Angels Have Appeared

ANGELS HAVE APPEARED since the beginning of creation. But in 1961, angels made their first appearance in American League outfields.

Major League Baseball reached southern California following the 1957 season when Walter O’Malley moved the National League’s Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. After averaging more than 2 million fans for three years, American League owners felt the need to establish their presence in the area too.

AL owners awarded a franchise to Los Angeles during the 1960 winter meetings. Former motion-picture star and ardent baseball fan Gene Autry headed the ownership group for the new club. To christen the new organization, Autry selected the name “Angels,” which served a twofold purpose. The original Los Angeles Angels had been a charter franchise of the Pacific Coast League. And since los angeles translates from Spanish into English as “the angels,” many refer to Los Angeles as “the city of angels.”

The Angels finished the 1961 season with a 70 –91 record—the best winning percentage of any expansion team in major league history. Years later, the Angels changed their name to the Anaheim Angels. And in 2002, the Angels won their first World Series title.

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POINT Joseph must have felt that he lived in a “city of angels” when he received God’s word from a heavenly messenger. The young man surely knew Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah’s birth. Joseph could feel secure with his young wife. He would be Jesus’ earthly father. Imagine his excitement, his awe, his honor!

The angel explained that God would send Jesus to save people from their sin. And that includes you.

GOAL! Search the Bible for verses that include the word angels. (You might want to use a concordance or Bible computer program.) You’ll find at least 100 references in most translations. Note how God uses the heavenly beings in the Bible and how he can use angels today. Praise the Lord for the message the angel gave Joseph.