This is an article I wrote for LS - www.livingspiritmagazine.com
It describes the history and intent of angels

Unravelling the Mysteries of Life
Aliens and Angels
No matter what religion you practice, the Bible can be used as an historical fact sheet. If it is studied as an account of times gone by, much can be appreciated and used to explain myths, legends and the like.

Angels have for as long as man can remember, generated much discussion. As we have explained in the feature covering MOTHMEN (see page 10), it is not always wise to shoot the messengers.

In the Hebrew Bible and several non-canonical Jewish and early Christian writings, Nephilim (meaning the fallen ones in Hebrew) are a people created by the cross-breeding of the ‘sons of God’ and the ‘daughters of men’. The word nephilim is loosely translated as ‘giants’ or ‘titans’ in some Bibles, and left untranslated in others. There is actually some controversy as to the identity of the ‘sons of God’ who fathered them. The Hebrew authors believed they were angels.

The idea that heavenly beings mated with humans is controversial, particularly among Christians, who cite the teaching of Jesus in the Book of Matthew that angels do not marry. Others who find the idea of angels mating with humans just as distasteful have suggested different interpretations of the Nephilim, such as the idea that they were the offspring of men possessed by demons.

Still others believe that the most reasonable view of Genesis 6:1 is that it refers to the fact that some men from the godly lineage of Seth, called ‘sons of God’, began to pursue fleshly interests, and so took ‘the daughters of men’ (unbelievers) as their wives.

There are two clear Biblical references to the Nephilim – one in the Book of Genesis as the offspring of ‘the sons of God’ and ‘the daughters of men’ and the other in the Book of Numbers 13:33 as inhabitants of the land of Canaan.

Genesis 6:1-8
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” There were giants in earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Ancestral Lines

The fact that these angels saw the daughters of men confirms that angels do indeed think and desire. ‘The sons of God saw the daughters of men’ implies the sons were from God, and that the women were related to men on earth.

Angels coming to earth would have appeared to have fallen from the sky. As the angels fell to earth they had sexual relations with the daughters of men (’and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose’). Notice the phrase ‘they took’ and ‘they chose’. No mention of affection, just power and taking. If they were taking, they did not ask, and if they took by force, there was no love. If there is force and no love, it is surely wrong.

Some angels are fallen, making them demons. Indeed, the physical make-up of angels and demons is the same, the only difference is the desire - this difference being in the way a being thinks, the choices it makes and ultimately how it acts.
Had the angels fallen in respect of losing favour by breaking the law and committing crimes of rape? Or had they fallen before the physical crime had been committed, their mere intentions causing them to fall?

The children of angels were indeed different from our own children, for they were part angel and part human, possessing extraordinary powers and behaving like gods.

The fact that the sons of God came in to the daughters of men strongly suggests sexual relations, confirmed by the fact that children were born as a result.

An evil act? Well, it did not please God, who wiped all living creatures from the earth - except Noah, who found favour with the Lord.

But would angels really have sexual relationships with humans? Aren’t angels supposed to be good, pure and holy? Not all of them it seems:
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh... (Jude 6-7)
So who were these Nephilim and who were their fathers? Numbers 13:32-33 gives a brief description of the character of these ‘mightymen.’
Job 1:6-7
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw giants (Nephilim in Hebrew), the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their (the Nephilim’s) sight.
And in Deuteronomy 2:19-21
And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with any possession; for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim; A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead.

They lived in Egypt apparently before the destruction of the last age by flood. The Ammonites succeeded the Nephilim and referred to them as “Zamzummim.” It would appear that the destruction caused by the great flood was a direct result of the increasing evil done by humans and that evil appears to have come to a crescendo with the appearance on earth of the angel/human hybrid Nephilim. We have also learned that these angels ‘kept not their first estate, and left their habitation.’

Who are these angels who left their first estate? In the initial rebellion against God the leader of the rebellion was Satan/Lucifer and one-third of the angels were involved in that rebellion. These angels, who have had sexual relations with the daughters of men, are very clearly those under the guidance and leadership of Lucifer. We begin to see why a crescendo of evil in the world preceded the end of the last age and the flood. There were, according to the Bible’s Old Testament, demonic/human hybrids living on earth at the end of that age.

Indeed, Psalms 78:48-49 says:
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction among them.

In the book of Revelation we see the acts of many Godly angels and Satan’s demonic forces. This is the final battle between the forces of good and those of evil.

In Revelations 12:7-10:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon (Lucifer); and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

In Revelations 12:12 we see what happens next...
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Finally we see in Revelations 13: 4-6
And they (humans, just prior to the end of the current age) worshipped the dragon (Satan/Lucifer) which gave power unto the beast (the human, or Nephilim, world dictator): and they (humans) worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a great mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

Satan - The Fallen Angel

We all associate Satan with wrongdoing or evil. Satan is known to be a fallen angel - he rebelled against God and lost his ranking. Although evil, he was nevertheless among the sons of God - angels - walking about on earth alongside humans:

Job 1:6-7 and Job 2:1
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

The Angel of Mons

During the Great War, a supernatural event emerged that claimed divine intervention on the side of the British against their German adversaries. Thousands came to believe that a miracle had happened during the British Army’s first battle with the advancing Germans at Mons in Belgium on 23 August 1914. Some accounts have a vision of St George and phantom bowmen appearing, others claimed that angels had intervened. Some commentators dismissed the accounts as ‘urban folklore’, including Gothic horror writer, Arthur Machen.

However, it was reported by some that the angel of the Lord, on the traditional white horse, clad all in white with flaming sword, faced the advancing Germans at Mons and forbade their further progress. Such reports were encouraged and elaborated on by the British press to paint the German army as the godless enemy and the British as being on the side of God. Investigations over the last Century have not substantiated the accounts from men who were present at Mons but the fact that angels were used as the vehicle to convey the impression of divine help is just one example of a long history of such associations.

What caused such an amazing turn of events?

A senior German officer, who was taken prisoner immediately afterwards, gave an extraordinary explanation. He said that the order had been given to advance in mass formation. His troops were marching behind singing their way to victory when Fritz, his lieutenant, said “Herr Kapitan, just look at that open ground behind Béthune. There is a brigade of cavalry coming up through the smoke drifting across it! I suppose they must be cavalry in white uniform and they are mounted on white horses!”

The German officer continued his account to tell of the conversation between these two officers. They agreed that the English did not have a cavalry in white but in khaki. They also described how, when this white cavalry were in range, none of the gunfire, no matter how intense, could touch them, that the white cavalry were indestructible.

The author, Dr Pearce, continues the report with factual accounts stating that during the days that followed, many German prisoners gave evidence that tallied substantially with that given by the senior members of staff.

Do Angels Intercede and Help?

Manuscripts report that angels have a function according to their hierarchical state and are assigned to help us. But we are not necessarily told why.

The angelic realm is believed to act as an intermediary between the Creator and mankind. It is not surprising, then, that the word ‘angel’ translates to ‘messenger’.

Androgynous winged figures can be seen in almost every church throughout the world, and most would agree that the angels are friendly, approachable, responsive entities sent to protect.

A summary of the traditional Biblical framework of angels takes into account the Three Orders of angels. The Third Order is closest to us on earth and consists of the Principalities, Archangels and Angels. On our way up to heaven we would come across the Second Order, the Dominions, Powers and Virtues. The word ‘virtue’ is taken from the Latin ‘vir’ and originally signified ‘life force’ or the quickening power of Creation. It is the Virtues’ task to infuse base matter with divine qualities; in other words, physical with spirit - which goes part way to explaining why we are able to receive visions of the future or words of knowledge through the angels. Beyond Angels and Virtues, we reach the First Order, the order that is closest to the throne of God; Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. These three orders make up The Nine Choirs of Angels.

We are told through the Bible to command angels. A command is an order. Whosoever issues it expects it to be carried out. It is very different from a request and means we carnal humans have the angelic realm at our beck and call, preparing a way for us to tread, that God’s will be done.

Touching our lives most directly, the angels themselves are not to be confused with Cherubs who have an entirely different role. Nevertheless, Cherubim are sent to humans from time to time. Through an experience of my own, I know this to be true.

Julie Grinnell

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