Hierarchy of angels: Encyclopedia II - Hierarchy of angels - First Sphere

Hierarchy of angels - First Sphere

The angels of the first sphere were thought to serve as heavenly counselors.

Hierarchy of angels - Seraphim

The Seraphim are the highest order of angels, serving as the caretakers of God's throne and continuously singing his praises. It is said that they surround the throne of God, singing the music of the spheres and regulating the movement of the heavens as it emanates from God. It is also said that such a bright light emanates from them that nothing, not even other divine beings, can look upon them. There are four of them surrounding God's throne.

The Seraphim are mentioned in Isaiah 6:1–7 [1]

Hierarchy of angels - Archangels

The Archangels are usually considered the second lowest order of the First Sphere; these angels tend the larger arenas of human endeavor and act as the administrative leaders of the Heavenly beings. An archangel is usually given a task of great importance to men. According to Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's Angelology, however, the Archangels lie just above the lowest of the angel orders, the common Angels.

The word archangel is used only twice in the canonical Scripture (but several times in the Septuagint): once to refer to Michael the archangel [2] and the other to refer to a being believed to be Gabriel during the return of the Lord (Gabriel is preferred over Michael since he is the messenger angel). [3]

The belief that Satan was a cherub before his fall from heaven is a more modern development. This belief is based on the facts that (a) the cherub that fell was a King on earth; and (b) the matchup in Revelation against the archangel Michael seems to show that he was an archangel [4]

Some insist that archangels aren't a separate order but that the traditional Catholic archangels (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and sometimes Uriel) are either cherubim or seraphim in addition to being archangels. However, even in this case, being an archangel clearly implies being a part of the first sphere of the angels. Sometimes, Lucifer is also considered to have been an archangel before his Fall. As God's "second in command," he was likely not below the Seraphim.

Hierarchy of angels - Cherubim

The Cherubim (singular "Cherub") are beyond the throne of God; they are the guardians of light and of the stars. It is believed that, although they are removed from man's plane of reality, the divine light that they filter down from Heaven still touches human lives.

Their rank among angels is uncertain but they are always categorized in the First Sphere. Some believe them to be an order or class of angels; others hold them to be a class of heavenly beings higher than angels.

Many Christians believe that the Devil is a fallen angel that was among the Cherubim prior to his fall from Heaven. They believe that the Devil was considered as the angel of light before his sin against God.

The Cherubim are mentioned in Genesis 3:24 [5]; Ezekiel 10:17–20 [6]; and 1 Kings 6:23–28 [7].

Hierarchy of angels - Thrones

The Thrones are angelic beings shaped like shiny orbs of shifting colors. Their duty is to carry the throne of God around in paradise, hence their name.They are the companion angels of the planets.

Thrones are fully equal in authority and power in comparison to the Powers. However, Thrones are politically, militarily and economically oriented, and their main concerns revolve around people and world events. Thrones have authority over major divisions of the world.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "First Sphere", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki