Secrets of the Lord’s Archangels

You may ask yourself what’s the difference is between an angel and an archangel.

There are very few direct references to archangels in the text. In the Old Testament, we read about certain named angels, but it gives very little insight as to their ranking among other angels. In the New Testament, we are given a little more insight into their ranking and their roles.

While there are multiple instances of angels mentioned in the Scripture, only two of three of them are named, Michael and Gabriel. Their association with each other comes from the mention of their initial reveal in the same passage of Scripture. Later in the New Testament, Michael is identified as an archangel (Jude 1:9). The book of Daniel is the first to have identified these archangels, and their appearances happen throughout the prophetic visions of Daniel’s prophecy.

Archangels are distinct from the other angels for their ranking is superior. When Daniel received the visitation toward the end of a twenty-one-day fast, the Messenger who had been sent told Daniel the story of his delay.

Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come” (Daniel 10:12–14).

Daniel gave himself to a twenty-one-day fast, today known as the “Daniel fast,” searching to understand the times and seasons. The supernatural being giving this message had to fight through demonically occupied territory. He had been withstood by the prince of Persia for twenty-one days, the length of this time corresponding with the warfare Daniel was struggling through in his own flesh as he humbled himself before God.

The message given revealed angelic support was necessary to break through the opposition from the prince of Persia. While the prince of Persia was called a prince, a title to recognize this principality, the archangel Michael, who supported Heaven’s purpose to reveal to Daniel this message, was called “one of the chief princes” (Daniel 10:13). Archangels are distinguished as “chief princes,” giving them a ranking higher than that of other angels. Though they are identified as “chief princes,” it should be noted they are not the chief prince as in the chief prince over all others, but a chief prince among others like them. The authority they represent comes from one higher in rank, “the Prince of princes” (Daniel 8:25). This dynamic is clear when you look at Daniel’s visitation by the angel Gabriel, who was speaking on behalf of the voice of someone else standing by—someone who had “a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision’” (Daniel 8:17). It is apparent that archangels work under the leadership of the Prince of princes.

The Man Clothed in Linen

When Gabriel made his first appearance, he was not alone. Though the archangel had approached Daniel, he was not speaking to Daniel until he was instructed to speak by the voice of another standing by (Daniel 8:16–17). This was further explored at the end of Daniel’s epic prophecy of the future when the mysterious man in Daniel’s vision was accompanied by two others inquiring of “the man clothed in linen” (Daniel 12:6). We read,

 

 

Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished (Daniel 12:5–7).

The man clothed in linen was not named, but the appearance of the man clothed in linen was curiously detailed earlier in Daniel’s vision. Unlike Gabriel and Michael, who were not given any detailed explanation as to their appearances, the man clothed in linen was revealed to Daniel in spectacular glory:

Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude (Daniel 10:4–6).

This man clothed in linen was the same man who was strengthened by the archangel Michael in the heavenly war opposing the journey to give Daniel a message. He was also the one who strengthened Michael in a time of great difficulty.

But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince. Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him) (Daniel 10:21–11:1).

Who was this unnamed messenger? Daniel described his vision of the man calling him “one having the likeness of the sons of men” (Daniel 10:16). This is no doubt a reference to the Son of Man, seen by John on the Isle of Patmos, as he received the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:12–18).

The “man clothed in linen” of Daniel 10:5, the “one having the likeness of the sons of men” of Daniel 10:16, is the “Prince of princes” mentioned in Daniel 8:25. He is the fourth man in the fire protecting Daniel’s three friends who were thrown into the furnace for their refusal to worship nebuchadnezzar or forsake faithfulness to Yahweh. The man clothed in linen is the Christ, the express image of the Living God of Hebrews 1:3, surrounded by archangels, worshiped by myriads, and revealed to us, Christ Jesus!

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24–25).

The Voice of An Archangel

It is important for us to understand that archangels are the primary messengers who usher in the manifest presence of Jesus. We have explored examples of this from the prophet Daniel’s visions. We can also see this in the advent of the new covenant. Who made the announcement to Mary of the immaculate conception? It was done by Gabriel, the archangel (see Luke 1:26). Who announced the forerunner to Jesus, the one who would be known as John the Baptist? It was Gabriel, the archangel (see Luke 1:19). Do you see the pattern here? The pattern will continue even at the fullness of Christ’s coming.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:15–18).

Jesus will descend to Earth with the voice of an archangel at the last trumpet. It is not clear as to whether this will be an archangel accompanying Jesus or the voice of the Lord will make a sound like that of an archangel. The Revelation of Jesus Christ contains such a moment, and there are unmistakable similarities to that of the man clothed in linen.

In Revelation, there are multiple instances where the Lord is distinguished by what is on His head and what He holds.

  1. Jesus revealed with “head and hair . . . white like wool, as white as snow” while holding in “His right hand seven stars” (Revelation 1:14, 16).

  2. Jesus revealed as a Lamb, “having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6). The Lamb with horns and eyes comes before the throne to take the “scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” with the authority the break its seals (Revelation 4:7; Revelation 5:9).

  3. Jesus revealed seated on a white cloud as “One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” (Revelation 14:14).

  4. Jesus revealed as “Faithful and True,” riding a white horse “and on His head were many crowns” (Revelation 19:11–12). He holds a “sharp sword” coming from His mouth and rules the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 19:15).

Each of these glimpses of Christ are hard to miss as the text uses language with clear references pointing to Jesus. However, the mighty angel coming down from Heaven can be missed as a possible reference to the angel of Yahweh.

I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them” (Revelation 10:1–4).

This should not be mistaken for any normal angel. His head is covered with a rainbow, and a little book is being held. His voice is like the voice of an archangel, “as when a lion roars.” He is so gigantic that He can only be clothed with the clouds, and He has the ability to place one foot in the sea and one foot on dry land. And there is something else that happens, reminding us of the man clothed in linen speaking to Daniel.

Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished (Daniel 12:7).

The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets (Revelation 10:5–7).

In both instances, the heavenly messenger is pictured as holding His hands up to Heaven, and the messenger “swore by Him who lives forever” (Daniel 12:7; Revelation 10:5). Who is this angel? Shouldn’t we have seen him throughout the Scriptures?

Jamie Galloway

Jamie Galloway carries a revival message that imparts a lifestyle of the supernatural. After receiving a powerful encounter with God, Jamie Galloway immediately began an incredible journey into the supernatural. During this time, God began using Jamie in some very unusual ways while giving him a love for the word of God, and a rich level of communion with Jesus.

He ministers, speaking nationally and internationally and is currently involved in various media projects that highlight the supernatural move of the Holy Spirit.

Previous
Previous

8 Witchcraft Attack Symptoms: How To Know You’re Under Attack

Next
Next

Freedom From 16 Evil Strongholds: Symptoms & Authority Over Evil Spirits