Engel in Bibel, Geschichte und Theologie

Angels are popular and enjoy great popularity. However, the common conception of angels and an afterlife has only limited connection to the Christian faith and its Old Testament roots. The German word "Engel" ("messenger") reveals the core of the matter: the early narratives from the Old Testament speak of God's messengers who proclaim God's message and make God himself perceptible. The belief in JHWH in Israel also includes the messengers of JHWH, rooted in the specific nature of the experience of God, which encompasses the experience of the messenger. The notion of God's messengers is part of Israel's faith and is not derived from Oriental religious ideas. Only in a second step was the messenger of God merged with concepts of celestial beings. Distinctions and interactions, among others with Canaanite notions of a heavenly court, with angelic perceptions from Oriental cultures, and from apocalyptic literature are presented in this book, as well as further developments through the New Testament, antiquity, and the Middle Ages to the present day. Who or what are angels, actually? Angels as God's messengers are included by God in His revelation to the world, which is not of this world. This uniqueness characterizes the nature of angels. What can be said about this – biblically, historically, theologically – is what this book addresses.