Do you believe in angels?
in Spirituality ·
Anthony Perez9 said:The Christian Bible introduced the concept of angels—basically God’s messengers or errand boys. Actually, they show up in the Jewish Old Testament too. Later on, these stories got morphed into those airy, winged beings in white robes or chubby little kids, though the Bible does feature angels who look like pretty regular young guys (like in the story of Zechariah, where some young man—an angel—tells him his wife is pregnant by "God's will," even though old Zechariah is understandably skeptical...).
Archangel Raphael in the story of Tobias helps some guy get to a woman and takes down a demon that’s been killing her husbands right before they have sex:Then the angel told him: "Take the fish, pull out its heart, liver, and gallbladder, and keep them safe because they make a great medicine."
The guiding angel
The angel said to the young man: ...you have an only daughter named Sarah. (12) I will see to it that she becomes your wife, since her inheritance belongs to you.
The angel gives advice on how to deal with demons:
The angel: "She will be your wife, and don't pay any mind to the demon, because she'll be yours tonight. When you enter the wedding chamber, take some frankincense ash and sprinkle a bit of the fish's heart and liver on it; once you burn the incense, the demon will catch the scent, flee, and never come back."
Or an angel blocks the road with a sword and a donkey starts speaking Hebrew:When the donkey saw Yahweh's angel standing in the path with a drawn sword, it veered off the road and went through the field. Balaam lost it and started beating the donkey with a stick. (28) Then Yahweh opened the donkey's mouth and it spoke to Balaam: "What have I done to you that you've beaten me three times now?"
"Haven't I been your donkey that you've ridden all your life until today? Haven't I always behaved like this?"
Michael—the big boss; brother of Samael, whom he defeated
Gabriel— burned all the life out of Sodom and Gomorrah and told Mary she was pregnant via the Holy Spirit when she wondered how that was even possible
Raphael—check out the fairy tale/legend about Tobias
Uriel—the flaming angel guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden so Adam and Eve can't get back in
Barachiel (Maltiel)—?
Jhudiel—carries a triple whip, carries out punishments
Selaphiel (Zadkiel)—stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, since he was actually ready to kill his own son
Later, theology stepped in to systematize the angelic hierarchy:The first Christian angelologist, the Areopagite, in his work "On the Celestial Hierarchy," divides angels into 3 ranks and 12 choirs:
1. Seraphim—fiery angels with six wings; according to the Areopagite, they "have no gender"
2. Cherubim—blue in color with four wings, tasked with spreading knowledge
3. Thrones—depicted as wheels upon which God's throne rests
4. Dominations—they carry a scepter and a crown or a sword, and wear armor, but their actual function isn't super clear
5. Virtues—usually shown holding a book, spreading virtues throughout the world
6. Powers—???
7. Principalities—call for courage and piety, often depicted in warrior gear or liturgical robes
8. Archangels—these evolved from specific instances in the Bible involving an angel or two.
Other traditions talk about various entities that are also assigned different traits. Muslims speak of Djinn. It makes you wonder what's actually hidden in there... and how much is just human interpretation shaped by our own desires and expectations versus what's actually reality.🤷
If you want to understand, you need to follow the river back to its source.
The Bible is the mouth of the river, just like the Quran.