Angels With Different Gospels

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:8)

A couple of years ago we heard a lot about angels, of course it was a fad that we often see tear through the flock and drag away sheep with a lack of discernment. There were (and are) abundant images and talk about angels that promote these wonderful creations above what they truly are. An angel is a messenger, an envoy, a messenger from God, so if an angel preaches to you a gospel that is different from that which the Holy Spirit put forth in the pages of the scriptures, is it truly an angel? Have angels ever preached a gospel contrary to what is set in scripture?

Let's look at some angels and see what they taught;

We have all  heard the angelic doctrine "Every time a bell rights and angel gets  his wings" This of course was penned by the great theologian Frank Capra in his biblical commentary "It's A Wonderful Life". People tell us that when angels get their wings they tend to shed a few feathers. On page 78 of his book Miracles, Signs, and Wonders, Jim Murr tells tells of finding a feather on the floor of the Sunday school room and God told him it was an angel feather, and he was going to show it to his congregation but God made it disappear during the service saying "You will not merchandise my glory!" Believe me, the story gets better, full of suspense and spiritual warfare and demons and the sinners prayer. What it doesn't have is an explanation of why this particular angel had feathers. Feathered angels are a man made construct and not biblical at all.

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) loves angels. Bill Johnson of Bethel Redding thought he had angels nesting in the air conditioning ducts as feathers and gold dust fluttered down on his goats congregation. Todd Bentley has a pet angel named Emma which he got from NAR superstar Bob Jones. But it was William Branham who as a youth in 1946 had an angel appear to him in a cave and revealed all kinds of interesting things. The angel promised William the gift of "divine healing to all the nations of the earth" and that "God would use him to start a movement that would “bring on the second coming of Christ”" That movement was called the Latter Rain and it became the NAR.


I believe that it's safe to say that the whole New Age movement was started by William Branham's unnamed angel, Could that angel have been Emma? The shock wave of this angelic revelation is still echoing today as Branham's followers continue their unChristian nonsense. One follower of Branham was Oral Roberts who mentored numerous Word/Faith wolves such as Benny Hinn, Keneth Copeland and the father of the Word Faith movement Kenneth Hagin whose followers are legion.

The first of today's major religions to start with the revelation of an angel and not from God was Islam which started by a revelation by a being calling itself Gabriel. The angel Gabriel appeared in three times in the bible and each time the recipient of Gabriel's message was terrified, and each time Gabriel immediately sought to comfort the recipient. Gabriel's first mention was a meeting with Daniel (Daniel 8:15-17) just after Daniel had a terrifying vision of the end times. Gabriel was sent to help him interpret the vision. Daniel was terrified of Gabriel and fell to the ground but Gabriel's first words were to comfort Daniel.

It is important to note that the terrifying vision that Daniel had was not from Gabriel, but from God. Gabriel was sent to help Daniel interpret the vision and to comfort Daniel.

The next time we see Gabriel is when he announces to Zechariah that Elisabeth was going to bear John the Baptist (Luke 1:8-20). Zachariah was afraid of Gabriel but Gabriel's first words were "Do not be afraid" Of course Zachariah was struck dumb for not believing Gabriel, but other than that he was fine. A few months later Gabriel was telling Mary not to be afraid too, because she was going to carry Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). In all three appearances, Gabriel was met with fear, and he had to begin his conversations with words of comfort and cheer for Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary.

We do not know if the angel that appeared to Joseph in his dream was Gabriel (Matthew 1:19-14) all we know was that an angel told Joseph that Mary was bearing a son conceived of the Holy Spirit and the angel calmed Joseph.

A being that called itself Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and physically attacked him not once but three times demanding that he read something. This something eventually became part of the Koran. Mohammad was so terrified of the encounter that he begged his wife to hide him until the terror passed. He was filled with suicidal thoughts and several times climbed mountains to jump and end the terror but the being calling itself Gabriel stopped him. Never once did "Gabriel" tell Muhammad to not be afraid, in fact this being seemed to enjoy taunting Muhammad. All the while that Gabriel was visiting him, Muhammad was sure he was being demon possessed.

Think about the men of the bible who had experiences with God and His angels: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Mary, Zechariah, Joseph, Paul, even shepherds watching over their flocks - none were attacked, none were filled with fear and those that did show signs of fear were comforted, none became depressed and none attempted suicide. Several times Muhammad attempted suicide and each time the being calling itself Gabriel stopped him.

The name of the angel Gabriel has been abused by another religion:

Noah is one of God’s most notable prophets, Patriarchs, and ministering messengers. He became a second father-with adam-of all mankind following the Flood and later returned to earth as the angel Gabriel to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ (HC 3:386; TPJS, p. 157). LDS revelation has amplified what is known about Noah in the Bible.” - Encyclopedia of Mormonism pg. 1016

I was surprised to learn that the Mormons claim that Noah was converted to the angel Gabriel when I found this. Of course I also was surprised to find that the Mormons also have no qualms about "amplifying" the bible especially in the light of Proverbs 30:5-6

5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6  Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar

The angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith four times within the space of half a day, He related that he had asked God for forgiveness for his “follies” (of which included in dabbling with demonic acts such as divination) and Moroni appeared in exceedingly white robes and was actually glowing. In the first visit Moroni told Joseph Smith the location of the plates, quoted some scripture from Isaiah, Acts, and Joel in addition to giving the explanation of other scriptures that Smith claimed he wasn’t allowed to speak about. Moroni also told him about the Urim and Thummim which Smith would use for interpreting the gold plates. The catch to this first visit that night was that Smith couldn’t tell anyone.

The second visit was to tell Smith that he would be punished if he told anyone about the first visit; the punishment for this grievous act would be destruction of Smith himself. The third visit came soon after the second (which came soon after the first) With an angelic "Oh, and by the way..." Moroni forbade that Satan would try to tempt Smith with the golden plates to get rich  and Moroni “forbade” him, saying the purpose of the plates was for the glory of God and the furtherance of his kingdom. Smith says after his third visit;

“he again ascended into heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after the heavenly messenger had ascended from me the third time, the cock crowed

This is strangely similar to Luke 22:31-34 where Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism (pg. 953, 956) describes how Moroni visited Smith more than twenty times in a seven year period and during this time he tutored Smith in the “acquisition, translation and guardianship of the Book of Mormon plates”. Of course after translating the golden plates Smith said he returned the plates to the angel but he did not elaborate about this experience but other early Mormons claim they were left in a cave in Manchester NY.

Jehovah Witnesses claim that Michael the Arch-angel is actually the only begotten son of God, he's just now known as Jesus Christ. It is Michael that became flesh, assumed the name Jesus, and died for the sins of the J. W. ’s. He was disintegrated after he died and then copied by the Father by memory and raised in spirit again as Michael.

“So the evidence indicates that the Son of God was known as Michael before he came to earth and is known also by that name since his return to heaven where he resides as the glorified spirit Son of God.”—Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, p. 218

This Michael/Jesus came back in 1874 invisibly and then came to the Watchtower headquarters in New York in 1914 to inspect Jehovah’s organization to see if everything is running right. The good news of their earthly kingdom is under angelic direction and support (Watchtower April,1 1972 p.200). I've talked with JW's and asked for biblical proof that Michael is Jesus and their evidence centers around this:

¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

Jehovah’s Witnesses use this verse to try to prove that Jesus is Michael the archangel because He comes “with the voice of the archangel.” They don't mention the trumpet, one could say that Jesus is God simply because He uses God's trumpet. Most of the JW's proof that Jesus is merely an angel are bible quotes that prove the existance of angels. Exodus 23:13 tells us that Jehovah is the only God to be mentioned in prayer, so the next time they come knocking at your door ask them about John 14:13-14

There is another religion that preaches that Jesus is merely an angel: The Seventh-day Adventists. Founded by prophetess Ellen G. White, they teach that the proper day of worship is Saturday, Jesus is Michael the Archangel, ultimately Satan will bear all of our sins, when a person dies he does not exist anymore, and hell is not eternal. They emphasize dietary laws and what many consider to be a legalism, especially since they teach you can lose your salvation.

Seventh-day Adventism arose from the false teachings of the Millerites which collapsed when the much publicized return of Jesus did not occur in 1844. Right after this "Great Disappointment" Ellen G. White claimed to see in a vision of a narrow path where an angel was guiding Adventists and claimed that on October 22, 1844 Jesus entered the second and last phase of his atoning work. The SDA church says that Jesus, as Michael the Archangel in the Old Testament, was not a created being as orthodox theology states of Michael the Archangel.  Instead, the SDA church interprets the appearance of Michael the Archangel as the pre-incarnate Christ.

I suppose that one could possibly say Christianity started from the angel Gabriel who brought the message to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in the field. However, Christianity is not based on this simple announcement and the apostles did not commune with the angels to get the Gospel. Christianity centers on Christ and the message He gave us.