We have seen that angels, and thus demons likewise, are created beings that really exist and at times may even be seen by people, as God chooses. Now it is time to begin discussing what we know, and perhaps don’t know, about these unique spiritual beings. When writing a fictional series on angels and demons, like the Unseen Dominion series, it is important to be true to what is known about the spiritual world, while allowing for creativity and speculation in what is unknown.
In my books, I have speculated on what the interaction and warfare between angels, demons, humans, and even God, may look like. Is what I’ve portrayed accurate? Most probably not. But hopefully, as we look at what is known, you will develop an appreciation for what I’ve presented as at least feasible. For example, we already saw on Tuesday, with Elisha’s servant, that the angelic host appeared with horses and chariots of fire covering the mountain. This has a humanish feel to it. Their battle, at least as seen by this servant, looked much like a human battle. So, I chose to have my battle scenes portrayed this way as well.
One aspect that I struggled with was the movement of angels and demons in space. How fast can angels move? Can they instantaneously teleport themselves from one location to another? Why, for instance, would it take an army from Denver days to march to Arrow Springs in Missouri? This had me wondering if my story line from In The Image of Man was believable. Perhaps you have wondered the same thing. But, look at this passage from the book of Daniel.
Don't be afraid, Daniel," he said to me, "for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:12-13)
This angel took twenty-some days to reach Daniel. We are told earlier that Daniel was at the Tigris River. Today, it would take roughly a day or two to drive from anywhere in what was the Persian Empire to the Tigris. So, regardless of the speed at which angels can move, it is certainly feasible to portray them as taking time to travel from one location to another. Unlike God, angels are not omnipresent. It would seem they are limited to being in a single location at any given time. Now, how this relates to traveling from Heaven to locations on Earth that is a wholly different subject. One I am not going to even attempt to speculate on at this moment.
Another, very famous, passage which also communicates this limitation of angels is found in the first chapter of Luke:
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. (Luke 1:26)
Notice that Gabriel, the only other named angel in the Bible besides Michael, was sent by God to Nazareth. Wherever Gabriel was when God told him to go to Nazareth, he had to change locations to be in Nazareth, where he shared the world-altering news of the coming Christ-child with Mary.
Check out how what we’ve learned so far, about the heavenly host, plays into this excerpt from In The Image of Man.
Ladan led his battalion of angelic warriors east across the states of Colorado and Kansas. They reached the Missouri River at Atchison. Atop his steed, in a small amphitheater paying tribute to the veterans of past American wars, he gazed north at the flawless formation of angelic warriors ready to give themselves for the cause of their Creator. – In The Image of Man
In my books, I have speculated on what the interaction and warfare between angels, demons, humans, and even God, may look like. Is what I’ve portrayed accurate? Most probably not. But hopefully, as we look at what is known, you will develop an appreciation for what I’ve presented as at least feasible. For example, we already saw on Tuesday, with Elisha’s servant, that the angelic host appeared with horses and chariots of fire covering the mountain. This has a humanish feel to it. Their battle, at least as seen by this servant, looked much like a human battle. So, I chose to have my battle scenes portrayed this way as well.
One aspect that I struggled with was the movement of angels and demons in space. How fast can angels move? Can they instantaneously teleport themselves from one location to another? Why, for instance, would it take an army from Denver days to march to Arrow Springs in Missouri? This had me wondering if my story line from In The Image of Man was believable. Perhaps you have wondered the same thing. But, look at this passage from the book of Daniel.
Don't be afraid, Daniel," he said to me, "for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:12-13)
This angel took twenty-some days to reach Daniel. We are told earlier that Daniel was at the Tigris River. Today, it would take roughly a day or two to drive from anywhere in what was the Persian Empire to the Tigris. So, regardless of the speed at which angels can move, it is certainly feasible to portray them as taking time to travel from one location to another. Unlike God, angels are not omnipresent. It would seem they are limited to being in a single location at any given time. Now, how this relates to traveling from Heaven to locations on Earth that is a wholly different subject. One I am not going to even attempt to speculate on at this moment.
Another, very famous, passage which also communicates this limitation of angels is found in the first chapter of Luke:
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. (Luke 1:26)
Notice that Gabriel, the only other named angel in the Bible besides Michael, was sent by God to Nazareth. Wherever Gabriel was when God told him to go to Nazareth, he had to change locations to be in Nazareth, where he shared the world-altering news of the coming Christ-child with Mary.
Check out how what we’ve learned so far, about the heavenly host, plays into this excerpt from In The Image of Man.
Ladan led his battalion of angelic warriors east across the states of Colorado and Kansas. They reached the Missouri River at Atchison. Atop his steed, in a small amphitheater paying tribute to the veterans of past American wars, he gazed north at the flawless formation of angelic warriors ready to give themselves for the cause of their Creator. – In The Image of Man
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