archangels

"Raphael called both men aside privately and said to them, “Bless God, and in the presence of all the living praise him and acknowledge all the good things he has done for you. Bless and extol his name with hymns of praise. Proclaim to all people the deeds of God, and never cease to offer thanksgiving to him. The secret of a king should be concealed, but the works of God should be publicly proclaimed as they deserve. Do what is good, and no evil will befall you."

"Then Tobiah recalled Raphael’s instructions. He removed the liver and heart of the fish from the bag where he had stored them, and he placed them on the embers of the incense. 3 The odor of the fish so repelled the demon that he fled to Upper Egypt. However, Raphael followed him there and bound him hand and foot. Then he returned at once."

"So Tobiah went out to look for someone who knew the way to Media and would be willing to accompany him. Outside, he encountered the angel Raphael standing in front of him. Unaware that he was an angel of God..."

"...and Raphael was sent to heal them both. He was to remove the white patches from Tobit’s eyes so that he might once again behold God’s light with his own eyes, and he was to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, in marriage to Tobiah, son of Tobit, and then free her from the wicked demon Asmodeus. For Tobiah had the right to claim her in marriage before any other suitor."

"Do not be afraid. Peace be with you. Praise God forevermore. As for me, when I came to you, the decision was not in accord with my will but in accord with the will of God. Therefore, continue to bless him every day of your life and sing hymns of praise to him. When you thought that you saw me eating, that was only a vision—I did not eat anything. Now raise yourselves from the ground and give thanks to God. I am about to ascend to him who sent me. Make a written record of all these things that have happened to you."

"I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready to enter before the Glory of the Lord."

"Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim."

"And I heard a man's voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision."

"Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation."

"And the Lord said to Gabriel: "'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have.""

"'This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.' And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days."

"And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season."

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

"Betwixt these rockie pillars Gabriel sat Chief of the Angelic guards (IV.545f)... He ended, and the Son gave signal high To the bright minister that watch'd, he blew His trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps When God descended, and perhaps once more To sound at general doom. (XI.72ff)."

"Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel — for surely he revealed it to thy heart by Allah’s command, verifying that which is before it and a guidance and glad tidings for the believers."

"قل من كان عدوا لجبريل فانه نزله على قلبك باذن الله مصدقا لما بين يديه وهدى وبشرى للمؤمنين"

"Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael, then surely Allah is an enemy to disbelievers."

"من كان عدوا لله وملائكته ورسله وجبريل وميكال فان الله عدو للكافرين"

"This is naught but a revelation revealed, taught him by one mighty in power, very strong; he stood poised being on the higher horizon, then drew near and suspended hung, two bows'-length away, or nearer, then revealed to His servant that he revealed."

"If you both turn to Allah, then indeed your hearts are inclined (to this); and if you back up one another against him, then surely Allah is his Patron, and Gabriel and the righteous believers, and the angels after that are the aiders."

"ONCE UPON A TIME when the world was young there was a Martian named Smith. Valentine Michael Smith was as real as taxes but he was a race of one."

"Mike is our Prometheus — but that's all. Mike keeps emphazing this. Thou art God, I am God, he is God — all that groks. Mike is a man like the rest of us. A superior man admittedly — a lesser man taught the things the Martians know, might have set himself up as a pipsqueak god. Mike is above that temptation. Prometheus… but that is all."

"Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."

"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. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

"David is the song upon God's lips, And Our Lady is the goblet that He sips: And Gabriel's the breath of His command, But Saint Michael is the sword in God's right hand. The Ivory Tower is fair to see, And may her walls encompass me! But when the Devil comes with the thunder of his might, Saint Michael, show me how to fight!"

"And the angel's body was bared, and he was clothed in light so that eye could not look on him; and his voice grew louder, as though it came not from him but from heaven above. And the angel said: I have learnt that all men live not by care for themselves, but by love. It was not given to the mother to know what her children needed for their life. Nor was it given to the rich man to know what he himself needed. Nor is it given to any man to know whether, when evening comes, he will need boots for his body or slippers for his corpse. I remained alive when I was a man, not by care of myself, but because love was present in a passer-by, and because he and his wife pitied and loved me. The orphans remained alive, not because of their mother's care, but because there was love in the heart of a woman a stranger to them, who pitied and loved them. And all men live not by the thought they spend on their own welfare, but because love exists in man. I knew before that God gave life to men and desires that they should live; now I understood more than that. I understood that God does not wish men to live apart, and therefore he does not reveal to them what each one needs for himself; but he wishes them to live united, and therefore reveals to each of them what is necessary for all. I have now understood that though it seems to men that they live by care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love."

"I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince."

"There is in heaven an accuser and a defender of man; the name of the former is Semoel and that of the latter Michael."

"With impassive gaze, Michael, prince of warriors, measured the extent of the disaster, and his keen intelligence penetrated its causes. The armies of the living God had taken the offensive, but by one of those fatalities in war which disconcert the plans of the greatest captains, the enemy had also taken the offensive, and the effect was evident."

"Gabriel before me Raphael behind me Michael to my right Uriel on my left side In the circle of fire."

"Michael was for the offensive. He, as a consummate soldier, said it was the supreme law. Attack, or be attacked, — there was no middle course. "Moreover," he added, "the offensive attitude is particularly suitable to the ardour of the Thrones and Dominations." Beyond that, it was impossible to obtain a word from the valiant chief, and this silence seemed the mark of a genius sure of himself."

"The archangel Michael took supreme command. He reassured their minds by his serenity. His countenance, wherein his soul was visible, expressed contempt for danger."

"At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."