06. Part 3 - 3rd Division
Third Division 1. Nathanael discovers that the WORD of the Lord is not only called the ANGEL of the Covenant, but also the Metatron.
I have always prayed on one of our most solemn festival days that God would answer my prayers for the sake of Metatron, without knowing who Metatron was, until let into the mystery through my worthy, ancient teachers. Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai taught me (Zohar, vol. iii., p. 227, Amsterdam Edition):
"The Middle Pillar (in the Godhead) is the Metatron, who has accomplished peace above, according to the glorious state there."
2. Signification of the Name, Metatron.
"God said to Moses, Come up unto the Lord; this is Metatron. He is called by this name Metatron, because in this name are implied two significations, which indicate His character, He is Lord and Messenger. There is also a third idea implied in the name Metatron: it signifies a KEEPER; for in the Chaldee language, a keeper (or watchman) is called "Matherath"; and because He is the KEEPER (preserver) of the world, He is called (Psalms 121:4) "The KEEPER of Israel." From the signification of His name, we learn that He is the Lord over all which is below; because all the hosts of heaven, and all things upon the earth, are put under His power and might."
3. No one, not even Moses, has ever seen God, but he saw the Metatron, who appeared unto him.
I consulted R. Menachem, of Recanati, on this passages (Exodus 24:1), "And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord," and found his explanation:
"The great and exalted God is speaking to Moses; He saith unto him, that he should come up to Jehovah, which is Metatron, who is oftentimes called with the name of God, alluding to the Shechinah, the glory of the Lord, which is thus called. And the reason why he saith Come up, is as if he had said: Ascend to the place of glory, where there is the Angel, the Redeemer; because no one can come to the great God: for (it is written in Exodus 33:20) ’There shall no men see Me and live.’"
We Jews believe, that Moses was instructed in all Divine knowledge by no other than by "The KEEPER of Israel" (Book of Creation, p. 15, versa, Mantua Edition):
"The Teacher of our master Moses was Metatron."
4. Metatron, the first-begotten of God. My faithful teacher, R. Simeon ben Jochai, took me into one of the inner chambers of mystery of the saving knowledge of God, and instructed me that Metatron existed from eternity (Zohar, Gen.):
Genesis 24:2: "And Abraham said unto his oldest servant of his house," &c. Who is this of whom it is said, to his servant? In what sense must this be understood? Who is this servant? R. Nehori answered: It is in no other sense to be understood than expressed in the word His servant, the servant of God, the nearest to (i.e., the chief in) His service. And who is He? Metatron, as said. He is appointed to glorify the bodies which are in the grave. This is the meaning of the words, Abraham said to his servant, i.e., to the servant of God. This servant is Metatron, the eldest of his (God’s) house, who is the first-begotten* of the creatures of God, who is the ruler of all He has; because God has committed to Him the government over all His hosts.** * תחלת rad: הלל in Piel, to beget.
** Nathanael does not think that this exposition of this passage of Holy Writ is correct; but it proves that the Ancients believed that Metatron is the first begotten. (Hebrews 1:6, And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.) 5. Metatron, highly exalted. Our venerable teachers, up to about a century and a half before the destruction of our holy city and temple, have, it cannot be doubted, entered into the deep recesses of the mysteries hidden in the WORD of God, and some few of their disciples have preserved the knowledge of the mysteries, which we find in their works still extant. In my researches after knowledge of the nature, titles, and office of Metatron, in the economy of God, I found rich veins of the hidden wisdom of God, of which, for want of space, I can give but a few. Thus, Otiot deRabbi Akiba gives us some of Metatron’s titles, which reveal His nature.
Metatron is:
the Angel, the Prince of God’s countenance;
the Angel, the Prince of the Law;
the Angel, the Prince of might;
the Angel, the Prince of glory;
the Angel, the Prince of the temple;
the Angel, the Prince of kings;
the Angel, the Prince of lords;
the Angel, the Prince of the high, exalted, mighty Princes in the heavens and on the earth. In Berith Menucha I read:
"He (Metatron) is a Ruler over all Rulers and over all Kings, ruling with power; therefore the Cabbalists call him Metatron Merya Sis, which signifies, Ruling and governing with might and dominion; because He is the beginning of the ways of God" (Proverbs 8:22).
6. Metatron is the only mediator between God and man. In Exodus 20:19, it is written: "And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." Reading this passage and knowing that my nation, the children of Israel, never approached God without the mediation of a priest, or of the High Priest, I went to my teacher, R. Simeon ben Jochai, to inquire whether any mortal and sinful man dare approach God without a mediator, and I received the following instruction (Zohar, vol. ii., Exodus, p. 51, Amsterdam Edition):
1. (Genesis 3:24), "To keep the way of the tree of life."
2. Who is the way to the tree of life? It is the great Metatron,* for He is the way to that great Tree, to that mighty Tree of life.
* In the Hebrew, and its cognate dialects, the feminine form expresses tender love. R. Simeon ben Jochai speaks here, and in other places in his works, of Metatron in the feminine form, in order to express the great love our heavenly Father has to Metatron.
3. Thus it is written, Exodus 14:19: "The Angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them."
4. And Metatron is called the Angel of God.
5. Come and see, thus says R. Simeon. The holy One, blessed be He, has prepared for Himself a holy temple above in the heavens, a holy city, a city in the heavens, and called it Jerusalem, the holy city.*
* All the ancients believed in such a heavenly and spiritual Jerusalem; thus the Chaldee paraphrase, Psalms 122:3, "Jerusalem is builded in the firmament (in heaven), as a city that is compact together, as the one on the earth."
6. Every petition sent to the king, must be through Metatron.
7. Every message and petition from here below, must first go to Metatron, and from thence to the king.
8. Metatron is the Mediator of all that cometh from heaven down to the earth, or from the earth up to heaven.
9. And because he is the Mediator of all, it is written, Exodus 14:19: "And the Angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed; that is, before Israel which is above."
10. This Angel of God is the same of whom it is written, Exodus 13:21: "And Jehovah went before them," &c., to go by day and by night, as the ancients have expounded it.
11. Whoever will speak to me (says God) shall not be able to do so, till he has made it known to Metatron.
12. Thus the holy One, blessed be He, on account of the great love to, and mercy which He has over, the congregation of Israel, commits her (the congregation) to Metatron’s care.*
* Compare:
Ephesians 1:22-23, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all";
Colossians 2:10, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."
13. What shall I do for Him (Metatron)? I will commit my whole house into His hand, &c.* Hence-forward be thou a KEEPER, as it is written, Psalms 121:4: "The KEEPER of Israel," &c.
* Compare:
Matthew 11:27, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him";
Matthew 28:18, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth";
Ephesians 1:20-23, "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all";
Php 2:8-11, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," &c. &c.
7. The Almighty (שדי) has revealed Himself in no other than in the Metatron, the KEEPER of Israel.
It follows that if God has revealed Himself in the uncreated, self-existing WORD (Memra), which is also called the ANGEL of the Covenant, who is the Metatron, that the Almighty has revealed Himself in the KEEPER of Israel. This was also the faith of my ancestors, as I find in Zohar, vol. iii. p. 231, the following passage: The garment of the Almighty is the Metatron.*
* Compare:
2 Corinthians 5:19, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation";
1 Timothy 3:16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.:
8. Metatron is called the Son of God.
I could mention many secrets respecting Metatron, into which my teachers have led me, but for sake of brevity, I shall only mention this one. In the commentary of R. Moses Butarili on the Book of Creation, I read these words:
"The Cabbalists call the second Sephira Metatron, the KEEPER, which is an inferior name to his name the Son of God." When Joshua said, (5:13-15): "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? He said, Nay, as a prince of the host of the Lord, I am come," &c. Metatron appeared unto Joshua, &c.