Sunday, December 29, 2013

Angels Appear as Humans then Vanish (4 of 7)

Angels Appear as Humans then Vanish after making startling announcement that Jesus is coming "very, very soon"!!! 

Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? 
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

A believer surrounded by Guardian Angels 

By Jim Bramlett
Encounter # 4: Vincent's third (confirmed)

Vincent had another amazing experience in the early morning hours of Sunday, September 13th 1998. He had been working late in his chemist job again to finish some urgent jobs. He left work at about 1 a.m. When he got outside, he suddenly realized that he had left his keys on his desk, but was not able to get back inside because of the automatic lock on the door. So now he could neither get back inside, nor drive his truck. He prayed that the Lord would unlock his truck, but nothing happened.

He walked across the street to a pay phone but discovered it had been vandalized. He remembered his cellular phone in his backpack and took it out. Vincent then realized he had left the battery at home to be recharged (an old model), and it could not work, of course, without a battery. Nevertheless, he prayed and asked the Lord to allow him to make one call. As soon as he prayed, he noticed the phone miraculously lighting up, and he called a friend to pick him up. The friend agreed to do so.

Vincent then sat down by a doorstep of the lab and waited. A little while later a police car drove up and stopped. The policeman asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for a friend," Vincent replied. He told the policeman his situation, about the prayer to open his truck, and the call to his friend.

The policeman replied, "Your friend isn't coming." He noticed Vincent's Bible, and added, "That's a good book to read." Some conversation ensued in which Vincent disclosed his faith and his belief that the Lord is coming "very, very soon."

The policeman replied, "I believe the Lord’s coming is very, very near too."

At that very moment, a call came in over the policeman's radio and he said he had to leave. Before he left, the policeman remarked to Vincent, "Why don't you pray and ask the Lord to open the door to your lab?" Vincent said he watched him leave, while praying silently.

Vincent said, "I had barely finished praying when the lab door miraculously opened. I immediately stood up and turned around towards the door and noticed that someone had pushed the lock bar and opened it from the inside. I held on to the door and turned to look at the police car and noticed he was not to be seen, even though I had taken my eye off him for only a few seconds."

Vincent got his keys and drove away in his truck. He drove by his friend's home and noticed both their vehicles in their driveway. He assumed that they must have gone back to sleep, forgetting him.

Vincent said that he decided to go on home, "believing I may have actually spoken with an angel," he said. The next day he checked with his friend whom he had called and who had promised to pick him up. The friend did not remember anything about the call!

Here we have: (1) a cell phone that miraculously works without a battery, (2) a mysteriously appearing and disappearing policeman who said "I believe the Lord's coming is very, very near," (3) the policeman knew in advance that the friend would not pick Vincent up, (4) after the policeman told him to pray, a door that miraculously opened from the inside even though no one was inside, (5) a friend promised to pick him up but neither he nor his wife remember the telephone call. The whole episode is no doubt supernatural.

Comments

Incident # 2 above about "Gabriel" motivated me to review references in the Bible to the angel Gabriel. By name, Gabriel appeared to three people. The first was to the prophet Daniel in about 550 B.C. He gave Daniel a vision of the future, including the timing of Christ's first coming. And similar to the message to Vincent, he said to Daniel, "You are greatly beloved." Later, as recorded in Luke, he appeared to Zechariah, saying these awesome words, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God," as he announced the birth of John the Baptist; then shortly thereafter he appeared to the virgin Mary to announce the birth of Christ. Gabriel's main function in both Old and New Testaments seems to be in connection with announcing the coming of the Son of God to the world.

Angels who appear as humans are not without biblical precedent. For example, two angels came to Sodom to warn Lot before they destroyed the city (Genesis 19). They visited Lot's home, ate with him, and even spent the night! They appeared as such "real people" that Sodom's homosexuals tried to accost them and have sex with them, but the angels struck them blind. The next day, because of its blatant wickedness, God destroyed the city by fire.


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