Those beautiful white and gold angels you see on Christmas trees were originally monsters. At least, that is the claim made by scholar Esther Hamori in her book God’s Monsters. Hamori writes that angels “have acquired the soft-edged glow of a Hallmark card, but are some of the deadliest shapeshifters in a universe teeming with bizarre figures”.

Hamori, a scholar of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, demonstrates how angels in the biblical tradition destroy entire towns, unleash plagues, lead armies, and sometimes wield swords.

Biblical angels can be terrifying and monstrous. They appear covered in fire and can also cause fire. Their appearance is sometimes closer to that of a giant fiery, multi-winged serpent than anything human or cherubic. Even when they are more anthropomorphic in form, their faces might be bronzed or shining and their skin like gemstones, clues they transcend the normal created order.

The word angel (Greek: angelos; Hebrew: malach) simply means “messenger”. A messenger can be human, but angelos in the Bible usually refers to a messenger from another realm.

Other types of creatures grouped in the angel category include seraphs and cherubs. Seraphim are essentially burning creatures, probably serpents or dragons, that appear in Isaiah as six-winged heavenly creatures. Even cherubs – usually depicted today as chubby angel babies – did not start out that way.

In the first book of the........

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