One of the things I've looked into the most when playing about in the otherkin community was the parallels between dragons and angels. Regrettably (for me) much of what i had compiled is either hanging back in my head or lost to me. Nevertheless, i still had this hanging out in my yahoo note pad:
I personally wouldn't go as far as to say that dragons and angels are one in the same, but the similarities are indeed striking.
In Chinese legends, some dragons can be persevered as the equivalent to angels:
Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water in popular belief. They are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas. Because of this association, they are seen as "in charge" of water-related weather phenomenon.
In particular the five toed golden/yellow celestial dragon:
The dragon, especially yellow or golden dragons with five claws on each foot, was a symbol for the emperor in many Chinese dynasties. At the end of his reign, the first legendary Emperor Huang Di was said to have been immortalized into a dragon that resembled his emblem, and ascended to Heaven.
***
Many angels (be it an individual or a gaggle of 'em) have been referred to as dragons, in particular the seraphim. The ancient book of Enoch in its original Greek text reconfirms the Hebrew scriptures that the Seraphim are indeed winged reptilian creatures, that are simply referred to as "dragons" in many other Biblical scriptures.
Num. 21:6
Quote:So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
(Seraph is translated "fiery flying serpent" from the Hebrew and is the word used for the serpents that bit the Israelites in the wilderness)
Hebrew translation of the word Seraphim, means "fiery flying serpents" or "dragons", which would explain the many references to "dragons" in the Bible, singing praises to God in Psalms and Satan, of course, never a "fallen" humanoid angel, but one of the highest of Heavenly creatures, a "Seraphim-dragon".
More specific examples of the Fallen Angel, Lucifer, being referred to as a dragon:
Revelation
Quote:20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation
Quote:12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Some brief associates for thought.
(Warning: getting controversial here)
Despite the evidence, some modern Christians refuse to accept the true translation, and incorrectly give the Seraphim a human form, largely due to the winged human dieties of pagan Greece and Rome which so influence Roman Catholicism. But the ancient book of Enoch in its original Greek text reconfirms the Hebrew scriptures that the Seraphim are indeed winged reptilian creatures, that are simply referred to as "dragons" in many other Biblical scriptures.
To hit a possibility up from a religious standpoint: the Serpahim dragons of the Bible may be evidence of a "long creation" and a compatibility between Christianity and modern scientific theories about the origin of the Earth. In the remarkable Creation Epic of Genesis, exactly like evolution, life on earth originates in the sea, and also like evolution, first there are fish, then the great "Monsters", (dinosaurs), then birds, mammals and finally man. The only disparity is that Christians translate "day" literally, and it could be translated into 6 "epochs" each encompassing millions of years.
So what does this have to to with Seraphim? The Bible describes them as "dragons", and many Christians use this word to also mean "dinosaurs". So if there were actually a "long" creation compatible with the fossil record, perhaps God decided to have his first servant creatures millions of years before mankind would appear on the earth, and chose to give greater intelligence to some prehistoric, winged, dragon-like pterosaur, to be his earliest servants and this is why there are references to intelligent, even talking winged, fire spewing "dragons", not only in the Bible, but in the myths and legends from around the world.
This could also explain Satan's behavior and motives as detailed in other ancient scriptures no longer recognized by the Church of Rome, in which after millions of years as the only intelligent creatures, his race of Seraphim-dragons were told they must now serve the newly created mankind and he refused.