Biblical Angels and Messianic Prophecy: Michael, Elijah and Divine Preparation

to you; but on the day when I come to punish, I will punish them for their sin. Exodus 32:34. The subsequent biblical tradition, particularly the prophet Daniel, identifies this angel with the Name of Michael מיכאל Michael, the First of the Princes, the Prince of the Lord's Army seen by Joshua as a man with an unsheathed sword. Elsewhere, such angelic patron is identified by Malachi with Elijah אליה Eliah, a name obtained from the fusion of the two Divine Names אל El and יה Jah abbreviations of אלהים Elohim and of יהוה Yhvh, and whose Spirit and Power would later manifest in John the Baptist. Previously, the same Malachi describes him as the Angel of the Covenant, whose task is to mold the sons of Levi, purify them and refine them to prepare them for divine incarnation: "Behold, I send my Angel, מלאכי malachi, who will prepare the way before me, and suddenly the Lord whom you seek will enter his temple, the Angel of the Covenant, מלאךהברית malak ha-berit, whom you desire. Behold he comes, who will endure the day of his coming? Who will stand when he appears? For he is like refiner's fire, like fullers' soap. He will sit to refine and purify silver; and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver; so that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, as in former years [...] Remember the law of my servant Moses to whom I commanded on Horeb the precepts and ordinances for all Israel. Turn back to me and I will return to you." Malachi 3:1-4; 4:4. At this point it is necessary to specify that the influence of an angelic entity on a people manifests through more or less favorable ecological conditions, but above all through the inspiration of its members. The most receptive individuals, who feel most strongly their belonging to a people and who are therefore more in tune with its spirit, capture the messages or indications suggested by the patron angel of the people. In the case of the people of Israel, the Jews were the most receptive, both by natural disposition and by cultivated disposition, to messages sent directly from the Most High or through his Angel. To this must be added an important element that justifies the necessity of a long process of prophetic gestation preceding the birth of the Messiah. The prophet is one capable of tuning into the Divine Word and prophesying, that is, speaking in His place. Specifically, this means that the prophet speaks in accordance with the Word which is Creator and therefore has a creative as well as revelatory action. The prophet who speaks constructs the future he announces because he speaks in accordance with the Divine Word. For this reason some prophecies, especially those by Isaiah, Daniel and Malachi, were fundamental for the preparation of the Divine incarnation. As demonstrated by the School of prophets established by Samuel. cf. 1 Samuel 1:1 and following. In particular we highlight Isaiah 7; 9 and 11. Birth and sacrifice of the messiah. With the beginning of the age of Cancer ♋, that is, with the passage of the precessional point through the summer solstice or Gate of Men, Humanity was once again able to act actively on the kingdoms of Nature: during this period the typical activities of the Neolithic flourish again, corresponding to an action on the mineral kingdom with constructions, on the plant kingdom with agriculture, and on the animal kingdom with breeding. With Ram, founder of the Universal Empire of Aries and bearer of the Theocracy of the Lamb, Humanity obtained divine authorization for the actualization of the Kingdom of God on Earth; an actualization not realized due to the collapse of values because of Nimrod's law.