Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?
Given the diversity of behavior among human beings in different parts of the world, it is difficult to find anything that binds us together. It is easier to speak of that which brings us together: holidays and food. Sometime in the distant past, we decided to combine these two things, so holidays are typically marked by feasting. Here in the United States, you might expect a cookout on Independence Day, turkey on Thanksgiving, and ham at Christmas.
But what should one serve for Michaelmas?
I doubt many twenty-first century Americans have considered this. Even if we happen to belong to a Christian tradition that marks the Feast of St. Michael on September 29, we are unlikely to hold a special gathering in our homes to mark the occasion, and we do not view it as tied to the seasons the way we do Easter (the dawning of spring) or Christmas (the dawning of winter). But for our medieval ancestors, Michaelmas was a big deal: a holy day of obligation marked by feasting, and a sign that autumn harvest time had arrived.
Have you ever thought about why the fiscal year begins in September? If you lived in the United Kingdom, you might have some idea, for the banks still use Michaelmas as a reporting point, and even as the oldest universities like Oxford and Cambridge have Michaelmas terms. Once upon a time, Michaelmas—the celebration of Michael the archangel, often along with the other archangels Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel—was known as “goose day,” even as we call Thanksgiving “turkey day.”
No one is certain how goose came to be the preferred Michaelmas delicacy. Perhaps it has something to do with Queen Elizabeth I, or maybe some people offered a goose as payment for debts that came calling at this time of year. Whatever the case, it’s goose you ought to be serving on September 29, though locating one in a supermarket could be a challenge. Readers in North America should also be advised that, as annoying as they may be, Canada Geese are protected by migratory bird laws and therefore not a solution to your dinner dilemma.
But why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do? To answer these questions, we must turn to Scripture.
Michael in the Old Testament
The name Michael derives from ancient Hebrew and means “Who is like God.” It can be taken either as a question or a statement, i.e. “Who is like God?” or “This is a person who is like God.” The historical narratives of the Old Testament record multiple Israelites named Michael. But in chapter ten of the Book of Daniel we find something different.
The prophet Daniel has a vision described as “a great conflict.” (Dan. 10:1) He goes into mourning for three weeks, consuming no meat or wine. Then one day, while standing on the banks of the Tigris River, he sees “a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude” (Dan. 10:5-6). The description makes it clear that this is no mere man, but an angel.
The unnamed angel informs Daniel that the Lord has heard his prayers and sent a messenger in response. However, the angel explains that he was delayed by an opponent. “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia…” (Dan. 10:13) Later on, the angel informs Daniel, “there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.” (Dan. 10:21)
The text does not refer to Michael here as an angel, but a prince. Nevertheless, it seems that what is being referenced is a struggle in the unseen realm between the forces of Satan and those of the true God. As St. Paul writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
Later in the Book of Daniel, Michael appears in the context of the final Day of Judgment.
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Dan. 12:1-2)
First Daniel was told that Michael was “your prince,” and now we see Michael in charge of “your people.” Some scholars believe this means Michael has a special connection to the nation of Israel, while an alternative interpretation could be that Michael protects all the people of God, whether Jewish or Gentile.
Michael in the New Testament and the Apocrypha
Now we must flip to the end of our Bibles. The little Epistle of Jude references Michael in passing: “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’” (Jude 1:9). To the uninitiated reader, this seems like a random aside, and an unbiblical one at that. After all, the Old Testament mentions nothing about a fight over Moses’ body.
However, the keen scholar will note this is a reference to Jewish rabbinic tradition and the Book of Enoch. No need to search for the Book of Enoch in your Bible: unless you belong to certain Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions, you will not find it there. But first century Jews regarded this apocalyptic work with nearly the same reverence as Scripture itself, believing it to be a true revelation given to the patriarch Enoch, whom God caught up to heaven. Much of the Jewish understanding of angels comes from this book, and Christians have absorbed certain ideas from it as well. Biblical scholars often consult the Book of Enoch to understand the thinking of Israelites in the intertestamental period, also known as the “four hundred years of silence” between the Old and New Testaments.
In Enoch, we learn that Michael is “one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos” (20:5-6). [1] He is also described as “merciful and long-suffering,” (40:9) warning of divine judgment and carrying out God’s will. As in the Book of Daniel, Michael is connected with the Day of Judgment. “And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth” (Enoch 54:6).
This leads us to Michael’s final appearance in the Bible itself. St. John sees him in one of the visions that composes his Apocalypse.
“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:7-9).
Interestingly, Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and other early Lutheran scholars believed the Michael in this passage is not an angel, but Christ himself. To understand their interpretation, we must remember the ambiguity of the name Michael, which can mean, “This one is like God.” Furthermore, Luther and his colleagues believed that what we see Michael doing in this passage is more in line with the work of Christ, who alone can defeat the devil and his accusations.
However, this explanation creates a new interpretive issue in that the Michael of Jude 9, and indeed that of the Book of Enoch, is clearly not Christ. That leaves us with two different Michaels, which is a bit awkward. In an article for Concordia Theological Quarterly, Christian A. Preus notes that later generations of Lutheran scholars have been less likely to embrace Luther’s interpretation for this reason.
But this phenomenon of two Michaels in the Lutheran tradition shows that, for Lutheran minds, paramount in assessing the identity of Michael is not his name or the honor given to him, nor the opinion of church fathers, but his actions—even if this means dealing with the inconsistency of having two Michaels in Scripture. It is primarily because Michael is leading a war against Satan, against his false teachers, and protecting the church on earth that he is identified as the Son of God in Daniel and Revelation. But since he is acting and speaking like a subordinate creature in Jude 9, there he cannot be the Son of God. [2]
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Regardless of which understanding of Michael is the correct one, those who belong to Christ have defenders in the heavenly places and a Savior whose power overcomes the devil. This is how we can have comfort in this life and assurance of salvation: the battle has already been won. When Satan accuses us before God, Christ is there to plead for us. When he seeks to prevent the spread of the gospel, the forces of heaven are there to oppose him. Nothing that God intends for the world or in our own lives will be prevented by Satan. We can never be snatched from the hand of the one who is our salvation.
Those who belong to Christ have defenders in the heavenly places and a Savior whose power overcomes the devil.
That is what we should remember on St. Michael’s Day. We may not know everything about angels. The unseen realm is just that: unseen and often unknown. But we can live with that mystery, because we know that Christ has risen from the grave, and the final defeat of evil is coming. St. Michael and his angels are on your side and not the devil’s. The power of God is strong enough to bring you home.
As Philip Melanchthon wrote in his hymn “Lord God, We All to Thee Give Praise,” which was intended for St. Michael’s Day,
“But watchful is the angel band
that follows Christ on ev’ry hand
to guard his people where they go
and break the counsel of the foe.
O Lord, awaken songs of praise
for angel hosts that guard our days;
teach us to serve you and adore
as angels do forevermore.” [3]
