Who is Michael the Archangel in the Bible?

Michael seems to be an important individual in heaven. Archangel means "chief of the angels", so Michael must be the chief of the angels. He is the leader of the angels. (Later on this page, we will find out from the Bible that Michael is actually the commander of the Lord's army of angels in heaven.)

The name Michael has an important meaning as well, it means: "(one) who is like God. The computer lexicon describes Michael as: "one of, the chief, or the first archangel who is described as the one who stands in time of conflict for the children of Israel".
There seems to be a lot of confusion about archangels and Michael. Much of our information seems to come from a lot of different sources. On this blog I want to find out what the Bible itself actually says about Michael. So, let's start by looking at the places where Michael is actually mentioned in the Bible.

Daniel 10:12-13

 ¹²Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

 ¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 10:20-21

 

²⁰Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

 ²¹But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

Daniel 12:1-3

 ¹And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

 ²And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 ³And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

 Now we see Michael who is called the great prince, standing up, and when he does a time of trouble starts and God's people are delivered. Why is it that God's people are delivered when Michael stands up? Why not God or Jesus? And why is Michael described as standing for the children of thy people?

Jude 1:9

 ⁹Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

 In Jude we see Michael confronting Satan when Moses was resurrected. Many people think of Michael as being just an angel. If this is true then why would an angel be used in such a direct confrontation as to confront Satan? Why shouldn't God or Jesus be doing these important confrontations? (By the way, this text can be easily misunderstood. We need to relate it to other parts of the Bible. There is more on Jude 1:9 in the middle and also toward the end of this page.)

Revelation 12:7-12

 

 

⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

 ⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

 ⁹And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 ¹⁰And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

 ¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

 ¹²Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Finally in the book of Revelation, we see that there is a war in heaven. The opposing sides are described as Michael and his angels against the dragon which we know as Satan and his angels. The war in heaven is very important. Why isn't God or Jesus taking part in the war. Why are the angels described as being Michael's angels and not God's or Christ's angels?

Just reading these few texts from the Bible seem to create more questions than answers. Who is Michael anyway? Michael is the archangel, the chief of the angels. He is described as one of the chief princes and our prince. When He stands up, things happen. He is described as standing for the children of thy people. So when He stands, there is a time of trouble that results in God's people being delivered, every one who's name if found written in the book. He contends directly against Satan and the angels in heaven are described as being Michael's angels.