A Watcher is a type of biblical angel . The word occurs in both plural and singular forms in the Book of Daniel (2nd century BC), where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The apocryphal Books of Enoch (2nd–1st centuries BC) refer to both good and bad Watchers, with a primary focus on the rebellious ones.
167-450: Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven . The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts , but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned . Such angels often tempt humans to sin. The idea of fallen angels is derived from the Book of Enoch , a pseudepigraphic Jewish apocalyptic religious text, or the assumption that
334-525: A jinn is everything hidden from human eye, both angels and other invisible creatures, thus including Iblis to a group of angels. In Surah 15:36, God grants Iblis' request to prove the unworthiness of humans. Surah 38:82 also confirms that Iblis' intrigues to lead humans astray are permitted by God's power. However, as mentioned in Surah 17:65, Iblis' attempts to mislead God's servants are destined to fail. The Quranic episode of Iblis parallels another wicked angel in
501-525: A band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,' this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with
668-698: A child despite his old age, thus proclaiming the birth of John the Baptist . In Luke 1:26, Gabriel visits Mary in the Annunciation to foretell the birth of Jesus . Angels proclaim the birth of Jesus in the Adoration of the shepherds in Luke 2:10. According to Matthew 4:11, after Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, "...the Devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him." In Luke 22:43 an angel comforts Jesus during
835-499: A concession to human's imperfection, in contrast to the angels. Thus, they occasionally appear in Midrashim as competition with humans. The angels as heavenly beings, strictly following the laws of God, become jealous of God's affection for man. Humans, by following the Torah, in prayer, by resisting evil instincts ( yetzer hara ) and by teshuva , are preferred to the flawless angels. As
1002-637: A delusion cast by Satan. Like Roman Catholicism, Protestantism continues with the concept of fallen angels as spiritual entities unrelated to flesh, but it rejects the angelology and demonology established by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther 's (1483–1546) Sermons of the Angels merely recount the exploits of the fallen angels, and does not deal with an angelic hierarchy. Satan and his fallen angels are believed to be responsible for some misfortune in
1169-495: A demon, he dismissed him. When the knight wants to pay the demon for his service, the demon asserted that the knight should spend the money on a new bell for the church, instead. According to The Brendan Voyage , during the Medieval Age, Brendan meets a group of angels referred to as "wandering spirits". On holy days, they were embodied as white birds, symbols usually used for purity and the holy spirit. In later versions, such as
1336-557: A dream-vision from God. [...] As Daniel watches, the Ancient of Days takes his seat on the throne of heaven and sits in judgement in the midst of the heavenly court [...] an [angel] like a son of man approaches the Ancient One in the clouds of heaven and is given everlasting kingship. Jeffrey Burton Russel writes that "the more the banim and the mal'ak were seen as distinct from the God, the more it
1503-559: A headcovering (veil) . Tertullian referenced a woman who was touched on the neck by a fallen angel "who found her to be a temptation". Origen and other early Christian writers linked the fallen morning star of Isaiah 14 :12 of the Old Testament to Jesus' statement in Luke 10:18 that he "saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven", as well as a passage about the fall of Satan in Revelation 12:8–9. The Latin word lucifer , as introduced in
1670-569: A large number of Watchers and they are depicted as having been cast out of Heaven after deciding to help mankind. In Traci Harding 's book The Cosmic Logos, the Grigori are a group of fallen spiritual beings who watched over and assisted human spiritual evolution thus gaining the title "the Watchers". In the Supernatural season 10 episode "Angel Heart" mentions the Grigori with one, Tamiel (under
1837-407: A less significant role in 3 Enoch . 3 Enoch mentions only three fallen angels called Azazel , Azza and Uzza. Similar to The first Book of Enoch, they taught sorcery on earth, causing corruption. Unlike the first Book of Enoch, there is no mention of the reason for their fall and, according to 3 Enoch 4.6, they also later appear in heaven objecting to the presence of Enoch. According to 1 Enoch 7.2,
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#17328545317962004-457: A notion also used for fallen angels by Augustine. However, these angels received their ethereal body only after their fall. Later scholars tried to explain the details of their spiritual nature, asserting that the ethereal body is a mixture of fire and air, but that they are still composed of material elements. Others denied any physical relation to material elements, depicting the fallen angels as purely spiritual entities. But even those who believed
2171-496: A palace, play music and freely debate. Nevertheless, without divine guidance, the fallen angels themselves turn hell into a place of suffering. The idea of fallen angels plays a significant role in the various poems of Alfred de Vigny . In Le Déluge (1823), the son of an angel and a mortal woman learns from the stars about the great deluge. He seeks refuge with his beloved on Mount Ararat , hoping that his angelic father will save them. But since he does not appear, they are caught by
2338-662: A result, they are also inferior to humans in the Jewish tradition. In the Midrash, the plural of El ( Elohim ) used in Genesis in relation to the creation of human beings is explained by the presence of angels: God therefore consulted with the angels, but made the final decision alone. This story serves as an example, teaching that the powerful should also consult with the weak. God's own final decision highlights God's undisputable omnipotence. Although these archangels were believed to rank among
2505-499: A superior hybrid species of early humans and neanderthals who disseminated knowledge and possibly interbred with people throughout the world. They also created the protected, hidden city of Atlantis, located in Ecuador. In Lauren Kate 's book Fallen, a group called 'The Watchers' studied angels who consorted with mortal women, but more closely, Daniel Grigori the sixth archangel. In Darynda Jones ' "Charley Davidson" series, Sean Foster
2672-590: A supernatural messenger are the " Malak YHWH ", who is either a messenger from God, an aspect of God (such as the logos ), or God himself as the messenger (the " theophanic angel.") In the early writings of the Hebrew Bible, both Hebrew : בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים , romanized : Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm , lit. 'Sons of Gods' as well as the Hebrew : מַלְאָךְ , romanized : mal’āḵ , lit. 'messenger' are aspects of God. In
2839-651: A third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth". In verses 7–9, Satan is defeated in the War in Heaven against Michael and his angels: "the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan , the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him". Nowhere within the New Testament are fallen angels identified with demons , but by combining
3006-447: A woman's womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity, despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is
3173-419: Is "by the decree of the watchers, the demand by the word of the holy ones" ... "that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men." After hearing the king's dream, Daniel considers for an hour and then responds: And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with
3340-440: Is a species which a unique individual belongs to; angels differ one from another by way of their unique and irrepetible form. In other words, form - and not matter - is their principle of individuation . Belief in angels is fundamental to Islam. The Quranic word for angel ( Arabic : ملاك Malāk ) derives either from Malaka , meaning "he controlled", due to their power to govern different affairs assigned to them, or from
3507-636: Is according to Surah 9:30 called a son of God by Jews, originally referred to a fallen angel. While exegetes almost unanimously identified Uzair as Ezra , there is no historical evidence that the Jews called him son of God . Thus, the Quran may refer not to the earthly Ezra, but to the heavenly Ezra, identifying him with the heavenly Enoch, who in turn became identified with the angel Metatron (also called lesser YHWH ) in Merkabah mysticism. The Quran repeatedly tells about
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#17328545317963674-719: Is affirmed. Further, while the fallen angels in the Book of Enoch are acting against God's will, the fallen angels and demons in the Book of Jubilees seem to have no power independent from God but only act within his power. Although the concept of fallen angels developed from Jewish texts written during the Second Temple period , rabbis from the second century onward turned against the Enochian writings, probably in order to prevent fellow Jews from worship and veneration of angels. Thus, while many angels were individualized and sometimes venerated during
3841-441: Is also applied to the obedient archangels who chain them, such as Raphael (1 Enoch 22:6). In the Book of Enoch , the watchers ( Aramaic עִירִין, iyrin ) are angels dispatched to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for human women and, at the prodding of their leader Samyaza , defect to illicitly instruct humanity and procreate among them, arriving on a mountain called Hermon. The offspring of these unions are
4008-486: Is also in the Second Book of Enoch . It tells about Enoch 's ascent through the layers of heaven. During his journey, he encounters fallen angels imprisoned in the 2nd heaven . At first, he decides to pray for them, but refuses to do so, since he himself as merely human, would not be worthy to pray for angels. In the 5th heaven however, he meets other rebellious angels, here called Grigori , remaining in grief, not joining
4175-563: Is also used in other books of the Hebrew Bible . In the early stages of Hebrew writings, the term refers to human messengers, not to supernatural entities. A human messenger might be a prophet or priest, such as Malachi , "my messenger"; the Greek superscription in the Septuagint translation states the Book of Malachi was written "by the hand of his messenger" ἀγγέλου ( angélu ). Examples of
4342-478: Is ambiguous about who is telling the story of verse 14, whether it is Nebuchadnezzar, or the watcher in his dream. In the Books of Enoch , the first Book of Enoch devotes much of its attention to the fall of the watchers . The Second Book of Enoch addresses the watchers (Gk. egrḗgoroi ) who are in fifth heaven where the fall took place. The Third Book of Enoch gives attention to the unfallen watchers. The use of
4509-609: Is attributed to Samael, who refuses to worship Adam and objects to God favoring Adam over the angels, ultimately descending onto Adam and Eve to tempt them into sin . This seems rooted in the motif of the fall of Iblis in the Quran and the fall of Satan in the Cave of Treasures . The second fall echoes the Enochian narratives. Again, the "sons of God" mentioned in Gen 6:1–4 are depicted as angels. During their fall, their "strength and stature became like
4676-427: Is attributed to something supernatural from without. This motif, in 1 Enoch, differs from that of later Jewish and Christian theology ; in the latter evil is something from within. According to a paradigmatic interpretation, 1 Enoch might deal with illicit marriages between priests and women. As evident from Leviticus 21:1–15, priests were prohibited to marry impure women. Accordingly, the fallen angels in 1 Enoch are
4843-416: Is best understood in contrast to demons and is often thought to be "influenced by the ancient Persian religious tradition of Zoroastrianism , which viewed the world as a battleground between forces of good and forces of evil, between light and darkness." One of these is hāššāṭān , a figure depicted in (among other places) the Book of Job . Rabbinic Judaism has been an orthodox form of Judaism since
5010-649: Is evident from the Qumram writings . In the Angelic Liturgy , the Hebrew term elim (deities, heavenly powers) is used for angelic beings and not for God. The War Scroll speaks about angels of light fighting against demonic beings of darkness. In Zoroastrianism there are different angel-like figures. For example, each person has one guardian angel , called Fravashi . They patronize human beings and other creatures, and also manifest God's energy. The Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, although there
5177-401: Is generally put at three, but Andrei A. Orlov, while quoting the text as saying three, remarks in a footnote that some manuscripts put them at 200 or even 200 myriads. Chapter 29, referring to the second day of creation, before the creation of human beings, says that "one from out the order of angels" or, according to other versions of 2 Enoch, "one of the order of archangels " or "one of
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5344-451: Is identified as nephilim , "part human, part angel ... descended from the union of a grigori and a human." ( Eleventh Grave in Moonlight , 2017) In Ichiei Ishibumi 's Japanese light novel series High School DxD , the Grigori is an organisation of fallen angels, the leaders of which are some of the Watchers named in the Book of Enoch. Three of them play important roles in the story Azazel
5511-790: Is in line with the Bible. Historically, some Eastern Orthodox theologians even tend to suggest that fallen angels could be rehabilitated in the world to come . Fallen angels, just like angels, play a significant role in the spiritual life of believers. As in Roman Catholicism, fallen angels are believed to tempt and incite people into sin , but mental illness is also linked to the influence of fallen angels. Those who have reached an advanced degree of spirituality are even thought to be able to envision them. Rituals and sacraments performed by Eastern Orthodox priests are thought to weaken such demonic influences. Unlike most other Christian churches,
5678-402: Is in the centre. He is sitting on a throne high and exalted According to Kabbalah , there are four worlds and our world is the last world: the world of action (Assiyah). Angels exist in the worlds above as a 'task' of God. They are an extension of God to produce effects in this world. After an angel has completed its task, it ceases to exist. The angel is in effect the task. This is derived from
5845-585: Is intellectual and not through senses (LIV. 5). Differently from humans, their knowledge is not acquired from the exterior world (having acquired all knowledge they would ever receive in the moment of their creation); moreover they attain to the truth of a thing at a single glance without need of reasoning (LV. a; LVIII. 3,4). They know all that passes in the external world (LV. 2) and the totality of creatures, but they don't know human secret thoughts that depends on human free will and thereby are not necessarily linked up with external events (LVII. 4). They don't know also
6012-551: Is mentioned in the Book of Daniel ( Daniel 8:15–17 ) and briefly in the Talmud, as well as in many Merkabah mystical texts . There is no evidence in Judaism for the worship of angels , but there is evidence for the invocation and sometimes even conjuration of angels. Philo of Alexandria identifies the angel with the Logos inasmuch as the angel is the immaterial voice of God. The angel
6179-406: Is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the 'angels which are near to Him', through whose mediation the spheres move ... thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world. Maimonides had a neo-Aristotelian interpretation of
6346-652: Is no direct reference to them conveying messages, but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord", God); they initially appeared in an abstract fashion and then later became personalized, associated with various aspects of creation. In Judaism, angels ( Hebrew : מַלְאָךְ mal’āḵ ; "messenger"), are understood through interpretation of the Tanakh and in a long tradition as supernatural beings who stand by God in heaven, but are strictly to be distinguished from God (YHWH) and are subordinate to him. Occasionally, they can show selected people God's will and instructions. In
6513-455: Is not an angel, but an entity apart, and the father of the jinn. Therefore, they reject the concept of fallen angels and emphasize the nobility of angels by quoting certain Quranic verses like 66:6 and 16:49, distinguishing between infallible angels and jinn capable of sin. On the other hand, the tradition from Ibn Abbas allows the concept of fallen angels. According to Ibn Abbas, angels who guard
6680-408: Is often understood to refer to Satanail and his angels, the Grigori. The Mercer Dictionary of the Bible makes a distinction between the Grigori and the fallen angels by stating that in fifth heaven, Enoch sees "the giants whose brothers were the fallen angels." The longer recension of 2 Enoch 18:3 identifies the prisoners of second heaven as the angels of Satanail . The story of the Watchers
6847-459: Is only in the late books that the terms "come to mean the benevolent semi-divine beings familiar from later mythology and art." Daniel is the biblical book to refer to individual angels by name, mentioning Gabriel in Daniel 9:21 and Michael in Daniel 10:13. These angels are part of Daniel's apocalyptic visions and are an important part of apocalyptic literature . In Daniel 7 , Daniel receives
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7014-623: Is shown also in The Book of Giants . The term "Watchers" occurs in The Book of Jubilees (Jub. 4:15, 5:1). A reference to the "fall of the watchers from heaven" is found in Hebrew in the Damascus Document 2:18 echoing 1 Enoch 13:10. The First Epistle to the Corinthians in 11:10, according to the early Church Father Tertullian , referenced the Watchers. He taught that the lust of the Watchers
7181-425: Is similar to that of humans. The fallen angels are named after entities from both Christian and Pagan mythology, such as Moloch , Chemosh , Dagon , Belial , Beelzebub and Satan himself. Following the canonical Christian narrative, Satan convinces other angels to live free from the laws of God, thereupon they are cast out of heaven. The epic poem starts with the fallen angels in hell. The first portrayal of God in
7348-514: Is something different from God himself, but is conceived as God's instrument. Four classes of ministering angels minister and utter praise before the Holy One, blessed be He: the first camp (led by) Michael on His right, the second camp (led by) Gabriel on His left, the third camp (led by) Uriel before Him, and the fourth camp (led by) Raphael behind Him; and the Shekhinah of the Holy One, blessed be He,
7515-530: Is the Governor General of Grigori and becomes a major supporting character, Kokabiel is the main antagonist of Volume 3 and Baraqiel is the estranged father of Akeno Himejima , one of the main characters. In El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron , many members of the Grigori are shown throughout the game as the main antagonists. To name a few: Azazel , Armaros , Arakiel , Baraqiel , and Semyaza . In
7682-630: Is the Septuagint's default translation of the Biblical Hebrew term malʼākh , denoting simply "messenger" without connoting its nature. In the Latin Vulgate , this meaning becomes bifurcated: when malʼākh or ángelos is supposed to denote a human messenger, words like nuntius or legatus are applied. If the word refers to some supernatural being, the word angelus appears. Such differentiation has been taken over by later vernacular translations of
7849-518: Is the decree of the Most High"). Scholars view these "watchers, holy ones" as perhaps showing an influence of Babylonian religion , that is an attempt by the author of this section of Daniel to present Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian gods recognizing the power of the god of Israel as "Most High". The Greek Septuagint version differs from the Aramaic Masoretic Text : for example, the Aramaic text
8016-429: Is thought to be rooted in Enochian literature, which Christians began to reject by the 3rd century. The sons of God came to be identified merely with righteous men, more precisely with descendants of Seth who had been seduced by women descended from Cain . The cause of evil was shifted from the superior powers of angels, to humans themselves, and to the very beginning of history; the expulsion of Satan and his angels on
8183-658: The Divine Comedy (1308–1320) by Dante Alighieri , fallen angels guard the City of Dis surrounding the lower circles of hell. They mark a transition: While in previous circles, the sinners are condemned for sins they just could not resist, later on, the circles of hell are filled with sinners who deliberately rebel against God, such as fallen angels or Christian heretics . In John Milton 's 17th-century epic poem Paradise Lost , both obedient and fallen angels play an important role. They appear as rational individuals: their personality
8350-430: The jinan (here: heavens ) are called Jinni , just as humans who were from Mecca are called Mecci ( nisba ), but they are not related to the jinn-race. This tradition asserts that Iblis and his angels are made from " poisonous fire " ( nār as-samūm ), the rest of the angels from " light " ( Nūr ), and the jinn mentioned in the Quran were created from "a mixture of fire" ( mārijin min nār ). Other scholars assert that
8517-752: The Agony in the Garden . In Matthew 28:5 an angel speaks at the empty tomb, following the Resurrection of Jesus and the rolling back of the stone by angels. In 1851 Pope Pius IX approved the Chaplet of Saint Michael based on the 1751 reported private revelation from archangel Michael to the Carmelite nun Antonia d'Astonac. In a biography of Gemma Galgani written by Germanus Ruoppolo, Galgani stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel . Pope John Paul II emphasized
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#17328545317968684-497: The Bible , early Christian and Jewish exegetes and eventually modern scholars. The concept of angels is historically best to be understood from different ideas of the concept of God throughout history . In polytheistic and animistic worldviews , supernatural powers (i.e. deities, spirits , daemons, etc.) were assigned to different natural phenomena . Within a monotheistic framework, these powers were reconsidered to be servants of
8851-402: The Devil (or devils) are identified with such angels. Angels in art are often identified with bird wings , halos , and divine light . They are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty, though this is not always the case—sometimes, they can be portrayed in a frightening, inhuman manner. The word angel arrives in modern English from Old English engel (with a hard g ) and
9018-665: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church accepts 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees as canonical. As a result, the Church believes that human sin does not originate in Adam's transgression alone, but also from Satan and other fallen angels. Together with demons, they continue to cause sin and corruption on earth. In Christian folklore tales about encounters between men and spirits, the spirits were often explained as fallen angels. They would have been cast out of heaven, damned to roam
9185-475: The Great Deluge to purge the world of these creatures; their bodies are destroyed, yet their peculiar souls survive, thereafter roaming the earth as demons . Rabbinic Judaism and early Christian authorities after the third century rejected the Enochian writings and the notion of an illicit union between angels and women producing hybrids . Christian theology indicates the sins of fallen angels occur before
9352-567: The Nephilim , savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity. Samyaza and his associates further taught their human charges arts and technologies such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery , and other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once. Eventually, God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, but first sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate
9519-514: The New Testament , the existence of angels, just like that of demons, is taken for granted. They can intervene and intercede on behalf of humans. Angels protect the righteous ( Matthew 4:6 , Luke 4:11 ). They dwell in the heavens ( Matthew 28:2 , John 1:51 ), act as God's warriors ( Matthew 26:53 ) and worship God ( Luke 2:13 ). In the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus , angels behave as psychopomps . The Resurrection of Jesus features angels, telling
9686-586: The Old French angele . Both of these derive from Late Latin angelus , which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ἄγγελος angelos (literally "messenger"). Τhe word's earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro , attested in Linear B syllabic script. According to the Dutch linguist R. S. P. Beekes , ángelos itself may be "an Oriental loan, like ἄγγαρος ( ángaros , 'Persian mounted courier')." The rendering of ángelos
9853-540: The Qumran Book of Giants ; and perhaps in Genesis 6:1–4. A reference to heavenly beings called " Watchers " originates in Daniel 4 , in which there are three mentions, twice in the singular (v. 13, 23), once in the plural (v. 17), of "watchers, holy ones". The Ancient Greek word for watchers is ἐγρήγοροι ( egrḗgoroi , plural of egrḗgoros ), literally translated as "wakeful". Some scholars consider it most likely that
10020-648: The Trinity . The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute included the development of doctrine about angels. According to Augustine of Hippo , the term 'angel' refers to "the name of their office, not [...] their nature", as they are pure spirits who act as messengers, clarifying: "If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit', from what they do, 'angel'." Gregory of Nazianzus thought that angels were made as "spirits" and "flames of fire", following Hebrews 1, and that they can be identified with
10187-589: The book of Genesis when Abraham meets with three angels and Lot meets with two. The task of one of the angels was to inform Sara and Abraham of their coming child. The other two were to save Lot and to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah . Jewish philosopher Maimonides explained his view of angels in his Guide for the Perplexed II:4 and II ... This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire
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#173285453179610354-407: The heavenly city is inhabited by righteous men and the angels led by God. Although, his ontological division into two different kingdoms shows resemblance of Manichean dualism , Augustine differs in regard of the origin and power of evil. In Augustine works, evil originates from free will . Augustine always emphasized the sovereignty of God over the fallen angels. Accordingly, the inhabitants of
10521-500: The heavenly host , no systematic hierarchy ever developed. Metatron is considered one of the highest of the angels in Merkabah and Kabbalah mysticism and often serves as a scribe; he is briefly mentioned in the Talmud and figures prominently in Merkabah mystical texts. Michael, who serves as a warrior and advocate for Israel ( Daniel 10:13 ), is looked upon particularly fondly. Gabriel
10688-618: The heroes of old, the men of renown. The Jewish pseudepigraphon Second Book of Enoch ( Slavonic Enoch ) refers to the Grigori , who are the same as the Watchers of 1 Enoch. The Slavic word Grigori used in the book is a transcription of the Greek word ἐγρήγοροι egrḗgoroi , meaning "wakeful". The Hebrew equivalent is ערים, meaning "waking", "awake". Chapter 18 presents the Grigori as countless soldiers of human appearance, "their size being greater than that of great giants". They are located in
10855-445: The shayṭān battles a human priest (Hoca) in hell, it is God who intervenes on behalf of humanity while ʿAzāzīl has forsaken his servant. By that, the movie further rejects dualism in favor of Islamic tawḥīd , emphazising that even hell is under God's control. Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly , or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings . In Western belief-systems
11022-478: The sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: "My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years." At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth [{as well as later}], after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were
11189-524: The supreme deity , turning autonomous supernatural beings into "angels". By that, supernatural powers controlling or influencing humanity's perception of the world, including natural phenomena and humans, are ultimately under control of a supreme God. Prominent angels, such as Michael and Gabriel, reflect a connection to the Chief Semitic deity El . Even "bad" angels such as Satan , Samael , Iblis etc., can be understood as an operating force within
11356-756: The " Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith ". In the Middle Ages, theologians had to address Augustine's ideas of "angelic knowledge", as set out in De Genesi ad litteram , which he divided into "morning" knowledge, knowledge of Creation before it is created derived from direct access to the Word of God, and "evening" knowledge, knowledge of Creation derived from perceiving it after it has been created. Thomas Aquinas (13th century) related angels to Aristotle 's metaphysics in his Summa contra Gentiles , Summa Theologica ,
11523-408: The " sons of God " ( בני האלוהים ) mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 are angels. In the period immediately preceding the composition of the New Testament , some sects of Second Temple Judaism identified these same "sons of God" as fallen angels. During the late Second Temple period the Nephilim were considered the monstrous offspring of fallen angels and human women. In such accounts, God sends
11690-492: The "evil inclination" is attributed to Samael , who is in charge of several satans in order to test humanity. Nevertheless, these angels are still subordinate to God; the reacceptance of rebel angels in Midrashic discourse was posterior and probably influenced by the role of fallen angels in Islamic and Christian lore. The idea of rebel angels in Judaism reappears in the Aggadic -Midrashic work Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer , which shows not one, but two falls of angels. The first one
11857-428: The "thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities" of Colossians 1. Forty Gospel Homilies by Pope Gregory I (c. 540 – 12 March 604) noted angels and archangels. The Fourth Lateran Council 's (1215) Firmiter credimus decree (issued against the Albigenses ) declared that the angels were created beings and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius ,
12024-467: The 15th Century Dutch and German variant, the fallen angels are much more depicted as akin to grotesque demons. Although they would not have supported Lucifer in his evil schemes, they would have been passive and not fighting for good, thus turned into animal-like creatures cast out of heaven. Such earthly fallen angels were used as a possible origin of fairies in Irish and Scandinavian folk-tales. Depending on
12191-527: The 200 fallen angels who married and commenced in unnatural union with human women, and who taught forbidden knowledge. Some are also listed in Book of Raziel (Sefer Raziel HaMalakh) , the Zohar , and Jubilees . The account of the Book of Enoch has been associated with the passage in Genesis 6:1–4, which speaks of Sons of God instead of Watchers: When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them,
12358-453: The 2nd–1st century BC and they believe this book is based on one interpretation of the Sons of God passage in Genesis 6, according to which angels mated with human females, giving rise to a race of hybrids known as the Nephilim . The term irin is primarily applied to disobedient watchers who numbered a total of 200, and of whom their leaders are named; but equally Aramaic iri ("watcher" singular)
12525-497: The 6th century CE , after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud . In post-Biblical Judaism , certain angels took on particular significance and developed unique personalities and roles. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the angels have no bodies, but are eternally living creatures created out of fire. The Babylonian Talmud reads as "The Torah was not given to ministering angels." (לא נתנה תורה למלאכי השרת) usually understood as
12692-597: The 8th question of Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate , and in De substantiis separatis , a treatise on angelology. Aquinas varied significantly from the Augustinian view in two major respects: angels were not created in an initial state of bliss, and only beatified angels have "morning" knowledge. In other words: angels have an angelic nature, but in their natural states have no access to Divine "morning" knowledge of Creation, which they only gain with supernatural assistance. This
12859-610: The Bible in both old and new testaments - ( Hebrews 1:14 ) calls them "ministering [or serving] spirits", sent by God to aid the "heirs of salvation". Later came identification of individual angelic messengers: Gabriel , Michael , Raphael , and Uriel . Then, in the space of slightly over two centuries (from the 3rd to the 5th) the image of angels took on definite characteristics both in theology and in art. Ellen Muehlberger has argued that in Late Antiquity , angels were conceived of as one type of being among many, whose primary purpose
13026-408: The Bible. Maimonides writes that to the wise man, one sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually allusions to the various laws of nature; they are the principles by which the physical universe operates. For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naive?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters
13193-411: The Book of Daniel 4:13, 17, 23 ( ESV ), there are three references to the class of "watcher, holy one" ("watcher", Aramaic ʿir ; "holy one", Aramaic qaddish ). The term is introduced by Nebuchadnezzar who says he saw "a watcher, a holy one come down (singular verb) from heaven ." He describes how in his dream the watcher says that Nebuchadnezzar will eat grass and be mad and that this punishment
13360-464: The Catholic Church understands the fall of angels as radical and irrevocable rejection of God and his reign by some angels who, though created as good beings, freely chose evil, their sin being unforgivable because of the irrevocable character of their choice, not because of any defect in infinite divine mercy. Present-day Catholicism rejects Apocatastasis , the reconciliation with God suggested by
13527-576: The Church Father Origen. Like Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity shares the basic belief in fallen angels as spiritual beings who rebel against God. Unlike Roman Catholicism, however, there is no established doctrine about the exact nature of fallen angels, but Eastern Orthodox Christianity unanimously agrees that the power of fallen angels is always inferior to God. Therefore, belief in fallen angels can always be assimilated with local lore, as long it does not break basic principles and
13694-501: The English localization of the first Drakengard game , the overarching antagonists are semi-divine beings called "the Watchers." Though the game sometimes refers to them as " daemons ," in the original Japanese text they are simply called angels. The English localization for the prequel, Drakengard 3 , calls them angels as well. In the original Dragon's Dogma , the dragon is called Grigori. In City of Angels , Nicolas Cage plays
13861-423: The God that made them, wished to be on an equality with their Creator." The consequence of this fall being that, "they were immediately deprived of all their supernatural graces and heavenly beauty: they were changed from glorious angels into hideous devils; they were banished out of heaven, and condemned to the torments of hell, which was prepared to receive them." In terms of the history of fallen angel theology it
14028-499: The Ibn Abbas interpretation of the Quran and depicts the devil as a fallen angel who seeks revenge on humans for being abandoned by God (Allah). The devil accepts ʿAzāzīl as his new deity, who is praised as the ruler of hell and supporting his minions against God's new creation (humans). However, at the end, the movie affirms in accordance with Islamic teachings, that ʿAzāzīl has no real power but only to seduce people to follow him. When
14195-604: The Islamic concept of angels. Some of them, such as Gabriel and Michael , are mentioned by name in the Quran, others are only referred to by their function. Most Muslim theologians, such as al-Suyuti , based on a hadith stating that the angels have been created through the light (Nūr), depict angels as entities consisting of substance, in contrast to philosophers who argued for angels being disembodied spirits. Additionally, angels are thought to be endowed with reason and be subject to God's tests. Al-Maturidi (853–944 CE) states that
14362-400: The Jewish tradition of fallen angels predates, even in written form, the composition of Gen 6:1–4. In the Book of Enoch, these Watchers "fell" after they became "enamored" with human women. The Second Book of Enoch ( Slavonic Enoch ) refers to the same beings of the (First) Book of Enoch, now called Grigori in the Greek transcription. Compared to the other Books of Enoch, fallen angels play
14529-498: The Jewish tradition they are also inferior to humans since they have no will of their own and are able to carry out only one divine command. The Torah uses the Hebrew terms מלאך אלהים ( mal'āk̠ 'ĕlōhîm ; "messenger of God"), מלאך יהוה ( mal'āk̠ Yahweh ; "messenger of the Lord"), בני אלהים ( bənē 'ĕlōhîm ; " sons of God ") and הקודשים ( haqqôd̠əšîm ; "the holy ones") to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. The term 'מלאך' ( 'mal'āk̠' )
14696-577: The Law of Moses was introduced by angels rather than God, combined with his statements in Galatians , implies a negative role. In Collosians 2:18 , he criticizes the worship of angels. Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.— Hebrews 13:2 Three separate cases of angelic interaction deal with the births of John the Baptist and Jesus . In ( Luke 1:11 ), an angel appears to Zechariah to inform him that he will have
14863-563: The Mesopotamian Apkallu , who gave wisdom to man before the flood (which is portrayed as a corrupting influence in Enochian literature). There have been many different depictions of the Grigori in fiction and wider popular culture. In Kevin Smith 's 1999 religious satire Dogma , the character Bartleby (played by Ben Affleck ) is mentioned to have formerly been a Watcher. In Darren Aronofsky 's 2014 Biblical epic Noah , there are
15030-971: The Quran, although interpretation credits Gabriel with that. Angels are not limited to benevolent tasks, but can also carry out grim orders. Not demons, but angels are tasked to guard and punish sinners in hell. Angels play a significant role in Mi'raj literature , where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens. Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology, Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy . Individual angels are further evoked in exorcism rites , with their names engraved in talismans or amulets to call upon their powers. Islamic theology usually distinguishes between three types of invisible creatures: angels ( malāʾikah ), djinn , and devils ( šayāṭīn ). Islamic theologian al-Ghazali (c. 1058 – 1111) divides human nature into four domains, each representing another type of creature: animals, beasts, devils and angels. Reconciling
15197-543: The Second Temple period, the status of angels was degraded to a class of creatures on the same level of humans, thereby emphasizing the omnipresence of God . The 2nd-century rabbi Shimon bar Yochai cursed everyone who explained the term "sons of God" as angels. He stated sons of God were actually sons of judges or sons of nobles. Evil was no longer attributed to heavenly forces, now it was dealt as an "evil inclination" ( yetzer hara ) within humans. In some Midrashic works,
15364-498: The Watchers become "enamoured" with human women and have intercourse with them. The offspring of these unions, and the knowledge they were giving, corrupt human beings and the earth (1 Enoch 10.11–12). Eminent among these angels are Samyaza and Azazel . Like many other fallen angels mentioned in 1 Enoch 8.1–9, Azazel introduces men to "forbidden arts", and it is Azazel who is rebuked by Enoch himself for illicit instruction, as stated in 1 Enoch 13.1. According to 1 Enoch 10.6, God sends
15531-570: The angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect ; that here is the angel, the "vice-regent of the world" constantly mentioned by the sages, then he will recoil. – Guide for the Perplexed II:4 In the formative stage, the Christian concept of an angel characterized the angel as a 'messenger' of God. The word "angel" can be drawn to the term or role of a "messenger" throughout
15698-439: The angelic fall of Satan. According to this explanation, Satan refuses to prostrate himself before Adam, because he is "fire and spirit" and thereupon Satan is banished from heaven. Unlike the majority opinion in later Christianity, the idea that Iblis tries to usurp the throne of God is alien to Islam and due to its strict monotheism unthinkable. Harut and Marut are a pair of angels mentioned in Surah 2:102 teaching magic. Although
15865-438: The angels would do better than humans for long: the angels are endowed with human-like urges and Satan has power over them. The angels choose two (or in some accounts three) among themselves. However, on Earth, these angels entertain and act upon sexual desires and become guilty of idol worship, whereupon they even kill an innocent witness of their actions. For their deeds, they are not allowed to ascend to heaven again. Probably
16032-487: The archangel Raphael to chain Azazel in the desert Dudael as punishment. Further, Azazel is blamed for the corruption of earth: 1 Enoch 10:12: "All the earth has been corrupted by the effects of the teaching of Azazyel. To him therefore ascribe the whole crime." An etiological interpretation of 1 Enoch deals with the origin of evil. By shifting the origin of mankind's sin and their misdeeds to illicit angel instruction, evil
16199-490: The beginning of human history . Accordingly, fallen angels became identified with those led by Lucifer in rebellion against God, also equated with demons. In Islam , belief in fallen angels is disputed. In early Quranic exegesis ( tafsīr ) there are two distinct opinions in regards of the obedience of angels, often revolving around the nature of Iblīs (Satan in Islam). According to the viewpoint of Ibn Abbas (619–687), Iblis
16366-477: The belief that Iblis was a jinn and had never been an angel before. However, none of these verses declare angels as immune from sin. Contemporary Muslim scholars have argued, even if fallen angels are considered, they are conceptually different from the fallen angels in Christianity, since they remain at the service of God and do not become God's enemies. It has been stated that "(...) according to Christianity,
16533-414: The book is given by fallen angels, who describe him as a questionable tyrant and blame him for their fall. Outcast from heaven, the fallen angels establish their own kingdom in the depths of hell, with a capital called Pandæmonium . Unlike most earlier Christian representations of hell, it is not the primary place for God to torture the sinners, but the fallen angels' own kingdom. The fallen angels even build
16700-407: The cause of angelic fall, arguing that it is neither useful nor necessary to know, other Protestant churches do have fallen angels as more of a focus. In Western philosophy , the devil was understood as a personal identity of evil in opposition to good. Its conception as a fallen angel, in contrast to Manichaeistic absolute evil , allowed to avoid two separate ontological principles. Theodicy ,
16867-513: The devils are fallen angels who renounced their loyalty to God, in Islam it is God who dismissed the fallen angels". The Quran mentions the fall of Iblis in several Surahs . Surah al-Anbiya states that angels claiming divine honors were to be punished with hell. Further, Surah 2:102 implies that a pair of fallen angels introduces magic to humanity. According to the Isma'ilism work Umm al-Kitab , Azazil ,
17034-469: The devils, would not be sentenced to hell. They remain loyal to God on earth, do good deeds, and bearing some resemblances to saints, as seen in the Dialogus Miraculorum , in which a knight is guided by a fallen angel to lead him back on the path of piety. In another tale, a neutral fallen angel became an assistant of a noble knight. However, when the knight learned that his best assistant was actually
17201-522: The dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will. Lutheran Protestant reformer Johann Wigand viewed the watcher in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as either God himself, or the Son of God . He promoted Trinitarian thinking by linking verse 17 ("This matter is by the decree of the watchers") with verse 24 ("this
17368-434: The doctrine of infallible angels, Hasan of Basra pointed at verses stressing out the piety of angels, while simultaneously reinterpreting verses which might imply acknowledgement of fallen angels. For that reason, he read the term mala'ikah (angels) in reference to Harut and Marut , two possible fallen angels mentioned in 2:102, as malikayn (kings) instead of malā'ikah (angels), depicting them as ordinary men and advocated
17535-522: The earlier Books of Jubilees : Like Iblis, Mastema requests God's permission to tempt humanity, and both are limited in their power, that is, not able to deceive God's servants. However, the motif of Iblis' disobedience derives not from the Watcher mythology, but can be traced back to the Cave of Treasures , a work that probably holds the standard explanation in Proto-orthodox Christianity for
17702-548: The earliest records, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm are in heaven. They are depicted as the heavenly court or the pantheon of religious belief-system of their time. They reflect the transcendent aspect of the Divine, but become progressively differentiated from the good aspect of the Divine. The mal’āḵ on the other hand, expresses the Divinties' interaction with the world. As such the mal’āḵ functions as
17869-420: The earth with their deeds", resulting in their confinement under the earth, shows that the author of 2 Enoch knew about the stories in 1 Enoch. The longer recension of 2 Enoch, chapter 29 refers to angels who were "thrown out from the height" when their leader tried to become equal in rank with the Lord's power (2 Enoch 29:1–4), an idea probably taken from Ancient Canaanite religion about Attar , trying to rule
18036-871: The earthly city can only operate within their God-given framework. The rebellion of angels is also a result of the God-given freedom of choice. The obedient angels are endowed with grace , giving them a deeper understanding of God's nature and the order of the cosmos. Illuminated by God-given grace, they became incapable of feeling any desire for sin. The other angels, however, are not blessed with grace, thus they remain capable of sin. After these angels decide to sin, they fall from heaven and become demons. In Augustine's view of angels, they cannot be guilty of carnal desires since they lack flesh, but they can be guilty of sins that are rooted in spirit and intellect such as pride and envy . However, after they have made their decision to rebel against God, they cannot turn back. The Catechism of
18203-524: The equation of Lucifer to Satan in the pre-Christian century. The subject of fallen angels is covered in a number of catechisms of the Roman Catholic Church , including Rev. George Hay's in which he answers the question What was the sin by which they fell? : "It was pride, arising from the great beauty and sublime graces which God had bestowed upon them. For, seeing themselves such glorious beings, they fell in love with themselves, and, forgetting
18370-473: The etiological interpretation, which implies another power besides God, in heaven. The latter solution therefore poorly fits into monotheistic thought. Otherwise, the introduction to illicit knowledge might reflect a rejection of foreign Hellenistic culture. Accordingly, the fallen angels represent creatures of Greek mythology , which introduced forbidden arts, used by Hellenistic kings and generals, resulting in oppression of Jews. The concept of fallen angels
18537-444: The fall of Iblis. According to Quran 2:30 , the angels object to God's intention to create a human, because they will cause corruption and shed blood , echoing the account of 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees. This happens after the angels observe men causing unrighteousness. However, after God demonstrates the superiority of Adam's knowledge in comparison to the angels, He orders them to prostrate themselves. Only Iblis refuses to follow
18704-466: The fall of Satan". During the period immediately before the rise of Christianity , the intercourse between the Watchers and human women was often seen as the first fall of the angels. Christianity stuck to the Enochian writings at least until the third century. Many Church Fathers such as Irenaeus , Justin Martyr , Clement of Alexandria , and Lactantius accepted the association of the angelic descent to
18871-402: The fallen angels had ethereal bodies did not believe that they could produce any offspring. Augustine, in his Civitas Dei describes two cities ( Civitates ) distinct from each other and opposed to each other like light and darkness. The earthly city is caused by the act of rebellion of the fallen angels and is inhabited by wicked men and demons (fallen angels) led by Satan. On the other hand,
19038-414: The fifth heaven and identified as "the Grigori, who with their prince Satanail rejected the Lord of light". One version of 2 Enoch adds that their number was 200 myriads (2 million). Furthermore, some "went down on to earth from the Lord's throne" and there married women and " befouled the earth with their deeds ", resulting in confinement underground . The number of those who descended to earth
19205-463: The first angel created by God, boasts about himself being superior to God until he is thrown into lower celestial spheres and ends up on earth. Iblis is often described as being chained in the lowest pit of hell ( Sijjin ) and commands, according to Al-Tha'labi (961–1038), his host of rebel angels ( shayāṭīn ) and the fiercest jinn ( ifrit ) from there. In a Shia narrative from Ja'far al-Sadiq (700 or 702–765), Idris (Enoch) meets an angel, which
19372-492: The first beings created by God before the creation of Earth ( Psalms 148:2–5 ; Colossians 1:16 ). Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible refer to intermediary beings as angels, instead of daimons , thus giving raise to a distinction between demons and angels. In the Old Testament , both benevolent and fierce angels are mentioned, but never called demons . The symmetry lies between angels sent by God, and intermediary spirits of foreign deities, not in good and evil deeds. In
19539-503: The first centuries. Tertullian and Origen also referred to fallen angels as teachers of astrology . The Babylonian king, who is described as a fallen "morning star" in Isaiah 14:1–17, was probably the first time identified with a fallen angel by Origen. This description was interpreted typologically both as an angel and a human king. The image of the fallen morning star or angel was thereby applied to Satan by early Christian writers, following
19706-406: The flood. Éloa (1824) is about a female angel created by the tears of Jesus. She hears about a male angel, expelled from heaven, whereupon she seeks to comfort him, but goes to perdition as a consequence. The Turkish horror film Semum (2008), produced and directed by Hasan Karacadağ , is about a shayṭān who has been summoned from hell to torment a woman named Canan. The movie is based on
19873-421: The future unless God reveals it to them (LVII. 3). According to Aquinas, angels are the closest creatures to God. Therefore, like God, they are constituted by pure form without matter . While they do not have a physical composition of matter and form (called ilemorphysm ), they possess the metaphysical composition of act (the act of being ) and potency (their finite essence, yet without being ). Each angel
20040-569: The gap between the earthly and the transcendent realm. Angels play a lesser role in monistic belief-systems , since the gap is non-existent. However, angelic beings might be conceived as aid to achieve a proper relationship with the divine. Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies , which vary by religion and sect. Some angels have specific names (such as Gabriel or Michael ) or titles (such as seraph or archangel ). Malevolent angels are often believed to have been expelled from Heaven and called fallen angels . In many such religions,
20207-432: The gruesome attributes of God and can be both benevolent and malevolent. The notion of angels as embodiment of good emerges only under influence of Zoroastrianism , in which the Devil is conceived as the principle of evil, with a hosts of demons, in battle with the holy entities ( Aməša Spəṇta ) created by Ahura Mazda (principle of good). Influence of dualistic tendencies and replacement of divine powers by angels
20374-454: The heavenly hosts in song. Enoch tries to cheer them up by telling about his prayers for their fellow angels and thereupon they join the heavenly liturgy. Strikingly, the text refers to the leader of the Grigori as Satanail and not as Azael or Shemyaza, as in the other Books of Enoch. But the Grigori are identified with the Watchers of 1 Enoch. The narration of the Grigori in 2 Enoch 18:1–7, who went down on to earth, married women and "befouled
20541-469: The human race. The watchers are bound "in the valleys of the Earth" until Judgment Day ( Jude verse 6 says, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."). The chiefs of tens, listed in the Book of Enoch, are as follows: 7. And these are the names of their chiefs: Shemihazah —this one
20708-446: The inhabitants of heaven were tested by adorenments, just as humans and jinn on earth were tested, pointing at Sūrat al-Kahf [Q. 18:7] When angels fail their tests, they might end up on earth, such as Harut and Marut . If the devils ( šayāṭīn ) have been angels once or form a separate type of creature from the beginning, is discussed in Islamic tradition. Contrary to popular belief, angels are never described as agents of revelation in
20875-436: The instruction. When God asks for the reason behind Iblis' refusal, he boasts about himself being superior to Adam, because he is made of fire . Thereupon God expels him from heaven. In the early Meccan period , Iblis appears as a degraded angel. But since he is called a jinni in Surah 18:50, some scholars argue that Iblis is actually not an angel. This is the position of the tradition from Hasan al-Basri, who argued that Iblis
21042-500: The late 4th century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. There was, however, some disagreement regarding the nature of angels. Some argued that angels had physical bodies, while some maintained that they were entirely spiritual. Some theologians had proposed that angels were not divine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to
21209-673: The late 4th-century AD Vulgate , gave rise to the name for a fallen angel. Christian tradition has associated Satan not only with the image of the fallen "morning star" in Isaiah 14:12, but also with the denouncing in Ezekiel 28:11–19 of the King of Tyre , who is spoken of as having been a " cherub ". The Church Fathers saw these two passages as in some ways parallel, an interpretation also testified in apocryphal and pseudepigraphic works. However, "no modern evangelical commentary on Isaiah or Ezekiel sees Isaiah 14 or Ezekiel 28 as providing information about
21376-597: The laws of God. These illicit unions result in demonic offspring, who battle each other until they die, while the Watchers are bound in the depths of the earth as punishment. In Jubilees 10:1, another angel called Mastema appears as the leader of the evil spirits. He asks God to spare some of the demons, so he might use their aid to lead humankind into sin. Afterwards, he becomes their leader: Lord, Creator, let some of them remain before me, and let them harken to my voice, and do all that I shall say unto them; for if some of them are not left to me, I shall not be able to execute
21543-472: The leader of demons. Paul the Apostle ( c. 5 – c. 64 or 67) states in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that there are angels who will be judged, implying the existence of wicked angels. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6 refer paraenetically to angels who have sinned against God and await punishment on Judgement Day . The Book of Revelation , chapter 12, speaks of Satan as the "Great Red Dragon" whose "tail swept
21710-545: The literal meaning ( Ẓāhir ) with the Avicennan cosmology of falsafa of angels, he identified angels with the " celestial intellects " or "immaterial souls". Angels, made from light ( Nūr ) and thus associated with reason (' aql ), represent the intellectual capacity of a human and the ability to bound the devilish qualities from within. By that, Ghazali does not deny the literal reality of angels, but rejects that they could be perceived directly. Watcher (angel) In
21877-522: The name "Peter Holloway") appearing as the main enemy of the episode. At one point in this episode, a picture is shown that is implied to be a painting of a grigori—it is, in fact, a classic depiction of the archangel Michael besting Satan. In the popular The Black Tapes podcast, Grigori are mentioned in Episode 105 titled "The Devil You Know". In his Sigma Force novel The Bone Labyrinth (2015), James Rollins describes Atlantis ' creators as Watchers,
22044-450: The names Harut and Marut are of Zoroastrian origin and derived from two Amesha Spentas called Haurvatat and Ameretat . Although the Quran gave these fallen angels Iranian names, mufassirs recognized them as from the Book of Watchers . In accordance with 3 Enoch , al-Kalbi (737 AD – 819 AD) named three angels descending to earth, and he even gave them their Enochian names. He explained that one of them returned to heaven and
22211-466: The narrative, the Zohar affirms but simultaneously prohibits magical practices. As a punishment, God puts the angels in chains, but they still copulate with the demoness Naamah , who gives birth to demons, evil spirits and witches. Luke 10:18 refers to " Satan falling from heaven" and Matthew 25:41 mentions " the Devil and his angels", who will be thrown into Hell . All Synoptic Gospels identify Satan as
22378-505: The nature of humans, as responsible for selfish tendencies. The idea of angels in early Hebrew scripture as supernatural agents is absent. Instead, the Hebrew deity intervenes in human affairs, mostly by means of punishment. Only in later thought of post-exilic and prophetic writings , the Biblical deity is conceptualized as distant and more merciful, his interventions replaced by the idea of angels. However, such angels still carry out
22545-476: The one hand and the original sin of humans on the other hand. However, the Book of Watchers, which identified the sons of God with fallen angels, was not rejected by Syriac Christians or the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . Augustine of Hippo 's work Civitas Dei (5th century) became the major opinion of Western demonology and for the Catholic Church . He rejected the Enochian writings and stated that
22712-460: The other two changed their names to Harut and Marut. However, like in the story of Iblis, the story of Harut and Marut does not contain any trace of angelic revolt. Rather, the stories about fallen angels are related to a rivalry between humans and angels. As the Quran affirms, Harut and Marut are sent by God and, unlike the Watchers, they only instruct humans to witchcraft by God's permission, just as Iblis can just tempt humans by God's permission. In
22879-408: The place they fell, they will remain as spirits of the specific element, but are usually benevolent and harmless. If such fairies were identified with the Biblical fallen angels, their salvation after Judgement Day was usually denied, since the fallen angels could not return to heaven. Later Protestant thinkers increasingly dismissed belief in fairies and neutral angels as part of either fairy-tales or
23046-444: The power of my will on the sons of men; for these are for corruption and leading astray before my judgment, for great is the wickedness of the sons of men. (10:8) Both the (first) Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees include the motif of angels introducing evil to humans. However, unlike the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees does not hold that evil was caused by the fall of angels in the first place, although their introduction to sin
23213-624: The priests counterpart, who defile themselves by marriage. Just like the angels are expelled from heaven, the priests are excluded from their service at the altar. Unlike most other apocalyptic writings , 1 Enoch reflects a growing dissatisfaction with the priestly establishments in Jerusalem in the 3rd century BC. The paradigmatic interpretation parallels the Adamic myth in regard of the origin of evil: In both cases, transcending one's own limitations inherent in their own nature causes their fall. This contrasts
23380-515: The question of how evil can exist simultaneously with the existence of an all-powerful and all-good God, may utilize the concept of fallen angels to explain natural evil . Accordingly, the angels would have great power, and by exercising havoc over the earth, they cause suffering and misery, manifesting in natural disasters. Accordingly, natural evil can be traced back to free-will (in that case of super-human agents). Opponents argue that this implies that fallen angels have supernatural powers to influence
23547-475: The ranks of the archangels" "conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to [the Lord's] power. And [the Lord] threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless." Although in this chapter the name "Satanail" is mentioned only in a heading added in one manuscript, this chapter too
23714-430: The reason behind their stay on earth is not mentioned in the Quran, the following narration became canonized in Islamic tradition. The Quran exegete Tabari attributed this story to Ibn Masud and Ibn Abbas and is also attested by Ahmad ibn Hanbal . Briefly summarized, the angels complain about the mischievousness of mankind and make a request to destroy them. Consequently, God offers a test to determine whether or not
23881-479: The references to Satan, demons, and angels, early Christian exegetes equated fallen angels with demons, for which Satan was regarded as the leader. The First Epistle to the Corinthians in 11:10, according to the early Church Father Tertullian , references fallen angels; Tertullian taught that protection from the lust of the fallen angels was the reason for the Apostle Paul 's directive to Christian women to wear
24048-420: The representation of impure forces. However, the Zohar also recalls a narration of two angels in a fallen state, called Aza and Azael . These angels are cast down from the heaven after mistrusting Adam for his inclination towards sin. Once on Earth, they complete the Enochian narrative by teaching magic to humans and producing offspring with them, as well as consorting with Lilith (hailed as "the sinner"). In
24215-750: The role of angels in Catholic teachings in his 1986 address titled "Angels Participate In History Of Salvation", in which he suggested that modern mentality should come to see the importance of angels. According to the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments , "The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture." By
24382-417: The root either from ʼ-l-k , l-ʼ-k or m-l-k with the broad meaning of a " messenger ", just like its counterparts in Hebrew ( malʾákh ) and Greek ( angelos ). Unlike their Hebrew counterpart, the term is exclusively used for heavenly spirits of the divine world, but not for human messengers. The Quran refers to both angelic and human messengers as "rasul" instead. The Quran is the principal source for
24549-553: The shape of an egg." The Zohar makes reference to the "watchers" of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. According to Jonathan Ben-Dov of the University of Haifa , the myth of the watchers began in Lebanon when Aramaic writers tried to interpret the imagery on Mesopotamian stone monuments without being able to read their Akkadian text. Amar Annus from the University of Tartu argues that the Watchers were intended as polemical representations of
24716-418: The sky where they eavesdrop on heavenly secrets. In classical Islamic traditions , the jinn are often thought of as a race of pre-Adamites , who dwelt on Earth before the creation of humankind. The concept of fallen angels derives mostly from pseudepigraphic Jewish apocalyptic religious texts dated to the Second Temple period between 530 BC and 70 AD: in the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees , and
24883-429: The sole origin of fallen angels was the rebellion of Satan. As a result, fallen angels came to be equated with demons and depicted as non-sexual spiritual entities. The exact nature of their spiritual bodies became another topic of dispute during the Middle Ages. Augustine based his descriptions of demons on his perception of the Greek daimon . The Daimon was thought to be a spiritual being, composed of ethereal matter,
25050-697: The sons of God passage in Genesis 6:1–4. However, some Christian ascetics , such as Origen ( c. 184 – c. 253 ), rejected this interpretation. According to the Church Fathers who rejected the doctrine by Origen, these angels were guilty of having transgressed the limits of their nature and of desiring to leave their heavenly abode to experience sensual experiences. Irenaeus referred to fallen angels as apostates , who will be punished by an everlasting fire. Justin Martyr ( c. 100 – c. 165 ) identified pagan deities as fallen angels or their demonic offspring in disguise. Justin also held them responsible for Christian persecution during
25217-457: The sons of man" and again, they give existence to the giants by intercourse with human women. Although not strictly speaking fallen , evil angels reappear in Kabbalah . Some of them are named after angels taken from the Enochian writings, such as Samael. According to the Zohar , just as angels can be created by virtue, evil angels are an incarnation of human vices, which derive from the qlippoth ,
25384-556: The term "watchers" is common in the Book of Enoch . The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 6–36) occurs in the Aramaic fragments with the phrase irin we-qadishin , "Watchers and Holy Ones", a reference to Aramaic Daniel. The Aramaic irin "watchers" is rendered as "angel" (Greek angelos , Coptic malah ) in the Greek and Ethiopian translations, although the usual Aramaic term for angel malakha does not occur in Aramaic Enoch. Some have attempted to date this section of 1 Enoch to around
25551-522: The term is often used to distinguish benevolent and malevolent intermediary beings. It is often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent ) and humanity (the profane ) in various traditions like the Abrahamic religions . Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, such as guardian angels and servants of God. Emphasizing the distance between God and mankind, revelation-based belief-systems require angels to bridge
25718-492: The throne of Baal . The Book of Jubilees , an ancient Jewish religious work, accepted as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Beta Israel , refers to the Watchers, who are among the angels created on the first day. However, unlike the (first) Book of Enoch, the Watchers are commanded by God to descend to earth and to instruct humanity. It is only after they copulate with human women that they transgress
25885-515: The verse in Surah 18:50 : "except Iblis, he was one of the jinn", means "he was one of the inhabitants of paradise", and generally allows the concept of fallen angels within the Islamic tradition. Historians have discussed the relationship between Quranic jinn and fallen angels in Christian theology. Some of the primary issues for such a relationship is that the former are not identified as "angels" and that, unlike angels, they are described as ascending to
26052-404: The voice of the Divine, the Divine spirit, or as God himself. In Exodus 3:2-4, it is both Yahweh as well as a mal’āḵ Moses is addressed by. The fusion of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm with the mal’āḵ is evident in the Book of Hiob. Here, Satan is both one of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm in the heavenly court, as well as a mal’āḵ expressing God's interaction with humanity. Michael D. Coogan notes that it
26219-410: The woman that Jesus is no longer in the tomb, but has risen from the dead. Angels don't marry ( Matthew 22:30 , Mark 12:25 , and Luke 20:34–46 ). Paul the Apostle acknowledges good (2 Cor 11:14; Gal 1:8; 4:14) and evil angels in his writings. According to 1 Corinthians 6:3, angels will be judged by God, implying that angels can be both good and evil. Some scholars suggest that Gal 3:19 means that
26386-487: The world as demons, but were not so evil that they were sentenced to hell, like Lucifer and his devils. Yet they were still not as good to remain in heaven. Therefore, they would live between heaven and hell among humans in liminal spaces. Caesarius of Heisterbach 's ( c. 1180 – c. 1240 ) asserted that not all fallen angels are equally bad. Some fallen angels would be banished for not actively defending God against Lucifer, but since they did not side with
26553-443: The world, but Luther always believed that the power of the good angels exceeds those of the fallen ones. The Italian Protestant theologian Girolamo Zanchi (1516–1590) offered further explanations for the reason behind the fall of the angels. According to Zanchi, the angels rebelled when the incarnation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God was revealed to them in incomplete form. While Mainline Protestants are much less concerned with
26720-548: The world, powers left unproven, thus falling into a devil of the gaps . The concept of fallen angels is debated in Islam . Opposition to the possibility of erring angels can be attested as early as the influential Islamic ascetic Hasan of Basra (642–728). On the other hand, evidence for the belief in fallen angels among Muslims can be traced back to reports attributed to some of the companions of Muhammad , such as Ibn Abbas (619–687) and Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (594–653). To support
26887-518: The wrath of God falls upon, and his wings and hair are cut off; after Idris prays for him to God, his wings and hair are restored. In return they become friends and at his request the angel takes Idris to the heavens to meet the angel of death . In a similar story, a cherub called Fuṭrus (فطرس) was cast out from heaven and fell to the earth. When Muhammad intercedes for the angel and God restores his wings after he touches al-Husayn's cradle. Some recent non-Islamic scholars suggest Uzair , who
27054-605: Was Aquinas' most original contribution to Christian angelology. Although angels have greater knowledge than men, they are not omniscient , as Matthew 24:36 points out. According to the Summa Theologica , angels were created instantaneously by God in a state of grace in the Empyrean Heaven (LXI. 4) at the same time when he created all the contents of the corporeal world (LXI. 3). They are pure spirits whose life consists in knowledge and love. Being bodiless, their knowledge
27221-409: Was an angel created from fire ( nār as-samūm ), while according to Hasan of Basra (642–728), he was the progenitor of the jinn . Hasan al-Basri argued that angels are unable to sin . To eliminate the possibilities for fallen angels, he further interpretates Harut and Marut , mentioned in Surah 2:102 , as malikayn (kings) instead of malāʾikah (angels). Ibn Abbas, on the other hand, asserts that
27388-532: Was possible ti thrust upon the evil elements in the divine character that Yahweh had discarded.". Coogan explains the development of this concept of angels: "In the postexilic period, with the development of explicit monotheism, these divine beings—the 'sons of God' who were members of the Divine Council —were in effect demoted to what are now known as 'angels', understood as beings created by God, but immortal and thus superior to humans." This conception of angels
27555-496: Was the reason for Saint Paul 's directive to Christian women to wear a headcovering. Tertullian referenced the case of a woman who was touched on the neck by an angel "who found her to be a temptation". According to PrEv 1.10.1-2 of Philo of Byblos , Sanchuniathon mentioned "some living beings who had no perception, out of whom intelligent beings came into existence, and they were called Zophasemin ( Heb. șōpē-šāmayim , that is, 'Watchers of Heaven'). And they were formed like
27722-613: Was their leader; Arteqoph , second to him; Remashel , third to him; Kokabel , fourth to him; Armumahel , fifth to him; Ramel , sixth to him; Daniel , seventh to him; Ziqel , eighth to him; Baraqel , ninth to him; Asael , tenth to him; Hermani , eleventh to him; Matarel , twelfth to him; Ananel , thirteenth to him; Setawel , fourteenth to him; Samshiel , fifteenth to him; Sahriel , sixteenth to him; Tummiel , seventeenth to him; Turiel , eighteenth to him; Yomiel , nineteenth to him; Yehadiel , twentieth to him. 8. These are their chiefs of tens. The book of Enoch also lists leaders of
27889-522: Was to guard and to guide Christians. In systematic Christian theology, angels are imagined as incorporeal entities and in opposition to corporeal humans, as in the writings of Origen and Thomas Aquinas . Angels are represented throughout Bibles as spiritual beings which are intermediate between God and humanity: "For thou hast made him [man] a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour" ( Psalms 8:4–5 ). Christians, based on Psalms and Genesis 2:1, believe that angels were
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