Hierarchy of Angels

The Bible names a few angels throughout it's pages. Gabriel, Michael, Satan. Some of them are good and the others are bad but there is no denying that all of them are mysterious creatures. We like to think of angels as the beings who watch over us while we go about our lives. What exactly is an angel though?

An angel is defined as a messenger of God. Angels are usually portrayed as human beings with wings. This is understandable since we would like to believe that angels look like us and that we have a resemblance to them. But what if a majority of them don't look like us? What if we're just seeing a small fraction of the angels as a whole? What if there are angels with multiple faces and eyes?

According to the hierarchy, there are orders of angels, called choirs. This consists of three different spheres. Each sphere has three different types of angels.

First Sphere:
Seraphim
Cherubim
Thrones

Second Sphere:
Dominions
Virtues
Powers

Third Sphere:
Principalities
Archangels
Angels

Seraphim - The Seraphim are said to be the highest order of angels and human beings are almost never going to see them. The Seraphim continuously protect God's throne and sings songs of praise. Their physical appearance is so bright that no human, or even any other divine being besides God himself, can look upon them. Seraphim are described as having six wings; Two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two which they use to fly.

Cherubim - The Cherubim are the next in line. They are the guardians of the light and the stars and also possess some brilliant light. The Cherubim have four faces; One of an ox, a man, a lion, and eagle. Their true face is the ox because late in Ezekiel, an ox's face is described as that of a cherub. The Cherubim also have four wings which are covered in eyes, and have ox's feet. The Cherubim are the guardians and have guarded such places as the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, and have guarded the garden itself when Adam and Eve were forbidden to enter.

Thrones - The thrones are an authority figure among the angels, delivering justice. They are described as being a wheel within a wheel. The rims of these wheels are covered with hundreds of eyes. The Thrones are closely related with the Cherubim.

Dominions - Dominions take care of overseeing the activities of lower angels and also watch over regions of Earth, but rarely make themselves known to humans. The Dominions are said to have the classic look of angels; Beautiful beings with large feathery wings.

Virtues - The Virtue's supervise the movements of lower angels and make sure that the heavenly planes and cosmos remains in order.

Powers - The Power's are the keepers of history and are in charge of distributing power among mankind. They are also the warrior angels and assist in fighting off the darker angels.

Principalities - The Principalities major responsibilities are to watch over groups of people and inspire them to create art, music, literature, etc. They wear a crown and carry a scepter.

Archangels - Archangels watch over countries and are very concerned with issues going on in them. The Archangels are mentioned the most in the bible. This is where Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and perhaps Gabriel come in. Michael is traditionally the archangel that watches over Israel. It is said that there are seven archangels but there is no definite answer on this.

Angels - Angels are the lowest order in the hierarchy of angels but certainly not the least. When we recount stories of seeing angels or being spoken to by them, we have witnessed an angel. There is supposedly a limitless number of angels around because they are most concerned with the issues of living things. Every human being is supposed to have an angel watching over them.