James Lucas@JamesLucasIT
The angels described in the Bible look almost nothing like the angels in our paintings...
According to the celestial hierarchy discussed by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, the three highest orders of angels stand closest to God. Each one is described in the Bible in a way that has almost nothing to do with how we picture them today.
The Thrones, the third-highest order, appear in the visions of the prophet Ezekiel. He describes them as wheels of fire intersecting one another, "a wheel within a wheel," with rims "full of eyes all around." In the Hebrew tradition they are called Ophanim, meaning wheels.
Their function is to carry and uphold the throne of God.
The Cherubim, the second-highest order, also appear in Ezekiel's visions and in the book of Genesis, where they guard the gates of Eden with a "flaming sword which turned every way."
In Renaissance painting, they were transformed into pink-cheeked winged babies, but the Bible describes something entirely different...
Each Cherub has four wings and four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. It was a Cherub that Christian tradition identifies as the highest fallen angel. In his Summa Theologica, Aquinas argued that Satan, before his fall, was a Cherub, drawing on Ezekiel 28, which describes a "guardian cherub" in Eden who fell through pride.
The Seraphim, the highest order, appear in the vision of Isaiah. "Above him stood the seraphim," the prophet writes. "Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."
The face and feet are covered out of humility before God. The remaining two wings are for flight. The Hebrew word Seraphim literally means the burning ones.
Centuries later, similar beings appear in the New Testament book of Revelation. There, John of Patmos describes four creatures around the throne of God, but now their wings are "full of eyes within."
The angels of our paintings have soft faces and feathered wings. The angels of the Bible have wheels for bodies, four faces, and wings full of eyes...
If you enjoyed this, I write a weekly newsletter for over 50,000 readers who love rediscovering the past. You can join us here:
James-lucas.com/welcome
Sometimes history is stranger than fiction.
