Angel

Acts vii. 30, 53. Gal. iii. 19. Heb. xiii. 2.ANGEL, Angelus. This word is borrowed from the Greek, and formed from Angelos, which signifies a Messenger, and answers the Hebrew Maleac. Nothing is more frequent in Scripture than the missions and apparitions of good and bad Angels: God sends them to declare his will, to correct, teach, reprove, and comfort. God gave the law to Moses, and appeared to the Old Patriarchs by the mediation of Angels, who represented him, and spoke in his Name.

Before the captivity of Babylon, the Hebrews did not know the name of any Angel; at least we find none mentioned in the books written before this event. The Talmudists¹ say they brought these names from Babylon: It is true we find many of them called by their names in the book of Enoch; but this we know is spurious, and was written after the captivity we are speaking of. Tobit is the first who has called an Angel by his proper name: He mentions Raphael, who conducted Tobias into Media. Tobit is thought to have lived at Nineveh some time before the captivity of Judah. Daniel, who lived at Babylon some time after Tobit, has taught us the Dan. x. 21. viii. 16. ix. 21. 2 Esdras iv. 36.names of Michael and Gabriel. The second book of Esdras speaks of Uriel; but this book is modern in comparison, the Author of it having in all probability liv-ed since the time of Jesus Christ.

The Jewish Cabalists make some particular Angels, whose names they give us, to have been Preceptors to the Patriarchs. For example, they say that Adam’s Preceptor was called Raziel, Shem’s Jephiel, Abraham’s Zedekiel, Isaac’s Raphael, Jacob’s Seliel, Joseph’s Gabriel, Moses’s Metatron or Metator, that is, he who shews the field; Elias’s Malushiel, and David’s Cerviel. They believe likewise that there are seventy Angels who have the name of God in them, according to this expression in Exodus, Ex. xxiii. 21. Luke i. 19, 26. Jude v. 5. & Rev. xii. 7.My name is in him. In the New Testament we observe the names only of two Angels, Gabriel and Michael. There are disputes concerning the time when Angels were created. Some think² they were created at the same time as the Heaven, and that Moses included them under this name, saying, In the beginning God created the Heaven: Others³ have conjectured that he intended to represent them under the name of Light, which God created on the first day: And lastly, o-thers⁴ have asserted that they were creat-ed before the sensible world; and Job seems to favour this opinion, where he says, Where wast Job xxxviii. 4, 7.thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth; — and all the Sons of God shouted for joy? The Hebrews think that God created them upon the se-cond day of the World⁵, and that he con-sulted with the Gen. i. 26.Angels, saying, Let us make Man in our image, after our like-ness.

Many of the old Fathers, led into this mistake by the authority of the book of Enoch, and a passage of Genesis, which is ill Gen. vi. 2.translated, wherein it is said, The Angels saw the Daughters of Men, that they were fair, and they took them Wives, of all which they chose, imagined that the Angels were corporeal, capable of sensual pleasures, and sensible of their allurements. It is true they call them Spirits, and spi-ritual Beings, but in the same signification wherein we call the Wind Spirit, and as odours, vapours, &c. are spiritual. Other Fathers indeed, and those in great num-ber, have asserted Angels to be purely spiritual; and this at present is the com-mon opinion of the Schools. See our Dis-sertation upon good and bad Angels be-fore our Comment on St. Luke.

Dan. x. 21.Some have appropriated Angels to Empires, Nations, Provinces, Cities, and particular persons. St. Michael is acknowledged to be Protector of the People of Israel: Michael your Prince, said the An-gel Gabriel, speaking to the Prophet Da-niel. The same Angel Gabriel speaks like-wise of Ch. x. 13.the Angel who was Protector of Persia, according to the generality of In-terpreters, when he says that the Prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood him one and Acts xvi. 9.twenty days. S. Luke in the Acts tells us, that a man of Macedonia appear-ed to S. Paul in the night, and said to him, Come over into Macedonia and help us; which is commonly understood of the Angel of Macedonia, who invited him to come and preach Jesus Christ in the Pro-vince which was committed to his care. Lastly, the Septuagint Deut. xxxii. 8.in Deuteronomy say that God had set the bounds of the people according to the number of the An-gels of Israel⁶. Which by the Fathers and Rabbins is supposed to mean the Go-vernment of each particular Country and Nation, wherewith God had intrusted his Angels. S. John wrote his Revelations to the Angels⁷ of the seven Christian Churches in Asia Minor, whereby Rev. xi. 18. 12.he does not mean only the Bishops of these Churches, but, in the judgment of ma-ny Fathers, the Angels likewise who were appointed by God for their protection⁸.

As to Guardian Angels, they are very clearly described in the Old Testament. Genes. xlviii. 16.Jacob speaks of the Angel who had been his constant guide in all his journeys, and had delivered him out of all dangers. The Psalm xxxiii. 8. & xc. 11. Vulg.Psalmist in several places mentions Angels as the Protectors of the Righteous: and this was the common opinion of the Jews in our Saviour’s time. When S. Peter be-ing being set at liberty came from prison to the house where were others of the Disciples, he knocked at the door; they who were within thought it was his Angel, and not Acts xii. 15.he. Jesus Christ enjoins us in the Gospel not to despise any little ones, because their Angels continually behold the face of our Matt. xviii. 10.heavenly Father. The Fathers all agree unanimously in this article. The Jews and the very Heathens believed that particular Angels were commissioned to attend us, and had the care of our conduct and protection. Hesiod, the most ancient, or at least one of the most ancient Greek Authors, says⁹, that there are good Angels upon earth, sent by Jupiter for the protection of Mankind, and to observe the good or evil which they practise. Plato says¹⁰, that every one of us has two Dæmons or two Genius’s, one inclining us to evil, the other directing us to what is good. Apulæus speaks but of one Dæmon assigned to every man by Plato, Ex hac sublimiore Dæmonum copia Plato autumat singulis hominibus in vitâ agendâ testes, & custodes singulos additos, qui nemini conspicui semper adsint.

Tob. xii. 15.The Apostle S. Paul gives us to understand, that among the Angels in Heaven there is a subordination of the several Choirs of them, which differ from one another either in their offices, or in the degrees of glory which they possess. But the Fathers, who have interpreted the Apostle’s words, are not agreed among themselves as to the number and order of the celestial Hierarchy¹¹. Origen was of opinion¹² that St. Paul mentioned part only of the Choirs of Angels, and that there were many others whereof he had said nothing; and this opinion may be observed in many others of the Fathers who came after him. Others have reckoned up nine Choirs of Angels in St. Paul, and this is the opinion generally received at present in the Divinity Schools of France. The Author who is cited commonly under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite¹³, admits of but three Hierarchies, and three orders of Angels in each Hierarchy¹⁴. In the first are Seraphims, Cherubims, and Thrones; in the second Dominions, Mights, and Powers; in the third Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. In some places of Scripture it is insinuated, that there are seven principal Angels in the Court of Heaven, who are always before the Lord¹⁵. Raphael tells Tobias that he is one of the seven Angels who attend in the presence of God. St. Michael tells Daniel that he is one of the chief Princes in the Court of the Almighty, Unus de principibus. In the Revelations St. John saw seven Angels Dan. x. 13. Rev. viii. 2, 3.standing before the Lord. In a very ancient book, entitled The Testament of the twelve Patriarchs, they are called the Angels of the Presence; and in The Life of Moses, the Eyes of the Lord. These denominations are probably imitations of what was observed in the Courts of the Assyrian, Chaldæan, and Persian Kings, where there were seven Eunuchs, or seven great Officers superior to all others, and always near the Prince.

The exact number of Angels is not mentioned in any part of Scripture; but it is always represented to be very great, and Dan. vii. 10.as it were innumerable. Daniel says that upon his approach to the Throne of the Ancient of days, he saw a fiery stream issuing from it, and that thousand thousands of Angels minister’d unto him, and that ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. And Jesus Christ says in the Gospel, Mat. xxvi. 53.that his heavenly Father could give him more than twelve legions of Angels, that is to say, more than seventy two thousand of Angels. The Psalmist declares that the chariot of God is attended by twenty thousand Angels. Many of the Fathers¹⁶, that Pf. lxvii. 17.we might have some idea of the multitude of Angels, compared with that of Men, apply the Parable to them of the ninety nine sheep that were left by the master of the Family in the Mountains while he went to search after the hundredth which was gone astray. The ninety nine signify the Angels who continued firm to their allegiance in Heaven, the single sheep that was lost represents Man fallen from his original righteousness and felicity. Others of the Fathers¹⁷ have inferr’d, from the Earth’s being infinitely smaller than Heaven, that the number of Angels was infinitely greater than that of Men: Now it is natural to judge of the multitude of inhabitants in any place by the largeness and extent of their dwelling. The Author published under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, says, that the number of Angels is such, that nothing in nature can equal it. They who are curious to see more at large what concerns Angels, may consult our Dissertation on this Subject, published before the Gospel on St. Luke.

Acts xxiii. 8.The Sadducees denied the existence of Angels, and of all Spirits. Others of the Jews paid a superstitious worship to them. The Author of a book intitled, Of St. Peter’s Preaching; a work of great antiquity, cited by Clemens of Alexandria¹⁸, says, that the Jews pay religious worship to Angels¹⁹ and Archangels, and even to the Months and Moon. Celsus²⁰ reproached them almost in the same manner. Tertullian²¹ assures us, that Simon and Cerinthus preferr’d the mediation of Angels to that of Jesus Christ. Josephus²², and after him Porphyry²³, say that the Essenes, upon their initiation, engage themselves by oath to preserve faithfully the names of Angels, and the books relating to their sect. Concerning the worship of Angels among the Jews and Christians, see our Comment upon Colos. ii. 18. and the Dissertation upon Angels, p. xlvi, xlvii.

By Angels of the Lord are meant often in Scripture, Men of God, Prophets; for example, Judg. ii.1.An Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your Fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the Inhabitants of this land, you shall throw down their Altars. But ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this? And it came to pass when the Angel of the Lord spake these words, they lift up their voices and wept; and they sacrificed there unto the Lord, and Joshua let the People go. It is very probable²⁴ that this Angel was Joshua himself, or the High Priest, or some Prophet. Several Interpreters²⁵ are of opinion that this same Joshua is described by Moses under the name of the Angel of the Lord, who was to introduce the Israelites into the promised Land. It is certain that in Scripture the Prophets are sometimes called the Angels of the Lord²⁶: Then spake Haggai the Angel of the Lord, from among the Angels of the Lord²⁷. Judg. xiii. 2, &c.Malachi, the last of the twelve small Prophets, is by several of the Fathers²⁸ called the Angel of God; and this in reality is what his name signifies in Hebrew. Some believe Esdras²⁹ to be described by the name of Malachi, or Angel of the Lord. Eupolemus speaking of the Prophet Nathan, who addressed himself to David, and made him sensible of his sin, calls him an Angel or Messenger from the Lord. Manoah, Samson’s Father, calls him indifferently Angel and Man of God, who appeared to his Wife, till vanishing with the smoke of the Burnt-offering, he was certain it was an Angel.

Sometimes the name of God is given in Scripture to Angels. The Angel who appeared to Moses in the Bush, who delivered the Law to him, spoke to him, and guided the people in the Wilderness, is perpetually called by the name of God, and the Lord said to him, My name is in him. The Angels who appeared to the holy Patriarchs, are likewise termed Gods; because they acted in the name of God, were his Ambassadors, were intrusted with his power, and the interpretation of his orders. They are not only called Elohim, and Adonai, names sometimes attributed to Judges and Princes, but by that likewise of Jehovah, which belonged to God only, whose Majesty they represented.

The opinion which ascribes tutelary Angels to Kingdoms, Provinces and Nations, is founded upon Scripture, and adopted by both Jews and Christians. The passage in Daniel, where Michael is called the Prince of God’s people, Michael Princeps vester; and that in the Acts, where an Angel in the form of a Macedonian invites St. Paul to pass over into Macedonia, are particular Texts which seem clear for this opinion.

But as to another passage in Daniel, cited to the same purpose, there is some difficulty in it; it is this, wherein it is said, the Prince of the Persians resisted the Arch-angel Gabriel one and twenty days; for this Prince of the Persians, in the judgment of several good Commentators, is Cyrus King of Persia, who was one and twenty days before he submitted to the inspirations of Gabriel.

Another passage is that of Deuteronomy, where it is said, that when the Lord divided men, he divided them according to the name of the Angels of God. The Septuagint read it thus: When the Lord separated the Sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations, according to the number of the Angels of God³⁰. Whereas the Hebrew and Vulgate import that he fixed the limits of the Nations according to the number of the Children of Israel. What way soever we read it there will remain some difficulty with relation to the number of Nations dispersed at the Tower of Babel; for in the first place, are we very sure that this passage has a regard to the division which happened at Babel? Secondly, is it certain that every particular person who assisted in carrying on this Edifice, formed a Nation; and would not the sacred Writer have set down in this place all the Nations which were, and in succeeding ages should be formed? And certainly, if it be required that all should have their tutelary Angels, we must necessarily understand it thus, according to the reading of the Septuagint.

But if we follow the reading of the Hebrew and Vulgate, it will then concern us to know what Epoch Moses intended to point at in the history of the Israelitish nation; for at the time of the Tower of Babel there were not as yet any Israelites. If Moses had a view to his own time, as the number of the Israelites was already very great, it must be said likewise, that the number of the Nations which was to be derived from the builders of Babel must be excessive; for suppose we were to take those only in the Nation of Israel, who were capable of bearing Arms, how shall we find six hundred thousand Nations in the World?

The generality³¹ are fixed for seventy or seventy two people; but their opinion is founded upon very weak reasons; as that in the tenth chapter of Genesis, where Moses enumerates the Sons of Shem, Ham and Japhet, he names seventy two persons, from whom they believe seventy two People to have sprung. But if the three Patriarchs Shem, Ham and Japheth, are not reckoned, who are not to be numbred with them, because all their Children are computed, and if the thirteen Sons of Joktan are not included, who in all probability were not born till after the dispersion, the number of them will be very much diminished. I say nothing of Cainan, whom we read of in the Septuagint, ver. 24. nor of Elishah and Cozar, whom they declare to be the Sons of Japheth. If they are admitted over and above the number mentioned in the Hebrew and Vulgate, with the Philistines and Caphtorims of ver. 14. instead of seventy two people, there will be seventy six. Wherefore this foundation is not certainly of any great solidity.

Others derive this number of seventy people from that of Jacob’s Children, who Gen. xlvi. 26, 27. 70. Gen. xxvi. 27. Exod. i. 5. Deut. x.went down into Egypt with him. All the souls of Jacob’s house which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. Rigorously speaking, there were no more than sixty six persons who went into Egypt, as Moses expresly takes notice, in ver. 26. All the souls which came with Jacob into Egypt, were threescore and six. To compleat the number seventy, Jacob, Joseph, and his two Sons, are to be added. Now if all the Sons of Jacob are included in it, it is needless to insert him himself, since Moses says expresly, God separated the Nations, or the Sons of Adam, according to the number of the Children of Israel. Besides, the Septuagint in several places, and S. Stephen in the Acts, read seventy five persons, instead of seventy. Here therefore you have new difficulties against this precise number of seventy or seventy two people descended from the Sons of Noah, and consequently against the same number of Angels deputed for the guardianship of these different people.

From all this we may conclude, that the certain tradition of the Jewish and Christian Church is, that every Nation has its tutelary Angel. But for the number of Nations, and consequently of Angels deputed for the protection of them, it is no way certain. The number of them has necessarily varied, according as the number of Nations and People has multiplied or decreased; for it is certain, that from the Tower of Babel to this day, there have been infinite revolutions in the world, which have caused the ruin of many people; and, without going farther than the Scripture, what is become of the Amalekites, Philistines, several people of Canaan, the Emims, the Zumzummims, &c.

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