One of the many names of Jesus is “Michael.” The name
Michael means, “Who is like God?” or “One who is like God.”
This in no way
makes him a created Angel—rather, he is the Almighty Creator of the angels. The
word “angel” simply means “messenger.” Many times when a text in English states
that a “messenger” was sent, the Hebrew word is “malak,” or angel, even though
it is obviously referring to a human being. Jesus is called the “Messenger of
the covenant” in Malachi 3:1.
The most
significant feature about the archangel is that each time the name Michael is
used in the Bible, there is a conflict between Satan and Jesus. The Great
Controversy is over the character of God; Satan was once one of the “covering
cherubs” who stood next to God’s throne. Acts tells us that Christ ascended
into heaven and took his former position seated at the “right hand of God.”
Satan’s position was to declare to the universe what God was like, and he
reflected God’s own glory.
Since his
rebellion, Satan has been proposing to the universe that God is like
him—arbitrary, exacting, vengeful, unforgiving and severe. Christ’s primary
mission on earth was to show us that God is really like him. Since the name
Michael literally means, “Who is like God,” it only makes sense that in the
conflicts in the Great Controversy over what God is really like, it is Michael
who arises to confront Satan with the challenge, “Who really is like God—you or
me?”
In Jude 9 Michael is called “the
archangel.” I Thessalonians
Jesus said that
the dead will hear his voice and rise to life: Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear
will live. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are
in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to
the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of
condemnation. John 5:25,28,29
Christ is the
Serving in this capacity does not distract from his deity
any more than becoming a human being made him any less God (carefully read John
1:1-3,10,14, Titus 1:3,4, Colossians 2:9, I John 5:20, I Timothy 3:16).
Some people cite Jude 9, when Michael said to the Devil, "The Lord rebuke you," and argue that if
Michael was Jesus, he would not refer to "the Lord" as though he were
another Person. Yet in Zechariah 3:2 we see clearly identical language: And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you,
Satan! The LORD who has chosen
Jesus is often referred to as "the Angel of the
LORD" in the Old Testament. Here is a clear example:
In
all their affliction he was afflicted, And the Angel of his Presence saved
them; In his love and in his pity He redeemed them; And he bore them and
carried them All the days of old. Isaiah 63:9
Note carefully how in the following appearances of “the Angel of the LORD,” the “angel” turns out to be God himself:
Now Sarai,
Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant
whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the Lord has
restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall
obtain children by her."
And
Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid,
the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had
dwelt ten years in the
So
Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you
please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her
presence.
Now
the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the
spring on the way to Shur. And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have
you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from
the presence of my mistress Sarai." The Angel of the Lord said to her,
"Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." Then
the Angel of the Lord said to her, "I will multiply your descendants
exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." And the
Angel of the Lord said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall
bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your
affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And
every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren." Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her,
You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who
sees me?" Genesis
16:1-13
But
the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham,
Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not lay
your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God,
since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
Then
Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a
thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a
burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place,
The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The
Lord it shall be provided."
Then
the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said:
"By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing,
and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and
multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as
the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate
of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:11-18
And
the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a
bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush
was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this
great sight, why the bush does not burn."
So
when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the
midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I
am." Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals
off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Moreover He
said, "I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look
upon God. Exodus
3:2-6
Note that the following passages repeatedly refer to the
Angel as the LORD as the Almighty God himself (YHWH or LORD):
a) The "Angel of the
LORD" who came to Gideon is called the "LORD" (Yahweh) in verse
14:
Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth
tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son
Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the
Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him,
"The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Gideon said to him,
"O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
And where are all his miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did
not the LORD bring us up from
Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might
of yours, and you shall save
Then he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your
sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me. Do not depart from
here, I pray, until I come to you and bring out my offering and set it before
you." And He said, "I will wait until you come back." So Gideon
went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour.
The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them
out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.
The Angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the
unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And
he did so. Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in
his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of
the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the
LORD departed out of his sight. Now Gideon perceived that he was the Angel of
the LORD. So Gideon said, "Alas, O LORD God! For I have seen the Angel of
the LORD face to face." Judges
6:11-22
b) Manoah said he had "seen God" when
the "Angel of the LORD" appeared to him:
And
the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now,
you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a
son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and
not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And
no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God
from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver
So
the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A Man of God came to me, and
His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but
I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. And He
said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or
similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to
God from the womb to the day of his death.' "
Then
Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, "O my LORD, please let the Man of God
whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who
will be born." And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of
God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her
husband was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and
said to him, "Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now
appeared to me!" So Manoah arose and followed his wife.
When
he came to the Man, he said to Him, "Are You the Man who spoke to this
woman?" And He said, "I am." Manoah said, "Now let Your
words come to pass! What will be the boy's rule of life, and his work?" So
the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let
her be careful. She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she
drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her
let her observe."
Then
Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain You, and we
will prepare a young goat for You." And the Angel of the LORD said to
Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer
a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know
He was the Angel of the LORD.) Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD,
"What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor
You?" And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name,
seeing it is wonderful?"
So
Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the
rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked
on— it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar--the Angel of
the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this,
they fell on their faces to the ground.
When the
Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew
that He was the Angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall
surely die, because we have seen God!" Judges 13:3-22
c) The Angel who came to Joshua causes sin to pass away and gives righteousness. Only God can do these things:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the
Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was
standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before
Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He
said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you
with rich robes." And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his
head." So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on
him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying,
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'If you will walk in My ways, And if you
will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have
charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.
Zechariah 3:1-10
d) When
the Angel appeared to Jacob, he said he had “seen God
face to face.”
Yes,
he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in
And
Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to
face, and my life is preserved." Genesis 32:30
e) The "Angel of his presence"
"saved" and "redeemed," which only God can do:
In
all their affliction he was afflicted, And the Angel of his Presence saved
them; In his love and in his pity he redeemed them; And he bore them and
carried them All the days of old. Isaiah 63:9
Thus
says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am
the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. Isaiah 44:6
f) God said "His Angel" could pardon
transgression, which only God himself can do.
"Behold,
I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the
place which I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice; do not provoke
him, for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him. But if
you indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to
your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For my Angel will go before
you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and
the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. Exodus 23:20-23
A careful
comparison will show that the "Prince of
princes" (Daniel
[They] killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the
dead, of which we are witnesses. Acts
Him God
has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to
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. Revelation 1:5 KJV
The Being who appeared to Daniel in Daniel 10:5,6 (whom
Gabriel calls Michael in verse 13) is obviously Christ because the description
of him is the same as that of Christ in Revelation 1:13-15.
A general reaction of Christians is to assume that by
saying Michael is Christ is the same as saying he is a created angel, inferior
to the Father, such as the Jehovah’s Witness doctrine. Yet not even the Arians
(who originated the idea Jesus was a created being with divine qualities)
believed Christ was an angel.
Some of the most reputable scholars in Church history
taught that Michael was just another one of Christ’s myriad names:
John A. Lees states: “The earlier Protestant scholars usually
identified Michael with the pre-incarnate Christ, finding support for their
view, not only in the juxtaposition of the "child" and the archangel
in Rev 12, but also in the attributes ascribed to him in Daniel.” The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, 1930, Vol. 3, page 2048
Protestant Reformer John Calvin said regarding "Michael" in its occurrence at Daniel 12:1: "I embrace the opinion of those who refer this to the person of Christ, because it suits the subject best to represent him as standing forward for the defense of his elect people." J. Calvin, Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Daniel, trans. T. Myers (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), vol. 2 p. 369.
William L. Alexander, Doctor of Divinity,
stated: There seems good reason for regarding Michael as the Messiah. Such was
the opinion of the best among the ancient Jews.... With this all the Bible
representations of Michael agree. He appears as the Great Prince who standeth
for
A Bible
Dictionary published by Logos
International, an evangelical Protestant outfit, says: "Michael ... in
Dan.
Regarding the
occurence of "Michael" in Revelation 12:7-10, Methodist commentator Adam Carke remarked: "By the
personage, in the Apocalypse, many understand the Lord Jesus." (his
multi-volume commentary -- not just the 1-volume abridged ed. by Ralph
Earle—published by Abingdon Press, vol. 6, page 952).
Lange’s Commentary calls the figure here (Rev
12:7-10) "the warlike form of Christ." J.P. Lange's Commentary on the
Holy Scriptures, s.v. Rev. 12:7
An Exposition of the Bible, produced by 27 different scholars, says of Michael:
"It is even itself probable that the Leader of the hosts of light (in Rev.
12:7-9) will be no other than the Captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself.... Above all, the prophecies of Daniel, in which the name
Michael first occurs, may be said to decide the point." —published in
The highly respected
Matthew Henry states in his Commentary concerning Revelation 12:9:
“The parties-Michael and his angels on one side, and the dragon and his angels
on the other: Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful
followers; and Satan and all his instruments. This latter party would be much
superior in number and outward strength to the other; but the strength of the
church lies in having the Lord Jesus for the captain of their salvation.”
Verses 7-11 “The
attempts of the dragon proved unsuccessful against the church, and fatal to his
own interests. The seat of this war was in heaven; in the
Concerning
Daniel 10: “Here is Michael our prince, the great protector of the church, and
the patron of its just but injured cause: The first of the chief princes, v.
13. Some understand it of a created angel, but an archangel of the highest order,
1 Th. 4:16; Jude 9. Others think that Michael the archangel is no other than
Christ himself, the angel of the covenant, and the Lord of the angels, he whom
Daniel saw in vision, v. 5.”
The reformer John Wesley states: “An answer to
Daniel's enquiry, ver. 8 - 13.1 For the children - The meaning seems to be, as
after the death of Antiochus the Jews had some deliverance, so there will be
yet a greater deliverance to the people of God, when Michael your prince, the
Messiah shall appear for your salvation. A time of trouble - A the siege of
On Daniel 10:21, Wesley comments, “Michael - Christ alone is the protector of his church, when all the princes of the earth desert or oppose it.”
In the Geneva Study Bible we find these
comments: Daniel 12:1 And at that {a} 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.
(a) The angel here notes two things: first that the Church will be in great affliction and trouble at Christ's coming, and next that God will send his angel to deliver it, whom he here calls Michael, meaning Christ, who is proclaimed by the preaching of the Gospel.
Daniel
10:1310:13 But the {h} prince of the
(h) Meaning
Cambyses, who reigned in his father's absence, and did not only for this time
hinder the building of the temple, but would have further raged, if God had not
sent me to resist him: and therefore I have stayed for the profit of the
Church. (i) Even though God could by one angel destroy all the world, yet to
assure his children of his love he sends forth double power, even Michael, that
is, Christ Jesus the head of angels.
"The two
passages in the New Testament, in which Michael is mentioned, serve to confirm
the result already arrived at. That the Michael referred to in Rev. xii. 7 is
no other than the Logos, has already been proved in my commentary upon that
passage. Hofmann (Schriftbeweis i., p. 296) objects to this explanation, and
says, 'in this case it is impossible to imagine why the Archangel should be
mentioned as fighting with the dragon, and not the child that was caught up to
the throne of God.' But we have already replied to this in the commentary,
where we said, 'if Michael be Christ, the question arises why Michael is
mentioned here instead of Christ'. The answer to this is, that the name Michael
[Who is like God?, that is, 'Who dares to claim that they are like God?']
contains in itself an intimation that the work referred to here, the decisive
victory over Satan, belongs to Christ, not as human, but rather as divine
[compare 1 John iii. 8]. Moreover, this name forms a connecting link between
the Old Testament and the New. Even in the Old Testament, Michael is
represented as the great prince, who fights on behalf of the Church (Dan. xii.
1).' The conflict there alluded to was a prediction and prelude of the one
mentioned hero. The further objections offered by Hofmann rest upon his very
remarkable interpretation of chap. xii., which is not likely to be adopted by
any who are capable of examining for themselves."—Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg, Christology
of the Old Testament and a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, 1836-9,
Vol. IV, pp. 304-5 (in the T. & T. Clark publication; p. 269 in the Kregel
publication).
Brown's Dictionary of the Bible on the words Michael and
Angel says that both these words do sometimes refer to Christ; and also affirms
that Christ is the
Doctor Coke, a Methodist bishop, in his notes on the Bible,
acknowledges that Christ is sometimes called an Angel. See his notes of that
passage where the Angel of the Lord spake to the people at Bochim.
Melito, 160-170-177 C.E.: (estimated dates of
composition): He who in the law is the Law; among the priests, Chief Priest;
among kings, the Ruler; among prophets, the Prophet; among the angels,
Archangel; in the voice of the preacher, the Word; among spirits, the Spirit;
in the Father, the Son; in God, God; King for ever and ever.—On Faith; ANF,
Vol. VIII (8), pp. 756-7.