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The word's origins explained -

The English word "angel" has its roots in the Greek word aggelos, which means "messenger." Similarly, in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for angel carries the same meaning.

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Who are these messengers, really? -

Angels were created to serve God. They are essentially acting as messengers from Him. However, the content and means of how their messages are delivered is a different story.

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Who are these holy beings? -

There is a hierarchy, and each angel has a specific job. Some angels are next to God, while others supervise other angels, and then there are those who deliver God's messages to humans.

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Their powers are limited -

Angels possess distinctive roles and abilities, enabling them to accomplish assigned tasks. For instance, an angel designated as a healer solely focuses on healing, without engaging in other responsibilities. Similarly, when an angel's job is to deliver a specific message, that's usually as far as the task goes.

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Their powers are limited -

This is perfectly illustrated in Genesis 19, when God sends three angels to give Abraham three separate messages. One angel discloses his wife's pregnancy, another forewarns him of Sodom's impending destruction, and the third angel assures Abraham that he would be healed.

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What is the appearance of angels? -

For centuries, artists have depicted angels, often as delicate, ethereal beings with wings, radiating beauty and having a resemblance to humans.

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What is the appearance of angels? -

These representations, however, may not be right, as angels are  spiritual beings according to Jewish and Christian traditions. As spiritual beings, they lack any physical attributes.

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What do angels look like? -

According to the Bible, angels are "light" but they can adopt a human form to convey God's messages to humans. This raises the question of how angels, who lack physical attributes, perform their divine tasks.

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Are angels male or female? -

Angels have often been depicted in art as either female or as highly feminized entities. This portrayal is believed to have originated from Greco-Roman paganism, particularly goddesses.

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Are angels male or female? -

In the Bible, angels have male names. Although this is possibly due to the fact that both the Greek and Hebrew words for angel are masculine.

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Are angels male or female? -

The female-male dichotomy is associated with humans and reproduction, but angels, being non-human, cannot be classified as male or female, correct?

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What about the Nephilim? -

The Nephilim, often called giants, were enigmatic beings. They originated from the union of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of man." So who exactly were these "sons of God"? According to Jewish tradition, they were angels.

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What about the Nephilim? -

Current Judeo-Christian tradition, doesn't support the idea of these human-angel relationships, suggesting that the "sons of God" were mere mortals.

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Can humans become angels? -

Mark 12:25 has led to confusion about whether humans transform into angels upon dying. Jesus, when talking about resurrection, stated that humans will be "like the angels in heaven."

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Can humans become angels? -

His use of the word "like" holds great significance here. It implies that individuals with a pure soul in the afterlife need not worry about worldly matters, similar to angels. It doesn't meant that they will turn into angels.

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Are angels really that peaceful? -

Although "angelic" has a positive connotation, the Bible has some examples where angels deliver messages in a devastating way, on behalf of God.

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Are angels really that peaceful? -

Like an angel of death killing the firstborn sons of Egypt, after the Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews leave. Or even archangel Uriel nearly killing Moses. Angels deliver the message from God, but it turns out the message can sometimes those messages can be violent!

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Archangels -

Archangels are recognized as a distinct category of angels, although they are not mentioned in the Hebrew Old Testament. The New Testament is the first place this group of angels is identified.

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Archangels -

Though the term was not used, a distinction was made. For example, in Daniel 12:1, archangel Michael is referred to as the "Great Prince."

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Archangels -

In the Book of Tobit, archangel Raphael identifies himself as "one of seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord."

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So are archangels the highest-ranking angels in heaven? -

Well, not quite. The top leagues are occupied by the seraphim, the cherubim, and the throne angels. This makes archangels place fairly low in the hierarchy. Archangels are just above guardian angels, so why are they so important?

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The importance of archangels -

Archangels are God’s messenger par excellence. They interact directly with humans on the Lord’s behalf, so they are tasked with very important missions (i.e. the annunciation).

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Was Lucifer an archangel? -

Lucifer was actually a seraphim, part of the highest-ranking angel league. His job was to adore God, but he got jealous and so was cast out of heaven.

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Was Lucifer an archangel? -

There is some confusion, probably because it was an archangel, Saint Michael, who cast Lucifer into hell.

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Christian denominations differ on archangels -

One would think Christians would agree on the name of archangels, but this is not the case. Indeed there are seven archangels, but the Bible only mentions three by name.

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Catholic Church -

The Catholic Church recognizes three archangels: Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael. They also acknowledge the existence of the other four, though they don’t name them.

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Eastern Orthodox Church and Anglican Church -

The Eastern Orthodox Church and Anglicans, on the other hand, add a fourth archangel to the mix: the aforementioned Uriel.

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And what about cherubs? -

Cherubs are commonly depicted as adorable, plump baby angels, even though that's not how they're described in the Bible. Those tasked with guarding the Garden of Eden even had flaming swords!

Sources: (Grunge)

See also: Rock songs surprisingly inspired by the Bible

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