I picked this book up at a thrift store awhile back; it took me awhile to read because I was fascinated by it and read it closely. I'm interested in angel stories lately, Biblical and otherwise, and the late Pastor Roland Buck's account is quite intriguing. Interestingly, I couldn't find the edition I read; the cover shown is very different. The cover of the edition I read reminded me of Hal Lindsay books from back in the day; kind of cheesy, dated, '70s kind of cover with stylized letters, a dark blue background, and a picture of the planet with what looks like a meteorite headed toward it (an angel, I guess).
We don't talk about angels much in the church; maybe the idea is somewhat of an embarrassment, and there's a feeling that it's sort of like talking about leprechauns when part of the discusison isn't Lucky Charms. My interest began when I read Matthew 18:10, a verse not in the preaching lectionary, which I felt I'd never really noticed before. In that verse, Jesus says, ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones [he's holding a child]; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.'
So my study of angels continues with this account; it certainly didn't disappoint me. Buck was an Assembly of God pastor, and I'm pretty sure that my theology is so different than theirs in enough ways that it's hard to see where both orientations are coming from the same religion. In his visits from angels, his theology is challenged; at one point, he says that what they are saying differs from his theology and he hears back that God isn't trying to compare the message to Buck's theology.
Buck struggles with much of what he hears, and there's still a ton of emphasis on, for instance, the atonement, and the blood of Jesus, both of which have been fairly foreign to my own thinking. But he makes an interesting case about them both that got me thinking about it; I'm willing to be challenged on things, but often the challenges just aren't very challenging!
As I went searching for more information on Buck, I found a 14-page paper from 1980, "A Paper from the Former Melodyland School of Theology," which, from a cursory look, appears to be mostly a refutation of Buck's theology. I'll be interested to read it. Meanwhile, I'm still ruminating on an interesting theological perspective. And wishing I could have an angelic visit. Sort of. Although I think I'd probably faint dead away out of fear!