HOLY ANGELS

ANGELS MINISTERING DIRECTLY TO GOD The Angels of the first Triad are Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim going from the outer to the inner Being of God. These are the Angels who are closest communicants of the glory and majesty of God. Through them the Spirit of God in its sublimity is communicated to the other Triads and to the created world. They are the most powerful Angels in the service of God. Let us take them one-by-one. As already indicated, they unceasingly adore and worship God. The Thrones In the book of Daniel 7: 9, Daniel was shown a vision where he saw the “Ancient of Days” seated on His “Throne”. The Hebrew word used here for is aser>K' (korse). It is a word with Aramaic origin. OT uses this word for ‘thrones’ severally to refer to kingly seats , especially ones with great authority. In the context of the Angels, (thronos) in Revelation 16:10 is used in singular as a substituted attribute (metonymy) of one who holds dominion or exercises authority. We find the same word used in the plural indicating the Angels’ authority in Colosian 1:6. Revelation 4:2-5 gives us a clearer image of this rank of Angels as BEARERS of the seat of God. God radiates His goodness, His Love, His brilliance through the Thrones (including the Cherubic and Seraphic ranks). They are the stately pantheon of God. The Thrones alone, as the outer layer of the Triad, are described to have the image of a shiny orb that shifts rainbow-like colors (cf. Rev 2:3). They are huge and are many-eyed, with six wings and often depicted in appearance as the “four beasts” (cf. Rev. 4:8). They act as the flaming chariot. As the outer layer of this Triad, the Thrones mark where the emanations of God begin to take on transitional forms from the interior sublimity of divinity only the Seraphim possess. The specific ministry of the Thrones, as with Cherubim and Seraphim, is to adore God unceasingly (Rev. 4:8). But in a special way, this rank is the judgment seat of God for pronouncing His divine Justice and administering His infinite Mercy. They ensure and maintain the divine energies in the disposition of judgments. They generate, direct and gather positive energies for divine justice. They make sure that justice is properly meted out and in cases where it is not, Angels from the Thrones send healing and consoling energies to victims while shining a light on injustice in order to attract our attention to it. They are believed to possess great peace, utterly humble and submissive in spite of their majestic position. These qualities enable them to dispense divine justice objectively and with no trace of pride. The Cherubim The Hebrew word (kerub) has doubtful origin. Many biblical authorities agree that the meaning of the root letters KRB, even in other languages, connote One who “Grips” or “Guards”. The Cherubims as Gripers or Guardians of the Shekkinah of God have OT instances. The Angels that were posted to ‘guard’ Eden after the expulsion of Adam from the garden were named Cherubim (cf. Gen 3:24). In other OT manifestations of Divine Presence, Cherubims featured as attendants of these theophanies. When God delivered Patriarch David from the hands of Saul in answer to his prayers, David expressed this in Ps. 18: 6-10. Elsewhere in Ps 80:1; 99:1; 1 Sam 4:4, we find similar expressions of God as one who sits enthroned upon the Cherubim. In fact, from the OT uses of the term ‘Cherub’ (28 times) and Cherubim (68 times) one gets four basic images of this rank: 1. They are pictured as living chariot of the theophanic God with the imagery of the storm-wind. Notice that in Ps.18:11 and 2 Sam. 22:11, the phrase “…and he rode upon a Cherub and flew swiftly on the wings of the wind”… 2. They are pictured as gripping and guarding the throne of Yahweh Sabbaoth where the Ark of the Covenant is placed. (Cf. 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2 and I Chron. 13:6)… 3. In the book of Ezekiel (cf. 1:5; 9:3; 10:1, 22), one gets the impression that their image is interchangeable with those of the Seraphim. In the NT visions of John the Apostle, the ‘Seraphim’ of Isaiah 6:2, 6 are presented as another form of the Cherubim. The Apocalyptic description of them in the book of Revelation in chapters 4-6 combines the expressions of four living creatures in ‘Zoon’ as they are known in the Septuagint. The root emphasizes that the Cherubim, together with the Seraphim and the Thrones, are depicted in some way by land creatures. However, the peculiar quality of Angels from Cherubic choir is that they are Angels with great understanding or great effusion of wisdom. Through this choir deep knowledge of God and His mysteries are communicated to others. Through them, enlightenment is given to the spiritual eyes for seeing God. “More than the other lower orders of Angels, they are always radiant with the light of the knowledge of God, with the knowledge of the mysteries of God and the depths of His Wisdom; being themselves enlightened, they enlighten others.”