Angels-DEATHBED VISIONS

Deathbed visions are experienced by people very close to death during
which they see deceased relatives or religious figures. Such visions
share certain characteristics with mystical experiences, such as a
strong sense of the sacred and a feeling of profound peace. Deathbed
visions are usually characterized by radiant lights, scenes of great beauty,
and, especially, the appearance of beings of light, whose purpose is
to escort the deceased to the afterworld.
Angels are one kind of being regularly encountered during such
visions.

In his book Angels: God’s Secret Agents,

evangelist Billy Graham
recounts a number of cases in which the dying report that they see
angels and hear them singing their praises to God in heaven. Graham,
citing the biblical account of Lazarus (Luke 16), is convinced that he,
too, “will actually be taken by angels into the presence of God.”
Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenbörg (Heaven and Hell)
believed that the soul crosses into the “kingdom of the Spirits” after
death, and wrote about the spirits who receive the new arrivals: “They
perform this task with great delicacy, granting the new arrival complete
freedom. Above all, they transmit a feeling of great love and
make the new arrival aware of the presence of a friend, someone who
knows and can explain everything.”
Those who have witnessed such deathbed occurrences relate similar
characteristics. As the deathbed vision accelerates many have
shared that the light they encounter radiates a warmth or a security
that draws them ever closer to the original source. With the light also
comes a vision of beautiful gardens or open fields, that adds to the
sense of peace and security.
According to angel researcher Leonard Day, who has been called
upon to assist the dying, a very high percentage do speak of the presence
of angels. A trend, according to Day, is for the person to actually
mention the presence of two angels, one presenting a more radiant
glow than the other. Day believes the angel of brighter light to be the
individual’s guardian angel. This angel is usually in close proximity to the person and offers soothing words of consolation.
The other angel usually remains at a distance,
standing in the corner or behind the first
angel. For Day, this other angel represents the
angel of death.
Those who recount their visions do not
refer to the angel of death as the foreboding
apparition so commonly portrayed across the
centuries. In reality, according to Day, it is perhaps
the most gentle and sensitive angel within
God’s creation. Those who have shared their
encounter with this angel, describe it as dark,
very quiet, and not at all menacing. According
to Day, it is the responsibility of the angel of
death to summon the departed spirit into the
care of the guardian angel so the journey to the
“other side” can begin.