I resume from where I left off (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/20/is-michael-the-ruler-of-israel-further-proof-that-jesus-isnt-an-archangel-pt-1/).

The Scriptures teach that, though Jehovah alone was to be King over Israel,

“Later the men of Israel said to Gidʹe·on: ‘Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson as well, for you saved us out of the hand of Midʹi·an.’ But Gidʹe·on said to them: ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. Jehovah is the one who will rule over you.’” Judges 8:22-23

Israel demanded that God raise up for them a human ruler so that they could be more like the surrounding nations. Suffice it to say, this grieved the heart of Jehovah even though he acquiesced to their demands:

“In time all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Raʹmah. They said to him: ‘Look! You have grown old, but your sons are not walking in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the other nations.’ But it displeased Samuel when they said: ‘Give us a king to judge us.” Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah, and Jehovah said to Samuel: ‘Listen to everything the people say to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but it is I whom they have rejected as their king. They are doing just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day; they keep forsaking meg and serving other gods, and that is what they are doing to you. Now listen to them. However, you should solemnly warn them; tell them what the king who rules over them will have the right to demand.’” 1 Samuel 8:4-9

“When you saw that Naʹhash, the king of the Amʹmon·ites, had come against you, you kept saying to me, ‘No, we are determined to have a king over us!’ even though Jehovah your God is your King. Now here is the king whom you have chosen, the one you asked for. Look! Jehovah has appointed a king over you. If you fear Jehovah and serve him and obey his voice and you do not rebel against the order of Jehovah, and both you and the king who reigns over you follow Jehovah your God, fine.” 1 Samuel 12:12-14

God eventually singled out David and his household to be the human heirs of Jehovah’s earthly throne in Jerusalem:

“‘When your days come to an end and you go to be with your forefathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your sons, and I will firmly establish his kingship. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will firmly establish his throne forever. I will become his father, and he will become my son. I will not remove my loyal love from him the way I removed it from the one who was prior to you. I will cause him to stand in my house and in my kingship forever, and his throne will last forever.’ Nathan told David all these words and this entire vision.” 1 Chronicles 17:11-15

“Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brothers and my people. It was my heart’s desire to build a house as the resting-place for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah and as the footstool of our God, and I made preparations to build. But the true God told me, “You will not build a house for my name, for you are a man of wars, and you have shed blood.” However, Jehovah the God of Israel chose me out of all the house of my father to become king over Israel FOREVER, for he chose Judah as leader and of the house of Judah, my father’s house, and of my father’s sons, I was the one whom he approved, to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons—for Jehovah has given me many sons—he chose my son Solʹo·mon to sit on the throne of the kingship of Jehovah over Israel. He said to me, “Your son Solʹo·mon is the one who will build my house and my courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son and I will become his father. I will firmly establish his kingship forever if he resolutely observes my commandments and my judicial decisions, as he is now doing.’” 1 Chronicles 28:2-7

“And Solʹo·mon sat on Jehovah’s throne as king in place of David his father, and he was successful, and all the Israelites were obedient to him. All the princes, the mighty warriors, and also all the sons of King David submitted themselves to Solʹo·mon the king. And Jehovah made Solʹo·mon exceedingly great before the eyes of all Israel and bestowed on him royal majesty such as no king over Israel ever had before.” 1 Chronicles 29:23-25

“When the queen of Sheʹba had seen Solʹo·mon’s wisdom the house that he built, the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the table service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his burnt sacrifices that he regularly offered up at the house of Jehovah, she was left completely breathless.  So she said to the king… ‘May Jehovah your God be praised, who has taken pleasure in you by putting you on his throne as king for Jehovah your God. Because your God loves Israel, in order to make it continue forever, he appointed you over it as king to administer justice and righteousness.”” 2 Chronicles 9:3-5, 8

“And now you think you can hold your own against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David because you are a large crowd and you have the golden calves that Jer·o·boʹam made as gods for you.” 2 Chronicles 13:8

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will firmly establish your offspring forever, And I will build up your throne for all generations.’… At that time you spoke in a vision to your loyal ones and said: ‘I have granted strength to a mighty one; I have exalted a chosen one from among the people. I have found David my servant; With my holy oil I have anointed him. My hand will support him, And my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will exact tribute from him, And no unrighteous man will oppress him. I will crush to pieces his adversaries from before him And strike down those who hate him. My faithfulness and loyal love are with him, And in my name his strength will be exalted. I will put his hand over the sea And his right hand over the rivers. He will call out to me: “You are my Father, My God and the Rock of my salvation.” And I will place him as firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my loyal love for him forever, And my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his offspring forever And make his throne as enduring as the heavens. If his sons leave my law And do not walk according to my decrees, If they violate my statutes And do not keep my commandments,  Then I will punish their disobedience with a rod And their error with flogging. But I will never abandon my loyal love for him Nor be untrue to my promise. I will not violate my covenant Or change what my lips have spoken. I have sworn in my holiness, once and for all; I will not tell lies to David. His offspring will endure forever; His throne will endure like the sun before me. Like the moon, it will be firmly established forever As a faithful witness in the skies.’ (Selah)” Psalm 89:3-4, 19-37

“For the sake of David your servant, Do not reject your anointed one. Jehovah has sworn to David; He will surely not go back on his word: ‘One of your offspring, I will place on your throne. If your sons keep my covenant And my reminders that I teach them, Their sons too Will sit on your throne forever.’” Psalm 132:10-12

The God-breathed revelation is, thus, emphatically clear that Jehovah alone rules Israel from heaven while granting the household of David the authority to reign over God’s inheritance on earth. God has not given anyone other than the human descendants of David this honor of ruling Israel as his earthly representatives.

This is why Jesus became a human descendant of David, i.e., God’s Son became a Son of David for the express purpose of fulfilling God’s promise to his servant that he would never fail to have a man sitting on the throne in his behalf:

“The book of the history of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:” Matthew 1:1

“When he heard that it was Jesus the Naz·a·reneʹ, he started shouting and saying: ‘Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!’ At this many began rebuking him, telling him to be silent, but all the more he kept shouting: ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Mark 10:47-48

“In her sixth month, the angel Gaʹbri·el was sent from God to a city of Galʹi·lee named Nazʹa·reth, to a virgin promised in marriage to a man named Joseph of David’s house, and the name of the virgin was Mary. And coming in, the angel said to her: ‘Greetings, you highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.’ But she was deeply disturbed at his words and tried to understand what kind of greeting this might be. So the angel said to her: ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And look! you will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as King over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end to his Kingdom.’ But Mary said to the angel: ‘How is this to be, since I am not having sexual relations with a man?’ In answer the angel said to her: ‘Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason the one who is born will be called holy, God’s Son.” Luke 1:26-35

“concerning his Son, who came to be from the offspring of David according to the flesh, but who with power was declared God’s Son according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead—yes, Jesus Christ our Lord. ” Romans 1:3-4

“Remember that Jesus Christ was raised up from the dead and was David’s offspring, according to the good news I preach,” 2 Timothy 2:8

These next passages are quite interesting:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus the Naz·a·reneʹ was a man publicly shown to you by God through powerful works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. This man, who was handed over by the determined will and foreknowledge of God, you fastened to a stake by the hand of lawless men, and you did away with him. But God resurrected him by releasing him from the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held fast by it. For David says about him: ‘I keep Jehovah constantly in front of me, for he is at my right hand that I may never be shaken.  On this account my heart became cheerful and my tongue rejoiced greatly. And I will reside in hope; because you will not leave me in the Grave, nor will you allow your loyal one to see corruption. You have made life’s ways known to me; you will fill me with great joy in your presence.’ Men, brothers, it is permissible to speak with freeness of speech to you about the family head David, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one of his offspring on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in the Grave nor did his flesh see corruption. God resurrected this Jesus, and of this we are all witnesses. Therefore, because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you see and hear. For David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.’ Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you executed on a stake.” Acts 2:22-36

“After this he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. But afterward they demanded a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. After removing him, he raised up for them David as king, about whom he bore witness and said: ‘I have found David the son of Jesʹse a man agreeable to my heart; he will do all the things I desire.’ According to his promise, from the offspring of this man, God has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus… So we are declaring to you the good news about the promise made to the forefathers. God has completely fulfilled it to us, their children, by resurrecting Jesus; just as it is written in the second psalm: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ And the fact that He resurrected him from the dead never again to return to corruption, He has stated in this way: ‘I will give you the expressions of loyal love promised to David, which are faithful.’ So it also says in another psalm: ‘You will not allow your loyal one to see corruption.’ David, on the one hand, rendered service to God in his own generation, fell asleep in death, was laid with his forefathers, and did see corruption. On the other hand, the one whom God raised up did not see corruption.” Acts 13:20b-23, 33-37

The above citations from Acts quote the following OT texts as prophecies, which the Lord Jesus fulfilled by his resurrection and subsequent physical ascension into heaven:

“Saying: ‘I myself have installed my king On Zion, my holy mountain.’ Let me proclaim the decree of Jehovah; He said to me: ‘You are my son; Today I have become your father.’” Psalm 2:6-7

“Of David. A melody. Jehovah declared to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand Until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.’ Jehovah will extend the scepter of your power out of Zion, saying: ‘Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.’” Psalm 110:1-2

These texts will prove quite significant as I am about to show in my explanation of their use in the book of Hebrews.

This is where the problem lies for Arian cultists like Greg Stafford since the foregoing shows that no angelic creature can ever rule over Israel, whether in heaven or on the earth. In fact, this is precisely the argument made by Paul in his inspired letter to the Hebrews:

“So he has become better than the angels to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs. For example, to which one of the angels did God ever say: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father’? And again: ‘I will become his father, and he will become my son’? But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: ‘And let ALL of God’s angels do obeisance to him.’ Also, he says about the angels: ‘He makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.’ But about the Son, he says: ‘God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your companions.’ And: ‘At the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; and just like a garment, they will all wear out, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as a garment, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never come to an end.’ But about which of the angels has he ever said: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet’? Are they not all spirits for holy service, sent out to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:4-14

Not only does Paul apply the same two Psalms, which the book of Acts attributed to the Lord Jesus, he also ascribes the following Psalm to the risen Christ:

“My heart is stirred by something good. I say: “My song is about a king.’…  Your arrows are sharp, making peoples fall before you; They pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies. God is your throne forever and ever; The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated wickedness. That is why God, your God, has anointed your with the oil of exultations more than your companions… And the king will long for your beauty, For he is your lord, So bow down to him.” Psalm 45:1, 5-7, 11

The blessed Apostle’s point is crystal clear.

Since Jesus is the Davidic Messiah, the physical descendant of David who reigns upon God’s throne on behalf of his physical ancestor, he cannot be the archangel Michael since the Holy Bible as a whole, and the book of Hebrews in particular, explicitly deny that God has granted any angelic creature the authority to reign over Israel, or appointed an angel to become the heir to the Davidic throne.

I will break this down for the benefit of the readers so they can better grasp the biblical force of this argument:

1. Jehovah alone rules Israel from heaven.
2. Jehovah has only granted the physical descendants of David the authority to reign over his people from Jehovah’s earthly throne in Jerusalem.
3. Jesus Christ now sits enthroned in heaven as the heir of David so as to fulfill the promises that God made to David.
4. Jesus, therefore, cannot be an angelic spirit creature since no created angel can reign on God’s throne in heaven over Israel, or rule on behalf of David in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant.

Greg Stafford’s and his fellow Arians’ woes are far from over, as I am about to document in the third part of my discussion (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/29/is-michael-the-ruler-of-israel-further-proof-that-jesus-isnt-an-archangel-pt-3/).

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