LightofTruth
Well-Known Member
What does "appeared" mean? "Appear" is the opposite of "disappear" and that is what they did. They materialized and dematerialized at will. God's law forbade communication with spirits....at times, materialized angels ate and drank like humans....spirits don't do that.
Actually, there were times after Jesus' resurrection when the body he materialized to his disciples, wasn't recognized by them. On one occasion when he was dining with them, he simply disappeared before their eyes. They identified him by the way he broke the bread. On other occasions he had wounds visible to convince his disciples that it was him, and on others, there is no mention of them.
John 21:9-12 says....
"When they came ashore, they saw there a charcoal fire with fish lying on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them: “Bring some of the fish you just now caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went on board and hauled the net ashore full of big fish, 153 of them. And though there were so many, the net did not burst. 12 Jesus said to them: “Come, have your breakfast.” Not one of the disciples had the courage to ask him: “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord."
They had spent the last three and half years in close company with Jesus and they needed to ask "who are you"? He was resurrected as a spirit, (1 Peter 3:18) but never did God's faithful angels or Jesus appear to his earthly servants as apparitions. Unless it was a vision, (as with the transfiguration) they were always in material, human form. Gabriel appeared as a man, to Daniel and to Mary and also to Zechariah concerning the birth of John the Baptist.
Perhaps you need to study the Bible a bit more...because that is not what the Bible says. Angels who abuse their free will like satan, become rebel spirits, whom the Bible identifies as demons. Angels can sin just as humans can, but because they are more powerful, their capacity for evil is magnified....it gives deeper meaning to the word "inhuman" when applied to certain actions that go against normal human thinking or behavior. "Inhuman" means "not human" and demonstrates demonic influence over those humans who can be led into that "inhuman" level of evil.
But for the majority of the angels, love for their God and loyal obedience to his commands keeps those faithful ones in good standing. The whole scenario in Eden is as much about the faithfulness of the angels as it is about us humans. We are all under test.
Living forever doesn't necessarily mean being immortal. An immortal cannot die, and yet Jesus came to earth from heaven and lived and died as a mortal. He relied on his God and Father to restore his life by resurrection. He was a spirit before he came to earth and returned to heaven as a spirit.
In the beginning, human beings could have continued living unless they disobeyed their God. Access to the "tree of life" is what would have kept humans alive forever. But after they disobeyed, God barred access to that source of unending life. Death was the result.
Jesus clearly stated the fate of satan and his angels.
"Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Go away from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:9)
I believe that you are mistaken....
It is you who needs to study the Scripture. Like I said, angels are NEVER said to materialize. The scripture teaches in many places that it is mans eyes that are opened to see the angels and NEVER does it teach that they materialize. It is you who are mistaken.