5. The Angel Armies


5. The Angel Armies



"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation … and all the angels shouted for joy?"
—Job 38:4, 7


Since the Bible states that the angels were witnesses to the creation, many Bible scholars assume they were created outside of time (before Day One). The Hebrew word for angel is Malak (the term I use for angels in CoT), which means messenger.

Over 200 times throughout the Bible, God is referred to as Yehovah tsaba', often translated "the Lord of hosts." According to Blue Letter Bible, hosts means: army, war, warfare, host of organised army. So Eugene Patterson's translation of the Bible, The Message, is spot on when it translates Yehovah tsaba' as God of the Angel Armies, a phrase in the popular CCM song:

Whom Shall I Fear? by Chris Tomlin
I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of Angel Armies
Is always by my side.

A few decades ago, angles were portrayed as little babies with wings. Today, angels are often portrayed as fierce warriors. And while this is a definite improvement, some of them are still not what we normally envision.

Biblical Classes of Angels:

1) Cherubim—examples include Lucifer, the two angels who guarded the entrance to the garden in Eden, and likely it is they that make up the armies as Michael and his angels fight Lucifer and his angels.

2) Seraphim—they possess 3 sets of wings and sing to God in the throne room (in CoT, these are female, though the Bible implies all angels are genderless).

3) "Locusts"—since the description of these locusts resembles that of winged centaurs with scorpion tails that is how I portray them in CoT.
4) Ophanim—though described in Ezekiel as the wheels of God's chariot, they are actual beings in the Book of Enoch (a book not recognized as scripture, but none the less a text held in high esteem by scripture writers, including Jesus' own brother, Jude, who quotes it in the Bible). The Bible tells us there are four angels from an unknown class chained beneath the Euphrates, so in CoT, I have deemed these four from the class of Ophanim.

No reason is given for this unusual punishment, but the Bible does tell us they lead an army of creatures which resemble a cross between the chimera and the manticore of mythology. More on them on our next post.

Photo Credit: 7 Angels: Adobe Stock / Chris Tomlin / Centaur © JC Lamont


Are you familiar with the song, Whom Shall I Fear?
Has this post (or reading Primordium) changed your perspective of the title, God of Angel Armies?
Share your thoughts at the
Blogging His Story Facebook Page!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6. Heaven's Bestiary

Image
6. Heaven's Bestiary The Bible (and thus The Chronicles of Time) has an amazing bestiary. Most of these creatures are mentioned only in the Apocalypse of John (Revelation), but some are mentioned in the Old Testament as well. 1) Four Living Creatures—in the Bible, these creatures make an appearance in God's throne room, though in CoT they are gargoyle-like creatures that guard the throne room doors. 2) Horses of Fire—in 2 Kings, these are the mounts the angels ride. In CoT, they are not actually made of fire, but have coats of metallic amber with golden manes and tails that give the impression of flaming horses, especially when in motion. They also have a shimmering aura so to a mortal, they would appear to be like fire even when standing still. They also have wings, since they fly from heaven to earth and back again. 3) White Horse—the Bible says Jesus makes his return on a white horse, Again, since this horse flies from heaven to earth, in CoT, it is a pegasus. Actually, I ma...
Read more

23. Breath of Life

Image
23. Breath of Life Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.  — Genesis 2:7 The word soul in Hebrew is nephes h, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being.” Man did not become a living soul until God breathed life into him. In Genesis 6:17, "breath" in the phrase "breath of life" is the Hebrew word ruwach, which means “wind, breath, air, spirit.” It is the word translated all throughout the Old Testament in the phrase the Spirit of God , and in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) as well as the New Testament, it is the word translated in the phrase Holy Spirit . Photo Credit: Copyright © Bill Osborne . Used with Permission. / Video: Great Are You Lord by Casting Crowns.
Read more

3. The Lamb who was Slain

Image
3. The Lamb who was Slain "I saw a Lamb...as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes...slain from the foundation of the world." —Apocalypse 5:6, 13:8 Why does a chronological Bible study start with the last book of the Bible? Strange as it may seem, it is the Bible that is not chronological (that's why there are so many Chronological Bibles on the market). However, even those—as far as I know—don't start in Revelation (a.k.a Apocalypse) with the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. But that is precisely where His story begins, and thus it is where this blog (and The Chronicles of Time ) starts. So who killed the lamb? Well, who killed Jesus? Roman soldiers? The Jews? Pilate? Caiaphas and the rest of the Sanhedrin? Nope. According to the Bible, Jesus was killed by his Father. Bluntly put, God killed him. "God did not spare his own Son but gave him up [to be killed]." (Romans 8:32) . As the International Standard Version puts i...
Read more