Angel

Angel

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 views of angels give them a human shape.

Etymology
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). The ultimate etymology of that
word in Greek is uncertain.

In Hebrew & Arabic the primary term for "angel" is "malakh" (‫)מַ לְאָ ְך‬, "malaika", or
"malak" (‫ )مالك‬derived from the Semitic consonantal root l-'-k ( ‫ך‬-‫א‬-‫)ל‬, meaning "to
send." This root is also found in the noun "Melakha" (‫)מְ לָאכָה‬, meaning "work", and
the noun "Mal'achut" (‫)מלאכות‬, meaning "message". Other words referring to angels
include ‫ כרוב‬kruv[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."

Judaic beliefs
The Bible uses the terms ‫( מלאך אלהים‬melakh Elohim; messenger of God), ‫מלאך יהוה‬
(melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord), ‫( בני אלוהים‬b'nai Elohim; sons of God) and
‫( הקודשים‬ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as
angels. Other terms are used in later texts, such as ‫( העוליונים‬the upper ones).
Daniel is the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name.

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

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particularly fondly. Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15-17) and
briefly in the Talmud, as well as many Merkabah mystical texts.

Christianity
Early Christians took over Jewish ideas of angels, which had passed from an early
stage, where the idea of angels oscillated between that of a messenger of God and
God himself to an identification with specific individual 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.

By the late fourth century there is a consistent teaching among the Church
Fathers on the existence of different categories of angels in line with the
missions and activities assigned to them. Development of the doctrine of the
angels was related to the settlement of the Trinitarian disputes in which some
proposed that Jesus was not divine but on the level of immaterial beings
subordinate to the Trinity.

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" (Psalm 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" (Psalm 148:2-5; Colossians 1:16-17).
That the angels were created was laid down in the Fourth Lateran Council (1215).
The decree "Firmiter" against the Albigenses declared both the fact that they
were created and that men were created after them. This decree was repeated by
the Vatican Council, "Dei Filius". We mention it here because 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. They 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).

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