The Angel of Death

      Accounts of the angel of death have appeared many times throughout the ages.  Sometimes this being is perceived as evil, othertimes it is portrayed as simply carrying out the job at hand. Lets take a closer look at the many interpretations of this mysterious figure.

The Death Angel and Major World Religions

     The term "angel of death" can be found in nearly every culture in various forms. However, their are many accounts of angels, both good and bad, specifically found in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. For example, the book of Isaiah in the Bible includes an account of how 185,000 Assyrians were slaughtered by an angel of God. The book of Genesis recounts the deaths of the first born of Egypt that many people believe were also delivered by an angel under the direction of God, although it may have been God who actually performed the act. Both of these accounts fit the general description of a death angel, although there doesn't seem to be a single angel that officially carries such a title. The thought of an angel that brings death is an ominous one indeed, and it's small wonder that such a figure might be associated with an evil nature given many people's fears about what happens after life ends. This has led some people to a belief that there is a close link between the death angel and the figure of Satan. However, there is no Christian biblical reference that Satan and this figure are one and the same.
     The Islamic and Jewish faiths are bit more specific about naming a death angel. Islam speaks of Azrael, while Judaism has no less than 14 death angels.

Throughout Fiction

     The death angel is represented in many forms throughout classic and modern fiction. The most well-known version of this angel is in the form of the "Grim Reaper" in novels such as Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, where the last spirit which appears to Scrooge is the terrifying cloaked figure of the grim reaper. Today, this dark being remains one of the most popular subjects for modern fiction, such as the examples below.

• Angel of Death by Charlotte Lamb
• Death Angel by Martha Powers
• The Goddess of Love and the Angel of Death by Tom Slattery
• Angel of Death by James Anderson
• The Angel of Death by P.C. Doherty

In the Media

     The death angel is represented in a very wide range of forms throughout the media such as television and movies. The television show Touched By An Angel had a character named Andrew who was the one who delivered the death sentence. His character was kind hearted, and his role was simple to escort the person's spirit into the afterlife following death. More evil characters representing "Death" showed up in television shows like Charmed, or as a dark, misty and foreboding creature in the video game The Sims 2. There are also humorous examples of the Grim Reaper, such as in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, or in South Park and Family Guy. Regardless of the medium, it's clear that the mythology of the Grim Reaper representing Death has permeated throughout all aspects of modern society. This particular "angel" is recognized in almost every country and throughout every culture.

In Real Life

     While many recognize that people often claim visitations by guardian angels, or sometimes possession by demonic spirits, a less common story told by witnesses is a visitation by a dark entity. However, these accounts do exist, and the stories are often told by people who have witnessed someone else's death. The following examples are a small sampling of true stories by people who have witnessed what many would consider visitations by the Grim Reaper himself.

• Angels & Ghosts featured a story by a man named Jeff who, through astral projection, came to believe that he was his own "messenger of death" when his own father passed away.
• Your Ghost Stories.com published a story about an assisted living worker at a private home for the elderly who experienced a dying man talking to a woman dressed all in black asking him to go with her. The man died shortly after the experience.
• Ghost Village.com featured a story from an Israeli in 1997 who claimed he was woken up by the touch of a bony finger on his lips, and upon waking, actually seeing this angel that represents death.
• Another demonic tale comes from a visitor of Your Ghost Stories who believes that the "shadow person" who visited him when his grandma died in her sleep was a demon.

     Given the variety of story themes and characterizations of "death", this particular angel is one that does not follow a common theme for all people. For some, this entity represents an evil or demonic force. For others, it is a good being that is assigned to carry out the painful but necessary task of escorting human souls over to the "other side". Still others view death as a the classic figure with large bony fingers and a dark, hooded profile. Whichever way you view the Grim Reaper, the one thing that is clear is that it is one of the few angels that have captured the imaginations of a very large number of people around the world, religious and non-religious alike.

What do you think?