Introduction
- 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.
We see that this Michael is an archangel. Although this character is not often mentioned in the Bible, when it is mentioned, we see it as a key figure within the Great Controversy. In Jude 1:9, this personage was in conflict with the devil, disputing for the body of Moses. Michael did not bring railing accusations against the devil; rather, he pointed to the Lord. This means the archangel Michael is not Lord to whom Michael was pointing to. To be more precise Michael is not God the Father.
Characteristics:
The head of God’s army
- And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
- And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
- 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.
Here we see that Michael has an army of angels, and He is fighting against the devil, and he prevailed against the devil. The question is: who is archangel Michael? From what we know so far, he is not God the Father, he has an army of good angels, and he with his army is stronger than Satan and his army.
Characteristics:
- Archangel (Jude 1:9a)
- Not God the Father (Jude 1:9b)
- Has an army of angels, He is a captain of the host of the LORD (Revelation 12:7)
- With His army is stronger than Satan and Satan’s army of angels (Revelation 12:9)
The relation between Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer
- 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.
"one of the chief princes"
The translation of the word “one”, is not fully accurate within the context. The word “one” (‘echâd), besides meaning numerally one, can also mean “first”, rendering that Michael is the first of the chief princes.
Here we can extract more information about the archangel Michael. He is the first of the chief princes in Heaven. In Heaven, there is a hierarchy. And here we see a conflict between someone who came to Daniel, but he was withstood by the prince of Persia for twenty-one days. When the archangel Michael came, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was prevailed, and that someone could come to Daniel to make him understand what shall befall his people in the latter days (Daniel 10:14). We can further investigate the relations between this messenger, the king of Persia, and Archangel Michael, since we know that Archangel Michael is stronger in might compared to the King of Persia and this messenger.
The man clothed in linen
This messenger was a mighty angel. Here is a description of him:
- Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
- His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
- And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
- Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
- Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
- And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
The visage of this messenger was glorious, and Daniel’s comeliness was turned in him into corruption, and he retained no strength. Such a powerful angel as described by Daniel was still no match for a king of Persia, but the Archangel Michael was stronger than both. Following the narrative of Daniel, it is the angel Gabriel in his glory who appeared to Daniel. We can know this since Gabriel was the messenger explaining the visions to Daniel. We see this in Daniel 8:16-17 and Daniel 9:21.
- And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
- So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
- Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
The description of Gabriel in chapters 8 and 9 matches the description of a man described in chapter 10. In Daniel 9:21, Daniel notes that Gabriel came to him “in swift flight,” highlighting his supernatural nature. The figure in Daniel 10 also exhibits a supernatural presence with his “body like beryl” and his face “like the appearance of lightning.” In each case, Daniel is losing strength before his appearance.
In Luke 1:19 we have one more piece of information about the angel Gabriel.
- And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
We also see angel Gabriel in Luke 1:26-27 bearing a good news to virgin Mary that she shall bear a son who is Christ. Who else is suitable for such a task, other than the highest angel in heaven? Angel Gabriel was introduced as the one that stands in the presence of God. From the mercy seat, we know that there are 2 covering cherubs (a special order of angels) standing in the presence of God. Also from Zachariah 4:14 we know that two angels are “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth”. Angel Gabriel is one of these two. We can be certain of this since his description is “that stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). In sum of all data given, we conclude that angel Gabriel is the highest angel in the army of God.
Yet, we see that he (angel Gabriel) was not stronger than the king of Persia (Daniel 10:13), and the Archangel Michael is significantly stronger.
The king of Persia
Who was represented by the person of the king of Persia then?
In Daniel 10:20 we see Gabriel saying to Daniel that he will “return to fight with the prince of Persia” and when he is gone, “the prince of Grecia shall come”. Obviously the king of Persia is a literal king of Persia, as the king of Grecia is a literal king of Grecia. But here we have a phenomena that a mighty angel as Gabriel was held back by the king of Persia, indicating that the strength and might is of no human origin, rather than angelic adversary force. This force was stronger than mighty Gabriel, but weaker than Archangel Michael. Such description can only fit within the scope that the king of Persia was controlled by Satan himself.
Lucifer was the “covering cherub” that fell from his exalted position. The description of Lucifer is as follows:
- Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
- Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
“Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). Before his rebellion, Lucifer was the highest of all angels, because he sealed up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
There are two covering cherubs standing in the presence of God. The first one was Lucifer, and the second was angel Gabriel. Since Lucifer rebelled, the strongest angel in God’s army is Gabriel, and he occupied the position of Lucifer. For this reason, Gabriel is the one who is bringing the crucial messages to Daniel and to Mary. In such data we can recognize the order in Heaven.
Satan is stronger than angel Gabriel, but not stronger than archangel Michael. The question is, who is this archangel Michael then, if Lucifer (or Satan) was the highest of angels? Could it be that archangel Michael is not actually an angelic being after all? Let’s add new characteristics of archangel Michael:
Characteristics:
- Archangel (Jude 1:9a)
- Not God the Father (Jude 1:9b)
- Has an army of angels, He is a captain of the host of the LORD (Revelation 12:7)
- With His army is stronger than Satan and Satan’s army of angels (Revelation 12:9)
- A chief prince (Daniel 10:13)
- Possibly not an angelic being
The prince to Daniel
In chapter 10 of Daniel, Gabriel continues the interaction with prophet Daniel, and mentions Archangel Michael, with another characteristic:
- 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.
Archangel Michael is the prince to prophet Daniel. That is a very significant description. Prophet John in a similar experience to that of Daniel, in the presence of an angel fell down and worshiped the angel. This was prohibited.
- And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
- Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
- And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Good and faithful angels are prohibited to receive worship from men. They always point to God as the person to be worshiped. Although in Daniel 10:21, we do not see any worshiping, nor prohibition of worshiping the Archangel Michael, this information will soon become relevant. All we see is a description that Archangel Michael is the Prince to servant Daniel. With that in mind, let’s update our list of characteristics.
Characteristics:
- Archangel (Jude 1:9a)
- Not God the Father (Jude 1:9b)
- Has an army of angels, He is a captain of the host of the LORD (Revelation 12:7)
- With His army is stronger than Satan and Satan’s army of angels (Revelation 12:9)
- A chief prince (Daniel 10:13)
- Possibly not an angelic being
- If an angelic being, then it should not receive the worship of men
Joshua and archangel Michael
In Joshua 5:13-14 we have an encounter between Joshua and “the captain of the host of the LORD”, which so far we know is the archangel Michael:
- 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?
- 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?
This is a significant encounter. The text doesn’t say it was archangel Michael, but the identity of a “captain of the host of the LORD” fits only the archangel Michael. In Revelation 12:8-9 Michael is the captain of the host of the LORD. But in this encounter, we see something significant in terms of the characteristics of Michael. Michael is being worshiped by Joshua. Angels are prohibited from being worshiped, and they point only to God to be worshiped (Revelation 22:8-9; 19:10). What we can know here is that the archangel is not an angelic being, but rather someone who is worthy of worship. He is not God the Father as we saw earlier (Jude 1:9), yet who is He?
Characteristics:
- Archangel (Jude 1:9a)
- Not God the Father (Jude 1:9b)
- Has an army of angels, He is a captain of the host of the LORD (Revelation 12:7, Joshua 5:13)
- With His army is stronger than Satan and Satan’s army of angels (Revelation 12:9)
- A chief prince (Daniel 10:13; 12:1)
- Not an angelic being (Revelation 22:8-9; 19:10), since He is worthy to receive worship by men (Joshua 5:14)
Archangel - the head of angels
Arch (archē - ἀρχή) in Greek means “head” or “chief”. Archangel Michael is the head of, or chief of angels. The Scriptures clearly testify that Christ is the head of angels?
- For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
- And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
The terms “principalities and powers” denote angels (See Ephesians 6:12 and Romans 8:38,39). Therefore, Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the head of the angels!
Christ is leading the armies of the LORD!
- And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
- His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
- And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
- And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
- And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
- And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
- And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
The same depiction of Christ leading the armies of the HOST is given in Daniel 12:1.
- 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.
These verses are all pointing to the events of Christ’s second coming, when Christ will come with the voice of the archangel:
- For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
The Archangel Michael is Christ. It says clearly that when the Lord himself will be descending from heaven, He will shout, and the dead will come forth from their graves. That shouting voice is the voice of an archangel, the voice of the Son of God:
- And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
- Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Conclusion
We have read all the testimonies from the Scriptures in regards to the archangel Michael, and we listed all characteristics:
Characteristics:
- Archangel (Jude 1:9a)
- Not God the Father (Jude 1:9b)
- Has an army of angels, He is a captain of the host of the LORD (Revelation 12:7, Joshua 5:13)
- With His army is stronger than Satan and Satan’s army of angels (Revelation 12:9)
- A chief prince (Daniel 10:13; 12:1)
- Not an angelic being (Revelation 22:8-9; 19:10), since He is worthy to receive worship by men (Joshua 5:14)
- The head of, or chief of angels
- Coming with a shout to raise the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
All these characteristics point only to one person: Christ the Son of God.
The Son of God is the head of the principalities and powers - the angels (Colossians 2:9-10), and He is stronger than Lucifer. The Great Controversy is between Christ and Satan. Christ is the prince to Daniel, the One that came to help Gabriel when in dispute with Lucifer. Christ was the leader of hosts of the LORD when conquering Jericho with Joshua. Christ was the one who raised Moses from the dead, and was disputing with Satan for his body. Christ’s voice is the voice of an archangel that will raise the dead in His second glorious coming. Christ is worthy to be worshiped (Revelation 9:9,12,13). He is not an angelic being, rather God’s only begotten Son, who’s name is greater than that of angels (Hebrews 1:4).
Ellen G. White comments
Archangel Michael who was contending with the Devil for the body of Moses, was Christ:
“I saw that Moses passed through death, but Michael came down and gave him life before he saw corruption. Satan claimed the body as his, but Michael resurrected Moses, and took him to heaven. The Devil tried to hold his body, and railed out bitterly against God, denounced him as unjust, in taking from him his prey. But Michael did not rebuke the Devil, although it was through his temptation and power that God’s servant had fallen. Christ meekly referred him to his Father, saying, The Lord rebuke thee.” {EGW, 1SG 43.1; 1858}
The angel from Daniel 10 is angel Gabriel, and the king of Persia was controlled by Satan:
The king of Persia was controlled by the highest of all evil angels. He refused, as did Pharaoh, to obey the word of the Lord. Gabriel declared, He withstood me twenty-one days by his representations against the Jews. But Michael came to his help, and then he remained with the kings of Persia, holding the powers in check, giving right counsel against evil counsel. Good and evil angels are taking a part in the planning of God in His earthly kingdom. It is God’s purpose to carry forward His work in correct lines, in ways that will advance His glory. But Satan is ever trying to counterwork God’s purpose. Only by humbling themselves before God can God’s servants advance His work. Never are they to depend on their own efforts or on outward display for success. 14LtMs, Lt 201, 1899, par. 6