Angel

In his late work Conjugal Love he describes, that a soul of a man and a soul of a woman are united by the marriage in heaven to become an angel. This, however, did not prevent the many Bionicle users from continuing to use the disputed words, resulting in the popular Bionicle website BZPower coming under a denial-of-service attack for four days by an attacker using the name Kotiate [1]. The Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg has a similar imagination. Initially LEGO refused to withdraw the game, saying the names it used were drawn from many cultures, but later agreed that it had taken the names from Māori and agreed to change certain names or spellings to help set the toy line apart from the Māori legends. The Sufi mystic Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi wrote in his poem Masnavi:. The dispute was settled amicably. When the human body dies, a soul could become an angel. The product line used many words that were an appropriation of Māori language, imagery and folklore.

Some mystics believe, that a soul is growing in steps from minerals, plants and animals to men. In 2001 a dispute arose between Danish toymaker LEGO and several Māori tribal groups fronted by lawyer Maui Solomon, and also several members of an online discussion forum Aotearoa Cafe, over the popular LEGO toy line Bionicle. Crowley felt that attaining Knowledge and Conversation was so important, that he staked the claim that any other magical operation was, in a sense, evil. Despite significant social and economic advances during the 20th century, Māori still perform negatively in most health and education statistics, labour participation as well as being over-represented in criminal and corrections statistics. For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any adept:. Māori politicians have seven designated Māori seats in the New Zealand parliament (and may stand in the General seats), and consideration and consultation with Māori are routine requirements for many New Zealand councils and government organisations. According to most Thelemites, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one’s HGA, a process termed “Knowledge and Conversation.” By doing so, the magician becomes fully aware of his own True Will. Māori language has the equivalent status to English in government and law.

Citing Crowley, people have linked the term with the Genius of the Golden Dawn, the Augoeides of Iamblichus, the Atman of Hinduism, and the Daemon of the gnostics.Guardian Angel. Māori Television, a government-funded TV station committed to broadcasting primarily in te reo, began broadcasting on March 28, 2004. Within the system of Thelema, the Holy Guardian Angel is representative of one’s truest divine nature. Māori culture and language is taught in most New Zealand schools, and pre-school kohanga reo or language nests, teach tamariki or young children exclusively in Māori. Aleister Crowley, tried to teach people to attain what he called "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel". Generous state funding is assisting with the revival attempt. Note that if a particular deva has a widespread cult, like Vishnu or Shiva, he is believed not to be an ordinary deva but equated to Ishvara by his followers. In many areas of New Zealand, Māori language ceased to be used as a living community language (by significant numbers of people) in the post-war years.

Examples of such devas are Indra, Mitra, Ashvins, Varuna, etc. As a result of the compensation paid, Māori now have significant interests in the fishing and forestry industries. Buddhism and Jainism also believe in the existance of such devas. A special court, the Waitangi Tribunal, was established to investigate and make recommendations on such issues. They grant material benefits to humans upon praying and sacrificing to them, though they don't carry the message of Ishvara to the humans as in Abrahamic religions (a category of such beings also exit, called "devaduta" or "duta"). Sympathetic governments and political activism have led to compensation for certain historic instances of unjust confiscation of land and the violation of other property rights. They are celestial beings with supernatural powers, but also weaknesses. Others seek to develop a New Zealand identity that incorporates strands of Māori identity.

The Devas may be better translated as angels or demigods. Some commentators express frustration with the "theme-parkisation" of Māori identity with tourist-driven performances and gift shop "art". Many Hindus now say that this is a poor practice, because the best word for God in Sanskrit is Ishvara (the Supreme Lord). No Māori live a traditional pre-European contact lifestyle today. In English, the Sanskrit word Deva is exclusively translated as "god", which certainly gives a polytheistic appearance to Hinduism. Despite a high degree of intermingling between the Māori and European populations, Māori were able to retain their cultural identity and in the 1960s and 1970s, Māoridom underwent a cultural revival. Also, angel-like beings called Tennin and Tenshi appear in Japanese mythology. The predicted decline did not occur, and population levels recovered.

In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, but this is not strictly correct since they don´t convey messages, but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord", God); they appear in an abstract fashion in the religious thought of Zarathustra and then later (during the Achaemenid period of Zoroastrianism) became personalized, associated with an aspect of the divine creation (fire, plants, water...). With the loss of much of their land, Māori went into a period of decline, and by the late 19th century it was believed that the Māori population would cease to exist as a separate race and be assimilated into the European population. Angels are also a part of New Age beliefs. Settlements such as Parihaka in Taranaki are remembered as sites of violent conflict that took place there during that period. Michael the archangel was Adam (the first man) when he was mortal, and Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah (the one who built the ark). Although these resulted in relatively few deaths, large tracts of tribal land were confiscated by the colonial government. Names of some known angels who appeared are Moroni, Nephi, Peter, James, John, John the Baptist. In the 1860s, disputes over questionable land purchases and the attempts of Māori in the Waikato to establish a rival British-style system of royalty led to the New Zealand wars.

Although Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris all eventually became disaffected with Smith and left the church, none of them retracted their statement that they had seen and conversed with an angel of the Lord, and indeed, even defended their claim of angelic visitation to their deaths. The treaty made the Māori British subjects in return for a guarantee of property rights and tribal autonomy. People who claimed to have received a visit by an angel include Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Martin Harris. This treaty was subsequently signed by many other Māori chiefs, though by no means all. described his first angelic encounter thus (Joseph Smith History 1:31-33):. On arrival in February, Hobson negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with the surrounding northern chiefs. Joseph Smith, Jr. Before he arrived, Queen Victoria annexed new Zealand by royal proclamation in January 1840.

According to the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Bible Dictionary entry on "Angels"):. Ultimately this led to William Hobson being dispatched with instructions to take possession of New Zealand. 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. With increasing European missionary activity and settlement in the 1830s as well as perceived European lawlessness, the British Crown, as a predominant world power, came under pressure to intervene. 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). Estimates vary between ten and fifty percent. 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. European diseases also killed a large but unknown number of Māori during this period.

There are eight massive angels that support the Throne of God (Surat Al-Haaqqa, 69:17). During this period the acquisition of muskets by those tribes in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Māori tribes, and there was a period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, during which several tribes were effectively exterminated and others were driven from their traditional territory. 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). Frederick Edward Maning, an early settler, wrote two colourful contemporaneous accounts of life at that time which have become classics of New Zealand literature: Old New Zealand and History of the War in the North of New Zealand against the Chief Heke. Governor George Grey learned the language and recorded much of the mythology. 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. When Pomare led a war party against Titore in 1838, among his warriors were 132 Pakeha mercenaries. The archangel Jibril is attributed with sending the message of Allah to all the Prophets (including the Psalms, Torah, Bible and Qur'an. These Europeans were known as Pakeha Māori.

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. Pakeha were valued for their ability to describe European skills and culture and their ability to obtain European items in trade, particularly weaponry. He was one of the jinn..." (Surat Al-Kahf, 18:50). By 1830 it was estimated that there were as many as 2,000 Pakeha living among the Māori, status varying from slaves through to high ranking advisors, from prisoners to those who abandoned European culture and identified themselves as Māori. Scholars cite the following Quranic ayat (verse), "And when We said to the Angels; "Prostrate yourselves unto Adam." So they prostrated themselves except Iblis. There was also a continuous trickle of escaped convicts from Australia and deserters from visiting ships. According to the majority of Islamic scholars, angels are incapable of commiting sin, and therefore cannot fall from grace, excluding 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. From as early as the 1780s Māori had encounters with European sealers and whalers; some even crewed on their ships.

As such, angels do not eat, procreate or commit sin as humans do. Inter-tribal warfare was a way of life, with the conquered being enslaved or in some cases eaten. They can take on human form, but only in appearance. These early reports described the Māori as a fierce and proud warrior race. 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). The early European explorers, including Abel Tasman and James Cook, reported encounters with Māori. 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. European colonisation of New Zealand occurred relatively recently, causing the late New Zealand historian Michael King to state in his book, The Penguin History Of New Zealand, that Māori were "the last major human community on earth untouched and unaffected by the wider world.".

In Islam, angels are benevolent beings created from light and do not possess free will. In recent years, there has been a resurgence in the practice of tattooing for both men and women, as a sign of cultural identity and a reflection of the general revival of the language and culture; members of kapa haka (concert parties) often apply temporary markings to their faces to give an approximation of a tattooed appearance. Angels are thus the ministers of God, as well as the agents of revelation in Islam. Simmons also mentions that the use of the painful traditional tattooing implements began to be abandoned in favour of grouped metal needles starting from about 1910 (ibid). 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). Women were not as extensively tattooed: with some exceptions, only their lips and chin were decorated. 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). It was an extremely long and painful process, and often leaves from the karaka tree were placed over the swollen incisions to hasten the healing process.

The statement of 1Cor 11:10 could be interpreted, as if male angels could be vulnerable to the female attractiveness of worshipping woman. Next, the chisel was dipped into a sooty pigment such as burnt kauri gum which was then smeared into the skin. (Zechariah 5,9) could be interpreted, that there are also female angels. The first stage of the tattoo started with the carving of deep grooves into the skin (see Simmons 1997:19). male and female. The instrument used to tattoo in former times (up to 1925) was a bone chisel with an extremely sharp edge. Flavius Josephus (Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades, VI) teaches of ressurected men and woman, i.e. Apart from signalling status and rank, another reason for the practice in traditional times was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex.

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). According to Simmons, in both men and women, the patterns used were highly significant of a person's rank, skills, knowledge, personal life history, tribal affilations and genealogy; in contrast Buck (1974:298) thought that because tā moko experts travelled widely to carry out their art the designs would have related more to the tribal affiliations of the tattooist rather than those of the tattooed. 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 receiving of tattoos constituted an important milestone on a person's journey to maturity and was accompanied by many rites and rituals. Satan and the demons are thought by Christians to be angels who rebelled against God and were expelled from Heaven. It is thought that in traditional society many or most high-ranking persons were tattooed, and those who went without tattoos were seen as persons of lower social status; although Simmons (1997), cited below, contains references throughout to servants who were tattooed with patterns that signalled that they were the slave of a high ranking chief. However, for all practical purposes most Christian lay people know little or nothing of these views, and do not accept them. As a cultural practice tattooing (tā moko) was brought by the Māori from their Eastern Polynesian homeland, and the implements and methods employed were similar to those used in other parts of Polynesia (see Buck 1974:296, cited in References below).

Today, these views of angels are still technically acceptable within many mainstream Christian denominations. These trends have contributed towards a worldwide interest in traditional Māori culture and arts. Some medieval Christian philosophers were influenced by the views of Maimonides, and accepted his view of angels. Several actors who have recently appeared in high-profile movies filmed in New Zealand have come back wearing such jewellery, including Viggo Mortensen of The Lord of the Rings fame, took to wearing a hei matau around his neck. 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. These collectives have begun creating and exporting jewellery (such as bone carved hei matau pendants and greenstone jewellery) and other artistic items (such as wood carvings and textiles). 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. Several artistic collectives have been established by Māori tribal groups.

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. For many Māori the wearing of such items relates to cultural identity; however, they are also popular with young New Zealanders of all races. 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). Other taonga (treasured possessions) used as items of personal adornment include bone carvings in the form of neck ornaments, earrings or necklaces. Some Christian traditions also hold that angels play a variety of specific roles in the lives of believers. After laborious and lengthy polishing, the completed pendant is suspended by a plaited cord and secured by a loop and toggle. 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). Creating a hei-tiki with traditional methods is a long, arduous process during which the stone is smoothed by abrasive rubbing; finally, using sticks and water, it is slowly shaped and the holes bored out.

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. The tilted head of the pitau variety of hei-tiki derives from the properties of the stone - its hardness and great value make it important to minimise the amount of the stone that has to be removed. In this hierarchy, the Cherubim and Seraphim are typically closest to God, while the Angels and Archangels are most active in human affairs. From the size and style of traditional examples of hei-tiki it is likely that the stone was first cut in the form of a small adze. 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. Named varieties include translucent green kahurangi, whitish inanga, semi-transparent kawakawa, and tangiwai or bowenite. 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. Pounamu is esteemed highly by Māori for its beauty, toughness and great hardness; it is used not only for ornaments such as hei-tiki and ear pendants, but also for carving tools, adzes, and weapons.

The principle of continuity, however, seems to require the existence of beings intermediate between man and God. New Zealand greenstone consists of either nephrite (a type of jade, in Māori: pounamu) or bowenite (Māori: tangiwai). 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 most valuable hei-tiki are carved from greenstone or pounamu. 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. Another less romantic theory holds that it served merely for personal adornment. 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). One theory of the origin of the hei-tiki suggests a connection with Tiki, the god who created human life, in which case the hei-tiki is a symbol of fertility.

Angels possess the beatific vision, or the unencumbered understanding of God (the essence of the pleasure of heaven). The hei-tiki, a small ornamental pendant usually made of pounamu and worn around the neck, is often incorrectly referred to as a tiki, a term that actually refers to large human figures carved in wood, and, also, the small wooden carvings used to mark sacred places. 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. The New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, perform a haka before international matches not only as a reflection of the importance of the game that is about to be played but also to motivate themselves and their supporters to greater efforts; indirectly then, as in days of old on the Māori battlefield, they are paying a compliment to the perceived skills of their opponents. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly. In today's environment however, haka are often performed as a mark of respect for distinguished visitors, or to express a sense of the importance of an occasion. 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. The aim of the warriors was to kill all the members of the enemy war party, so that no survivors would remain to undertake revenge.

(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. Often, warriors went naked into battle, apart from a plaited flax belt around the waist. Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence. If the haka was not performed in total unison, this was regarded as an bad omen for the battle. Indeed, the term "angel" frequently appears to describe not beings of power, but simply announcers of events. It involved fierce facial expressions and grimaces, poking out of the tongue, eye bulging, grunts and cries, and the waving of weapons. An interpretation of the angels in the gospels is that angels are simply humans carrying a divine message. Its purpose was to invoke the god of war and to warn enemies of the fate awaiting them.

Among other things, they are seen gathered around the Throne of God singing the thrice-holy hymn. In former times, the peruperu was performed before a battle. Angels fill a number of different roles in the Book of Revelation. There are various types of war haka - one performed without weapons, usually to express public or private feelings, is known as the "haka taparahi"; another, the peruperu, is performed with weapons. When Peter was imprisoned, an angel put his guards to sleep, released him from his chains, and led him out of the prison. There are haka of song and joy, and warlike haka. Two angels witnessed Jesus' ascent into Heaven and prophesied his return. A number of different types of haka are performed depending on the occasion.

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. The haka is just one of many kinds of group dance or performance. 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. Today, tapu is still observed in matters relating to sickness, death, and burial. In Matt. In pre-contact society, tapu was one of the strongest forces in Māori life; however in the early 1800s, Māori enthusiastically embraced Christianity and its concepts and adapted them to their culture. 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. Burial grounds and places of death were always tapu, and these areas were often surrounded by a protective fence.

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. Not only were the houses of people of high rank perceived to be tapu, but also their possessions including their clothing. A less likely view is that the "angels" are the human representatives of the churches, the bishops or chief presbyters. A chief's house was tapu, and even the chief could not eat food in the interior of his house. 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. In earlier times food cooked for a person of high rank was tapu, and could not be eaten by an inferior. we meet with the "Angels" of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. A violation of tapu could have dire consequences, including the death of the offender through sickness or at the hands of someone affected by the offence.

1-3. Death was the penalty. In Rev. This was considered "pollution" and persons of a lower rank could not touch the belongings of a highborn person. Angels occur in groups of four or seven (Rev 7:1). In earlier times, tribal members of a higher rank would not touch objects which belonged to members of a lower rank. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). A person, object or a place could be made sacred by tapu for a certain time.

8:38; Col. A person, an object or a place, which is tapu, may not be touched by human contact, in some cases, not even approached. 9:11); ranks are implied, archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. There are two kinds of tapu, the private (relating to individuals) and the public tapu (relating to communities). 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. Tapu can be interpreted as "sacred", as "spiritual restriction" or "implied prohibition"; it involves rules and prohibitions. The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy, but there are traces of the doctrine. According to some, the supreme god of the Māori is Io; however this idea is controversial.

Naturally angels are most prominent in the Apocalypse. Tane is the god of the forest and the origin of all birds, and Rongo is the god of peaceful activities and agriculture. (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). In accordance with the Polynesian tradition, Tangaroa is god of the ocean and the origin of all fish. 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. Certain people and objects contain mana - spiritual power or essence. 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. Māori religion is closely related to nature and to the ancestors, and all things are conceived of as possessing a life force or mauri, since all living things are connected by a common descent through whakapapa or genealogy.

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. Oratory, the making of speeches, is especially important in the rituals of encounter, and it is regarded as important for a speaker to include allusions to traditional narrative and to a complex system of proverbial sayings, called whakataukī. This is explained in his Guide of the Perplexed II:4 and II:6. The history of individual tribal groups is kept by means of narratives, songs and chants, hence the importance of music, story and poetry. 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. Finally, soil is heaped over the hāngi to keep the heat in. Even this can be highly misleading: Maimonides harshly states that the average person's understanding of the term "angel" is ignorant in the extreme. The hāngi is then covered with leaves or mats woven out of flax (or wet sacks) and left to cook.

Rather, all such interactions are by way of angels. The food is placed on top of the stones, the meat first, with the vegetables, such as kumara and potatoes, on top of it. 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. When the stones are hot the hāngi is prepared for cooking by leaving the hot stones and some of the coals at the bottom of the hole. In the Middle Ages, some Jews developed a rationalist view of angels that is still accepted by many Jews today. A fire is prepared in the hole and stones are placed on the top of it. 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). The hāngi consists of a shallow hole dug in the ground.

The archangels named in post-exile Judaism are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel. Although marae have modern cooking facilities, the hāngi, a traditional way of cooking food in Polynesia, is still used to provide meals for large groups because the food it produces is considered flavourful. 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. When Māori refer to themselves as tāngata whenua this is not done solely to emphasise their indigenous status, as is often assumed, because the connotation in Māori of the phrase is one not of separation but rather of welcome and inclusion. 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. Should other groups of manuhiri arrive, the manuhiri who arrived previously - regardless of their race - are considered tāngata whenua for the purposes of formally welcoming the new group. The earliest Biblical books present angels as heavenly beings created by God, some of whom apparently are endowed with free will. Should a group of people come to stay on a marae, they are considered manuhiri (guests) while the owners of the marae are known as tāngata whenua.

Traditional Jewish biblical commentators have a variety of ways of explaining what an angel is. This is when the phrase tāngata whenua (people of the land) comes into play. Many Bible chapters mention an "angry God" who sends His angel to smite the enemies of the Israelites. Locals and visitors have to respect certain rules, especially during the rituals of encounter. These include the warning to Lot of the imminent destruction of Sodom. The older people have the authority on the marae, and they impart to the young people traditions and cultural practices including legends, songs or the arts of weaving or carving. Angels appear in several Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) stories, in addition to the ones previously mentioned above. On the marae official functions take place including formal welcomes, celebrations, weddings, christenings, tribal reunions, and tangihanga (funerals).

2). The marae symbolises group unity and generally consists of an open grassed area in front of a large carved meeting house, along with a dining hall and other facilities necessary to provide a comfortable stay for visiting groups. ix. The marae is a communal ceremonial centre where meetings and ceremonies take place in accordance with traditional protocols. 10) may have been affected by the representation of the seven archangels and also possibly by the seven amesha spentas of Zoroastrianism (compare Ezek. The people also wore highly decorative personal ornaments, and people of rank were often extensively tattooed. 9, iv. Art was and is a prominent part of the culture as seen in the carving of houses, canoes, weapons, and other items.

iii. Main tasks were separated for men and women, but there were also a lot of group activities involving food gathering & food cultivation, and warfare. The notion of the seven eyes (Zech. Seasonal activities included gardening, fishing and the hunting of birds. 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 harakeke (flax plant) served as a replacement for coconut fronds and hibiscus fibre in the manufacture of mats, baskets, rope, fishing nets and clothing. Michael is Israel's representative in Heaven, where other nations—the Persians, for instance—were also represented by angelic princes. Great ingenuity was required to grow the tropical plants they had brought with them from Polynesia, including taro, kumara, gourds, and yams; this was especially difficult in the chillier southern parts of the country.

In Daniel, however, there occur the names Michael and Gabriel. After arriving in New Zealand, Māori had to rapidly adapt their material culture and agricultural practices to suit the climate of their new land, cold and harsh in comparison to tropical island Polynesia. 30, the angels, when questioned, refuse to give their names. The East Polynesian ancestors of the Māori were hunters, fishermen and gardeners. xxxii. There is no credible evidence of human settlement in New Zealand prior to the Māori voyagers; on the other hand, compelling evidence from archaeology, linguistics and physical anthropology indicates that the first settlers were East Polynesians who became the Māori. 18, and Gen. Migration accounts vary among Māori tribes or iwi, whose members can identify with the different waka in their genealogies or whakapapa.

Consequently, they did not individualize or denominate them; and in Judges, xiii. In fact nowhere in the authentic voyaging traditions is there an account of several canoes all arriving together at one place and time. The earlier Biblical writings did not speculate about them; simply regarding them, in their relations to man, as God's agents. The spurious fleet scenario was then accepted by some Māori including Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck), and won general acceptance until it was debunked in the 1960s by the research of David Simmons and others. 7). More recent research has revealed that this concept originated with European researchers including Percy Smith who attempted to cobble together various unrelated Māori legends. 26; Job, xxxviii. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the idea arose that Māori had voyaged to New Zealand in the so-called 'Great Fleet of 1350AD' which claims that seven canoes arrived simultaneously.

i. Māori oral history describes their arrival from Hawaiki (a mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia) by large ocean–going canoes (waka). In some places, it is implied that angels existed before the Creation (Gen. Archaeological and linguistic evidence (see Sutton 1994 cited in References section below) suggests there were probably several waves of migration from Eastern Polynesia to New Zealand between 800 and 1300. 18, an angel brought the divine word to the prophet. Māori origins therefore cannot be separated from those of their Polynesian ancestors (for more information see Polynesian culture). It is noteworthy that in I Kings, xiii. Polynesian voyagers are believed to have migrated to what is now New Zealand from eastern Polynesia in the latter part of the 1st millennium.

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". New Zealand was one of the last areas of the planet to be reached by humans. In the prophetic books, angels appear as representatives of the prophetic spirit, and bring to the prophets God's word. . 7). It is also the name of the people and language of the Cook Islands, referred to as Cook Islands Māori. vi. "Māori" has cognates in some other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian in which the word maoli means native, indigenous, real or actual.

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. The word māori means "normal" or "ordinary" in the Māori language and denotes mortal beings as distinct from the gods. 7). Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. 2; Job, xxxviii. xxxiii.

They accompany God as His attendants, when He appears to man (Deut. "assembly of the saints"). V. V.; A.

7, R. lxxxix. 1); hence they are called His "council of the holy ones" (Ps. 6, ii.

19; Job, i. They constitute God's court, sitting in council with Him (I Kings, xxii. 2 et seq.). vi.

2; compare Isa. 20, cxlviii. 1, ciii. xxix.

They glorify God, whence the term "glorifying angels" comes (Ps. "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. 49 are to be regarded as personifications of this kind. lxxviii.

It would seem that the pestilence was personified, and that the "evil angels" mentioned in Ps. 15, who annihilates thousands. xxiv. Avenging angels are mentioned, such as the one in II Sam.

5, 6). xxxv. 9); the enemy is scattered before the angel like chaff (Ps. xxx.

35); messengers go forth from God "in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid" (Ezek. There are angels militant, one of whom smites in one night the whole Assyrian army of 185,000 men (II Kings, xix. 11). 7, xci.

xxxiv. 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. An angel brought Elijah meat and drink (I Kings, xix. 1), a human messenger of God is meant—addressed the whole people, swearing to bring them to the promised land.

iii. 13, Mal. i. 19, Ḥag.

xlii. 1) an angel of the Lord—unless here and in the preceding instances (compare Isa. In Judges (ii. 20.16).

23.20, Num. 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. Guardian angels were mentioned, but not, as was later the case, as guardian spirits of individuals and nations. Angels foretold to Abraham the birth of Isaac, to Manoah the birth of Samson, and to Abraham the destruction of Sodom.

Angels reveal themselves to individuals as well as to the whole nation, in order to announce events, either good or bad, affecting humans. In the Bible, angels are a medium of God's power; they exist to execute God's will. 10]; certainly in Daniel), and there came to be various kinds of angels; some even being provided with names, as will be shown below. 9, iv.

In post-Biblical times, the heavenly hosts became more highly organized (possibly as early as Zechariah [iii. 5 et seq.) and ofanim as heavenly beings who carry God's throne. i. 2) as having six wings; and Ezekiel describes the ḥayyot (Ezek.

The seraphim are described by Isaiah (vi. 24). iii. 2, Gen.

lxxx. 4, Ps. iv. 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.

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). V.). 49, R. lxxviii.

9; Ps. lxiii. 1; Isa. iii.

16; Mal. xxiv. 23; II Sam. 16; Job, xxxiii.

xlviii. 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. 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. Though the older writings usually mention one angel of the Lord, embassies to men as a rule comprised several messengers.

3): "Is there any number of his armies?" In the book of Revelation, the number is "a thousand thousands, and many tens of thousands". The general conception is the one of Job (xxv. 23). 6; Job, xxxiii.

lxxxix. 1; Ps. 6, ii. 19; Job, i.

14, 15; I Kings, xxii. v. 2; Josh. xxxii.

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. The number of angels is enormous. 2). 18, xxv.

5; Job, iv. xiv. 28; Zech. 17, 20, xix.

xiv. 25; II Sam. 20, lxxviii. ciii.

When their duties are not punitive, angels are beneficent to man (Ps. 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. The use of wings suggests an original artistic convention merely intended to denote the figure as a spirit. 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.

They are commonly depicted with halos. 21), as they are described in the Bible, and depicted in Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian art. ix. Angels are thought to possess wings (Dan.

This imagery is very similar to the description of Jesus in the book of Revelation. 5, 6). x. 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.

16, 30, as standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand". xxi. A terrible angel is the one mentioned in I Chron. 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).

8 et seq.). i. 2, Zech. ix.

13, Ezek. v. 23, Josh. xxii.

Angels bear drawn swords or other destroying weapons in their hands—one carries an ink-horn by his side—and ride on horses (Num. 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. Though superhuman, angels can assume human form; this is the earliest conception. V.): "Who makes winds his messengers; his ministers a flaming fire." Some verses in the Apographya depict angels wearing blue or red robes but no such refrence occurs in the Protestant books.

4, R. civ. 15), as the Psalmist said (Ps. They are described as pure and bright as Heaven; consequently, they are said to be formed of fire, and encompassed by light (Job, xv.

2). iii. 11; Ex. 21, 22; II Kings, ii.

13; Judges, vi. xvi. Angels, or the Angel, appeared in the flames of the thorn bush (Gen. 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.

xxix. 6; II Sam. 17, xiii. 5; Judges, vi.

2, xix. xviii. 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. 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.

100. The development of the doctrine of an organized hierarchy of angels belongs to the Jewish literature of the period 200 BC to A.D. 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. 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.

It is true that the bnē Elohim of that chapter are subordinate superhuman beings (cf. 6:2, as interpreted by the Book of Enoch. The Fall of the Angels is not properly a scriptural doctrine, though it is based on Gen. 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).

In Daniel, the princes, or guardian angels, of the heathen nations oppose Michael, the guardian angel of Judah. The statement (Job 4:18) that God "charged his angels with folly" applies to all angels. 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. In Tobit, too, we find the idea of the demon or evil angel.

12:15.). (Tob. Again in Tobit a leading part is played by Raphael, "one of the seven holy angels". 8:16; 10:13, 20-21), he is the guardian of Israel's leading Kingdom of Judah.

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. In Daniel, c. During the Persian and Greek periods, the doctrine of angels underwent a great development, partly, at any rate, under foreign influences. 400 BC, there is no reference to angels, apart from the possible suggestion in the plural in Genesis 1:26.

In the Priestly Code, c. 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. The seven angels of Ezekiel may be compared with the seven eyes of Yahweh in Zecharias 3:9, 4:10. 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.

91:11, 103:20 &c.); they appear as ministers of God. Occasional references to "angels" occur in the Psalter (Pss. I Chronicles 21:1). Cf.

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. The Satan also appears to prosecute (so to speak) the High Priest before the divine tribunal (Zecharias 3:1). 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). As in Genesis, they are styled "men"; mal'akh, for "angel", does not occur in Ezekiel.

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. 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). 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. 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.

7, or the passage, at any rate in its present form, may be exilic or post-exilic. An angel of I Kings 13:18 might be the Mal'akh Yahweh, as in 19:5, cf. 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. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim, superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of Yahweh.

Similarly the "man" who wrestles with Jacob at Peniel is identified with God (Genesis 32:24, 30). In all these cases the angels, like the Mal'akh Yahweh, are connected with or represent a theophany. 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). 18:1 with 18:2, and note change of number in 19:17).

(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. In Genesis 18, 19. There are the cherubim who guard Garden of Eden. However, there are a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim.

In earlier literature the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim is almost the only angel mentioned. Christians think that this foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, whereas Kabbalist Jews would show how it developed into kabbalistic theological thought and imagery. 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. 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 Mal'akh Yahweh (or Elohim) appears to Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Gideon, &c., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud (Exodus 3:2). Those who see the Mal'akh Yahweh say they have seen God (Genesis 32:30; Judges 13:22). Exodus 3:2, with 3:4; 13:21 with 14:19). 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.

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 New Testament often speaks of "spirits," πνεύματα (Revelation 1:4). It is probable that the "hosts" were also identified with the armies of Israel, whether this army is human, or angelic. 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".

The identification of the "hosts" with the stars comes to the same thing; the stars were thought of as being closely connected with angels. The "hosts," צבאות Sebaoth in the title Yahweh Sebaoth (alternatively, Adonai Tzivo'ot), Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels. They are spoken of as the "host of heaven" (Deuteronomy 17:3) or of "Yahweh" (Joshua 5:14). Angels are referred to as "holy ones" (Zechariah 14:5) and "watchers" (Daniel 4:13).

See also: Names of God in Judaism. Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; Psalms 8:5). Hence they came to be used collectively of super-human beings, distinct from Yahweh and, therefore, inferior and ultimately subordinate (e.g. judges or alternately, some kind of super powerful human beings).

members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for beings with great power (i.e. 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. 6, 8). 1]) and "the Holy Ones" (Psalms lxxxix.

v. V. 6 [R. 4; Job, i.

Other appellations are "Sons of God", (Genesis vi. 8). xii. The Biblical name for angel, מלאך ('malakh"), obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as "angel of the Lord," or "angel of God" (Zech.

"Angel" is also used in the English Version of the Bible for the following three Hebrew words:. The closest Hebrew word for angel is מלאך, mal'ach Hebrew word #4397 in Strong's, also meaning "messenger". The English word originated from Latin, angelus, which is itself derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, ángelos, meaning "messenger" (double gamma "γγ" is pronounced "ng" in Greek). .

An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God or the gods. the obscure שנאן, shin'an Hebrew word #8136 in Strong's, in Psalms 68:17. אלהים, Elohim Hebrew word #430 in Strong's, Psalms 8:5. "mighty").

אביר, abbir Hebrew word #47 in Strong's, Psalms 78:25 (lit.