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The Hierarchy and Functions of the Angels - FlickerOfLight - 09-13-2024
I have compiled some notes on the angels, and there places, according to the Abrahamic scrolls. I started with the book of Enoch, along with some Catholic texts.
Meet the Archangels of God
From the book of Enoch
XX. Name and Functions of the Seven Archangels.
CHAPTER XX.
1. And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. 2. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus. 3. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. 4. Raguel, one of the holy angels who †takes vengeance on† the world of the luminaries. 5. Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind ⌈⌈and⌉⌉ over chaos. 6. Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. 7. Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. 8. Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.
The Four Archangels.
CHAPTER XL.
1. And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits. 2. And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: for the angel that went with me made known to me their names, and showed me all the hidden things.
3. And I heard the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises before the Lord of glory. 4. The first voice blesses the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever. 5. And the second voice I heard blessing the Elect One and the elect ones who hang upon the Lord of Spirits. 6. And the third voice I heard pray and intercede for those who dwell on the earth and supplicate in the name of the Lord of Spirits. 7. And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. 8. After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: 'Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?' 9. And he said to me: 'This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who
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is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.' And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days.
I took this last section from two different Catholic texts.
Seraphim: The highest order, known for their intense love and worship of God, often depicted as six-winged beings (Isaiah 6:2-7).
Cherubim: The second-highest order, associated with the throne of God and often depicted as four-winged beings (Exodus 25:18-22, Ezekiel 10:1-22).
Thrones: The third-highest order, responsible for governing and maintaining the divine order (Colossians 1:16).
Dominions: The fourth order, involved in governing and ruling over various aspects of creation (Ephesians 1:21).
Virtues: The fifth order, associated with moral virtues and the governance of the universe (1 Peter 3:7).
Powers: The sixth order, responsible for exercising authority and power in the universe (Ephesians 1:21).
Principalities: The seventh order, involved in governing and guiding nations and peoples (Ephesians 6:12).
Archangels: The eighth order, often depicted as high-ranking angels, such as Michael and Gabriel (Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7-9).
Angels: The lowest order, yet still considered “angels” due to their role as messengers and servants of God (Hebrews 1:14)
Seraphim - Isaiah 6:2, 6:6; Ezekiel 1:13
Leading this sphere are the Seraphim, which means in Hebrew “to burn”. Out of all of the angels, the Seraphim have the most intimate knowledge of God and they meditate upon His Person, meaning they contemplate on the great mystery about who and what God is, including the Trinity. Because they comprehend God with greater clarity than any other of God’s creations, they are so passionately in love with Him due to so much that has been revealed to them and they are characterized by fire, which is thus why they are often referred to as the burning ones. And because of this great in depth knowledge of God and their burning passionate love for Him that defines and characterizes their being, it is speculated that the Seraphim are incapable of sinning because such knowledge and love/charity cannot allow them to do so; it would become a contradiction of their nature and being.
Second to the Seraphim are the Cherubim. While the Seraphim contemplate on God as a Person, the Cherubim meditate upon His Divine Plan for all of Creation. Because of their knowledge and understanding of the Divine Plan, the Cherubim are often translated to mean “fullness of wisdom”. In accordance with their contemplation about the Divine Plan, the Seraphim teach the Cherubim about the Divine Person which helps the Cherubim understand the Divine Plan all the more.
Third in rank within this First Sphere are the Thrones and they represent the judicial power of God. From the Cherubim, they learn about the Divine Person of God and His Divine Plan, which in turn allows them to mediate upon the power of God and His judgments, such as man’s banishment from Eden, the Flood of Noah, etc. The Thrones are responsible for passing on their divine knowledge down to the Second Sphere of the Hierarchy.
Dominions (also called Dominations) - Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16
The word Dominions have root in the Latin word dominus, which means “master” or “lord”. Thus the Dominions are the angels of authority and they are believed to be the leaders of the Second Sphere of the Angelic Hierarchy and they pass on the orders of knowledge of God that they received from the Thrones down to those under their charge. In essence, they are similar to the Archangels in the Third Sphere in terms of duty, but they oversee the affairs of guarding the Universe and protecting it from harm.
Powers (also called Authorities) - Ephesians 1:21, 1 Peter 3:22
It is believed that the Powers fight the forces of evil that desire to destroy the Creation. It is thus possible to speculate that if Satan and his demons were to make an effort to destroy the Earth by means manipulating the forces of the Universe, such as through a great asteroid or a solar flare, the Powers would prevent the Enemy from succeeding.
Virtues - Ephesians 1:21, 1 Peter 3:22
The Virtues mean “might” and “energy”. It is believed that they oversee the movements of planets, stars, and the forces of nature. Thus, they make sure that the Universe operates according to God’s Design.
*Note: Some traditions rank the Virtues above the Powers in the hierarchy.
THE THIRD SPHERE
The duties of the Third Sphere are to look after human beings
Principalities - Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10, 6:12; Colossians 1:16, 2:15
The Principalities are the Guardian Angels of nations and cities. There are also evil Principalities who had joined Satan in his rebellion against God and thus there are also Principalities appointed by Satan to influence nations and cities for evil, which is evident by the fact that in Daniel 10:13 the Prophet Daniel is told by an angel that there was a spiritual power referred to as the prince of Persia who that angel was in conflict with until the Archangel Michael came to his aid.
Archangels - 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Jude 9
The Archangels are Guardian Angels appointed to guard special individuals, such as the Church, the Pope, possibly the Virgin Mary while one Earth, etc. What makes it extremely strange is that even though the Angelic Host as a whole consists of an innumerable amount of angels, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition indicates that there are only seven angels who have this rank (Tobit 12:15; Revelation 1:4,20; 3:1; 8:2,6; and Isaiah 63:9). More on this will be addressed at a later time.
Angels - Numerous references!
These are the angels who directly look after the affairs of mankind and deliver God’s Divine Revelation to us. The Guardian Angels are part of this choir.
The angels and their Hierarchy among the Heavenly hosts.