About Angels And Their Hierarchies

The definition of the word "angel" comes from the ancient Hebrew and means "the hidden face of God".

In ancient Greece angels were considered as messengers or emissaries of God. Angels are mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible more than 108 times and more than 175 in the New Testament.
Although there are many religions that mention beings that serve a supreme being.



Between the angels, there are hierarchies.

In a 1st hierarchy, there are: Seraphs, Cherubims, and Thrones or Ophanims.

- Seraphs are beings that can only be seen by those who are elevated to a superior dimension, in a mythic paradise or heaven.

- Cherubims are depicted as winged children and form a celestial chorus that accompanies the Seraphs. Cherubim comes from the Hebrew word "Korubim", "little angel".

- Thrones are angels that hold the throne of God and transmit the will of God to Seraphs and Cherubims.

In a second hierarchy: Dominions, Virtues and Powers or Authorities.

- Dominations is the fourth of the 9 celestial chorus that distribute the functions and ministries of the other angels and receive the orders of Seraphs, Cherubims, and God. They are in charge of maintaining the order of the universe. They can manifest themselves physically amongst mortals and possess the gift of healing emotionally, physically, and mentally. They protect the vegetable, mineral and animal reign.

- Virtues are the angels in charge of helping the humans. They are abstract entities that are servers of Virgin Mary. Their mission is to instill values in people.



- Powers are those angels that protect the physical laws, and guard the limits of the spiritual world and the physic world.

The third hierarchy are Principalities or Rulers, Archangels and Angels.

- Principalities are in charge of the manifestation of the power of God over nature. They are the guardians of groups (cities, nations, communities).

- Archangels. They are the superior hierarchy to angels. They are angels of high rank. There are three, recognized by the Catholic Church: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

Michael commands the army of Heaven.

Gabriel is the celestial messenger.

Raphael, the protector of travelers, health and love.

Although the Catholic Church admits only 3 Archangels, other religions add up to 7 to this list: Uriel, Raquel, Remiel, and Saraqael.

Uriel is depicted with a book or a papyrus. Symbolizes the protective wisdom of the arts. Uriel possess the key that will open the gates of Hell at the End of Days.

Raquel will be in charge of playing the trumpet at the End Times to open the gates of Hell. Raquel is the Archangel of Justice, Impartiality, and Harmony, and controls the actions of other angels correcting their mistakes so the law of God is not altered. Raquel is in charge of maintaining the purity of Heaven, free of corruption and in harmony with the will of God.

Remiel is in charge of the resurrected. He is who controls how much should the just wait to obtain their reward, until the number of just people is completed and comes the End of Days.

Saraqael is who will guide the souls at the Judgment Day. He is the Archangel that looks for the mortals and specially for children.

- Angels are the messengers and execute the will of God, and help the believers. They are creatures of enormous purity. In this group we find the guardian angels.

It is said that God created the angels before Adam and Eve. Their mission is to reign in the stars and planets. Their way of communicating with humans is through the chain of events that happen in the lives of a person.
The most ancient mention of an angel is from 4,000 BC.

Saint Thomas of Aquino, who studied angels deeply, stated that the angels were made of astral light.

The number of angels is stable. All were created at the same time, and are not subject to death or extinction. They were created to execute a series of tasks and serve God.

The appearance of angels has been reported on the Bible as well as in mystic or religious books. They don't always have a humanoid appearance. There are sources in which angels looked like made of metals and precious jewels and and their face is like flash of lightning.
The wings and the luminous halo is often reported in all writings in History.
Angels are meant to be pure energy but they can have human appearance when they consider it's necessary.

-Emma Alvarez-

© 2008 by Emma Alvarez. Link to this post without copying the text.



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