208 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
208 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Michael the Great Prince -- Who Is He?
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The spirit creature Michael is not mentioned often in the Bible, but
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when he is, the context is always dramatic. In Daniel we see him fighting
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wicked angels in behalf of God's people. In Jude he is disputing with Satan
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over the body of Moses. And in the book of Revelation he casts Satan and
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his demons down to earth. Evidently, Michael is a key figure in heaven.
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Hence, it is proper to wonder, Who is Michael?
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For many years, Jehovah's Witnesses have taught that Michael is a
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heavenly name for the only-begotten Son of God, who was named Jesus while on
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earth. However, most other religions view Michael as one of several
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archangels, as if there were more than one archangel. In view of this, Is
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the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses correct? What does the Bible say about
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Michael?
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"The Prince of You People"
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We are introduced to the one named Michael in the book of Daniel.
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There an angel of God refers to him in these words: "But the prince of the
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royal realm of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days,
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and, look! Michael, one of the foremost princes, came to help me ... And now
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I shall go back to fight with the prince of Persia. When I am going forth,
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look! also the prince of Greece is coming. However, I shall tell you the
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things noted down in the writing of truth, and there is no one holding
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strongly with me in these things but Michael, the prince of you people." --
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Daniel 10:13, 20, 21.
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Here we have a fascinating glimpse of the spirit realm. We see that
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spirit creatures -- good and bad -- are very much involved in world affairs.
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There was a spirit "prince of the royal realm of Persia," opposing the
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activities of God's angel. After Persia there would be a "prince of
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Greece," promoting the interests of that world power. Among the spirit
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creatures, Michael was one of "the foremost princes." Which nation did he
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guide and protect? Clearly, it was Daniel's people, the Jews.
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The name "Michael" means "Who Is Like God?" thus indicating that this
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foremost prince upholds Jehovah's sovereignty. Since Michael is also a
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champion of God's people, we have reason to identify him with the unnamed
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angel that God sent ahead of the Israelites hundreds of years before: "Here
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I am sending an angel ahead of you to keep you on the road and to bring you
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into the place that I have prepared. Watch yourself because of him, for he
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will not pardon your transgression; because my name is within him." --
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Exodus 23:20, 21.
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It is logical to conclude that this was the angel that delivered so
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many important communications to God's people. (Acts 7:30, 35; Judges 2:1-3)
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He had full authority from God to act in His name, just as kings in ancient
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times entrusted their seal rings to reliable subjects, empowering them to
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act in his their name. -- Exodus 3:2, 3; 4:10.
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Is there anything here to make us believe that Michael and Jesus Christ
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are the same person? Well, Jesus is called "the Word." (John 1:1) He is
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God's spokesman. This special angelic messenger, too, was clearly God's
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chief spokesman to the Israelites.
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Michael "Stands Up"
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Michael was "the prince of you people." But he was to receive
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additional authority. We next see him in the final chapter of the book of
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Daniel. "And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who
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is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly
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occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came
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to be a nation until that time." -- Daniel 12:1.
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Daniel, in chapter 11, had just described the march of world powers
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from his own time on into the future. He had accurately described the fall
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of Persia and the rise of Greece. Then came the partitioning of the Greek
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empire. Two of the resulting political entities -- the king of the north
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and the king of the south -- would vie for ascendancy and control over God's
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people. At the climax of that rivalry, Michael would "stand up." What does
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that mean?
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Well, in other parts of this same prophecy, the term "stand up" means
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that the person assumes authority to rule as a king. (Daniel 11:3, 4, 7, 20,
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21) Hence, when Michael "stands up" he, too, starts to rule as a king.
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Consider the implications of this.
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Before Daniel died, the last Jewish king, Zedekiah, had been deposed.
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There would be no Jewish king for centuries to come. Daniel's prophecy
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showed that one day in the future God's people would once again have a king
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-- Michael.
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Ezekiel, Daniel's contemporary, foretold the coming of one "who has the
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legal right" to rule again as king of God's people. (Ezekiel 21:25-27) This
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one in not to be identified with the Levite Maccabees who exercised some
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authority during a brief period of independence. Not being descendants of
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King David, they had no "legal right" to be kings. Rather, it was Jesus
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Christ who was anointed by God to rule as king in a heavenly kingdom. (Luke
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1:31-33; 22:29, 30; Psalm 110:1) He was the only one thus anointed. It is
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therefore only logical to say that Jesus and Michael are the same person.
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In Daniel chapter 7, there is another prophecy about the march of world
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powers that has parallels with Daniel chapter 11. At the climax of that
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prophecy, however, we read that "someone like a son of man" was "given
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rulership and dignity and kingdom." (Daniel 7:13, 14) The one "like a son
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of man" is widely recognized as Jesus. (Matthew 10:23; 26:64; Revelation
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14:14) Hence, in the climax of one prophecy, Jesus becomes a king. In the
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other prophecy in Daniel, Michael becomes a king. Since both prophecies
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deal with the same time and the same event, surely it is reasonable to
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conclude that they are also dealing with the same person.
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The Archangel
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We next read of Michael in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The book of
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Jude tells us: "But when Michael the archangel had a difference with the
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Devil and was disputing about Moses' body, he did not dare to bring a
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judgement against him in abusive terms, but said: `May Jehovah rebuke you.'"
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(Jude 9) This incident helps to show the closeness of Michael to God's
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ancient people. Therefore, it supports the argument that he was the angel
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that went ahead of the Israelites to protect them.
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We learn from Jude that Michael had the post of archangel. In fact, he
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was =the= archangel, since no other archangel is mentioned in the Bible, nor
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does the Bible use "archangel" in the plural. "Archangel" means "Chief of
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the angels." (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) Among
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God's spirit servants, only two names are associated with authority over
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angels: Michael and Jesus Christ. (Matthew 16:27; 25:31; 2 Thessalonians
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1:7) This, too, argues that Jesus and Michael are the same.
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Interestingly, the name of Jesus is linked with the word "archangel" in
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one of Paul's letters. The apostle writes: "The Lord [Jesus] himself will
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descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an =archangel's= voice and
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with God's trumpet." (1 Thessalonians 4:16) The context places this event
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during "the presence of the Lord," when Jesus has started to rule as king. -
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- 1 Thessalonians 4:15; Matthew 24:3; Revelation 11:15-18.
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It is Jehovah's will and arrangement for Jesus to resurrect the dead.
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(John 6:38-40) It is God's trumpet that sounds the call for the dead to
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come back to life, just as God instructed that trumpets be used for an
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assembly of his people in ancient times. (Numbers 10:1-10) Jesus issues "a
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commanding call" to the dead to come forth, just as he did on occasion while
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on earth. (John 11:43) But now he calls, not with a man's voice as he did
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then, but with all the power of "an archangel's voice" (en pho-ne' arkh-ag-
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ge'lou). However, only an archangel can call with an archangel's voice!
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And no one but Jesus has been given the authority to resurrect the dead.
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Hence, this rousing prophecy gives additional strong reason for identifying
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Jesus with the archangel, Michael.
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War in Heaven
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The final appearance of the name Michael in the Bible is in the book of
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Revelation. There we read: "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his
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angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it
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did not prevail." (Revelation 12:7, 8) Here we see Michael in action as
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God's archangel. He, along with "his angels," defeats Satan and casts him
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down to the earth.
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This is the beginning of the "short period of time" before Satan's
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wicked system is completely destroyed. After the end of Babylon the Great
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at the hands of the nations, the nations themselves are destroyed by Jesus
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and his angelic armies. (Revelation 12:12; 17:16, 17; 19:11-16) Finally,
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Satan is abyssed for a thousand years, after which he suffers complete
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annihilation in "the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:1, 2, 10) This -- the
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long-promised final `crushing of Satan's head' -- is also accomplished by
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Jesus, along with his resurrected spiritual brothers. -- Genesis 3:15;
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Galatians 3:16; Romans 16:20.
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Since Jesus is the one prophesied to crush Satan's head, and since he
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accomplishes all these other judgement acts, it is only logical to conclude
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that he would lead heaven's armies in the casting of Satan out of heaven.
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Hence, the conquering Michael referred to in Revelation 12 must be Jesus,
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who was told by Jehovah to "go subduing in the midst of [his] enemies." --
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Psalm 110:1, 2; Acts 2:34, 35.
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The appearance of the name Michael, instead of Jesus, in Revelation
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chapter 12 draws our attention to the prophecy considered earlier in Daniel
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chapter 12. In Daniel we read of Michael's standing up. (Daniel 12:1) In
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Revelation chapter 12, Michael acts like a conquering monarch throwing Satan
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down to the earth. The result: "Woe for the earth and for the sea." --
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Revelation 12:12.
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Jesus an Angel?
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Some object to identifying Jesus with the angel of Jehovah mentioned in
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the Hebrew Scriptures. For Trinitarians, of course, such an identification
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poses a problem since it shows conclusively that he is not equal to Jehovah
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God. But even some who do not accept the Trinity doctrine feel that Jesus'
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identity with an angel somehow detracts from his dignity.
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Remember, though, that the basic meaning of "angel" (Hebrew, mal-akh';
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Greek, ag'ge-los) is "messenger." As the "Word" (Greek, lo'gos), Jesus is
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God's messenger par excellence. Remember, too, that as the archangel, as
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well as "the firstborn of all creation," Jesus had the highest rank among
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the angels even before he came to earth. -- Colossians 1:15.
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True, the apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews: "He [Jesus] has become
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better than the angels, to the extent that he has inherited a name more
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excellent than theirs." (Hebrews 1:4; Philippians 2:9, 10) However, this
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describes his situation =after= his having been here on earth. He was still
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the archangel and "the beginning of the creation by God." (Revelation 3:14)
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But he =became= better than the angels. The `more excellent name' or
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position is something he did not posses before coming to earth. (These
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scriptures contradict the Trinitarian concept that the Son is and always has
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been equal in every way to the Father.)
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Hence, the fact that Michael is the archangel, chief of the angels, the
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fact that he stands up to rule as King, and the fact that he takes the lead
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in casting Satan out of heaven at the time of the birth of God's Kingdom all
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lead us to just one conclusion: `Michael the great prince' is none other
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than Jesus Christ himself. -- Daniel 12:1.
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**NOTE** Article taken from the December 15, 1984 issued of The Watchtower
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magazine. Published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of
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Pennsylvania.
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