The Doctrine of God and Creation : The Spiritual World :Angels

b. Classes of Angels. Notes from Louis Berkhof Summary of Christian Doctrine.

There are evidently different classes of angels or different ranks. The Bible speaks of:

1. Cherubim :They reveal the power, the Majesty and the glory of God, and guard His holiness in the Garden of Eden, in the tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, and at the descent of God to the earth.

Gen 3:24  And He drove out the man. And He placed cherubs at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Exo 25:18  And you shall make two cherubs of gold; of beaten work you shall make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat.

2Sa 22:10  He bowed the heavens also, and came down. And darkness was under His feet.

2Sa 22:11  And He rode upon a cherub and did fly. And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.

Psa 18:10  And He rode on a cherub, and flew; yea, He soared on the wings of the wind.

Psa 80:1  To the Chief Musician. A Testimony Concerning the Lilies. A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You dwelling between the cherubim, shine forth.

Isa 37:15  And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying,

Isa 37:16  O Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubs, You are He, God, You alone to all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.

Isa 37:17  Bow down Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to mock the living God.

2. The Seraphim :They are mentioned only in Isaiah 6:2-6

Isa 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I then saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Isa 6:3  And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts; the whole earth full of His glory.

Isa 6:4  And the doorposts moved at the voice of the one who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isa 6:5  Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.

Isa 6:6  Then one of the seraphs flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, snatched with tongs from the altar.

Seraphim stand as servants around the Throne of the heavenly King, sing His Praises, and are ever ready to do His bidding. They serve the Purpose of Reconciliation and prepare men for the Proper approach to God.

Two angels are mentioned by Name.

3. The first of these two is Gabriel.( In the Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, Modern Gavri'el, Tiberian Gaḇrîʼēl "God is my strength"; Biblical Greek: Γαβριήλ,Gabriēl) is an angel who typically serves as a messenger sent from God to certain people.) Wikipedia.com

Dan 8:16  And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this one understand the vision.

Dan 8:17  So he came near beside my place. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end.

Dan 9:21  yes, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, touched me in my severe exhaustion, about the time of the evening sacrifice.

2. The Second of these two is Michael.

Dan 10:13  But the ruler (Prince) of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief rulers, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia - In explaining this very difficult verse it may be proper

(1) to consider the literal sense of the words;

(2) to deduce the fair meaning of the passage as thus explained; and

(3) to notice the practical truths taught.

The word rendered “prince” - שׂר  s'ar - means, properly, a leader, commander, chief, as of troops, Gen_21:22; of a king’s body-guard, Gen_37:36; of cup-bearers, Gen_41:9; of a prison, Gen_39:21-22; of a flock, Gen_47:6. Then it means a prince, a noble, a chief in the state, Gen_12:15. In Dan_8:25, in the phrase “Prince of princes,” it refers to God. So far as the word is concerned in the phrase “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” it might refer to a prince ruling over that kingdom, or to a prime minister of the state; but the language also is such that it is applicable to an angelic being supposed to preside over a state, or to influence its counsels. If this idea is admitted; if it is believed that angels do thus preside over particular states, this language would properly express that fact. Gesenius (Lexicon) explains it in this passage as denoting the “chiefs, princes, and angels; i. e., the archangels acting as patrons and advocates of particular nations before God.” That this is the proper meaning here as deduced from the words is apparent, for

(a) it is an angel that is speaking, and it would seem most natural to suppose that he had encountered one of his own rank;

(b) the mention of Michael who came to Daniels aid - a name which, as we shall see, properly denotes an angel, leads to the same conclusion;

(c) it accords, also, with the prevailing belief on the subject.

Undoubtedly, one who takes into view all the circumstances referred to in this passage would most naturally understand this of an angelic being, having some kind of jurisdiction over the kingdom of Persia.

Dan 10:21  But I will show you that which is written in the Scripture of Truth. And there is none who holds strongly with me in these things, but Michael your Prince (ruler). MKJV

Jud 1:9  But Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil and arguing with him about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce judgement on him in abusive terms, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you."

In the Epistle of Jude He is called an Archangel. He is a valiant warrior fighting the Battles of Jehovah against the enemies of the people of God and against the evilpowers in the Spiritual world.

Archangel G743 ἀρχάγγελος archaggelos Thayer Definition:

1) archangel, or chief of the angels

3. Besides these Bible Mentions Principalities, and powers, thrones and Dominions.

See Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; Col.1:16;2:10 and 1 Peter 3:22.

These names point to differences in rank and dignity among angels.