The uppermost section of the hierarchy, these are the angels closest to the throne of God.They are the holiest and most powerful of the nine angelic choirs. There is said to be four of these angelic beings. They are listed as the four holy beasts in the book of Revelation. They are typically depicted as having six wings two to cover their face, two to cover their feet and two with which to fly. They are also said to spend their existence around the throne of God singing his praises.

Second to only the seraphim, the Cherubim hold the knowledge of God. Cherubim (singular is cherub) are very close to God. There appearance is typically bestial having wings, lions bodies and 4 faces.It is 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. keepers of celestial records, bestowers of knowledge. Chief rulers are Ophaniel, Rikbiel, Zophiel, and, before his fall, Satan.

Also known as the Ophanim, these angels serve the primary function of being God's chariot. But 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.The ruling prince is Oriphiel

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 They hold an orb or scepter as an emblem of authority, and in Hebraic lore, the chief of this order is named Zadkiel.

The virtues are concerned not only 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. 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.

Powers

Spirits of Form. the powers are responsible for maintaining the border between Heaven and Earth. Acting as a sort of elite guard, Holding one of the most dangerous tasks, 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 pathways between the two realms. 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 they are themselves evil. Ertosi, Sammael, or Camael depending on source is chief of the Powers.

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.

While also listed as a way of defining an especially important angel, the term archangel is used here as the second to last rank in the celestial hierarchy. The archangels are tasked with not only watching the duties of the angels, but also acting as the leaders in the divine army during battle.

Fire Spirits. Angels above the order of Angels. It also serves to designate a specific rank of angels in the angelic hierarchy. The term Archangels refers to the greater angels such as Michael and Gabriel, known also as chief princes. The order can also refer to the angels who stand at the throne of God, thus being the higher angel ranking.

The least 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 "courier". 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.