So I have something that's been bugging me: Aziraphale is a principality, which makes him higher ranking than the archangels, but still let's them boss him around and acts like a lesser angel. Why? Please I need answers this has been on my mind for months

This might help:

Along with this:

for anyone wanting to learn more about the types (choirs) of angels, this is a pretty good infographic with cited lines that talk about them.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. - Ephesians 6:12 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 1:6 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.… - Hebrews 12:1-2 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” - Matthew 8:31

I find it odd that a professed Christian is willing to accept the "Magic Man in the Sky" concept while mocking the "principalities and powers of this world" as naïve. If you accept the one, the other must at least be plausible.

As an Adventist, I would expect an even greater sympathy for the unseen given that there's an elaborate "investigative judgement" as part of our soteriology to prove the righteousness of God to the universe/cosmos.

I think there are several threads of thought here that I'm trying to untangle.

The first is an overly materialist view of the Universe, an Atheistic Therapeutic Deism view of life. I have no idea what the person who wrote this article thinks heaven might be like, if he even believes in a heaven or if that idea slips into his category of superstitious fantasy. What about a bodily resurrection - realistic, or fantastic? What exactly does he think Christianity is if not acknowledging and engaging with the powers of light and darkness that surround us? Is all "demon possession" merely an imbalance of the humors, or perhaps, just "an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato"?

It's hard to say. He seems to be intellectually conflicted, and completely unsure as to what he believes.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. - James 1:8

Depending upon a man's disdain for the spiritual, this line of thinking could lead to a very narcissistic Theology. One that emphasizes embracing and enjoying modern materiality culture such as lust, ambition, and avarice over the spiritual fruits of the Spirit.

The second thread of thought here, after embracing materiality over spirituality, is the idea that the Bible can't be trusted.

Now, I've made it clear that I'm not necessarily a Sola Scriptura kind of guy, but that doesn't mean that I replace it with modern notions of critical scholarship that throws out what I don't like, and interprets the rest to conform to my biases, proclivities, and passions.

Big No.

I look to those who think and write in the oldest Christian traditions I can find. Some of them may actually be modern, but all have been immersed in the waters of an ancient Christian Orthodoxy that predates Luther and even Pope Leo IX.

Thinkers who write in a tradition that predates all the Christian Schisms in the West. St. Isaac the Syrian, St Athanasius the Great, St. Gregory Palamas, St. Anthony the Great - many of the desert fathers to be sure - St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Irenaeus, St. John Chrysostom, St. Symeon the New Theologian, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, among many, many others.

The truth is, if you believe in God, and in his angels, then you must also recognize that Satan and demons exist too. They are two sides of the same coin. To think otherwise is to assert that we live in the best of all possible worlds - because only God and his angels exist.

I contend that we do not, in fact, live in the best of all possible worlds.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy upon me, A Sinner.

Just exploring some fashion concepts for Celestials, here is some Principalities common fashion concepts.

In 1680, Saxe-Gotha (in its second guise) was divided for the seven sons of the late Duke Ernst 'the Pious', with the territory being used to form Saxe-Coburg (in its third iteration) amongst the others.

SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES -- KJV (King James Version) Bible Verse List Visit https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/ to see more. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12, KJV "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:" Ephesians 2:2, KJV "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12, KJV "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15, KJV "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18, KJV "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth . . . And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:3-4a, 7-9, KJV If you would like more info regarding the origin of these KJV Bible verse lists, go to https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/. Thank-you! https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/spiritual-wickedness-in-high-places-kjv-king-james-version-bible-verse-list/?feed_id=111476&SPIRITUAL%20WICKEDNESS%20IN%20HIGH%20PLACES%20--%20KJV%20%28King%20James%20Version%29%20Bible%20Verse%20List

3:15 AM EST December 1, 2023:

Protomartyr - "Principalities" From the album No Passion All Technique (October 8, 2012)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

File under: Reissued debuts

Walking in Dominion and Power.

The dominion of Light is ruled by righteousness.• Psalms 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.When the enemy want to robe people of authority, he will robe them of their righteousness. • Revelation 2:14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught…

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"aphobia doesn't exist"

bitch literally not that long ago an aroace youtuber animator was insulted by almost half of its community for being it

Ephesians 3:10 (NKJV) - to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

I just learned something that fucks me up!

(This post may very likely contain spoilers for Good Omens season 2. Read at your own risk.)

I've always thought Archangels were the highest ranking angels because the Archangels Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel are so often portrayed as the most powerful and as princes of Heaven. Supernatural and Good Omens contribute to this. But then after a half hour fall down Google's angel class rabbit hole I found out that in Christianity at least, Archangels are the second lowest rank and that Seraphim are actually the highest rank! (At least according to wikipedia which cited Pseudo-Dionysius and Saint Thomas Aquinas for this.)

And I know Castiel was resurrected as a Seraph after being killed (at some point) in Supernatural and yet they still portray him as lower than the Archangels and now I'm questioning everything because it seemed like in the early seasons, the writers were really good about doing their research when showing creatures from legends or mythology, even from other cultures, but when they bring angels into it and start using Christianity, they get this so wrong???

Where did this idea come from? Who first decided Archangels were the highest rank even though multiple (non-wiki) sources say they're not? Who came to the conclusion that they were the princes of Heaven? What evidence is there to support that? I think I read something saying Archangels are only mentioned in the Bible three times and none of those times mentions them being anywhere near the top of the hierarchy.

Aaaaarrrgggghhh I'm so freaking confused now! And in Good Omens, Aziraphale is supposedly stated to be a Principality (I don't know when, I don't remember it from the show and I haven't read the book yet), which is one step above Archangel. So it makes no sense at all that Gabriel, an Archangel, would be Aziraphale's boss! And why would the Metatron choose a Principality, a class in the lowest order of angels, to be in charge of Heaven?? Does he believe Aziraphale is naive and will therefore be easy to manipulate? He has been consorting with a demon for millennia after all. Or does he believe that Aziraphale is capable of thinking for himself and that his inability to blindly follow orders without question will make him a good leader for Heaven?

As I said, I'm very confused at this point, so if anyone can offer some insight, I'd greatly appreciate it.

to this day, they still don't believe him

it’s been…a while since you and satoru have gone on an assignment together.

having two young children at home made it difficult to take off on short notice and be away for days at a time. they needed stability and routine, so the two of you had decided that one person would stay home while the other was working.

for a while, that’d worked fine. but now that megumi and tsumiki were older, self-sufficient teens who loved nothing more than being left alone, satoru had seen this as an opportunity.

you’d still been a little hesitant, but it was a simple surveillance mission. easy, right?

“water. you need to stay hydrated.” you instruct when he gets back into the car. he takes the water bottle you’re holding out, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig.

“gakuganji isn’t even home yet,” he reports with a sigh. you hum, distracted as you check your phone. gojo reaches across your knees to pull open the glovebox, rifling through colourful snack wrappers.

“tsumiki hasn’t texted me back,” you mutter. “should i ask nanami to check in on them?”

“nah, i’m sure they’re just super busy trashing the apartment and racking up charges on the emergency credit card. ah– found it!” he pulls out a black silk sleep mask, slipping it on so it rests on his forehead.

“really?” you ask, unimpressed as he holds a second one out to you. “you’re taking a nap?”

“yeah, it’ll be easier to sneak around when it’s dark, why stay awake till then?”

“is that a good idea?” you ask, though you know there’s really no point in trying to argue with his logic.

“your fault for keeping me awake all night. late night laundry folding is no joke.”

“if you’d put it in the dryer when i’d asked—”

“can’t hear you,” he sing-songs, pulling the mask over his eyes. “you can take a nap too, you know. that old fart couldn’t get past us even while asleep.”

“i’ll pass on the nap. need to wait for tsumiki to text.”

he grumbles something incoherent that you’re sure is meant to be argumentative as he reclines his seat a little and lays back, getting comfortable and quiet.

…for about 45 seconds.

you watch out of the corner of your eye as he pulls the mask up a half inch, just enough for his right eye to observe you.

“what do you want now?” you ask.

then, with casualty akin to asking what you want for lunch, he clears his throat and asks, “do you want to have sex?”

“do i want to have what?” you ask, turning to stare at him incredulously, but your face is hot and for a split second, you’d considered agreeing.

“sex,” he repeats, patting his lap with a shit-eating grin. “we’re going to be here for a while, anyways. these seats recline way back—”

“i am not having sex in this car with you, satoru!”

he groans over-dramatically (as he tends to do). “will you at least cuddle with me then? i’m desperate and touch-starved and hopelessly in love with you!”

you make a note to figure out what cheesy rom com he stole that line from, but lean across the console to trail kisses up his shoulder, his neck. satoru does nothing to protect himself from your overly affectionate onslaught, he’s quick to catch your jaw, pulling you in for a proper kiss.

“wait. no, no, no!” he protests when you pull back, eyes suddenly trained on the house you’re meant to be watching. “you can’t just leave me high and dry—”

“he’s home!” you whisper, pressing a hand over his mouth (though he continues with muffled complaints). “pull the car a little further back before we get out.”

you’ve already summoned your shikigami as satoru maneuvers the car into the dense forestry, about to send them off when your phone vibrates in your lap.

“oh! megumi texted me,” you inform him. “he said…‘already made dinner. tsumiki is out on a date—’”

the car grinds to a halt and abruptly turns, the momentum causing your to slam into the side of the car as it peels out onto the dirt road. you curse loudly as your fiancé, devoid of all his playfulness from earlier, speeds through the forest.

“what the— satoru!”