History OurAngelsAreDifferent / TheBible

* ''Cherubim'' -- (singular ''Cherub'') Literature/TheBible is not clear on if Cherubim are a separate class from the aforementioned living creatures or not, but according to Jewish tradition, normal angels of this choir could look, and often did, look human. Both TheArkOfTheCovenant and Solomon's Temple included images of angels of this class in their design that seem a little closer to Ezekiel's description though.

* ''Thrones'' or ''Ophanim'' -- hold up God's throne, or are the living wheels of His chariot. They serve as the [[GeniusLoci headquarters]] of the Virtues and the Upper Choirs and control the natural laws as well as being the bringers of God's justice who represent His authority (and badassery). They have the most alien physical descriptions of all the angels: wheels nested within wheels, constantly spinning, with rims covered in eyes. They may be "beryl-colored" (probably a greeny-yellow) and/or on fire. See page image.

** Ezekiel mentions a set of four angels of this class, sometimes thought to be cherubim, having four faces: that of a lion, ox, man, and eagle. They also have two pairs of wings. Each is stationed alongside one of the four ''Ophanim'', meaning "wheels", which look like eye-covered interlocking chariot wheels at the four corners of God's "chariot". The latter are sometimes described or thought to be [=UFOs=] by the general public or conspiracy theorists.

* ''Seraphim'' -- (singular ''Seraph'') mentioned by Isaiah to have six wings, four of which are used to cover themselves. Their name means "burning ones".

* ''Principalities'' -- possibly mentioned as a group in Protestant (Col. 1:16) and Jewish Bible canons. The Book of Daniel refers to a spirit that Gabriel calls "the Prince of Persia".[[note]]Note that the "Prince of Persia" is mentioned as being ''in opposition'' to Michael and Gabriel, so the competing AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is that the "Prince of Persia" and later mentioned "Prince of Greece" are actually both ''[[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]]''.[[/note]] Gabriel also identifies Michael as the Prince of Israel. Principalities traditionally bear armor and swords and watch over rulers and nations, as well as acting as [[DaChief the head of a specific group of angels]].

->''And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Angels in Literature/TheBible can belong to several classes. Literature/TheBible doesn't mention an exact ranking for these classes; only the "archangel" class is mentioned as being higher than the others, with the other classes presumably being of the same rank but having different job descriptions.
Note also that in the Old Testament, many MysteriousStranger characters actually do not identify themselves as angels. They can be labeled angels only by oral tradition (a good clue is a plot-pivotal character whose origins are not stated, and who deflects any questions about his name).
In Revelation, it says:
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Revelation 12:4

* ''Archangel'' — The highest class. [[ArchangelMichael Michael]] is the only angel specified to hold this rank in the Protestant and Jewish [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] canons. It's worth noting that "arch-" as a prefix has a dictionary definition along the lines of "preeminent among all others of its kind," so linguistically there should only ever be one archangel (or arch-Enemy, or arch-Anything).
* ''Elders'' — There are 24 of this class as mentioned in Revelation.

** In Revelation, John mentions another set of four angels classified among the ''Seraphim'', similar yet different to those mentioned in Ezekiel. These each have a single face: one with the face of a lion, another an ox, another a man, and the last an eagle. These have three pairs of wings that are covered in eyes. They are stationed around God's throne.
* ''Cherubim'' — (singular ''Cherub'') Literature/TheBible is not clear on if Cherubim are a separate class from the aforementioned living creatures or not, but according to Jewish tradition, normal angels of this choir could look and often did look, human. Both TheArkOfTheCovenant and Solomon's Temple included images of angels of this class in their design that seem a little closer to Ezekiel's description though.
* ''Seraphim'' — (singular ''Seraph'') Mentioned by Isaiah to have six wings, four of which are used to cover themselves. Their name means "burning ones".
* ''Angels'' — These are the ordinary inhabitants of Heaven; if something needs doing on earth, these are the guys who generally do it. Also often used as a generic term for all members of the heavenly hosts, of whatever rank or species.

* ''Seraphim'' -- (singular ''Seraph'') Traditionally six-winged, red, and fiery; represent God's love. The reason they have six wings is to cover [[OneWingedAngel their true form]], which is so bright and glorious that [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm all who gaze upon it (sometimes including lesser angels) are incinerated instantly]]. They are also associated with snakes (their name is a corruption of "sarap," "fiery," more often than not connected with the word "nahash," "serpent"), and are outrightly described as [[OurDragonsAreDifferent draconic]] in appearance (see 2 Enoch and gnostic texts, for instance). Some traditions say their leader is Seraphiel, others say it's Michael. (Michael is an "archangel", but this doesn't necessarily mean he belongs to the second-lowest choir.) Satan ''used'' to be one of these (hence his six wings in Dante's ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''). If they're ''not'' covered and won't set you on fire, they're described as handsome... but tall, terrifying, fiery, and speaking in Earth-shaking (quite literally) voices.
* ''Cherubim'' -- (singular ''Cherub'') Tend to be depicted in blue, or ''as'' blue (or red, or lots of different colors); represent God's knowledge and act as soldiers and [[GuardianEntity guardian angels]]. St. Gabriel is Head Cherub. In TheMiddleAges, often misunderstood to be a single angel ''named'' "Cherubin." In UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, the ''Putti'', chubby little children or even a chubby face between two or more wings, were later [[SadlyMythtaken confused]] with Cherubim (or even Seraphim, as in [[http://www.lib-art.com/imgpainting/7/0/10507-stigmata-of-st-francis-domenico-ghirlandaio.jpg this painting]] by Ghirlandaio).
* ''Thrones'' or ''Ophanim'' -- Hold up God's throne, or are the living wheels of His chariot. They serve as the [[GeniusLoci headquarters]] of the Virtues and the Upper Choirs and control the natural laws as well as being the bringers of God's justice who represent His authority (and badassery). They have the most alien physical descriptions of all the angels: wheels nested within wheels, constantly spinning, with rims covered in eyes. They may be "beryl-colored" (probably a greeny-yellow) and/or on fire. See page image.
* ''Dominions'' -- Possibly mentioned in Protestant (Col. 1:16) and Jewish [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] canons. Wear crowns; represent God's power. Each serves as the patron angel of a nation [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent and ruler of all angels assigned to that nation.]]
* ''Virtues'' -- Not mentioned in Protestant and Jewish [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] canons. Traditionally wear armor and swords and are considered to control the heavenly bodies. They live in the Thrones. The previous three choirs form the bulk of the heavenly army.
* ''Powers'' -- Possibly mentioned in Protestant (Col. 1:16) and Jewish [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] canons. Carry flaming swords and chains to bind TheDevil; serve as {{guardian|Entity}}s. In Christian tradition, the Angel with the FlamingSword in Eden was one of these, the Archangel Jophiel. Are considered [[InternalAffairs Angels Of Justice]] and are considered perfect, incorruptible ultimate angels created by God himself. ([[Franchise/RoboCop Sound familiar]]?) [[AIIsACrapshoot Naturally ]]some beliefs list [[TheDevil Satan]] as a former Power.
* ''Principalities'' -- Possibly mentioned as a group in Protestant (Col. 1:16) and Jewish [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] canons. The Book of Daniel refers to a spirit that Gabriel calls "the Prince of Persia."[[note]]Note that the "Prince of Persia" is mentioned as being ''in opposition'' to Michael and Gabriel, so the competing AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is that the "Prince of Persia" and later mentioned "Prince of Greece" are actually both ''[[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]]''.[[/note]] Gabriel also identifies Michael as the Prince of Israel. Principalities traditionally bear armor and swords and watch over rulers and nations. As well as acting as [[DaChief the head of a specific group of angels.]]
* ''Archangels'' -- According to apocryphal works there are seven, including [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]] (mentioned in Literature/TheBible canon but only as a normal angel), and [[ArchangelRaphael Raphael]] (appears in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit). (Names for the others, such as Zadkiel, [[ArchangelUriel Uriel]], and Ithuriel, don't seem to have caught on.) Each archangel is the head of one of the remaining upper choirs. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are seven major archangels; however, other than the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael the names of the others vary radically. Also the arrangement of the choirs and the status of archangels vary. In Christianity, archangels often embody a particular function or idea: for instance, Raphael is the archangel of Healing, Raguel the archangel of justice and Jegudiel of politics.
* ''Angels'' -- Used as a name of an angelic choir, these are usually the lowest rung of the hierarchy. They function as messengers to and from Earth. Though of course, "angel" is also a general term for all members of the nine choirs, just as "archangel" is a general term for an angel in authority over other angels.
** An interesting note, in the book of Acts, Saint Peter was imprisoned by Herod. His friends all thought he was dead, so when divine intervention rescues him and he goes knocking on their door; they think that it is "his angel." The Bible simply lists them thinking this without stating that it's correct or incorrect, but it does indicate how the "Dead people = Angels" confusion/argument has been going on at least for the last two thousand years.