The Bible abounds with beautiful accounts of the deliverance of men and, in some instances, an entire army of men, from grave peril through the power of God as expressed by His angels. In some pictures in old versions of the Bible, angels are portrayed as human beings with wings. Many people have been led to believe that angels permanently inhabit a material place called heaven, which place of abode may be reached only by first passing through the experience termed death. Little children have been encouraged to be good by the promise that, if they are good enough, sometime they will enter heaven and become angels. The erroneous belief that angels are physical, or that the departed become angels, is completely repudiated by the teachings of Christian Science. The mistaken theory of false theology that angels are beings with material forms, dwelling in a material habitation beyond the sky, is recognized through the revelation of divine Truth to be utterly untrue.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, has given to the world the definition of "angels," on page 581 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," as follows: "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." This understanding of the truth about angels brings with it an illumination of thought and a reasonable, rational explanation of how it is that angels are where God is and manifest His infinite power and love.
The ever-inspiring account of Daniel's protection in the den of lions is a definite example of how angels are at hand to help those who rely on God, as did Daniel.
Certain men, acting under the influence of envy and jealousy, determined to bring about the destruction of one who prayed to God three times a day, and who was without fault in the management of the king's business. Daniel was unafraid, and even though he spent the night in the den, he cheerfully acknowledged the king's greeting the next morning with the words. "O king, live for ever." And in explanation of the method of his deliverance he said, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt."
God is infinite divine Mind, the only real consciousness. Because of its infinitude, Mind is omnipresent, eternally expressed in spiritual ideas. Man is the spiritual image and likeness of God, Spirit, Mind. The power, intelligence, goodness, harmony, and love of God are made manifest in the experience of mankind. Man, God's idea, including all true selfhood, is the complete reflection of Deity. Thus it is seen that all true thought passes directly from God to man, because man is at one with God. The real man is the idea or reflection of divine Mind, Life, Truth, and Love, and is constituted of God's spiritual qualities. A spiritual idea can never be separated for an instant from the Mind which conceives that idea.
The understanding and demonstration of Christian Science reveals the immediate availability of God's angels, the goodness and power of which have been proved entirely adequate to rescue from danger, protect from sin, relieve from poverty, and heal the sickness and sorrow of those who had seemed to be in a hopeless situation.
Christ Jesus more fully demonstrated the truth of being than any other individual, and he steadfastly relied upon the angels of God to guide and sustain him at all times. During that night in the garden of Gethsemane, when his disciples slept and he earnestly prayed, he was strengthened by an angel. When he was being taken into custody by the soldiers, one of his followers attempted to protect Jesus with a sword, but the Master, understanding a better way, directed him to put away the material weapon, and then confidently and courageously questioned him, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" Christ Jesus was ever conscious of God's allness, as well as his own eternal unity with divine Principle, Love. Although, as it seemed to mortal sense, he gave up his human, or material, sense of life, never for an instant was he separated from divine Life; and three days after the crucifixion he walked and talked with his disciples, comforting and instructing them. His recognition of and reliance upon the angels of God furnish an example for all to emulate who claim to be his followers.
The experience of Gideon, as recorded in the book of Judges, is an outstanding example of how one who is humble, obedient, and trustworthy may entertain an angel of God, and receive guidance, protection, and deliverance from oppressive evil in its various manifestations. Although Gideon and his small band were outnumbered many times, and his valiant men were not equipped with the material weapons of warfare as was the enemy, yet, relying on the power of God and the instruction from his angel visitant, Gideon completely routed all opposing forces and won a great victory. How true it is that he who takes the side of God, the side of absolute right, will find that he is on the winning side!
Perhaps someone may declare that things are different now, that times have changed since the days of Gideon and of Jesus. God never changes. His power is ever the same. Man, God's spiritual reflection, is as definitely the object of God's love and protection today as he was in ages past. The relationship existing between God and man eternally remains unbroken, unimpaired, uninterrupted, and harmonious. The lapse of years and the changing beliefs of mortals can never interfere with the modus operandi of the law of divine Love, which God maintains for the perpetual government of His creation. Isaiah, because of his spiritual awareness of God's methods of reaching and directing His children, confidently declared, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."
The prophets, apostles, and the early Christians were well aware of the presence of angels, and many were delivered from danger, death, and imprisonment through a knowledge of this fact and obedience to the commands which were given. Primitive Christianity is not lost, and mankind is not deprived of its comfort, salvation, and healing power, because Christian Science is the reinstatement of Christ's Christianity. Mrs. Eddy writes in "The People's Idea of God" (p. 5): "The ideals of primitive Christianity are nigh, even at our door. Truth is not lost in the mists of remoteness or the barbarisms of spiritless codes. The right ideal is not buried, but has risen higher to our mortal sense, and having overcome death and the grave, wrapped in a pure winding-sheet, it sitteth beside the sepulchre in angel form, saying unto us, 'Life is God; and our ideal of God has risen above the sod to declare His omnipotence.' This white-robed thought points away from matter and doctrine, or dogma, to the diviner sense of Life and Love,—yea, to the Principle that is God, and to the demonstration thereof in healing the sick. Let us then heed this heavenly visitant, and not entertain the angel unawares."
As we journey on toward the haven of perfect peace, trusting in God, the angels of His presence are our steadfast guardians in storm or calm. Although we seem to be in the depths of fear and despair, with the clouds of error closing in upon us, and mortal sense declares that there is no way open by which we can escape the impending danger, yet there is ever at hand, awaiting our acceptance, a pure angel thought, a spiritual idea, a God-sent message from the infinite divine Mind, which is fraught with intelligence and power capable of dispelling, dispersing, and destroying the erroneous condition or illusion of belief, and which, when utilized scientifically, brings complete release and perfect healing. How comforting are the words of the Psalmist, "He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways"!
Even though one feels that he is about to be engulfed in an overwhelming sense of sorrow, due to disappointed hopes or the passing of a loved one, he is not helpless and need not be hopeless, because the omnipresence of God and His angels of deliverance are unfailing guardians. These spiritual messengers light the way and lead to peace and rest unknown to material sense. After years of practical experience in the demonstration of the healing Christ, Truth, Mrs. Eddy was enabled to state with unparalleled clarity what angels are, and what they meant to her. She writes on page 299 of Science and Health: "My angels are exalted thoughts, appearing at the door of some sepulchre, in which human belief has buried its fondest earthly hopes. With white fingers they point upward to a new and glorified trust, to higher ideals of life and its joys. Angels are God's representatives. These upward-soaring beings never lead towards self, sin, or materiality, but guide to the divine Principle of all good, whither every real individuality, image, or likeness of God, gathers."
We must work for a new world, in which men will realize that love, justice, freedom, and brotherhood are not the mere phrases of preachers and politicians. Men must realize that these things are realities which can and must be embodied not only in our lives as individuals, but in our national policies as part of an international whole. If we cannot achieve such things we are doomed to perish, and our civilization is doomed to extinction.—
