Michael the Archangel

Generally, Michael is the only recognized archangel in the Abrahamic Bibles. He is a high-ranking angel who serves as a messenger sent from the Creator to certain people, such as the prophet Daniel. However, Daniel 10:13 describes Michael as "one of the chief princes". According to some scholars of biblical studies, this verse indicates that there is more than one archangel. Literally translated, his name means: "God is my strength". He is mentioned in the Jewish Tanakh, the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible and the Islamic Qur'an. He is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches. In the Qur'an this certain angel is known as Mikhail, who is only mentioned once in the Islamic holy text.

"Whoever is an enemy to Allah (God) and His angels and His messengers and Jibrail (Gabriel) and Mikhai (Michael) - then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers." ~ Sura 2:98 

According to rabbinic Jewish tradition, Michael acted as the advocate of Israel, and sometimes had to fight with the princes of the other nations and particularly with the angel, Samael, Israel's accuser. Michael's enmity with Samael dates from the time when the latter was thrown down from heaven. Samael took hold of the wings of Michael, whom he wished to bring down with him in his fall; but Michael was saved by God. Michael also said, "May The Lord rebuke you" to Satan for attempting to claim the body of Moses.

The Jewish Midrash gives a more in depth look at the archangel known as Michael. The rabbis portend that Michael became the defender of Israel at the time of the biblical patriarchs. According to Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob, the archangel rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he had been thrown by Nimrod, son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah (Midrash Genesis Rabbah xliv. 16). It was Michael who informed Abraham that Lot had been taken captive (Midrash Pirke R. El.), and who protected Sarah from being defiled by Abimelech. This archangel announced to Sarah that she would bear a son and he rescued Lot at the destruction of Sodom. Later Michael prevented Laban from harming Jacob.(Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, xxxvi). It was also Michael who wrestled with Jacob and who afterward blessed him.

In the Roman Catholic teachings Michael [referred to as Saint Michael] has four main roles: His first role is leader of the Army of God and the leader of heaven's forces in their triumph over the powers of hell. In his second role, Michael is the angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven. In this particular role Michael descends at the hour of death, and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing; therefore bringing consternation upon the devil and his minions. In his third role, he weighs souls in his perfectly balanced scales. In his fourth role, Michael is also the guardian of the Church; it was thus not unusual for the angel to be revered by the military orders of knights during the Middle Ages.

Many Protestant Christian denominations do not call upon the intercession of saints and generally only recognize two angels - Michael and Gabriel. However, an unofficial Anglican prayer of preparation before Mass includes a confession to "Michael the Archangel" as well as other saints such as John the Baptist. Some sects, including Jehovah's Witnesses, believe the archangel Michael to be one in the same with Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah. The basic premise of this claim seems to stem from the distinct usage of the word 'archangel'. John A. Lees, in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, states:

"The earlier Protestant scholars usually identified Michael with the pre-incarnate Christ, finding support for their view, not only in the juxtaposition of the 'child' and the archangel in Rev 12:1-17, but also in the attributes ascribed to him in Daniel."

Jewish apocalyptic literature [of the post-exile period] describes seven archangels who stand in the presence of God: Suruel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Gabriel, Remiel, and Uriel (Tobit 12:15; 1 Enoch 9:1; 20:1-7; 40:9). Other apocalyptic theologians proclaim Michael is one of four powerful angelic beings created before other angels. They are known to possess immense power surpassing that of demons and lesser angels. Those four angels are: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. 

Regardless of the scholars' angelic hypothesis, Michael is mentioned by name three times in the Tanakh/Old Testament (Daniel 10:13; 10:21; 12:1) and twice in the New Testament (Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7).  Michael is portrayed as an angel that is a fighter - contending and withstanding against all forces of evil. His most famous example of fighting abomination is when he cast Lucifer and his fellow angels out of heaven following Lucifer's stand against the Creator. While not mentioned by name in I Thessalonians 4:16, most scholars believe that Michael is being referred to in this verse.

The idea that Michael was the advocate of the Jews became so popular that, in spite of the rabbinical prohibition against appealing to angels as intermediaries between God and his people, Michael came to occupy a certain place in the Jewish liturgy. Likewise, Christian sanctuaries honoring Michael appeared in the 4th century, when he was seen as a healing angel, and later becoming known as the leader of the army of God. The archangel, who is deemed as a protector and was first venerated as a healer in Phrygia (modern-day Turkey), has been revered for many centuries now.

In the Book of Revelation, Michael leads the Creator's armies against Satan during the war in heaven, and defeats Satan, also known as Lucifer. After the conflict, Lucifer (referred to as the "dragon") is thrown to earth along with the fallen angels, where he (referred to as "that ancient serpent called the devil") still tries to lead the whole world astray.

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." ~ Revelation 12:7-9

The Prophet Daniel had a vision of an angel who identifies Michael as the protector of Israel (Daniel 10:13-21). The ancient oracle goes on to proclaim that Michael will arise during the "time of the end" (Daniel 12). In Revelation 12:7-10, the Bible expands upon the story of how Michael and his army will defeat the rebellious angels right before the Second Coming of Jesus. 

To sum up the archangel known as Michael, he is a powerful, heavenly entity that has been not only a protector and healer, but a high-ranking, warrior angel that has supreme dominion over God's heavenly host of soldiers. 

John B. Medina - "Paradise Lost"