We have all heard the word angel. And not only heard, but also used it in their speech. What do we know about angels? Who is this, and why is the first association that occurs when this word is mentioned is divine power and something spiritual? What do they look like and what is their mission? We will learn about all this in this article.
Who is an angel?
An angel is the messenger of God, His servant. Scripture describes this concept in exactly this way. This is actually a literal translation, which is translated from Greek (“angelos”) as “messenger, messenger”.
About who such an angel is known all over the world, in every religion. According to the Holy Scriptures, angels were created long before the creation of the whole world, and their mission is to serve God. What kind of ministry? They glorify God, convey messages from Him to man, protect people and carry out many more tasks. Many of them carry a specific mission.
But there are also those angels who refused to obey the will of God for unknown reasons. They, in punishment, were cast down into the underworld and are called fallen. The fallen angel refers to the misanthropic and evil army rebellious entities against God and man.
What does an angel look like?
Many clergymen express their opinions on the nature of the angel. For the most part, they agree that an angel is a light, fiery, insightful and quick entity. They are also credited with the desire for good and service to God, which is quite advisable, discipline and infallibility, nobility and humility. Such qualities of an angel come from the goals they serve.
The angel does not have a physical body, and it is endowed with immortality. A rational entity with intelligence and relative freedom. Angels, not surprisingly, do not have age and gender, do not change over time. As it was originally created, in this form it remains.
Despite the freedom given to the angel, it is limited by space. That is, he cannot be in several places at the same time, but he is able to move with great speed.
Who such an angel can be found only from the words of clergymen and eyewitnesses who managed to see his coming. Neither to confirm nor to refute these facts is impossible.
Of course, we can only award all these traits to the angels conditionally, since no one knows exactly what they look like. This is a completely different level of understanding and awareness that people are not given.
We are known as angels creatures that look like a man with white wings behind his back. Wings in this case are a symbol of the speed of fulfilling the will of God.
Often angels are depicted in armor or robes, with wands, spears or axes in their hands as the personification of the Heavenly army.
Angelic ranks
There is a certain system of angelic ranks, a special hierarchy, generally accepted for all. So, the whole angelic army is divided into three large groups, or triads.
The first triad includes the Cherubim (the name means "an abundance of knowledge and wisdom"), the Seraphim ("flaming") and the Thrones ("taken from the earth and striving for God"). These are the highest ranks that are the most pure and unbreakable in their devotion to God.
In the second triad are Dominions, Powers and Authorities. These angels are constantly enlightened by God's wisdom, and do not heed it, but simply contemplate. Dominions are engaged in instructing earthly kings and rulers to wise rule. Angels of the rite of Strength send grace to God's saints and work miracles on earth. But in the power of the authorities - the taming of diabolical designs, the angels of the authorities divert temptation from us; also these church angels control the natural elements.
Well, the third triad consists of Principles, Archangels and Angels. This is the group closest to people. Thanks to them, the will of God is communicated to us, helping us to improve ourselves. The principles govern all the laws of nature, the Universe, and protect the nations and peoples. Archangels are the vehicles of God's revelations; they bring good news about the mysteries of God. Angels are with every person. They are assigned to guard and instruct us in spiritual life.
Who are the fallen angels?
In fact, this entity once was also bright and pure, created by God. But once having abandoned God, this angel was expelled from the Kingdom of Heaven for his atrocities, which made him dark and vengeful, and was now called the "fallen angel."
In Orthodoxy, fallen angels are also called angels of darkness. The most famous representatives are demons and demons, they serve Satan, the devil.
For the first time, Satan appears in the time of Adam and Eve in the form of a snake-tempter, who persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and disobey the will of God, for which they were then punished and expelled from Paradise.
A fallen angel is a cunning tempter whose mission is to destroy a person’s inner peace, his faith in God and virtue, and incitement to commit sinful acts that distance a person from God.
The Devil (Lucifer) was also once a supreme angel, among those closest to God. But it so happened that he became proud of himself and equated himself with the Father, for which he was cast down into Hell. He was the first of the fallen.
Guardian Angels: Who are They?
Repeatedly mentioned in literature, cinema, music and everything that surrounds a person, the idea that each of us has a personal patron. What kind of patron is many people counting on? This is a guardian angel.
According to the Holy Scriptures, such an angel is given by God to every person from birth and baptism. The strength and capabilities of this angel depend on the spirituality of a person, the positivity of his thinking and the good deeds that he performs.
Christian traditions say that each person has two principles - good and evil. Behind his right shoulder is a good guardian angel who guides the true path, and behind his left is an evil tempter spirit who wants to turn a person into evil. These two angels accompany a person throughout his life. After that, they lead to the gates of Paradise (heavenly angel) or Hell (fallen angel), depending on which path a person has chosen in life - good or more evil.
That is why we are baptized from right to left, the handshake is done with the right hand, and the right hand is also applied to the heart. Many more such examples can be cited, the essence remains the same: the right side is very symbolic in Christianity.
It is generally accepted that when we do some good deed, our patron angel rejoices and gains great strength, and when evil, he sorrows and weakens. Prayer to an angel must be sincere and pure.
Do guardian angels really exist?
When it becomes clear who the patron angel is, questions arise about whether their existence is true. Is our spiritual protector close to us throughout life? Can someone confirm the existence of such an entity as a guardian angel?
Of course, there is no scientific confirmation of the existence of angels, nor is there a refutation either. Many people turn to angels and God in the most difficult moments in their lives, despite the lack of evidence.
There are many different situations in which people miraculously survive. This can be attributed to a lucky chance and say that "a man was born in a shirt." Skeptics will do so. And we can conclude that since a person survived under incredible conditions, that means he is kind, and a strong guardian angel is assigned to him, which protects him.
Angel of Death
Before talking about this angel, it is worth noting that the Bible does not say anything about the existence of a separate angel responsible for the presence next to a person who is dying.
Despite this, in other religions there is mention of such a creature. For example, in Judaism, the angel of death is known as Sariel, Azrael or Samael, in Islam it is Malak Al-Mawt, in Hinduism it is Yamaraja or Yama.
In different religions and mythologies, this angel is represented differently - a skeleton with a scythe in a black hoodie, a young woman or an old woman, even a child. Despite its appearance, its mission is one: the presence at the time of the death of a person and either the contemplation of this process or direct participation in it.
In Christianity, such obligations could be placed on any angel solely by the will of God, but separately the angel of death does not exist. Often these angels are mistakenly called fallen angels, but this is not so.
What language do angels speak?
Today it is generally accepted that Enochian is the language of angels. The reliability of this fact also cannot be confirmed or refuted. This language was created by the occultists J. Dee and E. Kelly, it was classified. According to the creators of this theory, Kelly received this knowledge from angels during meditation.
As a separate language, Enochian does not exist. There is an alphabet, as well as keys to it, because the language is encrypted.
How to pray to an angel?
You can turn to an angel for help. There are special prayers addressed to the personal guardian angel and calling him for patronage and revenue.
It is important to treat with all sincerity and be a pure soul. In fact, it is not so important what you say and what the prayer to the angel will be. He knows about your thoughts, and if you ask for help in a good deed, he will certainly help.