Who is Archangel Michael?
BIBLE
Based on the similarities that the Bible presents between the characteristics of the mission of Archangel Michael with those of Christ, we can agree with other commentators, such as John Calvin and Matthew Henry, who identify Michael.
Within the context of the Holy Bible, which, without a doubt, is the safest and most reliable source of information on angelology, we find a series of statements that, when compared and confronted, lead us to think that Archangel Michael is Christ himself. Revelation 12: 7 declares that "there was war in Heaven" and that "Michael and His angels fought against the dragon". Daniel 8:25 says that "by his cunning in his endeavors he will make deception prosper; [...] he will rise up against the Prince of princes". In the paraphrased version of the Bible in the Language of Today, it says that "he will challenge God, the King of kings". And according to Revelation 19:16, Jesus Christ is the King of kings.
Daniel 12: 1 emphasizes that “at that time Michael, the great Prince will rise…”; Daniel 9:25 refers to the Anointed One as being the Prince, in these words:
"... from the departure of the order to restore and build Jerusalem, to the Anointed One, to the Prince ...". And in verse 26, it says that the Anointed One, or the Prince of verse 25, will be killed. “After the sixty-two weeks, the Anointed One will be killed and will no longer be…” (Daniel 9:26).
Who is this Anointed One? The answer is found in Luke 4:17 and 18, where Jesus, referring to the prophecy of Isaiah 61: 1 and 2, speaks of Himself in these words: “The Holy Spirit is in Me, therefore He has anointed Me…”
♦ “The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the meek; he sent Me to restore the contrite in heart, to proclaim freedom to the captives and the opening of prison to prisoners; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all the sad ”(Isaiah 61: 1, 2).
♦ “And he was given the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when he opened the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for he anointed Me to evangelize the poor, sent Me to heal the brokenhearted ”(Luke 4:17, 18).
Acts 10:38 and 39 declare, more directly, who this Anointed One is, in the following words: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with virtue; who went about doing good and healing all the oppressed of the devil, because God was with him. And we are witnesses of all the things he did, both in the land of Judea and in Jerusalem; which they killed by hanging Him on a tree. "
Acts 4:26 says that "the kings of the earth arose and the authorities joined one against the Lord and against His Anointed ..." - This is not an anointed one, but the Anointed One, the Messiah.
Acts 5:30 and 31 adds that "the God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed ... God, however, with His right hand exalted him to Prince and Savior ..."
Who, then, could be Michael of Revelation 12: 7; Michael, your Prince, from Daniel 12:11; Michael, the great Prince, from Daniel 9:25?
Isn't the answer in Revelation 1: 5? Is written:
"And of Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth ...?" - (Trinitarian version, Revised and Reformulated Edition according to the original Hebrew and Greek).
This version also corroborates the versions of the British and Foreign Bible Society, New York: American Bible Society and Holy Bible, Translated From The Latin Vulgate, Belgium. (Wilson Sarli, Angels Invisible Armies of Light and Power, 2nd ed., 2000, pg. 339).
Who is Archangel Michael mentioned in Judas 9? 1 Much speculation has arisen throughout the ages, in Jewish and Christian traditions, about the nature and work of angels, as well as the identification of Archangel Michael. In pseudo-epigraphic literature, for example, Michael is presented as one of the seven heavenly angels (1 Enoch 20: 1 to 7; 81:15; 90:21 and 22; Tobias 12:15), and one of the four found closest to the throne of God (1 Enoch 9: 1; 40: 1 to 10; 54: 6; 71: 8, 9 and 13). These extra-biblical traditions have been used by many contemporary commentators to claim that Michael is just an angel, created by God, who serves as the main leader of the angelic hosts.
In the Scriptures, Michael, whose name means "Who is like God?", Is described as:
♦ “Archangel” (Jude 9);
♦ the leader of the angelic hosts in the conflict with Satan and his evil angels (Revelation 12: 7);
♦ “one of the first princes” (Daniel 10:13);
♦ “your Prince” (Daniel 10:21);
♦ “the great Prince”, the defender of the children of your people ”(Daniel 12: 1);
A careful analysis of these expressions, within the biblical context, makes it clear that Michael is presented in the sacred text as a divine Being, whose characteristics reflect the Messianic glory of the Old Testament.
Michael is presented in Judas 9 as the “Archangel” who, in the dispute “concerning the body of Moses” (Deuteronomy 34: 5, 6), faced the devil with the words: “The Lord rebuke you!” This allusion identifies Michael as the “Archangel of the Lord” who, in the dispute over the “high priest Joshua”, also said to the devil:
“And the high priest Joshua showed me, who was before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan was at his right hand to oppose him. But the Lord said to Satan: The Lord rebukes you, O Satan, even the Lord, who chose Jerusalem, rebukes you; isn't this a brand taken out of the fire? Now Joshua, dressed in dirty clothes, was standing before the Angel ”(Zechariah 3: 1 to 3).
It is interesting to note that in both Zechariah 3 and Genesis 22:11 to 18, Judges 6:11 to 24, Judges 13; and Acts 7:30 to 40, the Angel of the Lord is identified as being the Lord Himself!
In Revelation 12: 7, Michael and Satan are presented in direct antagonism, in a cosmic conflict that originated in Heaven, and that extends throughout human history (Revelation 12; Revelation 20). The New Testament makes it clear that this conflict has polarized between Christ and His followers and Satan and his followers. To see:
♦ Matthew 4: 1 to 11
♦ John 12:31 and 32; Colossians 1: 9, 16
♦ Ephesians 6:10 to 20 John 14:30
In Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12: 1, Michael is called "Prince" and "the great Prince". Throughout the rest of Scripture, when not applied to human beings, the title "prince" is used exclusively for Christ or Satan, but never for any other angelic being (see Joshua 5:14, 15; Isaiah 9: 6; Daniel 8:11 and 25; Daniel 9:25; Acts 5:31; John 12:31 John 14:30; 16:11 Ephesians 2: 2).
In Joshua 5:14 and 15, the Lord introduced Himself to Joshua as “Prince of the Lord's army”, accepting worship, which would be blasphemous if that Prince were just an angel (see Matthew 4:10; Revelation 22: 8 and 9), and ordering Joshua to take off his sandals because the place had become holy (compare Exodus 3: 4 to 6; Acts 7:30 to 33). In the very book of Daniel, Christ is also called "Prince of the army" (Daniel 8:11) and "Prince of princes" (Daniel 8:25).
One of the basic characteristics of the prophetic content of the book of Daniel is the “repetition for enlargement”. Each of the four great prophetic sections of the book uses different symbols to describe the same prophetic sequence, always culminating in the glorious manifestation of Christ for the implantation of His eternal kingdom. This manifestation of Christ is symbolized in Daniel 2, by the stone cut without the aid of hands (verses 34 and 35; 44 and 45; compare Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2: 4, 8); in Daniel 7:13, for the appearance of the Son of man (compare with Revelation 19:11 to 21).
And finally, in Daniel 12: 1, for the coming of “Michael, the great Prince, defender of the children of your people” (compare Psalm 91). To claim that Miguel is a simple angel means to break the structural parallelism of the book.
Based on the similarities that the Bible presents between the characteristics of the mission of Archangel Michael with those of Christ, we can agree with other commentators, such as John Calvin and Matthew Henry, who identify Michael as Christ and not just an angel (or a created being).
Biblia.com.br team
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