Angelology is the study of angels, especially from a mystic viewpoint.
Angelology is important to the religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity because all three find their roots within Old Testament Bible texts. The word used for angel, in both Hebrew and Arabic, is malak, meaning "messenger." The three religions also teach that one of the angels (Satan, meaning "adversary") disobeyed God, gathered a third of the heavenly angels with him, and maliciously wreaks havoc upon the inhabitants of the earth.
Within angelology, there are three other words or terms, used within the Old Testament, believed to describe angels, besides malak. The word seraphim (meaning flame) is used by the prophet Isaiah. Kherub (cherub in English) is found within various Old Testament books, beginning with Genesis, and described in detail by the prophet Ezekiel. The fourth reference to angels, known to angelology and thought to describe the angelic, is the words ben elohim, translated as "sons of god."
Angels make their first appearance in the Old Testament in Genesis Chapter 3, where it reads that cherubims were used to guard the way to the Tree of Life. In angelology, however, it is Genesis 6:1-4 that is important. This is where the "sons of God" make their first appearance:
"When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, 'My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.' The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown."
Could the angelic sons of God possibly had relations with human women, producing nephilim? (This word is often translated as "giants.") Angelology remains shrouded in mystery, as theories abound concerning angels, their possible half-human, half-angel offspring, and their potentially nefarious interactions with mankind.
Suggested Reading:
It is from this idea that author Danielle Trussoni has spun a fantastic adventure novel entitled, Angelology. She has woven Western theology in with mystic interpretations of angels, creating a thought-provoking read that is a pleasure to explore with an open-mind.
Having taken these ideas further, in order to spin a fictional tale, Trussoni's description of Nephilim are intriguing:
"Known for their beauty, the Nephilim are descendants of angels and humans who have perpetuated war and subverted the good in humanity for centuries."
In Angelology, "Angelologists are humans who have devoted their lives to fighting the Nephilim."