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Elandain β Michael Victorious
Published: 2008-11-10 05:04:10 +0000 UTC; Views: 14825; Favourites: 164; Downloads: 109
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St. Michael is one of only two Archangels mentioned by name in the Bible. The other is Lucifer (Satan).Shortly after the seven days of creation, there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against Satan and his angels, and the rebels were cast out of heaven.
There is a theory held by some theologians that Michael was actually the pre-incarnate Christ, the Second person of the Trinity. I'm not sure whether that can be Biblically asserted or not, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Comments and crits welcome as always.
Painter X, Photoshop CS3
Wacom Intuos 3
50 hours
*EDIT* I fixed his right hip. Detail shots available here: [link]
Related content
Comments: 78
no need to hide the genitalia seeing as how angels being direct creations of god have no need for them, and are probably gender neutral.
actually the bible never refers to Lucifer as Satan, but instead Lucifer in the bible is referred to as a Babylonian king. Lucifer as Satan is was only mentioned in medieval Christian writings. also an interesting thing to note is that the Lucifer literally means "bearer of light" and is a reference Venus, the morning star, to how he was the morning star, and wanted his throne to rise before God's, like the morning star rises before the sun. also that he was bright before then. the Babylonian king in the bible almost mirrors Satan in medieval Christian writings. Because of this, there is often confusion over the subject of Lucifer. another odd thing to note about Satan is that he was mentioned as an archangel but was gods highest angel, and Seraphs, although mentioned once in Ezekiel, are often considered the highest angels.
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"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit." Isaiah 14:12-15
It should be kept in mind that Isaiah is a prophetic book. What he says in relation to humanity (in this case, Babylon) often has double meanings, for instance, the suffering servant. Some words refer to events that took place in the past, such as this portion, and some reference the future. It is easy to see the parallels between this portion of Isaiah and Revelation, and so we can say with relative certainty that Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, and the Dragon are all one in the same.
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well I was simply stating that in the bible that Satan is never actually referred to as Lucifer. though in the book of revelations it is implied by using Babylon as a sin city in a sense, essentially hell, which when combined with the book of Isaiah, it can be implied that the king of Babylon is Satan and therefore Satin is Lucifer . but the book of revelations never uses the word Lucifer at all. but taking in account that the old testament and Jewish faith never calls Satan a fallen angel but just an angel (theres no real specifics on it) who tempts humanity. in Isaiah ti refers to someone who specifically falls. so you can look at it in either sense that Lucifer is Satan, or Lucifer is simply the fallen King of Babylon.
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Since Satan is an angel, he can only be a fallen one. Otherwise it would mean that God created him evil to begin with, which is not possible.
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well in the Jewish faith he is not referred to as fallen but just an angel, it the addition of the new testament that I think elaborates on this and calls him a fallen angel. I'm not sure why the devil in the Jewish faith is the way he is but its something I'm a bit interested in.
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But that's what I'm getting at. If Jews don't believe that the devil is a fallen angel, the only alternative is that God created him in a sinful state to begin with. But this would contradict God's nature, as well as Genesis: "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."
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I'm not sure why thats what they believe but it is, I'm not Jewish, maybe its a test, I'm not sure. but Satan is never stated as fallen, but just an angel.
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I like how he's actually depicted as powerful. The portrayal of angels in pop media is always sexy scantily-clad women with wings or fat babies with wings. In the Bible, they are holy, powerful, warrior spirits or messengers. Just one of them can wipe out an entire human army.
And don't get me started on the palette. It's glorious! Great work using complementary yellows and purples to suck your eyes in.
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Thank you. It would really be amazing to see an angel in person. The people who witnessed them in the Bible always reacted in fear, but there isn't much detail put into their description. To my knowledge, they are always described as men in white.
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Ezekiel states that the "Cherub" angels had 4 faces (a man, lion, ox, eagleΒ and 4 wings,Β 2 wings to fly and 2 covering the body, the angels posted to guard Eden were cherubs with fiery swords, the Archangel Michael was a cherub and so was satan. Seraphim angels were described with 6 wings, 2 that covered the head, 2 to fly with and 2 covering the feet andΒ guard the throne of God and Praise him. Archangel's were "captain" of the guards so to speak. There is one passage that describes 2 angels as looking female, some angels appear as human with no wings. Angels were created by God with no need to reproduce like us, so they may not be gender specific,Β They are collectively called angels, the host of heaven.Β cant wait to see one day.
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very nice work! his body composition is...breathtaking...('m not sure if that's the word to use though 
that theory is what Jehovah's Witnesses believe in. i know because i have a friend who's one of them
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Yep, that's correct. Thanks for the compliment!
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no because Jesus was and is and was always. He is part of the trinity and created the angels. to say he was Michael does him a dis-service and says an angel can- in essence be elevated to its Creator.
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I don't necessarily think so. I think the etymology of the word archangel simply means "one who commands angels," but I could be mistaken. One of their reasons for believing that Michael is the Son comes from Michael's name, which in Hebrew means "Who is like God?" That doesn't mean that I subscribe to the idea myself. I'm content to take the Bible at face value as far as Michael is concerned.
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me too. I felt led to say something in response, and that is what came out.
I'm not a Theologin (can't even spell it correctly 
The artwork itself (which I forgot to comment on- sorry for that-) was lovely. My favorite being the wings.
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This is awesome. I appreciate the depiction of archangels as male, which is the impression the scripture seems to give. Ezekiel, Chapter 28 is thought to be the most detailed possible description of Lucifer, and the circumstances surrounding his fall from "perfection". It is a great read... What human being was ever created perfect from the day he was created, and was without sin, a "guardian cherub" who was also in Eden, and fell from that position when pride and iniquity filled his heart? The account also calls him a violent being, and that fire came out of him when God exiled him from the high heavens-- He fell to earth. It is a fascinating passage to take in and consider.
I think it is a Jehovah's Witness belief that Christ and Michael are the same being, however, the Angel of the Lord, the One who is called the Commander of the Host in the O.T., the same who led Israel out of Egypt and went out before them "the Angel of Presence", is thought to be Christ, that is, the Son of God, before He took on (human) flesh. You know, Michael never allows men to worship him (nor do any of the other angels) while Christ always encourages it. It is interesting that when the Captain of the Lord's armies told Joshua to take of His shoes, saying the he stood on "holy ground" (which is really a parallel account to the story of Moses before the burning bush) Joshua fell on his face and worshiped Him, and the Angel of the Lord did not stop him immediately, as I believe Michael would have done.
In any event, you do great work. You have a real gift from God, Elandain. I love the Mythic pieces as well. I'm into Irish stories and greek myths. Bless you!
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Thanks for the comments! I don't remember any passage where Michael tells someone not to worship him (or where someone tried to worship him, for that matter). But if that's true, it would certainly mean that he isn't the pre-incarnate Son. And yes, I've always heard that "the Angel of the Lord" was God Himself in some kind of human or angelic form. (The man who wrestled with Jacob, the travelers who visited Abraham, etc.) I doubt you could say that that is specifically the Son, though, because the Angel of the Lord also announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.
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You have a gift from God. Thank you. I wish I could afford this, but I am a poor student.
Peace Be With You,
Michael
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Thanks for the compliments and kind wishes. I know how it goesβI'm a poor student too.
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You are very welcome. I'm praying for a good Christmas with that piece on my wall. If I ever requested a piece of art of Miriam Magdalene and could guarantee payment would you do something of the sort? An Icon.
Peace be with you,
Michael
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I guess it depends. During school, no. But I might have time in December.
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Now this is some stunning lighting here. I take a liking to how you bring about such smooth blending on his skin as well as the light making look so natural. There's this sort of concentration in his eye that may also appear that he's narrowing an eye from even his own light that he radiates as he focuses out. I can go on and on but basically this is just awesome.
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Thanks for the compliments!
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painting angels is rough but its nice seeing the classic look
amazing lighting and mood - the rim lighting and slight halo are especially nice touches
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Thank you! I did have to resist the urge to give him a huge sword or armor.
But you should check out some of Luca Signorelli's frescos from about 1500. His angels wore full armor, carried swords, and shot people with lasers from their hands!
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from what i can see on google images, this guy was really progressive!
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Yep. Way ahead of his time.
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The light really strikes me on this one. It's just such a moment. also the way you used complimentary colors is quite subtle and really effective.
Also thank you for posting on your pictures how much time you spend on each piece, always looking to get better it really helps me understand the amount of time and effort that goes into creating a wonderful piece.
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Ha, well I have a teacher who thinks that no one else should know how much time you put into something. He has a good point, but for me, keeping a published record of time is a way to help me work faster. If and when I go professional, I probably won't do that anymore.
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*_* Awesome work in details, even if I don't believe in any ,,heavenly" theories ^^. I love this work.
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Thanks for the compliments.
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I love the Anchangels! They help a lot!
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Well, at least one of them helps. The other does quite the opposite.
Thanks for the compliment.
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Very beautiful piece, I am amazed at the detail you were able to go into - the anatomy just looks stunning. A definite 
I hadn't heard of that theory before, it's interesting - personally I don't think I believe it but as you said somewhere there isn't anything to prove it or disprove it.
However I thought that there were at least three archangels mentioned (out of a believed seven): Michael, Raphael and Gabriel.
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Thanks very much for the compliments, and the favorite.
Gabriel is mentioned, but he is not an archangel, only a messenger. Raphael is not a name that appears in the Bible. It might appear in the Apocryphal books, I don't know. Most Christians don't hold those to be Scriptural, though.
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You're welcome!
Well different religions hold different beliefs on certain topics, who the archangels are is one of those topics. In the Catholic church, the messenger Gabriel is an Archangel.
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I hadn't heard that, but I looked up some stuff on wikipedia just now. Interesting.
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The skin tones are beautiful, and especially the crumpling of the banner ^^.
I'm pretty sure Michael is just an angel, arch or not lol. As in Jude 1:9 it says Michael had to call on the Lord to rebuke Satan, whereas Christ wouldn't have to, since He is the Lord XD.
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I'm not saying for sure whether he is, or not. But saying "The Lord rebuke you!" isn't necessarily proof that Michael couldn't also be the Son. Jesus prayed to the Father quite often in his ministry. This doesn't prove that He was not God though. And even God swore by His own name in the Old Testament.
Another interesting tidbit is the name itself, "Michael." In Hebrew it means "Who is like God?" It is a rhetorical question, meaning: no one.
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I suppose that's true. Though Christ did rebuked other demons directly and with authority. But that's just my view on the matter, who knows XD.
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Breathtakingly lovely...and good job with the banner as well. ;D
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Thanks! I've hated painting cloth of any type before this painting. This time I actually had fun with it.
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