And your evidence is....? Never mind, it was a rhetorical question. I realize that you base your entire belief system on biblical mythology. Gods are human constructs to which humans perceive the need to appeal to or appease. And the Christian religion, which pretends to be monotheistic has an entire pantheon of gods. As I said, Satan and each of the above mentioned deities are all a part of the Christian pantheon. Just think of all the people that pray to specific saints. I bet Mary has as many direct appeals to her divinity than even Yahweh.
Just correcting your bad theology. Praying to dead people is wrong, you can't even contact 'em anyway.
I have no "theology." But I agree with your sentiment about praying to dead people. I just take it further and don't bother with it at all.
Watch Medium or Ghost Whisperer to find out. (I need help.... I'm addicted to both these programmes...! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!)
There is no reference to Raphael in the Old or New Testament. The only angels listed by name are: Michael, Gabriel and of course Lucifer (or Satan as he is later referred to). Scripturally it is clear that until his fall, Lucifer was the chief and thereafter that position is held by Michael. Gabriel is used for imparting very important news to humans such as to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist and of course to Mary. Gabriel says to Zachariah, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God...' This would appear to make him a very important character. Beyond that the heirarchy of angels is simply conjecture and the one you refer to is simply one of many different ones. None of this is important to the message of scripture. God is He who was, is and ever shall be, the Lord of all. There is none else who always was and always will be. Angels are created spiritual beings. People are created physical beings. There are indications that people have a status greater than angels (as have been quoted elsewhere). The fact that God came to live as a human certainly shows the great love of God for people but I think that too much concentration on the idea of people being of higher status than angels could be most unhelpful if not distracting. When we die and are resurrected, we are resurrected with spiritual bodies. Exactly what that means (other than they are not physical) is not clear and again can only be conjectural. It is not important. It is with whom we are that is important not what we are like! None of this has anything to do with the second coming except where certain characters are specifically mentioned such as Michael and Satan. From a scriptural point of view and of relevance to people in the present, is that Satan is only an angel (a created being). Power wise he can therefore only be on a par with angels. There is no contest between God and Satan. God is outside of Satan's league and everything must take place in accordance with God's ultimate plan. Satan is a bit like Hitler in the last days in the Bunker. He can continue to do his worst for a limited time but he cannot win. He just does not have the power. Regards, Gordon.
I got the information about Raphael from newadvent.com. Feel free to contact them about it. Actually, nothing is clear about Lucifer in the scriptures. At no point in the bible is Lucifer said to be chief. The same Gabriel that appeared to Muhammad? Not God, his son Jesus. Jesus is a separate conscious entity from God. Yes, spiritual bodies with no soul since the soul is the body. Who's to say Michael or Gabriel won't turn on God as well. They have free wills like Lucifer, don't they?
