The Angelic Host: Investigating Angels in the Bible and Second Temple Literature

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This book is a study of the Heavenly Host. It is a systematic review of all key words that pertain to ‘spiritual beings’ and angels. The word ‘angel’, is mentioned over 270 times in scripture, but this does not include other spiritual beings that also have a part to play in the biblical text. Church tradition has led us to view all the ‘host of heaven’ with this common term, which is insufficient in gaining an understanding of this mesmerizing topic. The images we rely on have largely been driven by Greek mythology and artists’ impressions of either little babies with wings or beautiful figures with long flowing golden hair, halos and elaborate gowns. A deep analysis of scripture, however, separates fact from fiction and informs us of the history and appearance of these elusive beings both in speech and deed. There is a big yearning toward the supernatural, including a desire to uncover all knowledge that is hidden. This study seeks to unravel many of the mysteries associated with spiritual beings and has been written in view of presenting the findings as simply as possible with a broad sweep of scripture, second temple literature and historical sources.