Angels are not the sole preserve of the great monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They were found long before in ancient animist and shamanic traditions. The figure of these celestial beings can also be found, in various forms, in Hinduism and Greek mythology. But it was the Semitic peoples of Mesopotamia who helped to shape the figure of the biblical angel as we know it. The nature and functions of angels would become increasingly clear throughout the history of Israel.

The biblical angel
There are 549 biblical verses about angels in the Old Testament and 203 in the New Testament (not counting references to demons or evil spirits). These holy messengers, sent by God to make His will known to mankind, are to be found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

In the Garden of Eden, they guard "the entrance to the tree of life" (Gen 3:24); with Jesus, they are sent to the various churches: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to bring you this testimony about the churches. I am the offspring, the descendant of David, the shining morning star". (Rev 22:16)

In the Bible, the angel is presented as a personal being, different from God and man. He dwells in the heavens, surrounding God's throne, appearing to men in visible, luminous form, to guide and protect them. He is often clothed in white, symbolizing purity.

Although he has no sex and is entirely free of matter, he sometimes takes on the appearance of a child or a young man, a sign of his immortality.
In 787, the Council of Nicaea II authorized the representation of angels in human form. In popular imagery, they are depicted with wings to emphasize that they are pure spirits, quick to obey God.

The Old Testament
In the Old Testament, angels serve God's purpose. They protect Lot (Gen 19), save Hagar and her child Ishmael (Gen 21:17), hold Abraham's hand as he prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen 22:11). They appear to Jacob on the mysterious ladder that has inspired painters and mystics alike (Gen 28:12). Jesus refers to it indirectly: "You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending above the Son of Man." (Jn 1:51)

Angels also lead God's people: "I will send an angel ahead of you to guard you on your way and bring you to the place I have prepared for you. Respect his presence, listen to his voice. Do not resist him: he will not forgive you your rebellion, for my name is in him." (Ex 23:20-21).

They announce prodigious births (Jg 13, 3-7), assist the prophets Elijah (1 K 19, 4-8), Isaiah (Is 6, 1-4), Ezekiel (Ez 10), Daniel (Dn 6, 23), to name but a few. They are present in the Book of Job and occupy a central place in the Book of Tobit, especially the archangel Raphael, who delivers a message of peace: "Fear not! Peace be with you! Bless God forever" (Tb 12:7).

Finally, the angels, mentioned several times in the Psalms, take part in the praise of the cosmos: "You, all his angels, praise him, praise him, all the universes." (Ps 148:2) They bless the Lord, inspiring people to taste his goodness and protection.
 

The New Testament

Angels are mentioned less in the New Testament than in the Old. They fade into the background when Jesus appears, since he is above them; he is the center and summit of Revelation: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory which he received from his Father as the only Son, full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14). Present at the beginning of his earthly life, the angels reappeared at his agony and on Easter morning, rediscovering their role as God's messengers.

Luke, for example, begins his Gospel with two apparitions: that of an angel announcing to Zacharias the birth of John the Baptist (Lk 1:11-20); and that of the archangel Gabriel announcing to Mary the birth of the Savior (Lk 1:26-38). God enters our history through the Spirit, who takes Mary under his shadow. For the evangelist Matthew, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream, asking him to take his wife and child with him. He accepts this mystery, "hidden for ages in God" (Eph 3:9).

He freely entrusts himself to God, as Mary had done at the Annunciation. The angel also orders him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, and to return to Palestine when Herod dies (Mt 2:13-23). The Messiah's victory will only come through humility and annihilation, not through force and war.

"The Word became flesh, and the journalists of this time know nothing of it!" wrote Bernanos in his Journal d'un curé de campagne. Except the angels. In the silence of the night, an angel announces the happy news to the shepherds:

Today, in the city of David, a Savior is born to you, who is Christ, the Lord. And this is the sign that is given to you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel an innumerable heavenly company, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men, whom He loves" (Lk 2:11-14).
 

his song of the angels will never cease to resound in the praise of the Church.

Jesus and the angels

When Jesus enters public life, angels serve him in the desert, after he has suffered Satan's assaults and triumphed over temptations: "Then the devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to him." (Mt 4:11)

They comforted him in his agony (Lk 22:43), even though he could have been saved by them: "Do you think I cannot call on my Father? He would immediately put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels." (Mt 26:53)

The angels roll away the stone from the tomb and appear before the women, announcing the Good News of the Resurrection (Mt 28, 1-3; Mk 16, 5; Lk 23, 4-6).

They bear witness to the Firstborn from the dead to Mary Magdalene, weeping near the tomb: "She saw two angels dressed in white, sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, in the place where Jesus' body had lain". (Jn 20:12) When Jesus returns to the Father, they comfort the disciples by rekindling the hope of his return in glory. "

And while they were still staring up at the sky where Jesus was going, behold, there stood before them two men in white garments, who said to them, "Galileans, why are you standing there looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come just as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

When he spoke of the end of time and the resurrection of the dead, Jesus said that we take neither wife nor husband, "but are like angels in heaven" (Mt 22:39). In a parable, he shows that the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is cast into the sea and brings back all kinds of things.

The fishermen then sort out what is good and what is not. "So it will be at the end of the world: the angels will come out to separate the wicked from among the righteous" (Mt 13:49). In the parable of the tares, sown by the devil, and the good grain, sown by the Son of Man, he explains that the harvest signifies the end of the world, and that the reapers are the angels.

Just as the tares are taken away and thrown into the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all those who cause stumbling and do evil, and throw them into the furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. He who has ears, let him hear! (Mt 13, 40-43)
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***

The beginnings of the Church

In the Acts of the Apostles, the nascent Church experiences the defending and protective ministry of angels. During the night, an angel opens the prison doors and leads the Apostles out (Acts 5:19).

Another spoke to Philip, telling him to take the road down from Jerusalem to Gaza (Acts 8:26). An angel enters Cornelius' house and asks him to send men to Jaffa and bring Peter (Acts 10:3-8). The same Peter experienced the angel's protection, freeing him from his chains in prison (Acts 12:7-11).

An angel also appeared to Paul, telling him that he would not perish at sea (Acts 27:23). The same Paul wrote: "I could speak all the languages of men and of angels, but if I lack love, if I lack charity, I am but a resounding brass, a clanging cymbal." (2 Cor 13:1)

But this does not stop him from raving about the great mystery of the Incarnation: "Great indeed is the mystery of our religion: it is Christ, manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, appeared to the angels, proclaimed to the nations, believed in the world, taken up in glory" (1 Tim 3:16).

Throughout her history, the Church has venerated these heavenly spirits, who defend her against evil and lead her to the very heart of the mystery of the Cross. She seeks their intercession, as her members march "to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels celebrating." (Heb 12, 22) They are the ones who carry our prayers to God.

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God: seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood by the altar, carrying a golden censer, and was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. And by the angel's hand went up before God the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints. (Rev 8, 2-4)
 

Jacques Gauthier