Angel

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An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. In Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Islam, angels, as attendants or guardians to man, typically act as messengers from God.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Angelology 3 Angels in the Tanakh 3.1 Appearance of angels 3.2 Purpose 4 Jewish views 4.1 Maimonides and rationalism 5 Christian views 5.1 New Testament references 5.2 Theological development 5.3 Depiction in art 6 Islamic views 7 Latter-Day Saint views 8 Gender of angels 9 Other religions 9.1 Bahá'í 9.2 Hinduism 9.3 Thelema 10 Angels as a development step of the soul 11 See also 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 External links

[edit] Etymology

The English word came from Latin angelus, which came from Greek ἄγγελος, ángelos, meaning "messenger". The closest Hebrew word for angel is מלאך‎, mal'ach Hebrew word #4397 in Strong's, also meaning "messenger". "Angel" is also used in the English version of the Bible for these three Hebrew words:...

• אביר‎, abbir Hebrew word #47 in Strong's, Psalms 78:25 (lit. "mighty")
• אלהים‎, Elohim Hebrew word #430 in Strong's, Psalms 8:5
• the obscure שנאן‎, shin'an Hebrew word #8136 in Strong's, in Psalms 68:17

[edit] Angelology

Angelology is a branch of theology that deals with a hierarchical system of angels, messengers, celestial powers or emanations, and the study of these systems. It primarily relates to Kabbalistic Judaism and Christianity,^[1] where it is one of the ten major branches of theology, albeit a neglected one.^[2]

Many secular scholars believe that Judeo-Christianity owes a great debt to Zoroastrianism in regards to the introduction of angelology and demonology, as well as the fallen angel Satan as the ultimate agent of evil, comparing him to the evil spirit Ahriman. As the Iranian Avestan and Vedic traditions and also other branches of Indo-European mythologies show, the notion of demons had existed long before.^[3]

It is believed that Zoroastrianism had an influence on Jewish angelology,^[4] and therefore modern Christian angelology, due to the appearance of elements from Zoroastrianism in Judaism following Israel's extended contact with the Persian Empire while in exile in Babylon.^[5] Borrowed notions may include the introduction of Satan as a supreme head over the powers of evil (present mainly in Christian and Islamic theology), in contrast to God;^[6] comparing Satan to Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) of Zoroastrian faith,^[7] who was the arch-enemy of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Universal God of mankind.^[8] Angels, some also believe, may have first been depicted as God's helpers in Zoroastrianism, and their hierarchy is comparable to modern Angelology's hierarchy.^[9]

In early Hebrew thought, God appears and speaks directly to individuals (Gn. 3:8, Ex. 12:1). He also intervenes in human affairs, often acting violently and punitively (Gn. 22:ff.; Ex. 4:24, 14:4; 2Sm. 24:1: Ps.78 :31ff.) God's savage nature reflects the mores of a nomadic, conquering tribe whose morality was based on ritual and taboo. Under the influence the prophets and postexilic writers under influnece of Zoroastrianism, these earlier conceptions were revised to reflect an ethic based on social justice. A new theodicy explained evil without directly implicating God. As the result, God became both more distant and more merciful. Angels and demons replaced him in his encounters with men, and Satan assumed his destructive powers (cf. 2 Sm. 24:1 with 1 Chr. 21:1)^[3].

This view is questioned though by those who point out that the Torah, the Book of Job, and other Jewish books depicting angels as messengers of God predate the time of Persian influence^{[citation needed]}.

In contrast to the first view, some critics believe that it was Judaism and Christianity that had an influence on Zoroastrianism^{[citation needed]}. They purport that Zoroastrian archangels are more abstract than concrete, and that a number of other differences make the connection tenuous^{[citation needed]}. While the Talmud of Jerusalem, Rosch Haschanna, 56, acknowledges that the names of certain angelic figures may have originated in Babylon, some scholars believe it is possible to attribute the Zoroastrian concept of angels to the influence of the Bible and the historian Philo.^[10]

That is, however, problematic as some historians date Zoroastrianism back about thousand years before the birth of Christ. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, one advocate of the theory that Judaism had an influence on Zoroastrianism was James Darmesteter. But it states that his theories "have been violently combated by specialists since that time, and can not be said to have met with decided favor on any side."^[11]

A third criticism posits that concepts such as angels and demons could very well have originated in many traditions separately.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Angels in the Tanakh

The Biblical name for angel, מלאך ("mal'ach"), obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as "angel of the Lord," or "angel of God" (Zechariah 12:8). Other appellations are "Sons of God", (Genesis 6:4; Job 1:6 [R. V. v. 1]) and "the Holy Ones" (Psalms 89:6-8).

According to Jewish interpretation, 'Elohim is almost entirely reserved for the one true God; but at times 'Elohim (powers), bnēi 'Elohim, bnēi Elim (sons of gods) (i.e. members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for beings with great power (i.e. judges or alternately, some kind of super powerful human beings). Hence they came to be used collectively of super-human beings, distinct from God and, therefore, inferior and ultimately subordinate (e.g. Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; Psalms 8:5). See also: Names of God in Judaism

Angels are referred to as "holy ones" Zechariah 14:5 and "watchers" Daniel 4:13. They are spoken of as the "host of heaven" Deuteronomy 17:3 or of "Adonai" Joshua 5:14. The "hosts," צבאות Tzevaot in the title Adonai Tzevaot (alternatively, Adonai Tzivo'ot), Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels. The identification of the "hosts" with the stars comes to the same thing; the stars were thought of as being closely connected with angels. However, God is very jealous of the distinction between Himself and angels, and consequently, the Hebrews were forbidden by Moses to worship the "host of heaven". It is probable that the "hosts" were also identified with the armies of Israel, whether this army is human, or angelic. The New Testament often speaks of "spirits," πνεύματα (Revelation 1:4).

Prior to the emergence of monotheism in Israel the idea of an angel was the Malach Adonai, Angel of the Lord, or Malach Elohim, Angel of God. The Malach Adonai is an appearance or manifestation of God in the form of a man, and the term Malach Adonai is used interchangeably with Adonai (God). (cf. Exodus 3:2, with 3:4; Exodus 13:21 with Exodus 14:19). Those who see the Malach Adonai say they have seen God (Genesis 32:30; Judges 13:22). The Malach Adonai (or Elohim) appears to Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Gideon, &c., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud (Exodus 3:2). The phrase Malach Adonai may have been originally a courtly circumlocution for the Divine King; but it readily became a means of avoiding anthropomorphism, and later on, when angels were classified, the Malach Adonai meant an angel of distinguished rank. The identification of the Malach Adonai with the Logos, or Second Person of the Trinity, is not indicated by the references in the Hebrew scriptures; but the idea of a Being partly identified with God, and yet in some sense distinct from him, illustrates a tendency of Jewish religious thought to distinguish persons within the unity of the deity. Christians think that this foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, whereas Kabbalist Jews would show how it developed into kabbalistic theological thought and imagery.

In earlier literature the Malach Adonai or Elohim is almost the only angel mentioned. However, there are a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the Malach Adonai or Elohim. There are the cherubim who guard the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 18, Genesis 19. (J) the appearance of God to Abraham and Lot is connected with three, afterwards two, men or messengers; but possibly in the original form of the story God appeared alone (Cf. 18:1 with 18:2, and note change of number in 19:17). At Bethel, Jacob sees the angels of God on the ladder Genesis 28:12, and later on they appear to him at Mahanaim Genesis 32:1. In all these cases the angels, like the Malach Adonai, are connected with or represent a theophany. Similarly the "man" who wrestles with Jacob at Peniel is identified with God (Genesis 32:24, 30). In Isaiah 6 the seraphim, superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of God. Thus, the pre-exilic literature rarely mentions angels, or other superhuman beings other than God and manifestations of God; the pre-exilic prophets hardly mention angels. An angel of 1 Kings 13:18 might be the Malach Adonai, as in 19:5, cf. 7, or the passage, at any rate in its present form, may be exilic or post-exilic. Nevertheless we may well suppose that polytheists in ancient Israel believed in superhuman beings other than God, but that the inspired writers have mostly suppressed references to them as unedifying.

Once the doctrine of monotheism was formally expressed, in the period immediately before and during the Exile (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Isaiah 43:10), we find angels prominent in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel, as a prophet of the Exile, may have been influenced by the hierarchy of supernatural beings in the Babylonian religion, and perhaps even by the angelology of Zoroastrianism (it is not, however, certain that these doctrines of Zoroastrianism were developed at so early a date). Ezekiel 9 gives elaborate descriptions of cherubim (a class, or type of angels); and in one of his visions, he sees seven angels execute the judgment of God upon Jerusalem. As in Genesis, they are styled "men"; malach, for "angel", does not occur in Ezekiel. Somewhat later, in the visions of Zechariah, angels play a great part; they are sometimes spoken of as "men", sometimes as malach, and the Malach Adonai seems to hold a certain primacy among them Zechariah 1:11. The Satan also appears to prosecute (so to speak) the High Priest before the divine tribunal Zechariah 3:1. Similarly in the Book of Job the bnei Elohim, sons of God, appear as attendants of God, and amongst them, Satan (Hebrew ha-satan), again in the role of public prosecutor, the defendant being Job (Job 1, 2. Cf. 1 Chronicles 21:1). Occasional references to "angels" occur in the Psalter (Pss. 91:11, 103:20 &c.); they appear as ministers of God.

In Psalms 78:49 the "evil angels" of the Authorized Version conveys a false impression; it should be "angels of evil", i.e. angels who inflict chastisement as ministers of God.

The seven angels of Ezekiel may be compared with the seven eyes of God in Zechariah 3:9, 4:10. The latter have been connected by Ewald and others with the later doctrine of seven chief angels (Tobit 12:15; Revelation 8:2), parallel to and influenced by the Ameshaspentas (Amesha Spenta), or seven great spirits of the Persian mythology.

In the Priestly Code, c. 400BCE, there is no reference to angels, apart from the possible suggestion in the plural in Genesis 1:26.

During the Persian and Greek periods, the doctrine of angels underwent a great development, partly, at any rate, under foreign influences. In Daniel, c. 160BCE, 71 angels, usually spoken of as "men" or "Angel-princes", appear as guardians or champions of the individual nations, defending them as God sits in council with them over the world; grades are implied, there are "princes" and "chief" or "great princes"; and the names of some angels are known, Gabriel, Michael; the latter is pre-eminent (Daniel 8:16; Daniel 10:13, 20-21), he is the guardian of Israel's leading Kingdom of Judah. Again in Tobit a leading part is played by Raphael, "one of the seven holy angels". (Tob. 12:15.)

In Tobit, too, we find the idea of the demon or evil angel. In the canonical Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures, angels may inflict suffering as ministers of God; but they act as subordinates to God, and not as independent, morally evil agents. The statement (Job 4:18) that God "charged his angels with folly" applies to all angels. In Daniel, the princes, or guardian angels, of the heathen nations oppose Michael, the guardian angel of Judah. But in Tobit, we find Asmodeus the evil demon, τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον, who strangles Sarah's husbands, and also a general reference to "a devil or evil spirit", πνεῦμα (Tobit 3:8, 17; 6:7).

The Fall of the Angels is not properly a scriptural doctrine, though it is based on Gen. 6:2, as interpreted by the Book of Enoch. It is true that the bnē Elohim of that chapter are subordinate superhuman beings (cf. above), but they belong to a different order of thought from the angels of Judaism and of Christian doctrine; and the passage in no way suggests that the bne Elohim suffered any loss of status through their act. However see Jesus' comment in Luke 10:18 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven' in the context of giving his disciples authority over the fallen angels.

The guardian angels of the nations in Daniel probably represent the gods of the heathen, and we have there the first step of the process by which these gods became evil angels, an idea expanded by Milton in Paradise Lost. The development of the doctrine of an organized hierarchy of angels belongs to the Jewish literature of the period 200 BC to A.D. 100. In Jewish apocalypses especially, the imagination ran riot on the rank, classes and names of angels; and such works as the various books of Enoch and the Ascension of Isaiah supply much information on this subject.

[edit] Appearance of angels

In the Hebrew Bible, angels often appear to people in the shape of humans of extraordinary beauty, and often are not immediately recognized as angels (Genesis 18:2, Genesis 19:5; Judges 6:17, Judges 8:6; 2 Samuel 29:9). Some fly through the air, some become invisible, sacrifices touched by some are consumed by fire, and some may disappear in sacrificial fire. Angels, or the Angel, appeared in the flames of the thorn bush (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6. 21, 22; 2 Kings 2:11; Exodus 3:2). They are described as pure and bright as Heaven; consequently, they are said to be formed of fire, and encompassed by light, as the Psalmist said (Psalm 104:4): "He makes winds His messengers, burning fire His ministers." Some verses in the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon depict angels wearing blue or red robes but no such reference occurs in the Protestant books.

Though superhuman, angels can assume human form; this is the earliest conception. Gradually, and especially in post-Biblical times, angels came to be bodied forth in a form corresponding to the nature of the mission to be fulfilled—generally, however, the human form. Angels bear drawn swords or other destroying weapons in their hands—one carries an ink-horn by his side—and ride on horses (Numbers 22:23, Joshua 5:13, Ezekiel 9;2, Zechariah 1:8 et seq.). A terrible angel is the one mentioned in 1 Chronicles 21:16,30, as standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand". In the Book of Daniel, reference is made to an angel "clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (Daniel 10:5-6). This imagery is very similar to a description in the book of Revelation. Angels are thought to possess wings (Daniel 9:21), as they are described in the Bible, and depicted in Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian art. They are commonly depicted with halos.

In Christian iconography, the use of wings is a convention used to denote the figure as a spirit. Depictions of angels in Christian art as winged human forms, unlike classical pagan depictions of the major deities, follow the iconic conventions of lesser winged gods, such as Eos, Eros, Thanatos and Nike.

Angels are portrayed as powerful and dreadful, endowed with wisdom and with knowledge of all earthly events, correct in their judgment, holy, but not infallible: they strive against each other, and God has to make peace between them. When their duties are not punitive, angels are beneficent to man (Psalms 103:20, Psalms 78:25; 2 Samuel 14:17,20, 2 Samuel 19:28; Zechariah 14:5; Job 4:18, Job 25:2).

The number of angels is enormous. Jacob meets a host of angels; Joshua sees the "captain of the host of the Lord"; God sits on His throne, "all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on his left"; the sons of God come "to present themselves before the Lord" (Gen. xxxii. 2; Josh. v. 14, 15; I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1; Ps. lxxxix. 6; Job, xxxiii. 23). The general conception is the one of Job (xxv. 3): "Is there any number of his armies?" In the book of Revelation, the number is "a thousand thousands, and many tens of thousands".

Though the older writings usually mention one angel of the Lord, embassies to men as a rule comprised several messengers. The inference, however, is not to be drawn that God Himself or one particular angel was designated: the expression was given simply to God's power to accomplish through but one angel any deed, however wonderful.

Angels are referred to in connection with their special missions as, for instance, the "angel which hath redeemed," "an interpreter," "the angel that destroyed," "messenger of the covenant," "angel of his presence," and "a band of angels of evil" (Gen. xlviii. 16; Job, xxxiii. 23; II Sam. xxiv. 16; Mal. iii. 1; Isa. lxiii. 9; Ps. lxxviii. 49, R. V.). When, however, the heavenly host is regarded in its most comprehensive aspect, a distinction may be made between cherubim, seraphim, chayot ("living creatures"), Ofanim ("wheels"), and Arelim (another name for Thrones). God is described as riding on the cherubim and as "the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim"; while the latter guard the way of the Tree of Life (I Sam. iv. 4, Ps. lxxx. 2, Gen. iii. 24). The seraphim are described by Isaiah (vi. 2) as having six wings; and Ezekiel describes the ḥayyot (Ezek. i. 5 et seq.) and ofanim as heavenly beings who carry God's throne.

In post-Biblical times, the heavenly hosts became more highly organized (possibly as early as Zechariah [iii. 9, iv. 10]; certainly in Daniel), and there came to be various kinds of angels; some even being provided with names, as will be shown below.

[edit] Purpose

In the Bible, angels are a medium of God's power; they exist to execute God's will. Angels reveal themselves to individuals as well as to the whole nation, to announce events, either bad or good, affecting humans. Angels foretold to Abraham the birth of Isaac, to Manoah the birth of Samson, and to Abraham the destruction of Sodom. Guardian angels were mentioned, but not, as was later the case, as guardian spirits of individuals and nations. God sent an angel to protect the Hebrew people after their exodus from Egypt, to lead them to the promised land, and to destroy the hostile tribes in their way (Ex. 23.20, Num. 20.16).

In Judges (ii. 1) an angel of the Lord—unless here and in the preceding instances (compare Isa. xlii. 19, Ḥag. i. 13, Mal. iii. 1), a human messenger of God is meant—addressed the whole people, swearing to bring them to the promised land. An angel brought Elijah meat and drink (I Kings, xix. 5); and as God watched over Jacob, so is every pious person protected by an angel, who cares for him in all his ways (Ps. xxxiv. 7, xci. 11). There are angels militant, one of whom smites in one night the whole Assyrian army of 185,000 men (II Kings, xix. 35); messengers go forth from God "in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid" (Ezek. xxx. 9); the enemy is scattered before the angel like chaff (Ps. xxxv. 5, 6).

Avenging angels are mentioned, such as the one in II Sam. xxiv. 15, who annihilates thousands. It would seem that the pestilence was personified, and that the "evil angels" mentioned in Ps. lxxviii. 49 are to be regarded as personifications of this kind. "Evil" is here to be taken in the causative sense, as "producing evil"; for, as stated above, angels are generally considered to be by nature beneficent to man. They glorify God, whence the term "glorifying angels" comes (Ps. xxix. 1, ciii. 20, cxlviii. 2; compare Isa. vi. 2 et seq.).

They constitute God's court, sitting in council with Him (I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1); hence they are called His "council of the holy ones" (Ps. lxxxix. 7, R. V.; A. V. "assembly of the saints"). They accompany God as His attendants, when He appears to man (Deut. xxxiii. 2; Job, xxxviii. 7). This conception was developed after the Exile; and in the Zechariah, angels of various shapes are delegated "to walk to and fro through the earth" in order to find out and report what happens (Zech. vi. 7).

In the prophetic books, angels appear as representatives of the prophetic spirit, and bring to the prophets God's word. Thus the prophet Haggai was called God's messenger (angel); and it is known that "Malachi" is not a real name, but means "messenger" or "angel". In I Kings, xiii. 18, an angel brought the divine word to the prophet.

In some places, it is implied that angels existed before the Creation (Gen. i. 26; Job, xxxviii. 7). The earlier Biblical writings did not speculate about them; simply regarding them, in their relations to man, as God's agents. Consequently, they did not individualize or denominate them; and in Judges, xiii. 18, and Gen. xxxii. 70, the angels, when questioned, refuse to give their names. In Daniel, however, there occur the names Michael and Gabriel. Michael is Israel's representative in Heaven, where other nations—the Persians, for instance—were also represented by angelic princes. More than three hundred years before the Book of Daniel was written, Zechariah graded the angels according to their rank, but did not name them. The notion of the seven eyes (Zech. iii. 45, iv. 100) may have been affected by the representation of the seven archangels and also possibly by the seven Amesha Spentas of Zoroastrianism (compare Ezek. ix. 2).

[edit] Jewish views

Biblical books present angels as heavenly beings created by God, who are not endowed with free will.

The archangels named in post-exile Judaism are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel. Gabriel and Michael are mentioned in the book of Daniel, Raphael in the book of Tobit (from the Protestant Apocrypha or Catholic and Orthodox Deuterocanon) and the remaining four in the book of Enoch from the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox).

[edit] Maimonides and rationalism

In the Middle Ages, some Jews developed a rationalist view of angels that is still accepted by many Jews today. The rationalist view of angels, as held by Maimonides, Gersonides, Samuel Ibn Tibbon, etc., states that God's actions are never mediated by a violation of the laws of nature. Rather, all such interactions are by way of angels. Even this can be highly misleading: Maimonides harshly states that the average person's understanding of the term "angel" is ignorant in the extreme. Instead, he says, the wise man sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually metaphors for the various laws of nature, or the principles by which the physical universe operates, or kinds of platonic eternal forms. This is explained in his Guide of the Perplexed II:4 and II:6.

II:4

"...This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the 'angels which are near to Him', through whose mediation the spheres [planets] move....thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world."

II:6

"...Aristotle's doctrine that these disembodied spheres serve as the nexus between God and existence, by whose mediation the sphere are brought into motion, which is the cause of all becoming, is the express import of all the Scriptures. For you will never in Scripture find any activity done by God except through an angel. And "angel", as you know, means messenger. Thus anything which executes a command is an angel. So the motions of living beings, even those that are inarticulate, are said explicitly by Scripture to be due to angels.

...Our argument here is concerned solely with those "angels" which are disembodied intellects. For our Bible is not unaware that God governs this existence through the mediation of angels...(Maimonides then quotes discussions of angels from Genesis, Plato, and Midrash Bereshit Rabbah)...the import in all these texts is not—as a primitive mentality would suppose—to suggest any discussion or planning or seeking of advice on God's part. How could the Creator receive aid from the object of his creation? The real import of all is to proclaim that existence—including particular individuals and even the formation of the parts of animals such as they are—is brought about entirely through the mediation of angels.

For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naïve?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman's womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity—despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is the angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect—that here is the angel, the "vice-regent of the world" constantly mentioned by the sages—then he will recoil. For he [the naïve person] does not understand that the true majesty and power are in the bringing into being of forces which are active in a thing although they cannot be perceived by the senses.

The sages of blessed memory state clearly—to those who are wise themselves—that every bodily power (not to mention forces at large in the world) is an angel and that a given power has one effect and no more. It says in Midrash Bereshit Rabbah "We are given to understand that no angel performs two missions, nor do two angels perform one mission."—which is just the case with all forces. To confirm the conclusion that individual physical and psychological forces are called "angels", there is the dictum of the sages, in a number of places, ultimately derived from Bereshit Rabbah, "Each day the Holy One creates a band of angels who sing their song before him and go their way." Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, LXXVIII. When this midrash was countered with another which suggests that angels are permanent...the answer given was that some are permanent and other perish. And this is in fact the case. Particular forces come to be and pass away in constant succession; the species of such forces, however, are stable and enduring....[Giving a few more examples of the mention of angels in rabbinic writings, Maimonides says] Thus the Sages reveal to the aware that the imaginative faculty is also called an angel; and the mind is called a cherub. How beautiful this will appear to the sophisticated mind—and how disturbing to the primitive."

One can perhaps say that Maimonides thus presents a virtual rejection of the "classical" Jewish view of miracles; he and others substitute a rationalism that seems more appropriate for 20th and 21st century religious rationalists.

Others might perhaps view Maimonides's statements as being perfectly in keeping with the continued evolvement of Jewish thought over a period of several millennia.

[edit] Christian views

[edit] New Testament references

In the New Testament angels appear frequently as the ministers of God and the agents of revelation (e.g. Matthew 1:20 (to Joseph), 4:11. (to Jesus), Luke 1:26 (to Mary), Acts 12:7 (to Peter)); and Jesus speaks of angels as fulfilling such functions (e.g. Mark 8:38, 13:27), implying in one saying that they neither marry nor are given in marriage (Mark 12:25). Angels are most prominent at the birth of Jesus, the resurrection, and in the Apocalypse. The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy, but there are traces of the doctrine. The distinction of good and bad angels is recognized. Good angels mentioned by name are Gabriel and Michael (Luke 1:19; Daniel 12:1). Scripture also mentions a tempter Satan, the scribes name the ruler of demons as Beelzebub, and the angel of the abyss Apollyon (Mark 1:13, 3:22; Rev. 9:11). Apollyon, (Hebrew Abaddon) a name for an angel mentioned in Revelation 9:11, is believed by some to be a good angel that guards the gates to the traditionally known hell. Revelation 10:1 describes another angel, although unnamed, some say it is Metatron. The Christian Greek scriptures also imply an angelic hierarchy; archangels (namely Michael, mentioned in both Daniel 10:13 and Jude 9, Gabriel, and Raphael), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). The hierarchies of principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions are questionable by some Christian denominations due to the ambiguity of the context. Romans 8:38 may refer to other things besides angels if the context includes opposition beyond spirits themselves. The scope of Col. 1:16 covering "all things created" also extends far beyond angels by themselves. Other hierarchies accepted from the Old Testament include seraphim and cherubim.

[edit] Theological development

Catholic theologians have long speculated that there are seven ranks of Angels; among them Cherubim, Seraphim, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Dominions. This is not official Church doctrine or dogma, however, and in general the faithful are not required to adhere to this categorization.

Angels occur in groups of four or seven (Rev 7:1). The Angels of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor are described in Rev. 1-3; practically, the angels are personifications or representatives of the seven congregations. Daniel 10:12,13 also appears to depict angels in opposition (presumably fallen angels) to other angels, taking on the roles of prince-angels for nations, in this case the "prince of the kingdom of Persia."

The archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the traditional role of messenger to inform her that her child would be the Messiah, and other angels were present to herald his birth. In Matt. 28:2, an angel appeared at Jesus' tomb, frightened the Roman guards, rolled away the stone from the tomb, and later told the myrrh-bearing women of Jesus' resurrection. Alternately, in Mark 16:5, the angel is not seen until the women enter the already-opened tomb, and he is described simply as "a young man." In Luke's version of the resurrection tale (Luke 24:4), two angels suddenly appear next to the women within the tomb; they are described as being clothed in "shining apparel." This is most similar to the version in John 20:12, where Mary alone speaks to "two angels in white" within the tomb of Jesus.

Two angels witnessed Jesus' ascent into Heaven and prophesied his return. When Peter was imprisoned, an angel put his guards to sleep, released him from his chains, and led him out of the prison. Angels fill a number of different roles in the Book of Revelation. Among other things, they are seen gathered around the Throne of God saying the thrice-holy hymn.

Scholastic theologians teach that angels are mentally superior to humans as mankind was created "a little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:5) and can travel much faster than the known limitations of the physical universe. They also teach that angels are intermediaries to some forces that would otherwise be natural forces of the universe, such as the rotation of planets and the motion of stars. Because of their spiritual nature, angels possess the beatific vision of the triple Godhead.

[edit] Depiction in art

While angels and demons alike are generally regarded as invisible to human sight, they are frequently depicted as human-like creatures with wings, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence, but can take on human form. The angels' wings are heavily implied by the Scriptures. Seraphim are depicted in art and scripture as having six wings (Isaiah 6:1-3), and Cherubim four.

Theologians agreed that angels have no gender (see more extended discussion below). Whilst artists avoided making the Virgin and saints too attractive, so that inappropriate thoughts would not be aroused in the beholder, no such constraint applied to angels, who have no sex. Their exceptional beauty was well attested in Scripture. The long plain dress or tunic traditionally given to most angels comes hardly altered from the Byzantine tradition, where it had, if anything, a male connotation. In the Renaissance these were often brightly coloured, but before and after were mostly plain white.

Byzantine angels were also often shown in military outfits, and, transmitted by icons from Crete in particular, this tradition was transferred to Western art, especially for Gabriel and Michael, who wear versions of Byzantine officer's armour and clothing into the Baroque period and later. The same archangels, when in attendance on Christ or the Virgin, wear the loros, a jewelled strip of cloth hanging vertically down the front of the body. This was worn only by the Imperial family and their bodyguard; the archangels were seen as God's bodyguard. They also often carry long white wands of office. Hence, when a high ranking Byzantine in a visionary dream in 586 saw two men he took to be bodyguards of the Emperor, they subsequently turned out to be angels.^[12] For other scenes, the same angels must appear incognito to accord with, for example, their appearance to Abraham. However artists are very reluctant to depict them in normal clothes, or without wings.

Angels are often shown making music in heaven, sometimes in bands of a fair size, or in depictions of the Book of Revelations, blowing trumpets in accordance with the text. In the 15th century West in particular, angels are sometimes shown wearing versions of contemporary clerical vestments. There was a theological comparison developed between the role of Gabriel in the Annunciation and that of the priest saying Mass

In the Renaissance, the classical putto, usually naked, was first revived in secular and mythological subjects, but they soon appeared, often in great quantity, as angels, becoming almost the norm in compositions with a number of angels merely in attendance.

[edit] Islamic views

Main article: Angels in Islam

In Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, angels are called "Malaaikah"(sing: Malak), similar to the Hebrew word "mal'ach". The belief in angels is central to the religion of Islam, which articles of faith includes Belief in God, Belief in Angels, Belief in Books (Holy Scripture), Belief in Prophets and Messengers, Belief in Qiyamah (Resurrection/Doomsday) and finally Belief in Qada and Qadar (Arabic القضاء و القدر) (predestination) beginning with the belief that the Qur'an was dictated to the prophet Muhammad by the chief of all angels, the archangel Jibril (Gabriel). Angels are thus the ministers of God, as well as the agents of revelation in Islam.

In Islam, angels are benevolent beings created from light and do not possess free will. They are completely devoted to the worship of God and carry out certain functions on His command, such as recording every human being's actions, placing a soul in a newborn child, maintaining certain environmental conditions of the planet (such as nurturing vegetation and distributing the rain) and taking the soul at the time of death. Angels are described as being excessively beautiful and have different numbers of wings (for example, Gabriel is attributed as having 600 wings in his natural form) and have no gender. They can take on human form, but only in appearance. As such, angels do not eat, procreate or commit sin as humans do.

According to the majority of Islamic scholars, angels are incapable of committing sin, and therefore cannot fall from grace, excluding the Iblis who chose to do evil because he had free-will and is not considered as a fallen angel, but a separate entity made of fire called jinn. Scholars cite the following Quranic verse, "And when We said to the Angels; 'Prostrate yourselves unto Adam.' So they prostrated themselves except Iblis. He was one of the jinn..." (Surat Al-Kahf, 18:50). Angels, unlike the fiery nature of jinn, are beings of goodness and cannot choose to disobey God, nor do they possess the ability to do evil.

The archangel Gabriel is attributed with sending the message of God to all the Prophets (including the Psalms, Torah, Bible and Qur'an). Other angels include Mikail (Michael) who discharges control of vegetation and rain, Israfel who will blow the trumpet at the day of resurrection, and Izrail (Azrael), the angel of death (as opposed to the Christian view that Gabriel is the angel of good news). The angels Munkar and Nakir are assigned to interrogate the dead before judgement day, Ridwan ( Arabic : رضوان), is the angel guarding the Heaven's Gate while Maalik (Arabic :مالك) guards the Hell (as opposed the Christian view that Satan who rules the hell and tortures the sinners). Another angels whose job is to record daily action of human being bad and good are both Raqib and A'tid, these two were also called Kirama Katibin (Arabic: كراما كاتبين), in the Quran; and there are nineteen angels over-seeing the punishments of hell unflinchingly (Surat Al-Muddaththir, 74:30). There are eight massive angels that support the Throne of God (Surat Al-Haaqqa, 69:17). Every human being is assigned two angels to scribe a record of all actions done by the individual throughout their life, which will be used in evidence for or against the person by God on the day of judgement.

Humans do not turn into angels upon death, rather they are physically resurrected in body and soul and judged by God on judgement day (and that should they end up in heaven, they are given perfect bodies).

Imam `Ali explained the creation of Angels in the following words:

"Then He created the openings between high skies and filled them with all classes of His angels. Some of them are in prostration and do not kneel up. Others in kneeling position and do not stand up. Some of them are in array and do not leave their position. Others are extolling God and do not get tired. The sleep of the eye or the slip of wit, or languor of the body or the effect of forgetfulness does not affect them.

Among them are those who work as trusted bearers of His message, those who serve as speaking tongues for His prophets and those who carry to and fro His orders and injunctions. Among them are the protectors of His creatures and guards of the doors of the gardens of Paradise. Among them are those also whose steps are fixed on earth but their necks are protruding into the skies, their limbs are getting out on all sides, their shoulders are in accord with the columns of the Divine Throne, their eyes are downcast before it, they have spread down their wings under it and they have rendered between themselves and all else curtains of honour and screens of power. They do not think of their Creator through image, do not impute to Him attributes of the created, do not confine Him within abodes and do not point at Him through illustrations."^[13]

[edit] Latter-Day Saint views

Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism), and several of his associates, claimed that they were visited by angels on multiple occasions and for a variety of purposes in conjunction with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus.

According to the official doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Bible Dictionary entry on "Angels"):

"These are the messengers of the Lord, and are spoken of in the epistle to the Hebrews as 'ministering spirits'. We learn from latter-day revelation that there are two classes of heavenly beings who minister for the Lord: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Spirits are those beings who either have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone (unembodied), or who have once had a mortal body and have died, and are awaiting the resurrection (disembodied). Ordinarily the word 'angel' means those ministering persons who have a body of flesh and bone, being either resurrected from the dead (reembodied), or else translated, as were Enoch, Elijah, etc. (D&C 129)."

Joseph Smith, Jr. described his first angelic encounter thus (Joseph Smith History 1:31-33):

"While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.

"He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

"Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me."

People who claimed to have received a visit by an angel include Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Martin Harris. Although Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris all eventually became disaffected with Smith and left the church, none of them retracted their statement that they had seen and conversed with an angel of the Lord, and indeed, even defended their claim of angelic visitation to their deaths.

Names of some known angels who appeared are Moroni, Nephi, Peter, James, John, John the Baptist.

Michael the archangel was Adam (the first man) when he was mortal, and Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah. This may seem odd to the non-Mormon, but it is important to understand that Mormons see God, angels and man as all belonging to the same species.

[edit] Gender of angels

Although most theologians in the cultures mentioned above (Latter-day Saints excepted; see above) would agree that angels are technically genderless in the normal human sense, all references in the Jewish, Christian and other holy writings mentioned above give angels a masculine aspect; for example, angels are given tasks such as warrior, herald, guard (at the gates of Eden), wrestler (of Jacob), mover of large stones (at the tomb of Christ), which in traditional societies would all have been tasks typically performed by men. The few canonical names of angels (e.g., Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer) are recognized in most cultures as masculine names. In languages with gender markings for nouns, the word "angel" is uniformly a masculine noun, including in the original Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts referred to above. In cultures where the proper name "Angel" is given to children, the name "Angel" is typically given to boys (girl's versions of the name include "Angela" and "Angelica").^[14] The word "angel" in English, French, German, Spanish, and many other European languages is derived from the Latin angelus, a masculine noun.

In art, however, angels are always beautiful, which tends to mean their features are often rather feminine - even for warrior archangels, their hair is usually long, and their figures somewhat slight. In European medieval and Renaissance paintings of the Annunciation the archangel is usually depicted as noticeably more attractive than Mary - she could not be painted in a way that might inspire lustful thoughts, whilst no such problem arose with a genderless angel. Angels in art become more sexually differentiated from the nineteenth century, after which breasts and masculine figures and haircuts appear. In modern Western culture, many angels are depicted as having female figures, facial features and names, and many New Age practitioners speak of masculine and feminine angels.

[edit] Other religions

In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, but this is not strictly correct since they don't convey messages, but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord", God); they appear in an abstract fashion in the religious thought of Zarathustra and then later (during the Achaemenid period of Zoroastrianism) became personalized, associated with an aspect of the divine creation (fire, plants, water...).

Also, angel-like beings called Tennin and Tenshi appear in Japanese mythology.

There are a number of New Age -type books describing various ordinary people's encounters with angels or angel-like beings.

Occult tradition lists the seven Angels of Revelation and our Solar System as Gabriel (the Earth-Moon), Raphael (Mercury), Uriel (Venus), Michael (Sun), Samael (Mars), Zachariel (Jupiter) and Orifiel (Saturn). The Angel of the Earth is Melchizedek.

[edit] Bahá'í

An angel, often termed a "Maiden of Heaven", also appears in Bahá'í literature. Bahá'ís generally see her as a symbol of the holy spirit, the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation, or even as his "higher self". Bahá'u'lláh taught that his ministry began when he was visited by a Maiden of Heaven while incarcerated in a dungeon of Tehran. While always depicted as desirable and attractive, she also appears as a transcendent spiritual figure, and sexual desire is understood to be a metaphor for spiritual longing. While other angels appear in Bahá'u'lláh's works, they are generally depicted as the personification of a divine virtue, such as trustworthiness.

'Abdu'l-Bahá also defined angels as "those holy souls who have severed attachment to the earthly world, who are free from the fetters of self and passion and who have attached their hearts to the divine realm and the merciful kingdom".[1]

Furthermore, he said that people can be angels in this world:

"Ye are the angels, if your feet be firm, your spirits rejoiced, your secret thoughts pure, your eyes consoled, your ears opened, your breasts dilated with joy, and your souls gladdened, and if you arise to assist the Covenant, to resist dissension and to be attracted to the Effulgence!"[2]

[edit] Hinduism

In English, the Sanskrit word Deva is usually translated as "god" (though sometimes left as "Deva"), which certainly gives a polytheistic appearance to Hinduism. Many Hindus say that this is a poor practice, because the best word for God in Sanskrit is Ishvara (the Supreme Lord). The Devas may be better translated as angels or demigods. They are celestial beings with supernatural powers, but also weaknesses. They grant material benefits to humans upon praying and sacrificing to them, though they don't carry the message of Ishvara to the humans as in Abrahamic religions (a category of such beings also exist, called "devaduta" or "duta"). Examples of Devas are Indra and Surya. Buddhism and Jainism also use the word "deva", but in different senses.

[edit] Thelema

Aleister Crowley tried to teach people to attain what he called "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel". Within the system of Thelema, the Holy Guardian Angel is representative of one’s truest divine nature. Citing Crowley, people have linked the term with the Genius of the Golden Dawn, the Augoeides of Iamblichus, the Atman of Hinduism, and the Daemon of the gnostics.

According to most Thelemites, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one’s HGA, a process termed "Knowledge and Conversation." By doing so, the magician becomes fully aware of his own True Will. For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept:

It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple. (Magick Without Tears, Ch.83)

Crowley felt that attaining Knowledge and Conversation was so important, that he staked the claim that any other magical operation was, in a sense, evil.

[edit] Angels as a development step of the soul

Some mystics believe that a soul grows in steps from a mineral, to a plant, then an animal, and then to a human. When the human resolves to die, a soul could become an angel. The Persian Sufi mystic poet Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi wrote in his poem Masnavi:

I died as inanimate matter and arose a plant,

I died as a plant and rose again an animal.

I died as an animal and arose a man.

Why then should I fear to become less by dying?

I shall die once again as a man

To rise an angel perfect from head to foot!

Again when I suffer dissolution as an angel,

I shall become what passes the conception of man!

Let me then become non-existent, for non-existence

Sings to me in organ tones, 'To him shall we return.'

(Translation from Wikisource, Masnavi I Ma'navi, Book III, Story XVII)’’

The Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg has a similar imagination. In his late work Conjugal Love he describes, that a soul of a man and a soul of a woman are united by the marriage in Heaven to become an angel.

Occult author Samael Aun Weor makes it clear that a soul cannot evolve to become an angel through mechanical evolution - the Buddhist Wheel of Life has involution of nature as well as evolution - as such the steps would be mineral, plant, animal, human, animal, plant, mineral. To evolve to become an angel involves conscious work and voluntary suffering: marriage is treated as a sacrament, and is the means which Swedenborg was referring to. The mystics were not referring to the death of the human body, but to the "dissolution of the ego"; the psychologial death; the Buddhistic annihilation; the death of "myself"; the method of the removal of all our sins which Jesus Christ so wisely pointed out, and which was emulated by innumerable Saints.

[edit] See also

• Angel of the Lord
• Hierarchy of angels
• Angels in art
• Angelici, ancient sect that worshipped angels
• Angel of death
• Guardian angel
• Metatron
• Spiritism
• Fallen Angel

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External links

• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20050324.shtml Radio 4 In Our Time - Angels
• Catholic Encyclopedia entry on angels
• PersianDNA Zoroastrian angels
• Jewish Encyclopedia entry on angels
• Angels in Islam
• Christian/occult-oriented A-Z guide to names of individual angels, angelic hierarchies and other reference materials
• Entheomedia.org
• Angels: Good or Evil", The History Channel, TV documentary, originally aired May 10, 2003. Angels: Good or Evil at the Internet Movie Database
• Professor Peter Marshall on how the Protestant Reformation failed to purge Angels from Christian culture
• Angelology in Think On These Things by Gary Gilley

Hierarchy of Angels v • d • e
First Hierarchy	Seraphim • Cherubim • Thrones or Ophanim
Second Hierarchy	Dominions • Virtues  • Powers
Third Hierarchy	Principalities • Archangels • Angels