Now Sarah, when she heard the sound of the voice of Michael, became
sure in her own mind that it was an angel of God who was speaking.
She beckoned therefore to Abraham to come to her at the door of the
house, and took him aside and said to him, "Do you know who this man
is?" and he said, "No." "Do you remember," said she, "the three men
who came to us once at the oak of Mamre; and how you killed a calf
and prepared a feast for them; and how when the calf was eaten, it
suddenly became whole again and sprang up and ran and suckled its
mother? I am sure that this is one of those three men." Abraham
answered, "Sarah, you have hit the truth; praised be God for His
wonders. Now I tell you that last night when I was washing the feet
of this man, I said to myself, 'Surely these are the feet that I
washed long ago under the oak-tree?' And furthermore, he shed tears,
and they fell into the water and became these pearls." And he drew
the pearls out of his bosom and showed them to her, and she bowed her
head and praised God and said, "Be sure, Abraham, that he is come to
reveal some matter to us, whether for evil or for good."
Then Abraham left Sarah and went in and said to Isaac, "Come here, my
child, and tell me what you saw, and what caused you to come to us in
such haste?" And Isaac said, "It was this, father. I saw in a dream
this night the sun and the moon upon my head, and the rays of the sun
were all about me and enlightened me, and I rejoiced in them; then I
saw the heavens opening, and a shining man, brighter than seven suns,
came down; and he approached me and took the sun from off my head
and carried it up into heaven; and again after a little while, as I
was sorrowing over it, he came and took the moon from me. Then I was
greatly distressed, and I besought him, saying, 'Nay, my lord, do
not take all my glory from me; have pity upon me; if thou must needs
take the sun, yet leave me the moon.' But he said, 'Suffer them to
be taken up to the King above, for He desires them to be with Him.'
So he took them away, saying, 'They are removed from toil unto rest,
and from darkness unto light.' But their glory he left upon me. Then
I awoke." And Isaac ceased speaking.
Then Michael said, "Hear me, righteous Abraham. The sun which Isaac
saw is you, his father; the moon likewise is Sarah, his mother; and
the shining one who came down out of heaven and took them away is
myself. And now be it known to you that the time is come for you to
leave this earthly life and go to God." But Abraham said, "Why, here
is a marvel indeed! And are you the one appointed to take my soul
from me?" He answered, "I am Michael, the captain of the host of
God, and I am sent to speak to you concerning your death." Then said
Abraham, "I know that you are an angel of God, and that you are sent
to take away my soul. But I shall not follow you!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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