Do angels have different ranks

Answer 1

The biblical evidence is that there are different ranks of angels... or an "order or chain of command" among God's angels... as there is "order" throughout God's creation.

This evidence is revealed to us in the account of "star wars;" where we are told about Satan's attempt to depose God from His throne in heaven in his endeavor to BE GOD, to elevate himself to become the "ruler of the universe" over all of creation.

After an undisclosed period of time following the creation of the angels [there is simply no time frame mentioned]... the Archangel Lucifer corrupted himself, harboring resentfulness; jealousy, lust and greed... thinking that he could run the universe better than God:

"For you said to yourself. 'I WILL ASCEND TO HEAVEN [I will GO TO HEAVEN] and set MY THRONE above God's stars [stars are biblical symbolism for angels - see Rev.1:20]. I will climb to the highest heavensand BE LIKE the Most High.'" (Isa.14:13-14 NLTNew Living Translation)

[Lucifer - who turned himself into Satan, or Adversary against God, through his selfish, corrupted attitude, was standing on earth when he said these things; having to CLIMB to where he needed to go to depose God, in the THIRD heaven - see II Cor.12:2. The Bible speaks of THREE heavens, two of which Satan had to 'climb beyond' to get to God's 'third' one. These two heavens are 1) the breathable atmosphere of the earth where 'birds fly' -- and 2) the vacuum of outer space beyond the first heaven, which is where the limitless stars and universe reside]

The evidence shows that Lucifer [Satan - the great Dragon or Serpent - see Rev.12:9] had "angels under his command"... evidently, a full ONE-THIRD of all the angels God created were LED BY HIM:

"His tail dragged down ONE-THIRD OF THE STARS [angels, remember?], which he threw to the earth..." (Rev.12:4 NLT)

Satan corrupted the angels under his command... gossiping, bad-mouthing, cajoling, coercing, persuading them of how "unfair" things were. God had plans for the procreation of His Family through a bunch "LIVING clay molds," for which He had His angels were slated to "minister to them" [see Heb.1:14]... to SERVE THEM... to teach them... to help them along to grow and develop into GOD's Loving, Caring, Obedient CHILDREN!

Satan must have resented not having been given "the first shot at become God's Children" instead of giving it to a bunch of ridiculous "living clay pots." And the evidence is that "the angels under his command" were eventually convinced by their leader, and agreed with him:

"...I remind you of THE ANGELS WHO DID NOT STAY WITHIN THE LIMITS OF AUTHORITY GOD GAVE THEM [as 'ministering spirits' - see again Heb.1:14] but LEFT THE PLACE WHERE THEY BELONGED. God has kept them chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for THE DAY OF JUDGMENT." (Jude 1:6)

There is organization and rank throughout God's creation... including the "family structure" that God created with the man as head of his household, with his wife as his "next-in-command." The TWO of them lovingly ruling "as one" [ideally, as God created it] over their children.

"You wives will submit to your husbands AS YOU DO TO THE LORD. For a husband is THE HEAD OF HIS WIFE as CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF HIS BODY, the church..." (Eph.5:22-23 NLT)

The world has come to reject this Divinely-inspired "order and ranking" of the family structure of God's creation [with mankind, deceived by his chosen god, fooled into thinking that 'marriage' is his invention]. But it shouldn't be too surprising when one realizes whom the first two people created chose to obey and worship in the beginning of their existence above their True Creator: the Serpent! [see Gen.3] The key to a successful family existence, according to the Divine-formula, of course, is that BOTH RANKING MEMBERS of the "command cell" [family] BOTH HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEIRS IS ALSO A SUBORDINATE RANKING, and that THEY MUST BE SUBMISSIVE TO THE LORD -- the "twelve-star" GENERAL over all that is!

But the Bible reveals that angels, too, have different "ranks." Which is no better displayed than in the matter of "Star Wars"... in which the Bible reveals God's angels were engaged. Not a "world war"... but a "worlds" war... a "universal war" where the universe was at stake, as to who would RULE OVER IT.

An army requires a "chain-of-command!" A "rank-and-file": generals, lower-rank officers, non-coms, corporals and privates; whereby a successful war campaign can be planned and waged against opposing armies.

"THEN THERE WAS WAR IN HEAVEN! Michael AND THE ANGELS UNDER HIS COMMAND fought the Dragon and HIS ANGELS. And the Dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great Dragon - the ancient Serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the WHOLE WORLD - was thrown down to the earth WITH ALL HIS ANGELS [remember Jude 1:6?]." (Rev.12:7-9 NLT)

Without organization and ranking or chain-of-command... in peace time or in time of war... among men or angels -- there is only chaos, confusion, lawlessness and anarchy. You know... THE WAY THE WORLD IS... because mankind under the command of his chosen "lawless" god and his demons has created this chaotic, confused, lawless world on which he lives. A world that's headed right back to the state it was in as a result of the original "star wars" ["...without form and void..." - see Gen.1:2].

In fact, as ranking goes... the Bible reveals that mankind, for the time being, ranks BELOW THE ANGELS! At least until our Creator has finished His process of procreation; when His Firstborn Son will DELIVER the rest of His CHILDREN:

"...God never said to an angel, as He did to His Son, 'Sit in Honor at My Right Hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.' But angels are only servants. They are spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive Salvation." (Heb.1:13-14 NLT)

"...'What is man that you should think of him, and the son of man that you should care for him? For a LITTLE WHILE you made him LOWER THAN THE ANGELS, and you crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things. [all things includes, ultimately by implication, the universe] Now when it says 'all things' it means NOTHING IS LEFT OUT. But we have not seen all of this happen [yet].

"What we DO SEE is JESUS, who 'for a little while was made LOWER THAN THE ANGELS and now 'IS CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOR' because He suffered death FOR US. Yes, by God's Grace, Jesus tasted death for EVERYONE IN ALL THE WORLD. And it was only right that God - who made everything and for whom everything was made - SHOULD BRING HIS MANY CHILDREN INTO GLORY. Through the suffering of Jesus [who made the first two people - see John 1:1-3], God made Him a Perfect Leader, One fit to BRING THEM INTO THEIR SALVATION. So now Jesus and THE ONES HE MAKES HOLY have THE SAME FATHER. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them BROTHERS AND SISTERS." (Heb.2:6-11 NLT)