Jesus as Michael the Archangel

 

"Who is Michael? None other than the man child who has been caught up unto God and unto His throne. We are accustomed to think of Michael as an archangel and to class him, say, with Gabriel and Uriel. But it is not Scripture, but Paradise Lost, which is responsible for that idea. In Scripture there is only one Archangel, and every time He appears He stands for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Archangel is the Lord of Angels; that is the meaning of the word. The name Michael means, “Who is like God?" and its appropriateness here is evident from the connection with the man Child who has just been caught up to God and His throne." William Canton, writing in The Expositor, Volume 49 1899

"There have been various opinions with reference to Michael. Without reference to these opinions, we believe Michael to be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Twice only is the term 'archangel' used in the Scripture, and each time preceded by the definite article, thus showing that there is but one archangel, and that this archangel is Michael. Jude says: 'Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil,' etc. Paul says (1 Thess. iv. 16): 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.' Jesus says (John v. 28, 29): 'All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.' Then the voice of the archangel and the voice of Jesus must be the same.

Here the revealing angel calls Michael Daniel's prince, and in chapter xii. he says of him: 'Michael shall stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people.' Taking all these things together, we are assured that this great prince, this archangel whose voice is to wake the dead at the last day, is Jesus Christ." The Kingdom and Comings of Christ By John Collinsworth Simmons 1891

From Wikipedia:-

Citing Hengstenberg, John A. Lees, in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, states: "The earlier Protestant scholars usually identified Michael with the pre-incarnate Christ, finding support for their view, not only in the juxtaposition of the 'child' and the archangel in Rev 12:1–17, but also in the attributes ascribed to him in Daniel."

Such scholars include but are not limited to:

Martin Luther

Hengstenberg with others

Dr. W. L. Alexander [in Kitto], Prof. Douglas [in Fairbairn]

Jacobus Ode, Campegius Vitringa, Sr.

Philip Melanchthon, Broughton, Junius, Calvin, Hävernick

Polanus, Genevens, Oecolampadius & others, Adam Clarke

Samuel Horsley

Cloppenburgh, Vogelsangius, Pierce and others (Horsely)

John (Jean) Calvin

Isaac Watts, John Bunyan, Brown's Dictionary, James Wood's Spiritual Dictionary

and many others

for even before them, the Jewish commentators, such as Wetstein, Surenhusius, etc.

In the 19th Century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon stated that Jesus is "the true Michael" and “the only Archangel”, and that he is God the Son, and co-equal to the Father.

Within Anglicanism, the controversial bishop Robert Clayton (died 1758) proposed that Michael was the Logos and Gabriel the Holy Spirit.[80] Controversy over Clayton's views led the government to order his prosecution, but he died before his scheduled examination.

Michael continues to be recognized[specify][vague][who?]among Protestants by key churches dedicated to him, e.g., St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg and St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, each of which is of the Lutheran Church and has appeared in the Bundesländer series of €2 commemorative coins for 2008 and 2014 respectively.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that "Michael" is but one of the many titles applied to the Son of God, the second person of the Godhead. According to Adventists, such a view does not in any way conflict with the belief in his full deity and eternal preexistence, nor does it in the least disparage his person and work. According to Adventist theology, Michael was considered the "eternal Word", and not a created being or created angel, and the one by whom all things were created. The Word was then born incarnate as Jesus.

They believe that name "Michael" signifies "One Who Is Like God" and that as the "Archangel" or "chief or head of the angels" he led the angels and thus the statement in Revelation 12:7–9 identifies Jesus as Michael.

In the Seventh-day Adventist view, the statement in some translations of 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and John 5:25–29 confirm that Jesus and Michael are the same.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe Michael to be another name for Jesus in heaven, in his pre-human and post-resurrection existence. They say the definite article at Jude 9—referring to "Michael the archangel"—identifies Michael as the only archangel. They consider Michael to be synonymous with Christ, described at 1 Thessalonians 4:16 as descending "with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet".

They believe the prominent roles assigned to Michael at Daniel 12:1, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 19:14, and Revelation 16 are identical to Jesus' roles, being the one chosen to lead God's people and as the only one who "stands up", identifying the two as the same spirit being. Because they identify Michael with Jesus, he is therefore considered the first and greatest of all God's heavenly sons, God's chief messenger, who takes the lead in vindicating God's sovereignty, sanctifying his name, fighting the wicked forces of Satan and protecting God's covenant people on earth. Jehovah's Witnesses also identify Michael with the "Angel of the Lord" who led and protected the Israelites in the wilderness.

See also: Jesus as the Angel Abaddon/Apollyon 

See also: Jesus as the Archangel Michael - The Evidence

See also 125 Books on ANGELS & Angelology on DVDrom

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