Orbs of Light and Angels of Light

Permission is granted to reprint the following article as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright information, and the resource box is included. Please let me know if you use this article by sending an email to dje@newedisongazette.com. Orbs of Light and Angels of Light Copyright © May 31,2011 Douglas W. Jerving. All Rights Reserved. The fascination with circular light patterns appearing in much modern day photography always seemed corny to me. “Supernatural” orbs caught on camera by ghost hunters looked like poor photography and not much else. Believing that a random glare caught on film might be a spirit was just gullible. The only people who made much ado about spirit orbs showing up in photography were paranormal researchers. The ghost hunters really wanted to believe and this was convenient “evidence”. It sort of makes sense that someone who is looking for something will usually find it. After all, that’s what being a true believer is all about! Or is it? Introduction Circumstances, not science, conspired to support ghost hunters in their quest for evidence. Prior to the introduction of digital camera technology in the 1990’s orb photos were nearly nonexistent. No one interpreted their presence in photography as mystical; rather such things were flaws in the photographic process. Since the 1990’s digital technology has grown steadily in popularity and with it has been the multiplication of orb shots. Among paranormal researchers, the growing consensus interpret orb phenomena as no more than microscopic particles of dust, dirt, dandruff, pollen, water droplets, and other miniature detritus captured in low light situations. Most ghost hunting takes place in old abandoned buildings, graveyards and so on – places that are dirty, dusty and not well lit. Those environmental conditions play a huge part in the creation of orb photography, along with the quirks of the digital camera itself. For more on the science involved see: Wikipedia: Orbs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb_%28optics%29 Enough With The Orbs Already: http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/Enough-With-The-Orbs-Already.htm The Orb Zone: http://paranormal.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=paranormal&cdn=newsissues&tm=29&f=11&su=p284.9.336.ip_p504.3.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.p-s-i.org.uk/Orbs-2-1.htm Oddly, many people in Christian churches, particularly of Charismatic persuasion, have latched on to the orb phenomenon. Like I said earlier, if you really want to believe, you’ll usually find “evidence”. Christians do want to believe. That’s not a bad thing either. We are called Believers in the New Testament, as opposed to the skeptics and agnostics of the world who would not believe in, say, the resurrection of Christ if they were there to witness it. Skeptics after all, don’t want to believe, and we don’t want to be skeptics! Of course, Biblical faith must be tempered by evidence. We don’t just blindly believe everything that comes along. We have four Gospels filled with documentation from eyewitnesses to the facts that make up our faith. There are “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3, KJV) for the message of the New Testament. Angel-orbs however, are not one of them. We must draw a line in the sand between faith and gullibility, challenging the believer to stand upon the Word of God and turn away from the flightiness of sign-seekers. Angel-orb “theology” grasps at straws. Believing it may mean your faith is not really founded on the Rock of Ages but on shifting sands of human philosophy. (Matt 7:24-27). Most orb phenomena easily is explained using science, and proves to be of non-supernatural origin (see the above references). Yet there are other instances both in and outside of the Christian church that are not as easily explained. Some “evidences” may be sleight of hand; deliberate deception. Others may be the fanciful interpretations of nutcases akin to those discovering the Virgin Mary in an orange peel or a block of wood. Still other phenomena may very well be the manipulation of the elements of this world by malevolent Satanic forces. This implies that the Charismatic movement may get caught in a demonic web of deception when it superimposes angel-orbs onto Biblical theology. Colossians 2:18-19 warns us against the snare of the worship of angels rather than holding on to Christ Who is the head of the Church. Satan is called an Angel of Light. (2 Cor 11:14). He will gladly accommodate those seeking proofs and signs that justify their inadequate doctrine. He is capable of manipulating the physical world in ways we may not understand if that’s all it takes to get our eyes off of Jesus. Angel-Orb Theology and False Doctrine Some instances of deception by the demonic masquerading as the supernatural agency of God may be in order. Angel-orbs, it is said, were once only capable of exposure to a camera, but now Christians who are more spiritually developed can see orbs with the naked eye. That sounds like spiritual elitism to me. Others claim to have seen faces in the orbs, including the lion, ox, bear and man of Ezekiel. Strange! Such a vision merely superimposes Biblical concepts upon an unscriptural template. It attempts to validate the superficial by juxtaposing it with the authority of the Prophets. I suppose there are Catholics out there seeing orbs with stigmata too, but that does nothing to strengthen my faith! In recent years, a Charismatic group claimed that they were worshipping God when orbs, apparently visible to them, appeared in their midst. The Lord then spoke through one of the worshippers in prophesy. He commanded the people to begin clapping their hands in the presence of these orbs. When they did so the orbs opened up like cracking eggs and began to pour anointing oil, perfume, joy and peace onto the congregants. In other groups, manifestations of gold dust, and semi-precious stones would appear. For some reason no one ever seems to get their goodies examined by a jeweler. There are still-photos online that supposedly capture people in church meetings appearing and disappearing, which is equated with the “rapture”. In one case, a woman disappears while twirling around in a dance. Just her scarf remains, caught in a mid-air blur along with a hint of her body flashing past the camera. (It’s a still photo! What did you expect?) In another disappearance (rapture-capture?), supposedly the minister was transported to Africa or some other place, and then reappeared on the pulpit again, all before the camera, which has a very blurry picture of some sort of movement. I hope he at least took some gold dust to help support some orphans! How ever real or fake those items may be is not the issue. Shouldn’t we ask why God only pours out gold and jewelry on the relatively middle class? Why have we never heard of these things taking place among poor Christians in third world countries? Are they not the one’s who really need it? Or have American Christians developed such a high degree of spirituality that God only does things like that through them? I think the question of spiritual elitism has to be raised again. How Does the Camera Relate to the Gospel? Now setting the science aside for a while, let us consider the possibility that God might actually use a camera to display spiritual essences. (Smile! You’re on Heaven Camera!) I think there are some serious questions associated with such a scenario. How does a mechanical device have the ability to pick up spiritual phenomenon if the sentient beings in a room are not so capable? Why is God concerned with revealing Himself by camera if the people already believe in Him? Why is God concerned with revealing Himself by camera to others who refuse to believe His written Word and the preaching of the Gospel that leads to their salvation? Is the interest in orbs within Christianity innocent, naive, or possibly malevolent? Is there a theological basis for believing that orbs may be good angels ministering to God’s people during the worship service? If the answer is yes, why did we have to wait for 2000 years and the invention of the digital camera before these encouragements to our faith were discovered? How Does the Camera Relate to Other Spiritual Phenomena? Has the camera ever been used in the past to capture spiritual or psychic phenomena? What did Believers have before the invention of the camera? How new is this sort of psychic capture anyway? In non-Christian circles, there are some dubious “photos” of ghosts, sprites, fairies, elves and so on. In the 1970s a few psychic researchers worked to capture on film and other instruments the auras of plants, animals, and humans. In the late 19th and early 20th century, several researchers attempted to capture on film a spiritual substance known as ectoplasm (or teleplasm) as it oozed out of mediums in séances. Photos show the elastic film of ectoplasm emerging from bodily orifices, including the ears, nose, mouth, and genitals. Often, this thick smoky substance would form into recognizable shapes, including the faces of the dead person being conjured. It was claimed that all psychophysical manifestations that took place in the séance were produced by ectoplasm. Most researchers have concluded that the ectoplasm phenomenon was nothing more than a clever con job pulled off on unsuspecting clients by their mediums. To say the least some of these things cast suspicion on the camera’s ability to reveal God’s holy angels! Has there been a history or theology or philosophy centered on orbs in non-Christian circles? There is a good possibility that orb worship was a part of the Theosophy movement started by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in the last century. Her writings, which are the foundation stones for the modern New Age movement, are replete with references to orbs as spiritual beings. See for instance http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/category/angelic-orbs/ for an extremely in-depth article dealing with orbs, and exposing the occult connection to Theosophy. Gnostic and esoteric “Christian” thinkers have always believed in the non-personal influences of the stars and planets, jewels, precious stones and crystals, gold and silver, as well as artistic renderings of these things. A simple search of orbs in western art and history will reveal thousands of esoteric artworks depicting man’s power over nature through the use of such alchemic means. At the same time, all adherents of Bible based Christianity have recognized such things as either superstitious nonsense or demonic diversions from true faith in Christ as we will see next. Scriptural Answers The foundation of faith for every true believer has always been “Sola Scriptura” or “The Sufficiency of Scripture.” The strength of Biblical religion is its belief in the absolute authority of the written texts of the Old and New Testaments. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” says the Psalmist. (Ps 119:105). The prophet says “To the Law and Testimony, if they speak not according to this Word, there is no light in them.” (Isa 8:20). Jesus said to His Father “Thy Word is Truth”. (Jn 17:17). He said that heaven and earth would pass away but His Word would endure. (Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33). The Apostle Paul admonished the Church of Galatia “Though we or an angel from heaven speak any other thing, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:8). We can have no other stand except that which is based solidly on the teachings of the Bible because it is the direct and special revelation from God. Can Scripture be used to justify the angel-orb theology fashionable in many Charismatic circles? Not one single verse of the Bible supports this doctrine unless it is twisted completely out of context. Interestingly, most of the people who claim to have scripture to back up their angel-orb theology spend most of their time explaining the hundreds of pictures of orbs rather than giving scriptural support. Colossians 2:18-19 referred to earlier, warns against pagan Gnosticism that was creeping into the early church. Paul warns us against false humility and reverence of angels. He says those things lead us away from the simplicity of the Gospel. The book of Hebrews likewise reminds us that God spoke to his church in times past by angels, but has in these final days revealed Himself through His Son. (Heb 1:1 – 2:9). No passage more explicitly makes clear the priority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, over all the angels, and our responsibility to revere Him alone. Following after angels is forsaking Christ. This is not to imply that God does not use angelic beings, or at times allow them to be seen in the church (see the last quote from Hebrews 1 & 2). One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discernment of spirits (1 Cor 12:10). Almost invariably, as I have witnessed this gift in operation, it has been used to pinpoint very exact needs for healing or deliverance, and also to guard the Word and the worship from interference. I know a sister in my church that has this gift of discernment. She has literally seen the angels delivering the Word of God as it is spoken to the congregation so that the enemy cannot rob its power from the hearers. She has seen angels on numerous times ministering before God during worship services. In both cases, they guard the congregation against demonic interference that would prevent the people experiencing all that God has for them. They bring the worship of God’s people before Him unhindered, defending the congregation from distraction during the worship. In every instance, these beings are real personal entities who look much like we do, but with great power, authority, and stature. She says that she never sees their facial characteristics. Glory is always directed to God alone. Concluding Remarks The theology of those interested in defending orb phenomenon as angelic often mimics the same purposes listed above in an attempt to justify itself, but uses the language of pagan astrology to do so. After 7000 years of Biblical history where angels have always been portrayed as human in form, why are they suddenly being seen as amorphous patterns of light or geometric confluences rather than personal beings as the Bible portrays them? Why in the 21st century, do they suddenly become less than personal beings, or even completely depersonalized forces? Why has the Church taken on the evolutionary trappings of Helena P. Blavatsky’s esoteric nonsense about the spirit realm? How did God’s personal living beings, the angels, get reinterpreted as mere orbs of light, akin to planets, or stars that represent spirit forces? It may be that these orbs really are angels, but not ministering spirits from God directing our attention to Him. Instead, these “angels” redirect our attention to mere sensual phenomenon, hoping to steer us further down the wrong path toward the evolutionary religion of the New Age movement. Angel-orb doctrine teaches us that angels appear as orbs of light, not as personal sentient beings. There is in this teaching an uncanny similarity to the Angel of Light (2 Cor 11:14), Satan, who is also called “the prince of the power of the air”. (Eph 2:2). Satan is a master at using the world we live in to convince us to worship or become infatuated with the earthly, sensual, or pseudo-spiritual. If manipulating a camera angle as it picks up the retro-reflection of light off a dust particle, is all he needs to deceive us, then we have become the most gullible of all sign seekers. You may despise me for saying these things, but I have to speak the Truth. I hope that the truth will set you free from the voluntary worship of angels and the Gnostic heresies that are infiltrating the Christian church so strongly in our times. ------------------------ Doug Jerving is the publisher of the NewEdisonGazette.com. You may contact him at dje@newedisongazette.com. ================================= Return to The New Edison Gazette main site.