Angels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Written by Sue Bohlin

I was about thirteen years old when I had my first encounter with an angel. I was going upstairs to my room, pulling my entire weight on the handrail, when it suddenly came off in my hand. I fell backwards, head first. Halfway into a terrible fall, I felt a strong hand on my back push me upright. There was nobody there--well, nobody visible!Angel stories are always fascinating, and in this essay I address angels: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good angels are the holy ones, the bad angels are the evil ones, which the Bible calls demons, and the ugly angels are demons disguising themselves as good angels. These ugly angels have deceived many people in a culture that has embraced "angel mania."

The Good Angels

Do We Have Guardian Angels?

Dr. Roger Barrier, Preach It, Teach It

Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions at roger@preachitteachit.org.

Dear Roger,

Recently I attended a funeral service for one of my long-time friends named Randy. There came a moment in the service where the minister invited people to share testimonies of how Randy had touched their lives and what he had meant to them.

The first one to speak was Randy's brother, Will, who proceeded to share that he had a guardian angel named Ralph, and that Ralph had a message of love for all the people. Will then shared Ralph's message that God loved them. It all seemed a little quirky to me that Will had a guardian angel named Ralph.

ANGEL SIGHTING: RON PHILLIPS SHARES PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS

DR. RON PHILLIPS   195   29   1   24   (@ Vesna Andjic/ iStockphoto) It was a cold evening in Gadsden, Ala., and despite the wintry weather forecast, I was excited to be traveling into the mountains to preach at a gathering of churches in northern Alabama. The late Dr. Claude Rhea, who had sung for Billy Graham, was the featured musical guest, and I, at 29 years of age, would follow with the message. What a fantastic opportunity for a young preacher! My wife, Paulette, wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. She gave me an apprehensive look as I kissed her good-bye. “Be careful, honey. It is snowing,” she warned. Not known for my driving skills I was oblivious to her warning. As I traveled the 60 miles north into the hills, I noticed the snow beginning to stick to the grass and fields. When I neared the church, snow had begun to already cover the road. However, to my delight, the church was full and the crowd was excited. Dr. Rhea gave a powerful testimony of his healing from cancer and delivered a stirring rendition of the Gaither classic “He Touched Me” as the finale to his portion for the evening. The mountain people loved it!