[faded mind]

archangel michael is mentioned three times in the book of daniel. the idea that michael was the advocate of the jewish people became so prevalent that, in spite of the rabbinical prohibition against appealing to angels as intermediaries between god and his people, michael came to occupy a certain place in the jewish liturgy.

in the new testament michael leads god’s armies against satan’s forces in the book of revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats satan. in the epistle of jude michael is specifically referred to as “the archangel michael.” christian sanctuaries to michael appeared in the 4th century, when he was first seen as a healing angel, and then over time as a protector and the leader of the army of god against the forces of evil.

 01. Seraphim:  a type of celestial or heavenly beings in the Abrahamic religions. Literally “burning ones”, the word seraph is normally a synonym for serpents when used in the Hebrew Bible. They are the highest angelic class and serve as the caretakers of God’s throne and continuously shout praises: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” According to Isaiah 6:2, the Seraphim have six wings: “with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew”.

biblical mythology + the hierarchy of angels

we are the FALLEN ANGELS, the kids who get lost in the man’s land

i.  “Did you ever notice how in the Bible, when ever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?”  – THOMAS DAGGETT, THE PROPHECY

ii.  “…for beauty is nothing but the onset of terror we’re still just able to bear, and we admire it because it calmly disdains to destroy us. Every angel is terrifying.”  – RAINER MARIA RILKE, THE DUINO ELEGIES 

Thine heart lifted thee up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the earth; I will expose thee before the kings, that they may behold thee.

“I once met an angel and he destroyed me. His cold hands turned my body into flames, Used the air in my lungs as fuel. (I never stopped burning.) I should have known better than to fall for the divine This is what tragedies are made of. But a tragedy would be less painful than never again feeling the ache of his golden hands on my paper skin.”