Archangel: Edit history

Biblical Texts

The word archangel occurs twice in Scripture.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:16: When the Lord himself descends from heaven, he comes "with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." The passage describes the return of the Lord.
• Jude 1:9: Michael is called "the archangel." The text records that when Michael disputed with the devil about the body of Moses, he did not bring a railing accusation himself but said only, "The Lord rebuke thee."

The term archangel is not used in the Old Testament. However, in Daniel 10:13, 10:21, and 12:1, Michael is called a "prince" and appears as the protector of God's people. In Revelation 12:7, Michael and his angels fight against the dragon.

Terminology and Background

Archangel translates the Greek archangelos, a compound of archē, meaning "first" or "chief," and angelos, meaning "messenger" or "envoy."

The account in Jude 1:9 does not appear in the Old Testament. Early church fathers reportedly regarded it as coming from a Jewish work known as the Assumption of Moses. Jewish apocalyptic literature of the intertestamental period, especially the Enochic literature, lists the names of several archangels.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Scripture does not systematically explain how many archangels there are or how the angels are ranked among themselves. Michael is portrayed in Daniel as a protector of God's people and in Revelation as one who fights against the forces of evil.

Gabriel interprets visions for Daniel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21) and brings tidings to Zacharias and Mary (Luke 1:19, 1:26). Although Gabriel is commonly called an archangel, the biblical text never directly calls him one.

Interpretations and Points of Debate

• The number and names of archangels: The only archangel named in the Protestant Bible is Michael. The Catholic Church venerates as archangels not only Michael and Gabriel but also Raphael, who appears in the deuterocanonical book of Tobit, and commemorates the three archangels together on September 29. The Eastern Orthodox Church also keeps a feast in honor of the archangels. Other names, such as Uriel, come from literature outside the canon.
• Who is Michael?: Most churches regard Michael as a created angel, pointing to Jude 1:9, where Michael does not rebuke the devil himself but leaves the matter to the Lord. By contrast, Jehovah's Witnesses understand Michael to be another name for Jesus, basing this on the interpretation that "the voice of the archangel" in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 is the voice of the descending Lord. The Seventh-day Adventist Church likewise regards Michael as a name referring to Christ, but holds that this does not mean Christ is a created being, and it affirms Christ's full deity. Some Protestant commentators of the past are also known to have read the Michael of Daniel as Christ.
• The story of a fallen archangel: A widely circulated account holds that Satan was originally an archangel who fell. Scripture, however, nowhere calls Satan an archangel. This account derives from the traditional interpretation that reads passages such as the "Lucifer, son of the morning" text in Isaiah 14:12 as describing the fall of Satan.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Protestant churches, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 is frequently read at funeral services and graveside committal services because it proclaims the hope of the Second Coming and the resurrection, so the phrase "the voice of the archangel" is commonly heard on these occasions. Korean Protestants generally use a term meaning "chief angel" (cheonsajang) for the archangel Michael, while Korean Catholics use a term meaning "great angel" (daecheonsa).