It’s understandable that even angels have a sort of a hierarchy and the archangels sit at the zenith of this hierarchy. They have the greater power and authority over other angels. With different ranks the appearance of the angels differ, such as the number of wings and faces. Different believes have introduced different number of ranks. For example, Judaism introduces ten ranks, Christianity describes nine ranks. Islamic religion does not directly introduce the levels but some scholars believe there are fourteen levels in the angelic hierarchy. The highest ranking angels are called "archangels" were the term is mostly associated with the abrahamic religions.
But beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of religious traditions. The term archangel itself is not found in the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament, or in the greek New Testament. It only occurs in Thessalonians 1 and the epistle of Jude, where it is used when mentioning the archangel michael. But in Daniel even the archangel michael is called one of the chief princes and the great prince. It is believed there are seven archangels according to many religions.
Different sources mention different names, but they all seem to mention the names Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. Some says the seven archangels correspond to days of the week, Michael corresponding to sunday, Gabriel to monday, Uriel to tuesday, Raphael to wednesday, Selaphiel to thursday, Raguel or Jegudiel to friday, and Barachiel to saturday
And various occult systems associate each archangel with one of the traditional "seven luminaries", that is classical planets visible to the naked eye, which are the sun, the moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and Saturn. But not much is described as to which archangel corresponds to which body.
According to Rudolf Steiner who is an Austrian philosopher, four archangels govern the seasons. Spring by Raphael, summer by Uriel, autumn by Michael, and winter by Gabriel.
Sometimes distinctions are made even in the way you write the word archangel. Archangel with an uppercase ‘Ae’ is said to be of a first rank angel while the archangel with a lowercase ‘ae’ is ranked as a second rank angel. The appearance of the archangels as well changes from archangel to archangel according to their specialties. They are especially identified by the colorful aura they emit. Different archangels emit different auras.
The Archangels oversee and guide entire groups or nations of humans, and are involved in the formation of space.
They are able to provide powerful guidance since they can view reality, including our past, present and future as one stream of energy within the present moment. At the same time they can be present in different locations guiding and handling each situation.
They have the authority to govern other angels and hence give them duties which should be performed in the name of the god. Unlike other angels it is also believed archangels will not present themselves or offer guidance unless you ask for it. But it is not easy for one to get their attention.
Archangels use different unique ways to answer a prayer. If you need their presence you need to ask for them. Tell us your experiences with arch angels. Have you ever encountered one?
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