The Celestial Hierarchy

The remaining order for our contemplation, which completes the angelic hierarchies, is arranged from the deiform Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. And first, as far as I can, I think it necessary to explain the manifestations of these holy names.

The name of the heavenly Principalities manifests their deiform principality and power of leadership, together with sacred order and most fitting princely virtues. It signifies that they are wholly turned toward the super-principal Principle, that they lead others hierarchically, that they are themselves reformed, as far as possible, toward that very Principle of principality, and that they manifest His superessential ordering through the adornment of principal virtues.

The order of the holy Archangels, however, is indeed equal in power to the heavenly Principalities. For, as I said, the hierarchy and disposition of both them and the Angels is one. Yet, since there is no hierarchy which does not have first, middle, and last powers, the holy order of Archangels is received as a communicative middle within the hierarchy of the extremes. For it communicates both with the most sacred Principalities and with the holy Angels: with the former, because it is principally turned toward the superessential Principle, is reformed toward Him as far as possible, and unifies the Angels according to its well-ordered and invisible leaderships; with the latter, because it also belongs to them by an interpretive and annunciatory order, receiving the divine illuminations hierarchically through the first powers, announcing them deiformly to the Angels, and through the Angels manifesting them to us, according to the sacred proportion of each of those divinely illuminated.

For the Angels themselves, as we have said, complete and consummate all the dispositions of the heavenly minds, in the sense that they possess angelic property as the last consummating order among the heavenly essences. They are more properly named Angels in relation to us than the higher orders, since their hierarchy is nearer to us and more concerned with what surrounds us.

For the most excellent disposition, as has been said, must be understood to sanctify the second, since it is ordered first and nearest to the hidden Godhead itself. The second disposition, which is completed by the holy Dominations, Virtues, and Powers, presides over the hierarchy of the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels: the first hierarchy doing this more manifestly, and the hierarchy after it more hiddenly.

But the manifesting disposition of Principalities, Archangels, and Angels presides over human hierarchies in due sequence, so that there may be, in order, a return, conversion, communion, and union with God; and so also that there may be a procession from God, most excellently bestowed upon all hierarchies, arriving communicatively and with most sacred order.

Hence theology assigns our hierarchy to Angels, naming Michael as the prince of the Jewish people, and others as patrons of the nations. For the Most High established the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the Angels of God.

But if someone should say, “How, then, was the Hebrew people alone led back into the thearchic illuminations?” we must answer that the right knowledge of the Angels is not to be blamed for the error of the other nations concerning non-existent gods. Rather, those nations themselves, by their own inclinations, fell away from the right return toward the divine, through self-love, pride, and the worship of opinions which they treated as divine and proportionate to themselves. And the Hebrew people itself is testified to have suffered this same thing. For Scripture says: “Thou hast rejected the knowledge of God, and hast gone after thy own heart.”

For we do not possess a compelled life; nor are the divine lights of providential illumination darkened by the proper power of providence over those provided for. Rather, the dissimilarity of intellectual visions, before the overflowing paternal goodness, either makes the gift of light altogether unparticipated and undistributed to their reformation, or makes the participations different: small or great, obscure or clear, though the fountain-ray itself is one, simple, always the same, and superabundantly expanded.

Furthermore, even the other nations—from whom we also have looked toward that great and abundant sea of divine light, prepared for all, handed down to all, and opened to all—were not ruled by certain alien gods. Rather, there is one Principle of all, and the Angels presiding over each nation led those who followed them back to that Principle.

Melchisedech must be understood as a high priest, most beloved of God: not of gods that do not exist, but of the truly existing, most high God. For the theosophers did not simply call Melchisedech a friend of God, but also a priest. Was this not so that they might clearly signify to the wise that he not only turned himself toward the God who truly is, but also, as high priest, led others by the return toward the true and only Divinity?

And we shall also remind your high-priestly understanding of this: that both to Pharaoh among the Egyptians, through the Angel who ruled over him, and to the prince of the Babylonians under his own president, there was distributed in visions something providential and authoritative from the providence and dominion over all things. Leaders, ministers of the true God, were appointed for those nations; and the manifestation of visions formed by Angels was revealed immediately from God through Angels to the holy men Daniel and Joseph.

For there is one Principle and Providence of all. And it must in no way be thought that the Jews were led fully by the Divinity, while Angels, either specially, or equally honorably, or as opposing powers, or as certain other gods, ruled the other nations. Rather, that Scriptural saying must be received according to this sacred understanding: not as though God divided our rule with other gods or Angels, and was content with Israel for His own national principality and national rule; but rather that the one and same exalted Providence of all distributed all men, for their salvation, to the restorative guidance of their proper Angels, while Israel alone, almost beyond all others, was turned toward the illumination and knowledge of the true Lord.

Hence theology, signifying that Israel was possessed by God Himself for the true service of God, says: “He became the portion of the Lord.” But showing also that God distributed him, like the other nations, to one of the holy Angels, in order that through him he might know the one Principle of all, it says that Michael led the Jewish people. By this it clearly teaches us that there is one Providence of all, superessentially placed above all invisible and visible powers together, and that all the Angels ruling over the several nations extend, according to their essential will, the powers that follow them toward Him as their proper Principle.