Day 8: Warrior Angels
Read Revelation12.7-12
Jewish theology, and the Christian theology which followed
it, held that angels had free will, just as humans did.
By the time of Christ, an idea had taken root that some
angels had rebelled against God and were determined to try to influence the
world for evil. A figure who had originally been simply considered to be a
member of the heavenly court appointed to test humanity, called the Accuser
(the Satan, in Hebrew) gradually morphed into what was now called the Devil, a
figure of evil. He was still a creature, not an equal of God, but was often
seen as the moving force behind the evil in the world.
In the book of Revelation the Satan (described here as a
dragon) and his angels fight with Michael, the warrior archangel of God. It is
a bitter battle, but there is no doubt in the writer’s mind about the outcome.
The Satan and his angels are God’s creation, however wrong they have gone, and
ultimately under his control.
The book of Revelation was written by an exiled Christian
leader at a time of persecution by the Romans. He speaks in coded language of
the struggles against oppression which he and his fellow Christians are going
through. It may seem that they are in the grip of evil, but it will not last
forever. God is good, and his love will eventually triumph over evil.
The archangel Michael, one of the few named angels in the
Bible, is usually portrayed in art as a soldier, often treading underfoot a
dragon like devil. Churches dedicated to Michael are often located on the tops
of hills, like St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, and Mont Saint-Michel in France,
because it is felt that they stand at the boundary of earth and heaven. There
are often legends attached to them about St Michael fighting with and
outwitting the Devil
·
What
difference does it make to the way we live our lives if we believe that love is
stronger than evil?
·
Have you
ever experienced a real struggle between the temptation to do evil and good in
your life? What happened?
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