Angels with halos9/12/2023 Yet this was not ascending into some “Jack and the Beanstalk” kingdom of giants on the clouds, but rising out of the earth’s atmosphere and traveling beyond outer space into another dimension. Satan in his rebellion said of his assault on heaven, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). The idea of angels lolling about on clouds-and that people will do the same after they die-probably comes from a combination of archaic imagination and misapplied scriptural mentions of clouds in association with heaven. While Christ and the angels do have glorious radiance-with brilliant, shining faces-this does not correspond to the halo and its origins as a pagan sun symbol. The halo was used regularly in representations of Christ, the angels, and the saints throughout the Middle Ages” (/art/halo-art). In the 5th century it was sometimes given to angels, but it was not until the 6th century that the halo became customary for the Virgin Mary and other saints. From the middle of the 4th century, Christ was also shown with this imperial attribute. Indeed, we see it prominently as the solar disc of Ra, the Egyptian sun god.Īs the editors of The Encyclopaedia Britannica point out: “Because of its pagan origin, the form was avoided in Early Christian art, but a simple circular nimbus was adopted by Christian emperors for their official portraits. a ‘brilliant, visible glamour which is exuded by gods, heroes, sometimes by kings, and also by temples of great holiness and by gods’ symbols and emblems’” (Wikipedia, “Halo (religious iconography)”). “Sumerian religious literature frequently speaks of. The halo also occurs in ancient Hindu and Buddhist art.Īnd it goes back much further. This may have been associated with the Zoroastrian divine luster that marked Persian kings. It was used in images of Hellenistic and Roman rulers. The rayed crown of the sun god Helios was depicted in the Colossus of Rhodes (and later copied for the Statue of Liberty). In fact, this image-also known as a nimbus, aureole, glory or gloriole-has been used in the sacred art of many religions. ![]() This recalls a lot of medieval art, where saintly Bible characters are depicted with a halo or glowing golden disk over or behind the head. Halos of lightĪ typical feature of angel costumes in children’s Bible plays is a glittery halo-representing a supposed ring of light over the head denoting holiness. There are other common misconceptions too. ![]() For instance, there is no mention of wings in most appearances of angels in Scripture, while they do occur in some visions-though not with just two.
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