| 
All About Angels Here we have the Angel Articles and Information collected from Full Moon Paradise and elsewhere. These articles are here by permission, if you wish to use one of them in your community please email FullMoonParadise@msn.com to receive the email confirmation. Enjoy! Introduction: Angels are spirits without bodies, who possess superior intelligence, gigantic strength, and surpassing holiness. They enjoy an intimate relationship to God as His special adopted children, contemplating, loving, and praising Him in heaven. Some of them are frequently sent as messengers to men from on high.
In many religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it is believed that between God and mankind there are intermediary beings, called angels. They are bodiless entities that perform certain tasks for God and are commonly thought of as the messengers of God. Angels are good spirits, unlike their counterparts the demons. They are usually portrayed as having a human form, being dressed in long, white clothes, surrounded by a bright light and with long, swanlike wings. They were portrayed thus by artist, often on Church command, to alert the faithful that angels are more than human. There are cases, however, where angels appeared as ordinary men and were mistaken as such (the story of Lot, for instance).
In the early stages of mankind, the belief in spirits was universal. The primitive man believed that there were no good or bad spirits. A spirit simply had powers, called mana, with which it could do either good or evil. With the emerging of Christianity and other major religions, the belief in these kind of spirits was condemned, and they became demons. The belief in angels and demons can be traced back to ancient Persian religion where there were two supreme beings: Ahura Mazda and his eternal opponent Angra Mainyu. The first represents good and the second represents evil. Both have followers and servants, angels serve Ahura Mazda, while demons (the Daevas) serve Angra Mainyu. Here the distinction was first made between good and evil spirits.
In the Old Testament angels play a prominent role as the messengers from God. Also in the Old Testament the leading demon, Satan, is introduced. However, it was not until the New Testament that Satan was portrayed as Lucifer, the first of the fallen angels to rebel against God. In the New Testament, angels are present at all the important events in the life of Jesus. Here, they became more than just messengers; they are portrayed as the agents of God in bringing judgement to the world.
Until the New Testament there were only two orders of angels; the Seraphim and Cherubim. St. Paul extended the number by adding seven new orders. They are, arranged according to their importance: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. Archangels are higher in rank than Angels, but still they come eighth in the order of higher beings. Four of the most important ones are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. In Islam, it is believed that there are four Archangels who guard the throne of Allah. Angel Rosary Angelic Properties Angels of the Hours of Day and Night Angels of the Seasons Angels of the Seven Heavens Archangel Azrael Archangel Camael Archangel Cassiel Archangel Gabriel Archangel Haniel Archangel Israfel Archangel Jophiel Archangel Metatron Archangel Raguel Archangel Raphael Archangel Raziel Archangel Sandalphon Archangel Uriel Archangel Zadkiel Calling In A Household Angel Crystal Angels Dreaming with the Angels Guardian Angels of the Zodiac How can you tell if your Angel is answering your question? How do I know who my guardian angel is? Invitation To Your Angel Nine Orders of Angels Queen of the Angels The High Angels The Watchers To have a relationship with a Healing Angel |
