Angels that carry the decisions to the angels of the Divine

Presence to the sixth heaven;

Angels of the Divine Presence in the fifth heaven;

Saints or Holy ones in the fourth heaven;

Powers of the camp, or army in the third heaven;

Spirits of visitations or retributions in the second heaven.

There are other classifications; Origen gives five classes in ascending

scale: angels, princedoms, powers, thrones, dominions.  It will be seen that

in Colossians 1:16 Paul departs from his usual order, and commences, as do

the Gnostics, with 'thrones'.  The Essenes made the safeguarding of the names

of angels an important item in their scrupulous ritual.  The totality of

Divine powers, was called by the Gnostics, The Pleroma 'The Fulness' (see the

article Pleroma3), and where Gnosticism put the ever descending scale of

principalities and powers, Paul places at the Head, Christ, as the Firstborn

of all creation, the Image of the invisible God, and at the close the

Plenitude or Pleroma.  As the Image He exhausts the wonder of the Godhead

manifested, and in Him all fulness dwells.  He alone is the Mediator between

God and men; all else is incipient idolatry, for 'image worship' usurps the

prerogative of Christ.  The apostle does not dwell upon, or explain what

constituted the Gnosticism of his day; he has a simpler and more satisfactory

method of dealing with it and all like it.  He says:

'Be on your guard; do not suffer yourselves to fall a prey to certain

persons who would lead you captive by a hollow and dreadful system,

which they call philosophy.  They substitute the traditions of men for

the truth of God.  They enforce an elementary discipline ("a specious

make-believe, on the lines of human tradition, corresponding to the

elemental spirits of the world", Moffatt) ... and so in Him -- not in

any inferior mediators -- ye have your life, your being, for ye are

filled from His fulness.  He, I say, is the Head over all spiritual

beings -- call them principalities or powers or what you will' (Bishop

lt will be seen from the Gnostic teaching exposed by the apostle that

these principalities and powers were usurpers, and were holding believers and

mankind in thrall.  These angelic rulers are the captivity which the ascended

Lord led captive (Eph. 4:8), and this phrase, 'He led captivity captive and

gave gifts unto men' is quoted from Psalm 68:17,18.  The reference here is to

the giving of the law at mount Sinai:

'The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the

Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.  Thou hast ascended

on high, thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for

The transition from Sinai with its overwhelming host of angels (the

literal translation of verse 17 is, 'The chariots of God are myriads twice-

told, thousands of repetition'), to leading captivity captive seems to

suggest some conflict among the heavenly hosts, arising out of the

application of the law, somewhat similar to the spoiling of principalities

and powers at the cross, in relation to the imposition of the handwriting of

ordinances, as revealed in Colossians 2:14-17.  Whether under the law of