An Ultimate Guide to Our

Amazing Angelic Beings

from our Angel Messenger Creative Team

Do you believe in angels? In archangels? They are magical, mystical, miraculous, the very idea of them is wondrous. Many people today rely on archangels for assistance in daily life. Can they really help? In order to answer that question, it is important first to understand angels in general. What are they? Who are they? Where did they come from? Why do they matter? How did angels become so prominent in our world today?

There are four religions that recognize archangels and angels: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. All name and describe them differently, and assign them varying roles and attributes. No other modern religions believe in them – eastern religions, for example, have intermediary spirits and divine helpers, but not angels, per se.

If you don’t belong to these traditions, but still believe in angels, perhaps you are a member of the New Thought Movement. If so, your brand of angels is likely a composite, founded in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian, Etruscan, Persian or Sumerian myth. Thus, your angels may be numinous sons and daughters of the Aeons, the formless entities which emanated from the Divine Godhead at the beginning of time.

It’s difficult, in this 21^st century age of scientific reason, to believe that the ageless, winged beings who hovered over the mythical Garden of Eden, and who awed believers 9,000 years ago are the self-same entities that guide us today. But, it is said that in the beginning, a divine being created angels and blessed them with eternal life. As angels are sexless and unable to reproduce, theoretically, those same angels are still winging around the universe, forever young and vibrant. Of course, the laws of physics and evolution preclude the existence of such timeless entities – but no matter. Practicalities of time, science, and history aside, many people believe in angels – angels of revelation, angel oracles, angel messengers, angel saviors – logic and reason can not dissuade them. Their beliefs are faith-based; despite the plethora of angel art that fills the world’s galleries, museums, and books, there is no evidence that angels actually exist. Nevertheless, for believers, the time-honored angels celebrated in the art and literature of history are their angels, too.

Angels have risen and fallen in the popular imagination throughout history. In the early centuries CE, the angels of archaic religious history were strange, ominous creatures, depicted with wings and a multitude of eyes – frightening. Later, in the early centuries AD, when pagans and Christians were at war, pagan gods were portrayed as young, well-muscled mortals, decked out in the abundant, flowing robes commonly worn in the Hellenistic world. Eight centuries later, the pagan religions all but annihilated, the pagan gods and the winged Christian angels were united; they morphed into beautiful, luminous creatures with perfect human forms, expansive wings, and flowing robes. These new angels dwelled not only in the firmament of the Christian God but also in that formerly forbidden, nether realm of pagan gods. The religious war was over; all that was good about the pagan gods was incorporated into Christian angels – including the pagan gods’ supernatural powers. Their new job: to bring good tidings and hope to earth from heaven and to intercede in times of trouble in human affairs. These images of angels endure today.

But, angels did not escape the Middle Ages unscathed! Whereas in the 8^th century, the Christian world was awash with angels, sculpted of stone, or painted in vibrant colors on wood, these benefactors of God had, by the 13^th century, become anathema to the Church. By the 15^th century, there was an angelic schism: God’s messengers were both revered by believers and scorned by Humanists. By the 19^th century, they were the rage again. It was a holy roller coaster ride for angels over those centuries! By the 20^th century, rather than being depicted as patrons of a heavenly father bringing encouraging news from heaven to earth, angels became supplicants, administering to humanity’s every desire. Our angels, the heavenly hosts so popular in our 21^st century, are based primarily on the winged Greek gods Nike and Eros. They are strong, handsome creatures, perfect in body, mind, and spirit. They are loving, benevolent, kind and compassionate, they stand ready to help us 24/7 and have only our best interests at heart.

Angels: Truth? Fantasy?

What are we to make of this historical medley of angelic facts? What is a New Thought advocate to believe? Are angels historical? Mythical? Supernatural? Figments of our imagination? They certainly are not scientific – we know their existence defies sense and reason. We may not know what realm they come from, but scientific they are not.

When one investigates the endless lists of imaginary aeons, angels, archons, daemons, and other heavenly hosts sprinkled throughout ancient literature, it is easy to become hopelessly confused. Can we suspend disbelief? Can we accept that even though angels are fantastical creatures founded in myth, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist – fairies exist, after all. Why not angels, too?

All things considered, not to worry! An angel is what you say it is, because, after all, you are the observer. Your belief in invisible things is your prerogative. You believe in love, and that’s invisible! If your instinct tells you that angels exist, then they do. Perhaps your angels are not external, otherworldly messengers from God bringing truth and comfort from heaven to earth, but are rather allies that dwell in the nothingness of the universe, to whom you can appeal for favors, knowledge, and good counsel.  Perhaps your angels do not exist outside of you, perhaps they rise from the collective unconscious – maybe your angels are inner beings, a part of your higher self.

Let’s assume that’s true, that your angels are of a metaphysical variety – a composite of angels of the pagan and Christian myths – they live deep within your psyche and so are as real as you are. If we look at angels this way, it is impossible to deny that they exist!

In a followup article we look at who the angels are and how they got their names, read  Truth Revealed about Our Amazing Angelic Beings here.

Then in another article we examine how the legions of angels were divided into spheres and choirs and how the archangels found themselves demoted from the first sphere, next to the throne of God, to the third sphere, in service to human beings. Read The Choirs Revealed about Our Amazing Angelic Beings here.

Much Love & Angel Blessings,

Angel Messenger