by jimwalton » Sun Oct 04, 2020 5:40 pm
The Bible only ever mentions 1 archangel. Its name is Michael. (We're not aware that archangels, or angels, have gender, so I used "its".)
It appears in the Bible only a few times: Dan. 10.13, 21; 12.1; 1 Thes. 4.16; Jude 1.9; Rev. 12.7. That's it. We are told almost nothing about archangels.
What does it do? It seems to be a guardian over Israel, battling for Israel in the spiritual realm (Dan. 10.13). In 1 Thes. it is the agent God uses to signal Christ's return and the final spiritual battle, and therefore possibly a guardian over Christians in the spiritual realm. In Jude, Michael is doing battle for the body of Moses. In Revelation, Michael is fighting against "the dragon."
So I think we can conclude an archangel is a warrior who fights on behalf of God's people in the spiritual realm. That's about all we know from the Bible. Of course there are many traditions (the book of Enoch, Jewish literature) making up stuff about archangels, even adding archangels and naming them, but that's all unauthorized speculation, as far as actual Bible study is concerned.
The Bible only ever mentions 1 archangel. Its name is Michael. (We're not aware that archangels, or angels, have gender, so I used "its".)
It appears in the Bible only a few times: Dan. 10.13, 21; 12.1; 1 Thes. 4.16; Jude 1.9; Rev. 12.7. That's it. We are told almost nothing about archangels.
What does it do? It seems to be a guardian over Israel, battling for Israel in the spiritual realm (Dan. 10.13). In 1 Thes. it is the agent God uses to signal Christ's return and the final spiritual battle, and therefore possibly a guardian over Christians in the spiritual realm. In Jude, Michael is doing battle for the body of Moses. In Revelation, Michael is fighting against "the dragon."
So I think we can conclude an archangel is a warrior who fights on behalf of God's people in the spiritual realm. That's about all we know from the Bible. Of course there are many traditions (the book of Enoch, Jewish literature) making up stuff about archangels, even adding archangels and naming them, but that's all unauthorized speculation, as far as actual Bible study is concerned.