Archangel Michael (in Santa Maria della Concezione church, Rome, 1636) tramples Satan. A mosaic of the same painting decorates St. Michael’s Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Artist :Guido Reni (1575–1642)

The army of Archangels and Angels does not belong to any particular religion. Just as the word Aum or God, does not belong to a particular religion.

The concept of Archangels and Angels came about through the first known Prophet, Zarathustra. Thus, Zoroastrians have been praying to Archangels and Angels over thousands of years. Zoroastrians have seven Archangels and thirty three Angels.

Archangels and Angels have been there since the beginning of Creation; long before mankind, and will be there long after we have plundered Mother Earth to rubble.

Archangels and Angels are The Light of God. If God is Fire, Archangels and Angels are the Light and Warmth that emanate from That Divine Fire.

Okay, enough of my ramblings. Now let us talk about The Prince of Heaven and Light, Archangel Michael, also known as Saint Michael.

Who is Archangel Michael? In Hebrew, the name signifies, ‘The One who is like God’ or (Who is like God?).                    

Though in the Bible Archangel Michael is called “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13) and “the great prince” (Daniel 12:1), in the Bible, Archangel Michael is called and referred to as the Chief of all Angels, and as many scholars believe that there can be only one chief, thus, Michael is the only One who can be called the Archangel. Researchers conclude that as the term Archangel is referred in The Bible only in the singular and never once in the plural tense, thus there is only one Archangel and that is Michael.

That could be the reason why Archangel Michael is mentioned more often than any other Angel in various religious scriptures, namely The Torah (The Old Testament), The Bible (The New Testament), The Qurān and The Zohar (the Kabbalah faith). He is honoured in Catholicism, Islam, Judaism Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism and Anglicanism.

(Roman Catholic tradition believes that Michael…The One who is like God; Gabriel…The Power of God or The Strong One of God and Raphael…God has Healed, are Archangels.)

(There are various dialogues of how many Archangels are there. Some scholars and religious schools of thought say seven, some say nine, some say eleven. Some believe that there are seven Archangels corresponding to the days of the week as: Michael (Sunday), Gabriel (Monday), Raphael (Tuesday), Uriel (Wednesday), Selaphiel (Thursday), Raguel or Jegudiel (Friday), and Barachiel (Saturday).

Archangel Michael is considered the enemy of Satan and is the One who defeated Lucifer and removed Him and Satan’s followers from heaven or paradise forever. Eventually He will be the One who will vanquish Lucifer once and for all in the final battle between good and evil, for all of eternity.

The subtle element of fire is associated with Archangel Michael. The pure bluish colour one sees in the fire is His colour too. Nothing can corrupt fire, but fire symbolizes the physical pristine presence of the non corruptible and thus, a glimpse of The Lord’s love, warmth, purity and divinity. This Divine Fire burns away all that which is not real, all that which is not permanent; leaving the glow of Divine Radiance which is true, life nurturing and eternal.

Archangel Michael is also called the Benevolent Angel of Death, as He toils tirelessly to lead each one of us towards everlasting immortality.

According to the Apocryphal Book of Adam and Eve, it was Archangel Michael who followed the happenings of Adam and Eve, when the couple sort of went cuckoo over an apple and thus were shown the door, for breaking the main Tenancy Act from the Garden of Eden. It was Archangel Michael who taught Adam farming and also convinced God to permit the spirit of Adam entry into Heaven.

While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that Archangel Michael is the Heavenly form of Adam, the first being ever created by God, in His Own Divine Image.

Abraham’s Testament, which dates back from II century AC, clearly shows that Archangel Michael who being so close to God and through His intervention before God, Archangel Michael can save the souls from hell and help them to reach Heaven.

The love of Archangel Michael for the salvation of lost souls, those in the spirit world and those still occupying the physical body comes forth from Islamic writings too. In Islamic tradition, Archangel Michael has green wings made of topaz, Hair is golden in colour, which is so long that it starts from the head and virtually touches the ground, and each strand has a million faces and every face begs in various languages and dialects for divine pardon and complete forgiveness for all the sins and acts of evil committed knowingly or unknowingly by those professing faith in God, as Lord and Master.

There is literature which once again shows Archangel Michael this time with emerald green wings, not blond but saffron colour hair, but once again each strand of hair has a million faces, speaking different languages but all seeking forgiveness from God for all sins committed by every being.

No wonder He is known by many names. The Angel of the burning bush, The Angel of Repentance, Pity and Holiness; The Prince of the Divine Presence; The Carrier of the Heavens’ Keys, The Archangels’ Leader and Jacob’s Guardian.

What is interesting is that early Protestant Christians, The Seven-Day Adventist and Jehovah’s Witness are of the firm belief that Lord Jesus Christ was Archangel Michael before Jesus Christ took birth on Mother Earth to free mankind off their sins.

The above three faiths believe that Archangel Michael is another name for Heavenly Christ; that is before Archangel Michael became incarnate as Jesus. Thus, it is Archangel Michael in Jesus Christ’s pre-human and post-resurrection reality.

The point to note is this: The Bible states that “Michael and his angels battled with the dragon….” (Revelation 12:7) Michael is the Chief of all Angels and thus the leader of the army of Angels that waged a war on Satan and his dark forces but The book of Revelation also insists that Lord Jesus The Christ is the Leader of the army of all faithful Angels. (Revelation 19:14-16) So we have The Bible which assigns the role of Chief and Leader of all Angels to both Archangel Michael and Lord Jesus. (Matthew 13:41) Now, since in The Bible there is no mention of God saying that there are two separate armies of Angels that wage a war against Satan (the dragon); one army of Angels led by Archangel Michael and another army of Angels with Jesus Christ in command; it thus makes sense to conclude that Archangel Michael is Jesus Christ in His Heavenly Avatar. Jesus is linked with the office of Archangel.

Scholars also believe that as Jesus Christ is considered in charge of Angels and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 states: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice.” Thus, the voice of Lord Jesus is described as being that of an Archangel. If Lord Jesus is described to possess a voice of an Archangel, if Michael is considered to be the Chief of all Angels; and if the Chief of all Angels, naturally becomes The Archangel, then through the interpretation of the scripture it logically surmises that Lord Jesus Himself is Archangel Michael.

Could it be that this is the reason why the meaning of Michael is “The One who is like God”? Who can be like God; if not His Own Son, Jesus The Christ.

In his last recorded talk, Rudolf Steiner expressed concern about the “great crisis” that all human beings would experience in the twenty first century. He said, “the (Archangel) Michael Power and the Michael Will (will) penetrate the whole of life” and that these “are none other than the Christ Power and the Christ Will.”

Many Jews are of the belief that not only did Archangel Michael fight with Satan to protect the dead body of Prophet Moses, but it was Archangel Michael who was the Teacher of Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai and it is very clearly mentioned in Apoc. Mosis, i. that Prophet Moses received the commandments written on the two tables through the intercession of Archangel Michael. In the Book of Jubilees(i. 27, ii. 1) it is believed that the Angel who gave Prophet Moses The Commandments called The Tables of the Law, is none other than Archangel Michael.

Archangel Michael has many roles to play. As mentioned above, He is assigned as the Protector and the Commander of the army of God against the dark forces.

In Catholic teachings, He is also considered the Angel of Death and the Guardian of Souls, carrying the souls of all those who have passed over to Heaven. (In Persia, He was and is still considered the Prince of the Stars by a select few. Archangel Michael is taken as a Divine Guide of human souls, guiding and guarding them towards Eternal Divine Radiance.)

This role of Archangel Michael or Saint Michael as the Guardian of the souls comes through this Prayer dedicated to Him:

“The Holy House of God venerates you as Her guardian and protector;

to You the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed

to be led into Paradise.”

He is also depicted carrying a scale, which signifies Him weighing the soul’s deeds, thus deciding where the scale tilts. The Roman Catholic poetry dedicated to Saint Michael goes as below:

“That you will gather the souls of the righteous and the wicked, place us on Your great scales and weigh our deeds.

That if we have been loving and kind, you will take the key from around our neck and open the gates of Paradise, inviting us to live there for ever.

And that if we have been selfish and cruel, it is you who will banish us.”

It is believed that Archangel Michael comes forth just before one is going to pass over, giving the individual and the soul a chance to redeem itself, Archangel Michael takes upon Himself to make sure that very few join the legion of Satan and the band of dark forces. Archangel Michael is also Prayed to by the righteous for Protection.

Incidentally, in early days, Archangel Michael was considered to be the greatest of all Healers and vast multitude of people prayed to Michael for good health and to be healed off all afflictions; from minor and fatal illnesses. For example, Christians who lived in Egypt placed the river Nile, which was their ‘be all end all’ of survival, wellbeing and prosperity under the protection of St. Michael and there were large festivities held for The Archangel. In the early days, if there was an epidemic people beseeched Archangel Michael to heal them and rescue them from the disease.

It is also believed by a number of Archangel Michael followers and researchers that God after having created Archangel Michael, entrusted Him with the Chiefdom and Mastership of all the forces, of lightning, thunder, clouds, wind and the nature spirits. In his book Michael’s Mission, Rudolf Steiner is of the belief that the meteorite iron was hurled down on Mother Earth by Archangel Michael to neutralize all the effects of negativity created by human emotions.

In Arabic and The Quran, Archangel Michael is called Mīkhā’īl, Mika’il, Mīkāl or Mikal (ميخائيل‎) who provides nourishment not only for all human beings but also for their spirit bodies and souls. In Islam, Mīkhā’īl is the Archangel of Mercy and the One who is responsible for rewarding noble people for the good that they have done in their physical life. It is believed that while on His death-bed, Prophet Mohammed stated that, Archangel Gabriel would be the first to pray for Him and Archangel Michael would be the second to pray over Him. In the Qurʾān there is one mention of Archangel Michael or Mīkāl: “Whoever is an enemy of God or his angels or his apostles or Jibrīl (Archangel Gabriel) or Mīkāl, verily God is an enemy of the unbelievers.”

There is this story that once Archangel Gabriel and Archangel Michael visited Prophet Muhammad, who held a stick given to Him by Archangel Gabriel. All Divinations that The Prophet had experienced were through Archangel Gabriel and latter inquires with The Prophet: “O Muhammad! Give it (the stick) to the oldest Angel.” Prophet Muhammad gives the stick to Archangel Michael saying, “God gave me two heavenly counselors to help me teach my message – Gabriel and Michael.”

In fact it is believed that The Prophet would voice His concern for the fate of all human kind to both Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. In Islamic tradition, in Heaven, The One who gives the call for all to sit for prayer (muezzin) is Archangel Gabriel, and the Leader of those who pray (imam) is Archangel Michael.

There seems to have been some issue between the Jews and Muslims over Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. For the former were only in favour of Archangel Michael, as is evident in this story about Prophet Mohammed. It seems that one day The Prophet was questioned by a few Jews about His prophetic revelations and all was well till then, but when The Prophet revealed that it was Archangel Gabriel who was the medium and the bearer of His revelations, the Jews seemed to have gotten riled and spoke ill of Archangel Gabriel, and called The Archangel as the spirit of destruction and the enemy of Archangel Michael, who was considered as the Angel of fertility. There is another story of the Caliph, Umar who inquired with a few Jew scholars as to how Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel were regarded by God. The Jews replied that Archangel Michael sat at God’s left and Archangel Gabriel at God’s right but that the two Archangels were enemies. Hearing this, the Caliph, Umar answered that an enemy of either Archangel was immediately an enemy of God.

Even Joan of Arc was a staunch believer in Archangel Michael and the army of Angels. Her life which has been described in the book, In Her Own Words she has quoted about The Angels and Archangel Michael:  “I have never had need of them and not had them come.” p. 112; Whatever I have done that was good, I have done at the bidding of my voices.” p. 113; “I shall call them to help me as long as I live.” p. 126 and where she clearly only mentions Archangel Michael:

“When I was thirteen, I had a voice from God to help me to govern myself. The first time, I was terrified. The voice came to me about noon: it was summer, and I was in my father’s garden….I saw it many times before I knew it was Saint Michael….He was not alone, but duly attended by heavenly angels….He told me Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret would come to me, and I must follow their counsel; that they were appointed to guide and counsel me in what I had to do, and that I must believe what they would tell me, for it was at our Lord’s command.” p. 5-6

Saint Joan always took the counsel, guidance and protection from Archangel Michael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Margaret (Marina); Her three Spirit Guides. Saint Joan also mentioned by meeting with Archangel Gabriel.

Saint Francis of Assisi truly sums up the magnificence of Archangel Michael. He loved Saint Michael as He referred the Archangel as a Saint and felt deeply that one and all should praise and honour Archangel Michael as He truly wanted all to be on the side of God and because His duty was to present souls to God. In the words of Saint Francis: “Each person should offer God some special praise or gift in honour of such a great Prince”. Saint Francis would fast for nearly forty days from the feast of the Assumption (August 15^th ) to Saint Michael’s feast day on September 29^th, in love and honour of Archangel Michael.

Archangel Michael is always on guard against evil and is also occupied in an incessant war against the forces of evil. He is the first and the truest warrior of God or the warrior of Light. He is always there for the humble and for all those who fight alone against all odds, be it external negative forces or internal strife between what is right and wrong. When called out to, Archangel Michael comes forth in all His glory and stands in front, fighting the true fight along with each individual. He is there to fight side by side against injustice and when the odds are stacked against you, when you feel lonely and defeated, call out to Him and you will feel His presence, just as countless believers have experienced. His colour is blue, some say steely blue, some have experienced laser blue too. Cover yourself in the luminous blue light, imagining that womb of blue light to be His protection. Call out to Him and He will be there.

If you are being maligned, prosecuted, or have committed a major mistake and have realized your mistake and through repentance call out to Him, He will be there by your side. He is the One who you call out when you are attacked emotionally, mentally, physically or via black magic or the evil eye or physic attack. All He needs and seeks is that you fight with courage, never tiring, never fearing, never giving up or giving in to the dark forces. Many believe that by constantly beseeching Him to fill one up with His strength, courage and love for God, one too becomes a Warrior of Light.

I- have taken the liberty of channeling a prayer through Baba Sai of Shirdi. There are many prayers one can pray to Archangel Michael and they can be easily got via the internet.

Prayer to Archangel Michael

Below is a prayer that you can pray to Archangel Michael that came through from Baba Sai of Shirdi.   

Archangel Michael, Prince of Heaven and Light

I pray to Thou for protection.

First and foremost protection from myself,

Protect me from my own ignorance, foolishness, negativity, vanity, and ego

Let me help myself live a life filled with child like joy and humble dignity.

I beseech you to protect me and my loved ones from the world outside

Those who visibly wish us harm and those who have a smile in their eyes and evil in their heart and intent

Protect me from those who wish me and my loved ones, loss, humiliation and sorrow

Those who cannot see me and my loved ones happy, prosperous, healthy and in peace, protect me from them all, Archangel Michael; the Powerful One.

Protect us from magic intended to harm me and my lot

Attacks that we cannot see or protect ourselves from

Let Thy shield and sword be our armour and our protection,

covering us and our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies with Thy love and Thy embrace.

Surround and protect me and my loved ones with Thy army of Angels

Let Thy glory and armour of protection be visible to those who wish me and my loved ones harm, so they withdraw forever

Bless the weak, the meek, the ailing, the lonely, the sick, the poor with strength, calmness and peace.

For those who have passed over, do not let anyone be earthbound

Let more and more join the army of the Light,

Let justice and Oneness prevail for now and for eternity,

So be it as I pray, So be it as I yearn, So be it as I Believe

In You Archangel Michael, The One Who is Like God, I trust,

Be with me now and hold my hand when I leave this physical shell

And with me be for now and beyond the beyond

Amin

Be blessed