he angels carry out good or evil designs according to their
commands from the Lord of Hosts. They are sent forth to destroy Sodom, to
save Lot, and to bring Abraham the good tidings of the birth of a
son.(542) On one occasion the host of spirits protect the people of God;
on another they annihilate hostile powers by pestilence and plagues.(543)
At one time a multitude appear, led by a celestial chieftain; at another a
single angel performs the miracle. In any case the destroying angel is not
a demon, but a messenger of the divine will. Originally some of these
primitive forces were dreaded or worshiped by the people, but all have
been transformed into members of the celestial court and called to bear
witness to the dominion of the Omnipotent.

4. The belief in angels served two functions in the development of
monotheism. On the one hand, it was a stage in the concentration of the
divine forces, beginning with polytheism, continuing through belief in
angels, and culminating in the one and only God of heaven and earth. On
the other hand, certain sensuous elements in the vision of God by the
seers had to be removed in the spiritualization of God, and it was found
easiest to transform these into separate beings, related to Deity himself.
Thus the fiery appearance of God to the eye or the voice which was
manifested to the ear were often personified as angels of God. This very
process made possible the purification of the God idea, as the sublime
essence of the Deity was divested of physical and temporal elements, and
God was conceived more and more as a moral and spiritual personality.
Hence in Biblical passages the names of God and of the angel frequently
alternate.(544) The latter is only a representative of the divine
personality--in Scriptural terms, the presence or "face" of God. Therefore
the voice of the angel is to be obeyed as that of God himself, because His
name is present in His representative. A similar meaning became attached
later on to the term _Shekinah_, the "majesty" of God as beheld in the
cloud of fire. This was spoken of in place of God that He might not be
lowered into the earthly sphere. For further discussion of this subject,
see chapter XXXII, "God and Intermediary Powers." In fact, we note that
the post-exilic prophets all received their revelations, not from God, but
through a special angel.(545) They no longer believed that God might be
seen or heard by human powers, and therefore their visions had