An Historical Summary of Angelic Hierarchies from Part VII: The “Seven” Thrones in In Operibus Sigillo Dei Aemeth by David Richard Jones.

“It seems probable that this earlier genre of angelical classification is the source of Paul’s reference in Colossians.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Colossians 1:16 (KJV)

It is from this reference by St. Paul that all subsequent Christian theological discussions on the subject base their authority.” [via]

 


St. Paul preaching on the Areopagus

 

Consider also:

  1. Fraternal Lodge men in Masks
  2. “A similar, though less elaborate nine-fold celestial hierarchy was proposed by Pope Gregory I in his Gospel Homilies and in his Moralia on Job by collecting the Old Testament and Pauline references to angelic orders and arranging them by logical inference. We speak of nine orders of Angels, because we know, by the testimony of Holy Scripture, that there are the following: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherumbim and Seraphim. Nearly every page of Scripture is witness to the fact that there are Angels and Archangels. The prophetic books, as has been noted often, speak of Cherubim and Seraphim. Four more orders are enumerated by Paul the Apostle, writing to the Ephesians, when he says, ‘Above every Principality and Power and Virtue and Domination.’ And again writing to the Colossians, he says, ‘Whether Thrones, or Powers, or Principalities, or Dominations.’ When ,then, we add the Thrones to those he mentions to the Ephesians, there are five orders, to which are to be added Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim, certainly making nine orders of Angels in all. Homily XXIV — Pope St. Gregory I”
  3. “In order to see why Dee and Kelly would have recognized a term like ‘Throne’ to be a definition of one of the Orders found in the Sigillum, it is important to understand how the concept evolved theologically.”
  4. “Pseudo-Dionysus ranks the Thrones amongst the highest third of his nine (three by three ranking) orders of Celestial Beings and gives to them the function of showing forth the Divine Radiance. ‘The name of the most glorious and exalted Thrones denotes that which is exempt from and unattained by any base and earthly thing, and the super mundane ascent up the steep. For these have no part in that which is lowest, but dwell in fullest power, immovably and perfectly established in the Most High, and receive the Divine Immanence above al passion and matter, and manifest God, being attentively open to divine participations.’ Chapter VII: Of the Seraphim, Cherubim & Thrones & their first Hierarchy”
  5. “In the first section below and the text following it, not given but to which the careful reader is referred, the hierarchy is fairly strictly that of Saint Gregory and Denis. In the second section here we have a threefold division according to the lower planetary spheres, exactly along the lines given in the passage describing the principle hierarchies of the Sigillum, that is Thrones, Archangels (or as demonstrated above Trumpets) and Angels. And in the final section we see that Thrones are assigned to the motions of the heavenly spheres. This is the function they seem to have in the overall structure of the Sigillum and which clearly relates to the magical theories of Dee’s own Propeadeumata Aphoristica.”