Today the church marks the Feast of Holy Michael and All Angels. In the Anglican tradition this celebration is also known as Michaelmas (Michael Mass) and serves as one of the “quarter days” of British society to mark the beginning of the Fall quarter in the academic, financial, and judicial calendar. Many Christians throughout the world honor St. Michael as the chief of the angels, and he is often given the title of Archangel. Michael is not the only Archangel mentioned in scripture. The Archangel Gabriel is mentioned in Luke’s gospel as the angel who announces to Mary that she will give birth to Jesus (Luke 1:26). The only other Archangel named is Raphael who is mentioned in the book of Tobit. It is undeniable that throughout the world almost all Christians believe in angels and the existence of spiritual beings (both heavenly and demonic). The fact that the liturgical calendar celebrates the angels bears this out.
The truth of the existence of angels and other spiritual beings is hard to deny. The Scriptures bear witness to their existence from Genesis to Revelation. The term “angel” is sort of a generic name and simply means “messenger”. For this reason, we can conclude that angels serve to do God’s bidding. It is not clear, but we can infer from Scripture that there is likely a hierarchy to the heavenly beings, or at the very least they have different roles in the heavenly realm. The first encounter we have in Scripture of a heavenly being is of a being called a cherubim. The encounter occurs at the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden. In Genesis we are told that the Lord “placed the cherubim and a flaming sword” to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24). The second type of heavenly being we encounter is called a seraphim. We see them in the heavenly temple described in Isaiah 6. These are the creatures who have six wings and continually sing the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) around the throne of God.
At this point, we must also acknowledge that the Bible describes other spiritual beings who joined the rebellion against the Lord with Lucifer (Satan) and were cast out of heaven. One third of the angels joined in this insurrection and are considered “fallen” and “demonic”. For this reason, not all spiritual beings are for our good and therefore we must exercise caution when seeking to interact with the spiritual realm.
All of this then begs the question, why should Christians not only believe in the existence of angels, but also celebrate them? There are many answers to this question, but for the sake of brevity let’s ponder three of them. First, the Bible undeniably and unashamedly speaks of their existence. This provides the basis for our belief in angels and can provide a framework to understanding how they interact with the reality that we inhabit, both physical and spiritual. Secondly, we must acknowledge that we participate with the angels in the worship of God. The ancient prayer Te Deum reminds us that “all angels, all powers of heaven, the cherubim and seraphim sing in endless praise…” When we participate in the liturgy, we are therefore “joining our voices with Angels and Archangels” to sing the Sanctus Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of power and might, the whole earth is full of your glory. This reality should humble us and drive us to our knees in worship of the almighty creator of the universe.
Lastly, we should celebrate the angels because they engage in spiritual warfare on our behalf (see Revelation 12). For this reason we trust that the Lord may use them as we engage in the spiritual warfare of temptation. Just because we cannot see the spiritual realm does not mean that this type of activity is not ongoing. We are reminded of this reality all throughout Scripture (see 2 Kings 6 for a prime example). Even writers such as C. S. Lewis helps us imagine this type of activity in his book The Screwtape Letters. St. Michael the Archangel is seen as the chief of the angels who assists on our behalf in spiritual warfare. Many Christian traditions believe that we are assigned a “guardian angel” who assists us as we engage in spiritual warfare. While we cannot be certain of this, we must be open to this type of reality because the Bible reminds us that we may even “entertain angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).
Collect (Prayer) of the Day
Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (taken from the Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Bible Reading
Revelation 12:7-11 (ESV)
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. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
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