Our Saviour and Lord by George W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 23, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 28.

Our Saviour and Lord

By George W. Reaser

Christ as Michael the Archangel

HE fall of man, and the restoration of harmony to the universe, necessitated the surrender of the life of Him who had created the world and placed man upon it. But as Satan's tactics in precipitating the fall of angels and of man had been to malign the character of God, so to save man from his fallen estate, it was necessary that his Creator take upon Himself such a nature that He could suffer the penalty for man's transgression, and thereby pay the debt; and to undermine Satan's charges against God, it was needful that there be a revelation of the character of God brought within the reach of man's comprehension; and it is written that "the [creative] Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth;" and again, that "God was IN Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself;" and yet again, that "no man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."

The effects of the dire calamity of rebellion and sin were felt, not alone in our world, but with extreme keenness in heaven; and a plaintive minor chord was touched by the fall of angels and of man, which re-echoed throughout the universe. Thus not only did man need a manifestation of loyalty to God and a revelation of His character in his sphere, but it was also needful that there should first be full demonstration of loyalty on the part of one member of the Godhead to the government of heaven, on the plane of angels, and a revelation of the character of God to angelic beings in their sphere. Perhaps we can grasp the thought more readily in these words: To overthrow eventually and forever the charges of Satan, and to bind all intelligences in the universe to Jehovah, it was necessary that Christ, in due course, take the very nature and live on the plane of each of the two highest orders of His created beings, namely, angels and men. Thus, in laying aside His glory and in humbling Himself to reveal the Father by a full manifestation of His character in each of these spheres, Christ's first step in His humiliation in laying aside His divinity, in giving up the throne which He held conjointly with Jehovah, in surrendering the equality which was His with the Father, in yielding His office as Creator and His exalted position of being worshiped by the angels, was to become one of the angels.

"The highest angels seem alone in the Old Testament to have been employed in human service; always, however, in subordination to One who, called an angel, is the Lord Himself. He was the Angel of the covenant."— Pope.

Satan was created upon this plane, and, falsely conceiving that God was unjust, had fallen, and precipitated the first rebellion in the history of eternity. Christ, to prove Satan's assumed causes for rebellion groundless, must become an angel in nature, and by perfect loyalty to God, prove to the full satisfaction of angels, that Satan was unjust, disloyal, rebellious.

While living on this plane, on exactly the same level that Satan had lived on and enjoyed the favor of God for ages, He—Christ—must become the leader in the warfare against Satan, which He could not be as Fellow God, without giving the occasion for the accusation of an unjust warfare. As Satan had become so unalterably connected with rebellion that he could not be separated therefrom, he must be crushed. Who could, in justice, do this so well as the member of the Godhead who partook of the nature of angels? And again, the loyal angels must have a leader on their own plane, to wage the righteous warfare, forced by the hosts of evil, led by Satan, who were created exactly the same class of beings as the angels who remained loyal.

He Took the Nature of Angels

To repeat, the first step, then, in His humiliation, in laying aside His divine nature, was to put on the nature of angels, and thus it is that we have Jesus brought to view as "Michael the Archangel," "the Commander of the hosts of heaven," "the Captain of the host of the Lord," and as such, "the armies in heaven follow Him."

When He became an angel, He bore a fitting name, even as when, later, He became man, His name befitted the nature which He took by virtue of His birth into our human family. That name was "Emmanuel," "God with us." His name as an angel is "Michael," which signifies "the one who is like God." Whatever the name that He takes in crushing sin and rebellion, in redeeming the lost and in restoring harmony to the universe, that name must indicate that God is in Him and with Him, on the very plane and in the very nature of the class of beings to whom He is sent. By living the God-life on the plane of angels, of which Satan was one, altho fallen, He could neutralize the force of Satan's accusations.

Thus when He became an angel, the fact must not be lost sight of that He was God with the angels, yet living on their plane, possessing their natures; and this thought is preserved in the name that He bears as an angel.

Still the Preeminent One

But with whatever class of His created beings He identifies Himself, He is "the Preeminent One," but always because of preeminent character. As an angel He is Michael the Archangel; as a man, "the One altogether lovely, the chiefest among ten thousand."

In His office as Archangel, or Commander of the armies of heaven, He personally appeared in Joshua, to encourage the leader of Israel to believe that altho from a human standpoint the walls of Jericho were impregnable, yet the angelic hosts who fight under Michael against the powers of darkness would give the victory. The river Jordan, at its flood, had been crossed by Israel "on dry ground," the manna had ceased to fall, the time had come to "possess the goodly land." Joshua approached the walls of Jericho, apparently to inspect their strength. "He lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" The reply from Michael was, "As captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." "Joshua fell on his face" to worship, and was reminded that the place where he stood was holy ground. Joshua 5: 13-15. With Michael and His "host" to fight the battle, the mighty walls crumbled to dust, Satan's minions were defeated, Israel possessed the city.

This same Captain, even Christ as Michael the Archangel, had been the unseen leader of Israel all the way from Egypt to the siege of Jericho. His position was in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. When there was special danger, the cloud removed from before, and stood between Israel and the threatening army of Pharaoh, a light by night to the one, darkness to the other.

Jehovah said of Him: "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, . . . for My name is in Him." Ex. 23: 20, 21. In fulfilling this covenant of Heaven to bring Israel safely to the promised land, Michael is sometimes called "the Angel of the covenant."

It was Christ who appeared to Moses in the bush that flamed with fire yet was not consumed. In the record of that phenomenon, and of the interview that followed, we are told that "God called unto him out of the midst of the bush," and that "Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." Ex. 3: 1-6. Yet Stephen informs us that it was an Angel that spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai. Acts 7: 37, 38. As we have already noted, there is one Angel who bears the name which signifies "the one who is like God," or the one who is God's Angel, He is the Commander of the angels, the Protector of Israel, Michael the Archangel. God said of Him, "Mine Angel shall go before thee." Ex. 32: 34. "My presence shall go with thee." Ex. 33: 14.

In commenting on the wilderness experience, Isaiah said, "In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them." Isa. 63: 9. This Mighty One traveled with Israel by night and by day, so that their enemies could not overthrow them. He who is "the Bread of Life" gave them daily manna for forty years; He renewed their clothing, so that it did not wax old; He stood upon the rock which Moses smote, and, typical of His being "the Water of Life," caused a stream of water to flow in the desert, to slake the thirst of famishing Israel.

Christ as Michael the Archangel

(Continued from page 6)

To be sure of our ground that the Angel who led Israel through the wilderness to Canaan was Christ, let us bring Paul's inspired testimony to bear upon the question. He says: "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that went with them; and that Rock was Christ. . . . Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." 1 Cor. 10: 1-4, 9, marginal reading of verse 3.

As Michael, occupying the plane on which Satan was created, He came down, and that, too, before the triumph of Calvary, and raised to life "the body of Moses" from the grave. Jude 9 with Luke 9: 27-31. Satan disputed His authority to unseal the grave, at least before He had obtained the keys of death and the grave by the triumph of Calvary; but Christ conquered, and Moses lived again. Thus as Michael, because of His loyalty to God, and with the certainty of the victory of the cross, He triumphed gloriously over Lucifer, who persistently refuses to "let his prisoners loose homeward." Isa. 14: 17, margin.

Gabriel declared to Daniel that in the unfolding of the prophetic history of the world there was none that held with him "in these things, but Michael your Prince." Dan. 8: 16; 10: 21.

But the most direct proof that Michael the Archangel is Christ is this: Jude says (verse 9) that it was Michael the Archangel who disputed with Satan about the body of Moses; Christ said that "all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth" (John 5: 28, 29); and Paul declares that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise." 1 Thess. 4: 16. Thus Jude identifies the Archangel as Michael, Paul asserts that it is the voice of the Archangel which calls the sleeping saints from their tombs, and Christ says that that life-giving voice is His own.

[The next article in the series is "Christ as Prophet and Leader."]