By Elizabeth Prata

Today, Thursday, September 8, 2022, the Queen of England’s medical team had put out a bulletin that they “are very concerned for the Queen’s health.” They said she must be under medical supervision, she must rest, and stay at Balmoral. Her entire family is flying in as I write this.

It is sobering news for the 96-year-old monarch, and for her subjects, world leaders, and fans (like me).

Only Louis XIV of France has been verified by exact date to have ruled longer than Queen Elizabeth, at 72 years, 110 days. Elizabeth has ruled so far 70 years, 214 days. Will she surpass Louis as longest ruling monarch? Only God knows.

No, sadly we receive the news just now from Buckingham Palace that Queen Elizabeth has died.

But being second-longest verifiable reigning sovereign monarch in world history is something, no matter what one’s personal views on her are. I believe she handled herself well overall.

I have a connection to Queen Elizabeth in my heart and memories. My grandmother was British. She was from Bolton in England, which is near Manchester in NW Britain. She was English through and through. Genteel, with a wonderful accent, she loved tea and the Queen. An early memory I have is seeing a plate displayed on her wall of the Queen. It was likely some kind of memorabilia or a commemorative plate for her 25th jubilee.

I’m named after the Queen. Or after my great-aunt Sissy (Elizabeth). Stories varied.

I have read the Queen’s Christmas messages and watched her all my life, because I’m fascinated. Of course the Charles-Diana story occurred when I was in my thirties and the Annus Horribilis, where the Queen said,

1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.

I believe she bears the fruit of salvation. She references Christ in them, saying for example,

To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.

I hope she is saved. I hope at this time as the Lord takes her from this life that I will meet her in heaven. I know the British people will grieve as she passes, and I am sad myself. I often think along these lines when a famous person or a known-only-to-me person passes from this life, whether they were saved. Our souls are eternal, with the sovereign above all sovereigns, God, deciding where that soul will reside forever. As with Queen Elizabeth, it all depends on whether a person repented of their sin and believed on Jesus Christ, who died for sin, was buried, and rose again, to ascend to the Father and put all enemies under his feet and all believers close to His bosom.

In the day of tribulation, everyone, no matter their station in life, will fear the Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords, so says Revelation 6:15.

Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

Alternately, believers will dwell in New Jerusalem, and I hope Elizabeth will be there. .

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:22-27).

Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of Life? If you are not sure, read this page about The Gospel.

By Elizabeth Prata

Part 1 here

I first looked at angels the other day with scriptures, gave some links to credible essays and links to proper discussions of angels (there is so much bad out there regarding these creatures) and spent a short amount of time discussing the unholy angels.

There is so much more that could be said about angels both holy and unholy. Certainly my two short blogs are not a comprehensive look at these amazing creatures. In fact, there is an entire section of theology called Angelology that focuses on studying them.

Angels appear throughout the Bible. They first appear in the Bible chronologically in Genesis 3:24, where God sent a Cherubim with flaming sword to guard the way back in to the Garden of Eden.

The word ‘angels’ comes from a word meaning messenger, and could be applied to any messenger such as human pastors or even events such as pestilences, says the Easton Bible Dictionary.

“But its distinctive application is to certain heavenly intelligences whom God employs in carrying on his government of the world. The name does not denote their nature but their office as messengers.” Source Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.”

‘Heavenly intelligences’ is a good way to describe them. They are not human, but they are living, God-created creatures with intelligence, personal will, and power. Angels are a class of beings that are not human and not part of the Trinity. They have superior power and abilities than humans, but are not human. When humans die, they do not turn into angels. We should stop saying things like “Heaven gained another angel with the death of…”

Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14) but sometimes when they appear to humans they appear as flesh and blood men (the Bible always refers to angels as men, it never describes a female angel). We don’t know how they change to flesh-and-blood looking men when they appear on earth but suffice it to say that part of it is a mystery. Angels have personal will (otherwise Lucifer & Co. would not have fallen). They also have emotions.

But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9).

There seem to be hierarchies of angels, or, at least, different classes. They are referred to as “hosts” which is a way of organizing them militarily. Ephesians 6:12 says,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

If you notice in Revelation, it is the angels who perform the judgments at God’s command. They carry it out. All through the Bible you begin to notice angels performing the commands of judgment God wants: slaying Israel in a plague and about to render wrath on Jerusalem (2 Samuel 24:16), and the Passover angel, destroying Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim and so on. They were also present at the creation, (Job 38:7), at the giving of the Law (Deuteronomy 33:2; Galatians 3:19).

Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14) but sometimes when they appear to humans they appear as flesh and blood men (the Bible always refers to angels as men, there are no female angels). We don’t know how they change to flesh and blood looking men when they appear on earth but suffice it to say that part of it is a mystery. Angels have personal will (otherwise Lucifer & Co. would not have fallen). They also have intelligence and emotions.

There are so many of them!

These superior beings are very numerous. “Thousand thousands,” etc. (Dan. 7:10; Matt. 26:53; Luke 2:13; Heb. 12:22, 23). They are also spoken of as of different ranks in dignity and power (Zech. 1:9, 11; Dan. 10:13; 12:1; 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 1:9; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16).
(2.) As to their nature, they are spirits (Heb. 1:14), like the soul of man, but not incorporeal. Such expressions as “like the angels” (Luke 20:36), and the fact that whenever angels appeared to man it was always in a human form (Gen. 18:2; 19:1, 10; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10). Source: Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature.

The holy angels praise God, perform His will, minister to humans (remember the angel helping Elijah in 1 Kings 19:5-7), render His judgments, learn (“angels long to look into these things” 1 Peter 1:12), and so much more!

When you read your Bible, pay close attention to the activities of Angels. What’s incredible to me is that even though they are powerful enough to hold back the wind (Revelation 7:1), stand on the sun, (Revelation 19:17), and reap the entire earth in but a moment, (Revelation 14:16), we believers will judge them! (1 Corinthians 6:3 says, but probably only the unholy angels, and probably only to the extent we align with God on HIS pronouncement upon them).

A word of caution: Hebrews 13:2 says we entertain angels unaware. If as Revelation 12:3–4 seems to suggest that a third of the angels fell, and are now demons, isn’t there a 1 in 3 chance that when we entertain an angel it might be an unholy one, masquerading as righteous? (2 Corinthians 11:15). Maybe so.

Angels are powerful and majestic. Far from being little flying babies, remember that the first words of an angel appearance to a human is usually, ‘Fear not!’ Angels are terrifying. (Matthew 28:4, Matthew 28:5, Daniel 10:7). But the believer can take comfort in the fact that God sends the holy angels to help and comfort us, even when we are not aware. His sovereign care of His people, His Son’s Bride, is magnificent and perpetual. Angels are an interesting part of His creation, and we will see them one day! What a day that will be.