Chapter 3.3
Michael
Archangel
Christophany; the appearance
of Jesus before he was born.
First
Word
The Bible teaches
that we are NOT to worship Angels even though some denominations do. Oddly
enough there are scriptures that support angels being worshipped. This study looks at those scriptures and
presents something called Theophany and
Christophany which is the appearances
of God and Jesus in OT times.
The Players
The scene unfolds in heaven with a war
breaking out between Michael the high
Archangel and the Dragon who is identified as the Angel Satan. Michael cast Satan out of Heaven along with
his Angels that had followed him.[1]
Here’s where we are; we know the players
are the Angel Michael and the Angel Satan. Understand that Satan was the highest ranking
Angel in heaven, yet he and his angels were tossed out by the Archangel
Michael… Ponder
Michael’s authority and power…
The Prince
We are told that the
angel Michael is a Prince, in fact a Great Prince which brings us up to
the definition of Prince.
Wikipedia: Prince; the one who
takes the first place or position; refers to a member of a family that is
ruled by hereditary right. A prince is the son of
a King and the heir to the throne. Scripture
says Jesus was born the Prince of Peace and is the ONLY ONE that is the
heir to the throne of God. So Michael is
a Prince and Jesus is a Prince[2]…
Hang on to
that thought...
Begotten
Son
The Bible teaches that Jesus
is God come in the flesh and is the ONLY begotten Son of God.
While there are
many sons of God; Jesus is the only one begotten by God Himself. God gave His ONLY begotten Son so
that through Him the world MIGHT be saved.[3]
Return of Christ
When Christ returns, He will
descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the ARCHANGEL and the dead in Christ will rise first. Ponder whose voice is shouting.
Jesus is the resurrection and He alone has the
power over the grave. He is the only one with the keys to death and
hell. It’s His
voice that those in the graves
will hear.[4]
Michael and
Satan
Let’s
pause right here to take a look at an “altercation”
between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses after he had
died. Here’s how it all played out;
Moses while in the desert, on an occasion was instructed to smite a rock ONCE to get water out of it, and he did.
On a second occasion, God told him to SPEAK to the rock to get water, but not following God’s detailed instructions;
he sinned and smote the rock TWICE to get the
water.[5]
The ROCK is a symbol of Jesus
Christ. He is our rock and would be
smote only ONCE on the Cross and water would spill out from his side. He would die ONCE for the sins of the world… This sin of disobedience kept Moses from
entering the Promised Land.
Moses died and the angel Michael came for his body
and Satan also tried to claim it for the grave. Satan outranked all the angels,
but once again lost this confrontation to Michael.[6]
Michael resurrected the now dead Moses to
stand beside Elijah who never died. This
meeting would occur at the transfiguration of Christ.[7]
Moses and Elijah would minister to Jesus
just prior to His crucifixion. Ponder; Michael
resurrecting the dead Moses.
The Archangel we call Michael was actually
Jesus Christ
who is the only one with the “Authority” of power over death and the grave.
This is a
Christophany; an appearance of Christ before His birth as the
Messiah. This would occurred often in
the OT; an example is His appearance as the Prophet, Priest and King; Melchizedek.
Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, He is NOT an
angel. He is the
creator of everything that was ever created. Think about Christ appearing as an Angel…
Jehovah
Witnesses believe that
Jesus is Michael the Archangel, but they deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ,
teaching in fact that Jesus was an Angel.
Seventh
Day Adventist also believe that Jesus is Michael the Archangel, but they believe and
teach that He is God in the flesh.
God Angel
Jacob;
(Israel) had an altercation; an intense wrestling match with an angel
who identified himself as The Angel of God. The
Angel told Jacob that He was the GOD of Bethel.[8] How can an angel be a god? Satan
was a created being; an angel that wanted to be like God and was cast out of
heaven for that very reason.
NOTE: Scripture says
to let your request be made known to God alone; not to angels.[9] Worshiping Angels is forbidden by scripture; the Bible teaches not to worship or make supplication to any angel; then why
do we see instances of Angels being worshipped?
This Angel says
that He is the God of Bethel.
Could this be God the Son; not a created Angel who cannot be
God. Jacob exclaimed that he had seen God face to face and lived.[10] This was a Christophany of Jesus Christ. Jacob worshipped Him and the angel allowed it.
Christophany
footnotes[11]
Theophany - Christophany
An Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush and He identified Himself as the
God of your Father Abraham and told him to take off his sandals because he was
standing on Holy Ground.[12]
Moses did so and worshipped, and the angel allowed it.
An Angel of the
Lord appeared to Joshua and Identified Himself as the Captain or Commander of
the army of the Lord. He told Joshua to
take off his sandals because he was standing on Holy Ground.[13]
Joshua did so and worshipped, and the angel allowed it.
Jesus is NOT an angel, but He is the head; THE CAPTAIN, THE COMMANDER of all the Angels and
is worthy to be worshipped.
The Take Away
I know that this messes with your BS your Belief System; it sure did mine, but it’s in the Book
Martin Luther said, “An angel
is a spiritual creature created by God without a body, for the service of
Christendom and the church”.
Billy Graham said “Angels,
who think, will, and display emotions are ministering servants who can appear or remain invisible as they perform the
tasks that God assigns them.”[14]
Angels maintain the believer’s life during
the believer’s assignment and interacts with them without their knowledge. The Task
of the Believer will be accomplished before his death.[15]
Jesus is the Prince, the Heir to the throne, the only one with power over
death. His voice alone can raise
someone from the grave. He is the
Captain; the Commander of all the Angels.
The Archangel Michael is the
Christophany of Jesus Christ. SELAH
[1] Revelation 12:7 – There will be a War in Heaven between Michael and the
Dragon -- Revelation 12:9 – The
Dragon is the Devil; Satan
[2] Daniel 10:21 Michael is called a Prince -- Daniel 12:1 – Michael is
actually the Great Prince -- Isaiah
9:6 – Jesus is born The Prince of Peace
[3]
John 1:1 – In the Beginning was The Word (Jesus) who is God on earth -- John 1:14 – God had a Son (The Word) who became flesh and lived
among us -- John 3:16-17 – God
gave his ONLY son
that the world MIGHT be saved
[4] 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – God Himself descends with a shout -- Jeremiah 25:30 – God is the one who roars and
shouts. -- John 11:23-25 – Jesus
is the one with power over the grave -- Revelation 1:18 – Jesus has the keys to the grave and death -- John 5:28-29 – Those in the grave will hear
the Voice of Jesus -- 1
Thessalonians 4:16 – The Voice of the Archangel will be heard at Christ’s
return
[5] Numbers 20:10-11 - Moses sinned when he smote the rock twice
[6] Jude 1:9 – Michael said the Lord rebuke you Satan.
[7] Matthew 17:3 - Moses appeared on the mount of transfiguration
[8] Genesis 31:11-13 – The Angel of God said I am the God of Bethel
[9] Revelation 19:10 – Do not worship an angel,
worship only God -- Matthew 4:10 – Jesus said;
Worship and serve God only -- Philippians 4:5-6 - Let your
requests be made known to GOD
[10] Genesis 32:30 - Jacob seeing the angel said; I have seen God face to face
[11] Hosea 12:3-5 – Jacob worshiped the Angel; the Lord God of hosts.
[12] Exodus 3:2-6 – Angel of the Lord was God Himself
[13] Joshua 5:13-15 – Angel of the Lord was Jesus Christ
[14] Hebrews 13:2 – Angels
interact with us unknowingly
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