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May I please have a quick study on bible evidence Jesus is Michael (Revelation 12:7), and the fact that He presented Himself as an angel in the Old Testament? Thank you.
Hunter Bennett
This is a question, which has confused many because
some religious groups, who identify Jesus as Michael, also claim Jesus is not fully God but either a created being or a demi-god, who is somehow less fully God than the Father.
Let me state this plainly, it is my understanding that Jesus is fully God, pre-existent, possessing life original, unborrowed, underived, of the same substance as the Father and having been one with the Father from all eternity. So, the following discussion is not about the nature of Jesus prior to His incarnation – He was fully God – but about how this member of the Godhead chose to manifest Himself to His creation.
The Bible tells us that one member of the Godhead chose to manifest Himself in the form of an angel. The following account is Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Notice that the One who is speaking to Moses from the bush is called both the angel of the Lord and God:
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:2-6
The New Testament supports this same series of events in Acts 7:30-38.
In Judges 2 we find Samson’s parents have an encounter with God and again find that He manifested Himself in the form of an angel:
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, `I will never break my covenant with you, Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. ” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” Judges 13:16-22
Who was the One who delivered the people from Egyptian bondage? It was God, Monoah acknowledges this in the end.
So we find Biblical evidence for one member of the Godhead choosing to manifest Himself in the form of an angel. The next question is, was this Jesus, and did He go by the name Michael?
Jesus said,
“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live… Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out–those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:25,28,29).
Who did Jesus say will call the dead to life? He will. It is His voice that opens the grave and gives life to the dead. Therefore, we can positively identify member of the Godhead who took the form of an angel as Jesus because the Bible tells us it is at the voice of the archangel that the dead rise, so the angel whose voice sounds must be Jesus:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (1Thes 4:16).
So the final question, did Jesus, in the form of an angel prior to His incarnation as a human, use the name Michael? Evidently, according to Jude, He did for Jude tells us it was Michael who rasied Moses back to life:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9).
Further, the name Michael means “who is like God?” or “one who is like God.” Both fit perfectly with Christ who said, “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9.
Finally, for those who have a hard time imagining that Jesus could have chosen to present Himself in the form of an angel, consider, didn’t He choose to become a human being? And didn’t He do such a wonderful job of being human that most people in His day never realized He was God?
What does it say about God, that one member of their Triune perfection of love, would choose to manifest Himself in the form of His creation? Doesn’t it speak of a Being who, though infinite and therefore beyond the ability of created beings to approach (1Tim 6:16), nevertheless, longs for intimacy with His creatures and humbles Himself to meet them where they are and interact on a level they can appreciate? What a wonderful God we serve!
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