Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
That is, Nathanael would witness what was in fact always happening on a spiritual level. The throne surrounding by fire, ministered to by myriads upon myriads, was the throne shared by Jesus himself with his Father.
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne (see Revelation 3:21).
Angels were everywhere in the life of Jesus. Jesus was the focal point around which the hosts of heaven were active. The archangel Gabriel himself appeared to both Zechariah and Mary to announce the forerunner of the Messiah and then the Messiah himself. The shepherds heard angels sing with joy over his birth. Their guidance to Joseph was instrumental in keeping the holy family safe. They appeared to give Jesus strength after his forty days in the desert and during his agony in the garden. They were on standby to come in and destroy those who crucified Jesus if he decided to simply give the word.
These heavenly powers were a hidden reality at work to accomplish the divine mission were centered around Jesus himself, but they continue to be at work to accomplish his mission in the world today.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (see Ephesians 6:12).
If our struggle is against these dark powers, these fallen angels, we have no hope of winning on our own. Our only hope is to join with the one who already conquered them, and to avail ourselves of the helpers who first ascended and descended on him. Christ himself is in us now, and his mission is ours. If Jesus himself chose not to accomplish his victory except through angels how much more should we then rely on them!
War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
Even the great archangels stand ready and willing to assist us if we avail ourselves of their help. Gabriel can help us to hear and internalize the message of God, even as Mary herself did. He should not be overlooked when we consider what went into enabling Mary to make her perfect fiat. Had some other lower messenger brought the message it may have been that he would not be worthy to elicit such a perfect response. Gabriel can bring us the message of God in a way that engenders a profound and life altering trust. Raphael can arrange the events of our lives according to the plan of providence and heal us of the infirmities that would keep us from that plan. He can set for us divine appointments whereby we meet those whom we are meant to meet when we are meant to meet them.
So Raphael was sent to heal both of them: Tobit, by removing the white films from his eyes, so that he might see God’s light with his eyes; and Sarah, daughter of Raguel, by giving her in marriage to Tobias son of Tobit, and by setting her free from the wicked demon Asmodeus (see Tobit 3:17).
We are encouraged to invoke even Michael himself, the prince of the hosts of heaven. This only seems like overkill until we remember the struggle that is taking place behind the scenes and what is at stake in that struggle. It is reasonable to bring ourselves to the attention of even the leader of the armies of heaven when our struggle is aligned with the mission of Jesus himself, whom all the hosts of heaven live to serve.
"Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither,"" he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come" (see Joshua 5:14-15).
The commander who said he was not on either side of the battle Joshua fought is however on our side to the degree that we ourselves first side with Jesus. There is no room for neutrality in the spiritual battle, and no place on the battlefield for bystanders. Let us pray for all the help we are meant to have and be thankful to know that is is given. We can have confidence that the victory that we see the angels accomplishing instrumentally is in fact already won in Christ.
In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
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