WHEN DOES MICHAEL STAND UP?
By Uriah Smith
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Dan. 12:1. Such is the testimony of the prophet concerning events to occur when Michael shall stand up. They are sufficiently grave to warrant careful study. We do not, however, introduce this subject for the purpose of trying to describe these scenes, or to portray in detail their results upon the inhabitants of the earth, but only to notice some queries that have arisen concerning it, in the mind of a correspondent. It will be seen, from the language quoted, that it is a deciding time, and a closing scene. When it takes place, the world is right in the vortex of the great maelstrom in which the present state of things shall be swallowed up. The mind can form only one conception of a time of trouble. It is when trouble is the rule, and peace and quiet the exception; when calamity and woe shall form the warp and woof of life; when the whole volume of the current of events shall be such as to vex and annoy, to pain and distress, mankind; and the time here predicted will possess these features to a degree never before equaled since there was a nation upon the earth. But as Christ said to the disciples of His day, “Let not your heart be troubled,” so the prophet virtually says to us; for he immediately introduces deliverance: “And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Then the announcement follows of a limited and specific resurrection that takes place in connection therewith, showing that it is something inseparably associated with the closing scenes of time. Thus far the prophet Daniel takes us. But John, in the Revelation, speaks of the same time, and describes some of its features more definitely. He describes the seven last plagues, which must be included in the time of trouble of which Daniel speaks. Under the sixth of these plagues, he says the great river Euphrates is dried up. But the great river Euphrates is a symbol of the power of which Daniel says that he comes to his end with none to help him. Dan. 11:45. John, speaking of the same power, under the symbol of the river Euphrates, says that it is dried up under the sixth plague; this drying up of the Euphrates is the same as the coming to his end of the king of the north, of which Daniel speaks. In connection with these events is the standing up of Michael. And here our correspondent finds difficulty; and in reference to this these remarks are penned. To get the subject more definitely before us, let us look further at the meaning of the terms here employed. There can be no question as to who Michael is. He is the Archangel. There can be but one head angel, and only one Michael. Jude 9. He is the great Prince that standeth for the people of God. He is the highest leader of the heavenly host, whose voice summons the dead saints from their long-sealed tombs. 1 Thess. 4:16; John 5:28, 29. All these expressions point to Christ. The expression “to stand up,” applied to a prince or ruler, means to take the throne; to reign. “There shall stand up yet three kings in Persia,” etc. Dan. 11:2. The text, then, points out the time when Christ shall ascend His throne, and reign. But the question may arise, Is He not reigning now?—Yes, on the general throne of dominion at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high. Heb. 8:1. But He is promised a throne specifically His own,—the throne of His father David, and a kingdom of which the angel Gabriel gave assurance to Mary, when announcing the advent of Jesus into this world, that there should be no end. Luke 1:31–33. This is the throne of which the prophet wrote when he said, “And at that time shall Michael stand up.” This is the time when God gives Him the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession. Ps. 2:8. When Christ thus takes His throne, it is as a prince, in His kingly capacity, and not as a priest. His work as priest is then done; but when His work as priest is done, probation is ended; for Christ continues to act as priest and mediator for the world so long as mercy is offered to men. But when probation ends, and Christ is no longer pleading priest, but executive king, the plagues begin to fall; but it is not till the sixth vial is poured out that the river Euphrates is dried up; which, as before noticed, is the same as the king of the north coming to his end with none to help him. Dan. 11:45. And it is in connection with this coming to his end of the king of the north, that the prophet speaks of the standing up of Michael. Our correspondent, therefore, inquires if Michael does not stand up till the sixth plague is poured out, and if consequently probation continues to that time. But this can not be; for every principle involved in the ministration of Christ in the sanctuary forbids the idea that probation can continue till the sixth plague. How, then, can the scriptures referred to be harmonized? In answer, let us consider what points may be regarded as established. 1. The standing up of Michael is the beginning of the reign of Christ. That is the dividing line between His priestly and His kingly power. When He receives His kingly power, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, to be broken to shivers with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Ps. 2:9. 2. Mercy being no longer offered, the plagues begin to fall. In these plagues the great time of trouble finds its culmination. 3. The sixth plague falls upon the great river Euphrates, and the waters thereof are dried up; that is, the nation symbolized by that river—namely, the king of the north, the Turkish power—comes to its end. Why, then, is this which takes place under the sixth plague spoken of by Daniel (11:45) before the standing up of Michael (12:1), which takes place before any of the plagues begin to fall? This is the question that involves the difficulty, as this last comes in apparently as a later event. 4. The answer is that the prophecies, in presenting the themes they introduce, sometimes find it convenient to follow the uppermost line of thought to its conclusion, before bringing up other parts of the subject, so that correlated and associated events are not always stated in their strictly consecutive order. On another branch of this same subject we have an illustration of the working of this principle. For instance, part of the great time of trouble of Dan. 12:1 takes place before the standing up of Michael, though mentioned after it, as if it all came in later. So, in Rev. 12:1, the Church is represented as fully organized and established before Christ, the man-child, appears on the scene. But Christ was born before that condition of things was reached. So, in this case, the time of trouble, though it begins to take place before the standing up of Michael, is introduced subsequently, because its most appalling features appear after Michael has entered upon that position called his standing up. 5. The concurrent trend of the Scriptures concerning the closing scenes of time seems to be clearly this: The perils of the last days begin to thicken over the earth; religion gives way before worldliness; evil men and seducers, in high places as well as low, wax worse and worse; the nations are angry; nature itself becomes unbalanced; unwonted exhibitions of violence break forth in the ordinary course of events; the sea and the waves roar; tidal waves encroach upon the solid earth and the habitations of men; plague and pestilence fix their deadly fangs upon the body politic; flood and famine combine against the human race; such elements of anger and confusion are developed among individuals and peoples as appall men’s hearts with203perplexity and distress. These are a part of the time of trouble. The earth is already feeling these throbbings of troublous times. The Ottoman power becomes the sick man of the East, ready at almost any time for dissolution by heart failure. Those agents that are to gather the kings of the earth and of the whole world to the obsequies, have entered the arena, and are doing their preliminary work. The prophecy indicates that the Turkish power will be compelled, by the increase of the pressure which for years has been accumulating upon it, to remove its seat of government from Constantinople to Jerusalem. It will be the beginning of the end with that power when it is compelled to make this move. How long after this before the end comes, we do not know; but probably it will not be a great while; for the next statement is that he comes to his end with none to help him. It is in connection with his coming to his end that Michael stands up; but how near to his expulsion from Europe we are not informed; but when Michael stands up, the plagues begin to fall; and it is not until the sixth vial is poured out that the end comes, and the symbolical river Euphrates is dried up. Some time before this, Michael stands up; but whether the Turk is at that time in Constantinople or in Jerusalem we have no means of knowing. But he is then so near his end that it will hardly affect the prophecy, to whichever we give the precedence in point of time. But we may be sure of this: The standing up of Michael is not delayed, and probation is not continued, till the falling of the sixth plague.