ANGELS

by **Starshine** Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:12 am

Hi Everyone,

I thought i would do a post about angels and archangels for everyone, but realising that there is alot of information i would like to share with you i thought it might be easier to seperate it into a few different sections to make it a little easier for everyone to read, rather than one huge post Smile

So in this section you will find a general outline of these heavenly beings and their specific order I love you

"Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed.
In fact angels have no religion as we know it ...
their existence precedes every religious system
that has ever existed on earth."
St. Thomas Aquinas

Angels are beings of light who have choosen to undertake their learning purely on the spiritual plane. Angels normally take the physical image of winged messengers however they can appear in other forms to suit the needs of the person they desire to help. Archangels are a certain Catergory of Angelic Being. They are responsible for issues concerning the human race as a whole. There are actually Nine Orders or catergories of Angels, the highest are known as Seraphim and the lowest we know as Angels.
		The Nine Orders First Hierarchy (Choir) Clustered around the central core of purity. SERAPHIM: The uppermost section of the hierarchy, these are the angels closest to the throne of God. It is they who unceasingly chant the Trisagion, "Holy, holy, holy..." and encircle the throne, existing off the love emanated by God. It is this fiery love which gives them the term 'fiery serpents'. In this form of fiery serpents, it is said that the light they give off is so intense, that not even other divine beings may look upon them. There is said to be four of these angelic beings. They are listed as the four holy beasts in the book of Revelation and are also described as angels with four faces and six wings. Seraphim have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying. CHERUBIM (Cherub, singular for Cherubim): Second to only the seraphim, the Cherubim hold the knowledge of God. It is also they who are often sent to earth with the greatest of tasks; the expulsion of Man from the Garden of Eden and the Annunciation of Christ were both performed by Cherubim. Spirits of the Harmonies. The guardians of the fixed stars, keepers of celestial records, bestowers of knowledge. Chief rulers are Ophaniel, Rikbiel, Zophiel. THRONES: Thrones are the Angels of pure Humility, Peace and Submisssion. They reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. The lower Choir of Angels need the Thrones to access God. Also known as the Ophanim, these angels serve the primary function of being God's chariot. But besides this, they are also noted as being the dispensers of God's judgment; acting with impartialness and humility to bring about the desires of the Lord. Having the most bizarre physical appearance of the celestial host, they are described a great wheels, covered with a great many eyes and glowing with light. One explanation given for this (besides them acting as God's chariot), is that they mark the end of the first Choir, where the emanations of God begin to take on more material forms and as such exist in a state of transition. Second Hierarchy (Choir) An ultimate unification with "God the Source". All Orders within this Triad strive to balance or reconcile such opposites as good and bad, matter and spirit and higher and lower, thus risking corruption in doing so. DOMINIONS or DOMINATIONS: Act as a sort of middle management between the upper choir and the lower, holding the task of regulating the duties of lower angels. They receive their orders from the seraphim and cherubim and are responsible for ensuring that the cosmos remains in order. It is only with extreme rarity that the dominations make themselves physically known to mortals, instead quietly concerning themselves with the details of existence. Spirits of Wisdom, through them is manifested the Majesty of God. They hold an orb or sceptre as an emblem of authority, and in Hebraic lore, the chief of this order is named Hashmal or Zadkiel. VIRTUES: Given to two main tasks, the virtues not only are concerned with maintaining the aspects of the natural world, but also with bestowing blessings upon the material world as well. In their first task, they preside over the movements of the celestial bodies as well as events of weather including rain, snow, wind and the like. In the second, it is they who take the orders given to them and in turn convert them into miracles for God's favored. Variant names for them include the Malakim and the Tarshishim. Virtues are known as the Spirits of Motion and control the elements. They are sometimes referred to as "the shining ones." They govern all nature. They have control over seasons, stars, moon; even the sun is subject to their command. They are also in charge of miracles and provide courage, grace, and valor. POWERS: Spirits of Form. Holding one of the most dangerous tasks, the powers are responsible for maintaining the border between Heaven and Earth. Acting as a sort of elite guard, they constantly watch for demonic attack, and are the major line of defense and battle during heavenly warfare. They are also tasked with guarding the celestial byways between the two realms and ensuring that souls which leave the mortal world reach heaven safely. Perhaps not surpassingly, given their proximity to the nether regions, there are more angels from the ranks of the powers listed as fallen than from any other member of the hierarchy. They stop the efforts of demons to overthrow the world, or else they preside over demons, or perhaps (according to St. Paul) they are themselves evil. Ertosi, Sammael, or Camael (depending on source) is chief of the Powers. Third Hierarchy (Choir) Most exposed and vulnerable to any corrosion of flesh. Angels from these Orders are most well known to us simply because they are most like us. PRINCIPALITIES: The head of the final choir, the principalities watch over the mortal world directly, guiding and protecting the earth's nations, cities and towns. Also, they are given to the protection of religion and of politics. As such, they are assumed to be given more freedom to act than the lesser angels below them and are responsible for carrying out divine acts concerning their area of jurisdiction. Finally, they are given to the task of managing the duties of the angels. Spirits of Personality or Time. Protectors of religion. Nisroc, in Milton, is "of principalities the prime," and others, according to various sources, are named Requel, Anael, and Cerviel. ARCHANGELS and ANGELS: Guardians of people and all physical things. ANGELS Sons of life or of twilight. A rank which intermediates between God and Man. Angels are closest to earth and earthly matters, whereas the archangels have more to do with the heavenly realm. Both orders are very similar and they often cross in their duties with each other. The least (if one could say that about any angelic being) in the hierarchy, angels are given to two major tasks. First, they are responsible for watching over the affairs of mortals in a more direct manner than the principalities. Instead of watching entire nations, angels watch over households and individual souls, guiding them subtlety and keeping them safe from demonic attack. Also, they are the carriers of God's word to mankind, acting as messengers and couriers to both God and the upper ranks of angelkind as well. In Hebrew, they are called mal'akh, meaning "messenger", in Persian the word is angaros or "couriers".