Jude - Contend for the Faith - Pt 4

 

Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” (Jude 8–9 ESV).

 

As is true in other parts of this short letter, Jude gives us a unique insight into the spiritual realm. In our reading today he mentions the Archangel Michael as he “contends” with the devil over the body of Moses. Now, the relative lack of detailed information about angels in Scripture when compared to other topics has not prevented theologians and Bible teachers from speculating about these supernatural creatures. Western art is filled with paintings and poems about angels. Hollywood tells stories on TV and in movies about angels. Several modern Christian best-selling novels have purported to pull back the curtain and let us see the spiritual warfare between angels and demons that is on-going in the unseen realm. So, it is common that many Christians have their view of angels more informed by these nonbiblical sources than by the Scripture.

 

When it comes to our my personal angelology (our study of angels) I do my best to avoid the extreme of speculating too much about what angels look like and what they do. At the same time, we must avoid the other extreme of not being aware of the angels at all. When God made the universe, He also directs and sustains all that is in it according to His eternal decree (cf. Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 1:1–4). Yet, He does not do this apart from the decisions and actions of His creatures, including human beings and angels. While His eternal plan governs all that happens, angels also act in creation and are secondary causes through whom God brings His purposes to pass. God is not the only supernatural being who acts in creation. The angels also do things.

 

We have seen the role angels play in the worship of God, but they also have been key actors in miracles such as the resurrection. Remember we are told that an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 28:1–10). Angels also seem to be active in guiding the course of human history, with particular angels assigned to nations and territories. For instance, the Scripture says that the angel Michael is the “great prince” with charge over Israel (cf. Daniel 12:1). And we also see Daniel refer to a battle between Michael and “the prince of Persia”—apparently an evil angel or demon (cf. Daniel 10:12–14). Michael intervened in the fight between another angel and this demon to give the angel a clear path to deliver the interpretation of a vision to Daniel.

 

Michael is identified in our reading as an archangel, indicating that he has some kind of leadership role in the angelic hierarchy. He and the other holy angels go to battle for the people of God as part of their assignment as ministers to believers (cf. Hebrews 1:13–14). Our Lord has created a vast angelic army to fight for us and to battle against the devil in order that His kingdom will advance.

 

God shows His tender care for His people in giving His angels to us to minister to us and to do battle for our sakes. We do not know how often the angels intervene to protect us, but we do know that their intervention under the direction of the Lord has done more for us than we can imagine. This certainly should prompt us to be thankful for these spiritual allies. And we should take great care not to fall into the trap of thinking that what we can see is more real than the supernatural beings whom we cannot. They are there! Thank God for His assignment on our behalf!