To many of us mortals, an angel is a mythical winged messenger of God who watches over and protects humans.

But recently these heavenly creatures have enjoyed an upsurge in popularity with the hit TV show Touched by an Angel, featuring a divine messenger who intervenes in the lives of humans.

And supporters of Nicole Brown Simpson chose an angel as a symbol to mark her memory during O.J. Simpson's two "trials of the century.'' Even Hollywood's hottest leading men like John Travolta and Denzel Washington have sprouted wings and played the angel in movies like Michael and The Preacher's Wife.

But in the Bible, angels are more complex than winged creatures performing good deeds and acting as God's telegram delivery men. For in the scriptures, angels form a heavenly court of beings that are somewhere between God and man.

Their dress, attributes and even their shape are dictated by their place in the heavenly hierarchy.

According to the book Christian Symbols, Ancient and Modern, the origin of the Order of Angels stems from the Epistles of St. Paul to the Ephesians.

St. Paul assigned five ranks and then added angels, archangels and the Seraphim and Cherubim of the Old Testament to those ranks.

The mystical theologian Dionysius explained, in his writing in 500 AD in the `Celestial Hierarchy', how the nine choirs of angels mediated between God and man and were divided into three orders. According to Dionysius, the first order contained the officer class -- Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones while the sergeants of the heavenly assembly were Dominions, Virtues and Powers. The `other ranks' incorporated Principalities, Archangels and Angels.

He claimed the Seraphs were "all wings'', stood nearest to God and were aflame with perfect love. Seraph are also associated with light, ardour and purity. Cherubs were "all eyes'' and filled with perfect knowledge while the Thrones "sustained the seat of the Most High''. Dionysius also maintained that the second order were Regents of the stars and elements while the third order executed the will of God in relation to man -- the Touched by an Angel brigade.

The ninefold celestial hierarchy places Seraphs at the top of the scale, followed by Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels and Angels. Only the Archangels have acquired definite characteristics, attributes and names. Those mentioned in the scriptures are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.

For those sceptics who doubt their existence, reportedly there are hundreds of recorded appearances of angels aside from the Bible's reference of Gabriel telling Mary she was pregnant and that angels rolled away the stone in front of Jesus' tomb on Easter Sunday.

In the First World War hundreds of servicemen, on both the German and British sides, claimed to have seen an angel hovering above the hell of the trenches -- the Angel of Mons.