https://anchor.fm/william-earnhardt/embed/episodes/Every-Word-of-God-Proves-True-ebi09i
Total Surrender
Here is the sermon I had prepared to share with the Homosassa SDA Church this morning, before church was cancelled.
God Still Needs Older People
I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT
Several years ago now, my friend Jean passed away at the age of 94. She lost her husband a couple years earlier and then became ill with cancer. She was telling her daughter she did not even know why she was still living. She felt old and useless. But one day her
young health care nurse came for a routine visit. She told Jean about her own mother who had Alzheimer’s and would cry and shake constantly. Jean suggested buying a doll for her to hold. The young nurse did so and came back to tell Jean that it worked! No more shaking and crying. Jean was still helping people even though she was widowed, old and sick.
When Daniel was young he purposed in his heart to be true to God. Daniel 1:8 specifically mentions being true to God regarding his diet and health. We are not only stewards of God’s money but also time. The longer we can hold onto our health and strength, the longer we can serve God with all of our heart and strength. Daniel served God faithfully in his younger years, but as Daniel became old God was not finished using him. In Daniel 5 Daniel appears to have been overlooked by the current king, but just as God reminded the butler about Joseph at just the right moment, the queen remembered Daniel at just the right time. Daniel may have been brought out of retirement, so to speak, for that one night. Even so, God was not finished with Daniel even then. Daniel had a future with the next empire. A future in which the king who overlooked him had no share. Just like He used my friend Jean and just like He used Daniel, God will continue using us as long as we keep serving him with whatever heart and strength we have.
Remember Psalms 23:6, God’s goodness and mercy shall be with me all the days of my life! And that was definitely true in Daniel’s case..
David also has a promise for the elderly who remain godly.
But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. Psalm 92:12-14 NLT
A few years ago I was visiting an elderly shut-in from my church one morning. As I got ready to go I asked him to pray with me. He prayed that God would use both of us to share the Gospel that day. I thought to myself, he must be talking about me, because he will be here in his home alone all day. There is nothing he can do. I was so wrong! That evening when I got home from my last Bible study he called. He was so happy and excited. The cable repairman had come by the house, and while working on his TV he saw some Christian literature my elderly friend had on an end table. The repairman started asking questions about God, and my friend invited him to church. As I hung up I was reminded about his prayer and how I thought there was nothing he could do. God sure showed me! God showed me He will always use whatever health and strength we have to bear fruit even in our older years. When we love God with all of our health and strength He increases our health and strength even in old age.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
My Open Newsletter to my Ministry Supporters
You may now send your tax deductible contributions online here. Please see third line item under “Local Church” marked “Bible Worker.” Thank you!
Its hard to believe that it was five years ago that my friends and God encouraged me to begin a ministry that works closely in cooperation with the Seventh-day Adventist Florida Conference, but is supported solely by contributions from people like yourself, with no financial backing from the conference. When I began five years ago I had total trust in God, but was not sure what He had in store or how long I would be able to survive relying on God to provide supporters.
I am not a good fundraiser so I am very happy that God has provided for me so I can focus most all of my time and effort into soul winning, and very little time and effort into fundraising. I want to thank those who contribute monthly to my ministry and to those who contribute whenever the Spirit impresses them. In the past I have been told by people that it would be easier for them to contribute online. Well now thanks to God you can! The Plant City SDA Church who hosts my fund is now accepting tax deductible contributions including for my Bible worker fund. You can contribute here. The Bible Worker fund is the third line item under local church. You can still send contributions by mail to the Plant City SDA Church PO Box 5379 Plant City, Florida 33563. If giving to the Bible Worker fund please mark “Bible Worker Fund” on your check.
While God has wonderfully provided over the last five years we are looking forward to many years to come. Like any ministry some people for whatever reason are no longer able to support this ministry, so please pray and ask God if He is asking you to begin systematically supporting this ministry to continue where others who have faithfully supported this ministry over time are no longer with us or just not able to continue.
Bible Work is a constant everyday battle with wicked spirits in high places, so I also truly appreciate all of the prayers and kind words sent my way. Thank you for your prayers, kind words and contributions for the last five years, and please pray for the continued success of this ministry. Thanks and God bless you!
William
The Value of Intercessory Prayer
I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.
Its’ a cliche by now, but the question goes “how does intercessory prayer work?” And the answer given many times is, “I don’t know but it works. When I turn on a light switch I don’t understand how electricity works but the light still comes on.” God does not use force, and I have heard that by intercessory prayer we invite God to make radical changes by invitation so that it is not force. That is a theory but regardless if it is true or not I know intercessory prayer works.
In Matthew 9 a group of friends bring their friend to Jesus on the mat he was lying on. He needed physical and spiritual healing. It is interesting that Scripture says, When I was in my early twenties I was a part of a Bible study group. A certain young lady in our group stopped coming to the study and then dropped out of church all together. Our study group started praying for her. I also prayed on my own. Every night I would pray, “Lord please send your Holy Spirit to work on *Tammy’s heart.” I prayed that night after night for I can’t really remember how long. Then one night my phone rang. It was Tammy, telling me she was tired of what she referred to as her heathen friends. She said she wanted to come back to church. We decided to meet that evening at a restaurant. At the restaurant Tammy said, “I want to tell you something but you will think its crazy.” I assured her I would not think she was crazy. She told me, “I just feel like the Holy Spirit has really been working on my heart!” I was overjoyed! She repeated back to me the very words I had been praying every night. Intercessory prayer works. Now remember God never uses force. The people we pray for still have free will, but God surely leaves nothing undone that can lead to conversion. Tammy came back to church and our Bible study group.
Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2 NLT
He did not just see the man’s faith who was sick. I’m not even sure he had faith. But when Jesus saw their faith He worked miracles in the man’s life. Again I may not be able to explain how intercessory prayer works, but I can observe it working.
The story of Job tells us how important intercessory prayer is. Let’s take a look,
After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. Job 42:7-8 NLT
God would not accept Eliphaz’s sacrifice unless Job prayed for him. Interesting. The book of Job also gives an example of how God blesses us when we pray for our friends.
When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Job 42:10 NLT
When we intercede and pray for others they are blessed and we are blessed too.
*The name “Tammy” is an alias.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Please consider contributing to my ministry here.
My Enchilada Recipe
As a bachelor, for years I would bring canned corn to church fellowship meals. It was simple and easy, and of course since I was just a bachelor, no one expected any more from me. Double standard I know.
I remember one Friday afternoon in the mid 1990’s I was at the Win Dixie in Benbrook Texas, where I lived at the time, and was about to grab a couple cans of corn for the next day’s church luncheon, when I told myself I was tired of just bringing corn all the time. I wanted to actually make something. I stood there in the isle wondering what a bachelor like me could possibly make. It dawned on me that I have eaten so many enchiladas in my life that I should know by heart what goes in them and can figure out how to make them. So I went around Win Dixie looking for ingredients for my enchiladas. This is what I found that afternoon to make a full size service pan.
2 packages of Taco Bell Taco seasoning mix.
2 cans of Taco Bell re-fried beans.
2 pouches of Morning Star Farm Meat Crumbles.
A large bag of shredded cheese. (I have successfully used vegan cheese.)
1 container of diced onions.
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 can of Chili Man Chili (not at Win Dixie it was already in my pantry. I have also used tortilla soup instead or other veggie chili.)
A few green onions.
24 Corn tortillas.
Salt and pepper.
The first few years I made this I actually put each tortilla in olive oil before rolling them up restaurant style. Since then I have found several time saving short cuts, as you know us bachelors are all about time saving shortcuts, which is why we don’t have families. They take too much time. Anyway, here is the quickest and best way to put it all together.
I get a large pan heated, and fill it up a with just enough water to add the seasoning mix. Then I add the Morning Star Meat Crumbles with the beans. I then add salt and pepper to taste. After that the diced onions are added along with half or more of the large bag of cheese. Obviously you add cheese to taste. Obviously you can add anything to taste.
Once all that is mixed in, I put a single layer of the tortillas in the bottom of the serving pan. I don’t take time to roll them up anymore. I make them lasagna style. I then pour some of the mix from the pan over the tortillas. I repeat with a second layer of tortillas covered with more of the mix. I usually have a little mix left over which can be used for dipping chips in. I then put the final layer of tortillas over the final layer of mix. Over the final layer of tortillas I pour the enchilada sauce, Chili man chili, some sprinkled grated cheese and a few diced green onions.
You can warm to serve however you see fit, but if you make the full batch and put in the refrigerator over night it will take a while to warm up. I usually heat it at 425 degrees for a good 45 minutes or so to get hot again all the way through.
I have made these for several of my Bible study groups and they say they love them. Of course they are nice people. Some of them just love to use the mix as a dip for chips. After fellowship lunch one Sabbath a teenage girl from Mexico came up to me and said my enchiladas were delicious. I asked her if they really were or if she was just being nice and she assured me they really were delicious. I then asked her if they were the best she had ever tasted. She then laughed and said, “no. but they are really good!” So there you have it from a Mexican food expert. My enchiladas are not the best she has ever had but they really are delicious!
The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Light of the Cross
I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.
When people ask me why Adventists do not keep the feast days, I tell them we do-literally! At the cross we had the literal Passover. Ever since 1844 we have been living in the literal Day of Atonement. When Jesus returns it will literally be the Feast of Trumpets. As Colossians 2:14-17 points out, we do not need to keep the feast Sabbaths which were a shadow of things to come, because now we had the literal Passover when Jesus died on the cross. Now we are living in the literal Day of Atonement.
I have heard people say there is no such thing as a literal Day of Atonement, but that makes no sense to me, because how can there be a shadow to something that doesn’t even exist? Also the sanctuary building itself shows me there has to be a literal Day of Atonement and cleansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is an illustration of the Gospel. Many try to tell me the Gospel ended at the cross. If that is so then the sanctuary would have ended in the courtyard where the sacrifice was slain. The fact that the sanctuary continues to a holy and most holy place, tells me the Gospel goes beyond a literal cross into a literal holy and most holy place. Besides, if the Passover had a literal cross and the Feast of Trumpets has a literal second coming then reason tells me the Day of Atonement must have a literal Day of Atonement as well.
A friend pointed out to me that there was no reason for a literal Day of Atonement beginning in 1844 because sins were forgiven and cleansed right away. There was no need for a cleansing of the sanctuary . yet peter refers to a future day of refreshing or cleansing of sin still to come.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 KJV
The Message Translation refers to a work still to be done by Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.
“Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, ‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.’ Acts 3;19-23 The Message
Still I have heard people say there is no reason for a Day of Atonement or investigative judgment because God already knows everything and does not need to investigate. However in Genesis 3 God comes into the Garden of Eden to investigate after Adam and Eve disobeyed. Again in Genesis 18:21 God investigates Sodom and Gomorrah. So we cannot say there is no investigation because God already knows. Besides, all arguments aside, Daniel 8:14 says after 2300 days (a day for a year Ezekiel 4:6) the sanctuary shall be cleansed. The prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9 mesh together. If you try to make the cleansing of the sanctuary in 2300 literal days then
you have to make the coming of the Messiah in 483 literal days which would make it impossible for Jesus to be our Messiah and Savior. But as Daniel 8 and 9 clearly teach, in A.D. 27 at the beginning of the 70th week, Jesus came as our Messiah and in 1844 He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven to complete the Gospel with the Day of Atonement and Cleansing of the Sanctuary.
The Old Testament Day of Atonement was a shadow or illustration of what would occur during the literal Day of Atonement when Jesus entered the Most Holy Place for us. Let’s take a look.
What was to happen at the end of the 2300 days?
The other replied, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be made right again.” Daniel 8:14 NLT And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:14 KJV
Note: The Bible refers to two sanctuaries, one on earth and the other in heaven.
After what, was Moses to build the sanctuary?
“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:8- 9 NLT
Where is the location of the original?
Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle,the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. Hebrews 8:1-2 NLT
They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5 NLT
How many apartments did it have?
Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.Exodus 26:33 NLT
When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. Hebrews 9:6 NLT
How frequent was it in the second apartment?
But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. Hebrews 9:7 NLT
When did the high priest do this?
“On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. Leviticus 16:29 NLT
What was he doing?
On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. Leviticus 16:30 NLT
How did he do it?
Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. Leviticus 16:7-9 NLT
What did he do with the blood?
“Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. Leviticus 16:15-16 NLT
What did he do with the sins?
“When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. Leviticus 16:20-22 NLT
Note: For more on the scapegoat click here.
What were the people to be doing?
“Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord. Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with[the Lord your God. All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. Leviticus 23:27-29 NLT
What happened to those living willfully in open sin?
All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. Leviticus 23:29-30 NLT
Note: Jesus has begun the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary or the blotting out of the record of confessed sins there, as well as from our lives here.
What pronouncement will Jesus soon make?
Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.” “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. Revelation 22:11- 12 NLT
What happens to those still sinning willfully?
And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT
What happens to the righteous?
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT
Which group will you be found in?
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:21-27 NLT
What should we be doing in this time of judgment?
“Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” Revelation 14:7 NLT
What assurance do we have?
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT
Related reading: Was the atonement made to appease an angry God or an angry race?
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Invited: Sermon Presented in Owasso Oklahoma 12-28-19
Could you be an Anti-Christ?
As Adventists we understand from the book of Revelation that the anti-Christ is the papacy putting itself in the place of God. Of course any system putting itself in the place of God is an anti-Christ. I was surprised a while back to learn that John the Revelator wrote his epistles after writing Revelation. in 1 John 2:18, John writes, “even now are there many anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time.” So was John implying their were more anti-Christs besides just the papacy? If so could you or I have anti-Christ characteristics?
To answer this question, let’s back up a little. In studying the Three Angels Message, we see that a so-called religious system, Babylon, falls. Again we know from studying Revelation that this is a specific system. However, we also see that this system has an attitude. That attitude is legalism. Man-made laws and a man-made day of worship combine to make a man-made way of salvation, outside of trusting in the merits of Jesus. While Revelation pinpoints this system, it is clear that this attitude can be found in other systems as well, and history has demonstrated it. Were not the Sadducees and Pharisees making their own laws and trusting their own works for salvation? Yet they were not Babylon. So could it be that if I am not careful to crucify self and die daily, that this same attitude of Babylon could be found in my heart too?
So, if it is possible for me to have the attitude of Babylon, would it also be possible for me to have the same attitude as the anti-Christ, thus making me one of many anti-Christs? An anti-Christ is someone who sets himself up as Christ, just as the man of sin mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Here we see that the man of sin, or anti-Christ sits in the place of God. So how could I possibly be an anti-Christ, sitting in the place of God? Isaiah 33:22 tells us; “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver.” Our Lord God is our lawgiver and judge. So, when I set myself up as judge of other people’s motives, or think that I can interpret the law for everybody, I am usurping the seat of God and setting myself up as God, and thus becoming an anti-Christ!
Like Babylon, Anti-Christ is more than a system. It is an attitude. Ellen White explains, that while the pilgrims came to the new world, to escape the anti-Christ, that they carried the attitude of anti-Christ with them to the New World:
“It was the desire for liberty of conscience that inspired the Pilgrims to brave the perils of the long journey across the sea, to endure the hardships and dangers of the wilderness, and with God’s blessing to lay, on the shores of America, the foundation of a mighty nation. Yet honest and God-fearing as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet comprehend the great principle of religious liberty. The freedom which they sacrificed so much to secure for themselves, they were not equally ready to grant to others. “Very few, even of the foremost thinkers and moralists of the seventeenth century, had any just conception of that grand principle, the outgrowth of the New Testament, which acknowledges God as the sole judge of human faith.” (W. Carlos Martyn, The Life and Times of Luther, Vol. 5, p. 297.) The doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control the conscience and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most deeply rooted of papal errors.-Ellen White, The Great Controversy, pp. 292-3
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Scriptures are profitable for doctrine and correction. I can only define God’s law by what is in the Scriptures , but not by my personal opinions or traditions, like the Pharisees in Christ’s time and religious leaders in the Dark Ages did. I am not the interpreter of the Law for the whole world, nor, can I think to change times and laws to meet with my own opinions or inclinations. Since I am not the Lawgiver, I cannot judge people by my own standards.
While open sin must be dealt with by the community of believers, according to 1 Corinthians 6, I as an individual cannot judge inward motives. In judging outward actions we must still be careful. Joseph almost put poor Mary away thinking he had all the evidence of an affair. Even with his overwhelming evidence, he was wrong! Even with all his evidence, he tried to put her away privately, without any public embarrassment. What a great example for us to imitate. Even with his incontrovertible evidence, Joseph was not going to judge Mary’s heart.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul teaches that churches, not individuals, to judge open and outward actions very carefully. He teaches no one to judge the heart and inward motives. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us God and the Scriptures alone tell us what is right and wrong. I am not the Lawgiver or the interpreter of the law for the rest of the world.
Only the Lord our God is our Lawgiver and Judge, and when we judge people according to our own standards, opinions and understanding, we usurp the throne of God and become an anti-Christ.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson at ssnet.org.
Continue reading →Please Send Michael
I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.
In the book of Daniel we see a lot of spiritual warfare. In Daniel 10 we see Cyrus in the middle of a cosmic struggle that affected the destiny of not only his personal life or nation but of the entire world! In that struggle Michael comes on the scene to help Gabriel overcome evil in the cosmic battle. In Daniel 6 we see a cosmic battle between good and evil. This time Daniel is in the middle of the conflict, and he prays to his God who delivers him and sends his angels to shut the lions’ mouths. In Daniel 3, three Hebrews are tested in a spiritual battle, and they come out of the fire with flying colors and no burns at all. This time one like the Son of God appears in the fire with those who are caught in the literal crossfire of a cosmic battle. Amazing – whenever the cosmic battle gets intense, heavenly beings, even God Himself, shows up to defend his faithful followers. What about in Daniel 10, though? Was Michael another angel fighting for God’s people, or was Michael much more than an angel? Did Christ Himself show up to help Gabriel in the battle over Cyrus?
Recently I was studying with a man who believed Jesus was a really good person, even a savior who died for us, but he did not believe Jesus is God. I shared with him the importance of knowing Jesus is actually God. I asked him, “If your wife was trapped inside a burning building, which would convince her more that you love her – sending a fireman in to rescue her or going in yourself to rescue her?” He replied, “Going in myself.”
God the Son shows His love for us by dying Himself to rescue us.
In Daniel 10, Daniel is in a fierce spiritual battle when finally,
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Daniel 10:13 NKJV
In Daniel’s time of need did God send someone else to rescue Daniel, or did He demonstrate His love by rescuing Daniel Himself?
It’s easy for some to conclude, on surface reading, that Michael is just another angel. But as we look deeper, we see that Michael is actually the Son of God, who became incarnate as “Jesus,” coming to our rescue.
Archangel is a compound of two Greek words: “arche” which means beginning or commencement, and “aggelos” which means angel or messenger. The word arche is also closely related to the word “archo,” which means “to be first” or to “reign (rule) over.” Thus the “Archangel” is the One who began (created) the angels and reigns over them. That would be none other than Christ.
Bible scholars are in general agreement that an “archangel” is over the created angels. But not all agree that the Archangel is the Creator Himself.
Let’s look at a similar passage in which Christ is called the “beginning” of the creation of God:
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” (Rev 3:14)
In this text “arche” is translated as “beginning.” Is it not reasonable to conclude that since to all the other churches, the One speaking is Christ Himself, that this is clearly another description of Christ? Thus, it appears that in biblical usage, the “arch-creation” or “beginning of creation” means the Creator Himself.
Thus from the word usage, we could conclude that the “archangel” is also the Creator of the angels and not one of the created angels.
The name Michael means “One like God” or “There is no one else like God.” If Michael were only a created angel, then Lucifer’s aspiration to be “like God” could not be blasphemous and a reason for his expulsion from heaven. (See Isaiah 14:14.)
In Revelation 19:10 John starts to worship an angel and the angel tells him not to. Obviously this was a created angel who realized there was no way he, a created being could be equal with God. However, in Joshua 5, Joshua meets an Angel who accepts his worship, demonstrating that this was not a created angel, but the Angel who led Israel in the wilderness, referred to in Exodus 23:20-21:
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, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Notice that the implication that this Angel can forgive transgression. Who but God Himself can forgive transgression? The Jews knew this and accused Christ of blasphemy when He forgave sin. (See Matthew 9:2-6)
So how do we know in the Bible that Michael is the Son of God, now known as Jesus?
Daniel called Michael a chief prince. Who is our chief prince?
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given….. And His name will be called…. Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
Who did Jude 1:9 say raises the dead?
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 1:9
When Jesus comes, who raises the dead?
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
It is the Lord Himself who has the voice of the archangel. The same voice that Jesus said would raise the dead.
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. John 5:25
There are not two different persons who raise the dead. No created angel can raise the dead. Only Christ can do that.
While Michael rescued Daniel during his time of need, who will rescue us during our time of trouble?
“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. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake…..” Daniel 12:1-2
Michael, the Son of God Himself will come to our rescue! How assuring to know that God loves us too much to let someone else save and rescue us! He rescues us Himself! Yes God also send angels both terrestrial and celestial to help us in our time of needs, but He also loves us so much that He will finally come rescue all His people Himself!
Daniel 10 gives me comfort that, in my time of need, when I feel I am being overcome by Satan, I can cry out God, “Please send Michael!” And Michael, the Only one “like Unto God,” Yes God Himself will rescue me!
Are you in the middle of a spiritual warfare now, and feel like you are losing the battle? Don’t wait. Call for Michael, the Son of God Himself, now!
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
In Light of The Cross 