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It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 Frank Capra film, produced by his own Liberty Films, and released originally by RKO Radio Pictures.
Story
The movie begins with an apprentice angel named Clarence being given his final assignment before becoming a true angel: Help George Bailey (played by James Stewart), a man who sacrificed his dreams to help his town. Faced with a financial and legal crisis, he is contemplating suicide.
After being fully briefed on George's life, Clarence descends and gives George the opportunity to view how the world would be if George were never born. While going through the world in this state, George learns that his beloved hometown of Bedford Falls came under the control of his longtime nemesis, Mr. Potter, and was turned into a center of vice. He also discovers that the people he loves - his wife, brother, and friends - are all dead or suffering in "Pottersville."
After experiencing this alternate reality, George decides that life is truly worth living and returns. To his joy, he finds that the entire town had pitched in to save his bank from going under and himself being arrested, culminating with a rich industrialist friend authorizing a massive advance and his own younger brother leaving his own presidential decoration ceremony early to help his sibling. Due to his work, Clarence was able to "get his wings" and become a true angel.
Production and distribution
Filming started on April 15 1946 and ended on July 27 1946. The film premiered on December 20 1946.
The film was panned by some critics and was not a box-office hit upon initial release (placing 26th for the year, one place ahead of another Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street), although it did receive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. It was only after its copyright was not renewed in 1974 that people began to take a second look at this film. It entered the public domain and many television stations began airing the film free of charge and royalties. In the 1980s (the beginning of the home video era) the film finally received the acclaim it didn't receive in 1946, thus becoming a perennial holiday favorite. For several years, it became expected that the movie would be shown multiple times on at least one station and on multiple stations in the same day, often at the same or overlapping times. It was a common practice for American viewers to jump in and out of viewing the movie at random points, confident they could easily pick it up again at a later time. The film's warm and familiar ambience gave even isolated scenes the feel of holiday "comfort food" for the eyes and ears. The film's public domain success is often cited as a reason to limit copyright terms, which have been frequently extended by Congress in the United States.
Two colorized versions have since been produced; they are widely considered to be of inferior quality to the black and white original. They are often held up by opponents of colorization as an example of the flaws associated with the process. For many years, some stations paid substantial royalties to show a colorized version as it was viewed as more profitable to show the colorized versions than the black and white original.
In 1993, Republic Pictures (whose predecessor, National Telefilm Associates, originally bought key rights to the film, including the original television syndication rights, the original nitrate film elements, the music score, and the story on which the film is based, The Greatest Gift) relied on the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Stewart v. Abend (which involved the movie Rear Window) to enforce its claim of copyright, because, while the film's copyright had not been renewed, it was a derivative work of various works that were still copyrighted. As a result, the film is no longer shown as much on television (NBC is currently licensed to show the film on U.S. network television), the colorized versions have been withdrawn, and Republic now has exclusive video rights to the film (under license with Artisan Entertainment).
The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Critique
Although generally acclaimed for its affirmation of positive values, the film has attracted some negative critique.
In 1947, the FBI viewed the film as subversive and pro-Communist on grounds of its negative depiction of the capitalist Potter and the triumph of the common man Bailey.
The movie has inspired other alternate reality sections of movies, such as the alternate 1985 in Back to the Future II and the "glimpse" given to Jack Campbell in The Family Man.
Myths & rumors
A popular belief is that Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie were named after secondary characters in the film. This has been denied by the producers of Sesame Street. Although the character of Uncle Billy tied strings around his fingers to remember things just like Ernie.
Another rumor is that Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here can be played alongside the film with key events in the movie tying in with song lyrics. The similarities are said to be more noticeable than in the other claimed Pink Floyd movie sync with The Wizard of Oz and Dark Side of the Moon.
It is also often quoted that psychiatrists would recommend It's a Wonderful Life to patients suffering from depression. This was because it was such a well known feel-good movie, and it generated positive results. However contemporary psychiatrists would probably scoff at this idea; but in the Special Edition video, this theory is quoted.
Cast
depression
- James Stewart as George Bailey
- Donna Reed as Mary Hatch
- Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter
- Ward Bond as Bert
- Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Bailey
- Gloria Grahame as Violet
- H.B. Warner as Mr. Gower
- Frank Faylen as Ernie Bishop
- Charles Lane as the rent collector
- Henry Travers as the angel Clarence Oddbody
- Sheldon Leonard as Nick, bartender
- William Edmunds as Martini
- Frank Albertson as Sam Wainwright
- Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy
- Joseph Kearns as Angel (voice, uncredited)
See also
- Meaning of life
External links
-
- [https://noirdame.com/feature_articles/christmas/wonderful_life.php Essay on the deeper meaning of It's a Wonderful Life]
- [http://people.bu.edu/rcarney/capra/wondlife.shtml Excerpts from Ray Carney's analysis of the film.]
- [http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/CollegeRelations/PressReleases/1997-98/PR075.html It's a Wonderful Life] Ruining Your Holiday....Why the FBI Thought "It's A Wonderful Life" was a Subversive Film
- [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=36 It's a Wonderful Life] at the [http://artsandfaith.com/top100/ Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films] list
----
It's a Wonderful Life is also the title of an album by Sparklehorse. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds recorded a song titled "It's a Wonderful Life": it appears on the album Nocturama.
Category:1946 films
Category:Best Actor Oscar Nominee (film)
Category:Best Picture Oscar Nominee
Category:Christmas films
Category:Cult films
Category:Films directed by Frank Capra
Category:United States National Film Registry
1946
1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. (see link for calendar)
Events
- January 4 - Theodore Schurch becomes the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940
- January 7 - Allied recognize Austrian republic with 1937 borders - the country is divided into four occupation zones
- January 10 - First meeting of the United Nations
- January 11 - Enver Hoxha declares the people's republic of Albania with himself as prime minister.
- January 11 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob's ashes go back to Colombia.
- January 16 - Charles de Gaulle resigns as a head of a French provisional government
- January 17
- The UN Security Council holds its first session
- Senator Dennis Chavez (D-NM) calls for a vote on an FEPC bill which called for the end to discrimination in the work place. A filibuster prevents it from passing.
- January 20 - Charles De Gaulle resigns as president of France
- January 25 - The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor
- January 28 - Bluenose founders on a Haitian reef
- January 29 - CIA established
- January 31 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
February
- February 1 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
- February 2 - Kingdom of Hungary becomes a republic.
- February 14 - The Bank of England nationalized
- February 14 - ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania
- February 15 - Canada indicts 22 communist agents.
- February 24 - Juan Peron elected president of Argentina
- February 28 - In Philadelphia, strikers of General Electric and police clash
- March 2 - British troops withdraw from Iran according to treaty - Soviets do not.
- March 2 - Ho Chi Minh elected the President of North Vietnam
- March 4 - C.G.E. Mannerheim resigns from the post of president of Finland
- March 5 - In his speech in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill talks about Iron Curtain.
- March 6 - Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union. David Gilmour, the guitarist of Pink Floyd is born.
- March 9 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi becomes president of Finland
- March 10 - British troops begin withdrawal from Lebanon
- March 15 - Clement Attlee promises independence to India as soon as they can agree on constitution
- March 19 - Soviet Union and Switzerland reform diplomatic relations.
- March 19 - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France
- March 22 - Transjordan gains independence
- March 29 - Gold Coast has an African majority in the parliament
- April 1 - 14-meter high tsunami strikes Hilo, Hawaii - 173 dead, thousands injured.
- April 1 - Formation of the Malayan Union.
- April 1 - Singapore becomes a Crown colony
- April 3 - Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed outside Manila in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- April 7 - Syria's independence from France is officially recognised
- April 10 - In Japan, women vote for the first time in parliamentarian elections
- April 18 - USA recognizes Josip Broz Tito's government in Yugoslavia
- April 18 - Last meeting of League of Nations – it transfers its mission to United Nations and disbands itself.
- April 29 - Trial against war criminals begin in Tokyo – accused include Hideki Tojo, Shigenori Togo and Hiroshi Oshima.
- May 4 - Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 revolutionizes wine world.
- May 2 - Six prisoners unsuccessfully try to escape from the Alcatraz prison island
- May 7 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
- May 9 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates, and is succeeded by his son Humbert II.
- May 10 - Nehru elected leader of the Congress Party in India
- May 20 - In Britain, the House of Commons decides to nationalize mines.
- May 21 - Radiation accident in Los Alamos laboratory; Dr Louis Slotin saves his coworkers but receives a fatal dose of radiation. Incident is initially classified
- May 22 - Kingdom of Transjordan founded.
- May 25 - The parliament of Transjordan makes emir Abdullah their king.
- May 31 - Greece referendum supports return of monarchy
- June 2 - In a referendum Italians decide to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After this referendum the king of Italy Umberto II di Savoia was exiled. Women vote for the first time.
- June 6 - The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.
- June 8 - In Indonesia, Sukarno incites his supporters to fight Dutch colonial occupation
- June 9 - In Thailand, king Rama IX accedes the throne.
- June 10 - Italy declared republic
- June 13 - Humbert II of Italy leaves the country and goes into exile in Portugal; Alcide de Gasperi becomes head of state.
- June 17 - Tornado on the Detroit river - 17 dead
- July 4 - After over 425 years of Western Dominance , the Philippines achieves full independence.
- July 5 - Bikinis go on sale in Paris
- July 7 - Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American saint to be canonized.
- July 21 - Irgun bomb explodes in Jerusalem.
- July 22 - King David Hotel bombing: Irgun bombs King David Hotel in Jerusalem, headquarters of the British civil and military administration killing 90.
- July 25 - Nuclear testing: In the first underwater test of the atomic bomb, the surplus USS Saratoga is sunk near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean when the United States detonates the "Baker Day" device.
- July 25 - At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team.
November
- August 19 - Violence between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta – 3000 dead.
- August 25 - Ben Hogan wins PGA Championship
- September 4 - Street violence between Muslims and Hindus in Bombay.
- September 8 - Bulgaria declared a People's Republic after a referendum – King Simeon II leaves.
- September 28 - George II of Greece returns to Athens
- October 2 - Communists take over in Bulgaria
- October 13 - France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
- October 15 - Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Göring, poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
- October 23 - United Nations' first meeting in Long Island.
- November 8 - Vietnamese riot in Haiphong and clash with French troops. French cruiser Suffren opens fire. 6000 Vietnamese killed.
- November 12 - Truce between Indonesian nationalist troops and Dutch army in Indonesia.
- November 12 - A branch of the Exchange National Bank in Chicago, Illinois opens the first ten drive-up teller windows.
- November 15 - Netherlands recognized Republic of Indonesia.
- November 19 - Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden joins the United Nations
- November 27 - Cold War: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster."
- December 11 - UNICEF founded.
- December 12 - United Nations severs relations with Franco's Spain and recommends the member countries to sever diplomatic relations
- December 12 - Leon Blum founds a government of socialist parties in France
- December 19 - Martial law in Vietnam
- December 22 - Havana Conference begins between US organized crime bosses in Havana, Cuba
- December 24 - France's Fourth Republic founded
- December 26 - Flamingo Hotel opens in Las Vegas.
- December 31 - President Harry Truman officially proclaims an end of hostilities in World War II.
Unknown dates
- The 20mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun is invented.
- Devil's Island penal colony closes permanently.
- Female suffrage in Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia, Argentina and Canadian province of Quebec. First female police officers in Korea and Japan.
- Chinese Civil War intensifies between Kuomintang and Communist Party of China.
- First Tupperware sold in department and hardware stores.
- Grantley Adams becomes the premier of Barbados.
- Alcatraz Island prison riot.
- The British government takes emergency powers to deal with the balance-of-payments crisis.
- Eva Perón tours Spain, Italy and France on behalf of Argentina, a circuit called the Rainbow Tour.
- Breathalyzer machine for estimating blood alcohol concentration was invented.
- Howard Hyde Russell established the Anti-Saloon League.
- George Orwell writes Politics and the English Language
Births
January
- January 3 - John Paul Jones, English bassist (Led Zeppelin)
- January 5 - Diane Keaton, American actress
- January 6 - Syd Barrett, English guitarist and singer
- January 8 - Stanton Peele, American psychologist
- January 8 - Robby Krieger, American musician (The Doors)
- January 11 - Naomi Judd, American singer
- January 11 - John Piper, American theologian
- January 12 - George Duke, American musician
- January 14 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer
- January 16 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
- January 16 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian singer
- January 18 - Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
- January 19 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
- January 20 - David Lynch, American film director
- January 21 - Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
- January 22 - Serge Savard, Canadian hockey player and executive
- January 24 - Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
- January 26 - Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
- January 31 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
February-March
- February 6 - Jim Turner, American politician
- February 13 - Colin Matthews, British composer
- February 14 - Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
- February 14 - Gregory Hines, American dancer and actor (d. 2003)
- February 19 - Karen Silkwood, American activist (d. 1974)
- February 20 - Brenda Blethyn, English actress
- February 21 - Tyne Daly, American actress
- February 21 - Alan Rickman, English actor
- February 24 - Barry Bostwick, American actor
- February 25 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
- February 26 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 28 - Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
- March 3 - Leszek Miller, Prime Minister of Poland
- March 6 - David Gilmour, English musician (Pink Floyd)
- March 7 - Peter Wolf, American musician (J Geils Band)
- March 8 - Linda Kelliher Samets, American entrepreneur
- March 12 - Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
- March 15 - Bobby Bonds, baseball player and manager (d. 2003)
- March 17 - Georges J.F. Kohler, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1995)
- March 21 - Timothy Dalton, Welsh actor
- March 31 - Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 1984)
April-May
- April 4 - Dave Hill, English guitarist (Slade)
- April 7 - Colette Besson, French runner
- April 12 - Ed O'Neill, American actor
- April 16 - Margot Adler, American journalist
- April 19 - Tim Curry, British actor, vocalist, and composer
- April 25 - John Fox, British statistician
- April 25 - Talia Shire, American actress
- April 30 - King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden
- May 7 - Thelma Houston, American singer
- May 9 - Candice Bergen, American actress
- May 10 - Donovan Leitch, Scottish musician
- May 10 - Dave Mason, English musician (Traffic)
- May 11 - Robert Jarvik, American physicist and inventor
- May 17 - Udo Lindenberg, German musician
- May 18 - Reggie Jackson, baseball player
- May 19 - André the Giant, French professional wrestling (d. 1993)
- May 19 - Claude Lelièvre, Belgian Commissioner for Children Rights
- May 20 - Cher, American actress and singer
- May 22 - George Best, Irish footballer (d. 2005)
- May 23 - Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
- May 26 - Mick Ronson, American guitarist (d. 1993)
- May 28 - K. Satchidanandan Malayalam poet
- May 29 - Fernando Buesa, Basque politician (d. 2000)
- May 30 - Candy Lightner, American founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving
June-July
- June 6 - Peter Sutcliffe, English serial killer
- June 8 - Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia
- June 12 - Harry Glasper, Football historian
- June 14 - Donald Trump, American real estate magnate
- June 15 - Noddy Holder, English singer (Slade)
- June 20 - Xanana Gusmao, first President of East Timor
- June 23 - Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher
- June 24 - Ellison Onizuka, astronaut (d. 1986)
- June 29 - Egon von Furstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
- July 2 - Richard Axel, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- July 4 - Ed O'Ross, American actor
- July 6 - George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States
- July 6 - Sylvester Stallone, American actor
- July 9 - Bon Scott, Australian singer (AC/DC) (d. 1980)
- July 13 - Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
- July 14 - John Wood, Australian actor
- July 15 - Linda Ronstadt, American singer and songwriter
- July 16 - Ron Yary, American football player
- July 22 - Danny Glover, American actor
- July 22 - Mireille Mathieu, French singer
- July 25 - Rita Marley, Jamaican singer
- July 30 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (d. 1994)
August
- August 3 - Jack Straw, British politician
- August 19 - Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
- August 19 - Beat Raaflaub, Swiss conductor
- August 20 - Ralf Hütter, German singer and musician (Kraftwerk)
- August 20 - N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman
- August 23 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (d. 1978)
- August 25 - Rollie Fingers, baseball player
- August 29 - Bob Beamon, American athlete
September
- September 4 - Gary Duncan, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- September 4 - Greg Elmore, American drummer (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- September 5 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer (Queen) (d. 1991)
- September 7 - Willie Crawford, baseball player (d. 2004)
- September 7 - Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist (d. 2001)
- September 9 - Bruce Palmer, Canadian musician (Buffalo Springfield) (d. 2004)
- September 10 - Jim Hines, American athlete
- September 10 - Don Powell, English drummer
- September 15 - Tommy Lee Jones, American actor
- September 15 - Oliver Stone, American film director
- September 21 - Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- September 23 - Franz Fischler, Austrian politician
- September 24 - Lars Emil Johansen, Prime Minister of Greenland
- September 26 - Christine Todd Whitman, American politician
- September 30 - Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican singer (d. 1993)
October
- October 1 - Tim O'Brien, American author
- October 6 - Lloyd Doggett, American politician
- October 6 - Renate Holub, German philosopher
- October 7 - Xue Jinghua, Chinese ballerina
- October 7 - Catharine MacKinnon, American feminist
- October 8 - Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar
- October 8 - John T. Walton, son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton (d. 2005)
- October 9 - Tansu Ciller, Turkish politician
- October 10 - Anne Boyd, Australian musician
- October 10 - Naoto Kan, Japanese politician
- October 11 - Leona Gom, Canadian writer
- October 13 - Edwina Currie, English politician
- October 13 - Dorothy Moore, American singer
- October 14 - Justin Hayward, English singer and songwriter (Moody Blues)
- October 14 - Kay Redfield Jamison, American psychologist
- October 15 - Marsha Hunt, American singer and novelist
- October 16 - Suzanne Somers, American actress
- October 16 - Elizabeth Witmer, Dutch-born politician
- October 17 - Vicki Hodge, English actress
- October 17 - Bob Seagren, American athlete and actor
- October 18 - Howard Shore, Canadian film composer
- October 18 - Andrea Zsadon, Hungarian soprano
- October 20 - Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 20 - Andrea Mitchell, American journalist
- October 21 - Lyn Allison, Australian politician
- October 22 - Eileen Gordon, British politician
- October 24 - Gwyneth Powell, British actress
- October 25 - Edith Leyrer, Austrian actress
- October 26 - Pat Sajak, American game show host
- October 27 - Leslie L. Byrne, American politician
- October 27 - Ivan Reitman, Slovakian-born film director and producer
- October 27 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (d. 2004)
- October 28 - Sharon Thesen, Canadian poet
- October 29 - Kathryn J. Whitmire, Mayor of Houston, Texas
- October 30 - Lynne Marta, American actress
- October 31 - Caroline Jackson, British politician
November
- November 1 - Marina Abramovic, Yugoslavian performance artist
- November 1 - Lynne Russell, American newsreader
- November 2 - Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (d. 2001)
- November 4 - Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
- November 5 - Herman Brood, Dutch artist (d. 2001)
- November 5 - Loleatta Holloway, American singer
- November 5 - Gram Parsons, American musician
- November 6 - Sally Field, American actress
- November 7 - Diane Francis, Canadian journalist
- November 7 - Martin Barre, Musician (Jethro Tull)
- November 8 - Stella Chiweshe, Zimbabwe musician
- November 10 - Alaina Reed Hall, American actress
- November 11 - Corrine Brown, American politician
- November 12 - P.P. Arnold, English singer
- November 13 - Ohara Reiko, Japanese actess
- November 14 - Carola Dunn, English writer
- November 15 - Sandy Skoglund, American photographer
- November 17 - Petra Burka, Canadian figure skater
- November 18 - Andrea Allan, Scottish actress
- November 18 - Amanda Lear, Hong Kong singer
- November 19 - Terry Baum, American playwright
- November 20 - Greg Cook, American football player
- November 20 - Judy Woodruff, American television personality
- November 21 - Emma Cohen, Spanish actress
- November 21 - Pam Freeman, American actress
- November 21 - Chaviva Hosek, Czech-born feminist
- November 21 - Ulla Jessen, Danish actress
- November 21 - Jacky Lafon, Belgian actress
- November 21 - Marina Warner, English writer
- November 22 - Anne Wheeler, Canadian television and film director
- November 24 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (d. 1989)
- November 25 - Marika Lindstrom, Swedish actress
- November 26 - Ottilia Borbath, Romanian actress
- November 27 - Nina Maslova, Russian actress
- November 28 - Regina Braga, Brazilian actress
- November 29 - Suzy Chaffee, American singer and actress
- November 30 - Barbara Cubin, U.S. Congresswoman from Wyoming
December
- December 2 - Gulsun Karamustafa, Turkish artist and film director
- December 2 - Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (d. 1997)
- December 3 - Marjana Lipovsek, Slovenian singer and actress
- December 3 - Joop Zoetemelk, Dutch cyclist
- December 4 - Sherry Alberoni, American actress
- December 4 - Angela Browning, British politician
- December 4 - You Inoue, Japanese voice actress (d. 2003)
- December 5 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
- December 5 - Eva-Britt Svensson, Swedish politician
- December 6 - Chelsea Brown, American actress
- December 8 - Jacques Bourboulon, French photographer
- December 8 - Sharmila Tagore, Indian actress
- December 9 - Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician
- December 10 - Chrystos, American poet
- December 11 - Ellen Meloy, American writer (d. 2004)
- December 12 - Gloria Loring, American singer
- December 14 - Jane Birkin, English actress and singer
- December 14 - Patty Duke, American actress
- December 16 - Alice Aycock, American sculptor
- December 17 - Bel Mooney, English broadcast journalist
- December 18 - Nina Skottova, Czech politician and member of the European Parliament
- December 18 - Steven Spielberg, American film director
- December 19 - Candace Pert, American nueroscientist
- December 20 - Lesley Judd, English actress and television presenter
- December 20 - Dick Wolf, American television producer
- December 21 - Carl Wilson, American musician (d. 1998)
- December 23 - Edita Gruberova, Slovakian soprano
- December 24 - Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French pharmacist and politician and member of the European Parliament
- December 26 - Joyce Jillson, American astrologer (d. 2004)
- December 27 - Janet Street Porter, English broadcast journalist
- December 27 - Polly Toynbee, English journalist and writer
- December 29 - Marianne Faithfull, English singer and actress
- December 29 - Ruth Shady, Peruvian archaeologist
- December 30 - Patti Smith, American poet and singer
-
Angel
that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575)]]
An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God or the gods.
Etymology
The English word originated from Latin, angelus, which is itself derived from the Greek αγγελος, ángelos, meaning "messenger" (double gamma "γγ" is pronounced "ng" in Greek). The closest Hebrew word for angel is מלאך, mal'ach , also meaning "messenger". "Angel" is also used in the English Version of the Bible for the following three Hebrew words:
- אביר, abbir , Psalms 78:25 (lit. "mighty")
- אלהים, Elohim , Psalms 8:5
- the obscure שנאן, shin'an , in Psalms 68:17
Angels in the Tanakh
Tanakh in Metairie, Louisiana.]]
The Biblical name for angel, מלך (melekh, "king"), obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as "angel of the Lord," or "angel of God" (Zech. xii. 8). Other appellations are "Sons of God", (Genesis vi. 4; Job, i. 6 [R. V. v. 1]) and "the Holy Ones" (Psalms lxxxix. 6, 8).
According to Jewish interpretation, Elohim is almost entirely reserved for the one true God; but at times 'Elohim (powers), bnē 'Elohim, bnē Elim (sons of gods)(i.e. members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for beings with great power (i.e. judges or alternately, some kind of super powerful human beings). Hence they came to be used collectively of super-human beings, distinct from Yahweh and, therefore, inferior and ultimately subordinate (e.g. Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; Psalms 8:5).
See also: Names of God in Judaism
Angels are referred to as "holy ones" (Zechariah 14:5) and "watchers" (Daniel 4:13). They are spoken of as the "host of heaven" (Deuteronomy 17:3) or of "Yahweh" (Joshua 5:14). The "hosts," צבאות Sebaoth in the title Yahweh Sebaoth, Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels. The identification of the "hosts" with the stars comes to the same thing; the stars were thought of as being closely connected with angels. However, YHWH is very jealous of the distinction between Himself and angels, and consequently, the Hebrews were forbidden by Moses to worship the "host of heaven". It is probable that the "hosts" were also identified with the armies of Israel, whether this army is human, or angelic. The New Testament often speaks of "spirits," πνεύματα (Revelation 1:4).
Prior to the emergence of monotheism in Israel the idea of an angel was the Mal'akh Yahweh, Angel of the Lord, or Mal'akh Elohim, Angel of God. The Mal'akh Yahweh is an appearance or manifestation of Yahweh in the form of a man, and the term Mal'akh Yahweh is used interchangeably with Yahweh (cf. Exodus 3:2, with 3:4; 13:21 with 14:19). Those who see the Mal'akh Yahweh say they have seen God (Genesis 32:30; Judges 13:22). The Mal'akh Yahweh (or Elohim) appears to Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Gideon, &c., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud (Exodus 3:2). The phrase Mal'akh Yahweh may have been originally a courtly circumlocution for the Divine King; but it readily became a means of avoiding anthropomorphism, and later on, when angels were classified, the Mal'akh Yahweh meant an angel of distinguished rank. The identification of the Mal'akh Yahweh with the Logos, or Second Person of the Trinity, is not indicated by the references in the Hebrew scriptures; but the idea of a Being partly identified with God, and yet in some sense distinct from him, illustrates a tendency of Jewish religious thought to distinguish persons within the unity of the deity. Christians think that this foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, whereas Kabbalist Jews would show how it developed into kabbalistic theological thought and imagery.
In earlier literature the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim is almost the only angel mentioned. However, there are a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim. There are the cherubim who guard Garden of Eden. In Genesis 18, 19. (J) the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham and Lot is connected with three, afterwards two, men or messengers; but possibly in the original form of the story Yahweh appeared alone (Cf. 18:1 with 18:2, and note change of number in 19:17). At Bethel, Jacob sees the angels of God on the ladder (Genesis 28:12), and later on they appear to him at Mahanaim (Genesis 32:1). In all these cases the angels, like the Mal'akh Yahweh, are connected with or represent a theophany. Similarly the "man" who wrestles with Jacob at Peniel is identified with God (Genesis 32:24, 30). In Isaiah 6 the seraphim, superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of Yahweh. Thus, the pre-exilic literature rarely mentions angels, or other superhuman beings other than Yahweh and manifestations of Yahweh; the pre-exilic prophets hardly mention angels. An angel of I Kings 13:18 might be the Mal'akh Yahweh, as in 19:5, cf. 7, or the passage, at any rate in its present form, may be exilic or post-exilic. Nevertheless we may well suppose that polytheists in ancient Israel believed in superhuman beings other than Yahweh, but that the inspired writers have mostly suppressed references to them as unedifying.
Once the doctrine of monotheism was formally expressed, in the period immediately before and during the Exile (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Isaiah 43:10), we find angels prominent in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel, as a prophet of the Exile, may have been influenced by the hierarchy of supernatural beings in the Babylonian religion, and perhaps even by the angelology of Zoroastrianism (it is not, however, certain that these doctrines of Zoroastrianism were developed at so early a date). Ezekiel 9 gives elaborate descriptions of cherubim (a class, or type of angels); and in one of his visions, he sees seven angels execute the judgment of God upon Jerusalem. As in Genesis, they are styled "men"; mal'akh, for "angel", does not occur in Ezekiel. Somewhat later, in the visions of Zechariah, angels play a great part; they are sometimes spoken of as "men", sometimes as mal'akh, and the Mal'akh Yahweh seems to hold a certain primacy among them (Zecharias 1:11). The Satan also appears to prosecute (so to speak) the High Priest before the divine tribunal (Zecharias 3:1). Similarly in the Job the bne Elohim, sons of God, appear as attendants of God, and amongst them, Satan (Hebrew ha satan), again in the role of public prosecutor, the defendant being Job (Job 1, 2. Cf. I Chronicles 21:1). Occasional references to "angels" occur in the Psalter (Pss. 91:11, 103:20 &c.); they appear as ministers of God.
In Psalms 78:49 the "evil angels" of the Authorized Version conveys a false impression; it should be "angels of evil", i.e. angels who inflict chastisement as ministers of God.
The seven angels of Ezekiel may be compared with the seven eyes of Yahweh in Zecharias 3:9, 4:10. The latter have been connected by Ewald and others with the later doctrine of seven chief angels (Tobit 12:15; Revelations 8:2), parallel to and influenced by the Ameshaspentas (Amesha Spenta), or seven great spirits of the Persian mythology.
In the Priestly Code, c. 400 BC, there is no reference to angels, apart from the possible suggestion in the plural in Genesis 1:26.
During the Persian and Greek periods, the doctrine of angels underwent a great development, partly, at any rate, under foreign influences. In Daniel, c. 160 BC, 71 angels, usually spoken of as "men" or "Angel-princes", appear as guardians or champions of the individual nations, defending them as God sits in council with them over the world; grades are implied, there are "princes" and "chief" or "great princes"; and the names of some angels are known, Gabriel, Michael; the latter is pre-eminent (Dan. 8:16; 10:13, 20-21), he is the guardian of Israel's leading Kingdom of Judah. Again in Tobit a leading part is played by Raphael, "one of the seven holy angels". (Tob. 12:15.)
In Tobit, too, we find the idea of the demon or evil angel. In the canonical Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures, angels may inflict suffering as ministers of God, and Satan may act as accuser or tempter; but they appear as subordinates to God, fulfilling His will, and not as independent, morally evil agents. The statement (Job 4:18) that God "charged his angels with folly" applies to all angels. In Daniel, the princes, or guardian angels, of the heathen nations oppose Michael, the guardian angel of Judah. But in Tobit, we find Asmodeus the evil demon, τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον, who strangles Sarah's husbands, and also a general reference to "a devil or evil spirit", πνεῦμα (Tobit 3:8, 17; 6:7).
The Fall of the Angels is not properly a scriptural doctrine, though it is based on Gen. 6:2, as interpreted by the Book of Enoch. It is true that the bnē Elohim of that chapter are subordinate superhuman beings (cf. above), but they belong to a different order of thought from the angels of Judaism and of Christian doctrine; and the passage in no way suggests that the bne Elohim suffered any loss of status through their act.
The guardian angels of the nations in Daniel probably represent the gods of the heathen, and we have there the first step of the process by which these gods became evil angels, an idea expanded by Milton in Paradise Lost. The development of the doctrine of an organized hierarchy of angels belongs to the Jewish literature of the period 200 BC to A.D. 100. In Jewish apocalypses especially, the imagination ran riot on the rank, classes and names of angels; and such works as the various books of Enoch and the Ascension of Isaiah supply much information on this subject.
Appearance of angels
In the Hebrew Bible, angels often appear to people in the shape of humans of extraordinary beauty, and often are not immediately recognized as angels (Gen. xviii. 2, xix. 5; Judges, vi. 17, xiii. 6; II Sam. xxix. 9); some fly through the air; some become invisible; sacrifices touched by them are consumed by fire; and they may disappear in sacrificial fire, like Elijah, who rode to heaven in a fiery chariot. Angels, or the Angel, appeared in the flames of the thorn bush (Gen. xvi. 13; Judges, vi. 21, 22; II Kings, ii. 11; Ex. iii. 2). They are described as pure and bright as Heaven; consequently, they are said to be formed of fire, and encompassed by light (Job, xv. 15), as the Psalmist said (Ps. civ. 4, R. V.): "Who makes winds his messengers; his ministers a flaming fire."
Though superhuman, angels can assume human form; this is the earliest conception. Gradually, and especially in post-Biblical times, angels came to be bodied forth in a form corresponding to the nature of the mission to be fulfilled—generally, however, the human form. Angels bear drawn swords or other destroying weapons in their hands—one carries an ink-horn by his side—and ride on horses (Num. xxii. 23, Josh. v. 13, Ezek. ix. 2, Zech. i. 8 et seq.). It is worth noting that these angels carry items that are contempory to the time in which they visit (perhaps angels are bound by the technology which humans have achieved). A terrible angel is the one mentioned in I Chron. xxi. 16, 30, as standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand". In the Book of Daniel, reference is made to an angel "clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (Dan. x. 5, 6). This imagery is very similar to the description of Jesus in the book of Revelation. Angels are thought to possess wings (Dan. ix. 21), as they are described in the Bible, and depicted in Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian art. They are commonly depicted with halos.
Images of angels in Christian art are identical to prior depictions of gods such as Zeus, Eos, Eros, Thanatos and Nike, in pre-Christian classical art, and some divine beings in Mesopotamian art. The use of wings suggests an original artistic convention merely intended to denote the figure as a spirit.
Angels are portrayed as powerful and dreadful, endowed with wisdom and with knowledge of all earthly events, correct in their judgment, holy, but not infallible: they strive against each other, and God has to make peace between them. When their duties are not punitive, angels are beneficent to man (Ps. ciii. 20, lxxviii. 25; II Sam. xiv. 17, 20, xix. 28; Zech. xiv. 5; Job, iv. 18, xxv. 2).
The number of angels is enormous. Jacob meets a host of angels; Joshua sees the "captain of the host of the Lord"; God sits on His throne, "all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on his left"; the sons of God come "to present themselves before the Lord" (Gen. xxxii. 2; Josh. v. 14, 15; I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1; Ps. lxxxix. 6; Job, xxxiii. 23). The general conception is the one of Job (xxv. 3): "Is there any number of his armies?" In the book of Revelation, the number is "a thousand thousands, and many tens of thousands".
Though the older writings usually mention one angel of the Lord, embassies to men as a rule comprised several messengers. The inference, however, is not to be drawn that God Himself or one particular angel was designated: the expression was given simply to God's power to accomplish through but one angel any deed, however wonderful.
Angels are referred to in connection with their special missions as, for instance, the "angel which hath redeemed," "an interpreter," "the angel that destroyed," "messenger of the covenant," "angel of his presence," and "a band of angels of evil" (Gen. xlviii. 16; Job, xxxiii. 23; II Sam. xxiv. 16; Mal. iii. 1; Isa. lxiii. 9; Ps. lxxviii. 49, R. V.). When, however, the heavenly host is regarded in its most comprehensive aspect, a distinction may be made between cherubim, seraphim, ḥayyot ("living creatures"), ofanim ("wheels"), and arelim (another name for Thrones). God is described as riding on the cherubim and as "the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim"; while the latter guard the way of the Tree of Life (I Sam. iv. 4, Ps. lxxx. 2, Gen. iii. 24). The seraphim are described by Isaiah (vi. 2) as having six wings; and Ezekiel describes the ḥayyot (Ezek. i. 5 et seq.) and ofanim as heavenly beings who carry God's throne.
In post-Biblical times, the heavenly hosts became more highly organized (possibly as early as Zechariah [iii. 9, iv. 10]; certainly in Daniel), and there came to be various kinds of angels; some even being provided with names, as will be shown below.
Purpose
In the Bible, angels are a medium of God's power; they exist to execute God's will. Angels reveal themselves to individuals as well as to the whole nation, in order to announce events, either good or bad, affecting humans. Angels foretold to Abraham the birth of Isaac, to Manoah the birth of Samson, and to Abraham the destruction of Sodom. Guardian angels were mentioned, but not, as was later the case, as guardian spirits of individuals and nations. God sent an angel to protect the Hebrew people after their exodus from Egypt, to lead them to the promised land, and to destroy the hostile tribes in their way (Ex. xxiii. 20, Num. xx. 16).
In Judges (ii. 1) an angel of the Lord—unless here and in the preceding instances (compare Isa. xlii. 19, Ḥag. i. 13, Mal. iii. 1), a human messenger of God is meant—addressed the whole people, swearing to bring them to the promised land. An angel brought Elijah meat and drink (I Kings, xix. 5); and as God watched over Jacob, so is every pious person protected by an angel, who cares for him in all his ways (Ps. xxxiv. 7, xci. 11). There are angels militant, one of whom smites in one night the whole Assyrian army of 185,000 men (II Kings, xix. 35); messengers go forth from God "in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid" (Ezek. xxx. 9); the enemy is scattered before the angel like chaff (Ps. xxxv. 5, 6).
Avenging angels are mentioned, such as the one in II Sam. xxiv. 15, who annihilates thousands. It would seem that the pestilence was personified, and that the "evil angels" mentioned in Ps. lxxviii. 49 are to be regarded as personifications of this kind. "Evil" is here to be taken in the causative sense, as "producing evil"; for, as stated above, angels are generally considered to be by nature beneficent to man. They glorify God, whence the term "glorifying angels" comes (Ps. xxix. 1, ciii. 20, cxlviii. 2; compare Isa. vi. 2 et seq.).
They constitute God's court, sitting in council with Him (I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1); hence they are called His "council of the holy ones" (Ps. lxxxix. 7, R. V.; A. V. "assembly of the saints"). They accompany God as His attendants, when He appears to man (Deut. xxxiii. 2; Job, xxxviii. 7). This conception was developed after the Exile; and in the Zechariah, angels of various shapes are delegated "to walk to and fro through the earth" in order to find out and report what happens (Zech. vi. 7).
In the prophetic books, angels appear as representatives of the prophetic spirit, and bring to the prophets God's word. Thus the prophet Haggai was called God's messenger (angel); and it is known that "Malachi" is not a real name, but means "messenger" or "angel". It is noteworthy that in I Kings, xiii. 18, an angel brought the divine word to the prophet.
In some places, it is implied that angels existed before the Creation (Gen. i. 26; Job, xxxviii. 7). The earlier Biblical writings did not speculate about them; simply regarding them, in their relations to man, as God's agents. Consequently, they did not individualize or denominate them; and in Judges, xiii. 18, and Gen. xxxii. 30, the angels, when questioned, refuse to give their names. In Daniel, however, there occur the names Michael and Gabriel. Michael is Israel's representative in Heaven, where other nations—the Persians, for instance—were also represented by angelic princes. More than three hundred years before the Book of Daniel was written, Zechariah graded the angels according to their rank, but did not name them. The notion of the seven eyes (Zech. iii. 9, iv. 10) may have been affected by the representation of the seven archangels and also possibly by the seven amesha spentas of Zoroastrianism (compare Ezek. ix. 2).
Jewish views
Angels appear in several Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) stories, in addition to the ones previously mentioned above. These include the warning to Lot of the imminent destruction of Sodom. Many Bible chapters mention an "angry God" who sends His angel to smite the enemies of the Israelites. Traditional Jewish biblical commentators have a variety of ways of explaining what an angel is. The earliest Biblical books present angels as heavenly beings created by God, some of whom apparently are endowed with free will. Later biblical books in the Tanakh present a stunningly different view of angels, as the Jewish beliefs about such things developed over the many years covered in the Bible. Such a differing perspective on angels is discovered in the Book of Ezekiel, where these angels bear no relation whatsoever to the former understanding of what an angel was.
The archangels named in post-exile Judaism are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel. Gabriel and Michael are mentioned in the book of Daniel, Raphael in the book of Tobit (from the Protestant Apocrypha or Catholic and Orthodox Deuterocanon) and the remaining four in the book of Enoch from the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox).
Maimonides and rationalism
In the Middle Ages, some Jews developed a rationalist view of angels that is still accepted by many Jews today. The rationalist view of angels, as held by Maimonides, Gersonides, Samuel Ibn Tibbon, etc., states that God's actions are never mediated by a violation of the laws of nature. Rather, all such interactions are by way of angels. Even this can be highly misleading: Maimonides harshly states that the average person's understanding of the term "angel" is ignorant in the extreme. Instead, he says, the wise man sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually metaphors for the various laws of nature, or the principles by which the physical universe operates, or kinds of platonic eternal forms. This is explained in his Guide of the Perplexed II:4 and II:6.
:II:4
:: "...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 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 [planets] 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."
:II:6
:: "...Aristotle's doctrine that these disembodied spheres serve as the nexus between God and existence, by whose mediation the sphere are brought into motion, which is the cause of all becoming, is the express import of all the Scriptures. For you will never in Scripture any activity done by God except through an angel. And "angel", as you know, means messenger. Thus anything which executes a command is an angel. So the motions of living beings, even those that are inarticulate, are said explicitly by Scripture to be due to angels.
::...Our argument here is concerned solely with those "angels" which are disembodied intellects. For our Bible is not unaware that God governs this existence through the mediation of angels...(Maimonides then quotes discussions of angels from Genesis, Plato, and Midrash Bereshit Rabbah)...the import in all these texts is not—as a primitive mentality would suppose—to suggest any discussion or planning or seeking of advice on God's part. How could the Creator receive aid from the object of his creation? The real import of all is to proclaim that existence—including particular individuals and even the formation of the parts of animals such as they are—is brought about entirely through the mediation of angels.
::For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naïve?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters 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 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. For he [the naïve person] does not understand that the true majesty and power are in the bringing into being of forces which are active in a thing although they cannot be perceived by the senses.
::The sages of blessed memory state clearly—to those who are wise themselves—that every bodily power (not to mention forces at large in the world) is an angel and that a given power has one effect and no more. It says in Midrash Bereshit Rabbah "We are given to understand that no angel performs two missions, nor do two angels perform one mission."—which is just the case with all forces. To confirm the conclusion that individual physical and psychological forces are called "angels", there is the dictum of the sages, in a number of places, ultimately derived from Bereshit Rabbah, "Each day the Holy One creates a band of angels who sing their song before him and go their way." Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, LXXVIII. When this midrash was countered with another which suggests that angels are permanent...the answer given was that some are permanent and other perish. And this is in fact the case. Particular forces come to be and pass away in constant succession; the species of such forces, however, are stable and enduring....[Giving a few more examples of the mention of angels in rabbinic writings, Maimonides says] Thus the Sages reveal to the aware that the imaginative faculty is also called an angel; and the mind is called a cherub. How beautiful this will appear to the sophisticated mind—and how disturbing to the primitive."
One can perhaps say that Maimonides thus presents a virtual rejection of the "classical" Jewish view of miracles; he and others substitute a rationalism that seems more appropriate for 20th and 21st century religious rationalists.
Others might perhaps view Maimonides's statements as being perfectly in keeping with the continued evolvement of Jewish thought over a period of several millennia.
Christian views
millennia, (1855)]]
In the New Testament angels appear frequently as the ministers of God and the agents of revelation (E.g. Matthew 1:20 (to Joseph), 4:11. (to Jesus), Luke 1:26 (to Mary), Acts 12:7 (to Peter)); and Jesus speaks of angels as fulfilling such functions (E.g. Mark 8:38, 13:27), implying in one saying that they neither marry nor are given in marriage (Mark 12:25). Naturally angels are most prominent in the Apocalypse. The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy, but there are traces of the doctrine. The distinction of good and bad angels is recognized; we have names, Gabriel (Luke 1:19), and Michael (Daniel 12:1), and the evil angels Beelzebub (Mark 3:22) and Satan (Mark 1:13); while the allegiance of some angels are more ambiguous, such as Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev. 9:11); ranks are implied, archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). Angels occur in groups of four or seven (Rev 7:1). In Rev. 1-3. we meet with the "Angels" of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. These are probably guardian angels, standing to the churches in the same relation that the "princes" in Daniel stand to the nations; practically the "angels" are personifications of the churches. A less likely view is that the "angels" are the human representatives of the churches, the bishops or chief presbyters. There seems, however, no parallel to such a use of "angel", and it is doubtful whether the monarchical government of churches was fully developed when the Apocalypse was written.
The archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the traditional role of messenger to inform her that her child would be the Messiah, and other angels were present to herald his birth. In Matt. 28:2, an angel appeared at Jesus' tomb, frightened the Roman guards, rolled away the stone from the tomb, and later told the myrrh-bearing women of Jesus' resurrection. Alternately, in Mark 16:5 the angel is not seen until the women enter the already-opened tomb, and he is described simply as "a young man." In Luke's version of the resurrection tale (Luke 24:4), two angels suddenly apparate next to the women within the tomb; they are described as being clothed in "dazzling apparel." This is most similar to the version in John 20:12, where Mary alone speaks to "two angels in white" within the tomb of Jesus.
Two angels witnessed Jesus' ascent into Heaven and prophesied his return. When Peter was imprisoned, an angel put his guards to sleep, released him from his chains, and led him out of the prison. Angels fill a number of different roles in the Book of Revelation. Among other things, they are seen gathered around the Throne of God singing the thrice-holy hymn.
An interpretation of the angels in the gospels is that angels are simply humans carrying a divine message. Indeed, the term "angel" frequently appears to describe not beings of power, but simply announcers of events.
Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence. (Hence the frequently recounted tale of Scholastics arguing about how many angels could fit on a pinhead; if angels possess physical bodies, the answer is "at most a finite number", if they do not, then we rule out any finite number greater than zero as the answer.) Seraphim are often depicted as six wings radiating from a center — either concealing a body, or without a body. Starting with the end of the 4th century, angels were depicted with wings, presumably to give an easy explanation for them travelling to and from heaven. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly. They also teach that angels are intermediaries to some forces that would otherwise be natural forces of the universe, such as the rotation of planets and the motion of stars. Angels possess the beatific vision, or the unencumbered understanding of God (the essence of the pleasure of heaven). Furthermore, there are more angels than there are anything else in the universe (although when first written this would have probably not included atoms since atomic structure was not known).
Religious thought about the angels during the middle ages was much influenced by the theory of the angelic hierarchy set forth in The Celestial Hierarchy, a work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, an unknown 5th century author or authors writing in the style of Dionysius the Areopagite. The creeds and confessions do not formulate any authoritative doctrine of angels; and modern rationalism has tended to deny the existence of such beings, or to regard the subject as one on which we can have no certain knowledge. The principle of continuity, however, seems to require the existence of beings intermediate between man and God.
Some Christian traditions hold that angels are organized into three major hierarchies which are subdivided into orders called "Choirs", and list as many as ten orders of angels. The Celestial Hierarchy is the source of the names that have become part of tradition: Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. In this hierarchy, the Cherubim and Seraphim are typically closest to God, while the Angels and Archangels are most active in human affairs. Many of these names come from verses in the bible which would appear at first to be referencing a literal thing, although retroactively suggesting that they really mention angels can also make sense in the context. For example the verse in Paul "our struggle is not with earthly things but with principalities and powers" (meaning according to most theologians the fallen angels of those choirs, used as an example of all the fallen angels).
Some Christian traditions also hold that angels play a variety of specific roles in the lives of believers. For instance, each Christian may be assigned a guardian angel at their baptism (although never defined by the Catholic or Orthodox churches, nevertheless it is personally held by many church members and most theologians). Each consecrated altar has at least one angel always present offering up prayers, and a number of angels join the congregation when they meet to pray. In the story of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste, in which 40 Christian Roman soldiers were made to stand naked on a frozen lake in the snow until they renounced their faith, angels were seen descending from Heaven placing the crowns of martyrs on their heads.
Certain Christian traditions, especially the Reformed tradition within Protestantism hold that references to the "Angel of the Lord" are references to pre-Incarnation appearances of Jesus.
Some medieval Christian philosophers were influenced by the views of Maimonides, and accepted his view of angels. Today, these views of angels are still technically acceptable within many mainstream Christian denominations. However, for all practical purposes most Christian lay people know little or nothing of these views, and do not accept them.
Satan and the demons are thought by Christians to be angels who rebelled against God and were expelled from Heaven.
In many informal folk beliefs among Christians concerning the afterlife, the souls of the virtuous dead ascend into Heaven to be converted into angels. The Bible does state that at the resurrection, people will be like the angels with regard to marriage and immortality (Luke 20:35-36), and teaches such a transformation for instance at 1Cor 15:51; it states that the saints (all believers) will judge angels (1 Cor 6:3). Flavius Josephus (Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades, VI) teaches of ressurected men and woman, i.e. male and female. (Zechariah 5,9) could be interpreted, that there are also female angels. The statement of 1Cor 11:10 could be interpreted, as if male angels could be vulnerable to the female attractiveness of worshipping woman. Official doctrines of most Christian churches teach that the virtuous are resurrected in the end of times, having a physical body again, unlike angels (see Swedenborgianism for a church that does officially and systematically teach that people enter heaven immediately after death).
Islamic views
:Main article: Angels in Islam
The belief in angels is central to the religion of Islam, beginning with the belief that the Qur'an was dictated to the Prophet Muhammad by the chief of all angels, the archangel Jibril (Gabriel). Angels are thus the ministers of God, as well as the agents of revelation in Islam.
In Islam, angels are benevolent beings created from light and do not possess free will. They are completely devoted to the worship of God (Allah) and carry out certain functions on His command, such as recording every human being's actions, placing a soul in a newborn child, maintaining certain environmental conditions of the planet (such as nurturing vegetation and distributing the rain) and taking the soul at the time of death. Angels are described as being excessively beautiful and have different numbers of wings (for example, Gabriel is attributed as having six-hundred wings in his natural form). They can take on human form, but only in appearance. As such, angels do not eat, procreate or commit sin as humans do.
According to the majority of Islamic scholars, angels are incapable of commiting sin, and therefore cannot fall from grace, including Iblis who chose to do evil because he had free-will and is not considered as a fallen angel, but a separate entity made of fire called jinn. Scholars cite the following Quranic ayat (verse), "And when We said to the Angels; "Prostrate yourselves unto Adam." So they prostrated themselves except Iblis. He was one of the jinn..." (Surat Al-Kahf, 18:50). Angels, unlike the fiery nature of jinn, are beings of goodness and cannot choose to disobey God, nor do they possess the ability to do evil.
The archangel Jibril is attributed with sending the message of Allah to all the Prophets (including the Psalms, Torah, Bible and Qur'an. Other angels include Michael (Mikaeel) who discharges control of vegetation and rain, Sarafiel (Israfil) who will blow the trumpet on Yaum al Qiyamah (the day of resurrection), and Azrael (Izra'il), the angel of death. The angels Nakir and Munkar are assigned to interrogate the dead before judgement day; and there are nineteen angels over-seeing the punishments of hell unflinchingly (Surat Al-Muddaththir, 74:30). There are eight massive angels that support the Throne of God (Surat Al-Haaqqa, 69:17). Every human being is assigned two angels to scribe a record of all actions done by the individual throughout their life, which will be used in evidence for or against the person by Allah on the day of judgement.
Humans do not turn into angels upon death, rather they are physically ressurected in body and soul and judged by God on judgement day (and that should they end up in Jannah (heaven), they are given perfect bodies).
Latter-Day Saint views
Jannah
Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism), and several of his associates, claimed that they were visited by angels on multiple occasions and for a variety of purposes in conjunction with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus.
According to the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Bible Dictionary entry on "Angels"):
:: "These are the messengers of the Lord, and are spoken of in the epistle to the Hebrews as 'ministering spirits'. We learn from latter-day revelation that there are two classes of heavenly beings who minister for the Lord: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Spirits are those beings who either have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone (unembodied), or who have once had a mortal body and have died, and are awaiting the resurrection (disembodied). Ordinarily the word 'angel' means those ministering persons who have a body of flesh and bone, being either resurrected from the dead (reembodied), or else translated, as were Enoch, Elijah, etc. (D&C 129)."
Joseph Smith, Jr. described his first angelic encounter thus (Joseph Smith History 1:31-33):
:: "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
:: "He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His | | |
