Despite this, angels have always been depicted as the good and kind ones that help us along the way. They are even sometimes pictured in artworks as small cuddly ones, the cherubs, that do harmless mischief. They also have the trademark wings, white cloth and halo.

The word angel comes from old French word angele and the old English term engel. These words are said to mean messenger. In the bible, angels act as go betweens. They tell the message of God and what He wants to enforce on earth. The very first biblical figure that made a reference to God is Daniel who referred to angels by their names. He particularly had a scene with Angel Gabriel.

The earliest known depiction of an angel was in the catacomb of Priscilla, which was in existence since the third century. The angel there do not however have wings. There were also angels found in sarchophagus, lamps and reliquaries. One of the most famous example is the Angel in the Sacrifice of Isaac picture in the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

Angels eventually had wings. In 1930, a sarcophagus in Istanbul was discovered to have an image of an angel with wings. The time frame for the sarcophagus was set to the time of Theodosius I. According to St. John Chrysostom, the addition of wings into their image is a symbolism of the heights they can reach and the sublimity of their existence.

The most famous of the angels is Angel Gabriel, which is believed to be the leader of all the angels. He is classified as an archangel, which is at the top of the hierarchy. He has been mentioned several times in the bible and is believed to be even the one who delivered the Koran to the prophet Muhammad.

Another famous angel is Raphael, who is said to be the healer. He helps sick people and is generally called upon to help with terminal illnesses and grave wounds.

Angel Barchiel on the other hand is the Angel for the month of February. He is actually not an angel of love but is dubbed as the bringer of hope for mankind.

Angel Michael on the other hand is often depicted as the warrior, defending the heavens from demons. He has a military cloak on and has a profile that is symmetrically perfect.

There is also Metatron, which is very popular in Judaism. This angel is mentioned in Merkabah and Kabbalist texts and beliefs and is considered to be the highest in rank. He is also mentioned in the Talmud.

There are many more mentions of angels since then. In fact, it has become for us a symbol of goodness, of peace and of hope.

For most religious cultures and traditions, angels have been known to exist since the beginning of time and creation.
Many people have established the concept that angels are spiritual beings with their place in Heaven, whose primary purpose is to act as messengers and some as soldiers of God.

Based on Biblical scriptures, God speaks in the language of light whereas humans speak in the language of sound, which is a supreme power that can prove damaging and destructive to man, and this is where angels come in.
Angels are believed to play their roles similar to that of voltage step-down transformers that carry lower levels of energy which are tolerable to humans, especially with the language used by angels to communicate with man.

This is mainly because God, in His perfect form and being, is too powerful for man to comprehend and man’s sinful nature does not allow him to come in contact with God who is blameless and sinless.

There are at least 30 types of angles commonly known to man, especially from several traditional religions aside from Christianity.

Many followers and those who are deep into the study of angels have classified angels into several categories, which according to them is based on an order of spiritual hierarchy, the most common of which are Archangels, Principalities, Seraphim, Powers, Dominions and Cherubims.

The reasons for this classification, according to them, is that each one operates at different and varying frequencies and angels relay these messages to humans who best understand or comprehend these frequencies.

Other followers also believe that angels also have different spiritual levels and according to them, these spiritual beings reside in Heaven. These theorists believe that like us humans on earth, there also exists different animal species that cohabit the earth with us and this theory of coexistence is how these advocates base their beliefs on.

Another group of angel followers claim that no more than 30% of angels that exist have wings, as commonly depicted in many works of art and popular descriptions.

According to a study group that conducted an intensive study of angels based on documentary and alleged historical data, led them to conclude that only 30% of angels have wings, while 70% of them do not have wings.
The 30% of angels that have wings are of the lowest order of angels are believed to be the ones communicating with humans to give either warnings or deliver a message from Heaven.

Meanwhile, some traditional philosophers and scholars believe that angels communicate to people regarding worldly matters, but do not necessarily make themselves visible to everyone on earth.

They also believe that while angels have often provided guidance and have made their presence felt in many people, they basically do not function as guardian angels, as what is popularly known.

Can humans see angels?

Many spiritual researchers claim that since angels are subtle spiritual beings that take on the exist in spirit form, they are ideally not visible to the ordinary human eye.

They in claim that angels can only be seen with the help of advanced and activated extrasensory perception or ESP and the manner by which angels communicate with humans is through the introduction of thoughts and concepts in the human mind.

Although we have these ideas about what is an angel all about, it will still be considered just as a diverse school of thought will still remain to be a mystery.