| Reference #3 Moving on to Daniel 12:1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book." (Daniel 12:1, NKJV). Michael has yet to stand up and defend Daniel's people, the Israelites. Reference #4 The next mention of Michael is in the New Testament book of Jude where verse 9 reads: "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'. " (Jude 9, NKJV) This verse denotes that even though Michael has always possessed great power and influence he still is subservient to the higher authority of God. It is interesting to note that here Michael is called an "archangel". According to Strong's Concordance #743, archangel comes from the Greek word αρχάγγελος or archaggelos and means a chief angel. Reference #5 The last mention of Michael the Archangel that is found in scripture is Revelation 12:7-8 " And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. " (Revelation 12:7-8 , NKJV) This incident is identical to that of Daniel 12:1 and is still future, and to me, does not conflict with Luke 10:18 where Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Satan is a spirit being and he could have fallen from heaven more than once. Ephesians 6:12 also verifies that we are still wrestling with "spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." So we have seen that Michael the Archangel is a powerful spirit being and prince whom God the Father has designated as "protector" of His people Israel. |