Angels

An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. In scripture, they typically act as messengers, as held by the three prominent monotheistic faiths, Christianity, Judaism and Islam

Etymology

Look up angel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The English word came from Latin angelus, which came from Greek άνγελος, 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

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 kaballistic 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 demon had existed long before.
It is believed that Zoroastrianism had an influence on Jewish angelology,[3] 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,[4] which have led some to believe that Zoroastrianism borrowed these beliefs from Judaism. 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:[5] comparing Satan to Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) of Zoroastrian faith,[6] who was the arch-enemy of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Universal God of mankind.[7]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.[8]
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.
In contrast to the first view, some critics believe that it was Judaism and Christianity that had an influence on Zoroastrianism. They purport that similarities, such as those between Zoroaster and Jesus, and the incorporation of other motifs, were created by priests in an attempt to exalt Zoroaster, and deter those of Zoroastrian faith from converting to other faiths.[9]
That is, however, problematic as some historians date Zoroastrianism back more than ten thousand years before the birth of Christ, but with little physical evidence. The main source of Zoroastrian lore comes from the Shāhnāma of Firdowsi, which the author claims to be truthful to the ancient legends, but which was written after the Islamic conquest of Persia.

[edit] Angels in the Tanakh

Statue of an angel at a cemetery in Metairie, Louisiana.
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 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.
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.

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 Job 15:15, 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, Zecheriah 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 the description of Jesus 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.

Angel holding the sun at the Bordeaux cathedral
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; Zecheriah 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.

Christian views

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel - Gustave Doré, (1855)
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 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, with the good angels Gabriel (Luke 1:19), Metatron (Rev. 10:1 - no name is mentioned there so it could merely be a writer's suggestion rather than a fact - ), and Michael (Daniel 12:1), and the evil angels Beelzebub, (Mark 3:22) Satan (Mark 1:13), and Apollyon (Rev. 9:11)(some believe that Apollyon is a good angel that guards the gates to hell); ranks are implied, archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). 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. These are probably guardian angels, standing to the churches in the same relation that the angel-princes in Daniel stand to the nations; practically the angels are personifications of the churches.
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's 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's 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 singing the thrice-holy hymn.
Our soul has no material-ύλη- and we cant see it.The same rule applies to angels. Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence, but can incarnate. Seraphim are often depicted as having six wings radiating from a center concealing a body, as depicted in the Bible. Starting with the end of the 4th century, angels were depicted with wings, presumably to give an easy explanation for them travelling to and from heaven. This is also heavily implied by the Scriptures. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly. 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. Angels possess the beatific vision, or the unencumbered understanding of God (the essence of the pleasure of heaven).
The Catholic Church teaches that there are several ranks of angels; among them Cherubim, Seraphim, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Dominions.

Hierarchy of angels
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According to medieval Christian theologians, the Angels are organized into several orders, or Angelic Choirs.
The most influential of these classifications was that put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the Fourth or Fifth century, in his book The Celestial Hierarchy. However, during the Middle Ages, many schemes were proposed, some drawing on and expanding on Pseudo-Dionysius, others suggesting completely different classifications (some authors limited the number of Choirs to seven).
In The Celestial Hierarchy, the author drew on passages from the New Testament, specifically Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 1:16 (considered by modern scholars to be very tentative and ambiguous sources in relation to the construction of such a schema), to construct a schema of three Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs. In descending order of power, these were:

The Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini at the National Gallery London, shows three hierarchies and nine orders of angels, each with different characteristics
First Hierarchy:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones or Ophanim
Second Hierarchy:
Dominions or Kyriotetes
Virtues or Dynameis
Powers or Exousiai
Third Hierarchy:
Principalities or Archai
Archangels
Angels

First Sphere
The angels of the first sphere were thought to serve as heavenly counselors. They are likely of equal rank to each other.

[edit] Seraphim
Main article: Seraph
The Seraphim (singular "Seraph") are the highest order of angels, serving as the caretakers of God's throne and continuously singing his praises: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is filled with His Glory." It is said that they surround the throne of God, singing the music of the spheres and regulating the movement of the heavens as it emanates from God. It is also said that such a bright light emanates from them that nothing, not even other divine beings, can look upon them. It is said that there are four of them surrounding God's throne, where they burn eternally from love and zeal for God.
Some theologians believe that Seraphim and Cherubim are in fact different designations of the same rank, due to the large number of similarities in the description of their appearance and services (eg. Is.6:2; Rev.4:8b).
Unlike other Seraphim who had six wings, Lucifer was featured to have twelve wings.[citation needed]
The Seraphim are mentioned in Isaiah 6:1–7 [1]
Names of known Seraphim:
Seraphiel
Metatron
Michael
Uriel
Nathanael
Jehoel
Chamuel (Kemuel, Shemuel)
Lucifer
Abaddon
Asmodeus
Astaroth
Leviathan
Samael
Semyazza
Sephiroth

[edit] Cherubim
Main article: Cherub
The Cherubim (singular "Cherub") are beyond the throne of God; they are the guardians of light and of the stars. It is believed that, although they are removed from man's plane of reality, the divine light that they filter down from Heaven still touches the lives of living things.
They are sometimes described as having four wings (Ez.1:6) and sometimes with six (Rev.4:8), lending more evidence towards the argument of the Seraphim, Cherubim and Ophanim being different designations of the same "living creature". They are sometimes interpreted as having four faces such as the "living creatures" (ζῷα) described by Ezekiel (1:5), one of man, ox, lion, and eagle. Although in Rev.4:7-6 John describes 4 separate "living creatures" (ζῴον). "The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying."
Cherubim are considered the elect beings for the purpose of protection. Cherubim guard Eden and the throne of God.
Their rank among angels is uncertain but they are always categorized in the First Sphere. Some believe them to be an order or class of angels; others hold them to be a class of heavenly beings higher than angels. Cherubim have perfect knowledge of God, surpassed only by the love of the Seraphim.[citation needed]
The Cherubim are mentioned in Genesis 3:24 [2]; Ezekiel 10:17–20 [3]; and 1 Kings 6:23–28 [4].
Names of known Cherubim:
Cherubiel
Gabriel
Ophaniel
Raphael
Uriel
Zophiel
Azazel
Beelzebub
Berith
Lauviah
Lucifer
Marou
Salikotal
Shamsiel

Thrones
The Thrones or Ophanim are traditionally identified with the "wheels" of Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 in the prophet Ezekiel's visions of the throne of God (Merkabah). They are described as having rims full of eyes, and arranged as "something like a wheel within a wheel." Since they are said to move in any direction without turning, this has sometimes been depicted in art as a pair of wheels intersecting at right angles.
Thrones are likely to be of the same rank as Cherubim and, like the Seraphim and Cherubim, might be the same creature. They must, in any event, be closely connected with the Cherubim: "When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures [Cherubim] was in the wheels." (Ezekiel 10:21).
Names of known Ophanim:
Bodiel
Jophiel
Zaphkiel
Oriphiel
Raziel
Astaroth
Gressil
Focalor
Forneus
Murmur
Nelchael
Phenex
Purson
Raum
Samael
Sonneillon
Verrine

[edit] Second Sphere
Angels of the Second Sphere work as heavenly governors.

[edit] Dominions
The Dominions, also known as the Hashmallim, hold the task of regulating the duties of lower angels. They receive their orders from the Seraphim, the Cherubim, or God Himself, and are responsible for ensuring that the cosmos remains in order. It is only with extreme rarity that the dominions make themselves physically known to mortals. Instead, they quietly concern themselves with the details of existence.[citation needed]
Although the term dominions was used by Paul in Colossians 1:16 [5] and Ephesians 1:21 [6] he may have used it to refer to the dominions of nations and men, instead of referring to angels.

[edit] Virtues (Fortresses, Strongholds)
The Virtues, also called Fortresses or Strongholds, lie beyond the Thrones and are equal to the Principalities. Their task is to oversee groups of people. They are shaped like sparks of light that inspire living things to many things such as art or science.[citation needed]
It is unclear from where the name of this order originated.

[edit] Powers
The Powers are angelic beings shaped like brightly colored, hazy fumes. They are the bearers of conscience and the keepers of history. The angels of birth and death are Powers. They are academically driven and are concerned with ideology, philosophy, theology, religion, and documents pertaining to those studies. Powers are the brain trusts: a group of experts who serve as advisers and policy planners. Their duty is to oversee the distribution of power among mankind, hence their name.[citation needed]
Paul used the term powers in Colossians 1:16 [7] and Ephesians 1:21 [8] but he may have used it to refer to the powers of nations, societies or individuals, instead of referring to angels.

[edit] Rulers & Authorities
These two types of angels are equal in power and authority. Rulers develop ideologies whereas Authorities write the documents and doctrines.[citation needed]
Both Powers and Rulers are involved in formulating ideologies. However, Powers are all-encompassing whereas Rulers are more focused on specific lines of thought.[citation needed]
Authorities specialize in putting those ideas into print and in producing actual documents.[citation needed]
Paul used the term rule and authority in Ephesians 1:21 [9], and rulers and authorities in Ephesians 3:10 [10]. He may have been referring to the rulers and authorities of men or societies, instead of referring to angels.

[edit] Third Sphere
Angels who function as heavenly messengers.

[edit] Principalities
The Principalities are angelic beings shaped like rays of light. They lie beyond the group of archangels. They are the guardian angels of nations and countries, and are concerned with the issues and events surrounding these, including politics, military matters, commerce and trade. One of their duties is to choose who amongst living things will rule.[citation needed]
Paul used the term principalities in Colossians 1:16 [11] and Ephesians 1:21 [12] & 3:10 [13] but he may have used it to refer to the principalities of the world, a nation, a country or a society, instead of referring to angels.

[edit] Angels
The Angels are the lowest order of the angels, and the most familiar to men. They are the ones most concerned with the affairs of living things. Within the category of angels, there are many different kinds, with different functions. The angels are sent as messengers to men.
An example of such an angel as portrayed in popular media was Michael Landon's character on the show "Highway to Heaven".

Death (angels) in religion

Death, a tarot card from the Tarot of Marseilles.
In the Bible, death is viewed as an under form of an angel sent from God, a being deprived of all voluntary power. On some occasions this described in terms fitting Azrael, and on others as fitting Samael. The "angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings xix. 35). "The destroyer" kills the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 23), and the "destroying angel" ("mal'ak ha-mashḥit") rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. xxiv. 15). In I Chronicle xxi. 15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by King David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." The biblical Book of Job (xxxiii. 22) uses the general term "destroyer" ("memitim"), which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" ("mal'ake Khabbalah") and Prov. xvi. 14 uses the term the "angels of death" ("mal'ake ha-mavet"). Uriel is sometimes referred as the angel of death, too.

La mort du fossoyeur (Death of the grave-digger) by Carlos Schwabe is a visual compendium of Symbolist motifs.

[edit] In Judaism

[edit] Form and functions
The angel of death was created by God on the first day (Tan. on Gen. xxxix. 1). His dwelling is in heaven, whence he reaches earth in eight flights, whereas pestilence reaches it in one (Ber. 4b). He has twelve wings (Pirḳe R. El. xiii). "Over all people have I surrendered thee the power," said God to the angel of death, "only not over this one which has received freedom from death through the Law" (Tan. to Ex. xxxi. 18; ed. Stettin, p. 315). It is said of the angel of death that he is full of eyes. In the hour of death he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees the angel, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon the angel throws the drop into it. This drop causes his death; he turns putrid, and his face becomes yellow ('Ab. Zarah 20b; in detail, Jellinck, "B. H." i. 150; on putrefaction see also Pesiḳ. 54b; for the eyes compare Ezek. i. 18 and Rev. iv. 6). The expression "to taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 327).
The soul escapes through the mouth, or, as is stated in another place, through the throat; therefore the angel of death stands at the head of the patient (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94, Midr. Teh. to Ps. xi.). When the soul forsakes the body its voice goes from one end of the world to the other, but is not heard (Gen. R. vi. 7; Ex. R. v. 9; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiv.). The drawn sword of the angel of death, mentioned by the Chronicler (I. Chron. xxi. 15; comp. Job xv. 22; Enoch lxii. 11), indicates that the angel of death was figured as a warrior who kills off the children of men. "Man, on the day of his death, falls down before the angel of death like a beast before the slaughterer" (Grünhut, "Liḳḳuṭim", v. 102a). R. Samuel's father (c. 200) said: "The angel of death said to me, 'Only for the sake of the honor of mankind do I not tear off their necks as is done to slaughtered beasts'" ('Ab. Zarah 20b). In later representations the knife sometimes replaces the sword, and reference is also made to the cord of the angel of death, which indicates death by throttling. Moses says to God: "I fear the cord of the angel of death" (Grünhut, l.c. v. 103a et seq.). Of the four Jewish methods of execution three are named in connection with the angel of death: burning (by pouring hot lead down the victim's throat-- similar to the drop of gall), slaughtering (by beheading), and throttling. The angel of death administers the particular punishment which God has ordained for the commission of sin.
A peculiar mantle ("idra"-according to Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." i. 32, a sword) belongs to the equipment of the angel of death (Eccl. R. iv. 7). The angel of death takes on the particular form which will best serve his purpose; e.g., he appears to a scholar in the form of a beggar imploring pity (M. Ḳ. 28a). "When pestilence rages in the town, walk not in the middle of the street, because the angel of death [i.e., pestilence] strides there; if peace reigns in the town, walk not on the edges of the road. When pestilence rages in the town, go not alone to the synagogue, because there the angel of death stores his tools. If the dogs howl, the angel of death has entered the city; if they make sport, the prophet Elijah has come" (B. Ḳ. 60b). The "destroyer" ("saṭan ha-mashḥit") in the daily prayer is the angel of death (Ber. 16b). Midr. Ma'ase Torah (compare Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 98) says: "There are six angels of death: Gabriel over kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast

Death and Satan
The angel of death, who is identified by some with Satan, immediately after his creation had a dispute with God as to the light of the Messiah (Pesiḳ. R. 161b). When Eve touched the tree of knowledge, she perceived the angel of death, and thought: "Now I shall die, and God will create another wife for Adam" (Pirḳe R. El. xiii., end; compare Targum Yer. to Gen. iii. 6, and Yalḳ. i. § 25). Adam also had a conversation with the angel of death (Böklen, "Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie," p. 12). The angel of death sits before the face of the dead (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94). While Abraham was mourning for Sarah the angel appeared to him, which explains why "Abraham stood up from before his dead" (Gen. xxiii. 3; Gen. R. lviii. 5, misunderstood by the commentators). Samael told Sarah that Abraham had sacrificed Isaac in spite of his wailing, and Sarah died of horror and grief (Pirḳe R. El. xxxii.). It was Moses who most often had dealings with the angel. At the rebellion of Korah, Moses saw him (Num. R. v. 7; Bacher, l.c. iii. 333; compare Sanh. 82a). It was the angel of death in the form of pestilence which snatched away 15,000 every year during the wandering in the wilderness (ib. 70). When Moses reached heaven, the angel told him something (Jellinek, l.c. i. 61).
When the angel of death came to Moses and said, "Give me thy soul," Moses called to him: "Where I sit thou hast no right to stand." And the angel retired ashamed, and reported the occurrence to God. Again, God commanded him to bring the soul of Moses. The angel went, and, not finding him, inquired of the sea, of the mountains, and of the valleys; but they knew nothing of him (Sifre, Deut. 305). Really, Moses did not die through the angel of death, but through God's kiss ("bi-neshiḳah"); i.e., God drew his soul out of his body (B. B. 17a; compare Abraham in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature, and parallel references in Böklen, l.c. p. 11). Legend seizes upon the story of Moses' struggle with the angel of death, and expands it at length (Tan., ed. Stettin, pp. 624 et seq.; Deut. R. ix., xi.; Grünhut, l.c. v. 102b, 169a). As Benaiah bound Ashmedai (Jew. Encyc. ii. 218a), so Moses binds the angel of death that he may bless Israel (Pesiḳ. 199, where "lifne moto" [Deut. xxxiii. 1] is explained as meaning "before the angel of death").
Solomon once noticed that the angel of death was grieved. When questioned as to the cause of his sorrow he answered: "I am requested to take your two beautiful scribes." Solomon at once charged the demons to convey his scribes to Luz, where the angel of death could not enter. When they were near the city, however, they both died. The angel laughed on the next day, whereupon Solomon asked the cause of his mirth. "Because," answered the angel, "thou didst send the youths thither, whence I was ordered to fetch them" (Suk. 53a). In the next world God will let the angel of death fight against Pharaoh, Sisera, and Sennacherib (Yalḳ., Isa. 428).
The teaching of God shields one from the power of the angel of death. The children of Israel have accepted the Torah only in order that the angel may have no power over them ('Ab. Zarah 5a). Since death results only from sin, it can not, of course, come to those who live in accordance with the Torah. Although the sentence of mortality once pronounced could never be recalled ('Ab. Zarah 5a), yet the angel of death may not visit teachers of the Law; he is rather their friend (ib. 35b), and even imparts learning to them (Ber. 51a).

In Christianity

The medieval painting of Death playing chess from Täby Church in Sweden
Death is personified occasionally in the New Testament. One such image is the image of the grim reaper, found in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17. Another is perhaps Acts 2:24 - "But God raised Him [Jesus] from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Later passages, however, are much more explicit. Romans 5 speaks of Death as having "reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses," and various passages in the Epistles speak of Christ's work on the Cross and His Resurrection as a confrontation with Death. Such verses include Rom. 6:9 and 2 Tim. 1:10.
Despite Jesus' victory over it, Death is still viewed as enduring in Scripture. 1 Cor. 15:26 asserts, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death," which implies that Death has not been destroyed once and for all. This assertion later proves true in the Book of Revelation.
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews declares that Satan "holds the power of death" (Heb. 2:14), perhaps equating the two. It is written that the Son became human that by his death he might destroy the devil; this is the head of the Beast referred to as, "One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed." (Rev. 13:3) If the head that was fatally wounded but healed refers to Death, this accords with 2 Tim. 1:10, which states that Jesus "has destroyed death," and the implication that death was yet to be destroyed in 1 Cor. 15:26. But it could alternately refer to the Devil separately, who was also said to have been destroyed, and yet has revived. That is, whether Death is the Devil or an agent of Satan is unclear.
The final destruction of Death is referenced by Paul in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians; he says that after the general resurrection, the prophecies of Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 - "He will swallow up death forever," and "Where, O death, is your sting?" (Septuagint), will be fulfilled. According to Paul, the power of Death lies in sin, which is made possible by the Law, but God "gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." That victory over Death is prophetically revealed in the Revelation of John, discussed below.
In the visions of John, Death is personified as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Rev. 6:8 reads, "I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." In Rev. 20:13-14, in the vision of Judgment of the dead, it is written, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death." This describes the destruction of the last enemy. After this, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4)
In Roman Catholicism, the archangel Michael is viewed as the angel of death, carrying the souls of the deceased to Heaven. There, he balances them in his scales (one of his symbols). He is said to give the dying souls the chance to redeem themselves before passing as well. In Mexico, a popular Catholic "cult" regards the personification of death as a saint, known as Santa Muerte. The figure is uncanonized and the Church refuses to acknowledge its existence.

A guardian angel is a spirit who is believed to protect and to guide a particular person. The concept of tutelary angels and their hierarchy was extensively developed in Christianity in the 5th century by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. The theology of angels, and tutelary spirits, has undergone many refinements since the 400's, and contemporary orthodox belief in both the eastern and western churches is that guardian angels protect the body and present prayers to God, protecting whichever person God assigns them to. The Roman Catholic Church calendar of saints includes a memorial for guardian angels on October 2.

Pages in category "Classes of angel"
There are 7 pages in this section of this category.
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Hierarchy of angels
Heavenly host
C
Cherub
G
Grigori
Guardian angel (spirit)
S
Seraph
T
Thrones