|
SUBJECT: Angels and Jesus
QUESTION: Is the angel, Michael actually Jesus Christ?
ANSWER:
Short answer: No He
is not; never was. Michael the archangel is still in Heaven
and we will see him in the Kingdom of
God. Christ will be the ruler for that 1000 years of the
Kingdom of God and we will see Him there. Let us look at
some basic information:
MICHAEL
MI'CHAEL (mi'kel; "who is
as or like God?").
1. "One of the chief princes" or archangels <Daniel 10:13;
cf. Jude 9>, described <Daniel 10:21> as the "prince" of
Israel and <12:1> as "the great prince who stands" in time
of conflict "over the sons of your people."
As special guardian of the Jews, Michael will defend them in
their terrific time of trouble <Jeremiah30:5> during the
Great Tribulation when the remnant will be delivered and
established in the millennial kingdom.
As Gabriel represents the ministration of the angels toward
men, so Michael is the type and leader of their strife, in
God's name and His strength, against the power of Satan. In
the OT, therefore, he is the guardian of the Jewish people
in their antagonism to godless power and heathenism.
In the NT <Revelation12:7-9>, he fights in heaven against
the dragon-- "the serpent of old who is called the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world," and so takes part in
that struggle that is the work of the church on earth.
There remains still one passage (<Jude 9>; cf. <2 Peter
2:11>) in which we are told that "Michael the archangel,
when he disputed with the devil . . . about the body of
Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing
judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'" The reference
seems evidently to be to Moses' appearance in glorified form
on the mount of transfiguration <Matthew 17:1-8> as the
representative of the redeemed who have passed through death
into the kingdom <Matthew 13:43; Luke 9:30-31>.
~from New Unger's Bible
Dictionary
MICHAEL
(11) "The archangel" (Jude verse 9). Probably also the
unnamed archangel of <1 Thessalonians 4:16> is Michael.
In the Old Testament he is mentioned by name only in Daniel.
He is "one of the chief princes" <Daniel 10:13>, the
"prince" of Israel <10:21>, "the great prince" <12:1>;
perhaps also "the prince of the host" <8:11>.
In all these passages Michael appears as the heavenly patron
and champion of Israel; as the watchful guardian of the
people of God against all foes earthly or devilish.
It is he who opposed the Devil in a dispute concerning
Moses' body <Jude 1:9>.
It is Michael also who leads the angelic armies in the war
in heaven against "the old serpent, he that is called the
Devil and Satan" (Revelation 12:7 ff).
The earlier Protestant scholars usually identified Michael
with the preincarnate Christ, finding support for their
view, not only in the juxtaposition of the "child" and the
archangel in <Revelation 12>, but also in the attributes
ascribed to him in Daniel.
~from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia
Note: In the
final paragraph of this article you see that earlier
Protestant scholars usually identified Michael with the
preincarnate Christ but their stated logic is flawed. It
fails to recognize the creation and design of angels.
Further, if angels are created (and
they were), and Jesus began as an angel then we
could conclude that Jesus was created. This would be absurd
in light of John 1:1-3...
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made.
Here is commentary on these verses...
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God
Prologue. John 1:1-18.
Without delay the writer presents the central figure of the
Gospel, but does not call him Jesus or Christ. At this point
he is the Logos (Word).
This term has OT roots, suggesting there the concepts of
wisdom, power, and a special
relation to God. It was widely used, too, by philosophers to
express such ideas as reason and mediation between God
and the world. In John's day all classes of readers would
have understood its suitability here, where revelation is
the
keynote. But the unique feature is that the Logos is also
the Son of the Father, who became incarnate in order to
reveal
God fully (<John 1:14,18>).
A. The Pre-existent Logos.
John 1:1,2.
The [beginning]
of the Gospel (cf. <Mark 1:1>) is tied in with the beginning
of the creation (<Genesis 1:1>) and reaches
beyond it to a glimpse of the Godhead "before the world was"
(cf. <John 17:5>). The Word did not become; he was.
With God suggests equality as well as association. The Word
was God (deity)
without confusion of the persons.
B. The Cosmic Logos. John
1:3-5.
He was the agent in creation. By him. Through him.
John 1:3-5
All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made.
[All things] embrace the
totality of matter and existence, but viewed here in their
individual status rather than as universe. 4. Life is in
him, not simply through him. As the life, the Word
communicated light (the knowledge of God) to men. 5. The
darkness is primarily moral. Not everyone profits by the
light (cf. <John 3:19>). Probably the thought is not
identical with <1:9-10>; so the darkness comprehended it not
is a less likely translation than [the darkness has not
overcome it] (RSV).
C. The Incarnate Logos. John
1:6-18.
Included here is a summary of the mission of John the
forerunner. ~from Wycliffe
Commentary
Note: Clearly
the Word was Jesus Christ and it was He that made all things
including the angels.
Now one could argue, "Yes, I understand that He made all
things, but this does not preclude Him from taking the form
of an angel."
Why would He do this? It would send the wrong message. It
would be symbolically flawed. He became flesh for a purpose
but
it would serve no purpose for Him to be an angel. Look at
the scripture:
Psalm 148:2-5
2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his
hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of
light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be
above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded,
and they were created.
Note: The Bible
is stating clearly that angels praise God and that they were
created. It would be extremely wrong to
put God (Jesus Christ)
in this position (of an
angel) and what that meant.
Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all
things were created by him, and for him:
Note: This would
be tantamount to saying the Jesus created Himself. It would
cause Spiritual confusion. Besides,
Christ WAS in the form of another in the Old Testament...
Melchizedek.
Read the booklet that proves that Melchizedek was Jesus
Christ. It is located at the following Internet address:
http://home.sprynet.com/~pabco/tmysofms.htm The
Mystery of MELCHIZEDEK Solved!
Now look at this taken from the International Standard Bible
Encylopaedia on the subject of angels:
ANGEL
3. Other New Testament
References:
*Paul refers to the ranks of angels
("principalities, powers" etc.)
only in order to emphasize the complete supremacy of Jesus
Christ.
*He teaches that angels will be judged by the saints <1
Corinthians 6:3>.
*He attacks the incipient Gnosticism of Asia Minor by
forbidding the, worship of angels <Colossians 2:18>.
*He speaks of God's angels as "elect," because they are
included in the counsels of Divine love <1 Timothy 5:21>.
*When Paul commands the women to keep their heads covered in
church because of the angels <1 Corinthians 11:10> he
probably means that the angels, who watch all human affairs
with deep interest, would be pained to see any infraction of
the laws of modesty.
*In <Hebrews 1:14> angels are (described
as ministering spirits) engaged in the service of
the saints.
*Peter also emphasizes the supremacy of Our Lord over all
angelic beings <1 Peter 3:22>.
*In Revelation, where the references are obviously symbolic,
there is very frequent mention of angels. The angels of the
seven churches <Revelation 1:20> are the guardian angels or
the personifications of these churches.
*The worship of angels is also forbidden (<Revelation 22:8>
f).
*Specially interesting is the mention of elemental angels--
"the angel of the waters" <Revelation 16:5>, and the angel
"that hath power over fire" (<Revelation 14:18>; compare
<Revelation 7:1; 19:17>).
*In <Revelation 12:7> ff we are told that there was war
between Michael with his angels and the dragon with his
angels. ~from International
Standard Bible Encylopaedia
Note: Jesus has
complete superiority over the angels. The angels will be
judged by us. Again the symbolic meaning here is clear. If
Christ was or appeared as an angel, this would have the
saints (us) judging Him by extension.
Now notice this scripture:
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.
Note: Here is
Michael not willing to bring a railing accusation against
Satan, but rather that the Lord (Jesus
Christ) do it. Now if Michael were actually
Christ, Satan would clearly know it and he would have
laughed Michael to scorn. Angels are above humans yet Jesus
Christ as a human had no problem rebuking Satan (Read
Matthew 4 just as an example). The point is that
Christ retains His power and authority no matter what form
He is in. How could Jesus Christ rebuke Satan both as God
and human but not angel? It does not make sense, especially
in light of Jude 1:9 where we see an opportunity for Michael
(if he were Christ)
to do so.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
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:
The fact that Jesus returns with the voice of an archangel
does not mean that He is an archangel. It means that there
will be the voice of the archangel present. In Exodus 19:16
and Revelation1:10, we see Jesus speaking with the voice of
a trumpet, but clearly He is not a trumpet. In Isaiah 31:4
we see Christ speaking as a lion, but we do not say He was a
lion. In Revelation 1:7 we see Christ coming with clouds,
but He is not actually a cloud. In Revelation1:15 we see
Jesus with the voice of many waters, but Jesus is not an
ocean. I think we get the point. If one could use 1
Thessalonians 4:16 to prove Christ an archangel, then one
could use the other verses in the same way.
Christ is Christ and angels are angels.
Jesus was never an angel.
back to the top |