Archangel Metatron: The Greatest Of The Angels: Angels of Jewish Lore (Part 7): Angelology

Metatron, the chief of the Tetragrammaton, the greatest of all heavenly hierarchs, the first and last of the ten angels of the Breatic world. He is the king of angels, the prince of presence, and of the divine face, the chancellor of heaven, and the chief of the ministering angels. Charged with the sustenance of mankind, he is a ruling prince of the Seraphim, he who has his seat in the seventh heaven, he who occupies the throne next to the throne of glory. Metatron is known by over a hundred names in many different cultures of the world. He is said to be the tallest and largest angel in heaven, in his true form, the width of his body being equal to the size of the world. When invoked, he appears as a pillar of fire, his face more dazzling than the sun. He is the demiurge of classical Jewish mysticism, the male form of the Shekinah, the Shekinah being the female manifestation of the Most High. In the Kabbalah, he is the angel who led the children of Israel through the wilderness after the exodus, and is the twin brother or half-brother of the angel, Sandalfon. In the traditions of the Jews, Metatron is the supreme angel of death, and under his wing are the subordinate princes of death, Gabriel, Samael, and Azrael. It is he whom God daily gives orders as to the souls that are to be taken that day, and these orders he transmits to his subordinates. In the nine angelic hierarchies of the heavens, Metatron is often said to be the ruling prince of the Seraphim, instead of Michael, since Michael already governs the archangels. In this case, he is known as Jehowel, or Yahol, that being one out of his many other names. In the Kabbalah, however, in the great Sephiroth in the form of angels, Metatron is the archangel of the Hioth, the archangel of the Cherubim, the holy beast-like angels who surround God's throne. Vedic cosmology knows the angels as the shining gods, and in Vedic and Persian theology, Metatron is the same as the shining god Mithra, one of the 28 spirits that surround the great god Ahura Mazda. They say he rises from the east, bearing wings that have a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes. He is the god of light, who assigns places to the souls of the righteous and the just in heaven. In the Talmud of Abodah Zarah, Metatron is the teacher of children in paradise, children who died prematurely while on earth. As their souls are being led into paradise, he hides them under his wings, to protect the souls from the angels of destruction. But great archangels like Michael and Gabriel existed long before Metatron. So who exactly is Metatron? And when did he come to rank so high as one of the seven archangel princes? Metatron was once a human who lived on earth. As a mortal man, he was the holy patriarch Enoch, who lived 365 years before he was taken up into the heavens by an angel of God. Enoch was one of the two holy men who never experienced death, like all mortals do. The other man being the prophet Elijah. The two holy men lived at different times, and when they had lived long enough, an angel of God came down in a chariot of fire and bore them up to the heavens while they were still alive. Enoch was transformed into the mighty Metatron, while Elijah was transformed into the majestic Sandalphone. They became archangels and princes of the highest angelic orders, because they were spotless and lived without sin. Before the days of Metatron, all of the heavens and the earth knew Michael as the mightiest of all the angels, for his battle prowess was unrivaled and unparalleled, until Metatron proved a match, surpassing the great Michael himself. But how? How great was Metatron? What feat proved his might and skills were greater than that of Michael? It was a crisis that had to do with the two great mages and sorcerers of ancient Egypt, Ayans and Ayambas, some call them Janus and Jombas, the same mages who turned their staffs into snakes alongside Moses and Aaron, before the throne of the pharaoh of Egypt. This event is said to have occurred during the exodus, right after the crossing of the Red Sea. In the Christian Bible, the story ends with the victory of the Israelites over the Egyptians, saying the sea drowned all the might of the Egyptians. But a few texts say different, that the story continued, for not all the might of the Egyptians were vanquished at the sea. Once upon a time, in the Chronicles of Jeremiel, the Hebrew Bible Historial, after Michael, the guardian of Israel, had defeated Abazithobod, one of the guardians of Egypt, throwing him and his people into the sea, the Israelites broke into songs of victory and praise, and Michael returned to the heavens, and the heavens rejoiced. But there, in the Red Sea, when the great sea had grown calm and peaceful, and the bodies of the Egyptian army had grown cold and silent, the fearsome Janus and Jombas emerged from the waters of the sea, for they followed in the pursuit of the Israelites. They were unscathed, and looked as though the water had not touched them, for they commanded great power and magic, that not even the sea could drown them. By the means of witchcraft, the two sorcerers flew straight into the heavens, and ascended into the realm of the angels unannounced, their motive unknown, perhaps to avenge their drowned kinsmen. The heavenly guards stood against them, and were dispersed. Gabriel fought against them, and was defeated. And when Michael arrived and battled them, the combined powers of the two wizards proved too much, that not even he could defeat them. And alas, the great Michael was bested. The angels cried out to the Most High in supplication, saying, Great Lord of the universe, these wicked men who oppressed your children with bondage, have dared to stand here without fear. They have dared to defy even you. If it is your will, O Lord, execute punishment for your children. And at this, God immediately ordered Metatron, saying, throw them down, and cast them to the ground, but be careful, and see that they only fall into the sea. At once, Metatron appeared before Aeons and Iambas, and engaged them in combat. There, did he show his might, for he single-handedly smote the two wizards, forcibly casting them into the sea, and binding them in its deepest part, so they would not arise again. Thus, Metatron came to be known in non-canonical writings, as the greatest of all the angels and archangels, for he had accomplished a feat no one else could, a feat worth acknowledging. Nevertheless, whether the ancient Egyptians were the villain of this story or not, does not really matter. It is known without doubt, that they were the greatest practitioners of magic, for they were taught by some of the best angels, both holy and fallen, angels who guarded their cities and their people, and were worshipped by them as gods. These great angelic guardians and tutors include Azazel, Abazithobod, and Samyaza, to mention but a few. They were all known among the Egyptians by many different names. Ayyans and Ayyambas were the princes of sorcery and witchcraft, and it is said that they grew so much in the knowledge of the dark arts, that they harnessed such great power that they equaled the angels in might. As many mystical texts agree, there was not another nation in the world so much addicted to sorcery as the Egyptians. The sages always told a story, that ten measures of witchcraft descended into the world, and out of the ten, the Egyptians took nine, and only one remained for the rest of the world. And so, whoever stood against the magic of the Egyptians, and the might of their guardians, would possess equal might and mystical skills, if not greater, for only the best can handle the best. As Christianity and Islam spread across the globe, sorcery and witchcraft would come to be rejected and abhorred, and the old ways would be forgotten, practiced in secrecy, if one would dare.