Monday, September 19, 2016

Who is MICHAEL?

"The identity of “Michael the archangel” in the Bible has caused some controversy amongst Bible students of all denominations. Some say that it is actually Jesus before He was born as a baby on earth. Others say that it is just an Archangel with no connection to Jesus at all — an archangel — and therefore couldn’t be the Son of God.

G32 ἄγγελος aggelos (ang’-el-os) n.

  1. a messenger
  2. (especially) an “angel” of God
  3. (of evil, Satan) a demon
  4. (by implication) a person carrying forth a message from God, i.e. a servant (a disciple, pastor, elder, prophet, etc.)
  5. (also, by implication) a thing or event carrying forth a message from God, i.e. a hardship (pestilence, wind, etc.), or an animal (donkey, locusts, etc.)) [from aggello “to bring tidings” (possibly derived from G71)]


So who is Michael?

Only five verses in the Bible mention Michael. They are:
Jude 1:9: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the

body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Daniel 10:13: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel 10:21: But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Daniel 12:1: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Revelation 12:7: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Only two verses actually mention the word “archangel”.
ARCHANGEL / MICHAEL TEXT #1
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the *archangel*, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. (1 Thess 4:16 )
Who raises the dead with His voice? Not a created angel, indeed not even a created archangel. The shout is given with the voice of the “archangel”, the LORD Jesus Christ Himself:
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:26-28)
It is the voice of Jesus Christ (the Son of man) that raises the dead.
ARCHANGEL / MICHAEL TEXT #2
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9)
This verse is a virtual duplicate of another Old Testament event-
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the “angel of the LORD”, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (Zech 3:1,2)
In both Jude 9 and Zech 3:1-2 it is Jesus, the “angel of the LORD” who is also “Michael the archangel”, contending with Satan for both Moses and Joshua.
ARCHANGEL / MICHAEL TEXT #3
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, *Michael*,
one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia (Daniel 10:13)

The prince of the kingdom of Persia is a reference to Satan, and Michael refers again to Jesus. It is the created angel Gabriel that is speaking with Daniel (See Dan 8:16, 9:21). Daniel 10:13 is probably the most difficult verse regarding Michael: “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.” It appears at first glance that Michael is only “one of” the chief princes.
This is an unfortunate translation in the King James. The word “one” comes from the Hebrew word “echad,” which is also frequently translated as “first,” as in the president’s wife being called “first lady.” (See Genesis 1:5; 8:13.)
This changes the whole meaning of the verse to Michael being first of, greatest or highest of, to the chief of princes—again a reference to Jesus. The prince of the kingdom of Persia who withstood the angel was no doubt the devil who frequently appears working in the shadow of earthly monarchs such as the king of Babylon, the king of Tyre, and the Roman power (Isaiah 14:4, Ezekiel 28:2, Revelation 12:4). And remember that Jesus calls Satan “the prince of this world” (John 12:31).
ARCHANGEL / MICHAEL TEXT #4
But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. (Dan 10:21 )
In Daniel 10:13 we see an interesting scenario where Daniel is praying to God asking Him to send an angel to explain a vision that he’d had earlier but could not understand. We read in that chapter that Gabriel was dispatched to answer Daniel’s request but couldn’t get through to him for 21 days because the prince of Persia withstood him. In other words, the angel met with resistance from the prince of Persia who tried to prevent him from reaching Daniel with the message concerning the vision. In verse 13, we learn that Michael goes to Gabriel reach Daniel. The implication is that Michael came to provide reinforcements to Gabriel since the prince of Persia was preventing him from reaching Daniel for 21 days.
Notice here that the angel refers to Michael as your Prince. Who was Daniel’s prince? In the previous chapter, we see the answer. In Daniel 9:25, Daniel’s Messiah is called the prince, which is another clear indication of Michael’s identity! So Gabriel is saying that Michael the archangel is Jesus, who knows all the truth of Scripture.
ARCHANGEL / MICHAEL TEXT #5
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.Dan 12:1,2
Michael standing up is a reference to the second coming of Jesus at the end of time when He delivers His people, those listed in the Lamb’s book of life, to include resurrecting those that sleep in the dust to everlasting life.
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. (Rev 1:5 )
ConclusionWe have come to the end of our study and are seeing clearly now that
Michael is none other than Jesus Christ."

And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon;
and the dragon fought and his angels,
Revelation 12:7

AmazingDiscoveries