Michael....Waaaay Back When

Okay, as you know, I’m doing a sort of report on St. Michael the Archangel at the request of a friend. (Again, hi Denise!)

Today, I’m going to try to get started on his history. But before I do that, let me caution you. I’m not a scholar, and I’m particularly not a scholar of religion. I’m going to be writing exclusively from a few secondary sources, which mostly I found here and there, and using Wikipedia. So, take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt. Or a dump truck of it. Whichever.

Second, to talk about St. Mike, I’m going to have to take a detour into history--specifically, into a past which (technically) does not include him. But where I think he actually can be found just the same.

Okay, let me explain.

Michael is a surprisingly young character. I would have thought that he’d been in the Bible, or other texts, from Way Back When. I figured sure he’d be bopping ‘round Genesis or Exodus or something. I mean, he just seems like the kind of guy that would be zapping Pharaoh with a flaming sword.

*The Fall of the Rebel Angels,” by Luca Giordano c. 1660–1665*

About the photos: Alas, I don’t have any pictures of angels on my camera these days. So I’m going to have provide something else. Here’s “The Fall of the Rebel Angels,” by Luca Giordano c. 1660–1665 -- Google Arts & Culture -- gFuGVtOFBqDjg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22195917

But...no. When I started doing my research, I discovered that, in Biblical terms, he’s really very young. He only shows up in canonical literature about 2000 years ago, give or take. He first appears iin the very last book to be included in the Old Testament, that is, the Book of Daniel, which people think was written (or at least edited into its current form) around the second century B.C.E. (1)

I’m going to be writing a good deal more on Daniel in future (and why Michael first appeared there). But, for the moment, let’s just focus on his entrance to the Bible. He comes in, stage left, in Daniel 10:13, 10:21, and 12:1. In 10:13, his first walk on, he doesn’t appear in person. Rather, the prophet Daniel is in prayer and meditation when another, unnamed angel appears and offers comfort. He apologizes for being delayed. It seems that the god or spirit of Persia had blocked his way. But, then, “...lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me...” Thus freed, he at last was able to come to Daniel’s aid.

In Daniel 10:21, Michael is again off stage, but is referred to by yet another angel as “your Prince,” i.e., the protector of Israel. Then, in 12:1, Michael goes full Apocalypso. The speaking angel says that at the end of time “... Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.”(2)

This is amazing. In theory, Michael has not existed before, at least not in the Bible.(3) In *theory*, no one has ever heard of him. He’s been a non-entity ... unknown...since Creation.

But, then...he appears fully formed! And as a kind of super-angel, saving the People of Israel, and unleashing death everlasting on their oppressors. And more, he appears as a completely developed character. His personality, his powers, his role in life, his place in heaven...all are presented as though he’s been around forever.

How is it possible for a character to appear like this, in popular literature, so completely formed? Even though, supposedly, he has never been seen before?

My guess...and I’m about to go way out on a limb here...is that it *isn’t* possible.

My guess...just a guess...is that “Michael” existed long before the Book of Daniel. Maybe not under the same name, maybe not accepted by the official temple or priestly authorities...maybe even rejected by them...but he was there.

You see, there is a difference between popular religion and official religion. There is what is said in Church, and there is what is true in the street. That’s why we touch wood, even though Saint Boniface cut down Thor’s tree and built a church out of it. That’s why in Mexico today, Santa Muerte and other “street saints” have fervent followers, even though the Church does its best to combat them.(4)

So, it is my guess...and, again, I’m stressing this, it is *only* a guess... that Michael had been floating around popular Israelite religion for generations.

And next time, I’m going to get around to talking a bit more about that...about why human beings *need* Michael and other figures like him...

And where he was hiding, in plain sight, for many generations before Daniel.

More to come.

Footnotes:

1. The Book of Daniel is fascinating. It is set during the Babylonian captivity in roughly 597 BCE. Among many other things, it tells the story of Daniel and his friends in the Lion’s Den, and, later, provides a series of startling dream visions of heaven, hell, and redemption. Literalists believe it was written during the captivity. Most scholars think that it was written much later. To keep everyone happy, let’s say that it may have been based on stories that actually dated from Babylon, but those were then compiled into a book after the return to Judah.

See, “Book of Daniel,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel, and “The Babylonian Captivity,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity

2. This is from the New International Version of the Bible. You can see it here: https://biblehub.com/daniel/12-1.htm

3. He does appear in the Book of Enoch, which is probably somewhat older (or at least as old) as the Book of Daniel. But that is not a canonical book of the Bible in the Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox traditions.

4. Santa Muerte, “Lady Death,” is fairly clearly an Aztec deity that has been clothed in the trappings of a Christian Saint. She’s extremely popular in Mexico, and increasingly so in the United States. When I was living in Albuquerque, I could go to my local grocery store and find black candles with Santa Muerte’s image on them. And mind you, this was a very middle class, very Anglo area. Yet, she had her followers even there.

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~mjt

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