An angel is a spiritual heavenly, or supernatural entity, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in various traditions like the Abrahamic religions.[1][2][3] Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, such as guardian angels and servants of God.[4] In Western belief-systems the term is often used to distinguish benevolent from malevolent intermediary beings.
The concept of angels is historically best to be understood from different ideas of the concept of God throughout history. In polytheistic and animistic worldviews, supernatural powers (i.e. deities, spirits, daemons, etc.) were assigned to different natural phenomena.[16](p102)[17] Within a monotheistic framework, these powers were reconsidered to be servants of the supreme deity, turning autonomous supernatural beings into "angels".
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