Angels online

Some Well-Known Angels...

Here are a few angels that you might be familiar with. First we'll meet the ones that we know to be real and true, then we'll meet some we aren't sure about, and then we'll have a fun visit with some famous -- but definitely fictitious angels.

Real Angels Part 1: Good Guys

• Gabriel - Believed to be a bnei Elohim, one of the seven archangels, and God's chief messenger. Gabriel revealed the pending birth of John the Baptist to Zachariah (Luke 1:5-20), and he is also the angel who visited Mary to reveal that she will give birth to Jesus. This is called "The Annunciation" and is illustrated at the bottom of this web page. Some people also think that Gabriel will be the angel who blows the horn announcing the Judgment Day, but this angel is un-named, so we really can't be sure. In the Old Testament, Gabriel was the angel who explained the visions to Daniel. Some scholars say he appears throughout the OT.
• Michael - Another bnei-Elohim, In the book of Daniel, Michael is identified as the angel-protector of Israel. He is considered the guardian angel of Judah. He is also mentioned in the NT book of Jude. Some believe that Michael is also the "Captain" of the Lord's host during Joshua's conquest of the promised land. Catholics attribute some first millenia miracles to Michael.

Real Angels Part 2: Bad Guys

• Ha-Satan or Satan - The accuser, appears in the book of Job and in Zechariah. In the NT he is grouped together with...
• Heilel Ben-Shachar or Lucifer - The carrier of light, an angel who was so thrilled with his own appearance that he fell from grace (in Isaiah). In the NT Revelation he is lumped together with Satan and the ancient Garden of Eden serpent as "the evil one."
• Baal-Zebub or Beelzebub - Keeper of the demons, an angel or principality of some power. He was consulted by King Ahaziah in the OT book of Kings, and named by Jesus as ruler of the demons in three of the Gospels.

Real Angels Part 3: Good or Bad?

• Abaddon or Apollyon - "Angel of the Abyss" he is king of the iron scorpion/locusts which will rise at the sounding of the fifth trumpet in Revelation. Because he will lead these insect thingys against God's enemies, it is difficult to determine if this is a good guy or a bad guy. The book of Revelation seems to equate Apollyon with The Beast, and he has traditionally been thought of as Satanic.

Angels that might be Real

Although there are many angels described in the Old and New Testament, you can see from the list above that very few are actually named. But there are other books that were accepted as part of the "canon" at one time, and those books mention many other angels. These are books like Tobit and Judith which are included in some versions of the OT, and books like I & II Clement and Shepherd of Hermas which are included in some versions of the NT. Early church leaders were unable to determine the authenticity of these works, and so they threw them out. Others, like the Gospel of James or the Gospel of Judas, are generally known to be hogwash and never made it in to begin with.

But as far as the books that were considered "deuter-canonical," or no longer part of the canon, it is possible that some parts of them are truthful. With that in mind, here's a list of some of their named angels, who may be real. We simply don't know.

• Raphael - thought to be a bnei Elohim, and one of the seven archangels, mentioned in the Book of Tobit. He is thought to be a healing angel.
• Uriel or Ariel - appears in the Second Book of Esdras, Uriel is sent by God to instruct the prophet Ezra. Some think that Uriel is one of the seven archangels, but he is often identified as a cherub and is supposedly one of the cherubs that appears in the third chapter of Genesis. Other apocryphal documents call Uriel the angel of repentence. The name Ariel, by the way, is in the masculine form in Hebrew, even though it is a girl's name in our culture.
• Asmodeus - some believe that Asmodeus is in league with Satan, others claim he is just a troublemaker and rabble rouser.
• Metatron - the scribe of heaven, an extremely powerful angel thought to appear in Revelation, calling down judgements. We know for sure that such an angel exists, but we don't know if his name is actually Metatron.

Angels of Fiction

These are the "angels" we've come to know through books, movies, and television. Even though they are fiction, some aspects of these characters have become accepted as "truth" by many people. Although some of their actions or characteristics may actually be true, it is important to remember that unless these are supported by biblical record, we cannot assume them to be true. It is important to remember that, while interesting, these "angels" should be regarded as fictional entertainment.

• The Littlest Angel - from a popular 1957 story by Charles Tazewell, made into a movie in 1969 starring Johnny Whitaker, Fred Gwynne, and Cab Calloway. The movie was clumsy, but the book was quite popular. If you're my age or younger, you probably don't know this story, but it has had a tremendous influence on some popular myths and misconceptions about angels. The story goes that a 4 year old shepherd boy in ancient Israel (age 8 in the movie) dies and goes to heaven, where he becomes an angel. He's really out of place in heaven, and incidents both sad and hilarious occur. Soon after his arrival Jesus is born, and all the angels present fantastic gifts. The littlest angel just has a rough wooden box, in which he places a butterfly that he treasures. The other angels deride his gift, but naturally God knows his feelings and his favor shines on the gift. The simple wood box glows with God's power, and becomes the star that guides the Magi. This is a great story, of course, but it fosters the myth that little children become angels when they die.
• Michael - from the 1996 movie of the same name. The film stars John Travolta as the Archangel Michael. He's supposed to do certain angelic things, and manages to do them in a rather unorthodox manner since he's oversexed, drinks heavily, and chain smokes! He winds up being a lovable character, but in general bears no resemblance to what we know about the real Michael.
• Seth - from City of Angels. Played by Nicholas Cage, Seth is an angel that appears to people who are dying. At one point he watches a heart surgeon, Maggie Rice (Meg Ryan) try to save a man's life, even though the man is standing next to Seth, watching the process. He becomes obsessed with her, and "falls" to earth as a human so that he can be with her. After a coy romance and a single day of love -- you guessed it -- Maggie is killed in an accident, leaving Seth behind. It's so sentimental, you have to love it!