The Christian Fathers and the heretical teachers greatly elaborated the angelic hierarchy ; of these perhaps the writer who had most influence was pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (de Ccel. Hier. vi.-ix., c. A.D. 500), who divided the heavenly host into three divisions, with three subdivisions in each: (1) thrones, cherubim, seraphim ; (2) powers (i^ovcrlai), lordships (KvpidrriTes), mights (dwdfieis) ; (3) angels, archangels, principalities {dpxai). On the analogy of this list, the Syriac-speaking Churches divided the Christian ministry into three classes, each with three sub-classes. P'or other divisions of angels in post-apostolic times see Lightfoot's note on Col 1"".
Very few names of angels occur in the NT. Of the holy angels only Gabriel (Lk 1'*- ^^) and Michael (Jude », Rev 12^) are named (from Dn 8'« 9-' 10i=*- ^' 1 2' ). We also have the proper names Satan (thirty-
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one times, nineteen outside the Gospels), Beelzebub (Gospels only, six times), and Belial or Beliar (2 Co 6^*). See Devil, Belial. In the Apocrypha we have Raphael in To 12'^ Uriel in 2 Es 4^ 5=0 10-», and Jeremiel in 2 Es 4^^ (the last book perhaps is to be dated c. A.D. 90). Many other names are found in Jewish writings ; see D. Stone, Outlines of Chr. Dogma, London, 1900, p. 38 ; Edersheim, Life and Times, App. xiii. ; Eth. Enoch, 20 (Uriel, Kafael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel ; the Gr. frag- ment [Charles, p. 356 f.] has Sariel for Saraqael, and adds Kemiel [ = Jeremiel]).
5. Function of the angels. — The NT represents the angels as having a double activity, towards God and towards man. Both these aspects are found in He 1'^ (see below), as in Is 6^"'', where the seraphim worship before God, and one of them is sent to the prophet, and in Lk 1'*, where Gabriel is said to stand in the presence of God, and to be sent to Zacharias.
(a) Toioards God. — The angels are 'liturgic spirits' (Xetroi'PYtKct irvevixaTa, He 1^* ; cf. Dn 7'" iXeiTOvp- yovv avTi^ [Theodotion ; the version in our Gr. OT] for nj?!?.??':, ' ministered unto him' ; the Chigi LXX has ^depdvevop avrdv) ; their ministry is an ordered one, before the throne of God : ' the whole host of His angels . . . minister {XeirovpyoOcriv) unto His will, standing by Him * (Clem. Rom. Cor. 34 ; cf. the 4th cent. Ignatian interpolator, Philad. 9, ' the liturgic powers of God '). They worship God in heaven (Rev 5"^ 7" S^"* ; cf. Job P 2^), and on earth (Lk 2'^'-) ; they worship the Firstborn when He is brought into the world (He 1*), and are witnesses of the Incarnation (1 Ti 3^® 'seen of angels' — but Grimm interprets arf/{\ois here as the apostles, witnesses of the risen Christ, and Swete tliinks the reference is to the Agony in Gethsemane [^Ascended Christ, 1910, p. 24]). To this heavenly worship there seems to be a reference in 1 Co 13^ 'tongues of angels.' In Jewish thought there were ' angels of the presence,' the highest order of the hierarchy, who stood before the face of God, within the veil (Edersheim, Life and Times, i. 122 ; To 12'5 ; Eth. Enoch, 40). There may be a reference to these in Rev 1* ' the seven spirits which are before his throne' (Swete interprets this of the sevenfold working of the Holy Spirit) ; 8^ ' the seven angels which stand before God ' (cf. v.'*) ; Mt 18"* ' in heaven [the little ones'] angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven ' ; and in Lk 1'^ (see above).
They will attend on the Son at the Last Judg- ment (1 Th 416, 2 Th 1^ Rev 3") ; and this seems to be the most probable reference in 1 Th 3'^ ' with all his saints ' (or * holy ones ' — rdv ayiuv aiiroO) and in Jude " ' with ten thousands of his holy ones' (or 'with his holy myriads,' iv d7t'ats fivpidcrtv ai>roC), where the words are quoted from Enoch, i. 9, the text of the latter in the Gizeh Greek fragment being ffiiv tois {sic) /j.vpLd(Tiv avroO /cat rots 0.7/015 airroO. The words in Jude are certainly to be understood of the angels, and this makes the similar interpre- tation of 1 Th 3'^ more likely. But Milligan (Com. in loc.) thinks that the latter reference is to 'just men made perfect,' who are said to judge, or to be 'brought with' Jesus at the Judgment (1 Th 4^^ Mt 19-8, Lk 2230; cf. Wis 38; for 1 Co 6* see 7 below). No doubt the saints will rule with Christ (Rev 22«- 20^ etc.); but, as all men will them- selves be judged (Ro 14'", 2 Co 5'"), the interpre- tation of the above passages as implying that the saints will themselves be judges at the Last Day is somewhat doubtful. The attendance of the angels on the Great Judge is mentioned in all four Gospels (Mt 13« \&'^ 243i 25«, Mk 8=*8 13^7, Lk 92« 128£-, and Jn P^ [where the reference is to Gn 28^^]). {b) Toivards man. — The angels do service {^MKovla) to man as heirs of salvation (He 1^*).
They ministered to our Lord on earth, in His human nature, after the Temptation in the wilder- ness (Mt4", Mk P^ not in i| Lk. ), and at Gethsemane (Lk 22-*2 : this may not be part of the Third Gospel, but is certainly part of a 1st cent, tradition ; it could not have been invented by the scribes [see Westcott-Hort, NT in Greek, ii. App., p. 67]. The present writer has argued for its being older than Lk., and retiecting the same stage of thought as Mk. {DCG ii. 124"]). In Mt 26^ Jesus says that angels would have ministered to Him, had He so willed, when Judas betrayed Him.