Ok, so here's the story in full. Last year on a theological panel
J.P. Moreland said something to the effect of, "I am more sure that there are three angels surrounding me than I am sure that George W. Bush is President." But then he didn't really follow that up with anything and left me hanging for the last year wondering what he was talking about.
One of my goals for this year at the National Pastors Convention was to get the change to ask him what he meant by that and sure enough Chip and I bumped into him last week and got to talking. I asked him about it and this is what he said.
He said that he was preaching in Seattle some time ago now when after the service a woman came up to him and hesitantly told him that while he was preaching she saw that there were three angels surrounding him. One to his left, one to his right, and one behind him who was taller than the rest. He immediately thought that maybe this woman needed attention or was a little nuts so he asked the pastor about her. It turns out that this woman was a very godly lady who was a leader in their church. He still remained skeptical and didn't think much of it for the time being.
He said a while later he was really going through a difficult time in life and was praying. In light of the challenges in his life he prayed a prayer he said he had never prayed before. He asked God that if these angels were real that He would bring them back to help him and that he would receive confirmation that they were there for him.
A few weeks later, about three days after teaching a class on metaphysics he received an email from a credible Grad student who said he felt silly emailing this but had talked to three other grad students to make sure he wasn't crazy. He stated in the email that he hoped Moreland wouldn't find him nuts and that he even rubbed his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't imagining something or hallucinating. But during that class he said he saw three angels with J.P., one on each side, and one that was taller behind him just as the woman had said in Seattle. The student even sketched out what he saw which Moreland still has at home.
Moreland was kind of dumbstruck sense he had never told anyone about the angel incident in Seattle, nor about his prayer. With all three of these things coming together he said it was beyond a reasonable doubt that these angels were real and were really present with him at times. He said he's never experienced the angels in any way but was encouraged to know that God had confirmed that He was with him.
I have no reason to disbelieve J.P. Moreland and with two unrelated eye-witnesses and a prayer asking for confirmation it's fairly convincing. I believe angels are real but are much different than the Hallmark angels. Plus it can get kind of dangerous when we start seeking out angels when we should be seeking God, but here you have it! After a year my brain can finally rest!
I've been reading some history of Russian Orthodoxy and am amazed at how many myths have been developed through the ages in Russia. They are very creative storytellers and it is difficult to tell fact from fiction many times. They had a tendency to raise questions and if no one had a good answer, they would simply fill in the blanks. This is one of those stories! (which is NOT one of the stories where it is hard to tell whether it is fact or fiction...)
