Angels

An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. In Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Islam, they typically act as messengers from God.

The English word came from Latin angelus, which came from Greek  ángelos, meaning "messenger".  "Angel" is also used in the English version of the Bible for these three Hebrew words:...

Angelology
Angelology is a branch of theology that deals with a hierarchical system of angels, messengers, celestial powers or emanations, and the study of these systems. It primarily relates to Kabbalistic Judaism and Christianity, where it is one of the ten major branches of theology, albeit a neglected one.

Many secular scholars believe that Judeo-Christianity owes a great debt to Zoroastrianism in regards to the introduction of angelology and demonology, as well as the fallen angel Satan as the ultimate agent of evil, comparing him to the evil spirit Ahriman. As the Iranian Avestan and Vedic traditions and also other branches of Indo-European mythologies show, the notion of demons had existed long before.

It is believed that Zoroastrianism had an influence on Jewish angelology, and therefore modern Christian angelology, due to the appearance of elements from Zoroastrianism in Judaism following Israel's extended contact with the Persian Empire while in exile in Babylon,. Borrowed notions may include the introduction of Satan as a supreme head over the powers of evil (present mainly in Christian and Islamic theology), in contrast to God; comparing Satan to Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) of Zoroastrian faith, who was the arch-enemy of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Universal God of mankind. Angels, some also believe, may have first been depicted as God's helpers in Zoroastrianism, and their hierarchy is comparable to modern Angelology's hierarchy.

This view is questioned though by those who point out that the Torah, the Book of Job, and other Jewish books depicting angels as messengers of God predate the time of Persian influence.

In contrast to the first view, some critics believe that it was Judaism and Christianity that had an influence on Zoroastrianism. They purport that Zoroastrian archangels are more abstract that concrete, and that a number of other differences make the connection tenuous. While the Talmud of Jerusalem, Rosch Haschanna, 56, acknowledges that the names of certain angelic figures may have originated in Babylon, some scholars believe it is possible to attribute the Zoroastrian concept of angels to the influence of the Bible and the historian Philo.

That is, however, problematic as some historians date Zoroastrianism back more than ten-thousand years before the birth of Christ, but with little physical evidence. The main source of Zoroastrian lore comes from the Shāhnāma of Firdowsi, which the author claims to be truthful to the ancient legends, but which was written after the Islamic conquest of Persia.

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, one advocate of the theory that Judaism had an influence on Zoroastrianism was James Darmesteter. But it states that his theories "have been violently combated by specialists since that time, and can not be said to have met with decided favor on any side."

A third criticism posits that concepts such as angels and demons could very well have originated in many traditions separately.

Angels in the Tanakh  Appearance of angels  Angels Purpose  Angels of the Old Testament   New Testament Angels  Archangel

Islamic Angels    Latter-Day Saint Angels  Gender of angels  Hierarchy of Angels   St. Michael in Scripture  Asmodai in demonology

Hebrew Bible Cherubim  Seraphim    Cherubim  Thrones or Ophanim

Seraphim Angels    Seraphiel   Metatron   Michael   Vehuel   Uriel   Nathanael   Jehoel   Chamuel
Lucifer   Abaddon   Asmodeus   Astaroth   Leviathan    Samael    Semyazza

Back to Angels

Spiritual Ideas Main Page