Divinity Atlas
Two Archangels, and the Identical Four Religions That Both Name Them
Michael and Gabriel each are formally linked to four religions in this atlas, and the four are identical for both: Christianity, Hermeticism, Islam and Judaism. Two archangels, named separately in four unrelated textual traditions, converging on the same set every time.
Named Four Times Each, in Four Different Books
Michael is named in the Epistle of Jude and in Revelation and is venerated as an archangel across the Christian churches; in the Book of Daniel as the prince who stands for Israel; and as Mika'il in the Qur'an, in Surat al-Baqara. Gabriel is the announcing angel of the Gospel of Luke; is named in the Book of Daniel, where he interprets the visions; and is Jibril, the angel of the revelation, in the Qur'an. Two figures, each independently attested in Jewish, Christian and Islamic scripture, without either atlas entry borrowing from the other to make the count.
The Fourth Religion Is a Classification, Not a Scripture
The fourth link on both pages is different in kind from the other three: each is one of the planetary, elemental and sephirotic archangels of the Western esoteric synthesis, the scheme by which this atlas classifies the type, worded identically on both pages' own notes. So the convergence is not four independent scriptural sightings of two angels; it is three scriptural traditions plus one later synthesis that folded figures from all three into its own single system, and Michael and Gabriel are simply the two angels prominent enough to be named in every one of the four.
Where To Read More
- MichaelPlanetary ArchangelsNamed in Jude, Revelation, Daniel and the Qur'an; converges on the identical four religions as Gabriel
- GabrielPlanetary ArchangelsNamed in Luke, Daniel and the Qur'an; converges on the identical four religions as Michael
- ChristianityAbrahamic (Monotheistic)Jude and Revelation for Michael; the Gospel of Luke for Gabriel
- JudaismAbrahamic (Monotheistic)The Book of Daniel, prince for Israel (Michael) and interpreter of the visions (Gabriel)
- IslamAbrahamic (Monotheistic)The Qur'an's Mika'il (Michael) and Jibril (Gabriel)
- HermeticismEsoteric / OccultThe fourth edge on both pages: this atlas's own classification scheme, not an independent scriptural sighting