Jude, Contention & Irreverence

Jude 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

This verse in Jude seems to be a direct reference to a pseudepigraphical book, the Testament of Moses, or the Assumption of Moses. Found only in fragmentary form, the writer appears to have recorded the story of what is here being described. Mind you, this is not a tacit or direct endorsement of extra-biblical or non-canonical works; read such material with a grain of salt since we know the Holy Spirit did not include them in the canon of Scripture for a reason, whatever that may be.

What we do know, is that Moses was buried in an undisclosed location by God Himself. “And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-Peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day,” Deuteronomy 34:6, KJV.  Moses died and was buried, and in the aftermath of his demise Satan contended with Michael the archangel regarding his body. We know that Israel was highly prone to idolatry; people like to have icons of their favorite gods in view of them, as if having a physical symbol somehow makes them closer to deity or more pious. Gideon’s household and all of Israel worshiped a golden ephod Gideon created toward the end of his life, leading the people into idolatry, Judges 8:27. Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent Moses crafted in the wilderness because the people had made it a religious icon, 2 Kings 18:4

It is possible (but not at all certain, for it is not recorded) that Satan wanted the body of Moses to use as an idolatrous object for Israel. It would stand to reason, since Moses was–and is–one of the greatest historical figures in Israel’s career. The archangel Michael contended with the Devil about the body, endeavoring to hinder whatever machinations Satan had in mind. We see Satan similarly scheming in Zechariah. The Devil opposed Joshua the high priest in the presence of the Angel of the Lord, a figure many consider to be the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, Zechariah 3:1. The Lord answers the Devil’s argumentation with, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Zechariah 3:2. Such was also the case with the patriarch Job. The Devil, in God’s very presence, accused Job of hypocrisy; that Job would only worship God when circumstance was favorable, Job 1:9-11. One can only imagine what Satan was saying about Joshua the high priest. The Devil is, of course, the accuser of the brethren. “The accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down,” Revelation 12:10. What he said about Job or Joshua (or Moses), he is saying about me and you, fellow believers. He spews vitriol and hatred because he hates God and those who belong to Him.

Scripture says of Michael, that he is Israel’s prince, Daniel 10:21. Now we must not mistake this as a confession of Michael being Christ; Gabriel is showing Daniel a little glimpse behind the mortal curtain to a spiritual war being fought. Michael is mentioned by name here, but in the verse prior both the prince of Persia and Greece are mentioned, being angelic powers just like Gabriel and Michael. So a prince seems to be an archangel or angelic power whose title includes the welfare of a specific country, as explained by the context in Daniel. In Michael’s case, he is Israel’s prince or archangel.

The term “arch” can mean “superior or chief.” This lends to what Gabriel says of Michael in Daniel, stating, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,” Daniel 10:13. The context strongly asserts that Michael, while a chief, or archangel, is not unique; his position or title is held by others of like power. Thus, Michael cannot be the Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Instead, he is, “The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your (Daniel’s) people,” Daniel 12:1. So “chief prince” of the OT may have its corollary in “archangel” of the NT.

Whereas Michael is given the title or position of archangel, Satan held a higher rank yet. Ezekiel writes, “You were the anointed cherub who covers,” Ezekiel 28:14. The prophet also records that Lucifer was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, Ezekiel 28:12. Yes, God addresses the king of Tyre in this passage, but as we have seen in Daniel, there are powers behind human government, and the king of Tyre is looked past to see the real head of the kingdom. Lucifer, meaning “Day Star”, sinned by wanting to replace God with himself, Isaiah 14:13. He wanted to exalt himself into a position greater than not only the stars (fellow angels) but above the Creator, too. Satan appears to have held the title of cherub, the closest rank of angel to God’s very throne. This is depicted in the Torah when the Ark of the Covenant is created and the cherubim with outstretched wings overshadow the mercy seat, Exodus 25:20.

The first mention of angels in Scripture (excluding the Devil) happened to be in Genesis chapter 3, involving the cherubim. “So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life,” Genesis 3:24. The use of the word cherubim connotes that multiple cherubs were employed at Eden’s entrance. Satan may have been the greatest of these mightiest angels, once more seen in Ezekiel’s vision of the wheels of fire, Ezekiel 10:3-8. These same angels are found in Revelation surrounding the throne of God in Heaven, Revelation 4:6-8. They are always found in close proximity to the personal presence of the Almighty; such was the closeness of Lucifer before he fell.

Satan, it seems, held a higher position than Michael in the angelic order, hence the former’s unwillingness to revile him. In fact, the phrase, “dared not” reveals a fearful tone when addressing Satan, indicating that Michael was afraid to speak to Satan arrogantly. The false teachers, who are certainly of lower position than these angelic majesties (fallen or otherwise), speak without fear of repercussion, unaware that our Lord warns us that every word spoken we will give an account of, Matthew 12:36, 37.