The third heaven in Sefer HaRazim is a realm of fire and celestial light—but not the destructive fire of the second heaven. Here, fire is creative and purifying. The angels of the third heaven stand in columns of flame, their bodies luminous, singing hymns that generate the light visible in the night sky as stars.
The text names the angels of the third heaven in three companies. The first company governs the light that illuminates the righteous in paradise—the Or HaGanuz (אור הגנוז), the Hidden Light that God created on the first day of creation and then concealed for the righteous in the world to come. This concept appears in the Talmud (Chagigah 12a), where the rabbis explain that the primordial light of (Genesis 1:3) was too holy for the present world and was stored away for the future.
The second company controls the fire that separates the upper waters from the lower waters—the rakia (רקיע), the firmament described in (Genesis 1:6-7). In this cosmological framework, the firmament is not merely a dome but an active barrier of angelic fire, preventing the celestial waters from flooding the earth below. The angels continuously maintain this barrier through their songs of praise.
The third company governs the cycle of day and night. They escort the sun on its journey from east to west during the day and back again through a hidden tunnel beneath the earth at night—a cosmological model attested in several Talmudic passages (Pesachim 94b). The angels of the third heaven determine the precise moment of sunrise and sunset, ensuring the cosmic clock never falters.
The adjurations connected to the third heaven deal primarily with knowledge and illumination. The practitioner who successfully invokes these angels is promised understanding of hidden things—the ability to interpret dreams, foresee events, and discern the true character of other people. Light, in this heaven, is a metaphor for knowledge—and knowledge is a form of power granted by angels made of fire.