Friday, August 12, 2016

Notes from Billy Graham's "Angels"



This book caught my attention at the church library a couple of weeks ago.

This subject has come up a few times in conversations with a good friend of mine (who is a liberal Muslim by the way) and online through people's posts (yes, I do believe God works through social media!).

I'm not a fan of Billy Graham. In fact, I don't know much about him. From the little I've heard, it seems like he is a bit of an extremist. But I believe in listening to everyone with a critical mind instead of jumping into conclusions, pigeonholing people and shutting them off.

Anyway, I found a few interesting quotes on this book that I wanted to keep for myself (and maybe others might enjoy it too).

So here it goes:

p.27

"Christians must never fail to sense the operation of angelic glory. It forever eclipses the world of demonic powers (...)".

" (...) expect powerful angels to accompany you in your life experiences."

p. 28

"(...) his [the devil's] evil activities are countered for the people of God by His ministering spirits, the holy ones of the angelic order. They are vigorous in delivering the heirs of salvation from the stratagems of evil men. They cannot fail."
Psalm 91:11-22

p. 36

"(...) angelic presences are in control of the battlefield about us, so that we may stand with complete confidence in the midst of the fight."
Romans 8:31

"(...) angels have a beauty and a variety that surpasses anything known to men."

"The joy of sex in this life may be only a foretaste of something that [people] will enjoy in heaven which is far beyond anything man has ever known."

p. 41
This is a quote from John Calvin's "Institutes": "The angels are the dispensers and administrators of the Divine beneficence toward us; they regard our safety, undertake our defence, direct our ways, and exercise a constant solicitude that no evil befall us".

pp. 42-43

Angels can be classified as fallen (aka devils) and non fallen.
Angels fall on their own (they are not enticed to sin), therefore [? I don't get the rationale behind that] their sinful state cannot be altered. Their sin cannot be forgiven, their salvation cannot be achieved, they cannot be redeemed (by the Father [via Jesus' death on the cross]). They are in revolt against God and will never voluntarily accept His sovereign leadership, except in Judgement Day (Philippians 2:9-10).
"Father" is normally reserved in Scripture for lost men (as opposed to angels) who have been redeemed. Moreover [according to Billy's denomination (?)] only men who are born again should use the term.

p. 43

"Christians are joint heirs with Christ (...)" (Romans 8:17) and angels are not.

pp.99-101

Stories about how angles protect people. Read them here.

pp. 101-102

"Every true believer in Christ should be encouraged and strengthened! Angels are watching; they mark our path. They superintend the interest of the Lord God, always working to promote His plans and bring about His highest will for us.(...) God assigns angelic powers to watch over us"
Psalm 34:7

p.103

"(...) individual guardian, guiding angels attend at least some of our ways and hover protectively over our lives."

p. 104

"Angels never minister selfishly; they serve so that all glory may be given to God as believers are strengthened."

p.105

"(...) angles will minister to all the heirs of faith."

"If we, the sons of God, would only realise how close His ministering angels are, what calm assurance we could have in facing the cataclysms of life."

"While we do not place our faith directly in angels, we should place it in the God who rules the angels (...)".