To put the record straight - Prasch's claim that the angel who wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 32:24 is the Metatron in the Zohar is completely false.
Chabad.org: “'A man wrestled with him: our sages explained that this was the ministering angel of Esau.'”5 A commonplace of Talmudic and midrashic literature is that every nation has its own angelic “minister” who represents its interests before G‑d. It is Esau’s angel, then, who attempts to frustrate Jacob’s mission. {1}
The Jewish Virtual Library identifies Samael, a major name of Satan in Judaism, as the angel who struggled with Jacob:
"Samael retains the role of prosecutor in the account of Ḥama b. Ḥanina (c. 260 C.E.; Ex. R. 21:7), who was apparently the first to identify Samael with Esau’s guardian angel during the struggle between Jacob and the angel. His name, however, does not appear in Genesis Rabbah (Theodor ed. (1965), 912), but he is mentioned in the old version of the Tanḥuma, Va-Yishlaḥ 8. In the parallel version in Songs of Songs Rabbah 3:6, the amora has Jacob saying to Esau: “your countenance resembles that of your guardian angel,” according to the version of the Sefer Mattenot Kehunnah (Theodor ed.). Surprisingly, in the section of the Midrash Yelammedenu on Exodus 14:25, Samael fulfills a positive function during the dividing of the Red Sea, pushing back the wheels of the chariots of the Egyptians. In gematria, Samael is the numerical equivalent of the word ofan (“wheel”; in Ms. British Museum, 752, 136b; and in the Midrash Ha-Ḥefeẓ ha-Teimani, which is cited in Torah Shelemah, 14 (1941) to this verse)." {2}
Rashi's interpretation of VaYeiavek:
"On his way to meet Eisav, Yaakov encounters and fights an angel, and when describing this struggle, the Torah uses the expression, “VaYeiavek Ish Imo,” “And a man (the angel) wrestled with him [Yaakov]” (BeReishit 32:25).
Rashi explores the root of the word “VaYeiavek,” and offers two explanations. In his first explanation, Rashi quotes Menachem ben Saruk, a great grammarian, who identifies the root origin of the word “VaYeiavek” with that of dust, “Avak,” in that when two people struggle in a field, they tend to kick up dust.
In his second explanation, Rashi associates the root of “VaYeiavek” with the Aramaic word “Avak,” which means intertwine. When two people wrestle, they hold onto each other, and their bodies seemingly interlock. Because they are holding onto each other, it may even seem as if the two are hugging each other and showing affection." {3}
Ohr Somayach: "Parshat Vayishlach ~ Returning home, Yaakov sends angelic messengers to appease his brother Eisav. The messengers return, telling Yaakov that Eisav is approaching with an army of 400. Yaakov takes the strategic precautions of dividing the camps, praying for assistance, and sending tribute to mollify Eisav. That night, Yaakov is left alone and wrestles with the Angel of Eisav. Yaakov emerges victorious but is left with an injured sinew in his thigh (which is the reason that it is forbidden to eat the sciatic nerve of a kosher animal). The angel tells him that his name in the future will be Yisrael, signifying that he has prevailed against man (Lavan) and the supernatural (the angel)." {4}
The only place I can find information that vaguely identifies the Metatron as the angel who wrestled with Jacob is the occult site circle-of.light.com:
"In the world of Jewish mystics, came to hold the rank of the highest of the angels despite his not being mentioned in the Scriptures. The meaning of his name has never been satisfactorily explained although one interpretation of it is "one who occupies the throne next to the Divine throne." It could also be derived from the Latin 'metator', a guide or measurer." {5}
Rashi explores the root of the word “VaYeiavek,” and offers two explanations. In his first explanation, Rashi quotes Menachem ben Saruk, a great grammarian, who identifies the root origin of the word “VaYeiavek” with that of dust, “Avak,” in that when two people struggle in a field, they tend to kick up dust.
In his second explanation, Rashi associates the root of “VaYeiavek” with the Aramaic word “Avak,” which means intertwine. When two people wrestle, they hold onto each other, and their bodies seemingly interlock. Because they are holding onto each other, it may even seem as if the two are hugging each other and showing affection." {3}
Ohr Somayach: "Parshat Vayishlach ~ Returning home, Yaakov sends angelic messengers to appease his brother Eisav. The messengers return, telling Yaakov that Eisav is approaching with an army of 400. Yaakov takes the strategic precautions of dividing the camps, praying for assistance, and sending tribute to mollify Eisav. That night, Yaakov is left alone and wrestles with the Angel of Eisav. Yaakov emerges victorious but is left with an injured sinew in his thigh (which is the reason that it is forbidden to eat the sciatic nerve of a kosher animal). The angel tells him that his name in the future will be Yisrael, signifying that he has prevailed against man (Lavan) and the supernatural (the angel)." {4}
The only place I can find information that vaguely identifies the Metatron as the angel who wrestled with Jacob is the occult site circle-of.light.com:
"In the world of Jewish mystics, came to hold the rank of the highest of the angels despite his not being mentioned in the Scriptures. The meaning of his name has never been satisfactorily explained although one interpretation of it is "one who occupies the throne next to the Divine throne." It could also be derived from the Latin 'metator', a guide or measurer." {5}
None of Prasch's material has any citations whatsoever ~ we simply have to take his (unreliable) word for it!
Below: Prasch's book Harpazo: The Intra-Seal Rapture of the Church (2014) page 17:
Below: Prasch's book Harpazo: The Intra-Seal Rapture of the Church (2014) page 17:
1. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2389625/jewish/Jacob-Wrestles-With-the-Angel.htm"
2. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/samael
3. https://www.koltorah.org/articles/vayeiavek-two-important-interpretations-by-shumel-katz
4. https://ohr.edu/explore_judaism/parsha/torah_weekly/8112
5. https://circle-of-light.com/psychicreadings/metatron.html
