Invisible messengers, the inhabitants of heaven, creatures of light and light, but also fiery and warlike, are present in many traditions, and there is not a single civilization that does not mention these spiritual beings who cooperate with the Creator in many different missions, according to ranks and categories. These intermediaries between God and the world symbolize divine deeds and the connection of God with his creations …
You don't have your own guardian angel
We've all heard stories about people being saved by a mysterious stranger. Or the words of people who are confident that they are being cared for by some supernatural being. It is gratifying to think that someone is immeasurably smarter and knows better than us how to direct a person on the right path and save him from all troubles. But there is nothing in the Bible about the fact that each person is assigned their own guardian angel.
Several passages do speak of guardian angels. For example, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18:10: “Do not despise one of these little ones. For, I tell you that the angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
The passage is often interpreted as referring to angels who watch over children or all faithful Christians in the world, but there is not a word about the fact that each has its own "personal" angel.
The idea of personal guardian angels emerged relatively recently. She is a product of the slow evolution of history. In the Middle Ages, there were many stories about saints who met angels, and the angels allegedly protected them. Gradually, they turned into stories where angels came to the aid of a person in ordinary life - they talked about this in the 18th and 19th centuries. And by the 20th century, people already believed in a guardian angel who stands behind the shoulder of each person and protects him from harm.
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Cherubim are not angels with baby faces at all
We all know what cherubim look like - it is their images that are most often found in art. These are small, naked children: adorable, plump and winged. Such angels were relatively recently invented by artists, and real biblical cherubs are much more unusual.
Cherubim are very specific angels. God brought them so close to himself that they serve him directly and are not messengers to humanity. They are mentioned quite often in the Old Testament, and they cannot be called charming.
According to Genesis, two cherubim were ordered to guard the tree of life. Ezekiel chapter 1: 5–11 gives a complete description of them. According to Scripture, cherubim looked human with a few exceptions. Their legs ended in calf hooves. Each had four wings that hid their human hands, and four faces. When they moved, the faces never turned. In front, the face was human, on the right was the face of a lion, on the left was a bull or ox, and behind was an eagle.
Each cherub burned as if on fire. Further, Ezekiel describes them as a kind of living and intelligent chariot of God, as a power subject only to God. In his vision, God is riding in a chariot with cherubim acting as wheels. Four cherubim stand together, personifying the power of a lion, the freedom of an eagle, the weight and earthiness of a bull, and the wisdom of the greatest divine creation - man.
All of these beings are the first in their realms. Each cherub covers the body with one pair of wings and extends others. The wings themselves are covered with eyes. Far away from pretty naked kids, right?
Cherubim are not necessarily good
In pictures, cherubs are always charming. A smile plays on their lips, wings flutter behind their backs. They also tend to play harps. The biblical cherubim are not so cute. For example, consider the Throne of Mercy, the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. We've all seen her - thanks to Indiana Jones.
The two figures on the Throne of Mercy are cherubim, whose faces and bodies are hidden by two pairs of wings. Other pairs of cherubs are pulled towards each other. They thus form the throne, and according to Scripture, the Throne signifies the potentially deadly presence of an angry God. Each year, the high priest performed a ceremony: he sprinkled the Throne of Mercy with the blood of sacrificial animals to propitiate God and turn away his wrath for another year.
To approach the Throne of Mercy without fear, another specific ritual had to be performed. It was believed that any deviation from the ritual was fatal for a priest who turned out to be foolish enough not to treat him with due respect. Each year the cherubim were to receive a blood sacrifice. The ceremonies stopped only after the crucifixion of Christ - his sacrifice and blood were enough to forever satisfy the cherubim.
People don't become angels
This happens a lot in movies, but there is no Bible evidence that good, righteous people become angels when they die. A couple of passages even indicate the impossibility of this.
Both angels and people were created by God, but they serve different purposes. Hebrews chapter 1:14 clearly states that angels are created to lend a helping hand to those who believe in God. And in the Book of Genesis, chapter 1:26, it is written that angels are spiritual beings, capable of taking not only human, but any form at the will of God.
The book of Peter says that the angels are the former righteous: “And it was revealed to them that they do not serve themselves, but to you, through the wisdom shown to you through those through whose mouths the Holy Spirit sent from heaven speaks: wisdom, on which the angels watch for a long time.
The Spirit is preaching to humanity, and the angels want them to be able to hear the same revelations. And these angels were not once people.
Angels are not men or women
Countless paintings depict male angels appearing in front of people in biblical scenes, and cemetery sculptures at graves are often depicted as grieving female angels. But there is not a word about female angels in the Bible.
Angels are not human; they are not subject to the same biological constraints. Things like sex and gender issues are generally foreign to angels. But throughout the Bible, angels appear as men. Even the Greek word "angelos" in the New Testament itself is a masculine word, and it does not have a feminine form.
Only two of the Lord's angels have names - Michael and Gabriel, and the others are always referred to as simply "he." Once in the Bible, a female winged creature is mentioned. In Zechariah chapter 5: 9, such women appear in a series of visions where there is also a flying scroll. Nothing suggests that they are angels.
The very idea of a female angel appeared centuries after the Bible. Until about the fourth century, there was not a single artistic representation of angels (at least not known), because Christianity tried to distance itself from the customs of worship of other religions with "images and idols." After the angels appeared in art, they may have become associated with winged creatures from other mythologies - for example, with Nika and other pagan goddesses.
Angels have no halos
Imagine a biblical angel. Most likely, he will have fluttering clothes, wings and a halo. But in the biblical descriptions it was never mentioned that angels have halos. Moreover, the Bible does not mention halos at all. The closest equivalent of something, even remotely similar to a halo, which has become a "visiting card" of religious art, was the mention of the rays of light emanating from several biblical characters - Christ and Moses.
The halo first appeared in art only in the fourth century. Initially, he was only in the images of Christ sitting on the throne. Gradually, the halo became a symbol of goodness, and it was always painted with Christ and angels. By the sixth century, the halo was "worn" by everyone, including the saints.
The Christians did not invent a halo, but rather adopted it. The idea goes back to the ancient kings of Syria and Egypt, who wore halos as crowns to emphasize their connection with the deities and the divine glow surrounding them. In ancient Rome, for example, they liked to describe emperors in rays and crowns. Christian artists just borrowed the symbol and it stuck.
Angels don't have two wings
The artists added not only halos to the angels, but also wings. More precisely, two wings. There is nothing about this in the biblical texts.
It is about two-winged angels that are almost never mentioned, although angels are often called "flying". For obvious reasons, the ability to fly is associated with the presence of two wings, so we are more used to it. Seraphim, who occupy one of the highest places in the angelic hierarchy, stand before God's throne and literally burn with love for their Lord, setting an example for everyone else.
In the book of the prophet Isaiah it is written that each seraphim has six wings. Only two wings are needed for flight. Two more wings cover the face, and the third pair covers the legs. Cherubim are generally described as having four wings.
In early Christian art, angels are almost always depicted as descending from heaven on wings. One of the earliest examples is angels on Roman sarcophagi.
For example, the famous biblical scene is depicted on the sarcophagus of the Roman politician Junius Basus: an angel appears to Abraham and orders him to sacrifice his son. There is not a word about wings in the Bible, but there are wings on the sarcophagus. The image was taken in 359 AD - which means that around that time there was a general change in ideas about how angels look.
By the end of the century, angels were no longer imagined without two wings. Moreover, they have since been strongly associated with the emergence of winged pagan gods and goddesses.
There is no Angel of Death in Christianity
The Angel of Death is a majestic image. Imagine: a creature beautiful with a gloomy otherworldly beauty, whose only purpose is to take other people's lives. Several Bible passages, including the Passover story in Exodus, chapter 11: 4–5, and 2 Kings, chapter 19:35, mention angels taking human life. Indeed, in the Book of Kings, an angel claimed the lives of 185,000 Assyrians.
But in the modern view, the angel of death is death itself. In the Bible, the angels who take lives do more than just that. They just obeyed God's command - one of many.
In addition, Jewish traditions reject the very idea of the angel of death. Only God, not angels, has power over life and death. But in the end, the image seeped into the official religious canons, and the angel of death became known as Samael. The mentions of him are rather insignificant at first, it is easy to even forget where they appeared.
During the Amoraic period (220-370 AD), there were other references to Samael as the angel of death. In the original texts, angels are transformed into vengeful and deadly messengers of heaven, and Samael wears the mantle of the angel of death.
Soon Samael moved from the religious canon to folklore and became an independent thinking being. He no longer does God's will. He now hunts and takes lives at will. The body of this Samael from folklore is completely covered with eyes so that nothing escapes his attention. In the Jewish tradition, he is sometimes associated with Cain: it is believed that it was Samael who inspired Cain with the desire to kill his brother and gave him strength.
Gabriel - Angel of the lowest rank
Gabriel appears four times in the Bible. One of the references to him says that he comes every Christmas - this is the secret of his popularity with people. It was he who appeared to Mary and told that she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. In his other appearances, he also acts as a messenger. He is identified as an archangel and not just an ordinary old angel. It is important.
Archangels in the heavenly hierarchy occupy a position above the angels, but other spiritual beings also stand above them. In fact, there are a lot of angelic ranks.
The Bible says that the angelic hierarchy has three levels - spheres. There are three more subgroups in each area. The first sphere, which is closest to God, includes the seraphim (this is the highest angelic order), cherubim and thrones - all inseparable from the word of God. In the second sphere, there are dominions that teach people to control their feelings and instruct earthly rulers, authorities who work miracles, and forces that protect good people from devilish temptations.
In the last, lowest and most distant sphere from God, the archons are above all (they are the beginning). Archons control other angels of a lower rank. Each earthly kingdom has its own archon in charge of the rule of kings. He must see to it that worthy people become kings and leaders who rule in the name of God. Archangels - divine messengers - stand right below them. Such is, for example, Gabriel. Even lower are the angels, who more often appear to people, perform minor miracles and help, if necessary.
And even lower in the heavenly hierarchy are people - they are farthest from God. From this point of view, Gabriel is one of the few biblical angels who has a name and who appears in scenes at the baby Jesus' manger around the world, even below average.
The fall of angels is the cause of the flood
Angels almost always appear to us as good beings - messengers and servants of God. Even when they sow death, they are doing God's will. But in one of the interpretations of the biblical texts, angels are to blame for the worldwide flood (at least in part). And the flood destroyed all of humanity except Noah and his family.
According to Genesis, before the Flood, the Earth was home not only to humanity, but also to beings called the Nephilim (or giants). The Nephilim were born of "sons of God" and "daughters of men." One of the most common interpretations is that the "sons of God" were angels who came to the earthly kingdom and stayed there for the pleasures they found. Jude chapter 1: 6 speaks of the Nephilim as those who left their rightful abode and went to Earth, and in Genesis they appear as the descendants of human women and divine beings.
There is a debate among Christians. In Jewish theology, everything is much simpler. When God saw the corruption that possessed his creatures, Hazael and Samsabel voluntarily went to Earth to prove that people themselves are responsible for their own destiny. On Earth, they not only experienced earthly pleasures forbidden for angels: Samsaveel also broke one of the most sacred oaths - he revealed the true name of God to a mortal woman.
He was not allowed to return to heaven, but the woman, Ishtar, was taken up to heaven and left among the stars. Samsaveel repented of what he had done, but remained between the Earth and the sky. In other versions, as many as 18 angels had sex with women and produced offspring.
But in both traditions, it was worldly sin that forced God to destroy everything he created, including the Nephilim giants - the descendants of his beloved angels.
Polina Fanaskova