Angels, as we’ve come to understand them, are
beings that reside in a higher plane of our own - celestial beings, if you will, that go about doing
God's bidding and also offer a certain, ambiguous protection to the righteous man. Typically,
they are depicted as glorious, beautiful winged creatures that gracefully glide across the
heavens, humanoid in appearance and the epitome of physical perfection. Some come with halos,
some come with wings but a common misconception, at least, according to the bible,
is that all of these angelic beings are wonderful to behold. In actuality,
nothing could be further from the truth… We’ve seen angels appear in the bible quite
frequently from the very beginning of Genesis and in these pages we’ve come to see the
angels perform a variety of roles. Most often, they are seen as messengers - those delivering
the word of God to either bring warning, as we see them do in Genesis 19 where they
warn Lot to leave Sodom before its destruction, or to bring hope, as we see them do in Genesis 16
where they bless Hagar with numerous descendants. It’s easy to imagine the angels in these
more innocent and nurturing roles as being beautiful and graceful and full of such virtue
that their physical appearance would reflect that. But in other accounts, we see
them behave more violently, such as where David is punished for numbering
his people, which sees an angel sent to destroy Jerusalem. Or when Jerusalem is later
attacked, which sees an angel of death slaughter the one hundred and eighty five
thousand Assyrians who were responsible. With these more destructive and vengeful
characteristics, it becomes more conceivable that the angels were not these handsome champions
of regal charm and glamour, but instead something far more menacing and perhaps something truly
terrifying to witness. In today’s episode, we’ll be exploring some of these more uncanny angels in
detail in an effort to discover what they looked like, what their purpose was and how bizarre
and downright fearsome some of them really were. The Cherubim… Sometimes considered to be the highest form
of the angelic beings, the cherubim are occasionally scattered throughout Scripture
and appear to take on a varied set of roles. The Cherubim, or in their singular form ‘Cherub’,
were considered to be angelic servants of God, those who performed divine duties upon
the earth and set about to ensure his will was being carried out. But primarily, their
occupation far preceded the antics of man, where they were initially thought to have been
created by God to guard the gates of Eden. We’ve all likely seen the Cherubim from western
Christian artwork where they appear to be small, plump boys with wings - sometimes even
babies - that hover around the clouds looking pretty innocent. It’s likely that
this was inspired by the putto - a figure in classical artwork depicted by a chubby
child and that the use of a child in this instance in accordance with the Cherubim,
was to exemplify their purity and innocence. The putto would also become closely associated
with that of the Roman and Greek god Cupid or Eros and so, it is not uncommon for the Cherubim
to be confused with the mythological deities. But this stout and chunky form of the Cherub
would not be its only representation, for it would come across as far more intimidating in
the descriptions from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. In the bible, Ezekiel is seen to have noticed
the Cherubim transporting the throne of God across the river Kebar in Ezekiel 1:5-11 titled
Ezekiel’s Inaugural Vision, where the beings are described as having the likeness of man, but
with the addition of four heads - that of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. We are told,
“I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing
lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The centre of the fire looked like glowing metal,
and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,
but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like
those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had
human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, and the wings of one touched the wings
of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.” (Ezekiel 1:4-8)
Here, we get a pretty good description of what these beings looked like - that they had four
wings, that they were human in form and that they had four faces made up of animals. We also
see that some of their limbs appear to be like those of animals - notably their feet which belong
to those of a calf. It is understood that the four faces are representations of the four domains
of God’s rule - man which stands for humanity, the lion for wild animals, the ox for the
domesticated animals and the eagles for the birds. It’s also interesting to note that
they moved like flashes of light, implying that they were swift and were likely
far beyond the power of a regular human man. Interestingly, Ezekiel does not actually refer to
them as Cherubim in this part of the bible, but confirms their identity in chapter 10, telling us
“I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim;
the wheels sparkled like topaz. As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike;
each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one
of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim
went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.
Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely
full of eyes, as were their four wheels. I heard the wheels being called “the whirling
wheels.” Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of
a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. Then the cherubim
rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.” (Ezekiel 10:9-15)
Now, you might’ve noticed that his description of them slightly changes from his account in
chapter one. You’ll notice that here, the face of the ox is replaced by the face of a cherub -
though the reasoning for this is ambiguous. There is also an implication here that the Cherub face
looked strikingly different from the human face, though Ezekiel does not go on to explain what
these differences were. Furthermore, another difference that’s quite profound in this chapter,
is that the entire cherub is described as being covered with eyes and is either centred within or
around a set of ‘whirling wheels’ - that which is also covered with eyes. The wheels themselves
are quite an interesting feature for they are otherwise referred to as the ophanim in hebrew
and are sometimes thought to be the wheels of a chariot used by God - but more on those later.
This is an east orthodox art piece from the 5th or 6th century that depicts Ezekiel’s vision and is
referred to unofficially as the tetramorph cherub. In this mosaic and other pieces of Christian
art, the tetramorph shows us a being with wings and the four animals as described in Ezekiel
1:4-8. It also believed that each of these four components represent the four Evangelists
with Matthew being the man, Mark the lion, Luke the ox and John the eagle. The mosaic is
also thought to be an amalgamation of the seraphim that Isaiah sees in Isaiah’s Commission or
the six winged creatures found in Revelations where John sees what might have been
another set of Cherubim in chapter 4.
Often in Christian mythos, the Cherubim are
thought to be second to the Seraphim in the angelic hierarchy and whilst details can differ
between the two classes depending on the source, the key distinction between them appear to be
their closeness to God (with the Seraphim being above the Cherubim) as well as their form, with
the Seraphim appearing with up to four wings. Yet again, even these details can
be altered depending on the author where one can expect to find even the mechanics
of their wings to be a point of contention.
Whilst Ezekiel’s account of the Cherubim appears
to be one of the most vivid, we are still left in the dark as to who the Cherubim are and what
exactly their role is, other than to serve God. We see them carrying his
throne across the Kebar river and we see their presence amongst the
whirling wheels in Ezekiel’s vision, but beyond this Ezekiel does not tell us what
purpose they serve in the grander scheme of things. Some ideas propose that the Cherubim are
merely just another sect of angels or celestial beings - similar to the seraphim, or that they
are physical representations of God’s judgement. This likely stems from the account in Genesis 3
after God has banished Adam from the Garden, where we are told “So the Lord God banished him from
the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out,
he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and
forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Here, the role of the Cherubim is
primarily to guard the gates of Eden and to prevent man from getting back in. After
Adam had taken fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, his natural progression would
have been to take fruit from the tree of life and to gain immortality. But after having
betrayed God by falling for the serpent’s words, God deemed man unworthy of immortality and so
denied him from ever supping from the tree. Taking no chances, we even see him here give
the Cherubim (as if they weren’t strong enough already) a flaming sword, to fend off man
should he dare find his way back to Eden.
Yet another idea regarding the Cherubim also
relates to the fall of man, in that they are considered by some to be a symbolic representation
of a redeemed humanity - or a humanity who had never sinned. The Cherubim by this idea
are perfect in appearance, eternally youthful, powerful and the closest to God. By this, they
serve as a reminder of what could’ve been had Adam and Eve not given into their temptations
and remind believers that they should strive to be better. There is also hope in this idea, in
that should one be righteous and not make the same mistakes as Adam and Eve, they might yet achieve
the Cherubim status and become closer to God. There is also an idea that the
Cherubim are a symbol of God’s mercy, for in Exodus 25 we see God make a covenant
with the children of Israel as he sets out instructions for the construction of the Ark -
that which was a golden chest which contained the tablets of the covenant. He tells them,
“Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and
the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The
cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim
are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the
ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. There, above the cover between the two
cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my
commands for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:17-22) As can be seen, God’s instructions state that
two cherubs are to be fashioned out of gold and placed on the cover of the ark. This is
otherwise referred to as ‘The Mercy Seat’ - a term which has hubraic meaning to ‘cover,
appease, cleanse or make atonement for. It was believed that once a year, a high
priest would sprinkle blood of a sacrificed animal onto the Mercy Seat so as to atone for
his own sins and the sins of the Israelites in an effort to appease God’s anger. It was also
believed that here in the presence of the Ark, was the only place where forgiveness
from God could be truly achieved. With that, the inclusion of the Cherubim atop
the Mercy Seat certainly make them seem like advocates for God’s mercy and figures that
represent God’s compassion towards mankind. God also tells the Israelites that “There, above
the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you
and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” (Exodus 25:22) and by this, it might be said that
the Cherubim are something of a bridge towards God or perhaps as close as one can ever get on the
mortal realm. By promising the Israelites that he will meet them there before the Cherubim, the
Cherubim automatically become hallowed tokens or characters - those which are still held today in
high regard as they signpost the way to God.
The Seraphim
It is in chapter 6 of the book of Isaiah that we are given a look into what exactly the prophet had
seen in one of his more compelling visions. It was in the year that King Uzzah had died and Isaiah
tells us in what is known as ‘Isaiah’s Commission’ that he had seen God seated upon a throne. But
it wasn’t just God that had caught his eye, but also the six winged angelic creatures that
floated above him. These, as Isaiah tells us, were the Seraphim (or the singular Seraph), otherwise
known as ‘The Burning Ones’ or ‘The Fiery Ones’. Isaiah tells us, “In the year that King
Uzzah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe
filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered
their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And
they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the
doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4)
We understand from this passage, that the Seraphim had six wings and that Isaiah had seen these
creatures flying around the exalted throne of God. You’ll notice, he described them as having their
wings covering their faces and feet, though the reasons for this are uncertain. It has been
suggested that they cover their faces to protect Isaiah, for they shone so brightly, that they
would blind him if they were to reveal themselves. We know that the word Seraphim was the hurbraic
root word for ‘Seraph’ meaning, ‘to burn’, hence ‘burning ones’, so by this it could be
understood that the Seraph were akin to fire and thus, did indeed emit fierce, radiant light
that Isaiah would not have been able to bear. You’ll notice that whilst Isaiah recognises that
they do have faces, it is unclear whether he gets to see their features, or is merely assuming they
have human facial features based on the rest of their composition. Additionally, the covering of
their feet might be in respect to God, who they constantly circle around, for they would not want
to reveal any dirt or uncleanness in his presence. This could also be another reason why they use two
of their wings to cover their faces, for they wish to remain humble in the presence and God and deem
themselves to be unworthy to even look upon him. With this constant circling, they repeatedly
proclaim the holiness of God and his glory, making it clear that he is the highest being and that he
is the one that they hold in the highest regard. The declaration of him being holy outlines God
as being sacred and certainly determines him as greatness personified - an entity that is
and should be constantly worshipped - perhaps, an example to believers that their celebration of
God should never be forgotten. What’s interesting about this passage is the Seraphim’s declaration
of the word ‘Holy’ three times in a row. In ancient Jewish culture, the number three was
considered to be a representation of fulfilment and so, anything that came in
threes was usually a good omen. In this instance, holy is used three times not
just as an affirmation of the holiness of God, but also the wholeness of God, which believers
see as evident in the past, present and future. The use of holy thrice, also connotes
the appearance of God in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, suggesting that the
Seraphim’s repetition of the word Holy three times is not coincidental, but actually meaningful
and to promote the greatness of God. Amongst this, Isaiah also speaks of the sound of
the Seraphim voices, those which are so intense that the doors shake and the entire temple in
which he stands is flooded with smoke. Whilst this could be merely a sign of their power in that they
cause the foundations of the building to rumble with just the sounds of their voice, it might also
be said that this was symbolic of earthquakes or tremors, those which in ancient times could have
been equated with the divine presence of God, or associated with God because of the
tremors he was seen to evoke in the bible. Isaiah’s account continues with him becoming
painfully aware that he is unprepared for this encounter and that unlike the Seraphim,
he has not hidden his face nor his feet, and has not shown the high levels of humility
that God would have likely expected. With this, he immediately begins to panic, telling us “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a
man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the
Lord Almighty.”Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he
had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this
has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:5-6)
As we can see, Isaiah fears the worst. He recognises that he is unclean and a sinner
and that he has come from unclean sinners, yet he has now seen his God in the flesh -
something he deemed himself unworthy of doing. Yet, it is perhaps because of
his immediate realisation of this and his subsequent repenting that the Seraphim
take pity on him and rush to absolve him of his sin. They realise that his sorrow is genuine
and that going by his reaction, he probably would have taken better precaution to be humble
had he been more prepared for this encounter. As we can see, one of the Seraphim flies over
to him and places a coal, which he had taken from the altar, upon his lips. There he tells
Isaiah that because this had touched his lips, his sin and guilt was now removed. Because
the coal would likely have been boiling hot, it links in with an idea that Isaiah was
purified by the fire - or by the Seraphim who were in essence the ‘fiery ones’. There is
also an idea established here that the Seraphim, along with being the eternal worshippers of
God, also have the ability to remove people’s sins if they believe them to be authentic
in their repentance. With his sins cleaned, Isaiah was then able to speak to God directly and
proceeded to nominate himself to do God’s bidding. Whilst Isaiah’s account appears to be the
only reliable source of Seraphim in the bible, in that he literally does identify and describe
them as such, the Seraphim do exist in other biblical apocrypha including the Book of Enoch,
where Seraphim are mentioned alongside Cherubim as they coexist around the throne of God. Both
entities are described as relating to the sun, or that they are elements of the sun itself, which
would fit in quite well with the Seraphim being known as the ‘Burning Ones’. The implication
here would of course be that the Seraphim shine so brightly that it would not
be possible to perceive them - well, not without blinding yourself anyway - or that
they can produce such a high intensity of heat, that only God can bear to stand next to them.
In other ideas of Christian theology, the Seraphim can be seen as the caretakers of
God’s throne and much like Isaiah’s account, they too continuously sing the words ‘Holy, Holy,
Holy’. There are also ideas that the Seraphim assisted God in maintaining order in the world,
though the specifics of this are often vague. Other ideas focus on the heat or the fire
that the Seraphim have been associated with, and that the fire is a symbolic notion of
themselves and their relationship with God. Fire’s movement is constant and gradually rises upward
- much as the Seraphim do as they fly above God, and the constant crackling of the fire could be
linked with the constant praising of his name. The other idea that paints the Seraphim as fire is
that fire consumes that which it touches and thus, destroys - or in the case of the
Seraphim, destroys the sin of a person, much like that which is done for Isaiah. Some
might say that the fires cleanse and in this, the Seraphim are indeed quite similar. There is
also the idea that we’ve already discussed that fire emits light and the Seraphim share that same
property, though a far more divine and intense light that can be comparable to the sun itself.
In Judaism, Isaiah’s vision is recognised in various Jewish services and the Seraphim are
acknowledged. In the Kabbalah for example, the Seraphim are seen to drift from God,
only to burn up and return to his side. Whilst in other beliefs, the Seraphim become
equivocal to that of the Cherubim as seen in Ezekeil’s vision. But in more conservative
Judaism, the Seraphim and angels in general are seen as more symbolic than anything else.
In Islam meanwhile, a hadith by Persian scholar Al-Tirmidhi speaks of a conversation between the
prophet Muhammed and Allah where they speak of the ‘Exalted Assembly’ - those being the angels
amongst Iblis who disputed the creation of Adam, or who had refused to bow to him. It is
believed that the Seraphim are included within this category, or that Iblis had been of
the Seraphim himself, or perhaps the only Seraph, for he was created from fire - fire being
a key trope for these angelic beings. Though this belief and idea is not
universal, nor is it specified in the Quran. In fact, Seraphim, at least in the way described
by Isaiah do not seem to have much of a presence. Another interesting idea regarding the Seraphim
paint them in a more malevolent light where they adopt the form of serpents. In Numbers 21:6 for
example, God sends venomous serpents amongst the Israelites after their rebellion in the
wilderness, but in some translations and ideas, the serpents are replaced with that of the
Seraphim. This is also true for Deuteronomy 8:15, where the wilderness is described as being
a thirsty and waterless land with venomous snakes and scorpions. In the original hubraic, the
term ‘seraph’ can be found instead of ‘snakes’, suggesting that God might have sent the Seraphim
as a means to punish those who had rebelled. Some have interpreted the meaning of
this translation as a particular type of snake - this ‘Seraph Snake’ and that they might be
referring not to an angel, but instead a reptile of some kind. There is also the idea that the
snakes were venomous and so, their bite could be linked with the burning sensation one might
feel should they have come across a fiery Seraph. Another cool idea is that the snakes in the
wilderness are described as flying - something they certainly would have in common with the
Seraph. Other ideas propose that the Seraphim were the angels who supported Lucifer in his
rebellion, or that Lucifer himself was a Seraph which some believe facilitated his transformation
into a serpent in the garden of eden.
The Ophanim
One of the most strangest and downright weirdest creatures that are thought to
exist within scripture are the Ophanim - those that are believed by some to be just a
mechanism of God’s chariot and by others to be angelic beings with significant powers.
The reason why they are called the Ophanim is because in ancient hubraic, the word
Ophanim was thought to have meant wheels. It was also believed that the word could
be spelled as auphanim or ofanim, as well as a third variation as ‘galgalim’. In other
beliefs, Ophanim are also described as spheres or whirlwinds, or again the very wheels that
were attached to the chariot of god and the reason for all three of these ideas can likely be
pinpointed once in the visions seen by Ezekiel. As mentioned earlier, Ezkiel’s Inaugural Vision
consists of some pretty wild and extraordinary things, but as far as the Cherubim and the
Ophanim go, Ezekiel tells us, “As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the
ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the
wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like
a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions
the creatures were faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. Their
rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all round.” (Ezekiel 1:15-18)
The ‘living creatures’ that Ezekiel sees here are indeed the cherubim as we’ve already
established, but he spends an equal amount of time taking in the sight of these four wheels
- these Opahnim. He describes them as glistening like topaz and that all four assembled to make
the shape of one wheel intersecting another. He also adds that whilst they appeared
independently mobile, they only moved wherever the cherubim were facing, which has since led some to
believe that the Cherubs controlled the Ophanim, or was a symbol for their outranking of them.
He continues to state that they do not appear to ever change their direction, and that all the
rims of their being were covered with eyes.
But with this passage alone, it only raises
our intrigue as to what these wheels were and what exactly their function was. Ezekiel
is able to paint a somewhat vivid picture of what these wheels looked like, but perhaps
what makes them so stark and fascinating is how elusive they are. These wheels are not something
that appear frequently throughout the bible and the fact that God allows Ezekiel to see
them only teases the idea that they do have some significance that we are not grasping.
One interesting idea that further supports the notion that these wheels were the wheels of
God’s chariot comes from a song of praise by David in Psalm 18, where we are told
“He (God) mounted the Cherubim and flew. He soared on the wings of the wind.” (Psalm
18:10) In this rather unique imagery, it could be said that Cherubim had more of
a practical function as they served as God’s vehicle, or a means for which to transport
him across the sky, or from heaven to earth. The Cherubim in this instance become the
chariot and by this, the wheels that they are seen to manipulate become the wheels of
that very chariot. Those being, the Ophanim.
But Ezekiel does not make this connection, but
is instead taken aback by what he continues to witness. He tells us, “When the living creatures
moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the
wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels
would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures
was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still,
they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with
them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” (Ezekiel 1:19-21)
Here, he essentially confirms the idea that the wheels were controlled by the Cherubim, and that
they did indeed have power over these elements, and that wherever the cherubim went, the
Ophanim would go too. He also adds that the very spirit of the Cherubim exists within
the Ophanim, suggesting that on some level, perhaps these strange creatures are extensions of
the angels, as opposed to being angels themselves. Touching once again upon the chariot idea
as hinted by the song of David in Psalm 18, one might also say that the Cherubim were the
drivers of the chariot and the wheels were merely just that - wheels. With this idea, they
are not angelic and they do not have sentience, but instead are more along
the lines of machinery.
Yet, the idea that the Ophanim were indeed angels
- perhaps, the weirdest of angels given their appearance, remains to be consistent within some
communities and traditions. We can agree from Ezekiel’s account that despite their association
to the Cherubim, there is nothing particularly angelic about the Ophanim. They do not appear to
have human characteristics like all other angels, they do not speak and bring prophecies and they
do not appear to even have wings. Reference of them is made in the second book of Enoch, where
we see Enoch ascend before the throne of God. He tells us, “ I saw there a very great light,
and fiery troops of great archangels, incorporeal forces, and dominions, orders and governments,
Cherubim and seraphim, thrones and many-eyed ones, nine regiments, the Ioanit stations of light, and
I became afraid, and began to tremble with great terror, and those men took me, and led me after
them, and said to me:Have courage, Enoch, do not fear, and showed me the Lord from afar, sitting
on His very high throne.” (2 Enoch 20:1-2)
Whilst again not specifically
mentioned as ‘Ophanim’, Enoch does refer to them as the ‘many-eyed ones’,
which correlates with Ezekiel’s description. What’s interesting here is that he later
identifies all the present entities including the Cherubim, Seraphim and these ‘Many
Eyed Ones’ as being men and that these men took him and led him to the throne of God, where they
reassured him he was safe. Whilst hard to say given that Enoch does not explicitly determine
these Many Eyed Ones to be the Ophanim, it could be said that in this story, that the Many
Eyed Ones did maintain some characteristics of men and that instead of wheels, they possessed a more
expected and relatable form. They also share the same compassion as the Cherubim and the Seraphim
and seek to comfort Enoch when he would otherwise panic, thus suggesting another layer of benignity
to these otherwise misunderstood creatures.
The second book of Enoch continues to
tell us of the Many Eyed Ones that, “And the Cherubim and Seraphim
standing about the throne, the six-winged and many-eyed ones do not depart,
standing before the Lord’s face doing his will, and cover his whole throne, singing with gentle
voice before the Lord’s face: Holy, holy, holy, Lord Ruler of Sabaoth, heavens and earth
are full of your glory.” (2 Enoch 21:1)
Here, we get a sense that the Many Eyed Ones
guard the throne of heaven and along with the Cherubim and the Seraphim, they will remain
here for eternity at the beck and call of God. It is also established that they sing with gentle
voices, which yet again humanizes the Many Eyed Ones and portrays them as more relatable,
perhaps even as a charming set of characters. With the Many Eyed Ones singing, it could also be
associated with several Jewish prayers known as the Kedusha, where the Ophanim are told to offer
praise upon God and glorify him as the creator.
Whilst the second book of Enoch refers to them
as the Many Eyed Ones, the first book of Enoch refers to them directly as Ophanim and they are
said here to also guard the throne of heaven and that together with the Seraphim and the
Cherubim, they do not sleep. Enoch tells us here, “And round about were Seraphim, Cherubim and
Ophanim: And these are they who sleep not. And guard the throne of His glory.” (1 Enoch 71:1)
There appears to be some variation in these very angels when it comes to both their
ranking and their closeness to God. Most commonly in Jewish expositions of angelic
hierarchy, the significance and purpose of the Cherubim, Seraphim and the Ophanim seldom seem
to coincide across all traditions. To some, the Cherubim are the closest to God and
as mentioned before, they are his chariot. More significantly, they are
much more prominent in the bible and actually appear to Ezekiel, thus giving
them the edge at least in terms of recognition. The Seraphim by comparison are also seen in a
variety of ways including as a caretaker to God’s throne, and as the bible shows in Isaiah’s vision,
the Seraphim can be viewed as absolvers of guilt. To more conservative Judaisim though, the
Seraphim are more symbolic in nature.
These inconsistencies, if you will, are
the same for the Ophanim in Jewish beliefs, with some believing them to be the closest
of all the angels to God (as told to us by medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides) or as
‘the thrones’, another classification of angels. Many other Jewish philosophies confirm this idea
that the thrones and the Ophanim are one in the same and one of the ways that this is done
is by one interpretation of Daniel’s Vision, where Daniel tells us he sees God in
his chariot. He states, “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days
took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like
wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.” (Daniel 7:9)
With this idea, the thrones become established as the wheels of God’s vehicle and are set
in place before he takes his seat upon it. A quote from American spirituality writer Rosemary
Ellen Guiley sums up the notion of the thrones and the Ophanim being the same quite concisely,
where we are told “The 'thrones'; also known as 'ophanim' (offanim) and 'galgallin', are creatures
that function as the actual chariots of God driven by the cherubs. They are characterized by
peace and submission; God rests upon them. Thrones are depicted as great wheels containing many
eyes, and reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. They chant
glorias to God and remain forever in his presence. They mete out divine justice and maintain
the cosmic harmony of all universal laws.” As we can see, going by this interpretation,
the thrones - or the Ophanim - lose their more typical angel appearance and again resume the more
biblically accurate depiction as a mechanism.
In any case, one might say that the function
of the Ophanim, whilst intriguing and novel, is not essential to believers, which is why
concrete information about them is so scarce. Whether it be from the characters of the
bible themselves or scholars who studied them, the wheels are only vital in their accordance
to God. They serve to remind believers that their mystique and uncanny form is just one of
many of the creations that God has made that man cannot understand and in some cases, it might
serve to humble believers into realising that they do not have all the answers. It also brings
God’s enginerial ingenuity into the limelight, for whilst many may take for granted
the way in which the world was created, elements like the Ophanim remind them of how much
of mechanical mastermind a supreme being like God must be - especially given we to this day would
not be able to create something so unusual.
Others might see the Ophanim as a representation
of God himself, in that because they are covered with eyes, the eyes become symbolic of God being
all-seeing. If the Ophanim have a multitude of eyes and spin omnidirectionally, then it would
be believed that they can see everything from every angle. This would imply then that God
could very well do the same - as we know he can from very specific mentions in the bible that God
is everywhere and God knows everything.
Thrones As previously mentioned, the Thrones are
a class of angels that are similar to the Ophanim - and sometimes, are outrightly assumed
as being the same as the Ophanim. Very little is actually known about this type of angel
and its appearance in the bible is scarce. One of its more notable appearances is in
Collisians where we are told “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over
all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created
through him and for him.” (Collisians 1:15-16) What the Thrones actually looked like is up for
some speculation, with some believing them to look similar or identical to the Ophanim or for them
to appear as a combined image of the Throne of God -hence their name. In some interpretations,
it is believed that the Thrones are also wheels within wheels and that these wheels
are also spinning and covered with eyes. In another interpretation that coincides
with the idea that the Ophanim are the wheels of God’s chariot, some believe that the
Thrones take on the form of the chariot itself. Another interesting idea proposes that the Thrones
show up much later in Revelations 11 as ‘Elders’. John of Revelation tells us that these Elders
appear to be gathered around the throne of God and are all praising him. Whilst the Elders
are not described, it is their proximity to God that is most interesting to us. It could
be the case that these are not just older men, but instead the very Thrones that are described in
Collisians. Of course, this can also be dismissed given that the only reason this is speculated
is because the Elder men appear to have actual thrones of their own, those that are gathered
around the one throne of God. Others believe that if these are the Thrones, they have likely taken
the form of old men so as to make it easier for John to digest what he is seeing, for John had by
this point seen so many ghastly and bizzare things that it may have pushed him over the edge to
see the Thrones in their truest appearance. In his work De Coelesti Hierarchia,
Greek author and Christian theologian Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite tells us
that the Thrones were the third highest of the 9 classes of angels, ranking just
below the Seraphim and the Cherubim. In many classifications, these are considered
to be the ‘First Sphere’ of angels, and these are the angels that serve God directly
and thus, are closer to him than any others. It should be noted that many angels in the
Old Testament do not even get a description and instead are believed to have appeared simply
as men. They had no halos, no wings and no tangible physical aspect that separated them from
the common man if not for a certain demeanour. For example, the men who appear to Abram to bear
prophecy and also have their feet washed by him are not visibly angels, but Abram can tell
that there is something special about them. The same could be said for the angel who wrestles
all night with Jacob, and whilst this character was later depicted as an angel in classical
art, the bible simply describes him as a man. These angels, you might say, were what 12 century
Jewish scholar Maimonides described as the Mal’ak - the ancient Hebrew word for ‘Messenger’
and whilst they had a certain distinction about them, they were not as outlandish in appearance as
the Cherubim, Seraphim or Ophanim. You might say that they adopted a guise that was more suited to
their task, choosing to appear in a more humanoid form to deliver their message, instead of scaring
the living daylights out of the recipients. The Mal’ak, or the Malakim (plural), were
just one type of angel that appeared in Maimonides’ classification of angels - a
sort of angelic hierarchy, if you will, but the question still remains that if these
Mal’ak, these messengers, took the form of men instead of appearing in their natural state…
what horrors were they sparing us from seeing? On the subject of angels appearing before man,
there is a concept from several classifications that incorporate the ‘Second Sphere’ of angels,
these being the angels that govern over earth and thus, are not as close to
God as the aforementioned angels. Of this second sphere, the angels
adopt a more familiar look… Dominions The classifications of these ‘Second Sphere
angels’ do not appear in the bible as such. However, several of the angels who do appear
in the bible have been classified into these various groups. The Dominions for example can be
angels who help keep the world in order. They act on behalf of God, often carrying out his tasks
and or directly implementing his divine plan. According to many classifications, these angels
also bring about God’s judgement against sinful situations within the world, and whilst humanity
might not understand or agree with the work that takes place, the Dominions are believed
to enforce the biblical God’s perspective. Of course, because the Dominions operate on Earth,
they are believed to take the form of humans, much like the Malakim, perhaps in an effort to
avoid scaring the humans they interacted with. An example of Dominions at work could be when angels
are sent down to Sodom and Gomorrah to inspect the land of what the biblical God perceived as ‘sin’.
These Dominions took the form of men so as to not arouse suspicion, although ironically,
this is exactly what they ended up doing. The Dominions are also believed to
deliver the wisdom of God to humans, most notably to those in leading positions
such as world leaders. In essence, it is believed those that pray or seek the
aid of God will be answered by the Dominions who may appear in physical form to guide
one into taking the best course of action. To some, these angels are led by the Archangel
Zadkiel, an angel whom some believe prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac. Dominions
in this essence are believed to take on the same role, intervening (often at the last minute) to
spare someone from making a terrible decision. Naturally, to those of us with a more
sceptic nature, it would be natural to argue that angelic beings do not descend from the
heavens to stop us from making mistakes. However, some rationalise that these Dominions act from the
shadows and or are imperceptible to the human eye. In this, they can alter our fate
without us really knowing it, or may put obstacles in our path so as
to prevent us from making a wrong choice. Virtues One of the more baffling entity of angels
that appear in the ‘Second Sphere of Angels’ are the Virtues. Unlike the Dominions, the
Virtues aren’t necessarily believed to possess a form at all, but instead appear as a flash
of light, which would explain their secondary moniker as ‘The Shining Ones’. Their role
within the universe is much less understood, though it is believed that they have
some influence over the elements and over nature. To others, the Virtues can
be interpreted as a sort of ‘divine energy’, one that can both encourage and strengthen
one’s belief in God. In some classifications, the Virtues are believed to perform miracles
to the deserving, where they reward the noble, the righteous and those who are doing their
best to get back into the algorithm. Hi. Powers or Authorities The Powers or Authorities are angels that as you
might imagine, ensure order within the earthly and the celestial realms. You wouldn’t be wrong
for considering these angels as ‘warrior angels’, those who do battle against evil spirits and
demons. Whilst not specified in Revelation where the ultimate battle between good and evil
took place, it is not a stretch to assume that the angels who battled against Lucifer in his
rebellion were likely the Powers and Authorities, those who would’ve been donned in full
shining armour and wielding fantastic weapons. However, in other beliefs, it is these
very angels who were swayed by Lucifer given that he was believed to be the Chief of
Powers. This may have led to the strength of Lucifer’s army and why the rebellion was not
so easily thwarted by God in the first place. Despite maintaining a human appearance, the
sight of such an angel is believed to be quite an intimidating one. These were mean faced soldiers
that probably stood a whole head height taller than the tallest man, with wings that were sharp
to the touch and with weapons too heavy for any mortal to wield. To some, these angels could be
viewed as God’s taskforce against evil entities, those that don’t necessarily have to be of the
demonic persuasion. The angel of death that is sent to destroy Jerusalem may very well have
likely been of the Powers or the Authorities, which goes to show their immense and dastardly
strength given that God only sends one of them. Yet again though, the original authors do
not give a vivid description of these angels, making their actual image all the more elusive. Principalities Beyond the ‘Second Sphere’ of angels, we
have the ‘Third Sphere’, these being angels that are believed to exist on the earth, and thus
are the most likely set of angels that a human might run into. Luckily for us, these angels,
much like the Dominions and the Malakim, adopt the form of humans and so out of all the angels,
it’s probably these ones that you’d have the most in common with. Unlike the other angels the
Principalities also live on the earth, and by this you might say that these angels are more in touch
with what is happening in the world and thus, more relatable. To some, these Principalities,
or ‘Princes’, directly inspire world leaders, nations and in some cases churches, in an effort
to keep things running smoothly. Given their status as ruling various areas of the earth,
or at least, imparting power to various people, these angels are believed to wear crowns and carry
with them a staff or a sceptre. To some believers, it is the Principalities who bless mankind with
art, science, maths or some wholesome intention that will benefit the world in some way. In other
cases, the Principalities are believed to give strength to those who will go on to do
something miraculous. Ideally, as mentioned, if you were going to run into an angel, the
Principalities might be your safest bet. Or maybe not, if you ask St Paul. St Paul believed that it was actually
the Principalities who joined Lucifer in his rebellion (as well as the Powers), where
he tells us in his letter to the church of Ephesus “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) Here, St Paul speaks of man’s struggle not being
with each other, but instead with a more spiritual threat - the principalities and the powers. This
leans into the idea that the principalities, along with the powers now worked against
mankind in an effort to corrupt them. With the idea that these angels joined
Lucifer, you may very well label them as fallen angels - those who now do the opposite of what
the Principalities were originally created for. Indeed, where they were once dolled out wisdom,
inspiration and even strength, St Paul gives us the idea that they would now sooner give out lies,
demotivate man and even sap away his strength. Nephilim The Nephilim predominantly appear in the
Book of Enoch, where they are described as performing exceptionally evil deeds. Whilst
not actually angelic beings themselves, the Nephilim were produced by
the angels and the mortal women in the times before the flood. Now, if you
thought some of the angels were scary to behold, you’ll likely find that their offspring
are simply the stuff of nightmares. The Nephilim - these sons of the fallen
angels could technically be considered as part fallen angel, part human and
part giant. Indeed, they were large, hulking beasts that were more animal than man,
and when they weren’t tearing apart the landscape and devouring the fields for food, they were
spilling blood like it was going out of style. We see that when man can no longer
sustain the Nephilim’s diet, they begin to hunt man, devouring them without
hesitation, and when they run out of men to hunt, they turn cannibal, consuming their own
kind to satiate their ungodly appetite. There’s an idea that these Nephilim obtained their
tremendous size and strength through the merging of angelic DNA and human biology, something that
even the biblical God shudders at the sight of. In fact, he is so disgusted by the offspring of the
angels that he is seen to send down his archangels to destroy them. In other ideas, some believe that
this purge of the Nephilim wasn’t enough for God and that he deemed the Nephilim to be so hideous,
that their existence is what warranted the flood. What you might take away from this is that these
sons of the angels must’ve been truly ghastly monsters, for if even Enoch’s God is disgusted by
them, then surely man would be outright repulsed. Fallen Angels The Fallen Angels certainly have a
lot to answer for given that in the case of the Powers and Principalities,
they still conspire against mankind. Meanwhile, in the Book of Enoch -
where they are known as ‘The Watchers’, it is they who fornicate with the mortal women and
bring to life the dreaded abominations that are the Nephilim. But would you believe it, there’s
another trick the Fallen Angels are believed to do in some Christian Mythos, and that is
to transform themselves into demons. Whilst this belief was not shared by the original
authors and translators of the Hebrew bible, it has since become a popular trope - especially
when used in conjunction with the fall of Lucifer, where the angels who side with him appear to
go through something of a demonic transition. As you might’ve guessed, these are probably the worst kind of angels you could come
into contact with, for like Lucifer, they hate mankind and will do whatever needs
to be done to lure them away from their god. As far as what these now evil angels look like,
the bible doesn’t really give us much to go on. Instead, we have to look to more mythological
sources or even rely on literature. John Milton’s Paradise Lost shows us several fallen
angels that are unique from one another, including Beelzebub, Moloch, Chemos, Baal, Dagon,
Belial and even the Egyptian Gods themselves. In various classifications, the likes of
Beelzebub, Moloch and Baal have each earned colourful depictions, showing us that if we
were to come into contact with these entities, we’d probably faint from shock. The fallen
angel Beelzebub, after his demonic transition, can be seen in some stories as being
made up of flies - likely owing to his moniker as the ‘Lord of the Flies’. In other
depictions, he appears as a grim, bloated fly. Moloch on the other hand is often portrayed with
a bull’s head and with his arms outstretched over a fire. His role is to sacrifice
children and so, you can imagine that running into this fallen angel would be pretty
detrimental, depending on how old you are. Baal, often determined to be the nemesis of
Yahweh, also appears similarly to Moloch, opting to wear a bull’s head. Despite being listed
in Milton’s Paradise Lost as a fallen angel, Baal was also considered to be a Cannanite deity, showing us that perhaps Lucifer isn’t the only
angel wishing to step out of his God’s shadow. There is an idea that the reason the bible is
not keen to describe the angels that appear before men, is because to do so would either
be impossible, in that there were no words to illustrate such a creature, or that they
were so horrendously abnormal that to do so would scare anyone out of ever being open
to seeing one. You might’ve noticed that on more than one occasion, the first words out of an
angel's mouth is ‘Do not be afraid!’. We see this shortly after the birth of Jesus when an angel
appears to the shepherds in the nearby field, and we see it when Paul sails for Rome and an
angel appears to him to declare the very same thing. Now, this may simply be the angels being
courteous for having dropped in unannounced and attempting to placate the sudden alarm one might
experience after being snuck up on. But some argue that this is because the angels in question
are so inexplicably strange or even monstrous, that they have to first convince the recipient
of their message that they are not a threat. In this sense ‘Do not be afraid’ is not a directive,
it is an earnest request from the angels, seeking to soothe man’s fears and anxieties in the wake of
beholding something that they cannot comprehend. The exact nature of an angel’s appearance is
still relatively unknown to us, though it would not be out of the realm of possibility to assume
that angels can pretty much take whatever form they want - or that perhaps more likely, God has
specifically designed each one with an intended purpose. It should also come as no surprise that
in heaven, or a cosmic environment that is beyond us in some spiritual plane, there will likely be
elements and characteristics that simply cannot be explained, much less imagined. The Cherubim,
Seraphim and Ophanim for example may be the least weird angels that exist in such a celestial
region. Indeed, it is not farfetched to suggest that there are probably far more diabolical
things lurking in our own universe, let alone a spiritual plane that we know even less about.
Let me know in the comments below which angel stuck out for you the most and which
angel you think you’d be most scared of. As always guys, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode then don’t forget to give it
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