This investigation is sponsored by Wondrium. Angelology is the study of angels, a class of supernatural beings thought to act as the intermediaries between God and humanity. And for the most part, they’re benevolent creatures. But also extremely complex, and sometimes quite scary. In today’s investigation, we’ll be focusing
Specifically on Christian Angelology from a Biblically-accurate perspective, and yes… we’re going to get obsessively detailed with it. While many do believe in the literal existence of these beings, you don’t have to be Christian or even religious to appreciate this deep fascinating lore. Today, we’ll discover a number of alien-like
Angelic species, some of which are rarely talked about. And we’ll break into their inner workings, from the hierarchy of Heaven, to the way angels actually think and behave. And of course, we’ll assess the very limits of their incredible powers.
All of this is guaranteed to throw any angelic preconceptions you had out the church window. But be warned, it’ll get downright bizarre at points, and you’ll come face-to-face with some of oldest still-unsolved mysteries in history. Hey fellow Seekers, welcome. I’m Mr. Mythos. If you’re a fan of strange and ancient mysteries
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Back in 2012, Wondrium used to be called The Great Courses, and they offered video lectures from the world’s foremost experts on the coolest topics from history, religion, philosophy, science, and more. As a freshman in university, I was still trying to figure out what to do
With my life, and The Great Courses ended up being my way to explore different interests. But there was one course in particular that made me realize where my true passion was, and this course was titled “Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad”.
This lecture series painted a profoundly complex picture of who these four sages were as actual people, based on historical evidence. And not only was I blown away by their stories, but I became passionately interested in the religions they founded. Especially after I
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Or click my link in the description to start your free trial today. Thanks again to Wondrium! The world of angels awaits us. Angels are mentioned approximately 200 times throughout the Bible, split almost evenly between the Old and New Testaments. But despite their many appearances, angelology is considered
A particularly difficult study, because there are very few explicit descriptions of these beings and even fewer explanations on their nature. When they do show up, the focus tends not to be on the angel itself, but instead the revelations and prophecies they bring.
And while it’s true that the secrets are in the little details, this vagueness has led to a long history of misunderstanding. In modern day, for example, angels have a remarkably endearing reputation. Most people imagine them as patient, compassionate, and loving beings. All of this is inaccurate, unfortunately, because it definitely doesn’t
Match the angels in the scripture. Their behavioral traits, heavenly priorities, and hidden nature are a big part of what we’ll be covering today, but before all else, we’re going to meet the angels themselves. Admittedly, it’s a little unconventional diving straight
Into the action before tackling the core of these beings, but that’s the way angels do it – they just kind of pop out of nowhere. Speaking of which, angels aren’t very good at making first impressions. And if an angel decides to visit you, it’s a virtual guarantee
That they’ll strike fear in your heart. We know this because in most angelic visitations recorded in the Bible, the first thing they usually say is “Be not afraid”, “Don’t be afraid”, or simply, “Fear not”. This commandment is said 144 times – considerably
More than any other heavenly instruction. It’s literally double compared to the 72 times people are commanded to “Love God”. You’d think that the glory of God’s messengers would be an enrapturing and blissful experience, but clearly that’s not the case.
Believe it or not, there are more than a handful of good reasons why angels are worthy of your fear, all of which we’ll get to in due time. But why was fear the default reaction upon first sight? Well, while it’s 100% Biblically-accurate to say that angels sometimes appeared as regular-looking
Humans, it’s likely that was the rare exception. The very few explicit descriptions of angels tend to be so insane that many have interpreted them as possible visitations from extraterrestrials or interdimensional beings. Which is not surprising, because some of these heavenly creatures are downright alien nightmares. The most unforgettable description of angels
In the Bible is undoubtedly that recorded by a captive slave of the Babylonians at the bank of a river in the remote wilderness. This visitation is found in very first chapter of the scripture bearing the name of this soon-to-be prophet: the Book of Ezekiel.
According to his first-hand account, Ezekiel looked up to the North and saw the heavens open up. Flying at him from out of a great fiery cloud was the Old Testament God himself, Yahweh, sitting on His sapphire throne. And who else seemed to be driving this heavenly
Vehicle, but a troop of angels. As they charged at him from the Heavens, Ezekiel described them, QUOTE: “… in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces
And four wings… their feet were like those of a calf and… they had human hands… Each of the four had the face of a human being… each had the face of a lion… the face of an ox… [and] the face of an eagle… The appearance of the living creatures was like
Burning coals of fire or like torches… The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning… I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty…” End Quote. These four fiery four-headed angels witnessed
By Ezekiel are today identified as cherubim. And while they do sound terrifying in all aspects, at least their features are somewhat recognizable. The same can’t be said though for the other four angels flying alongside them. Some call these creatures the ‘Thrones’, but I prefer the Hebrew term ‘Ophanim’
Which means ‘wheels’. And that descriptor is pretty accurate, if these wheels were from the fourth dimension. Ezekiel’s words say it all, QUOTE: “As I looked at the living creatures [the Cherubim], I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature… [the wheels] sparkled like topaz… Each appeared to be made like a wheel
Intersecting [another] wheel… Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.” End Quote. I think we all agree that these psychedelic, wheels-within-wheels covered in eyes, flying at you from Heavens, would have been a terrifying experience. We’ll revisit the Cherubim and Ophanim soon
Because there’s so much more to say about them, but before we really get to know our angels, it might be a good idea to know exactly where they rank in the angelic hierarchy. The scriptures speak many times of an “assembly” or “council” of angels, but that’s just
The tip of the iceberg. From Heaven to Earth, God’s ethereal domain is apparently a very complex bureaucracy, with various ranks, roles, and governing duties… and special terms for each, such as “dominions”, “powers”, “principalities”, and “archangels”. Though the Bible is rich with these descriptions, it lacks a clear rundown of the surprisingly
Intricate angelic hierarchy. Thankfully, angelologists are a dedicated bunch, and from the many little hints the scripture contains, it only took them a few centuries to figure it out. Since the birth of Christianity, the forefathers and thinkers of the Church studied the hierarchy
Of angels relentlessly. And finally in the 4th century AD, they joined forces for one final task – to establish a consistent classification, which they dubbed the ‘9 Choirs of Angels’. Each of these 9 choirs can be thought of as a rank in the angelic hierarchy, and these
Ranks are organized based on those angels’ proximity to God in Heaven. And for the most part, this was meant as a literal measure of distance from His holy presence. But 9 Choirs is quite a lot, and the number barely fits on two hands, so in the 5th century
AD, the Christian Neoplatonist Dionysius decided to simplify things. In his magnum opus, ‘The Celestial Hierarchy’, Dionysius explained, QUOTE: “Theology has given to the Celestial Beings nine interpretative names, and among these our divine initiator distinguishes three threefold Orders.” End Quote.
These three orders that neatly divide the 9 Choirs are known as the ‘3 Spheres of Angels’, a concept that heavily influenced the development of the Eastern Orthodox Church. So beginning with the 1st Sphere, if you thought that archangels like Michael and Gabriel would
Be the ones closest to God, well, the answer is ‘not even close’. The first sphere are the angels that see God directly and remain in His presence, and thus they’re thought to be His divine attendants. Dionysius writes, QUOTE: “[This] is the first Order of Celestial Beings which are established about God, immediately encircling
Him: and in perpetual purity they encompass His eternal Knowledge in that most high and eternal angelic dance… they know pre-eminently many divine matters.” End Quote. Because of their proximity to God, these are the angels responsible for communicating His
Will to the angels of the lower second and third spheres. However, each of these choirs definitely play their own unique roles. And they each happen to be made up of a unique species of angel. Alright, so for the first choir of the first
Sphere, as we might expect, the first is also the closest to God, and these are the seraphim. Above all else, the seraphim are the dedicated worshipers of God, and their seemingly endless legions are depicted in constant, intense adoration and worship of His perfect holiness,
Flying around His chariot and throne and singing their praises day and night in a never-ending loop. The Bible makes sure to clarify that they never stop, by the way. Not even for a second. In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah describes his own hypnotizing encounter with these beings, QUOTE:
“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne… Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips… and my eyes have seen the
King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand… With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”” End Quote.
So, from this, we’re actually given several revealing details. And the first thing to point out is just how incredibly humble these creatures are. The seraphim use four of their six wings specifically to cover themselves in humility, hiding whatever radiance their
Appearance might have, and making sure that all the glory in the room goes to God. This is the traditional belief, but some fringe theories argue that the seraphim are actually forced to cover themselves to avoid blinding or incinerating the human witnessing them.
No person has ever seen what’s under their wings, so we really don’t know. Moving on, the act of touching a hot coal to Isaiah’s mouth in order to atone for his sins shows one of the more unique duties of these creatures – that they’re agents
Of cleansing, to assure that no one stands before God in an impure state. Like many other angelic beings, as we’ll soon see, the seraphim have a very close association with fire. Not only did they handle hot coals and fill the temple with smoke, but their
Actual name ‘seraphim’ is a Hebrew word that roughly translates to ‘burning ones’. And I really do mean a rough translation, because in other parts of the Bible, the word seraphim, as well as it’s singular form, seraph, are used not to describe an angel,
Oddly… but some kind of flying serpent. So the true meaning of this word remains a unsolved mystery, but considering the distinct yet deliberate uses of this word in the Bible, some scholars have argued these may be intentional hints as to the seraphim’s true appearance.
Think about it: all that we know about these angels’ appearance is incredibly general… we know they have a face, six wings, and an unspecified number of feet. And that’s about it. While historical art might depict them as human-like, that’s biblically-inaccurate.
But if we follow the actual trail of hints in the scripture, the seraphim of the first Choir might arguably be described as ‘fiery flying serpents’. Which, of course, are dragons. Moving on to the second choir, we’ve already had the pleasure of meeting these friends of Ezekiel. This rank is occupied by the Cherubim,
Who are likely the most human-like angels in the third Sphere. That should say a lot, because by definition, cherubim are chimeras, hybrid creatures composed of the body parts of different animals. Ezekiel described them as having four faces—that of a man, lion,
Ox, and eagle – as well as four wings and the feet of a calf, which implies that they’re hooved. As for the four faces – from a symbolism standpoint, these have been interpreted in many convoluted ways, but the simplest answer
Is that the man represents humanity, the lion represents wild animals, the ox represents domestic animals, and the eagle represents birds, and birds in the Bible are often a symbol of far-seeing wisdom. On that note, the word ‘cherub’ is actually a Hebrew
Term that translates to ‘Fullness of Wisdom’. Like the seraphim, the cherubim almost always remain in close proximity to God, whether He’s sitting on his sapphire throne or riding his flaming chariot. So what exactly do they do in His presence? Well, when Ezekiel saw
These beings, they were the ones responsible for making the wheels of God’s chariot move. Similarly, the Second Book of Samuel describes God as literally mounting the cherubim, flying through the sky, and soaring on their wings. So it wouldn’t be a stretch to say these
Creatures are like horses, and His means of locomotion on Earth, and perhaps all throughout the Universe. But without a doubt, the Cherubim are known to play another role, and interestingly, some assigned to this role are forced to leave God’s presence. In the Book of Genesis, where after Adam and Eve were expelled from
The Garden of Eden, God assigned a troop of cherubim to guard the Garden’s east-side entrance, and patrol the path leading to the Tree of Life. But considering that these beings are capable sentries and protectors, and most of them remain at their master’s side, it
Seems very likely that the cherubim could also be God’s personal guard, much like how a king requires nearby protection at all times. This is suggested by the fact that the books of Isaiah, Psalms, and 2 Kings all use a very specific phrase describing God as, QUOTE: “enthroned between the cherubim” End Quote.
Furthermore, metal sculptures of specifically cherubim, and no other angel, were used to decorate both King Solomon’s Temple and the Ark of the Covenant, with strong implications that their imagery provided some kind of protection. So while it’s never explicitly stated, guard
Duty might actually be the primary role of the creatures of the Second Choir. But there is one often forgotten connection to make with the cherub… the most powerful testament that these beings are far more complex and capable than the scriptures describe.
The same Ezekiel who first witnessed these creatures, 28 chapters later, went on to record the words delivered to him from God… words which recounted the origin of a certain Biblical figure, QUOTE: “You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
For so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you… and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled
You, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.” End Quote. Some of you may recognize these infamous verses as the story of the angel Lucifer’s fall from Heaven, and his transformation into Satan, the Devil. Seeing how Jesus Christ referred to Satan as “the ruler of this world”, this really emphasizes just how little we
Know about what sounded thus far like a rather simple creature. Therefore, it would be wise to apply this same sort of thinking to all other angelic species too. But if you think we’ve reached the bottom of the barrel of the mysteries of the Cherubim,
There’s actually one final puzzle to confuse things completely – And that’s that the Book of Revelation describes an angelic species that sounds an awful lot like a hybrid of both seraph and cherub, QUOTE: “…round about the throne, were four beasts
Full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were
Full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” End Quote. So, like the seraphim witnessed by Isaiah, these creatures have six wings and are in
Constant singing worship of God. And like the cherubim seen by Ezekiel, three of the four creatures have the face of an animal, with the fourth having the face of a human. However, all have only one head each, unlike the traditionally four-headed cherub. So…
Did John, the author of the Book of Revelation, describe this creature accurately? Or might he have seen the seraphim and the cherubim, but accidentally mixed them together when remembering his vision? But what’s even weirder is that it seems John also threw a third angelic species into the mix, because he deliberately used the
Same disturbing description twice… that each creature was ‘full of eyes’. A terrifying profusion of eyes happens to be a main feature of the angels next on our list – the Third Choir, and the lowest of the First Sphere. Finally, we return to the unforgettable Ophanim, the literal wheels of God’s chariot. These
Make up the Third Choir. As described by Ezekiel, each of these angels are made up of two intersected wheels, both covered in eyes. He didn’t clarify whether these eyes looked human, but it’s usually interpreted that way. That doesn’t make
Them any less alien though, and this particular feature is only one of the Ophanim’s many oddities. To begin, the wheel-within-a-wheel appearance conjures a strong feeling that this creature might not be from this dimension, and this theory is actually backed up by Ezekiel’s observation that the ophanim never seem to
Shift their position despite any change in direction. The prophet reported, QUOTE: “As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the [cherubim] faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went.” End Quote.
So, if we take a step back from the scripture, and look at this from a modern scientific lens, there’s actually some sense to be made of this visual phenomenon. According to mathematical theory, if creatures from the fourth dimension or beyond exist, they’d
Be more than capable of navigating our dimension, much like how we in the third dimension can navigate a 2-dimensional video game. But due to these creatures existing in a more geometrically complex space, our ability to actually see them is extremely limited. In most cases,
A higher-dimensional creature will simply be invisible to us, unless they make themselves visible at a very specific angle. And in the case that they do, their movement will be visually confusing or impossible for us to comprehend. The interdimensional theory definitely has some credence, especially with the traditional
Religious belief that angels are residents of the ethereal realm. That said, this mystery isn’t the only one stemmed from the strange descriptions of the Ophanim’s movement. In Ezekiel’s account, he makes it clear that the Ophanim don’t move on their own, but are set into motion and even steered by the cherubim. QUOTE:
“When the living creatures [the cherubim] moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose… the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” End Quote. If the ophanim require the cherubim to move, then we really have to wonder if the ophanim
Are actually independent angelic creatures. The eyes definitely make them appear to be alive, but what if they’re literally just wheels? This is worth think about, because Ezekiel goes out of his way to identify the cherubim as ‘living creatures’, while describing the ophanim as not much more than freaky-looking wheels that don’t move on
Their own. On the other hand, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q405, does explicitly identify the ophanim as angels. And the apocryphal Book of Enoch describes them as celestial beings who actively perform a function – guarding of the Throne
Of God. But since that’s the same role as the cherubim, again, they seem to be directly tied to those beings. So this is yet another unsolved mystery. But returning back to Biblical canon, Ezekiel’s vision isn’t the only description of the
Ophanim. The Book of Daniel also contains a vision of God’s throne, and states, QUOTE: “His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” End Quote. Again, we see a clear association between angels and fire. In Ezekiel’s vision, he
Only mentioned them ‘sparkling like topaz’, but it’s possible this was just a poetic interpretation of the Ophanim’s blazing flames. And that about covers the First Sphere. But before we jump down the Second Sphere, there are two other mysterious beings mentioned in the Bible that you may have never heard
Of, or never considered might be unrecognized species of angels. And this is where we’re really getting obscure, but as any theologian will tell you, the scripture is heavily embedded with hidden information and little secrets that require a very close
Look. And these two creatures might be examples of that. Definitely let me know whether you think these are angels in the comments below. The first of these is mentioned only once in the Bible, and specifically in the Book of Genesis. After God banished Adam and Eve,
QUOTE: “At the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life.” End Quote. This verse seems to imply that just like the cherubim, this flaming sword was assigned
To guard the entrance to Eden. Traditionally, it was interpreted as a weapon given to the cherubim, however, there are reasons to believe this flaming sword may actually be a living entity, an angelic species unlike any we’ve encountered thus far. First off, this sword is apparently capable of movement, turning in every direction at
Its post. And the actual Hebrew term used to describe this sword, ‘lahat chereb’, literally translates to ‘flame of the whirling sword’, which not only emphasizes its movement, but doubles down on its fiery nature, implying that the object or creature itself is more
Flame than sword. And of course, the association with fire makes the angel theory all the more likely. Unfortunately, since this is the only mention of this strange flaming sword in Biblical canon, we’re left to wonder what this thing may have actually been. As for our second speculative angelic species,
The Second Book of Kings describes the following, QUOTE: “There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire… and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried…” End Quote. This was the last time the Prophet Elijah was seen on Earth, making him one of the mere
Handful of humans believed to have entered Heaven alive. This vision though, of burning chariots and horses in the sky, was seared into the mind of Elijah’s protégé Elisha, who would inherit the role of God’s chosen prophet. And apparently, Elisha inherited
These chariots and horses too. While it’s implied that only Elisha could see them, others beings wholly unaware… make no mistake – these beings were apparently very real, and their presence would be vital to some of Elisha’s greatest military victories. The following is one such event involving this haunting invisible army of his, QUOTE:
“When the servant… got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more
Than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” End Quote.
Alright – the natural question to ask first is whether these horses and chariots are one angelic species, or perhaps two. Strangely, none of the verses that mention these creatures describe any riders or drivers in the chariots, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to wonder whether
The chariots themselves are alive, much like the wheels of God’s throne, the Ophanim. This mystery doesn’t end with Elisha though, because the Book of Zechariah contains an instance where the Prophet Zechariah met an angel riding on a red horse, and not long
After, he encountered four chariots, each powered by strangely colored horses, but no angels riding them, QUOTE: “There before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains… The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth [spotted]—all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was
Speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven…”” End Quote. So, if we interpret this passage literally, the angel is calling each of the four chariots and their respective horses a single being,
Counting exactly ‘four spirits of heaven’. And while he doesn’t refer to them as angels, calling them ‘spirits of heaven’ strongly implies it. What’s confusing though is that Zechariah’s chariots are very different in appearance and number, compared to Elisha’s flaming legion. Nonetheless, these beings really seem to fit
The bill, and it’s possible that there are still hidden details about them waiting be uncovered by a careful reader. It’s now time to dive into the Second Sphere – and it’s very much unlike the first. Instead of boldly discovering new angelic species, we’ll get to experience the joys of Heaven’s bureaucracy, because, while
We have no idea what these angels look like, we do know what they do… and the creatures of the second sphere are essentially middle-management. While First Sphere passes down orders and communications from God, the second sphere makes God’s will happen. They do this by assigning duties to the third sphere angels below.
Dionysius describes those in the second sphere as, QUOTE: “true Lords, perpetually aspiring to true lordship… and they providentially fashion themselves and those below them, as far as possible, into the likeness of true lordship. They do not turn towards vain shadows, but wholly give themselves to that true Authority.” End Quote.
So be assured that Heaven’s middle management are ethical, inspiring beings, which is good, because these 3 angelic choirs are pretty darn important. On top of being essentially Heaven’s project managers, they also use their own special powers to regulate the forces
Of the universe. As before, the Bible is our source for this sacred knowledge, specifically the key details found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. The first choir of the second sphere is known as the ‘Dominions’. These are angels of leadership, the ‘true Lords’ Dionysius was raving about. The Dominions’ role is
Simple – they make the commandments of God known to the lower spheres and assign duties to their subordinates wherever they see fit. The second choir of the second sphere is called the ‘Virtues’, and this angelic group is responsible for the continued operation
Of the universe and its worlds, including our own. The Virtues are sometimes referred to as the ‘Spirits of Motion’, because they’re believed to be responsible for natural cycles such as the changing of the seasons and the orbits of celestial objects. Simply put, they exercise complete control over the elements of nature.
The third and lowest choir is referred to as the ‘Powers’, and their primary responsibility couldn’t be more different than the two choirs above them – because the Powers are, in fact, warrior angels, the angelic choir assigned by God to be Heaven’s primary military
Force in the never-ending war between Good and Evil. They engage in spiritual combat against the demonic choirs of Hell, Satan’s own counterparts to the Powers. In my video “Demonology Explained in Obsessive Detail”, we explored the distinctly military-like hierarchies of the fallen angels and their demonic legions. But this lore comes less
From the Bible, and more from the reasoning and speculation of Christian mystics and occultists. So where did they get these ideas in the first place? Well, it was probably inspired by the lore of the Powers, which is 100% canon. In countless Biblical verses beginning in the
Book of Genesis and spanning all the way to Revelation, ancient Hebrew military terminology is used to describe the angelic army’s chain of command, combat operations, and even their base camp. So to the credit of the demonologists, if Heaven is so equipped to battle against
Their enemy, this simple fact suggests that Satan’s legion poses a very similar threat. Certain Bible verses also confirm that Hell is a tough enemy. One of the most famous quotes from Revelation depicts the Powers staving off an invasion of Heaven, QUOTE:
“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war.” End Quote. The dragon, of course, is the devil, Satan. And his angels are what Christians refer to
As fallen angels. There is quite a bit to cover on those guys, so fallen angels are going to get their own video sometime next month, and we’ll be covering the Book of Enoch, the Nephilim, and even Satan himself. But back to the Powers, these angels are so
Skilled in combat that defending Heaven and the universe might not be the only role they play. Many theologians speculate that these Heavenly soldiers may also be God’s mercenaries, the specific term being the ‘destroyer angels’, sometimes known as the ‘angels of death’.
Their terrible destructive potential serves at least one known purpose – to pass merciless judgement on us humans. The raw punishing power of the destroyer angel is shown in the Second Book of Samuel, QUOTE: “And when the angel stretched out His hand
Over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.”” End Quote. It says a lot when God has to tell a destroyer angel they went a little too far with their
Destroying. But if you’re looking for raw numbers, in the Second Book of Kings, a single one of these angels killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight, with such ease that the Hebrews didn’t even know what happened until they woke up the next morning and saw the
Mountain of corpses. But that’s still baby damage compared to what was prophesized in the Book of Revelation, where just four angels judge the entirety of mankind, and end up killing one-third of the world’s population. But while the roles played by the Powers definitely
Emphasize the violent side of these beings, at the end of the day, they’re actually not so different than the two choirs above them, the Dominions and the Virtues. All angels of the second sphere help regulate the universe at large, and the Powers are simply responding
To that which offsets or threatens the moral balance established by God. Finally, we reach the third sphere, the holy angels furthest from God and the closest to humanity. These are the angels who we meet most in the Bible, the ones who delivered
Commandments, revelations, and assistance to people. Unlike the spheres above, the third sphere is in continual, direct contact with our kind. These are the beings that popularized the only somewhat-accurate idea that angels are messengers, the inter-communicators between God and humanity. In fact, in Greek, the word
For angel is ‘angelos’, and in Hebrew it’s ‘mal`ach’, both of which literally translate to ‘messenger’. However, this term was used in the old sense, when a messenger wasn’t only a deliverer of messages, but had the far more general goal of doing the
Bidding of their master and carrying out their will. That being said, angels delivering communications from God was extremely common in the Bible. While there are countless examples, the best known is in the Gospel of Luke, where the archangel Gabriel delivered two positive pregnancy
Prophecies, alerts of the incoming births of John the Baptist and later Jesus Christ. This was much to the shock of the husbands, of course, since John’s mother was far past menopause, and Jesus’s mother was a virgin. So some of these angels were definitely messengers
As we think of them today. But as we dive into the third sphere, you’ll see that their roles were far more than just this. To begin, the first choir of the third sphere are actually the angels most of us probably considered the closest to God. And we wouldn’t
Be at fault for believing so, because the Bible and other religious texts really seem to place so much emphasis on the power and importance of these beings, who are, of course, are the archangels. There is a lot of ground to cover on the archangels, so we’ll actually
Revisit them in depth in just a few minutes, but for now, here are a few key details about them. The archangels are typically thought to be the very few angels the Bible actually refers to by name, and whenever they show up, it’s
Usually a critical moment for humanity. Their primary responsibility is to communicate and execute God’s plans for mankind. And as the archangels’ title implies, they are the chief angels of the highest authority… at least in the third sphere. The second choir of the third sphere is known as the ‘Principalities’, and each of these
Angels are assigned to their own domain on Earth. They oversee their assigned community, whether it be a humble town or an entire kingdom, providing protection and guidance. They do have a very particular trend in the Bible though, because the Principalities seem to
Be heavily concerned with events where power is transitioned between earthly rulers. These are the times when they very directly influence the course of history, such as appearing to kings to give advice and prophecies. The role of the Principalities naturally requires
These angels to be in constant observation of their domain. And this brings up another name for these angels… the Principalities are also known as the ‘Watchers’. The Biblical Aramaic term that’s usually translated to ‘watcher’ is actually an adjective meaning ‘ever-awake and always watching’. That alone can help explain why
These particular angels have been the subject of strange and disturbing theories, fueled ever further by the Bible’s characteristic lack of explanation. In traditional belief though, the Watcher’s main purpose is to observe the movements of humans, particularly those in power, and report their actions directly to God. But on occasion,
They’re also known get involved and directly influence the course of history. In the Book of Daniel, there are 3 explicit mentions Watchers doing this, two of which repeat the same description, QUOTE: “a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven” End Quote. This deliberate detail that the Watcher was
A ‘holy one’ seems to imply that there are also unholy Watchers. And this is a bit more than concerning, because not only are they constantly observing and reporting, but also actively influencing the leaders of this world. The third choir of the third sphere are the ‘personal guardian angels’, the last and
Lowest of the 9 angelic choirs. In Christianity, it’s strongly thought that all believers are assigned their own guardian angel, and this idea actually does have Biblical roots, specifically from the Book of Psalms, Psalm 91, QUOTE: “If you say, “The Lord is my refuge, … he will command his angels concerning
You to guard you in all your ways…” End Quote. So to answer the popular question, ‘does everyone have a guardian angel?’, the Biblically-accurate answer is… they’re only assigned to true believers. These angels are shown many times helping believers in danger – for example, in the
Gospel of Matthew, an angel warns Joseph to take Mary and the baby Jesus and flee to Egypt for their survival. Other guardian angels are shown answering desperate prayers, and even comforting believers in their time of death. However, there’s one big exception.
Helping people out might not always be part of God’s plan, and guardian angels don’t make exceptions to His will. It’s important to learn this lesson before putting your safety in their hands, as the Epistle to the Hebrews warns, QUOTE: “Some [true believers] faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were
Put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword… Persecuted and mistreated… They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These [believers] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
Received what had been promised, since God had planned something better…” End Quote. Even Jesus Christ himself, the mortal incarnation of God on Earth, was not immune to the plans of God. When Jesus was arrested in the Gospel of Matthew, he asserted, QUOTE:
“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” End Quote. The ending of this well-known event is no
Surprise. Not a single guardian angel came to save Jesus from the cross, because his successful crucifixion was required by God’s master plan. Regardless, the personal guardian angels are without a doubt the furthest angels from God, because they remain so close to humanity. In fact, the Epistle to the Hebrews states
That these angels often walk among us in a human form, totally indistinguishable from the everyday people of our community. Therefore, beyond protecting us, it’s strongly believed that these beings are actively involved in testing our faith and character, so remember
To always treat strangers kindly. And that wraps up the 9 choirs, the 3 spheres of angels ranked according to their proximity to God. But as promised, we’re gonna take a far closer look at the archangels, because every angelologist should know exactly who
These famous angels are. To begin, I’ll mention again that the archangels have a very important job, at least from the perspective of us humans, because they’re responsible for carrying out God’s plans for mankind. These are truly capable and blessed
Angels, far more powerful than the majority of their angelic peers in Heaven, Hell and on Earth. But to be clear, the entire Bible only identifies one specific angel as an archangel, and that is Michael, who’s referred to with that
Title in the Epistle of Jude. And the only other canonical mention of the term ‘archangel’ is found in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, which only mentions the voice of an archangel without identifying them. While these mentions are enough to show that this angelic rank
Exists, it’s absolutely possible that Michael may be the only one to hold this rank. But most Churches and believers think otherwise. Most Christian traditions venerate exactly 7 archangels, although their exact identities differ depending on what source or authority they rely on. For example, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church identifies the seven Archangels as
Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Phanuel, and Sachiel, a list taken from the Book of Enoch. The Ethiopian Orthodox tradition is unique in the Christian world though because they treat the Book of Enoch as Biblical canon, as opposed to apocryphal lore.
In a similar manner, the Eastern Orthodox Church identifies the 7 archangels as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Camael, Jophiel, and Zadkiel, and they took this from the expert on angelic hierarchy, Dionysius, whose work was a huge influence in their tradition. While the Eastern Orthodox Church openly acknowledges the existence of thousands of archangels,
Interestingly, they only venerate these 7 by name. But you’re probably wondering – 7 is a very specific number, so where does this concept actually come from? Well, even though it’s not part of the Jewish canon, it actually derives from early Jewish mystical writings, and specifically the Book of Tobit, written
In the 3rd century BC. In this work, one of the most commonly venerated archangels, Raphael, makes it known, QUOTE: “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand in the glorious presence of the Lord, ready to serve him.” End Quote.
The Book of Tobit, by the way, is considered canon today by both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, despite neither agreeing on who exactly these 7 archangels are. So clearly, this muddy realm of Christianity remains in the throes of identity crisis to
This day. However, there are three angels that are virtually recognized by all major Christian traditions as holders of this rank. Michael is the most obvious, due to his rank being canonical. And we just met Raphael. And the third archangel agreed to hold this
Rank is Gabriel. Finally, there’s a very common fourth angel that’s not universally accepted, but nevertheless is agreed to be an archangel by many Christian traditions, and that’s Uriel. So let’s take a minute and explore these four angels, and perhaps speculate on one more.
In Hebrew, the name Michael translates to “Who is equal to God?”, and that’s meant as a question, by the way. From the earliest days of Christian artwork, Michael was usually depicted in a militaristic role, holding a spear or sword, and using this weapon to pin
Satan to the ground. If we assume that the rank of archangel has its own sub-hierarchy, Michael would definitely take the crown as the most important, because out of all the places on Earth, God designated him as the defender of Israel. The Book of
Deuteronomy reads, QUOTE: “For you [Israel] are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” End Quote. As the one given responsibility over God’s
Land, people, and greatest treasure, we have to assume that Michael’s power is the highest of all angels. However, there is one disturbing exception. The only angel arguably more powerful than Michael is Satan. We know this because in Epistle of Jude, it’s recorded QUOTE:
“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”” End Quote. Clearly, Michael refrained from offending or challenging Satan directly, and that showed that Michael actually held fear of the Devil’s
Powers. That being said, the Book of Revelation prophesized that he would eventually edge a victory over the infamous fallen angel, who took the form a giant red dragon with seven heads, seven crowns, and ten horns. This battle was intense
And a close match, but in the end, Michael did win. There are two things to consider though. The first is that this battle takes place in a future timeline, and it’s unknown how much time and effort Michael took to finally gain the strength to defeat the Devil. The
Second thing is that while Michael and his army were technically victorious, they only ended up casting the red dragon out of Heaven and onto Earth, where the dragon continued to attack other targets, seemingly unharmed. That really speaks to how powerful the Devil
Is, who according to the Bible, was not an archangel, but a mere cherub. The next archangel that always makes the list is Raphael. Despite not being named in the Bible, he’s the key figure of the Book of Tobit, a scripture considered canon by the
Largest Christian denomination in the world, Catholicism. In the Book of Tobit, Raphael is sent by God to assist the main character, a pious man named Tobit who suffers many problems, the main ones being issues in his marriage, lack of money, a demon named Asmodeus haunting
His sister, as well as the fact that Tobit couldn’t see anything, because he was blind. In Hebrew, Raphael’s name translates to “It is God who heals”, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Raphael solved Tobit’s problems completely. And while the story of the Book
Of Tobit is definitely more complex than that, Tobit himself had a very happy ending thanks to this archangel. We saw that Michael embodied both the role of the Archangel and the Principality, as an assigned authority of Israel, and similarly, Raphael is clearly associated with two distinct roles. The Book of Tobit strongly implies
That he’s an archangel, and no one can deny that he was also the personal guardian angel of Tobit. And like other guardian angels, Raphael also disguised himself as a totally normal human being. In artwork, there’s the popular image of Raphael helping Tobit
Catch a huge fish, but when shown alone, he’s usually depicted holding a staff, alluding to his healing nature. The Book of Tobit from the 2nd century BC is actually not the first to mention Raphael as an archangel, by the way. That honor goes
To the Book of Enoch, written in the 3rd century BC. So, the idea of the archangel Raphael is truly ancient, even if it isn’t Biblical canon. The third entity found in every list of the 7 archangels is Gabriel, the angel who famously
Delivered the most important prophecy in the Christian Bible – that the virgin Mary would give birth to the mortal incarnate of God himself, Jesus Christ. Gabriel’s name is specifically mentioned four times in the Bible, and while he’s not specifically identified as an archangel, the simple fact that he’s given a name and
Plays such an important role in the scripture makes it seem very likely. In fact, the Bible only ever mentions four angels by name – Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, and Abaddon. And if you’re wondering who Abaddon is, he’s only mentioned once, and
The Book of Revelation seems to imply that he’s a fallen angel, calling him the ‘angel of the Abyss’. Other than that, the Bible doesn’t say… but maybe for my follow-up episode on Fallen Angel Demonology, I’ll see if I can dig more up.
But back to Gabriel, not only is he canonical, but he’s clearly quite special to be mentioned 4 times by name. It’s also hard to believe that God would entrust such a significant task, the prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus, to any rank other than an archangel.
So it’s not surprising that Gabriel is a staple on these lists. So despite his name, which translates to “the Might of God”, it’s clear that Gabriel’s specialty is not combat or destruction, but that of a herald and messenger. Centuries before his appearance in the New Testament, Gabriel actually shows up twice
In the Old Testament’s Book of Daniel, written in the 2nd century BC, both times delivering messages to the prophet. First, he prophesized the fates of four great empires of the world – which scholars today agree were those of Babylon, Medo-Persia,
Greece, and Rome – and he foretold the rise of a fifth and final kingdom from Heaven, which Christians usually interpret as a reference to the Second Coming of Christ. In Gabriel’s second visitation, he delivered the cryptic prophecy of the so-called ‘seventy
Sevens’, which has the honor of being recognized as the most convoluted and difficult set of verses in the entire Bible. I’ll read a portion of it to you, and see if you can guess what the heck Gabriel is actually talking about, QUOTE:
“From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ … After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death… The people of the ruler
Who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary… War will continue until the end… He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination
That causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” End Quote. As you may have guessed, most Christians interpret this as a prophecy of both Jesus Christ and the Antichrist. And as for the numbers, that’s where scholars and mystics tend to argue angrily,
Because these are definitely supposed to be used to calculate exact dates, but the math quickly gets very complicated. There’s a reason why this thousand-year-old puzzle remains unsolved. Anyway, Gabriel’s depiction in most artwork is actually inspired by an ancient legend, that when he appeared to Mary, he held a lily
In his hand as a symbol of her virgin purity. But other artworks, especially in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, show Gabriel with a mirror and lantern, both of which signify his role as the herald of the hidden mysteries of God. There is a fourth archangel venerated by a
Significant number of Christian traditions, and he’s certainly one of the most popular angels in occult and esoteric literature. His name is Uriel, which translates to “God is my Light”. While Uriel never actually appears or does anything in the Bible, he’s an incredibly busy archangel according to the masses of
Biblical apocrypha written about him. According to these non-canonical stories, Uriel has done everything from flying Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist and his mother to Egypt, to controlling demons in the construction of the body of the first man, Adam. Apparently
Uriel was even one of the cherubim assigned to guard the entrance to Eden. But this wasn’t his only station. The Book of Enoch referred to Uriel as the Heavenly overseer of Tartarus, a deep pit and pitch-black prison in Greek mythology, which is mentioned in the New Testament
As a synonym for Hell. As you can see, Uriel has been a pretty popular angelic figure. And while I mentioned he was described as a cherub, other angelologists have variously identified him as a seraph, a flame of God, and even the face of God,
Among other descriptors. In any case, it’s not easy to figure out who Uriel really is, with the main commonality between these stories simply being the idea that Uriel is an archangel among the ranks of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. In most historical artwork, Uriel carries a thick book or a papyrus scroll, both of
Which symbolize wisdom. But I like to believe that text contains the secrets of who this archangel really is. Uriel is yet another lore puzzle where there’s a thousand pieces scattered across the table, and less than a handful of them actually fit the true narrative.
But with these four archangels covered, there’s one final, very unique angel I’d like to speculate on, and this being might actually take the crown of the most holy of all angels. Far before the advent of Christianity, Jewish theologians poured countless hours into identifying
A certain angel who showed up again and again in the books of the Hebrew Bible. Spanning from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Zechariah, and many in-between, this angel is never named, but instead branded by the deliberately vague descriptor – ‘the angel of the Lord’.
The events that involve this mysterious angel range anywhere from mundane to some of the most vital moments recorded in the scripture. There are exactly 53 mentions of this particular angel, ‘the angel of the Lord’, with particular emphasis given to the definite article ‘the’,
In his title. The angel of the Lord is always mentioned in singular form, with the strong implication that there is only one in existence. Which makes it all the more interesting because this angel is unquestionably the most frequent angel encountered in the scripture, one whose
Involvement in Biblical events dwarfs that of both Michael and Gabriel combined. There’s also one other reoccurring trait that identifies this being as the very same being in all encounters, but we’ll get to that in a minute. This angel’s most famous appearance was
Arguably in the Book of Exodus, when he appeared to Moses, who was then just a humble shepherd, not yet aware of his destiny to become a prophet. QUOTE: “Moses was tending [his] flock… and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness
And came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.” End Quote. And here’s where the potential answer to the mystery becomes apparent. QUOTE: “Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up… When the Lord saw that
He had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!… I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.” End Quote.
To many scholars, it seems quite clear that the angel of the Lord literally distinguished himself as Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, and even spoke as God in the first person. And this very telling trend continues in many other encounters, where in the case that the
Angel doesn’t at least hint at his own identity, the person they’re appearing to clearly acknowledges exactly who they’ve just met. For example, in this angel’s very first appearance in Genesis, he delivers a prophecy to an Egyptian slave. While the angel of the
Lord never indicates who he is or why he appeared to her, and simply delivers a prophecy, nevertheless, the encounter ends with the slave’s following reaction, QUOTE: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”” End Quote. This interpretation that the angel of the
Lord is literally God Himself is so widely accepted that many English translations of the Bible, including the King James and New King James versions, capitalize the word ‘Angel’ in all mentions of the angel of the Lord. But here’s where people really butt heads
With the details. The angel of the Lord is almost definitely an angelic incarnation of God… but are we dealing with a Theophany, or a Christophany? Alright, we’re in need of some definitions here. A Theophany is a visible manifestation of God the Father on
Earth. And a Christophany is a preincarnation of God the Son, aka Jesus Christ, and basically a visible manifestation of Jesus before the events of his human incarnation in the New Testament. And this may seem like a weird detail to get hung up on, but it’s one people
Talk about for good reason. All explicit references to ‘the angel of the Lord’ end with the Old Testament, and for such a prominent figure, his absence in the New Testament is incredibly apparent. The only reasonable solution connects the
Angel’s absence to the fact that Jesus Christ was on Earth as a human. As a bit of a metaphor, it’s like in the comics – when Superman shows up to save the day, Clark Kent suspiciously goes missing. But that’s just putting two-and-two together, and at least for the angel of the
Lord, no one can really say for sure. So now that we’ve met the angels, and even have a few names – it’s safe to say that there’s still much more to reveal about these beings. And while there are so many mysteries, you might be surprised how much
Angelologists actually have figured out. Angels are in no way perfect beings, and they also express some bizarre characteristics and certain limitations that will make you wonder just how deep the lore goes, and what these beings truly are. The Bible never specifies exactly when the creation of angels occurred, but the Book
Of Job states that they were present when Earth was first formed. And the traditional belief is that all angels are born flawless and without sin. But note that that doesn’t mean all would remain this way. So from what little we know about their creation,
The natural follow-up question would be ‘why’, exactly, God made these creatures. And similarly, the Bible doesn’t say much, only stating the obvious, QUOTE: “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things have been created through him and for him.” End Quote.
While the scripture may not speak straightforwardly about these beings, it absolutely does hide subtle patterns that reveal some surprising truths. Though angels may seem completely occupied in serving God’s will, they also have traits that are uniquely ‘angel’. So let’s strike some comparisons and unlock what these beings truly are – and aren’t.
And the end, we’ll return to the question of ‘why’, and try to provide an answer to their mysterious existence. To begin, we need to understand the differences between angel and man. The Epistle to the Hebrews states that God made humankind, including the mortal-incarnate Jesus Christ, QUOTE: “a little lower than
The angels” End Quote. Traditionally, ‘a little lower’ is thought to refer to our literal proximity to God in Heaven, much like the order of the 3 Spheres, but some theologians have speculated that more might be hiding in this statement. According
To the Bible, both humans and angels are God’s creations. So, might it be possible that we share peculiar similarities… and just how wide is the gap between our 2 kinds? Well, one of the most consistent words used to describe angels in the scripture is simply
The word ‘holy’. What the descriptor ‘holy’ actually means for them though is still up for debate, but some scholars interpret this as meaning angels possess a personality similar to God, and mirror many of His behaviors, desires, and values.
The human counterpart to this then is that, according to the Book of Genesis, humans were created in God’s image, which many strongly argue that this refers to a similarity to God in our physical appearance. So according to these theories, humans and angels both
Reflect aspects of God, but in very different ways. Of course, neither of these are perfect mirrors. On a related note, according to Genesis, we humans were formed from clay or dust. So, as for what material angels were made from, or what forms their essence, it’s not entirely clear. While Islam, another Abrahamic religion,
States that God made angels out of light, the Christian Bible fails to provide the specifics, and instead, we’re left to interpret the many references to so-called ‘angels of light’, and the fact that many angelic visitations are accompanied by a blinding brightness.
However, just as often, many angelic events are accompanied by blazing flames, and fire, of course, is a natural source of light. By this point, we should all be well aware that fire seems to be their most closely associated element, with many descriptions of angels
Not only raining fire on their victims, but being enveloped in flames, and ascending towards Heaven in a blaze, like some sort of rocket ship. But I’d expect most theologians to argue that angels are neither made of light nor flames, but something else entirely. Several Biblical verses describe angels as invisible
To humans until God ‘opens our eyes’ to them. This is because angels are in no way physical beings, but instead visitors from the ethereal spiritual world, another dimension of space and time that we simply can’t comprehend nor perceive unless they allow us to.
So to explain the light and flames, they might simply be a blinding, in-your-face reminder of the sheer brilliance of the glory of God. Kind of like a uniform telling you who they work for. And then we have the most inherent difference
Of them all. The Gospel of Luke explicitly reveals that angels are immortal, and cannot die. And yes, that includes the fallen angels in Satan’s army – hence the eternal fire prepared for them as referenced in the Gospel of Matthew. So angels never die, but they
Can be subdued. That obviously separates us completely from these beings, but that’s not to say there’s no relatable ground. For example, us humans love music, and so do angels. Some angels sing songs, and other play instruments. The two favorite instruments of angels are undoubtedly harps and trumpets. There are many instances
Of trumpets in association with Heaven and God, but on the flipside, the harp is in a bit of a more grey-area. While Revelation definitely describes good angels as playing harps, the Book of Isaiah closely associates the noise of harps with the former archangel
Lucifer, who became Satan after his fall from Heaven, and who is speculated by many theologians to have once been Heaven’s finest musician. In fact, the Book of Ezekiel argues that Lucifer may have been more than just a master of the harp, QUOTE:
“The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you [Lucifer] on the day you were created.” End Quote. Timbrel is another word for a tambourine, and pipes are flutes. While Satan might have been a one-angel band, this love for music is something definitely
Shared by all angels, and humans too. But aside from that wholesome connection, angels may also share a negative trait with humans. These beings are susceptible to lust, and they seem to specifically favor human women. The main evidence for this is found in the Book of Genesis, where it’s said that the
‘sons of God’ lusted for earthly women and copulated with them, and even had hybrid children with them, known as the Nephilim. Later on, the Epistle of Jude confirms that these ‘sons of God’ were indeed angels, QUOTE: “The angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode… having
Given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” End Quote. There are of course many mysteries surrounding this specific topic that we’ll tackle in the follow-up. But in terms of our investigation, this does imply two interesting observations…
The first is the fact that angels are vulnerable to temptation and can make conscious choices to disobey God’s will. The second is that they are somehow capable of procreation, at least with human women. Genesis clearly states that they had children with them, and this
Is a real mystery because what sense does it make for an immortal being to procreate? And assuming that angels are ethereal, non-physical beings… how is that even possible? Well, there might actually be an answer to that one. In the scripture, angels do, on rare occasion, assume a physical human form, and perhaps
That comes with the necessary reproductive organs. Speaking of which, when angels do take a human form, it’s almost always male. There is literally only one possible instance of female angels in the Bible. The Book of Zechariah describes the following, QUOTE:
“I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.” End Quote. Some argue that this was just a holy hallucination,
And that no angel has literally manifested as female, and thus angels are inherently male. But logically speaking, there’s no reason for angels to be bound to a single sex, because they almost definitely have no sex. And I mean that biologically. As we know,
Angels aren’t physical beings, but ethereal. They don’t possess material bodies, and thus, there’s no good reason to believe they can be female or male. On a related note, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus mentioned that angels don’t marry one another – another big separation between our two species. Jesus didn’t really explain
Why, but if angels don’t have a sex and don’t procreate with each other, there doesn’t seem to be any point to wedding in holy matrimony. So other than music, carnal lust, and the apparent ability to procreate, there’s not much else we have in common with these truly
Alien beings. Despite this, they’ve never been a stranger to humans, and in the Bible, they interact with us all the time, leaving us a host of subtle details that prove just how different they are. For example, language is no barrier to angels,
And they have no problem communicating with any person. In every visitation, 100% of what they say is perfectly understood, with not even a hint of confusion – at least in the literal message being communicated. Because the actual implications of these messages
Tended to be pretty shocking. But there may be a reason for this phenomenon. Compared to humans, the way angels communicate appears to be far beyond any concept of language in general – For example, the Book of Revelation tells of an angel simultaneously speaking
To, QUOTE: “every nation and tribe and language and people…” End Quote. So from these verses, it seems likely that angels communicate telepathically and without words, just a message plainly understood by the recipient. But despite their apparent non-use of language, little contradictory details in the Bible
Have led some theologians and occultists to believe that angels do, in fact, possess a language of their own – And this angelic tongue is thought to come with a full vocabulary and even syntax. I actually investigated this in my video “Enochian, the Lost Language
Of Angels”, so if you’re interested in this mystery, I’ll leave a link in the description. Moving on, the Second Book of Samuel states that angels possess an ability to know ‘everything that happens in the land’, the land being their assigned domain. Similar to how their
Non-use of language hints at telepathy, the belief that angels simply know all happenings at all times across a large geographic region, strongly suggests that they may have other psychic powers, such as a perfected ability to remote view – to see across time and
Space. Note that this doesn’t mean they’re omniscient, and more on that in a minute. While their intellect is certainly beyond us humans, there’s yet another aspect inherent to angels we simply can’t rival. The Second Epistle of Peter plainly asserts that, compared
To any mortal, angels are ‘greater in might and power’. Perhaps the most famous instance of this superhuman strength was the angel who rolled away the massive 4-ton bolder that locked Jesus in his tomb. But beyond sheer muscle, some angels do have
Legitimate superpowers, according to the many vivid descriptions of lone angels coming down and eliminating armies overnight, or obliterating cities in a fiery meteorological downpour. Demons are scary, but I, for one, definitely would not want to pick a fight with an angel.
But speaking of superpowers, it’s also worth exploring the obvious fact that angels can fly, as they’re consistently depicted as coming down from Heaven and ascending back up, but how this actually works is somewhat interesting. In the scripture, some angelic
Species rely on wings, such as the seraphim and the cherubim, and those without wings, like the ophanim, seem to be reliant on those with wings in order to move through the air. This implies a less magical and more practical locomotion, at least during their time in
Our physical realm. Angels do have one specific and major limitation compared to mortals, however. The First Epistle to the Corinthians states that at the end of days, QUOTE: “Do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? … Do you not know that we will judge angels?” End Quote.
So eventually human believers will be governing over the same angels who are currently governing over us. The reason why – the Bible never explains. But until that destiny is fulfilled, angels still have power we humans simply can’t match. It’s important to stress though that angels, no matter how powerful they are, are still
Far below the might and ability of God. To begin, they are certainly not omniscient. Jesus himself confirms this in the Gospel of Matthew, saying that both he and the angels of heaven don’t know the exact way the End of Days will play out, and that the only one
Who knows is God. So despite the many verses of angels conveying revelations and prophecies of events in both the short and long term future, it’s implied that they don’t know much beyond what God allows them to know. The First Epistle of Peter again confirms
This, but also throws in a rather revealing detail, QUOTE: “… the things that have now been told to you [by the gospel of God]… Even angels long to look into these things.” End Quote. This verse strongly implies that angels are
Curious, and want to know more. Similar to angels lusting for human women, this really pushes the notion that angels are capable of both emotion and free will, and in just a minute, we’ll explore that complexity in more depth. Angels are also not omnipresent. The Bible speaks of angels traveling to specific places
At specific times, and there are even instances of angels being somehow imprisoned in a physical location. For example, the Book of Daniel records this testimony from an angel, QUOTE: “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the
Chief [angels], came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.” End Quote. This is interesting, simply because it shows that, on Earth, angels can be captured and imprisoned, and held against their will. One
Has to wonder how the king of Persia managed to capture an angel for even a short period time, because the Acts of the Apostles writes that angels can pick locks with ease, fly open the doors of prison cells, and make chains drop to the ground like nothing. But apparently,
It’s possible. Especially with lesser angels. But an Archangel like Michael, who freed this lesser angel, clearly wouldn’t be so easily subdued. But as we’re making this comparison of angels to God, there really doesn’t seem to be any competition, because the belief is simply that God’s power is boundless. But that
Presents a serious logical problem –the main function of angels seems to be carrying out His will, but we know that God can do everything, so He obviously doesn’t need angels to do anything on His behalf. There is one accepted solution to this puzzle.
It’s arguable that angels aren’t doing things on behalf of God, but rather, God actually does it all directly through his angels, much like a puppet controlled by a hand. And while the puppet solution does help explain ‘how’ He uses them, the question remains
As to ‘why’ God created the angels, and why needs His angels in the first place. The 12th century Jewish philosopher Maimonides gives the answer, QUOTE: “God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things
By means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the ‘angels which are near to Him’… thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries
Between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world.” End Quote. Basically, God’s holiness is so intense that He requires, or simply prefers, some form of separation between Himself and his lower creations. And that answer does align
With the idea of the 9 choirs and 3 spheres of angels, where only the highest actually work directly with God. But while the puppet and separation theories do help explain the existence of these beings, it calls into question their nature. Are angels independent actors, or do they ultimately lack free will?
Last year in my demonology video, I made a rather controversial statement along these lines… that angels essentially operate as robots, programmed by God to do his bidding… and at the time, I was speaking from the perspective of the puppet interpretation. But many of
You disagreed with me, and after researching this video, I have to say, you all were absolutely right. So I want to take a minute to prove why I was wrong. Let me explain… The Bible states that all angels were created
As moral creatures with the power of choice. We know that angels definitely experience temptation, but unlike us humans, angels can never rightfully be described as falling victim to temptation, because these beings inherently know the difference between what’s good
And what’s evil. The Second Book of Samuel states that angels are able to fully discern between good and evil, no matter how subtle. And the Book of Jude confirms that angels who abandon the righteous path are punished for eternity, and are never forgiven.
The reason for this is that angels have completely free will, much like humans. Compared to us though, angels don’t make mistakes. They make informed decisions. So while God is pretty forgiving to humans, as we’re naturally sinning creatures, it’s only expected that angels will face the ultimate consequences for their fully conscious sins.
All this considered then, it’s actually rather astonishing that one-third of all angels made the decision to follow Satan, according to the Book of Revelation. But that just goes to emphasize how complex these beings are, and that the way their minds reason these decisions is far beyond what us humans can comprehend.
But that’s not to say that we don’t have some understanding, because today, we’ve covered incredible ground. We learned about the species of angels, what they look like, how they rank on the hierarchy, what they do, what powers they possess, how they serve
God’s will and even how they defect from it. So by watching this video in its entirety, I hereby grant you the deserving title of Amateur Angelologist. But stay tuned, because we’ll be exploring the dark side of these beings in our follow-up, Fallen Angel Demonology. Until then – thank you for watching.
If you haven’t seen my video “Demonology Explained in Obsessive Detail” that’s my deep dive into the other end of the spiritual spectrum and a must-watch if you’re interested in this stuff. Or if you can’t get enough of these angels, I recommend you check out
“The Overly Complex Ritual to Summon a Guardian Angel”. These two videos, as well as a whole playlist of my demon and angel content are linked in the description below. Shout out to my patrons, your support truly makes the difference in helping bring these
Obscure topics to light, and it seriously means a lot me and helps keep the channel going. If you want to join in, I’ve got links in the description where you can make a one-time donation or pledge monthly if you wish. 100% goes back into these videos, so
Thank you again. I’m Mr. Mythos, you guys are awesome, I’ll see you in the next one. Peace!
#Angelology #Explained #Obsessive #Detail
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