Who is Michael Your Prince?

 

In many Christian circles the personage “Michael,” in Scripture, has been met with three principal views:

1. Michael is an angel and thus a created being
   
2. Michael is the arch-angel and thus is Christ the prince, or chief of angels
3. Michael is one of the many higher orders of angels, a commanding leader of a contingent of angels, but not Christ (similar to the first case with slight variations)

Of all the views listed above, none is more vigorously opposed and denounced as heretical than the one linking Michael with Jesus Christ (Y’shuah the Messiah). In this article I shall produce compelling Biblical evidence as proof, establishing and forever settling the question on Michael’s true identity.  It is of great importance that we “rightly divide the word of truth,” when dealing with any Bible subject, and none is more important than when treating on the divine nature of the Son of Man.  Most lay Christians, and Christian apologists, view this subject through a very narrow window, and in this presentation, I shall open the aperture of this window and broaden the subject so we may see that the Bible provides far more to the discussion than first catches the eye.  Most people are settled when discussing Michael, by reading a few selected passages in Daniel’s prophecies, and the book of Revelation, and some will venture to read the record of Jude.  I will, however take a holistic approach to the subject, and let the Bible minister to our senses; so with this, let’s now delve into the subject in a frontal way:

13 ¶  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15  And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Josh. 5: 13-15

Here we see that the “captain” of YHWH’S host received the “worship” of Joshua.  If this “captain” were merely an angel, then Joshuah could not have worshipped him!  “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matt. 4: 10.

Since an angel cannot be worshipped (Rev. 19:10), it becomes abundantly clear that the being whom Joshua worshipped, is deity.

Holy Ground Experience

Ex 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

“30 ¶  And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount [Sinai] an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31  When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, 32  Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. 33  Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.”  Acts. 7: 30-33

This being who Moses met was, “The angel of YHWH”:

“2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Ex. 3: 2-5

Note that the being who spoke with Moses from the burning bush is “the ANGEL of the LORD—YHWH.”  This being is further identified thusly:

13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Ex. 3: 13-15

It is most interesting to note the personage with whom Moses spoke!  First this being is identified as an “angel”, then He is called “God”, followed by “the God of your fathers,” and sealed with the eternal title “I AM”, and this “I AM” is clearly shown in the Bible to be Jesus Christ (Y’shuah the Messiah).  “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58

1 ¶  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  1 Cor. 10: 1-4

Back in Joshuah 5, the being who confronted Joshua with his drawn sword is further described as “the captain of the LORD’S host.”  Josh. 5: 15.  Now the word “captain” is most interesting, because it means, among other lofty titles, “Prince.”  From Strong’s Concordance we read that Captain –Sar–[H8269], means “prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.”

*Heb. 1: 5-8

This same title is prophetically given to Christ thusly: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince [8269] of Peace.” Isa 9:6

There is no bible student who will dispute that this “Prince of Peace” is a prophetic signature statement of Christ.

“Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince[8269]  of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down…And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince[8269]  of princes[8269]; but he shall be broken without hand.” Dan. 8: 10, 25

Here we see that the “little horn” power is to magnify itself to the “prince of thehost”—Christians, and this is exactly what the Papacy has done, magnified itself to divine statedom, proclaiming itself the Vicar of Christ—the personal viceroy of the King of the Universe—The Prince of Princes.

“Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25), is a further title given to the personage“Michael your Prince,” meaning Michael, your Messiah.

“But the prince[8269] of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes[8269], came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” Dan. 10:13

The term “one of” should not concern us, as the passage is indicating that there are many commanding angels, and in this capacity, as commander, Michael is identified.  Further the phrase “one of” really suggests “the first” of, as in the Chief, which again presents the truth that Michael is the First of the Angels, or the Leader of the Angels.

“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[8269]  .” Dan. 10:21

Here Michael is called Daniel’s “prince”—the Captain of the LORD’S host—the prince of true believers and the “captain” of their salvation.

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Heb 2:10

The word “captain” here used is the Greek word “archegos”[G747], which means “prince, captain, author.”  With this understanding the passage can be more clearly read: “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the AUTHOR [Prince] of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” Heb 2:10

Now this “author of our salvation” is none other than Y’shuah the Messiah (Jesus Christ our Messiah).  “Looking unto Jesus the author [G747, “Prince”] and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb 12:2

It is clear that the “prince” of the Host is Christ, and that the term Prince means Captain, which are also titles given to Christ our Lord.

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince[8269]  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.” Dan. 12:1

Observe that Michael delivers only those written “in the book,” evidently this Book of Michael’s is also the one known as “the Lamb’s book of life.” Rev. 21:27. Hence Michael is a synonymous term for the Lamb—Jesus Christ (John 1: 29).

Although the being or person, Michael, is also recognized as an “angel,” this should not be cause for concern, because as we have already observed, the “I AM” who met Moses at the burning bush is also described as an angel—theangel of the LORD.  Those who contend that because Michael is an angel, even the Archangel, this makes him a “created being” and thus not a correct representation of Christ, the God-man, will be dumbfounded to realize that the One known as YHWH is also represented as an ANGEL!

“1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God,even to Horeb. 2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fireout of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy 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.” Ex. 3: 1-6.

I submit to you that this angelic encounter which Moses had in Midian was not with a created being!  Rather, he had a face to face meeting with YHWH, and thus the record states, “he was afraid to look upon God.”

Further, we find Michael preparing to resurrect Moses to life, and there came Satan: “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

The term “archangel” herein used means “The Prince of the Angels”—the host of heaven.  This same being is seen at the last trumpet blast to raise the dead to life: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel [Michael], and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” 1 Thess 4:16

G743 archaggelos from 757 and 32; “archangel, or chief of the angels”.

Thus this personage, “Michael,” has resurrection power, clearly indicating that he is the same one known as “the resurrection and the life”.  “Jesus said unto her, I AM the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25

Clearly, the one known as the great “I AM,” who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and declared himself the Lord God of your fathers, is also known as Jesus Christ (Y’shuah the Messiah), and in him is resurrection power, thus he declares of himself, “I AM the resurrection and the life.”  If Michael also has resurrection power, this seals the conclusion that Michael and Christ are one and the same being.

37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38  For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”  Luke 20: 37, 38

Jesus, relating Moses’ experience at the burning bush declared that he called the angel of the Lord who appeared unto him, “the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  Another name for this being is [YHWH] Jehovahjireh (YHWH, The LORD my  Provider).

“And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” Gen. 22: 14

Since Moses is now a risen saint (“And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:” Luke  9:30), it is clear that he had to have been risen by Michael; and since Michael is the Captain of our salvation, and the one who blows the last trumpet blast at the general resurrection of the dead at Christ Second Coming, the weight of Scripture heavily falls on the side of truth that Christ is very Michael.

Finally, we find Michael engaged in a war, a terrible war in Heaven, in which he had to eject the rebels who tried to create mutiny in glory:

“7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev. 12: 7-9

From this conflict we see that the one who ejected Satan from Heaven, is his avowed enemy, even Michael the Archangel.  Thus one of the titles of Christ,representing Him as a warrior, is Michael.  From Joshuah’s encounter to Daniel’s visions, to John’s revelation, we see Michael presented as a Warrior, a defender of the Saints and an opponent to evil, even against the prince of evil—Satan himself.

Those who maintain that Michael is a mere angel, and thus a created being,know not the Scriptures nor the power of YHWH.

May you be strengthened by this study, at such as time as this when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and I pray that you are among those who will remain firm to the Scriptures, walking in the light of God’s ever-increasing Truth till the end.

Author: Garrick Augustus, February 2, 2013