What is an Angel?

History of Angels

Art involving Angels

Free Graphics of Angels

Poems & Quotes about Angels

Encounters with Angels

Articles about Angels

Angels Metaphysical

Angels in Media

Books about Angels

Products involving Angels

Angel Links

Various Angels

Michael

Source: The Straight Dope

The name Michael means "Looks like God" or "Who is as God." Interestingly, all three religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) recognize Michael as the greatest of the angels. Originally, he probably was a minor Chaldean god, incorporated into monotheism as an angel.

He is chief of the virtues as well as the Archangels, connected with repentance, righteousness, mercy, and holiness. He is identified with the angel who destroyed the army of Sennacherib (although Uriel, Gabriel, and Ramiel have also been credited). Some authorities say he is the angel who held Abraham back from sacrificing Isaac, although others attribute this to Metatron, Tadhiel, and others. Michael saved Daniel's friends from the fiery furnace, was the intermediary between Mordecai and Esther, destroyed Babylon, etc. Jews see Michael as the "viceroy of heaven."

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is a scroll that describes "The War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness," with Michael leading the angels of light.

In Christian iconography, Michael is usually depicted as young, strong, and handsome, with wings, and carrying an unsheathed sword, the warrior of God. In Renaissance paintings, he usually wears armor. He holds scales of justice, as he is one of the angels assigned to the final reckoning. Building on Revelation 12 ("war in heaven"), he is represented as leader of the armies of heaven against Satan. Michael is often depicted as standing with a spear over the defeated Satan, with Satan often in dragon form. Christians connect Michael with the angel of death, in the sense of deliverance and immortality. Christian folklore has him as the angel who rescued Peter from prison.

In Arabic, he is called Mika''il and is mentioned by name in the Quran. In Islamic legend, the cherubim are created from tears that Michael shed over the sins of the faithful.

Uriel

Source: Encyclopedia Mythica

"My light is God" or "flame of God. Uriel is one of the archangels of rabbinical angelology. He was sent by God to rebuke the presumption of Esdras in questioning the ways of God (II Esdras iv), and converses with him at length. He is mentioned in I Enoch, where he is one of the four archangels, but in 40-9 and 71 his place is taken by Phanuel. In 19-1 and 20-2 he is one of the 'watchers', 'the angel over the world and Tartarus'; and in 21.27 he explains the fate of the fallen angels. In 72 ff. Uriel, 'whom the eternal Lord of glory sets over all the luminaries of heaven', shows Enoch the celestial phenomena; in 33-3 he writes them down. In the lost 'Prayer of Joseph' he is the angel with whom Jacob wrestled, the eighth in rank from God, Jacob being the first. In the midrash ¹, Uriel is said to be one of the four guardians of God's throne.

Uriel also appears in Milton's Paradise Lost where he is the 'Regent of the Sun' and 'sharpest-sighted spirit of all in heaven.'

Source: Factmonster.com

Archangel Uriel is the angel of repentance and the angel who warned Noah of the flood. Uriel is also the angel of the month of September.

Satan (Samael)

Source: The Straight Dope

The satan in the Old Testament is neither evil nor fallen; the Old Testament has no fallen angels, and classical Judaism rejects the possibility of angels rebelling against God. The satan in Job is not evil, but is an obedient servant of God, fulfilling his responsibilities of accusing. In Numbers 22:22, an angel of the Lord stands against Balaam "for an adversary." There is one instance (I Chronicles 21) where satan is mentioned without the definite article, but this generally accepted as a scribal oversight.

By the time of the New Testament and later apocryphal writings, however, satan is clearly a person (or being) named Satan (or Samael, although some sources distinguish Samael as the angel of death and different from Satan.) Satan thus evolved from an obedient servant to a cast-out and rebellious enemy, the devil incarnate, who opposes God's will. Apocryphal books such as Enoch II name him as the prince of demons. Revelation 12 describes Satan as a "great dragon." Medieval writers around the 1100s tried to establish Satan's presence in the Old Testament, positing that Satan/Samael was disguised as a serpent to tempt Eve. Satan often appears in paintings as a serpent or dragon.

Before his fall, Satan is generally considered to have been chief of the seraphim and virtues, but Aquinas says Satan was a cherub. Both cabalistic and Christian mystics say that Satan will be restored to his original rank in time.

Satan is often mistakenly identified with Lucifer, due to a misreading of Isaiah 14:12, which actually refers to Nebuchadnezzer.

Raphael

Source: Encyclopedia Mythica

"God heals". One of the seven chief angels. His story is told in apocryphal Book of Tobit, where he cures Tobit's blindness (11:8). According to the Talmud, he is one of the three angels who visited Abraham after his circumcision.

Source: Factmonster.com

Archangel Raphael is the angel of healing who is the friendliest and merriest of all the angels.

Gabriel

Source: The Straight Dope

The name means "hero of God." Gabriel is one of the two highest-ranking angels in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic lore, and is usually the chief ambassador to humanity. He is the angel of annunciation, resurrection, mercy, vengeance, death, and revelation. He and Michael are the only angels mentioned by name in the Old Testament (namely, the book of Daniel). Gabriel presides over Paradise and is said to sit on the left-hand side of God.

In Jewish legend, Gabriel is the angel of judgment, who rained death and destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, wrestled with Jacob, and later saved Daniel's friends from the fiery furnace. In Daniel 8:16ff, Daniel falls on his face before Gabriel. In rabbinic literature, Gabriel is the prince of justice.

In Christianity, Gabriel is the angel of mercy. There is some confusion about Gabriel and the Holy Ghost in Christian writings, since in Matthew 1:20, the Holy Ghost gets Mary with child, while in Luke 1:26, it is Gabriel who "came in unto her." There are innumerable paintings of Gabriel as the angel who tells Mary that she is pregnant. According to Milton, in Paradise Lost, Gabriel is chief of the angelic guards above Paradise.

In Islam, Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic) is the angel of truth, who dictated the Koran to Mohammed on the Night of Power, and his wings stretched from east to west. An Islamic legend derived from the Quran (sura 20, 88) says that dust from the hooves of Gabriel's horse was thrown into the mouth of the Golden Calf and magically animated it.

Joan of Arc (not to be confused with Noah of the ark) said that it was Gabriel who inspired her to fight for the king of France.

Metatron

Source: The Straight Dope

Metatron is the greatest of the angels in non-canonical writings, and those who say there are ten (rather than seven or four) archangels list Metatron both first and last. He is called the "lesser YHWH"" (the tetragrammaton) and his responsibility is sustaining mankind. Some say he came to earth as the patriarch Enoch. Different sources say that Metatron is the angel who wrestled with Jacob, was the watchman of the night (Isaiah 21), and led the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 23:20, although many apply this verse to John the Baptist) perhaps in the guise of a pillar of fire. The Zohar says that Metatron was the staff of Moses, and is as tall as the entire (flat) world is wide. According to the apocryphal book of Enoch, he has 36 pair of wings and innumerable eyes. When invoked, he appears as a pillar of fire.

The meaning of the name Metatron is unclear. It's often spelled in different ways (Metaraon, Merraton, Mittron, etc.) but may be derived from Latin metator, a guide or measurer. It may also be derived from the Persian god Mithra. He has 72 names (to match the 72 mystic names of God) and then a few more names for good measure.

Metatron "occupies the throne next to the divine throne" and resides in the seventh heaven, the dwelling place of God. Some legends identify Metatron as the angel of death, to whom God gives daily lists, which Metatron delegates to his subordinates Gabriel and Samael. According to Talmud Avodah Zarah 3b, Metatron is charged with the care in Paradise of children who died prematurely.