Angel
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An angel is a spiritual supernatural being found in many religions. Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition, in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, they often act as messengers from God. Other roles in religious traditions include acting as warrior or guard; the concept of a "guardian angel" is popular in modern Western culture.
Angels are usually viewed as emanations of a supreme divine being, sent to do the tasks of that being. Traditions vary as to whether angels have free will or are merely extensions of the supreme being's will. While the appearance of angels also varies, many viewsEtymology
The word "angel" in English (from Old English and German Engel), French (from Old French angele), Spanish, and many other Romance languages are derived from the Latin angelus, itself derived from Ancient Greek: άνγελος, angelos, "messenger" (in Koine Greek άγγελος, pl. άγγελοι)[1][2]. The ultimate etymology of that word in Greek is uncertain.[3]
In Hebrew & Arabic the primary term for "angel" is "malakh" (מַלְאָךְ), "malaika", or "malak" (ملاك) derived from the Semitic consonantal root l-'-k (ל-א-ך), meaning "to send." This root is also found in the noun "Melakha" (מְלָאכָה), meaning "work", and the noun "Mal'achut" (מלאכות), meaning "message". Other words referring to angels include כרוב kruv[4] describing young children, from which the English word "cherub" is derived. Another Hebrew term is Gil-Gulim, meaning "revolving," and angels are sometimes depicted as wheels with wings. Derived from this is the Hebrew term "Gal-Gal," "the rotation of fortune, change."[5]
[edit] Judaic beliefs
The Bible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (melakh Elohim; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה (melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord), בני אלוהים (b'nai Elohim; sons of God) and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. Other terms are used in later texts, such as העוליונים (the upper ones). Daniel is the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name.[6]
In post-Biblical Judaism, certain angels came to take on a particular significance and developed unique personalities and roles. Though these archangels were believed to have rank amongst the heavenly host, no systematic hierarchy ever developed. Metatron is considered one of the highest of the angels in Merkabah and Kabbalist mysticism and often serves as a scribe. He is briefly mentioned in the Talmud,[7] and figures prominently in Merkabah mystical texts. Michael, who serves as a warrior and advocate for Israel (Daniel 10:13) is looked upon particularly fondly. Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15-17) and briefly in the Talmud,[8] as well as many Merkabah mystical texts.
Medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides explained his view of angels in his Guide for the Perplexed II:4 and II:6:
...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.
– Guide of the Perplexed II:4, Maimonides
[edit] Christianity
Early Christians took over Jewish ideas of angels. In the early stage, the Christian concept of an angel shifted between the angel as a messenger of God and a manifestation of God himself. Later came identification of individual angelic messengers: (Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, and Uriel). Then, in the space of little more than two centuries (from the third to the fifth) the image of angels took on definite characteristics both in theology and in art.[9]
By the late fourth century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. Some theologians had proposed that Jesus was not divine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute included the development of doctrine about angels.[10]
The angels are represented throughout the Christian Bible as a body of spiritual beings intermediate between God and men: "You have made him (man) a little less than the angels..." (Psalms 8:6). They, equally with man, are created beings; "praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts... for He spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created..." (Psalms 148:2-5; Colossians 10:16-17). The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) declared that the angels were created beings. The Council's decree Firmiter credimus (issued against the Albigenses) declared both that angels were created and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius, the "Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith".
The words "He that liveth for ever created all things together..." (Ecclesiasticus 18:1) have been held to prove a simultaneous creation of all things; but it is generally conceded that "together" (simul) may here mean "equally", in the sense that all things were "alike" created. Angels are spirits; the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister to them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).
[edit] Iconography
- Further information: Winged genie
- See also: Shoulder angel
The earliest known Christian image of an angel, in the Cubicolo dell'Annunziazione in the Catacomb of Priscilla, which is dated to the middle of the third century, is without wings. Representations of angels on sarcophagi and on objects such as lamps and reliquaries of that period also show them without wings.[11]
The earliest known representation of angels with wings is on what is called the Prince's Sarcophagus, discovered at Sarigüzel, near Istanbul, in the 1930s, and attributed to the time of Theodosius I (379-395).[12]
In this same period, Saint John Chrysostom explained the significance of angels' wings: "They manifest a nature's sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings. Not that angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the most elevated dwelling to approach human nature. Accordingly, the wings attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity of their nature."[13]
From then on, though of course with some exceptions, Christian art represented angels with wings, as in the cycle of mosaics in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (432-440).[14]
[edit] Latter-day Saint beliefs
- Further information: Translation (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (generally called "Mormons") views angels as the messengers of God. They are sent to mankind to deliver messages, minister to humanity, teach doctrines of salvation, call mankind to repentance, give priesthood keys, save individuals in perilous times, and guide humankind.[15]
Joseph Smith, Jr. described his first angelic encounter thus:[16]
"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., and the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon: Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and 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. Countless other Latter-day Saints, both in the early movement and modern church, claimed or have claimed to have seen angels, though Joseph Smith posited that, except in extenuating circumstances such as the restoration, mortals teach mortals, spirits teach spirits and resurrected beings teach other resurrected beings. [17]
The majority of the angelic visitations in the early Latter Day Saint movement were witnessed by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who, prior to the establishment of the Church, both claimed to have been ministered to by the prophet-historian Moroni, the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi, John the Baptist, and the Apostles Peter, James, and John. Later, at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery claimed to have been visited by Jesus, and subsequently by Moses, Elias, and Elijah.[18] Joseph Smith taught that "there are no angels who minister to this earth but those that do belong or have belonged to it"[19] and, accordingly, Latter-day Saints believe that Michael the Archangel was Adam (the first man) when he was mortal, and that Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah.[20]
[edit] Islam
Islam is clear on the nature of angels in that they are messengers of God (Allah in Arabic). They have no free will, and can only do that which God orders them to do. Angels mentioned in the Quran include Gabriel (Jibril), Michael (Mikail), Israfil, Haroot, Maroot, and the Angel of Death, Azrael.
Angels can take on different forms. Prophet Muhammad, the last Prophet of Islam, speaking of the magnitude of Angel Gabriel has said that his wings spanned from the Eastern to the Western horizon. At the same time, it is well known in Islamic tradition that angels used to take on human form.
The following is a Quranic verse that mentions the meeting of an angel with Mary, mother of Jesus: Surah Ali ‘Imran Chapter 3 verse 45
Behold! The angels said: O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name is the Christ Eisa the son of Mariam, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those Nearest to Allah.
– [Al-Qur’an 3:45]
[edit] Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism there are different angel-like animals. For example, each person has one guardian angel, called Fravashi. They patronize human beings and other creatures, and also manifest God’s energy. The Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, although they don't convey messages,[21] but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord", God); they initially appear in an abstract fashion and then later became personalized, associated with diverse aspects of the divine creation.[22]
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, referred to angels as people who through the love of God have consumed all human limitations and have been endowed with spiritual attributes.[23]
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, 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".[24]
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!"[25]
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