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Who are the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel?

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel are four holy archangels who watch, each holding a distinct portfolio in the order of creation and judgment. Michael is the chief archangel set over the best part of mankind and over chaos, serving as protector of Israel and the one commanded to bind the leader Semjaza and his companions until final judgment (1 Enoch 20) (Characters - Characters: Michael). Gabriel is set over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim, acting as the archangel of war and destruction sent to incite the giants to destroy one another (1 Enoch 20) (Characters - Characters: Gabriel).

Raphael is over the spirits of men and functions as the archangel of healing, specifically charged with binding Azazel in the desert of Dudael and restoring the earth from the corruption the Watchers introduced (1 Enoch 20) (Characters - Characters: Raphael). Uriel is over the world and Tartarus, the archangel of luminaries and cosmic order who guides Enoch through the heavens and reveals the precise movements of sun, moon, and stars that form the 364-day calendar (1 Enoch 20) (Characters - Characters: Uriel) (Glossary - Glossary: uriel).

These four thus embody complementary roles - Michael for Israel, Raphael for healing, Gabriel for war, and Uriel for the luminaries - as appointed intermediaries who maintain divine order amid both cosmic regularity and eschatological reckoning (Theme Facts - angels).

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