I am not aware of there being “9 types of angels.” I only know of “three specific classes of angels.” Before I cite scriptures which teach us of these 3 types of angels, there is a scripture which you may be thinking of which makes people believe there are “4 more types of angels” (in addition to the 3 that we will consider). The scripture I’m referring to is Ephesians 6:12 which reads, “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” (NKJV). Here we see FOUR different “designations of angels.” Perhaps we lack sufficient knowledge to distinguish between them but they seem to be describing four different ranks or positions of authority within the kingdom of Satan. Satan is most surely the leader of fallen angels, as we see in Matthew 12:24, “Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the RULER OF THE DEMONS.’” Though these angels differ in the positions they occupy, it is not describing what “type of angel they are.” Now we will look briefly at the “3 classes of angels.”

1) The CHERUBIM: We first read of them in Genesis 3:24, “So He (God) drove out the man; and He placed CHERUBIM at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to GUARD THE WAY to the tree of life.” We learn here that Cherubim were used of God to “keep men from approaching what was sacred to God.” This is consistent with every passage that speaks of the Cherubim. I would encourage you to read Exodus 25:17-22 where “two cherubim” were placed at each end of the Ark (which symbolized God’s throne) that sat in the Holy of holies in the temple. Thus they are seen “guarding God’s throne.” In Ezekiel chapter 10 we have a detailed description of Cherubim “guarding God’s chariot throne.” Finally, Satan, who was once called Lucifer, is called “the ANOINTED CHERUB WHO COVERS” in Ezekiel 28:14 for he was responsible to “guard God’s throne from evil.” Yet instead of protecting God’s throne from evil he rebelled against it with the desire to sit as God on that throne…see Isaiah 14:12-14.

2) The SERAPHIM: We only have one reference to this class of angels which is found in Isaiah 6:1-3, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood SERAPHIM; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” It would seem that the main purpose of this class of angels was to WORSHIP GOD. Here they are worshipping the Holy Trinity and thus they cry out “holy” three times.

3) The ARCHANGEL: We have several references to the “archangel” in Scripture. We learn his actual name in Jude 9, “Yet MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!” In the book of Daniel 10:21 he is referred to as “Michael YOUR prince” for one of his main purposes is to protect “the nation of Israel.” This is confirmed in Daniel 12:1 where we read, “At that time Michael shall stand up, the GREAT PRINCE WHO STANDS WATCH OVER THE SONS OF YOUR PEOPLE; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And as that time YOUR PEOPLE SHALL BE DELIVERED, every one who is found written in the book.” This “great prince” is “Israel’s great defender” during the coming Great Tribulation which is referred to in Jeremiah 30:7 as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” He will also be present before that time when the Lord Jesus returns to summon His saints to glory: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL…” It has been suggested that the Lord’s voice will raise the dead and change the living believers who make up “the church of God” while the archangel’s voice will be command the Old Testament believers to come forth from their graves, which supports the view that Michael is “the great prince of the nation of Israel.”

In closing, I would add another prominent angel that is spoken of in Daniel 8:16; 9:21 and Luke 1:19 & 26. His name is GABRIEL and in each case he serves as a MESSENGER for God. He does NOT have a designated title, so he is not a cherub (who “guards God’s throne”), a seraph (who “worships at God’s throne) or an archangel (who “protects God’s earthly people, Israel”). Rather, he is an angel that “sends messages to God’s earthly people, Israel.”  (421.5)  (DO)