Angels and Demons

Artist rendition of a mystery priest

I believe that there are angels under God's authority that minister to God's people here on earth. In fact, I saw one about 30 years ago.

I also believe that there are demons (fallen angels) under Satan's authority that appear from time to time in the world to do the bidding of their diabolical leader. 

While many people claim that they've encountered angels during various events and experiences in their lifetimes, not everyone has had an actual encounter with an angel. Some people merely experienced an hallucination. 

Others thought they met an angel, only to discover that they encountered a real person. Still others--apparently for self-serving purposes--made up stories of encounters with angelic beings. And there are those who've had encounters with demons that they mistook for angels.

However, an event that recently occurred near New London, Missouri has many people convinced that they encountered an angel. That event was a terrible car crash in which the victim, 19-year-old Katie Lentz, was involved in a head-on collision with another car that had crossed over the center line on a rural road.

Lentz, who was driving from her home in Quincy, Missouri, was seriously injured and trapped inside her vehicle. When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they were initially unable to cut Lentz free because the vehicle she was driving was an older Mercedes Benz model that featured heavy gauge steel. 

During the time that emergency personnel worked on rescuing Lentz, a Catholic priest appeared and requested that he be allowed to pray with Lentz and anoint her with oil. Officials initially refused, but then relented and allowed the priest to pray over Lentz while emergency workers cut through the twisted steel.

What was so unusual about the priest's visit to the crash scene? Priests and other clergy visit trauma scenes frequently. What was so unusual is that no one from the area recognized the priest or knew where he came from. 

There apparently weren't any churches nearby. The road where the crash occurred was closed for miles in each direction to prevent curiosity seekers from visiting the accident scene. And no one at the roadblocks reported seeing the priest.

To further the mystery, Lentz and several of the emergency workers saw and spoke with the priest. So that eliminates the possibility that some people colluded to fabricate the priest and his appearance. And what deepens the mystery is the fact that New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed claims that he took 80 photos of the accident scene while the priest was present and yet the priest never appeared in a single photo.

What's my take on this event? Unless the mysterious priest comes forward and identifies himself, then indeed, he's a supernatural being.

But he's not an angel. Why? Because he appeared as a representative of a mega-false religion. God would never allow his angels to appear on earth dressed in the vestments of an ageless cult. 

But didn't he appear and offer spiritual comfort to a person in distress? Yes, he did. But if it furthers Satan's interests to promote a false religion by sending his demons dressed in religious garb to perform acts of heroism and bravery, then he's all for that. Because for Satan, the end always justifies the means.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul, who was very familiar with Satan and his clever schemes, wrote this concerning the devil and his fallen angels: "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

To that, the apostle John added this warning to all Christians: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

Update: A priest named Rev. Patrick Dowling, who's assigned to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo.  has since come forward and admitted that he was the mysterious priest who attended to Lentz at the crash scene.
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2013/August/Mystery-Car-Crash-Priest-Comes-Forward/