The angel whose name is a question

ROME, September 29, 2026 AD — In four verses of the Bible, Saint Michael the Archangel leads his angels into a war. They fight a dragon and the dragon’s angels. The dragon is beaten, and he and his followers are thrown out of heaven.

Those verses come from the Apocalypse, also called the Book of Revelation, which sets down the visions of Saint John. Today is St. Michael’s feast, which he shares with Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael. The Church has a book that lists the saints for every day of the year. After the day’s saints are read out, a short Bible reading from the book may follow. For today, that reading is this battle.

St. John wrote: “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”

In the very next verse, St. John said who the dragon was. He wrote: “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

A name that answers back

Pope Saint Gregory the Great explained the battle by what St. Michael’s name means. St. Gregory wrote that the devil “desired in his pride to be like God.” He put a prophet’s words in the devil’s mouth: “I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High.” And the name Michael, St. Gregory wrote, means “Who is like God.”

Pope Saint John Paul II read the battle verses aloud at the grotto of St. Michael on Monte Gargano, in Apulia. He did it on May 24, 1987 AD. The Pope said the archangel’s Hebrew name, “Who is like God?”, was an answer. It answered the angel who wanted to become like God. The name, St. John Paul II said, means that no one is equal to God.

One sentence

In the whole of the Bible, St. Michael speaks only one sentence, and it isn’t in the Apocalypse. It’s in the Letter of Saint Jude. St. Jude was writing against men who “reject authority, and revile the glorious ones.” He held up St. Michael as the opposite of those men. St. Michael once argued with the devil about the body of Moses. Even while they argued, St. Michael did not insult him. He said to the devil: “The Lord rebuke you.”