Michael (archangel)

Lore & Background

In the New Testament, Michael is mentioned explicitly in Revelation 12:7–12, where he battles with Satan and casts him out of heaven. He is also named in the Epistle of Jude, where the archangel and the devil dispute over the body of Moses, and Michael says, 'The Lord rebuke you!' In rabbinic tradition, Michael acts as the advocate of Israel, sometimes fighting with the princes of other nations, particularly with the angel Samael, Israel's accuser. The midrash Exodus Rabbah holds that Michael exercised his function as advocate of Israel at the time of the Exodus, but the destruction of Sennacherib's army is associated with the angel of the Lord or God directly, not with Michael.

Reader's Guide

Michael's significance spans Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as the chief of angels and the warrior of God. In Jewish tradition, he is the guardian prince of Israel, responsible for its care, and acts as its advocate before God. Christianity conserved nearly all Jewish traditions about him, and his role in battling Satan in Revelation marks a key separation from Judaism. Early Christian devotions to Michael grew from the second century onward, with some groups identifying him with Christ. Byzantine tradition attributed two Bosporus-shore sanctuaries to him, and a painting of the Archangel slaying a serpent at the Michaelion after Constantine's victory in 324 contributed to the standard iconography of Michael as a warrior saint slaying a dragon. The Michaelion became a model for hundreds of churches in Eastern Christianity, spreading devotions to the Archangel. In the sixth century, feasts dedicated to Michael were recorded in the Leonine Sacramentary, and the view of Michael as a healer continued in Rome.

Did You Know?

• The earliest surviving mentions of Michael's name are in second-century BC Jewish works.
• In the Book of Enoch, Michael is listed as one of seven archangels, the others being Uriel, Raguel, Raphael, Sariel, Gabriel, and Remiel.
• In the Secret Book of John, a Gnostic text, Michael is placed in control of demons who help Yaldabaoth create Adam.
• The standard iconography of Michael as a warrior saint slaying a dragon developed later from Revelation 12 and other sources, not from a specific painting at the Michaelion.