Guest Author - Michelle Roberti
Angels: Part One of Two
One of the common bonds linking three of the world’s religions is the belief in angels. For Judaism, Christianity and Islam, angels are as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as diverse as shimmering snowflakes. Angels, signified as celestial beings and Heavenly Hosts, appear solely in these three monotheistic religions. These heavenly creatures come in a wide variety, properly suited to fit the needs of God. They are named and arranged in order from highest to lowest and range in duties from adorer to messenger, to guardian and guide. They are also divided between bad and good.
Angels had their beginnings in both ancient Babylonian and Assyrian. Both belief and artwork from this early Semitic populace became the springboard for the celestial winged guardians later regarded as angels. The beasts from this very ancient age were portrayed as winged creatures with either the face of a lion or a human, fused with either the bodies of bulls, sphinxes, or eagles. (Another precursor for angels is perhaps that of Hermes, the ancient Grecian messenger god with wings on his shoes.)
However, it was the “founder” of Zoroastrian, Zoroaster, who transformed these ancient Babylonian and Assyrian gods into Archangels. He further classified and categorized them into orderly rankings. For the Zorastrian there are six archangels, all whom represent the most fundamental of morals: Wisdom, Truth, Devotion, Desirable Dominion, Wholesomeness, and Immortality. Along with these honorable attributes, they also represent specific aspects of creation.
The classifying of angels was further developed under Judaism; the list below is the standard for the Judeo-Christian celestial hierarchy.
1. Seraphim: The highest ranking angels; who are such a sight to behold that even the Cherubim cannot stand up to gazing at their splendor. They are the closest in proximity to God and are the embodiment of the true essence of love.
2. Cherubim: These beautiful celestial creatures continually worship God both day and night and keep celestial records. They are said to have many eyes, as symbolization of the all-seeing eyes of God. They are not to be confused with cherubs- the baby angels.
3. Thrones: According to medieval scholars they are the wheels of the Throne of God.
4. Dominations: The “secretaries,” if you will, of the celestial angelic body. They help keep order in the cosmos and regulate the tasks of the angels.
5. Virtues: these miracle workers look after heroes, imparting potency and bravery to these goodly champions.
6. Powers: These firstly created angels are guides to those souls who have become lost. They also guard the passageways to Heaven and keep a record of the history of mankind.
7. Principalities: The guardian angels of nations, cities and religions.
8. Archangels: Perhaps God’s most revered messengers. They appear in human form and are not to be confused with angels, who rank lower in class. We are perhaps most familiar with two of them, Gabriel and Michael. In Judeo-Christianity there are seven archangels, though only four are named. They are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel. In Islam, they are the same four angels, albeit different spelling. They are the only four in the Islamic religion.
9. Angels: lowest in rank and closest to humans. Although guardian angels are not indoctrinated in the Church, they are still recognized as playing a role in our daily lives. Angels are our guardians and are with us throughout our earthly lives, and beyond.
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