Meet God’s Special Angels

Each religion that believes in one God has its own version of the angel story, dealing with their organization, hierarchy, and duties. Although guardian angels and archangels seem to be more closely related to Christianity, it was not Christians who formed the notion of angels. They adopted much of their basic concepts of angels from other religions, particularly Judaism.

Although the different types of angels have somewhat different names and duties, all major religions agree on one thing: These special angels are God’s messengers and come here to guide and protect us. Another thing they seem to agree on is that angels were created before human beings. Higher spiritual beings, considered archangels, have never “lived” on earth in human or embodied form. However, earth angels (or guardian angels, as we call them), spirit guides, and ghosts have had at least one (and often many) incarnations here on earth.

Although they have never incarnated, Archangels have the ability to…and have been known to…take human form to assist in an emergency or when the need is greatest. Many stories abound of “strangers” suddenly showing up to render help, only to suddenly disappear when we’re not looking, leaving no footprints or any kind of sign that they were there.

There are many, many angels and archangels in heaven, however the most notable are the seven archangels which are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel and Remiel. These seven archangels are based on the seven angels of Essence. The Essences were a particularly spiritual group that practiced more esoteric Judaism than usual more than 4,000 years ago, and were said to still be present at the time of Christ.

If you notice, all the names of the archangels end in el, which is the title of “angel”. The most detailed account of the angels’ activities is given by Enoch, who supposedly lived before the flood (and was Noah’s grandfather). He was recruited by angels to perform tasks such as messenger and record keeper (scribe) between angels and men. Accounts of him were written down and have been passed down for thousands of years and are now contained in The Book of Enoch.

Here is a brief look at each archangel:

Miguel – His name means: “Who is like God”. Michael is believed to be the warrior, protector and defender of heaven and earth. He is the angel invoked when protection is needed.

Gabriel – His name means “God is my strength”. She is the only female archangel and is associated with conception and birth.

Raphael – His name means “The Shining One Who Heals”. Raphael has the power to heal the sick. He is also considered the “Chief of the Guardian Angels”.

Uriel – His name means “Fire of God”. He has two responsibilities: the Angel of Repentance, the Angel of Music and Poetry.

Sariel (Saraqael) – Sariel’s responsibilities are more related to dealing with the angels of the earth in the capacity of the destiny of such angels who break the Laws of the Universe.

Raguel – His name means “Friend of God”. Raguel cares for the earth, nature and its resources. He is also responsible for justice, equality and fairness.

Remiel – His name means “God raises” and “Face of God”. Remiel is the Angel of Hope.