Watcher (angel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Watchers (Aramaic, עִירִין iyrin) is a term found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, and later sources, which is connected to angels. In Daniel, these are obedient angels, in the Book of Enoch they are referred to as fallen angels.
Christian writers
Some early Christian writers accepted the interpretation in the Book of Enoch of the sons of God in Genesis and made reference to "watchers." Generally, later theologians, such as Augustine, interpreted the Genesis "sons of God" as referring to the descendants of Seth and the "daughters of man", in turn referring to the descendants of Cain.
Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, attributed the movement of the stars and the control of the four elements to angelic beings. Sinistrari attributed bodies of fire, air, earth, and water to these beings, and concluded that the "watchers" were made of fire and air Template:Citation needed. Cardinal Newman, writing in the mid-19th century, proposed that certain angels existed who were neither totally good nor evil, and had only "partially fallen" from the Heavens.
