Good Morning!
Today’s header photo is from Janice.
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Quote of the Day
“The bigger the game, the better I liked it. Not that I was about to let anybody know I was excited. I approached every game the same way. One pitch, one hitter at a time.”
Catfish Hunter
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Jars of Clay, for no apparent reason. From Air1
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Wandering Views 
The day has barely started and I am already tired.
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Good morning, all!
Sometimes lately it seems we live in a rain forest. And, yes, the red clay has washed on our driveway from the wheat straw covered bank. I am doubting the seed got to take root. How long before I should see grass sprouting? I have plans to plant something else if the Lord is willing.
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The ladies in WMU are putting together bags filled with toiletries for a missions trip of another WMU group. Supplies were put into gallon ziplock bags. Last night I heard Miss Bosley playing with plastic and I thought she was playing with her favorite wrapping over a case of water bottles but it was the mission trip bag she had in her paws.
BKM, Bad Kitty Moment. I had to get a new ziplock bag to transfer items to since the old bag had little prickled places all over it.
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Where is Chas? At the Y I assume.
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Janice guessed correctly.
Luke tells us the two disciples were waling to Emmaus and Jesus appeared to them. That’s all we know. I have always assumed that they were men because Luke would have mentioned if one was a wife of Clophas. Luke does that.
Phos, I was 32 before I got my first permanent full time job. It works out.
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Chas and Peter, thank you for commenting on my post from yesterday. Jo, I’m glad it wasn’t my church as well! I’m still very bothered by it. Yes, Peter, Cleopas’ wife is what he said. And he didn’t say ” some people think, or it may have been” he just stated it as fact!
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Kare, I know you feel like that Pastor and worship team wasted a big opportunity to make a GOOD difference for Christ. I was saddened to read about that inappropriate service. In fact, it probably needs to be called a ‘disservice’ to the attendees and especially to God.
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Karen, much of Twitter is used for linking to other longer posts. Since my phone does not often allow linking, I am not getting caught up in heated discussions.
I do understand your difficulty in holding back from commenting on YF posts. I would be torn, too. You feel like if you don’t say anything it is taken as being cowed down or accepting of what was posted. Also you hope to still have some input to daughter’s life. It is a testy place to be. But is the test of God or from the evil one? Jesus answered testing by the devil with Scripture. God wants us to find ways to answer testing by Him with love. Love is His way.
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Love the flowers! We had nearly an inch of rain yesterday and are rejoicing, even as California itself starts to really fight about water (the history of California, particularly southern California).
I’m feeling like a normal person again, even though each conversation with my children demonstrates how boring I am, “so, what’s new, Mom?”
Not much.
What a relief!
Well, it’s back to yet another pass through Poppy–my Scottish reader came back with a page of corrections and so I go through it yet again. He also wants me to “warm up” Oswald and Biddy so I’ll add contractions and make them sound less formal. That’s not hard.
Started teaching on Angels yesterday. Interesting. I don’t think they have haloes and only the seraphim appear to have wings. I started them off with a quiz to show how crazy the ideas are in society about angels and how much they really already know. I’ll post it next.
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Angel Quiz
General
1. Why can angels fly?
2. Name of a TV series featuring angels.
3. What happens when a bell rings?
4. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
5. Name of the angel in “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
6. Name of a motorcycle riding group.
7. What summer wine is made of, along with “strawberries, cherries and . . . “.
8. 70’s TV series featuring women with beautiful hair.
9. Shelly Fabres sang about this angel in the 50’s.
10. Another name for “angel kisses”.
11. Where you can find angels in a Disney film.
12. Number of times angel or angels are mentioned in Strong’s Concordance.
13. What is “a midnight fantasy” according to one 60’s singer?
14. Current name for the City of our Queen Mother of the Angels.
15. Frank Peretti’s first book about angels.
Religious
16. Meaning of the word angel.
17. Name the man whose ass refused to budge when he saw an angel.
18. What is guarded by the angel with a flaming sword?
19. Common response of an angel when first seen by humans in the New Testament.
20. Name an archangel.
21. Name of the angel who appeared to Mary.
22. Who is a fallen angel?
23. The Angel of the Lord appeared to this man in a flame of fire in a bush.
24. This man was struck dumb by the Angel Gabriel because he doubted what Gabriel said.
25. Two angels visited this man in Sodom.
26. An angel spoke to this woman and her child in the wilderness.
27. An Angel of the Lord spent a lot of time talking with this man’s parents about being a Nazarene.
28. The Angel of the Lord encamps around whom?
29. Which archangel battles dragons, along with other angels?
30. How many angels blow trumpets in the book of Revelations?
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Walter Wangerin (I think it was him) wrote a great big fat fiction-based-on-fact book called The Book of God. I got it years ago because I was assigned to review it for a magazine. It was kind of an odd mix, because nearly all of the book was based on true stories told in Scripture, woven together so that the story line flowed. (You saw that Abraham was “grandpa” to his grandchildren, for example, saw him as a real person.) For the most part what was fictionalized was just details–he’d make up that this character was a redhead, for example, or he’d tell us what someone had for breakfast. But two or three stories were simply made up, and I found that jarring in a book where 98% of the stories were stories from Scripture. For example, he made up (or took from an extrabiblical source?) a story of Jesus returning to visit the woman at the well, and from a distance she saw him and went running to hug him, only she was too enthusiastic and as she hugged him her momentum knocked both of them down, and they fell on the ground laughing. Um, sorry, Jesus didn’t stay with “protocol” in talking with her, but that story is way too far removed from the way a woman of that day would have interacted with a rabbi!
Anyway, in that book, another made-up detail is that the two disciples were Cleopas and his wife. I found it an interesting twist, but unlikely. That may well be where the pastor got the idea, and he might not even realize that’s where he got it, rather than from Scripture or a scholarly source. You know, things like that can sink into your brain and you forget where you “learned” it bu you just “know” it is true. (How many people will say as though it’s fact that Adam and Eve ate an apple, that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, or that it was three wise men who came to see Jesus?)
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Knowing when and what to post of fb is difficult, since it is a public forum. PUBLIC in a way we have not seen before. It is easy to assume those you are directing the comments to are the ones seeing it, when, in fact, it is many others as well. That leads to the likelihood of throwing pearls before swine. It also leads to a lot of misunderstanding, since people have all kinds of different experiences and levels of maturity etc. I struggle with it myself.
OTOH, to always remain silent on very important issues is to leave the impression that ‘everyone’ thinks a certain way, which is untrue. It is also to not help others see another way of viewing the issues.
Everything is to be said with love, but what does that mean? Jesus is our example and he did not ignore or promote sin. It takes a lot of prayer and renewing our minds with scripture to even begin to know what to ‘share’ or how to speak on this very influential space. No doubt we will make mistakes.
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Michelle, I’m not sure about #30 but otherwise I know all in the second section and less than half of the ones in the first section.
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Hi, all. Just popped in to say hi and post in the prayer section.
Good teaching about angels is important because there is so much false teaching. Angels must be horrified by the number of people who seem to put their faith in them rather than in God.
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We didn’t get a lot of rain, unfortunately. Story of our lives. Lots of buildup to maybe what was 1/2 inch? Maybe there was more in the mountains where we also were supposed to get snow.
Still, any little bit helps …
It’s back to work for me today with a lot of catch-up to do since I’m off again on Friday to go to the pet expo. It sure has felt good just to be “away” from it all for a while.
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I understand that we have some former Roman Catholics among us and I understand that most of us aren’t liturgical, but I love what this woman writes and sometimes she sticks a needle in my eye. This is worth the read–just substitute church in general and sermon wherever you see anything too Catholicky.
http://www.thelittlestway.com/what-hurts-the-most-easter-revelation/
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On the angels quiz, i knew a lot in the last portion and not so much in the first portion, like Cheryl.
Michelle, have you seen anything on the star at Jesus’ birth being an angel? I believe I had at one time a little book about angels by David Jeremiah and that was one thought perhaps speculated on. Your thoughts?
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Karen, I was doing Bible study and had your situation rambling in the back of my mind. In the study some folks were going to miss Passover because of being ceremonially unclean or out of town for a funeral. Moses consulted God and found they could do Passover celebration later. I then thought about in your situation you need to keep your thoughts to yourself biding the time until it is God’s time. I think YF is full of herself because things are going well for her right now. She will be more open to God’s truth when she finds out her own puffed up thinking on God’s word is not a true and steady foundation. When God’s time arrives, your daughter will witness the crumbling and that will speak the truth of God’s word by her own experience with false beliefs.
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The Bible speaks of Cherubim and Seraphim as separate beings. Both have wings. Unless you believe Angels is one of these, (which I don’t) there is no indication that Angels have wings. Popular culture (as in the “general” category) assumes lots of things that are not correct.
So? How does an angel get there? He appears there. In Acts 12, an angel appeared to Peter in prison and delivered him. I have heard people talk about Jesus “passing through the closed doors after His resurrection”. He didn’t pass through anything. He appeared there, just as he appeared to the disciples on the Emmaus road.
My assessment. Angels don’t have wings.
No Angel appeared to Moses in a burning bush. I AM appeared to him. An angel has power, but there is no indication that he can bestow spiritual gifts such as Moses had.
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Despite not getting much rain, we did get some rare freezing warnings here and there in the area — and it was awfully cold at the dog park near sundown last night and everyone was bundled up. “Buffalo,” the realtor who moved to LA from NY years ago to escape the winters, was due to board a plane around midnight for a 10-day visit to Belize, where he’s pretty much decided to retire now that California is also too cold for him. 🙂 Especially at the dog park.
He said it’ll be 85 degrees there when he arrives early today …
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Okay, her’s my attempt to ace the angel quiz.
1. Why can angels fly? A- because they have wings
2. Name of a TV series featuring angels. A- “Touched by an Angel” (one of my father-in-law’s favorite shows)
3. What happens when a bell rings? A- An angel gets his wings.
4. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? A- Too many to count.
5. Name of the angel in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. A- Clyde?
6. Name of a motorcycle riding group. A- Hell’s Angels
7. What summer wine is made of, along with “strawberries, cherries and . . . “. A- No clue
8. 70’s TV series featuring women with beautiful hair. A- Charlie’s Angels
9. Shelly Fabres sang about this angel in the 50’s. A- Teen angel
10. Another name for “angel kisses”. A- no clue- butterfly kisses?
11. Where you can find angels in a Disney film. A- in the outfield
12. Number of times angel or angels are mentioned in Strong’s Concordance. A- No clue-150?
13. What is “a midnight fantasy” according to one 60’s singer? A- No clue
14. Current name for the City of our Queen Mother of the Angels. A- Los Angeles
15. Frank Peretti’s first book about angels. A- I read it, but can’t remember the title.
Religious
16. Meaning of the word angel. A- messenger?
17. Name the man whose ass refused to budge when he saw an angel. A- Balaam
18. What is guarded by the angel with a flaming sword? A- The Garden of Eden
19. Common response of an angel when first seen by humans in the New Testament. A- Bow down to worship.
20. Name an archangel. A- Michael and Gabriel
21. Name of the angel who appeared to Mary. A- Gabriel
22. Who is a fallen angel? A- Lucifer
23. The Angel of the Lord appeared to this man in a flame of fire in a bush. A- Moses
24. This man was struck dumb by the Angel Gabriel because he doubted what Gabriel said. A- John the Baptist’s father (Eleazar?)
25. Two angels visited this man in Sodom. A- Lot
26. An angel spoke to this woman and her child in the wilderness. A- Hagar
27. An Angel of the Lord spent a lot of time talking with this man’s parents about being a Nazarene. A- An angel talked to Samson’s parents about being a Nazirite, but I don’t recall this in relation to a Nazarene, unless the question refers to Joseph and Mary.
28. The Angel of the Lord encamps around whom? A- the faithful?
29. Which archangel battles dragons, along with other angels? A- Micheal?
30. How many angels blow trumpets in the book of Revelations? A- no clue, since there is no book of “Revelations” in the Bible. But in the Book of the Revelation, there are 7 angels who blow trumpets.
I know more about pop-culture than I thought I did! And I know I nit-pick on 27 and 30, but whoever wrote the quiz should have done a little more homework.
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We’re getting a lot of rain today and for the next two days. We are even in the area that’s supposed to get severe storms later today and tomorrow.
Oh, and the weather lady this weekend said (both days) “We had a great weather forecast today!”. How can the weather we had be a “forecast”? She meant great weather, I am sure, but the forecast was for great weather.
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Cheryl, your comment about The Book of God reminded me that this week I was in a store that had three copies of The Story in the fiction section. I pointed out to the clerk that the Bible did not belong in the fiction section. I know the title, The Story, is meant to sound appealing to seekers, but I hope it does not lead some to consider it to be fiction!
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You’re right, of course, Chas, cherubim have wings. I haven’t finished the study yet! 🙂
IVP Lifeguide Bible study. I did read Billy Graham’s book about angels on my trip but didn’t glean much from it other than we need to worship God–which is part of the point of angels, see seraphim–NOT angels.
Created beings, just like us only different. 1/3 fell with Lucifer. Not sure what, exactly, that means yet but someone pointed out yesterday that if 1/3 of the angels were bad angels, that’s an awful lot of bad angels out there misdirecting folks. And I bet they enjoy being worshipped.
I tried to pull a picture of what a seraphim might look like off the Internet, but it was all totally new agey so I decided to let my ladies figure it out themselves.
The woman sitting next to me said, “they sound like some sort of gigantic insect. That’s okay. I like insects!”
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Wasn’t that angel’s name Clarence, not Clyde?
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Janice- That’s why I put the ? in my answer, because I only remember it began with Cl-.
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Donna
“He said it’ll be 85 degrees there when he arrives early today …”
One of the main reasons we moved to Crescent City! It is a rare day when it gets to 80. We don’t like coming south to LA when it is 80 or higher. Too hot! We have not turned on the air conditioner (heat pump) in 6 years.
You can always put on more clothes but you can only take off some much.
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Yep Clarence. And the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him. I saw a couple of others, too.
And I should have known “Charlie’s Angels” and one or two of the other pop culture references, but I was without a TV and onlyt vaguely aware of the existence of those shows, not enough for the descriptions to mean anything. This Present Darkness was one I hadn’t thought of earlier, because I wasn’t thinking of those books as being about angels, but of course they were.
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A cool engagement story: http://www.juno-news.com/news/read/category/Strange/article/the_associated_press-burger_king_to_pay_for_the_wedding_of_mr_burger_ms-ap
Yep, it’s a PR stunt, but it’s still cool.
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I once submitted this bit orf wisdom to people attending public functions:
Remember:
1. The mic is always hot. Never say anything you don’t want repeated on TV.
2. During the speech, the camera is always on you. If you doze off, or speak to someone, it is you they will be showing.
Now. Another bit of wisdom for police officers, teachers parents of small children and anyone that may be affected by this.
1. There is always a movie camera recording what you are doing.
I have a movie camera, and so do most of you.
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Bob, it’s so funny to listen to the wide differences among people’s weather preferences. Just at the dog park last night we had people loving the cold, hating the cold. The NY guy shivers when it gets into the 60s and can’t wait to live in a place where it’s never out of the 80s or above.
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I agreed with Peter so didn’t change his answers except on the ones capitalized.
1. Why can angels fly? A- because they have wings
2. Name of a TV series featuring angels. A- “Touched by an Angel” (one of my father-in-law’s favorite shows)
3. What happens when a bell rings? A- An angel gets his wings.
4. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? A- Too many to count.
5. Name of the angel in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. A- CLARENCE
6. Name of a motorcycle riding group. A- Hell’s Angels
7. What summer wine is made of, along with “strawberries, cherries and . . .AN ANGELS KISS IN SPRINGs
8. 70’s TV series featuring women with beautiful hair. A- Charlie’s Angels
9. Shelly Fabres sang about this angel in the 50’s. A- don’t know
10. Another name for “angel kisses”. – butterfly kisses?
11. Where you can find angels in a Disney film. A- in the outfield
12. Number of times angel or angels are mentioned in Strong’s Concordance. A- No clue-150?
13. What is “a midnight fantasy” according to one 60’s singer?DREAM ANGEL?
14. Current name for the City of our Queen Mother of the Angels. A- Los Angeles
15. Frank Peretti’s first book about angels. A- I read it, but can’t remember the title.
Religious
16. Meaning of the word angel. A- messenger?
17. Name the man whose ass refused to budge when he saw an angel. A- Balaam
18. What is guarded by the angel with a flaming sword? A- The Garden of Eden
19. Common response of an angel when first seen by humans in the New Testament. A- Bow down to worship.
20. Name an archangel. A- Michael and Gabriel
21. Name of the angel who appeared to Mary. A- Gabriel
22. Who is a fallen angel? A- Lucifer
23. The Angel of the Lord appeared to this man in a flame of fire in a bush.
24. This man was struck dumb by the Angel Gabriel because he doubted what Gabriel said. A- John the Baptist’s father (Eleazar?)
25. Two angels visited this man in Sodom. A- Lot
26. An angel spoke to this woman and her child in the wilderness. A- Hagar
27. An Angel of the Lord spent a lot of time talking with this man’s parents about being a Nazarene. A- An angel talked to Samson’s parents about being a Nazirite, but I don’t recall this in relation to a Nazarene, unless the question refers to Joseph and Mary.
28. The Angel of the Lord encamps around whom? A- the faithful?
29. Which archangel battles dragons, along with other angels? A- Micheal?
30. How many angels blow trumpets in the book of Revelations? A- no clue, since there is no book of “Revelations” in the Bible. But in the Book of the Revelation, there are 7 angels who blow trumpets.
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Shelley Fabres….Johnny Angel….I loved that song when I was little and I thought “Mary Stone” was so pretty….. with perfect posture! 🙂
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Peter, I did not remember Clarence until you gave me the C, LOL! It’s a senior thing. We remember our A,B,Cs if we are among the fortunate!
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Roscuro, from last night: Thank you. 😉
Regarding angels, I don’t know nearly as much about them as I should, but I studied them briefly in a Bible study lots of years ago. As far as references to “the angel of the Lord,” my understanding is that sometimes that is a reference to an angel, and sometimes it is actually the Lord who is being referred to.
Don’t ask me to tell you which references are which — I don’t remember that much!
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I see there is only one question not answered in the angel quiz:
24. John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah.
Home again. Youngest sibling is on stronger meds but can still breastfeed. She needs rest, so I will probably be helping out tomorrow. Just taking care of the two little ones made me thankful that you only usually get ’em one at a time and have time to get used to it before the next one comes along 🙂 But they were a joy anyway. Baby Niece gave me lovely smiles and coo’s when she wasn’t crying for food or sleeping, and Little Niece was as good as gold. She is starting to say words and she says my name in the sweetest little voice.
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On angels, I remember when my old pastor preached through Hebrews, he talked about how the writer was showing how Christ was greater than all those who the Jews venerated (Moses, the high priest, etc.). He mentioned in chapters 1 and 2, that the Jews venerated angels, in a similar way to how Catholics venerate saints (that is perhaps why the pool of Bethesda was such an attraction – John 5:4). The pastor also, when he preached through I Peter, pointed out that the angels, while they cooperate in God’s plan, do not fully understand it – I Peter 1:12: “Which thing the angels desire to look into.” I agree with 6 Arrows, the Angel of the Lord is sometimes a manifestation of God himself. I remember hearing that the appearances to Jacob (wrestling), Joshua, Samson’s parents, and Gideon were probably pre-incarnation appearances of Christ.
Through my own readings, the seraphim are the four creatures with six wings and four heads with wheels full of eyes, that appear around God’s throne in: Isaiah (chapter 6) who calls them seraphim; Ezekiel (1,10) who calls them cherubim; and John in Revelation (4) who calls them beasts. There are slight differences between each description, but all of them describe the six wings, the eyes in some context, and the four faces – their difference are probably due to the fact that angels are confusing to humans and so everyone sees them a little differently. I wonder if Moses saw them, since he made the Ark and Tabernacle after a heavenly pattern, and there were images of cherubim (Exodus 37:6-9) on the Ark. Solomon later made large images of cherubim (I Kings 8:6:23-35) to place in the Holy of Holies and also made reliefs of cherubim on the Temple walls. The use of the two different names may be due to the fact that the seraphim is descriptive of something fiery and flying – “their appearance was like burning coals of fire (Ezekiel 1:13); while cherubim seems to be their proper name. The cherubim first appear of course, in the third chapter of Genesis – they are the guardians of the Garden of Eden after the Fall.
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KarenO, I sent you an email an hour ago, but our computer was not working well, so I wasn’t sure if it went through. I’m at the library now, and I see the email is shown in my Sent files, rather than my drafts, so I think you got it. I hope, anyway.
6 arrows
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You guys are all scholars of angelology!
1. The can fly because they have wings and “take themselves lightly.”
10 Angel kisses= birth marks
12 Strong’s Concordance 186+
13. Earth Angel.
Interesting points about seraphim and cherubim being the same, Roscuro. I’ll have to think on to that a little more.
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I made a slight error – Isaiah doesn’t mention the eyes, but he mentions them crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” which John also mentions, and both John and Ezekiel mention the eyes. I also remembered that Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-15) was a cherub – Ezekiel 28:11-19 is a prophecy against the king of Tyre, but like the Isaiah prophecy against the king of Babylon where Lucifer is mentioned, Ezekiel addresses the power behind the king and identifies that power as a cherub: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth…”
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Hmm, just checking my facts further, and I realized that the cherubim are described as having only four wings in Ezekiel, so perhaps they are different – but John’s and Isaiah’s description does seem to be describing the same creatures.
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Michelle – Shouldn’t #13 be Undercover Angel? “Undercover angel, midnight fantasy…”
I was pleased to get most of both sections correct.
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6 Arrows – By now, you already know I’ve seen your email, & replied to it, so I’m just posting this so others won’t think I’m ignoring you. 🙂
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🙂
And I am posting this so no one thinks I’m ignoring anyone if I “disappear” from here for a while — my computer today has frequently sounded like it was going to blow up. If it does, I’ll probably be a now-and-then poster-from-the-library for a while. 😉
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Beautiful header photo, BTW, Janice. 🙂
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So the father of John the Baptist was Zechariah. Of course! At least I knew it was a name with ‘z’ in it!
Oh, Kim- So your father-in-law used to like “Touched by an Angel” also? 😉
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Yes, beautiful flowers in the header today, very “spring.”
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