The Watchman's Index

Angels

THEY ARE THE HIGHEST OF ALL CREATED BEINGS, WHOSE HOME IS THE IMMEDIATE PRESENCE OF GOD. They were heaven's earliest inmates, when " the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." They see God face to face continually; they worship Him, and rest not day and night from praising Him; their obedience is perfect and secure; where laws end, love begins. To borrow the image of South, like a cup of crystal thrown into a brim-ruing river, which first is filled, then lost in the stream, so sinks their overflowing love in the love of God. Nor is their vision limited to heaven. Once they saw the eternal Son descend from thence to earth, and marked His life and death, and ministered to Him in His abasement and His glory.

THEIR ADORATION OF GOD IN HEAVEN. Worship is angels' work; and in the contemplation of their office here no room is left for difference or doubt.

FIRST SPHERE

The first sphere angels serve as the heavenly servants of God the Son incarnated.

SERAPHIM (singular "Seraph") literally translated "burning ones", the word seraph is normally a synonym for serpents when used in the Hebrew Bible. Mentioned in , Seraphim are the highest angelic class and they serve as the caretakers of and continuously shout praises: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" According to , the Seraphim are described as fiery six-winged beings; with two wings they cover their faces, with another two they cover their feet, and the last two they use to fly.

CHERUBIM  have four conjoined wings covered with eyes ( although revelations 4:8 appears to describe them with six wings like the seraphim), a lion's body, and the feet of oxen. Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life in the (Genesis 3:24) and the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14–16).

The cherubim are mentioned in Genesis 3:24; Exodus 25:17–22; 2 Chronicles 3:7–14; Ezekiel 10:12–14, 28:14–16; 1 Kings 6:23–28;

Modern English usage has blurred the distinction between cherubim and . Putti are the often wingless human baby/toddler-like beings traditionally used in figurative art.

imagined as the fallen Cherub.

SECOND SPHERE

DOMINIONS OR LORDSHIPS

The "Dominions" (Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16) (lat. dominatio, plural dominationes, also translated from the Greek term kyriotētes, of kyriotēs, as "Lordships") or "Dominations" are presented as the hierarchy of celestial beings "Lordships" in some English translations of the De Coelesti Hierarchia. The Dominions regulate the duties of lower angels. It is only with extreme rarity that the angelic lords make themselves physically known to humans.

The Dominions are believed to look like divinely beautiful humans with a pair of feathered wings, much like the common representation of angels, but they may be distinguished from other groups by wielding orbs of light fastened to the heads of their scepters or on the pommel of their swords.

VIRTUES OR STRONGHOLDS

These angels are those through which signs and miracles are made in the world.

The term appears to be linked to the attribute "might", from the Greek root dynamis ( dynameis) in , which is also translated as "Virtue" or "Power". They are presented as the celestial Choir "Virtues", in the Summa Theologica.

POWER OR AUTHORITIES

The "Powers" (. potestas (f), pl. potestates), or "Authorities", from the Greek exousiai, of exousia (see Greek root in ). The primary duty of the "Powers" is to supervise the movements of the heavenly bodies in order to ensure that the cosmos remains in order.[] Being warrior angels, they also oppose evil spirits, especially those that make use of the matter in the universe, and often cast evil spirits to detention places. These angels are usually represented as soldiers wearing full armor and helmet, and also having defensive and offensive weapons such as shields and spears or chains respectively.