Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO210046S
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00:28 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn
00:30 and we welcome you to 3ABN Worship Hour. 00:33 Let me ask you. 00:34 When you think of an angel, what comes to mind? 00:38 Typically we think of angels as winged ministering spirits, 00:42 and while the Bible clearly identifies 00:46 an order of created beings that fit this description. 00:51 Did you know that most people's concept 00:54 of angels is not biblical? 00:57 In the Greek and in the Hebrew, 01:00 the original languages of the Bible, 01:04 what we translate the words that we translate 01:09 angel are also translated "messenger." 01:14 In fact that's what they denote 01:17 and is used of ordinary people, priests, prophets 01:20 and even a special heavenly messenger 01:25 of deity. 01:27 Our Bible study today, 01:28 we're going to answer three questions. 01:31 One, what does angel mean 01:34 in the original Hebrew and Greek? 01:36 Two, who is the Angel of the Lord, 01:40 also known as the Angel of His presence? 01:42 The Angel of the covenant. 01:45 And three, 01:46 who is the only Archangel 01:50 that is named in the Bible? 01:54 You're going to find that our message today 01:58 which is titled "Heavens Archangel" 02:02 is a study that can erase folklore, 02:07 erase myths that are popular about angels 02:11 and we're going to go to the scripture 02:14 and let the Bible give us the answers. 02:17 I sure hope that you have a pencil and a paper 02:21 so that you can jot down the scripture references 02:24 and double check me on your own. 02:26 We're gonna go very fast, but first let's pray. 02:29 Heavenly Father, we come before You 02:31 in the name of Jesus 02:33 and, Lord, we thank You for our Lord Jesus. 02:36 We thank You for the Word and the Holy Spirit, 02:38 please send the Holy Spirit now 02:41 to be our teacher 02:44 as we look at Your Word in Jesus' name. 02:48 Amen. 02:49 What does angel mean 02:52 in the original Bible's languages? 02:55 There's two words, 02:57 the Hebrew word is "malak" 03:02 and the Greek word is "angelos," 03:05 you can see where we got angel from. 03:07 The Greek word is angelos. 03:09 These original words were translated 03:14 into English 03:15 most often as messenger or angel, 03:21 but in the original languages they signified messenger. 03:27 It seems that English translators 03:30 generally took malak or angelos. 03:34 And if it was talking about an earthly messenger, 03:37 then they called it messenger 03:39 but if it was talking about a heavenly being, 03:42 they most frequently called it an angel. 03:46 When we think of an angel, 03:50 we're thinking of the nature of a being, 03:52 but an angel does not describe, 03:54 the word does not describe the nature 03:57 but they offers the position of the power 04:00 and the authority as a messenger of God. 04:03 He sends forth these messengers to do His bidding, 04:09 as His agents to fulfill His purposes. 04:12 Now as I said, the Bible clearly does identify 04:17 an order of beings that fits our typical understanding, 04:23 but scripture describes seraphim, 04:28 cherubim as winged creatures, 04:32 but did you know not all angels have wings 04:36 and contrary to popular images 04:39 that we see of women angelic angels, 04:43 women and baby cherubs with little fat cheek. 04:47 In the Bible angels were always men. 04:52 They do have different ranks of dignity and power, 04:56 but they are not to be worshiped. 04:59 In Revelation 19.10 05:00 when the Apostle John 05:02 fell at the feet of an angel to worship him, 05:05 do you know what the angel said to him? 05:07 "See that you do not do that, I'm your fellow servant, 05:11 worship God." 05:13 So angels are not be worshiped. 05:18 The Hebrew word "malak," 05:21 the same word that is translated 05:24 messenger or angel, 05:25 is used to describe ordinary messengers, 05:29 human messengers. 05:30 Let me give you a couple of examples, 05:33 in 1 Samuel 11.3, 05:35 1 Samuel 11.3, 05:37 the elders of Jabesh came to Samuel 05:40 and they said, "Hold off for seven days, 05:42 that we may send messengers." 05:45 Malak, 05:46 it could have been translated angels. 05:48 "To all the territory of Israel. 05:50 And then, if there is no one to save us, 05:53 we will come out to you." 05:54 And then in Luke 9:52, when Jesus... 05:57 It came time for Jesus to be received up to heaven, 06:01 he said his face determinedly to go to Jerusalem. 06:06 And Luke 9:52 said, "He sent messengers." 06:11 In the Greek, angelos, 06:13 but these were human messengers, 06:15 so they didn't get translated into English as angels. 06:20 "He sent messengers before His face. 06:22 And as they went, 06:24 they entered a village of the Samaritans, 06:26 to prepare for Him." 06:28 Malak, same word translated as angel 06:32 is used to describe prophets. 06:34 Listen to this, Haggai 1:13, 06:37 "Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger. 06:40 His malak spoke 06:42 the Lord's message to the people. 06:45 And in Luke 7:27, 06:47 Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist 06:51 and it repeats and says, 06:53 "Behold, I send My messenger." 06:57 In the Greek that's angelos, messenger. 07:00 It could have been translated 07:02 according to our English translated, 07:04 it could have said, "Behold, I send My angel." 07:07 But it was translated as messenger 07:11 who's going to go before you to prepare the way for you. 07:15 Malak is used to describe priests. 07:21 In Malachi 2.7, 07:23 it says, "The lips of a priest should keep knowledge, 07:26 for he is the messenger, the malak of the Lord." 07:32 So who is the Angel of the Lord, 07:38 the Angel of His presence, 07:41 the Angel of the covenant? 07:44 Old Testament, 07:45 when you see in the Old Testament 07:48 sometimes it will say, "An angel appeared," 07:51 that's an ordinary created winged being, 07:54 but when you see that the Scripture says, 07:58 "The Angel of the Lord." 08:01 This is without a doubt 08:04 a manifestation of God's divine presence, 08:10 and we're gonna prove that from Scripture 08:12 in just a moment. 08:14 God came as the angel, 08:17 the messenger of the Lord 08:20 and reveal to humans 08:24 who He was without exposing His full glory. 08:28 Every time that God took on a visible form 08:34 in the Old Testament, 08:35 this was foreshadowing 08:39 the incarnation of God 08:43 when God, the second person of the Godhead 08:46 came down and became a man 08:49 in the person of Jesus Christ 08:52 and lived among us as Immanuel, God with us. 08:57 But even when Christ came to earth, 09:00 His deity was not fully exposed, 09:05 His glory was veiled with flesh. 09:09 No one has seen the unveiled glory of God. 09:13 Paul says in 1 Timothy 6.16, 09:17 "God alone has immortality, 09:20 dwelling in unapproachable light, 09:24 whom no man has seen or can see." 09:30 So here's the question. 09:32 Have you ever heard the word Christophany? 09:35 That's a big word, Christophany. 09:38 It's C-H-R-I-S-T 09:41 Christ O-P-H-A-N-Y. 09:45 Bible scholars used that term 09:48 to describe 09:50 when the pre-incarnate appearances 09:54 of Jesus Christ. 09:55 In other words, 09:57 when the second person of the Godhead 09:59 came down in a visible manifestation 10:04 where people could see Him, touch Him, talk to Him, 10:08 these were actually appearances 10:12 in the Old Testament of Jesus Christ 10:15 before He was incarnated. 10:18 And we're gonna see in a moment, 10:20 when the Angel of the Lord showed up on this scene, 10:23 it was our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 10:27 The Angel of the Lord appeared regularly 10:31 in the Old Testament, 10:33 but after Jesus was incarnated and became a man, 10:38 there are no more appearances of the Angel of the Lord. 10:41 Jesus, God, 10:44 the second person of the Godhead, 10:46 get this in your mind, came to earth, took on flesh, 10:51 God became a man. 10:53 He became the Son of man 10:55 and the covenant Son of God 10:58 but never doubt 11:00 that Jesus Christ was eternal God. 11:04 We can see that in scripture John 1:1-3 says, 11:07 "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, 11:09 and the Word was God. 11:12 He was in the beginning with God. 11:15 And all things were made through Him, 11:17 nothing was made except through Him." 11:20 And then in John 1.14, he says, 11:22 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." 11:26 Paul writing of Jesus said in Philippians 2:6-7, 11:31 "That though he was in the form of God, 11:33 He did not count equality with God, 11:37 something to be grasped." 11:38 That means something to hold on to. 11:40 "But He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant 11:44 being born in the likeness of man." 11:48 God became a man. 11:51 Micah 5:2 speaking 11:54 of Jesus' birthplace in Bethlehem, 11:57 says, "Out of you shall come forth to Me 11:59 the One to be Ruler in Israel, 12:03 whose goings forth are from of old, 12:06 from everlasting." 12:07 From eternity past Jesus existed. 12:11 And in John 10:30, He says, "I and the Father are one." 12:15 And in John 14 and He told Philip, 12:17 "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." 12:21 Now here's one that I just have to include. 12:24 Colossians 1:15, speaking of Jesus, it says, 12:28 "He is the image of the invisible God, 12:32 the firstborn over all creation." 12:35 Oh, some people say, "Uh-huh, see He was born." 12:39 No, no, no, no, 12:40 firstborn does not mean that Jesus was born, 12:44 just as the original language malak 12:48 can be translated and understood in two ways, 12:51 a messenger or angel. 12:54 The word firstborn and the word begotten 12:59 also have two meanings. 13:01 Firstborn can mean the order of birth, 13:05 but it's also a covenant term 13:09 that signifies preeminence, 13:11 superiority, being above all others 13:15 and the word begotten, 13:17 it can mean 13:18 that you've been given birth to, 13:21 but in covenant language 13:23 it means chosen for a covenant purpose. 13:28 Let me prove that with one example. 13:30 The nation of Israel is called God's first born son 13:35 in Exodus 4:22-23 13:38 and was said to be begotten of God 13:42 in Deuteronomy 32:18. 13:46 So let's continue now. 13:48 Colossians 1:16 says, 13:50 "For by Him all things were created 13:53 that are in heaven and that are on earth, 13:55 visible and invisible." 13:58 The Lord, Jesus Christ, 14:01 the Angel of the Lord is no ordinary angel. 14:06 He is not a created being. 14:09 He is God Himself, 14:11 the divine messenger. 14:15 Now, we're gonna look at some Christophanies real quickly 14:18 and this is all gonna string together, 14:20 so that you will understand who is heaven's Archangel. 14:26 Many commentators believed in Genesis 18, 14:30 it is a pre-incarnate, 14:32 that means before Jesus came and took flesh, 14:35 it's a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. 14:40 What happens, Genesis 18:1, 14:43 it says, "Then the Lord appeared to him," 14:46 speaking of Abraham, 14:47 "by the terebinth trees of Mamre, 14:49 as he was sitting in the tent door 14:51 in the heat of the day. 14:52 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, 14:56 three men were standing by him." 14:58 And one turns out to be the Lord. 15:00 "And when he saw them, 15:02 he ran from the tent door to meet him, 15:03 and he bowed himself to the ground." 15:06 And then as he should have, 15:07 he gave some refreshments. 15:09 God had come down to tell Abraham, 15:12 Sarah's gonna have a son. 15:14 I told you that you were gonna be 15:16 the father of many nations. 15:18 Sarah is way too old to have a son, 15:21 but we see now that one of these men 15:25 when it says, "The Lord appear to him." 15:27 Genesis 18:13 says, 15:29 "The Lord said to Abraham." 15:32 Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 15:34 "Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?" 15:38 And then the Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ says, 15:43 "Is anything too hard for the Lord? 15:48 At the appointed time I will return to you 15:51 and Sarah shall have a son." 15:54 Now Genesis 32 reveals another Christophany. 15:59 This is when Jacob wrestled with what appeared to be a man 16:04 but was actually God and they wrestled all night. 16:07 Genesis 32:26 says 16:09 that the man that Jacob is wrestling with says, 16:12 "Let Me go, for the day breaks." 16:15 But Jacob says, 16:16 "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 16:20 And then the man 16:21 that Jacob is wrestling with asks, 16:24 "What's your name?" 16:25 Not that he didn't know, 16:27 the man knew what his name was, 16:30 but he wanted Jacob to say, "My name's Jacob." 16:33 which means deceiver and then he says, 16:36 the man says, 16:38 "Your name shall no longer be called 16:41 Jacob but Israel." 16:43 He gives him a new spiritual name. 16:46 He says, "Because you have struggled 16:49 with God and have prevailed." 16:52 He was wrestling all night with God. 16:54 And then in verse 29, it says, "He blessed Jacob there," 16:59 and Jacob recognizes this man was God 17:03 and he exclaims in verse 30, 17:05 "I have seen God face to face, 17:09 and my life is preserved." 17:12 You know, when Hosea recounts this story 17:15 in Hosea 12:4, 17:17 listen how he describes this man. 17:20 He says, 17:21 "Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed." 17:26 It was the Angel of God, heaven's messenger 17:31 who struggled with Jacob. 17:33 Now in Exodus 3-4, 17:37 God appeared to Moses in a burning bush 17:41 and undoubtedly this reveals 17:44 that the Angel of the Lord is our Lord and Savior, 17:49 Jesus Christ, a Christophany. 17:52 Exodus 3:2 says this, 17:55 "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses." 17:58 Now I wanna stop, 17:59 Young's Literal Translation says, 18:02 "The messenger of Jehovah appeared to Moses," 18:07 but anyway, 18:08 "The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses 18:10 in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush." 18:12 So Moses beholds that the bush is burning 18:16 and that it is not consumed. 18:19 And then he says to himself, 18:21 "Hey, I'm gonna turn aside and see this great sight, 18:26 why the bush does not burn?" 18:29 And God called him from the midst of the bush, 18:33 this is verse 4, "God called to him" 18:37 who's in the midst of the bush? 18:39 The Angel of the Lord. 18:41 And now it says, it identifies him as God, 18:44 "God called to him from the midst of the bush." 18:47 So here the Angel of the Lord is identified 18:50 as God and he says, "Moses, Moses!" 18:53 And Moses says, "Here I am." 18:55 Then the Angel of the Lord said to him, 18:59 "Do not draw near this place. 19:01 Take your sandals off your feet, 19:03 for the place where you stand is holy ground." 19:08 Moreover he said, 19:11 this is the Angel of the Lord still speaking, 19:13 "I am the God of your father, 19:15 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 19:17 and the God of Jacob. 19:19 And Moses hid his face, 19:22 for he was afraid to look upon God." 19:26 Now further in Exodus, 19:28 we see in Exodus 13:21 19:32 that "The Lord went before the Hebrew children 19:36 in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them 19:40 and a pillar of fire by night to give them light." 19:45 Who was in this pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud? 19:50 Well Exodus 33:14, 19:53 God said, "My presence will go with you, 19:57 and I will give you rest." 20:00 So let's consider this, 20:03 the Angel of the Lord is also identified 20:07 as the Angel of His presence. 20:10 In Isaiah 63:8-9, 20:13 God said, "Surely they are My people" 20:16 and then it says, "So He became their Savior. 20:18 In all their affliction He was afflicted, 20:21 and the Angel of His presence saved them. 20:24 In His love and in His pity He redeemed them. 20:28 And He bore them and carried them 20:31 all the days of old." 20:33 Many commentators believed 20:36 that the Angel of His presence 20:38 was none other than the second person 20:40 of the Godhead, 20:42 who we know as the person of Jesus Christ. 20:45 He is so closely related to His people that, 20:48 their suffering was like His own suffering. 20:52 In all of their afflictions He was afflicted 20:56 and this covenant God, the Redeemer, the Savior, 21:01 the Messiah carried 21:03 and cared for His people. 21:07 Now in Malachi 3:1, 21:09 there is a prophecy of two messengers, 21:13 both words are malak, 21:15 could have said messenger or angel in English, 21:18 but here's what it says, Malachi 3:1, 21:21 Behold, I send My messenger, my malak, 21:24 and he will prepare the way for Me." 21:26 This is a prophecy about John the Baptist, 21:29 the voice that is crying in the wilderness. 21:32 Isaiah foretold it 21:34 and it is fulfilled in the gospels. 21:36 But then it continues on in Malachi 3:1 21:40 and it introduces a second messenger. 21:44 "And the Lord, whom you seek, 21:46 will suddenly come to His temple, 21:49 even the Messenger of the covenant." 21:54 Messenger, malak, 21:56 a word that's translated messenger or angel. 22:00 "Even the Messenger of the covenant, 22:03 in whom you delight. 22:04 Behold, He is coming," says the Lord of hosts.'" 22:08 So this second messenger 22:10 who is gonna come in to His temple 22:12 is a prophecy of the appearing of the Messiah Himself. 22:19 Now, if you're a Protestant pastor, 22:23 most likely in your library, 22:25 you have a copy of Matthew Henry's commentary. 22:30 I want to read his commentary 22:33 on Malachi 3:1 22:37 about the messenger 22:39 that is coming into His temple. 22:44 "He is the messenger of the covenant 22:46 or the angel of the covenant. 22:48 That blessed one 22:49 that was send from heaven to negotiate a peace 22:51 and settle a correspondence between God and man. 22:54 He is the Angel, the Archangel, 23:00 the Lord of the angels 23:02 who received commission from the Father 23:05 to bring man home to God by a covenant of grace." 23:11 You know it's interesting that Matthew Henry 23:14 here refers to Christ as the Archangel. 23:19 We've already established that Jesus is the God. 23:23 He is our creator, the creator of all things. 23:27 He certainly not a created being. 23:31 We've established that in Greek and Hebrew that angel, 23:36 that messenger describes not the nature of a being 23:39 but the office of the being 23:41 and it can refer to ordinary messengers, 23:43 priests, prophets, 23:45 even our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 23:50 But what does "Arch" mean? 23:52 In the original language Arch means chief, 23:57 principal, greatest, highest. 24:01 So archangel in the original language 24:05 is the highest 24:07 or greatest messenger 24:11 that's why Matthew Henry said, "He is the Archangel." 24:15 So let's look at our third question. 24:17 Who is the only Archangel mentioned in the Bible? 24:23 This is gonna surprise you. 24:25 First let's see who is not. 24:28 Canonical scriptures that's the authorized books 24:31 of the Bible that have... 24:33 are accepted to be genuine. 24:37 In Canonical scripture 24:39 there's only three named messengers 24:43 in the Bible 24:44 who are referred to as angels. 24:46 One is Gabriel, 24:48 he's mentioned by name twice in Daniel 24:51 and twice in Luke. 24:53 In Luke 1:19, Gabriel says, 24:55 "I am Gabriel, 24:57 who stands in the presence of God." 25:00 Gabriel was a covering cherub 25:04 at the throne of God, 25:06 a created being. 25:07 Remember when the temple was made, 25:10 it was made according to the pattern 25:11 of the heavenly sanctuary 25:13 and the ark in the Most Holy Place 25:17 was the throne of God and above the ark, 25:21 the mercy seat is on the ark and there's two cherubim, 25:24 two cherubs, plural always is cherubim, 25:28 who have their wing spread over the mercy seat. 25:31 Well, that's what Gabriel's office 25:33 is in heaven. 25:35 And the second named created angel is Lucifer, 25:41 also known as Satan or the Devil, the fallen angel. 25:47 And guess what? 25:48 Did you know that God tells us 25:51 what Lucifer's position was in heaven 25:54 before he rebelled? 25:56 In Ezekiel 28:14, 25:58 he says, "You were the anointed 26:02 cherub who covers." 26:05 He says, "I established you." 26:08 So Lucifer was at one time 26:11 on one side of the throne, 26:12 Gabriel was on the other 26:14 and evidently being a covering cherub 26:18 is the highest position of authority 26:22 that an angel can attain. 26:27 Gabriel and Lucifer are two of the only three 26:32 named angels in the Bible. 26:36 The third is the Archangel. 26:39 So who is heaven's Archangel? 26:42 You recalled, 26:44 Archangel means highest or greatest messenger. 26:49 In Hebrews 2:10, 26:53 Christ is called the Captain of our salvation, 26:58 He's our Creator, the Author, the source of our salvation. 27:01 He's the head of the Church, the Commander-in-Chief. 27:04 He leads the army of... 27:08 God's army of His covenant people 27:10 on earth. 27:12 Christ, the angel messenger 27:14 who manifested Himself to Abraham, 27:17 to Moses in the burning bush, 27:20 who came as the Angel of the Lord 27:22 is also called the Captain 27:26 or Commander of the Lord's host, 27:30 the heavenly army of created angels. 27:34 Let's look at Joshua 5:13, 27:39 Joshua 5:13. 27:41 Joshua is by Jericho 27:44 and he looks before this great battle, 27:47 he looks up and he sees a man. 27:51 And in verse 13, it says, 27:53 "Behold, a Man stood opposite him 27:56 with His sword drawn in His hand. 27:58 And Joshua said to Him, 28:01 'Are You for us or for our adversaries?' 28:05 So then this man said, 'No.'" 28:10 But as Commander, 28:12 Captain of the army of the Lord, 28:14 Commander of the army of the Lord, 28:17 "I have now come." 28:19 And Joshua fell on his face 28:21 to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, 28:25 "What does my Lord say to His servant?" 28:28 And then in verse 15, it says, 28:31 "Then the Commander of the Lord's army 28:34 said to Joshua, 28:35 'Take your sandal off your foot, 28:38 for the place where you stand is holy.'" 28:41 And Joshua did so. 28:44 Who is this Commander of the Lord's army? 28:48 Well, I believe it was the Angel of the Lord. 28:51 I believe 28:53 this is a pre-incarnate appearance 28:56 of Jesus Christ 28:57 and many noted Protestant commentators 29:01 agree with this, 29:03 including McArthur and Matthew Henry, 29:06 that this was a Christophany and Joshua... 29:10 And here's why Joshua knew this man was God, 29:14 he worshiped the Commander of the Lord's army, 29:17 this divine being accepted worship. 29:20 He did not stop Joshua from worshiping Him. 29:24 He encouraged it and created angels 29:28 are not allowed to receive worship. 29:31 Remember Revelation 19:10, 29:34 when John Paul is at the feet of the angel 29:38 and the angel says to him, 29:39 "Stop, don't do that. 29:42 I'm your fellow servant, worship God." 29:46 The Commander-in-chief of the created angels, 29:50 Jesus Christ means 29:54 He is the Archangel. 29:56 He is above all whom He created. 30:00 He is not a created being, He is Lord over all. 30:04 Now we've already established 30:06 that Bible scholars see the Angel of the Lord, 30:09 the Angel of God 30:10 as pre-incarnate experiences of Christ. 30:13 This special messenger, 30:16 the Angel of the Lord 30:17 appeared to Hagar, Abraham, Jacob, Baalam, 30:19 Gideon, Manoah, Zechariah, 30:22 and let Israel through the wilderness 30:24 in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. 30:29 Here's what's important for you to understand. 30:32 If you look up 30:34 any of these passages in context 30:40 when the Angel of the Lord was speaking, 30:43 it was always Yahweh who was speaking. 30:47 Jehovah, the covenant God 30:51 who was speaking. 30:54 Okay. 30:56 Now, I'm gonna tell you something 30:59 that might surprise you. 31:01 We hear so much about archangels. 31:04 Did you know that the term Archangel 31:07 is only used twice in the Bible, only twice? 31:12 Please don't pay attention 31:14 to all the falsehoods that you see on the internet. 31:17 I got on the internet and look it's amazing 31:20 what some people teach and believe 31:22 about the angels and the archangels. 31:25 It is only mentioned twice in the Bible 31:29 and we're going to look at these only two times 31:32 that mentions the Archangel. 31:35 The first is 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 31:39 it says, 31:41 "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, 31:44 with the voice of an archangel" 31:46 and by the way 31:47 Young's Literal Translation says, 31:50 "He's gonna descend with in a shout, 31:53 in the voice of a chief-messenger, 31:57 and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ 32:00 will rise first at His return." 32:04 Jesus Christ, the Commander of the Lord's army 32:08 will shout with the voice of the chief-messenger, 32:12 the voice of the mighty conquering king 32:15 and the dead in Christ will rise first. 32:19 Jesus said in John 5:28-29, 32:23 "Do not marvel at this, 32:24 for the hour is coming 32:26 in which all who are in the graves 32:28 will hear My voice and come forth 32:30 those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, 32:35 and those who have done evil, 32:37 to the resurrection of condemnation." 32:41 Now, that's the first of two references 32:47 to the Archangel. 32:49 Let's look at the second one. 32:51 And I'm just gonna have to tell you upfront, 32:53 this one muddies the water for many. 32:58 Jude 1:9, 33:00 there's only one chapter in Jude 33:02 so I could say just Jude 9, 33:05 it says, "Yet Michael the Archangel, 33:10 in contending with the devil, 33:11 when he disputed about the body of Moses, 33:14 dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, 33:19 but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" 33:24 We've learned the voice of the Archangel, 33:28 the victorious shout 33:30 of the Commander of the Lord's army, 33:32 the chief and greatest messenger 33:35 when he return sets the voice of Jesus Christ 33:38 but now if that's the Archangel, hmm, 33:43 the Archangel is given a name, Michael, 33:46 which means who is like God. 33:50 It's both a question and a challenge. 33:53 Is it possible this name Michael 33:58 is just another title 34:00 for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 34:03 like the Word of God, 34:04 the Lamb of God, the Bread of Life, 34:06 the Door of the Sheep, The True Vine? 34:10 Some think 34:12 because the Archangel Michael says, 34:16 "The Lord rebuke you" that it cannot be Jesus. 34:19 Well, if we study Zechariah 3, 34:23 we clearly see the Angel of the Lord, 34:26 the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ 34:31 use these exact words 34:35 when He was disputing with Satan about Joshua. 34:40 Let's look at it. 34:41 Zechariah 3:1-2, 34:44 "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing 34:47 before the Angel of the Lord." 34:50 Who's that? 34:51 That's the pre-incarnate Christ. 34:53 "And Satan standing at his right hand 34:55 to oppose him." 34:57 Now listen what the Angel of the Lord says. 35:00 "The Lord said to Satan, 35:02 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan!'" 35:06 Christ uses the exact same words 35:10 as the Michael, 35:12 the Archangel said in Jude 9. 35:16 Hmm. 35:17 We need more study on this mysterious Michael. 35:22 There are five references in the Bible 35:27 to a heavenly being named Michael. 35:30 Two are in The New Testament 35:31 and three are in the Book of Daniel. 35:35 We just read the first reference to Michael 35:38 referring to him as the Archangel in Jude 9. 35:43 Now, let's look at Michael, 35:48 the second reference in the New Testament. 35:52 Revelation 12:7 says, "And war broke out in heaven: 35:56 Michael and his angels fought with the dragon 36:01 and the dragon and his angels fought." 36:03 Let me do a sidebar here. 36:05 This, what we're seeing here 36:06 is the origin of the great controversy 36:09 between Jesus Christ and Satan, Lucifer. 36:14 He was a... 36:15 Lucifer was a created being 36:17 who was the covering cherub at the God's throne 36:22 and you know what happened? 36:24 Ah, poor Lucifer, 36:26 he got filled with pride 36:29 and he wanted to be worshiped like the Lord, 36:33 he envied that worship. 36:35 In Daniel 14:13-14, 36:38 referring to Lucifer, he says, 36:41 "I will ascend into heaven, 36:43 I will exalt my throne above the star of God. 36:47 I will be like the Most High." 36:50 And in Daniel 8:11, it says, 36:52 "He even exalted himself 36:54 as high as the Prince of the host." 36:59 You know what that word Prince means? 37:00 The Commander, the Chief of the Host, 37:04 who have we seen as the chief of the Lord's army, 37:07 the Commander of the angels? 37:10 And in Daniel 8:25, says of Satan, 37:15 "He shall exalt himself in his heart. 37:18 He shall even rise 37:21 against the Prince of princes. 37:25 But he shall be broken without human means." 37:30 Prince is a Messianic title for Jesus Christ. 37:35 Isaiah 9:6 says, "He is Wonderful, Counselor, 37:39 Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 37:43 Prince of Peace." 37:46 Michael, the Chief Messenger 37:50 and Commander-in-Chief over the created angels 37:53 battled with Satan and prevail. 37:55 Let's read a little more through there, 37:57 Revelation 12:7-9, "War broke out in heaven: 38:01 Michael and his angels 38:02 fought with the dragon and the dragon 38:04 and his angels fought, 38:06 but they did not prevail, 38:07 nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 38:11 So the great dragon was cast down, 38:14 that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 38:18 who deceives the whole world. 38:20 He was cast to the earth, 38:23 and his angels were cast out with him." 38:28 Angels in heaven were called Michael's angels. 38:34 Michael as their Commander, 38:37 as the Archangel leads his angels 38:41 in battle against the Devil. 38:45 You will recall Joshua 5, 38:48 when Joshua saw the heavenly man who said, 38:51 "I'm the Commander of the Lord's army," 38:54 and then Joshua worshiped that being 38:57 and the being accepted worship. 39:02 We know this was our Lord Jesus Christ. 39:06 So it's interesting 39:09 the name Michael 39:12 only appears in the Bible five times, 39:16 but it's always in a apocalyptic sense 39:22 when the Angel of the Lord 39:26 or when Michael is in direct conflict 39:31 with Satan. 39:32 So that's the two New Testament references to Michael. 39:37 Now, let's look at the three remaining 39:40 that are in Daniel 39:41 where Michael is referred to as The Great Prince, 39:45 a Messianic title. 39:46 Daniel 10:5-6, 39:49 Daniel sees a vision of Christ, 39:51 and a certain man he sees, it says in verse 5. 39:57 Daniel 10:5, 39:58 he sees, "A certain man clothed in linen, 40:02 whose waist was girded with gold. 40:05 His body was like beryl, 40:07 his face like the appearance of lightning, 40:11 his eyes like torches of fire, 40:14 his arms and his feet like burnished bronze in color, 40:20 and the sound of his words 40:24 like the voice of a multitude." 40:28 Who is this that Daniel is seeing? 40:32 This so closely resembles 40:35 John's description of Jesus Christ 40:38 in Revelation 1:13. 40:43 So what happens? 40:45 Daniel has this vision, he passes out. 40:47 Boy, he gets the vapors. 40:49 It's like, "Oh, Oy veh!" He passes out, 40:53 then an angel comes and taps him on the shoulder 40:56 and this is most likely the Angel Gabriel 40:59 because Gabriel had been communicating 41:02 with him, 41:03 identified as Gabriel, the angel in Chapters 8 and 9. 41:07 But he tells Daniel, 41:10 he says, 41:11 "As soon as you prayed, we heard, 41:13 God sent me to answer your prayer." 41:16 But, boy, there's been a 21 day battle 41:19 in the heavenlies. 41:20 He was battling with the Prince of power, 41:24 the powers of the heir, 41:26 God's angels were, 41:28 and Gabriel had let this down and he said, 41:32 "We've come to answer your prayer." 41:34 In Daniel 10:13, 41:37 the angel tells Daniel 41:39 that, "Michael, one of the chief princes, 41:42 came to help me." 41:44 Now people will say, "One"? 41:47 Well first of all the word there is echad 41:51 which is a uniplural word, 41:54 this is, that word one is applied. 41:58 It means to have several parts 42:01 that are unified as one and it is applied to God 42:05 in Deuteronomy 6:4 42:06 when He says, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one." 42:11 But listen how Young's Literal Translation 42:16 says this, the angel tells Daniel that, 42:19 "Michael the first of the chief heads 42:23 came to help me." 42:25 Sometimes I wonder 42:26 if we lose things in translation, 42:29 little nuances that help us understand better. 42:33 Daniel 10:21, the angel Gabriel tells Daniel, 42:37 "No one upholds me against these" 42:41 against these powers of principalities 42:43 that I'm fighting with 42:45 "except Michael your prince." 42:50 Michael is the one 42:52 who came to help Gabriel and the angels, 42:55 Michael is the Commander-in-Chief 42:58 of the angels. 42:59 He is the champion of the cosmic conflict 43:02 against good and evil. 43:04 Oh, please listen to this, I found this fascinating. 43:08 Have you ever heard of The Talmud? 43:10 The Talmud is a large collection 43:13 of Jewish writings 43:15 and it identifies Michael 43:20 with the angel of Jehovah. 43:24 The Talmud says, 43:25 "Michael is the Angel of Jehovah" 43:29 Now, of course, they don't believe 43:30 in Jesus Christ 43:32 but who have we seen in The Old Testament? 43:35 Who is the Angel of God? 43:37 The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ, 43:40 but the Talmud describes Michael 43:42 as the true representative of God 43:45 who vindicated Israel against Satan's accusations. 43:49 So now, let's look at the last reference 43:52 to Michael. 43:54 Boy, I think this one is really revealing. 43:56 Daniel 12:1-2, 44:00 Daniel is speaking of the end times 44:03 or the angel is speaking of the end of the world. 44:06 And here's what he says, 44:08 Daniel 12:1, 44:10 "At that time," 44:12 when the end of the world comes, 44:14 "Michael shall stand up, that great Prince who stands 44:18 watch over the sons of your people. 44:20 And there shall be a time of trouble, 44:23 such as never was. 44:25 And at that time, when Michael stands up, 44:29 your people shall be delivered, 44:32 everyone who is found written in the book. 44:38 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth 44:43 shall awake, some to everlasting life, 44:48 some to shame and everlasting contempt." 44:54 Doesn't this remind you 44:57 of what Jesus said? 45:00 Let me repeat, in John 5:28, 45:04 he says "The hour is coming 45:07 when all who are in their graves 45:10 will hear My voice 45:13 and they will come forth, 45:17 those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, 45:21 and those who have done evil, 45:23 to the resurrection of condemnation." 45:26 Now we don't have time to study this, 45:29 but I pray that you'll take some time. 45:33 If you have Strong's Concordance, 45:35 look in Revelation, there's four times 45:39 that it talks about the second death 45:44 and the second resurrection. 45:48 So there's gonna be two resurrections. 45:51 Jesus is gonna stand up 45:53 and He's going to say those who are righteous, 45:57 let them be righteous still, 45:58 those who are wicked, let them be wicked still. 46:02 I'm on my way 46:04 and when He comes and descends with a shout, 46:07 with the voice of the Archangel of God, 46:11 the greatest and highest messenger, 46:13 all who are dead in Christ will rise first. 46:18 This is the first resurrection and then it says, 46:21 "And those who are alive and remain," 46:24 this is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 46:27 "will be caught up in the air." 46:29 Hallelujah. 46:30 This is exciting, 46:33 the second resurrection not so. 46:36 The second resurrection is after the 1000 years 46:42 and those come up as Jesus said 46:45 to the resurrection of condemnation, 46:48 those are the ones who will be destroyed in hell. 46:52 But what we see here 46:55 is that Michael watches over Israel 47:01 and he leads the holy created angels 47:05 as their Commander-in-Chief, 47:08 thus the Seventh-day Adventist 47:12 Bible commentary concludes 47:16 that Michael is another title for Jesus 47:21 and that Jesus Christ is Michael, 47:25 the Archangel. 47:27 Remember there's only two references 47:30 to archangel in the Bible. 47:34 Seventh-day Adventist commentary, 47:36 volume four, page 860 says this, 47:42 "The name Michael as the name of a heavenly being," 47:47 this is a quote, 47:48 "the name Michael 47:49 as the name of the heavenly being appears in the Bible 47:53 only in apocalyptic passage 47:57 then they give the reference of Daniel 10:13-21, 12:1, 48:02 Jude 9 and Revelation 12:7, 48:05 the five times when Michael is mentioned. 48:09 In instances 48:11 where Christ is in direct conflict 48:16 with Satan, 48:17 the name in Hebrew signifying 48:22 who is like God is at once a question 48:25 and a challenge. 48:27 Now continuing with the quote, it says this, 48:30 "In view of the fact 48:32 that Satan's rebellion is essentially an attempt 48:36 to install himself on the throne of God 48:39 and be like the Most High." 48:42 We saw that in Isaiah 14:14, 48:45 "The name Michael 48:47 is a most fitting one for Him, 48:52 referring to the Messiah, 48:54 who is undertaken to vindicate the character of God 48:57 and disprove Satan's claims." 49:03 Likewise, Matthew Henry, 49:06 that great Protestant commentator 49:10 concludes that Michael is Jesus, 49:16 the Archangel. 49:18 Listen to this. 49:20 Matthew Henry, quote "Michael, our Prince, 49:25 the eternal word, 49:28 the Angel of the covenant 49:30 who is indeed the Lord of the angels 49:35 who often appeared in a human shape 49:39 before He assumed 49:41 the human nature. 49:45 Oh, I feel like 49:47 I have just given you so much 49:54 to think on, 49:56 and I wanna take just a moment to review 50:00 because we went through this rapidly, 50:02 I want to encourage you 50:04 if you weren't able to write down 50:06 all the references 50:07 you can go to YouTube 50:09 and there you can listen to this message and pause it 50:12 where you want to write down something. 50:15 But what did we see? 50:17 Both in Hebrew, 50:20 the word in Hebrew that is translated messenger 50:24 or angel 50:26 that word is malak and then in Greek it's angelos 50:32 that is translated malak. 50:36 Excuse me, angelos that is translated messenger 50:39 or angel. 50:41 So don't be... 50:45 When you look at the word messenger 50:47 in the Bible 50:49 or you look at the word angel in the Bible, 50:51 you have to remember, 50:53 this is not describing the nature of the being, 50:58 it is describing the position of the authority 51:02 as a messenger of God. 51:05 So, that's the meaning for angel, 51:08 a messenger of God. 51:10 The meaning of arch means to be the chief, 51:14 the highest, the commander, the greatest. 51:18 So we put arch-angel together 51:21 and the meaning of archangel is to be the highest 51:27 or the greatest messenger. 51:31 That's why the Seventh-day Adventist Church 51:34 of which I am a member believes that Michael, 51:39 the Archangel is Jesus Christ 51:41 just as many other Protestants believe. 51:47 Michael is another title 51:52 for our Eternal God, 51:54 He is also called Faithful and True. 51:59 I wanna read this to you 52:01 from Revelation 19:11-16. 52:07 John writes, he's gonna describe 52:09 his vision to us 52:11 and he says, "Now I saw heaven opened, 52:14 and behold, a white horse. 52:17 And He who sat on him 52:19 was called Faithful and True, 52:23 and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 52:28 His eyes were like a flame of fire, 52:31 and on His head were many crowns. 52:34 He had a name written 52:37 that no one knew except Himself. 52:40 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, 52:45 and His name is called The Word of God." 52:49 Let me pause, these just sounds to me 52:52 like what John wrote in his gospel. 52:54 In John 1:1, when he said, 52:56 "In the beginning was the Word, 52:58 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 53:01 He was in the beginning with God. 53:04 He is not a created being 53:06 because John said in 1 John 1:3 53:10 that, "He made all things, nothing was made" 53:15 visible or invisible unless Jesus Christ made it 53:20 and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 53:24 Jesus Christ was, is, 53:28 and ever will be 53:31 the living Word of God. 53:34 Now going back to John 19, 53:38 he says in verse 14, 53:40 catch this, "And the armies in heaven, 53:45 clothed in fine linen, 53:49 white and clean, 53:51 followed Him on white horses." 53:56 Who is the Archangel? 53:59 Who is the Commander of the Lord's army? 54:03 From Joshua 5, 54:05 Jesus Christ and the armies of heaven 54:08 are following Him. 54:10 And in verse 15, he says. 54:13 "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, 54:17 that with it He should strike the nations." 54:20 Let me pause there because the Bible says 54:24 that, "The Word of God is like a double edged sword, 54:29 it divides even to cutting us into bones and marrow 54:35 and the intense of our heart." 54:38 So this double edge sword, 54:41 the Word of God is speaking, Jesus said, 54:46 "It is My word that will judge you. 54:50 So again with verse 15, 54:53 "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, 54:56 that with it He should strike the nations." 54:59 And it's talking about His Word. 55:02 And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. 55:05 He Himself treads the winepress 55:08 of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 55:13 And He has on His robe 55:17 and on His thigh a name written, 55:21 King of kings and Lord of lords. 55:27 So let's do a quick review, 55:32 today's title is Heaven's Archangel. 55:36 We have seen, we answered three questions, 55:39 what does the word angel mean in the original languages. 55:45 The Bible was written, the Old Testament in Hebrew, 55:47 the New Testament in Greek. 55:49 In the Old Testament, 55:50 the word is malak 55:54 and it is translated both messenger and angel 56:00 by English translators. 56:02 In the Greek the word 56:05 also is translated as angel or messenger 56:09 and the word is angelos. 56:12 So, what it actually meant 56:16 was an angel 56:18 did not describe the nature of the being, 56:22 but the office of the being, 56:24 their position of authority as messengers of God. 56:28 Who is the Angel of the Lord 56:30 who appeared to Abraham, to Moses in the burning bush, 56:34 to Joshua, 56:36 to all of these Old Testament's saints? 56:38 It was none other than Jesus Christ Himself. 56:42 It's what Bible scholars called a Christophany, 56:45 where He appeared in His pre-incarnate nature. 56:50 And who is the only Archangel in the Bible? 56:53 There is only two references that says archangel, 56:57 five of that mentioned Michael 56:59 and as we have seen from Scripture, 57:02 God in the person, 57:05 the second person of the Godhead 57:07 who we know is Jesus Christ fits the description. 57:12 So why did I do this today? 57:16 Because there's so much misinformation 57:18 out there on angels, 57:20 and we need to know to look only to the Word of God. 57:25 Thank you for joining us. 57:26 Join us again. |
Revised 2021-05-06