There are a lot of angel appearances in the Christmas stories found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Angels appear to Zechariah (father of John the Baptist), Mary, Joseph, and those shepherds...and by the end of the 2nd chapter of Matthew Joseph has been visited three or four times. Those angels were racking up some frequent flyer miles between heaven and earth there for a while.
Angels appear a great deal in the scriptures...it seems like I read somewhere that there are about 350 instances of angels appearing in the Bible (I did not count to verify this myself, I'm taking someone else at their word). I have never seen an angel, at least not one that looks anything like the winged creatures we see in Scripture. I have experienced human angels who have comforted me during times of great distress or chaos in my life...but I can't say I've ever seen an angel "in the flesh."
However, I have talked with people who say they have seen angels. It seems the angels were seen at times when the person was experiencing a very difficult time in their life or were suffering greatly. I have no reason to doubt them. I believe angels exist even though I have not seen one. I mean, why would angels stop coming to earth or why would God stop using them to communicate with people on earth just because the writers of the Bible finished their work (or just because the timing of what was included in the Bible came to an end). Just because John put the last period at the end of Revelation did God say, "OK that's it, all my angels are now in retirement except when we celebrate in heaven. No more trips to earth."
Maybe there are angels that watch over us. How else could I even try to explain some of the things that have happened in my life, especially one instance when I should have been killed but wasn't. I have a harder time believing in dumb luck in those instances than I do in the presence of angels.
But what about angels from God who appear to people in the Bible to deliver messages from God? While I appreciate the fact an angel may have saved my life, sometimes I think it would be awesome and frightening at the same time for an angel to appear and tell me directly what God wants me to know and do. I know the Holy Spirit is active in the lives of followers of Jesus and it is the movement of the Spirit that should lead and direct our lives...but an angel could take the guess work out of things.
Until I get my first angel visit I'll just keep on doing my best to discern the Spirit's lead.
"Angels from the realms of glory wing your flight o'er all the earth; you who sang creation's story, now proclaim Messiah's birth. Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King."
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