Angels

For other uses, see Angel (Disambiguation)

Angels are spiritual entities associated with the Abrahamic God, generally being considered his creations and direct servants. Notably, the Sadducee sect of Judaism did not believe in angels.

## Mythical Origin

According to St. Augustine, angels were created during the six-day creation, owing to there being no creatures in existence before then. He also says they were not created afterwards because they are mentioned elsewhere as praising God when he created the stars on the fourth day. De Plancy assumes, based on Augustine's statement about how "Let there be light!" applied to both the visible and invisible worlds, that the angels came into existence when that phrase was first said.

In the Rabbinical tradition that arose after the Third Jewish Revolt, the angels were created on the second day of creation. Yahweh called them to counsel so they could give their opinions of man. Their opinions were divided, so he created Adam without telling them. They then complained to Yahweh about how much power had been given to Adam, and they were ignored because, as they worship him in Heaven, so would Adam and humanity worship him on Earth. Yahweh then asked them if they knew the names of all creatures, to which they responded that they did not. He then asked Adam, who immediately recited all their names.

## Number

Daniel is said to have known of eleven billion angels, of which one billion directly served god, while the other ten billion stood before him.

According to Dionysius the Areopagite, their number is beyond counting because, the more perfect something is, the more God multiplies it, meaning that angels, who are perfect, would be of immense numbers. De Plancy uses this idea to state that spiritual entities vastly outnumber material ones.

Christian theologists divide the angels into a hierarchy of three groups of three. The most powerful group contains the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, the second group contains the Dominions, Principalities, and Virtues, and the lowest group contains the Powers, Archangels, and Angels.

## Appearance

Angels are often depicted as wings, according to Dionysius, to indicate the speed at which they can move. According to Tertullian, they can move anywhere in an instant. Albert the Great says that, while some think they can move through thought, they are wrong because that is the same as imagining a place, meaning the angels would not move. He also says that others think angels move by commanding the Virtues, and that this idea is heresy because it means that the angels are not actually moving, but are being moved, which is contrary to what is written in the Bible. He also says that a third perspective is that angels can be in multiple places at once, up to being everywhere, which he says is also heresy because the only entity powerful enough to do that is God.

## Relationship with Demons

Some demons mentioned in the Bible are given names that are otherwise angelic, and are thus thought to be either angels of darkness, fallen angels, or otherwise evil angels. Their leader is the Great Dragon/Ancient Serpent, known by those names for the form he took to tempt Eve. This implies that angels and demons are of the same nature, and that it is just their morality and/or philosophy that differentiates them.

## Guardian Angels

In the Islamic tradition, it is conventionally believed that each person has two guardian angels, one who records good deeds, and another who records bad deeds. These angels are said to be so benevolent that, when a person commits a bad deed, they will not record it until the person has had a chance to sleep, so they have a chance to repent upon waking and prevent it from being recorded.

In a variant of this belief from Iran, each person has five guardian angels: one on the right to record good deeds, one on the left to record bad deeds, one in front to guide them, one behind to protect them from demons, and on in front of the person's forehead to elevate their spirit towards Muhammad. There is another variant of this belief wherein each person has one hundred and sixty guardian angels.

## Belief in Miracles

In scripture, when God allows it, angels are mentioned as coming to the aid of the Jews against their enemies, leading to a modern belief that the same miracle can occur for them. During the siege of Constantinople by Mehmed II, one of the Byzantine monks created a prophecy that the Ottomans would be stopped at the walls of the city by a sword-wielding angel, who would drive them back to Persia. When the Ottomans breached the walls, the people took refuge in the Hagia Sophia, believing that the angel would come. It did not.

In the 16th century, Cardan claims that, one day while he was in Milan, a rumour spread that an angel was in the air above the city. He and two thousand witnesses saw an angel in the clouds wielding a sword, with wings outstretched, hovering in the air above the city. The people thought it was the exterminating angel, and started panicking, until a priest pointed out to them that it was just the them seeing the marble angel from the top of the bell tower of San Gottardo through the clouds.

## Similar Entities

### Ahuras

In the Zoroastrian tradition, the ahuras fulfil much the same roll as angels, with their similarities being enough that de Plancy considers them to be one and the same. The key difference between these spirits and Abrahamic angels is that these spirits have divine power, making them closer to gods than Abrahamic angels are.

### Xian

Is Chinese theology, the xian are divided into seven groups who guard planets, cities, and individuals. The malevolent ones are said to record the faults of humans when humans sneeze.

## Further Reading

* Bergier, *Theological Dictionary*
* Lachant, *Analysis of the Book by Father Thiboudet on Spirits*
* Pauk, *Colossians*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.34
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 de Plancy, J. C., (1863). *Dictionnaire Infernal*. 6ed. pg.35
3. ↑ de Plancy, J. C., (1863). Dictionnaire Infernal. 6ed. pg.36