God created 3 Chief or Arch Angels; Michael, which means Prince of God, Gabriel, which means Strength of God and Lucipher, which means Light-Bearer. The word ‘archangel’ is only mentioned twice in the entire bible, once when referring to Michael, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil…” (Jude 1:9) and another time referring to the Angel who will announce the second coming of Christ during the Rapture.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel…” (1st Thessalonians 4:16)
After carefully studying and comparing scriptures I’ve observed that whenever God had a major announcement to make there’s only one angel He used over and over again, and that’s the angel Gabriel.
The angel Gabriel is also one of only 3 angels in the bible ever mentioned by name.
It also makes sense that the same one who herald Christ’s first coming should herald His second coming also!
All this leads me to deduce that the Archangel referred to in 1st Thessalonians 4:17 is none other than the angel Gabriel.
So, we have two Archangels identified in the bible so far, the Archangel Michael and the Archangel Gabriel.
In studying these scriptures we have just isolated one characteristic of an Archangel – Archangels are specifically called by name in the bible. No other angels are.
Is there another characteristic that separates an Archangel from an ordinary angel?
Looking at Revelations 12:7, it says, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon…”
Here we have another very clear identifying trait of an Archangel – They have authority over other angels, which make perfect sense, since the prefix “Arch” means “Chief” or “one who has authority to rule over others.”
So, are there any other angels in the bible who are specifically mentioned by name and who have authority over other angels?
Well, how about, Lucipher who had his name changed to Satan?
He has several names and titles and if we complete the scripture from Revelations 12:7, it says, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.”
Now, we know from scripture that the Dragon is none other than Satan, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan...” (Revelations 12:9)
So, the fact that the bible equates Satan with Michael by showing that they both are called by name and they both have authority over other angels confirm that Satan was also among the ranks of the Archangels, of which there were only three – Michael, Gabriel and Lucipher.
I say “were only three” because the moment Lucipher rebelled against God he lost that rank and gave up the right to be called an Archangel any longer, that’s why the bible only mentions two angels as being Chief or Arch angels, Michael and Gabriel.
Understand, that Satan is not just his new name but it’s his new designation; the word “Satan” actually means “Enemy” and that is what he has become, instead of being a Chief angel he is now the Chief enemy of God, hence the name and title of, Satan.
Everest John Alexander is a Minister, Author and Internet Marketer. He’s been Teaching the Bible for 20 years. His Christian Website, Kingdom Learning Network shares the principles of the Kingdom of God through Video & Audio Teachings, Ebooks, Articles, Quizzes, etc. Everest's latest book is called, "Understanding How to Pray Effectively" He's married to his best friend, Loraine and together they have two grown kids and they all live in Fort Pierce, Florida!
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Contributor's Note
This Intel is in response to Biblefreeorg's question from another Intel entitled, "Satan's Dominion & the Descendants of Adam" The question was, "What scriptural references show that Lucipher was an Archangel and not just an angel?"
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