room, and brought him a bouquet of flowers. He was then greeted by the abbot of the monastery, Father Jeremiah. "WOW," said the minister, "you sure know how to treat visitors." Jeremiah replied, "We always treat guests as if they were angels... just to be safe."

CIRCLE OF ANGELS "Angels" by Billy Graham p.3

John G. Paton, a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands, tells a thrilling story... Hostile natives surrounded his mission headquarters one night, intent on burning the Patons out and killing them. John Paton and his wife prayed all during that terror filled night that God would deliver them.. When daylight came they were amazed to see the attackers unaccountably leave. They thanked God for delivering them.

A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Jesus Christ, and Mr. Paton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men you had with you there?" The missionary replied, "There were no men there; just my wife and I." The chief argued that they had seen many men standing guard - hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands. They seemed to circle the mission station so that the natives were afraid to attack. Only then did Mr. Paton realize that God had sent His angels to protect them.

BIBLE BACKERS ibid. p. 4

A Persian colporteur was accosted by a man who asked him if he had a right to sell Bibles. "Why, yes," he answered, "we are allowed to sell these books anywhere in the country!" The man looked puzzled, and asked, "How is it, then, that you are always surrounded by soldiers? I planned 3 times to attack you, and each time, seeing the soldiers, I left you alone. Now, I longer want to harm you." Were these soldiers heavenly beings?

EDDIE RICKENBACKER'S GUARDIANS ibid. p. 4

During WW II, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. For weeks nothing was heard of him. The newspapers reported his disappearance and across the country thousands of people prayed. Mayor LaGuardia asked the whole city of New York to pray for him. Then he returned. The Sunday papers headlined t

he news, and in an article, Captain Rickenbacker himself told what had happened. "And this part I would hesitate to tell," he wrote, "except that there were 6 witnesses who saw it with me. A gull came out of nowhere, and lighted on my head - I reached up my hand very gently - I killed him and then we divided him equally among us. We ate every bit, even the little bones. Nothing ever tasted so good." This gull saved the lives of Rickenbacker and his companions. Years later I asked him to tell me the story personally, because it was through this experience that he came to know Christ. He said, "I have no explanation except that God sent one of His angels to rescue us."

Till the day of his death, Rickenbacker would go down to the pier and feed the sea gulls from buckets of shrimp, and remember what they had done for him.

CHERUBIM AND SERAPHIM Pulpit Helps 4/93 p.93

The son a preacher once asked his father, "Dad, what is the difference between the cherubim and the seraphim?" The father explained that the word "cherubim" was derived from a Hebrew word which meant "knowledge" and the word "seraphim" was from another Hebrew word which meant "burning," indicative of the fact that the seraphim were spirits that were characterized by their burning love. As soon as the child heard this, he said "Dad, I hope that when I did I shall be a seraphim, because I would prefer to love God than to know anything."

A little boy named Hugh had been to church Sunday and had heard the preacher preach about angels. He was particularly impressed by the Bible verse that said that we should be careful how we treat strangers, because some have entertained angels unawares.

That afternoon, little Hugh went out to play with a neighbor boy and they began talking about angels. The neighbor boy talked about how all angels had wings and Hugh said "No, they don't." The neighbor boy insisted and Hugh kept saying "no." Finally, the Hugh's friend asked him how he knew that not all angels had wings. "Because," replied Hugh, "today my preacher said that some of them are strangers in their underwares."

C.S. LEWIS'S ANGEL From "The Great Divorce" p.98

He "was more or less human in shape but larger than a man, and so bright that I could hardly look at him. His presence smote on my eyes and on my body too (for there was heat coming from him as well as light) like the morning sun at the beginning of a tyrannous summer day."

THAT'S WHEN THE ANGELS REJOICE Gaither Vocal Band

At the completion of the Golden Gate, no the angels did not celebrate

And when the Wright boys flew their bird, no angelic shouts were heard.

There's only one thing that we're sure about

that can make those angels jump and shout

It's when a sinner makes the Lord his choice

- that's when the angels rejoice.

Now when the light bulb 1st lit up the town

you know the angels did not dance around.

And when the man stepped on the moon - they didn't sing a victory tune.

Now heaven doesn't strike up the band, for any old occasion at hand

It's got to be a special plan to make those angels sing.

Now when the model T 1st hit the street,

it didn't bring all heaven to its feet.

And when the 1st computer was born, they didn't blow old Gabriel's horn

Now when the United States became a nation,

there was no angelic celebration

But when one lost sinner comes back home,

they dance for joy around the throne.

We so often hear the expression "the voice of an angel" that I got to wondering what an angel would sound like. So I did some research, and discovered that an angel's voice sound remarkably like a person saying "Hurry up!"

An angel comes to Peter in jail and says, "Rise quickly." An angel says to Gideon, "Arise and go in this thy might." An angel says to Elijah "Arise and eat." An angel appears to Joseph in a dream when Herod is slaughtering the infants and says "Go quickly." An angel appears to Philip and says, "Arise and go."

ANGELS AMONG US Time Magazine December 27, 1993 pp. 56ff

Do you believe in the existence of angels?

Yes........69%

No.........25%

Do you believe you have your own guardian angel?

Yes........46%

No.........21%

Have you ever personally felt an angelic presence in your life?

Yes........32%

No.........35%

Do you believe in the existence of fallen angels, or devils?

Yes........49%

No.........45%

Though often cast as rescuers, angels also seem to intervene to remove not the danger but the Fear of it. Among the most memorable stories of World War I is the tale of the Angel of Mons. In August 1914 during one of the first battles of the war, British and French troops were retreating from a German assault. As Burnham tells the story, the wounded soldiers were taken to field hospitals where one, then another and another, told the nurses of seeing angels on the field. The French saw the Archangel Michael, riding a white horse. The British said it was St. George, "a tall a man with yellow hair in golden armor, on a white horses, holding his sword up and his mouth open, crying 'Victory!'" The nurses reported a startling serenity in the dying men, as though they had nothing to fear.

Some soldiers later speculated that their exhaustion had brought on hallucinations. Others thought it was mass hysteria, the result of a battle that was supposed to be easily won by the allies but had turned into a rout. But later stories emerged from the German side of the same incident. The Kaiser's soldiers has said they found themselves "absolutely powerless to proceed...and their horses turned around sharply and fled." The Germans said the allied position was held by thousands of troops-though in fact, there were only two regiments there.