Angels of Glory and Darkness

Introduction

Time was when angels were the subjects of erudite theological discussions, magnificent medieval frescoes and occasional controversies. The angel guarding the northwest corner of the wagon roof in my former parish of Shepton Mallet is well peppered with grapeshot, fired in 1645 by Cromwell’s soldiers in the English Civil war. Godly Puritans regarded the carved images of angels as highly offensive.

This book is written to defend the existence of angels, to look at their true role as messengers of God, and to warn that there are such beings as fallen angels. Not all spiritual experiences are helpful. Each encounter needs to be tested. The testimonies included in this book are mainly from people that I know personally and I would vouch for them as credible witnesses. As a mathematician, I look for the simplest solution to complicated problems. In many of the testimonies, in this and other books, it is much simplest to accept them at face value and to believe that God did send an angel to guide, protect, comfort or to speak to people.

Angels are part of our heritage. Churches are full of angels in stained glass windows, or carved on magnificent roofs. Great painters have spent hours depicting them on famous canvasses and many bookshops allow plenty of space to an assortment of books on the subject. Nowadays, angels are either dismissed as part of a belief system that is no longer sustainable or welcomed, uncritically, as the gateway to an exciting spiritual world.

Angels are seen either as part of an ancient mythology which is well past it’s sell-by date or as the road-map to our spiritual future. Almost on demand, they can unlock the keys to true spiritual awareness and knowledge. I am un-persuaded by either viewpoint. I want to argue that angels are an ever present reality, but unseen by most of us including myself. Angels, quite simply, are God’s messengers, who throughout eternity worship
the living God. From time to time, they have earthly duties – probably far more than any of us are aware of. These involve protection, guidance, and occasionally a lifting of the spiritual curtain to such an extent, that both men and women are unexpectedly brought to a life-changing encounter with the living God.

The angels of glory give some people a glimpse of life ‘beyond the veil’ where tears, sorrow, illness, accident and even death are no more. They give us a foretaste of Paradise and a fleeting experience of what we can become when this life is ended. Sadly, not all the angels were content with this role. Some third of them seem to have rebelled. This rebellion has caused chaotic cosmic conflict and disastrous deception all around our planet. Angels of glory became angels of darkness. Angels of darkness are at their most dangerous when pretending to be angels of light. Deception has always been one of Satan’s most effective weapons.

This short book tells a number of stories, which hopefully will point us back to the angels of the Bible. Hopefully, too, they will lead us away from seeking spirit guides and other psychic phenomena, which pretend to lead people to God and ensnare people in false spiritual self-fulfilment.

We live in age, at least in our tired Western world, which desperately needs to rediscover spiritual reality. The angels of darkness are a warning to remind us how easily we are deceived –especially by offers of quick spiritual fixes. The angels of glory take us back to those critical moments when, for some of us, God’s plans unfolded with an unforgettable and brilliant clarity.

If any of the recorded experiences in this book are true experiences of the angelic world, then they are pointers back to the far more important truths about the angels at Bethlehem and the angels beside the Empty Tomb on the first Easter Day.
If those two great stories are true, then there is hope for humanity. This hope transcends the horrors of war, suicide bombers with their false view of Paradise, tsunamis, earthquakes, AIDS, global warming and even death itself. This hope is summed up by some famous words ‘The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it’ (John1:5)