There’s a hierarchy in heaven. There are not only angels, but also archangels, cherubim and seraphim. There are principalities, powers and dominions. Jesus even spoke of “legions of angels” which gives us some idea that angels are grouped in an organised kind of way.  Ranking over angels are the archangels. In some places I’ve read there are seven, but other writing mentions only four – Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel.

Notice the way that each name ends with ‘el’? I thought this was kind of interesting because the ‘el’ means ‘God,’ so each of the archangels refer to God some way in their name, and each of them has a particular role in God’s Kingdom. So looking at each one:

Michael – His name means ‘Who is like God.’ Michael appears in Daniel, Jude and Revelation. He is a warrior angel, the mighty commander of those angels who do warfare for God against evil. The ultimate example is where Michael fights against Satan in the great battle in Revelation 12, and Satan is cast out of heaven. The picture above is a stunning sculpture depicting this in St Michel in Paris.

Gabriel - His name means ‘Strength of God.’ Gabriel “stands in the presence of God” Luke 1:19 and has a major role in both Testaments. Gabriel is an angel of annunciation – he appears as God’s trusted and chief messenger, conveying God’s purposes to His people. It was Gabriel who appeared to Mary and announced that she was highly favoured and blessed among women, and that she would be Jesus’ mother. I just have to say that Gabriel is a special archangel to me, because my gorgeous nephew is named after him . 

Raphael - His name means ‘Healing of God.’ Raphael does not actually appear in the Bible but rather in the ancient Jewish texts. Here, Raphael appears as an angel of mercy and is attributed with a role of ministering God’s healing to those who are sick or suffering. Raphael is thought by some to have been one of the three who visited Abraham after his circumcision In Genesis 18. Also, some people evidently think it was Raphael who was the angel at the pool of Bethesda in John 5, stirring up the water so that people could be healed.

Uriel - His name means ‘Fire of God’ or ‘God is Light.’ I have written a little bit about him in a previous post – you can see this here.

Tomorrow’s post is about the angels that rebelled against God, the Fallen Angels.