Angel

ANGEL, the destroying Angel, Angel of death, Angel of Satan, the Angel of the bottomless pit. All these terms signify the Devil and his Agents, the evil Angels, Ministers of God’s wrath and vengeance. God smote Sennacherib’s army with the sword of the destroying 2 Kings xix. 35.Angel. He killed the Israelites, David’s subjects, by the sword of the Angel of death, as a punishment of this Prince’s vain complacency in himself. The Angel or 2 Sam. 2 Cor. xii. 7. Zech. iii. 1, 2. Jude 9. Rev. ix. 11.Messenger of Satan buffeted S. Paul, and laid snares to corrupt his purity. The same Angel accused the High Priest Joshua before the Lord; and disputed with the Archangel Michael about the body of Moses. The Angel of the bottomless pit, or the Angel King of the bottomless pit, as St. John in the Revelations calls him, is the same as the Prince of Devils, the destroying Angel.

We shall speak of the destroying Angel, by whose means Sennacherib’s army perished, under the Article SENNACHERIB.

The Angel of Death, is he to whom God hath given a commission to separate the soul from the body: The Jews, Arabians, Turks and Persians, own such an one; the Persians call him Mordad or Asuman. The Rabbins and Arabians give him the name of Azrael; and the Chaldee Paraphrasts that of Malkad-monsa. Others, as the book concerning the Assumption, or the death of Moses, call him the Angel Samaël, Prince of the Devils. In this last mentioned book it is related, that the hour of Moses’s death being come, the Lord required Gabriel to command his soul out of his body; but he excused himself: S. Michael likewise desired to be dispensed with in this particular; as did also the Angel Zinghiel, who said, that having been Preceptor to Moses, he could not resolve with himself to take away his life. Samaël made his approaches to him with a design of forcing the soul of this Conductor of God’s people out of his body, but was so struck with the lustre of his countenance, and the virtue of God’s name written on the rod which Moses made use of in performing miracles, that he was obliged to retire. So that God himself came to separate the soul of his Prophet, by giving him a kiss.

The Rabbins maintain¹, that the Angel of death, as soon as he has killed any man, washes his sword in the water of the house, and thereby communicates a mortal quality to it; for which reason they throw all the water into the street. This Angel of Death stands, as they say, at a dying person’s bed’s head, holding a naked sword in his hand, at the extremity whereof hang three drops of gall. The sick man, as soon as he perceives the Angel there, in a great fright opens his mouth, which opportunity the Angel of death takes to distil into it these three mortal drops; one immediately occasions his death, the other makes him pale and livid, and the third disposes him to be soon reduced to dust in his grave.

They believe farther², that the man suffers a second death there; that when a Jew is buried, the Angel of death seats himself upon the grave, and at the same time the soul of the deceased returns to his body, and sets him upon his legs. Then the Angel taking an iron chain, half whereof is cold as ice, the other burning hot, strikes the body with it, and separates all its members. He strikes it a second time, and removes all its bones; then a third time, and reduces the whole to ashes. This done, the good Angels come, gather and re-unite all these parts, and re-place the body in its grave. They assert however, that pious persons, and they who give alms liberally, shall be exempt from this punishment.

The Mussulmen and Persians acknowledge, that there is an Angel appointed by God to be the death of people, and separate the souls from the bodies of Creatures.

They moreover affirm³, that when the dead person is buried, two evil Spirits of a frightful aspect, and black colour, make the dead sit upright in his coffin, and arraign him; if he is found innocent, they suffer him to lie down again, and rest quietly; if not, they give him several great blows with a hammer between the two ears, which occasion incredible pains, and force him to cry out terribly.

Job xxxiii. 23. Ἄγγελος θανατοφόρος. Job xxxvi. 14. Job xx. 15.In the Greek of the book of Job, the Angel of death is mentioned frequently. Though there were a thousand Angels of death about the righteous, ready to take away his life, yet none of them shall smite him, if he reflects upon himself, and thinks of returning to the Lord, if he discovers his sin to a man, and confesses to him his folly, the Angel shall prevent his dying. And elsewhere, Riches unjustly gathered shall be vomited up with horror, and the Angel shall drag him out of his house. And again, Let the soul of the Hypocrite die in his youth, and let his life be snatched away by the Angels.Prov. xvii. 11. And Solomon, An evil man seeketh only rebellion, therefore a cruel Angel shall be sent against him. This cruel Angel, this Angel of death, was he who was sent against Sarah the Daughter of Raguel’s first Husbands, and Tob. iii. 8.was the death of them when they attempted to approach her. This is the Angel Asmodeus, or Destroyer who was banished into the Wilderness, and chained by the Angel Tob. viii. 3.Raphael. Lastly, this is the evil Angel spoken of by the Psalmist, Let them be as chaff Psal. xxxv. 5, 6.before the wind, and let the Angel of the Lord chase them, and be the cause of their perishing; let their way be dark and slippery, and let the Angel of the Lord persecute them.

The Angel or Messenger of Satan, who 2 Cor. xii. 7. Ἄγγελος Σατᾶν ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ. Matth. xii. 16.buffeted St. Paul, is the Minister of the Devil, his Envoy. The Devil is considered in Scripture as a Prince who exercises his dominion over other Devils of a lower rank, and less power. In this sense the Gospel speaks of Satan’s kingdom, If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? If the Devil expels Devils Matt. xxv. 41.Devils out of bodies which are possessed by him, he destroys his own dominion. Jesus Christ came into the world to overthrow the power of Satan, and at the day of judgment he will condemn them whom he has rejected to that eternal fire which is prepared for the Devil and his Angels; his Ministers and Agents, who are of the same nature, and sentenced to the same punishment with him.

The Angel therefore of Satan may be said to have buffeted S. Paul, either by suggesting bad thoughts to him⁴, or by producing bodily infirmities in him⁵, or in stirring up adversaries against him, who opposed his good designs: as the Coppersmith, and Demetrius the Goldsmith, at Ephesus; and Hymeneus and Philetus, whom he mentions in his first Epistle to Timothy. Lastly, there are some who believei that the Angel of Satan did sensibly persecute S. Paul, struck him, and laid snares for him; as S. Athanasius relates that the Devils sometimes beat and persecuted S. Antony; and that many Saints have frequently been handled very ill by Devils, who envied their progress in virtue, and were enraged at the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom, which was destroyed by them.

Tongue of Angels. See TONGUE. Angels of light, and Angels of darkness. We call good Angels, Angels of light, their habitation being in Heaven, in the region of light; they are clothed with light and glory, stand before the throne of the Most High, and inspire men with good actions, actions of light and righteousness. The Angels of darkness, on the contrary, are those who are the Devil’s Ministers, whose abode is in Hell, in the region of darkness, in those black dungeons where the wicked are imprisoned. S. Paul says, that Satan sometimes transforms himself into an Angel of light; in like manner as our Saviour in the Gospel says that Wolves sometimes put on Sheep’s clothing, to seduce the simple; but they are at length discovered by their works. Sooner or later they betray themselves, and are distinguish’d by works of darkness, wherein they engage their followers.

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