Ophanim

The First Hierarchal Sphere

Heavenly Counsellors: (Old Testament)

The Ophanim form the third Order or Choir in the Hierarchy of Angels according to the comparative study of Old and New Testament passages.

OphanimThe Ophanim (Heb. owphan: Wheels, also known as Thrones, from the vision of  Daniel 7:9) are unusual looking compared to the other celestial beings.

The Ophanim appear as a beryl-coloured wheel-within-a-wheel, their rims covered with hundreds of eyes.

They are closely connected with the Cherubim: "When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures [Cherubim] was in the wheels." (Ezekiel 10:17). In Esoteric Christianity they are called Lords of Flame.

De Coelesti Hierarchia refers the Thrones (from the Old Testament; Ezekiel and Daniel visions of the Thrones/Wheels) as the third Order of the first sphere, corresponding  to the description of the Ophanim; the other two superior orders being the Cherubim and Seraphim.

The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception refers that the "Lords of the Flame", the Hierarchy of Elohim astrologically assigned to Leo, are the Thrones "because of the brilliant luminosity of their bodies and their great spiritual powers” corresponding also to the description of the Ophanim; the other two superior hierarchies being also the Cherubim and Seraphim.

According to this esoteric Christian teaching, these three Hierarchies have already reached liberation, thus no longer active in the work of evolution.