Researching Angels
 

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, Mods, feel free to move if it's in the wrong place.

Angels and Archangels, where do the stories about them come from? Or the story of how Satan used to be an angel, but was cast down to hell? What do angels do and where is their place in the holy heirarchy? I know they are occasionally referenced in the Bible (Gabriel etc), but don't know how much of the folklore about them is sourced directly from the Bible or maybe from somewhere else.

Does anyone know where I can find an authoritative source about angels, demons and the like - I've always thought this was an interesting, though much misunderstood (at least by me) part of Christianity and would appreciate any pointers anyone might have in helping me discover more than what I seem to have passively soaked up through the media.

Most common knowledge comes from religous sources such as the bible.
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html
http://wiwi.essortment.com/angelsbible_ryia.htm
http://www.catholic.org/saints/anglbibl.php
http://jesuschristsavior.net/Angels.html

Thanks willravel - those are some useful links

Billy Graham wrote a book called Angels. It's relatively short, but it's something you might want to take a look at. He has a basic biblical base, but also touches on more modern day issues that we might associate with angels.

Check into the Mythology of Eastern religions as well.....puts a great perspective on the whole Angel/Satan thing.

The thing that interests me about the idea is that there appears to be this whole heavenly system that's alluded to, but never directly described.

I work/think in terms of systems, and this suggestion of the workings and history of the operation of the heavens are something I could really get my head into.

One thing that keeps striking me though is how each reference to angels in the bible seems to be written as if we are supposed to know many of the background details already.

So when Gabriel comes down to talk to Zacharias and Mary, I want to know who he is, what he's done, what his place is in heaven etc, but everything is very matter of fact - he is the messenger of God, and that's it. I want to know more, and I wonder if there is some other tradition somewhere that describes in more detail the deeds and histories of God's angels.

A brief caveat to start -- most of the traditional beliefs about angels are not necessarily based in scripture (or only very loosely). So a lot of the following should be viewed more as Christian superstition than Christian belief, if that distinction makes any sense to you.

Angels, at least those that we have any contact with, serve the role of messengers from God, a role most prominently associated with the archangel Gabriel. They are immaterial beings who can take on material form. There are nine orders of angels -- among which are angels, archangels, thrones, powers, principalities, cherubim, and seraphim. The four archangels mentioned in scriputure + apocrypha; Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and the angel of the LORD; are generally considered to be seraphim as well as archangels (I would guess something like the way the pope is both pope and bishop of Rome, but that's just a guess). The devil/Satan/Lucifer is an archangel who rebelled against God (the reason given is often quite varied) and his demons are other angels who took his side. The different orders have different roles, and their majesty corresponds to how close they are to the throne of God. Their chief role seems to be simply to praise God. This is just what I can remember off-hand (and, if it seems a bit rambling, that's why.) I've been giving out a lot of these sorts of promissory notes lately, but if I can remember, I'll look up what Aquinas says about them once I get home. He's not called the Angelic Doctor for nothing.

All I know is that alot of the angel imagery that is seen is likely derived from the winged Nike of Samothrace especially in the early christian art (when jesus was still depicted as youthful (no beard) and poor)
http://monolith.dnsalias.org/~marsar...ike/nike01.jpg