Servants Of God

The “monster” that always attracted me when I was young, inspiring me to research about their lore more and more were angels. To me angels were the most fearsome and beautiful things in the world. Their dualistic natures and their job in heaven and on earth amazed me. I think my interest came from my family, my father and uncles were all mostly named after archangels and my mother’s birthday was on Michael the Archangel’s feast day September 29. My parents telling me I had a guardian angel, someone who was watching over me was a comforting idea. I always pictured a kind woman, someone more or less physically similar to my mother, and imagined her smiling at me or floating over my head. It was always a little silly to me, but I felt that since both of my parents shared some kind of connection to Michael, that he thought I was special and helped to protect me.

The word angel comes from the Greek word ‘aggelos’ which means ‘messenger’. They are the servants of God and his kingdom doing his bidding across heaven, earth and hell. In the Bible we see their occupations categorized into four subjects: they are the messengers of God, they serve him in heaven, personal guardians, and finally they are divine agents governing the world. There are three known types of angels: cherubim, seraphim and archangels. The cherubim are the small two winged angels usually depicted as babies following around Greek gods. The seraphim are the larger angels they have two wings or are also depicted with six wings. The archangels are very few, in both Roman Catholic teachings as well as Eastern Orthodox. In Roman Catholic only three are given names: Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. In Eastern Orthodox there are seven even eight archangels that appear in different levels of the hierarchy.

Angels are usually depicted in the Bible as the messenger bringing news of joy or of warning, but they are also shown as warriors of heaven created to fight against the fallen angels in the final battle. This is where their other nature and the modern man’s fear of them come into play. Angels have the power of God behind them, something humans have never understood. This kind of power is something people will fear because since angels are rarely depicted as fearsome and are usually helpful beings, we never see the true power behind them. We trust that angels will protect us, but they serve God and since we trust in God we trust them. This is a “monster” that people would gladly allow into their homes and lives because of their religious beliefs.

in movies such as “Legion” where humans are subjected to God’s wrath and disappointment and we are reminded that without God’s protection we have no real power against an angelic army. Another example seen in present times of a real fear in angels is in the television show “Supernatural”. This show demonstrates what happens when chaos roams free and God is not there to stop it. Archangels raise armies against God and another angel named Castiel raises an army in the name of God. Angels are fighting against angels and humans are collateral damage. This show demonstrates a more human perspective of angels. The angels in this show possess humans and are actually beings of great heavenly power using humans as their vessels. This somewhat coincides with Biblical teachings that God and all his power are too great for humans to understand.

I loved learning about angels and how they can transition from religion to religion across the globe. But now Hollywood has turned them into another movie monster for the heroes to vanquish, but given all this power and glory I always wondered and feared if they were wrong.