15. The Archangel

The Angel of Yihvah became the Archangel when Christ was made Lord

The Yihvah of the Armies became the ruler of the Angels, the Archangel, after Christ was made our Lord. This truth of the Bible is a little less known, and a little hidden, because it was related to us through many visions in Daniel and Zechariah. However, it is the Apostolic teaching. The Apostle Paul told us that “the Lord Himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

There is only one Archangel in the Bible, one ruling Angel, the Angel of God, the Spirit of Christ.

The voice of the Archangel, the voice as a trumpet, we hear on the LORD’s Day in Revelation 1:10, is also the “loud voice” we hear from the throne, on the LORD’s Day, in Revelation 16:17 and 21:3. It is the voice of the Son of God that hearkens the dead back to life, as recorded in John 5:25.

Many have difficulty understanding how the Spirit of Christ can have two identities: the Archangel and the Son of Man.

In fact, the Spirit of Christ has more than two identities in the Bible.

Others have been misled to believe that the Angel of Yihvah was simply a manifestation of God. But in fact, the Angel of Yihvah has a real identity as the firstborn spirit. In Zechariah, we read that the Angel of Yihvah spoke to Satan, saying, “the LORD rebuke you.”

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Yihvah, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And Yihvah said to Satan, ‘Yihvah rebuke you, Satan!’” (Zechariah 3:1–2).

There are only two verses in the Bible, where we find the statement “the LORD rebuke you.” The first is in Zechariah, and the second is in Jude 9: “But the Archangel ‘WHO IS LIKE GOD’ (Michael) when he disputed with the devil . . . said ‘the LORD rebuke you.’”

The name Michael, in Hebrew, is literally “WHO IS LIKE GOD.” מִֽיכָאֵ֡ל.When a person reads this in the Hebrew language, they are actually saying, “WHO IS LIKE GOD.”  There are plenty of examples in the Old Testament where the “mi” מִי in Michael is not used in the form of a question, and means “the one who,” eg. Exodus 24:14, Judges 7:3, Ezra 1:3, Proverbs 9:4, Isaiah 50:8, 54:15, Hosea 1:9, etc.

Paul used a similar expression to describe the Spirit of Christ in Philippians 2:6, saying, “Ὃς who in form of God.” The name “WHO IS LIKE GOD” explains the Spirit of Christ as the “Image of the invisible God.”

Of course, to Gentiles, who do not understand the Hebrew language, the name Michael is confusing. They are only reading the transliterated form of “WHO IS LIKE GOD.” But to a Hebrew reader, the identification of the Angel of Yihvah as the image of the invisible God, “WHO IS LIKE GOD” makes a lot of sense. In this Chapter, we are going to find out where the name “WHO IS LIKE GOD” came from.

The word “Archangel” means Ruler of the Angels, from the Greek ἄρχω. There is now only one Ruler of the Angels, “WHO IS LIKE GOD” (Michael), the Spirit of Christ. After the Spirit of Christ, as the Angel of Yihvah, became the Lord in heaven and earth, He cast Satan and his Angels down. This is recorded in Revelation 12:10: “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down.”

As the Ruler of the Angels, the Spirit of Christ is now leading the armies of heaven on white horses, triumphantly removing the lawlessness out of the Kingdom of God. He has a sword that goes out of His mouth, which is the Word of God.

Captain of the Lord’s Army – the Lord of Hosts

The Spirit of Christ was first identified as the Captain of the Armies of the LORD in Joshua 5.

In Exodus 3:5, the Messenger said to Moses, “take the sandals off your feet for the place on which you stand is holy ground.” These were also the words of the man who appeared to Joshua, in Joshua 5:15. This was the same Messenger.

And after Joshua took the sandals off his feet, we read that “Yihvah (the Angel) said to Joshua, ‘See I have given Jericho into your hand . . . ’”

When Joshua first saw the man, he asked, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?” And the man replied, “Neither, but as the Captain of the LORD’s Army, I have now come.” And Joshua fell on His feet and worshipped, saying, “what does my Lord say to His servant?”

The Angel introduced Himself as “the Captain of the LORD’s army.” The Captain of His Angels.

Isaiah used the expression “LORD of the Armies” to describe the coming Messiah. He said, “My eyes have seen the King, Yihvah of the Armies.” This expression “Yihvah of the Armies” began with the Messenger’s appearance to Joshua. Most prophecies of the Messiah’s coming use the expression “Yihvah of Armies” to describe the speaker.

Some Bibles translate this phrase as “LORD of Hosts.” But the real expression is “HE WILL BE of the Armies.”

Yihvah of Hosts (HE WILL BE of the Armies)

The Yihvah who appeared to Joshua, whom Joshua worshiped and called his Lord, was the Angel Jacob (Israel) called his God, and the Angel who appeared to Moses. He was the Yihvah of Armies that Isaiah saw as the coming Messiah in Isaiah 6, the one Paul called “the Holy Spirit” in Acts 28:25. Understanding the Spirit of Christ as the Yihvah of Hosts brings together the many manifestations of the Spirit: The Archangel, the Holy Spirit of the Old Testament, the Image of the invisible God, and the Son of Man.

WHO IS LIKE GOD, your Captain

The revelation of the name, “WHO IS LIKE GOD” (Michael) as the name of the Archangel comes from Daniel.

In Daniel 10, Daniel had a vision of “a man,” who he described in verses 5 and 6:

dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure god of Uphaz. His body was beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and his feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his voice like the sound of a multitude.

This is the description of the Spirit of Christ on the LORD’s Day in Revelation 1:13–15:

I saw one like a Son of Man, clothed in a Robe . . . girded across His chest with a golden sash . . . his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze . . . and His voice like the sound of many waters.

After seeing this vision, Daniel was greatly troubled, and one “with human appearance” (being an Angel), said,

“from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince (captain) of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days, then behold, ‘WHO IS LIKE GOD’ (Michael), one of the chief Captains, came to help me”

Daniel 10:12–13

In these verses, the Angel called WHO IS LIKE GOD was identified as “one of the Chief Captains.” In Daniel 10:20, we find out that the nations who opposed Israel had Angels fighting for them and their own Captains, including the Captains of Greece and Persia.

The Angel, who explained the visions, concluded Chapter 10, saying, “there is no one who stands firmly against these forces except, YOUR CAPTAIN, ‘WHO IS LIKE GOD’ (Michael).” The word CAPTAIN here in Hebrew is the same word (SAR) that appears in Joshua 5:14. The meaning of “YOUR CAPTAIN” was that WHO IS LIKE GOD was the Captain, or LORD of Daniel. He is the One called “Captain” or “Prince” throughout the Old Testament (see also Ezekiel 37:25, “David, My servant, shall be their Prince Forever.”)

He was the one that Daniel saw in his vision, the Spirit of Christ.

WHO IS LIKE GOD, the Great Captain, shall stand up

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day He shall stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

At that time Michael (WHO IS LIKE GOD) shall stand up,
The great Captain שַׂר־ who stands watch over the son of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12:1–2

The Angel’s explanation of Daniel’s vision, in Daniel 10:5–6, concludes in Daniel 12:1–4, where he tells Daniel that WHO IS LIKE GOD, the Great Captain will stand up on the LORD’s Day, and all will be judged. This was the appearance of the Spirit of Christ Daniel saw in his vision, the appearance of the Spirit of Christ in the LORD’s Day in Revelation 1:13.

Most Trinitarian commentaries we find on the Internet (Matthew Poole, Matthew Henry, Gill, Benson, Jaimeson Faussett, the Geneva Study Bible) also recognize that the appearance of Michael in Daniel 12:1 is the appearance of Christ in the Day of the Lord.

WHO IS LIKE GOD is the Spirit of Christ in Revelation 10

After the Angel’s explanation, Daniel saw two Angels, one on each side of the river, as explained in Daniel 12:5.

One of them is “dressed in linen” (Daniel 12:6), and we assume this is the Angel “dressed in linen” who Daniel saw in Daniel 10:5. He “raised his right hand . . . and swore by Him who lives forever.” The same Angel appeared again in Revelation 10:5 and 6, where he again “lifted his right hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever.” On both occasions, He introduced the story of “time, times and half a time.”

This Angel dressed in linen was identified as the Spirit of Christ in Revelation 10:1 (compare to Exodus 13:21, 14:19; Revelation 1:16; Ezekiel 1:28; and Revelation 4:3).

WHO IS LIKE GOD became the “Captain of Captains”

The Captain of the Armies, “WHO IS LIKE GOD” (Michael), was first introduced in Daniel 8 verse 11:

The horn that grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the ground and tramped them down. It even magnified itself to be equal to the Captain שַׂר־ of the host (armies) . . .

Daniel 8:10–11

This horn in this verse is the power of Satan, the Spirit of the Antichrist.

The stars that were cast down to the ground were those Angels who were cast to the ground when Christ resurrected. After Christ resurrected (Rev 12:5; Acts 13:33–34), there was a war between the Spirit of Christ, (Michael) WHO IS LIKE GOD, and Satan (Rev 12:7).

This battle continued through “the beast” until “the Stone” (of Christ) that was “cut without human hands” (Daniel 2:34) hit the statue (of the beast), and the work of Satan was “broken without human means,” as described in Daniel 8:25:

He shall destroy many in their prosperity.
He shall even rise against the Captain of captains;
But he shall be broken without human means

Here, the Spirit of Christ was called the “Captain of Captains,” because after casting Satan and his angels down, the Spirit of Christ became the Archangel, the ruler of the Angels.

The Lord will descend with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel

As we have explained, Daniel’s vision of the Spirit of Christ in Daniel 10:5–6 was also seen by John in Revelation 1:13. The Angel that John saw in Revelation spoke with a loud voice in the LORD’s Day. Let us read Revelation 1:10–13:

I was in ἐν spirit in ἐν the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash . . .

As John said, He had “a voice as a trumpet” (loud). In John’s Gospel, Jesus told us that all the dead would hear his voice on the LORD’s Day (John 5:28).

The Spirit of Christ, the Angel of God, and the Son of Man are the same, as we clearly see in this description.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the Apostle Paul told us that Christ is the Archangel who descends with a loud voice, the voice of the Archangel: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice the Archangel and with the trumpet of God.”

ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ

This verse literally reads “the Lord Himself will descend in a shout, in the voice of the Archangel and in the trumpet of God.”

Apollonius’ Cannon requires the translation of ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου as “the voice of the Archangel.” These are two dependent nouns requiring either an indefinite or definite article to be used for both.

Zechariah explained Christ as the Archangel holding seven stars

The most significant explanation of the Spirit of Christ as the Archangel came from Zechariah, and its meaning is explained in the Book of Revelation.

In the Book of Zechariah, spirits are represented as horses (Zechariah 6:5), and the riders of these horses are the visible manifestation of those spirits as “messengers” (angels). Angels are represented as stars throughout the Bible. In Zechariah, we find the seven spirits, the seven stars that report to the Angel of Yihvah, the Spirit of Christ as the Archangel.

The first six Chapters of Zechariah are a prophecy of the end days, which we find repeated in the Book of Revelation. Though Zechariah saw these visions in his day, the visions are about the future.

In Zechariah Chapter 1, we see the horses (the Spirits) that go out throughout the earth and report to the Angel of Yihvah. In Zechariah 4:10, these spirits are called “the seven spirits.” The number seven generally means “complete” meaning “all the spirits of God.” These are “the eyes of Yihvah that go to and fro throughout the earth.” The fact that all the spirits of God report to the Angel of Yihvah tells us that the Angel of Yihvah has become the Archangel, the ruling angel.

In Zechariah 3:9, these “seven Spirits” are described as the seven eyes on the stone (the branch in verse 8) who is Christ.

These descriptions in Zechariah appear in Revelation 5:6; the Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God “who go throughout the earth” just as described in Zechariah 4:10.

Through these descriptions in Zechariah and Revelation, we know that the Angel of Yihvah and Christ are the same person. And in fact, we see that the Spirit of Christ in Revelation 1:16, 2:1, and 3:1 has the seven Spirits, seven stars in His hand. The Angel of Yihvah is now the Archangel, who holds all these Spirits in His right hand. The right hand represents one’s power.

In Zechariah, we find the statement “Yihvah rebuke you” (Zechariah 3:2) spoken by the Angel of Yihvah. These words appear in Jude 9 as the words of the Archangel to Satan. So, of course, the Spirit of Christ is the Archangel, as first revealed by the seven Spirits (all the Spirits) who report to Him.

The Spirit of Christ is the Angel who leads the Armies of Heaven

In Zechariah, we learned that horses are Spirits and their Riders are the manifestation of those Riders in the form of Angels.

The Spirit of Christ in Daniel 10:6 was described as having “eyes like torches of fire.”

In Revelation 19:11–16, we meet the Rider on the White Horse, the Angel, whose “eyes are a flame of fire.” He leads the armies of heaven, all the Angels.

The Spirit of Christ is WHO IS LIKE GOD, the Archangel The Catholic Church, after creating the Trinity doctrine, tried to obscure this truth for two reasons: –        The name WHO IS LIKE GOD is the certain death of the idea that Christ is God, and –        the Trinity imagines that Christ was the Angel of Yihvah who became the man Jesus Christ. But the Apostolic doctrine says Christ was “manifest in the flesh,” and it is obvious that the Spirit of Christ is still the Angel of God throughout the Book of Revelation. After establishing the Trinity doctrine, the Catholic Church created a belief in all kinds of Archangels. We can see this first in the “Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom,” who was ordained as a deacon in 381. There is only one Archangel, the Spirit of Christ, who became the Ruler of the Angels, after Christ was made our Lord. The identification of the Spirit of Christ as the Archangel is the message of the Apostles: 1.    In Chapter 5, we saw in 15 passages that the Spirit of Christ was manifest as the Angel of Yihvah, as identified by the Hebrew word “Malak.”It was this Angel of Yihvah, in Zechariah, who, speaking to Satan, said, “Yihvah rebuke you.” Jude told us that the Archangel, or “ruler of the Angels,” said, “the LORD rebuke you” to Satan concerning the body of Moses. 2.    Joshua Chapter 5 identifies the Spirit of Christ as the Captain of the Armies. Daniel called Him “the Captain of the Armies” in Daniel 8:11. 3.    In Daniel 10, the Angel told Daniel that Michael (WHO IS LIKE GOD) was “his Captain” – “your Captain.” 4.    In Daniel 12, the Angel identified Michael (WHO IS LIKE GOD) as the “Great Captain” who will stand up on the LORD’s Day, to explain the vision Daniel saw, in Daniel 10:5, 6. 5.    In Revelation 1:13–16, John revealed that the one Daniel saw in Daniel 10:5–6 was the Spirit of Christ. 6.    Paul said the Lord will descend with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel. (1 Thess 4:16) 7.    The Spirit of Christ, as the ruling Angel, held “the Seven Spirits and Angels of God in His hand,” in Revelation 3:1. These are the seven eyes of the LORD who go out throughout the earth, in Revelation 5:6 and Zechariah 4:10. 8.    The one dressed in linen appeared in Daniel 10:5 must also be the one who appeared in Daniel 12:7; the Angel in Revelation 10:6, 7 “who raised his right hand . . . and swore by Him who created heaven and earth.” This Angel was clearly identified as the Spirit of Christ in Revelation 10:2. 9.    Paul described the Spirit of Christ as “WHO IN FORM OF GOD” (WHO IS LIKE GOD) in Philippians 2:6. 10. The Spirit of Christ as the Ruler of the Angels, the Rider on the White Horse, leads the Armies of heaven.

Are they not all ministering Spirits?

The Apostles and the prophets wanted us to know the Angel of Yihvah was not a fictitious “Angel of Yihvah.” He appeared to Zechariah and said to Satan, “the LORD rebuke you.” He fought the battles on behalf of Israel, as the Captain of the LORD’s Army.

The Jewish believers understood Christ as the Angel of Yihvah in the Old Testament.

The Book of Hebrews was written to the Jewish people. The writer of Hebrews, likely Paul, wanted to clarify that the Spirit of Christ was not just the Angel of Yihvah. He had “become as much better than the Angels” (Hebrews 1:4). Angels are Spirits of God, but the Spirit of Christ was the firstborn spirit through whom all the hosts (Angels) were created.

Therefore, the writer’s first argument was that the Spirit of Christ was the firstborn (v. 6), through whom God made the world, and He was the exact image of the invisible God (v. 3), “WHO IS LIKE GOD.”

As the exact image of the invisible God, He was the sanctified Spirit, or Holy Spirit, of the Old Testament, without any fault. In verse 9, the writer quoted from the Psalms, saying, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness, therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the old of gladness, above Your companions.” Here, he identifies Him as ELOHIM, as we discussed in Chapter 2. (The companions must be the other Spirits, or Angels.)

In verse 5, he writes, “to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’” The Spirit of Christ became “the Son of God” in the realm of Spirits and Angels, when Jesus ascended, as we can read in Acts 13:33.

In verse 6, the writer reminded us that when God brought His firstborn into the world, He said, “let all the Angels of God worship Him.” This act of worship by the Angels, to “bow down and kiss,” signified that Christ had already become as much higher than the Angels, because of God’s plan to make Him the firstborn Son of God.