Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained.
In today’s video, we’re going to discuss Michael, beginning with a miscellaneous assortment
of information, then focusing on his role in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, and
finally, examining how he fits into the angelic hierarchy.
Let’s get into it.
Discussed in either secular or religious works, or in any of the three Abrahamic religions
(Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), Michael is generally viewed as the greatest of the
angels.
His honours, titles, and offices include: prince of the presence, head of the archangels,
principal of the order of virtues, and angel of mercy, sanctification, righteousness, and
repentance; furthermore, he is the angelic prince of Israel, sovereign over the 4th heaven,
the protector of Jacob, and the angel who leads the forces of heaven against Satan and
his rebel angels, banishing Satan and those who follow him from heaven.
In 2 Kings, the Assyrian army is described as mounting a campaign against the Jewish
people, capturing city after city.
When Jerusalem was finally assailed, becoming encircled and besieged, Hezekiah prayed to
Jehovah for divine intervention.
Later, an angel entered the Assyrian camp in the dead of night, smiting the army with
its holy power.
The entire army, 185,000 strong, was exterminated, and when the sun rose the next morning, its
light didn’t reveal a sea of soldiers, but a charnel display of blood, corpses, and flock
upon flock of carrion birds.
Though the angel who executed this act of mass slaughter isn’t named, Michael is commonly
identified with them.
Similarly, Michael is also identified with the angel sent by God at the last moment to
intervene on his behalf, preventing Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac.
According to some Jewish lore, the flaming bush Moses saw burned with the likeness of
Michael, though Zagzagel is usually the angel said to appear in this way.
The ancient Persians called Michael ‘Beshter’, meaning something like “one who provides
sustenance for mankind”, in this respect linking him with Metatron.
Called St Michael by Christians, Michael is viewed as the angel of death, but not one
shrouded with fear and sorrow, rather, in this capacity, viewed as a benevolent guide,
leading people - those who placed their faith in god - to immortality and paradise.
In appearance, Michael is depicted with wings, sword in hand, this latter detail harkening
to his role as a warrior, leading the forces of heaven and casting Satan down to earth.
one of the works recovered from the Dead Sea scrolls is called War of the Sons of Light
Against the Sons of Darkness; in it, Michael is given the epithet “Prince of Light'',
and is described leading God's angels against the rebelling angels, here led by the demon
Belial.
Both in occult and mystic writings, Michael has been associated with a number of forces
and figures, including: Metatron, god, and the Holy spirit.
According to an early Islamic tradition expounded on in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics,
Michael resides in the 7th heaven nearby the boundary of the Full Sea; there, hemmed in
by a throng of angels, in number said to be beyond count, Michael is described as having
wings the colour of emerald, his form covered in myriad saffron hairs; and that, in turn,
each of these hairs is host to a million faces speaking a million languages, all of them
beseeching God to pardon them.
Michael’s most famous contribution to scripture comes in the New Testament, in the Book of
Revelation, an apocalyptic narrative that describes the war between Heaven and Satan,
good and evil, as well as God’s final judgement.
Michael leads the angels faithful to God against Satan and his rebel angels, and the outcome
of their conflict is Satan’s defeat, which is punctuated by his expulsion from heaven
- though, it should be said, this is not a final defeat, but, at this juncture, a banishment
to the mortal plane, to earth, where Satan sets his cruel will against humanity.
Here’s the passage that describes this:
“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 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…
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought
forth the man child… and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war
with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ.”
Also in the New Testament, this time in the Book of Jude, Michael is mentioned by name
in relation to the body of Moses, here contending with Satan for the bodily remains of the deceased
prophet.
An interesting point about this passage is that it features the only instance in the
entirety of either the Christian Bible or the Hebrew Bible in which the term archangel
is used in connection with an angel mentioned by name - certainly a testament to Michael’s
power and prominence, and goes a long way in explaining why Michael features on every
archangel list - at least, every archangel list that I’ve seen personally.
Here’s the passage:
“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body
of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”
The third instance in which Michael is addressed by name is in the Book of Daniel, a book included
in the Old Testament for Christians and the Tanakh for Jews, wherein his name is used
three times.
Daniel, after receiving a troubling vision, falls into a profound state of mourning in
which he ceases to eat and anoint himself.
Then, after three weeks of this, when Daniel is by the bank of a river, an angel appears
before him.
Here’s the passage:
“Then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen,
whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and
his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and
his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice
of a multitude.
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision;
but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.”
This angel - commonly believed to be Gabriel - explains that he was wished to seek Daniel
out three weeks passed, the time Daniel first became heavy-hearted over the words of prophecy
imparted to him, but that he was delayed, withstood for 21 days by the prince of the
Kingdom of Persia.
This Prince, also unnamed, is generally believed to be a malevolent force, fallen angel / demon,
that presides over the empire of Persia.
This makes sense for a couple of reasons: first, no human or anything contrived by humanity
could possibly withstand and detain an angel, and second, there are many other examples
of great powers in the form of angels and demons presiding over other kingdoms and territories.
As said earlier in the video, Michael is the prince of Israel, and similarly, the enemies
of Israel are thought of as being under the influence of evil forces, which is why Rome
has been said to be the province of Samael and, likewise, Persia the province of Dubbiel.
Michael comes to Persia to help fight against the prince of the Kingdom of Persia, allowing
Gabriel, or whoever this nameless angel is, to find Daniel.
Here’s the passage from Daniel 10:
“But the prince of the Persian Kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.
Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with
the King of Persia.
Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the
version concerns a time yet to come…
Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece
will come; but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.
No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.”
With Michael’s role in scripture examined, we’re going to spend the rest of the video
discussing Michael with respect to the angelic hierarchy, how he fits into it.
Michael is an archangel, which is actually quite an ambiguous title, as, per certain
constructions in which the heavenly choirs are stratified from lowest to highest, the
rank of archangel is positioned near the bottom of the angelic hierarchy.
This can be seen in the account of Pseudo-Dionysius, who wrote an influential treatise on this
matter in the 6th century.
According to him, there are nine angelic choirs: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, the first
order of choirs, Dominations, Virtues, and Powers, the second order of choirs, and Principalities,
Archangel, and Angels, the third order of choirs.
Those ranked highest within this heavenly edifice (the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones),
are those closest to God’s throne, and by contrast, the choirs that occupy the bottom
tier of this hierarchy (angels, archangels, and Principalities) are closest to the mortal
plane and, thus, most involved in earthly matters, such as guiding and protecting humanity.
This is confounding because, on the one hand, Michael, an archangel, ostensibly belongs
to the second lowest angelic choir, yet, on the other hand, he, based on how he is treated
in the Bible, is one of the most powerful angels in heaven, if not the most powerful
- this idea given credence by his prominence in the bible relative to other angels, as
well as several of his titles and roles, including: “the great prince”, the angel who presides
over Israel, the people of God, and the angel who leads heaven against Satan.
Additionally, it should be said that the conceptualization put forward by Pseudo-Apollodorus is far from
the only one; indeed, there are a multitude of others, such as those espoused by St. Jerome,
Isidore of Seville, Moses Maimonides - to name a few - and many others; and what’s
more, many of these assert more than nine choirs, often comprising 10, 11, or even 12.
However, despite there being many extant configurations, the rank of archangel is almost always eighth.
Reconciling Michael’s preeminence with his position is another interpretation of what
is meant by archangel, which is that it’s a general term that applies to all angels
above the bottom rank of angel within the celestial hierarchy.
Applying this interpretation
seems to be more consistent with the greatness and exaltation ascribed to Michael in scripture.
Generally there are said to be seven archangels, the basis for this number thought to stem
from Revelation 8:2 when seven angels stand before God, all seven of them given trumpets.
As well, the number seven is a holy number, representing completeness and perfection,
for God created the world in six days and took the seventh to rest.
Of these seven there are many permutations, each one featuring its own proprietary combination
of angelic hierarchs.
According to Christian Gnostics, the seven angels are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel,
Barachiel, Sealtiel, and Jehudiel; according to Gregory the Great, also called St. Gregory
the Great, a 6th century Pope, as well as a prolific theologian - his moral theology
shaping mediaeval spirituality - the seven archangels are: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael,
Uriel, Simile, Orifiel, and Zachariel; and according to the Testament of Solomon, a pseudepigraphic
work ascribed to King Solomon, they’re: Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Sabrael, Arael, Iaoth,
and Adonael.
And though most conceptualizations feature seven archangels, this isn’t always the
case, as is shown by the Islamic reckoning, which has only four: Gabriel, Michael, and
two angels that, while not mentioned by name in the Quran, are said to be Azrael, the angel
of death, and Israfel, the angel of music.
And that’s it for this video!
If you enjoy the content please LIKE the video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel