WHAT ARE ANGELS, REALLY?

ARCHANGELS

Angels have been a part of Judaism, Christian and other religions believers for millennia. They have been depicted in numerous art forms and are part of our folklore, imagination and indeed pop culture. But what are they, really? And what are their real functions? Be an angel, tell the truth!

Delving into some calm facts about angels that you might never have heard about before, you learn more about these mysterious so-called messengers of God.

The origins of the English word “angel” come from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger”. Going back to the Hebrew word for angel in the Old Testament, it means the same. Angels were created to serve God. They are essentially messengers from God. Now, what messages they deliver and how they are delivered is a different story.

Who are these angels, really? There is a hierarchy and each angel has a specific job. Some angels are next to God, while others supervise other angels and then there are those who deliver God’s messages to humans. Wow, they work like humans! Angels have very specific job descriptions and limited powers that allow them to perform a task. Say an angel is a healer, well, it can’t do anything else. Or if an angel’s job is to deliver a specific message, that’s usually as far as the task goes. This is perfectly illustrated in Genesis 19, when God sends three angels to give Abraham three separate messages. One angel told him that his wife was expecting, another informed him that Sodom would be destroyed and the third angel told Abraham that he’d be healed. Wow!!

Angels have been depicted by artists for millennia. Many of them are portrayed as beautiful, delicate humanlike creatures with wings.  These depictions, however, might not be quite right, as according to both Jewish and Christian tradition angels are not actual physical beings. They are spiritual beings; hence, they have no physical attributes. So, if angels don’t have physical attributes, how do they deliver God’s messages to humans? Well, angels are described in the Bible as “light”, but they may take up a human form to carry out their divine jobs. What?

Are angels male or female? Angels are traditionally depicted in art as being either female or as highly feminized beings. This feminine portrayal is likely to have its roots in Greco-Roman paganism i.e. goddesses. When it comes to the Bible, angels have male names. Though, it might have something to do with the fact that both the Greek and Hebrew words for angels are masculine. Mannish! Despite different interpretations, it can be said that the female-male dichotomy relates to humans and reproductions. Angels, not being human, can’t be male or female, right? Just Angels!

The Nephilim were these mysterious beings, also referred to as giants, who were born from the “sons of God” and the “daughters of man”. So, who were these “sons of God” & “daughters of man”, then? According to one Jewish tradition, they were Angels. What? Current Judeo-Christian tradition, however, does not support the idea of these human-angel relationships and believes that the “sons of God” & “daughters of man” were mere mortals. Really!

Mark 12:25 has led to some confusion as to whether humans can indeed become angels when they die. Wow, can’t wait! Jesus, when talking about resurrection, says that humans will be “like the angels in heaven”. The key here is the word “like”. The meaning is that in the afterlife, humans with a pure soul won’t have to concern themselves with the ways of the world, just like angels don’t. It doesn’t mean that they will turn into angels. What??

The word “angelic” does have a positive connotation, but the Bible actually has quite a few examples of how angels can deliver messages in a pretty devastating way on behalf of God. Like an angel of death killing the firstborn sons of Egypt, after the Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews leave or even Archangel Uriel nearly killing Moses. Angels deliver the message from God, but it turns out the message can sometimes be a bit violent. What an imaginary story! Sounds good, though!

Archangels are known to be a different league of angels. However, the Hebrew Old Testament doesn’t make reference to them. It’s not until the New Testament that this class of angels is identified as such. Though the term was not used, a distinction was made. For instance, Archangel Michael is called the “Great Prince” in Daniel 12:1. And in the Book of Tobit, Archangel Raphael makes reference to himself as “one of seven angels who stand ready & enter before the glory of the Lord”. So, are Archangels the highest ranking angels in heaven?

Well, not quite. The top leagues are occupied by the seraphim, the cherubim and the throne angels. This makes Archangels place fairly low in the hierarchy. Archangels are just above guardian angels, so why are they so important? Archangels are God’s messengers par excellence. They interact directly with humans on the Lord’s behalf, so they are tasked with very important missions i.e. the annunciation. Was Lucifer an Archangel? Lucifer was actually a seraphim, part of the highest ranking angel league. His job was to adore God like we do today about the Queen or King, but he got jealous and was cast out of heaven. That’s human nature!

There is some confusion, probably because it was an Archangel, Saint Michael, who cast Lucifer into hell. Different Christian denominations have different positions about Archangels. One would think Christians would agree on the name of Archangels, but this is not the case. Indeed there are seven Archangels, but the Bible only mentions three by name. So, all religions have different angels like their believes, right?

The Catholic Church recognizes three Archangels as Gabriel, Michael & Raphael. They also acknowledge the existence of the other four, though they don’t name them. The Eastern Orthodox Church, everywhere now & Anglicans, on the other hand, add the fourth Archangel to the mix as the aforementioned Uriel. And Cherubs are usually portrayed as cute and chubby baby angels. Lovely! Though that’s not how they’re described in the Bible. Those tasked with guarding the Garden of Eden even had flaming swords. Wow, amazing & bemusing!