Who is Michael the Archangel in the Bible?
Michael seems to be an important individual in heaven. Archangel means "chief of the angels", so Michael must be the chief of the angels. He is the leader of the angels. (Later on this page, we will find out that Michael is actually the commander of the Lord's army of angels in heaven.)
The name Michael has an important meaning as well, it means: (one) who is like God. The computer lexicon describes Michael as: one of, the chief, or the first archangel who is described as the one who stands in time of conflict for the children of Israel. In the new Testament, Michael is described as: the first of the chief princes or archangels who is supposed to be the guardian angel of the Israelites.
Let's look at all the Bible text that mention his name.
12. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:12-13
20. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
21. 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. Daniel 10: 20-21
In Daniel we find that Michael is one of the chief princes and that He is our prince. That might mean He is in line for the Throne. We also find Him working behind the scenes with Gabriel to ensure that God's will for nations actually occurs.
1. And at that 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.
2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:1-3
Now we see Michael who is called the great prince, standing up, and when he does a time of trouble starts and God's people are delivered. Why is it that God's people are delivered when Michael stands up. Why not God or Jesus? And why is Michael described as standing for the children of thy people?
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. Jude 1:9
In Jude we see Michael confronting Satan when Moses was resurrected. Many people think of Michael as being just an angel. If this is true then why would an angel be used in such a direct confrontation as to confront Satan? Why shouldn't God or Jesus be doing these important confrontations? (By the way, this can be a difficult text to fully understand. There is more on Jude 1:9 in the middle and also toward the end of this page.)
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.
10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 12:7-12
Finally in the book of Revelation, we see that there is a war in heaven. The opposing sides are described as Michael and his angels against the dragon which we know as Satan and his angels. The war in heaven is very important. Why isn't God taking part in the war. Why are the angels described as being Michael's angels and not God's or Christ's angels?
Who is Michael anyway? Michael is the archangel, the chief of the angels. He is described as one of the chief princes and our prince. When He stands up, things happen. He is described as standing for the children of thy people. So when He stands, there is a time of trouble that results in God's people being delivered, every one who's name if found written in the book. He contends directly against Satan and the angels in heaven are described as being Michael's angels.
So, I want to ask you a question. Because Michael does things that we might think God should be doing: Is it possible that Michael could be part of the Godhead? Better yet: Could Michael be Jesus Christ? To answer this question, I will explore the evidence from the Bible.
Various visitors to my site are Not
understanding what I am trying to say.
So before I continue I need to make one thing very clear.
No, I do not think Jesus is a created being. Some would have you believe that Jesus is just a created being, that he is the first one to be created. They believe that he was an angel who was elevated to the position of, possibly a lesser god.
We need to understand what the Bible says. Jesus is Divine just like the Father. Also Jesus said He was the Son of God several times. The Jews understood Him clearly, they saw that Jesus was saying He was equal with God so they picked up stones to stone Him!
Jesus also accepted worship when He was on earth! Even the angels in Heaven did not do this. In the last book of the Bible, John was stopped from worshiping an angel who was in front of him: And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10) Yet many times, Jesus accepted the worship of those around Him.
The Ten Commandment specifically says: You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:3. It also says: You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God Exodus 20:5 (first part). Now, if Jesus was not God, He would be causing others to sin as well by not stopping this worship of Him. Jesus would be an enemy of God.
Satan is the one who wants to be worshiped as if he were God. That makes Satan the enemy of God, because Satan wants to take God's glory for himself!
So, this idea that Jesus is not God cannot be true! We know that Jesus is God with the Father. That is why He accepts worship. On the other hand, the angels in Heaven certainly do not accept worship at all.
I believe that Jesus came to die for our sins and that we are saved through the shedding of His Blood. An angel could not do this for us. These are the very central pillars of our Christian Faith!
So, with this thought in mind, that Jesus is not a created being, but that He is fully divine as is the Father, let's get back to Michael. I have been looking at the statements on Michael and I see evidence that suggests that Jesus could have been known as Michael in heaven, before He came to Earth as Christ.
The word angel merely means messenger. Archangel merely means chief of the angels. So many times in the old testament, The Angel of the Lord comes, yet when we read the text a little closer, we see that it is really God! It is not an angel at all but it is God!
Could this be Jesus?
In trying to make sense of all these texts (that you will see below), I have come to the conclusion that when the word angel is used that it does not have to mean the created race of beings that we know to be called Angels.
We know that there was a war in Heaven and that 1/3 of the angels were kicked out with Lucifer. Today, we know them as the evil angels of Satan, or demons.
Why would Satan want to attack God? Did he not respond to God's love? What about the angels who listened to Satan? Did Satan lie about God? When we realize that this happened in heaven, we might wonder why these fallen angels believed Satan. I think it extremely possible that it became necessary for Jesus to act as a go between in Heaven for the angels, much like He has for us on this Earth. so that Michael could show the Father to the angels.
However no matter how strange this idea is, don't for one moment think that I believe Jesus is a created being! Or that I think Jesus was an angel that later was elevated to a lesser god status. Jesus is fully Divine as is His Father. He is the Son of God! Let's not forget that!
I am just wondering. Could it be that we are seeing the activities of Jesus before the New Testament when we look to Michael? Is the Angel of the Lord, Jesus? Could His name, in the past in Heaven, be Michael?
I'm curious how you fit all these Bible Texts together to make sense? Please, look at the Scripture that I have and then, if you are able, give me another possible answer for all these Bible Texts.
So now I will ask you the same question again, now that you know that I am NOT saying that Jesus is just an angel or a created being.
Is it possible that Michael could be part of the Godhead? In other words, is Michael Divine? Could Michael even be Jesus Christ? In the Jewish literature, Michael is described as the highest of the angels and identify him as the angel of Yahweh which is often mentioned in the Old Testament as a divine being.
In fact I have found that many Bible scholars, such as Charles Spurgeon and Matthew Henry, ac
