![]() ![]() In later Judaism, seven archangels are held to lead the countless other hosts of heaven. The cherubim and seraphim are mentioned in the Old Testament as being the guardians of the throne of God. Medieval theologians who devised the ranks of heavenly hosts in the Celestial Hierarchy-seraphim and cherubim first, common angels last-used a simpler formula.Īngels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim go back to Judaic tradition. You wait there, listening to the gate agent summoning the ranks into formation, starting with first class, working through the elite-status levels, then to the travelers holding various airline-branded credit cards. New York Times writer Joe Sharkey creatively alludes to the hierarchy in writing about the order of boarding an airplane in a November 2011 article:īoarding with a coach ticket, bereft of status, is an exercise in knowing one's humble place these days. The dual uses of the word were not overlooked by poets either: the English dramatist Ben Jonson, for example, spoke of the nightingale as being "the dear good angel of the Spring."Īlthough spiritual beings superior to humans in power and intelligence, angels, being mere messengers, are ranked lowest in the traditional Christian celestial hierarchy, which has nine orders: from lowest to highest, angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. In season two, in her attempt to become an angel of change and make her mark on the world, she tries to take down the corporation where she works. "Enlightened" stars co-creator Lauren Dern as Amy Jellicoe, who learned how to meditate in rehab, but after returning to her life, has trouble keeping her equilibrium. Noah Webster in his 1828 An American Dictionary of the English Language defined angel, firstly, as "a messenger," and then followed with senses conveying "a spirit" (good or bad) and a person "who is an embassador of God" or "whom God employs to execute his judgments." He wasn't wrong in beginning with the "messenger" sense since angel comes from Greek angelos, a translation of a Hebrew word meaning "messenger," and was used secularly and spiritually in that sense since its manifestation in Old English and onward.
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