In this post (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/28/is-michael-the-ruler-of-israel-further-proof-that-jesus-isnt-an-archangel-pt-2/), I am going to provide further evidence that Jesus cannot be the archangel Michael because of his being the heir to the Davidic throne since this requires him to be a physical descendant of David.

Note the words of the risen Lord, which he made known to John in the revelation given to him:   

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you about these things for the congregations. I AM the root and the OFFSPRING of David and the bright morning star.’… ” Revelation 22:16

Christ claims to still be an offspring of David as he reigns from God’s throne in heaven.

Now, this in itself sufficiently refutes Arian heretics such as Greg Stafford since neither Stafford nor the Jehovah’s Witnesses from which he defected believe that Jesus still exists as a human being. They think that the man Jesus is forever dead and that the archangel Michael was recreated with the memories of the earthly Jesus.

In other words, these heretics actually hold to the view that the One identifying himself as Jesus to John in Revelation is in actuality the spirit creature called Michael who has been implanted with memories of the earthly Christ.

However, such an interpretation is refuted by the plain words of Christ to John who not only continues to identify himself as Jesus, and whom the Apostle also calls Jesus,

“The one who bears witness of these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen! Come, Lord JESUS.’ May the undeserved kindness of the Lord JESUS be with the holy ones.” Revelation 22:20-21

But also by the risen Lord’s claim of still being a physical descendant of David, which he could not be if he were no longer human.(1)

It gets worse for these Arians. Just like Acts and Hebrews, Revelation ascribes Psalm 2 to Christ in the very chapter that Stafford uses to try to identify Jesus as Michael!

“Then a great sign was seen in heaven: A woman was arrayed with the sun, and the moon was beneath her feet, and on her head was a crown of 12 stars,  and she was pregnant. And she was crying out in her pains and in her agony to give birth. Another sign was seen in heaven. Look! A great fiery-colored dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and on its heads seven diadems; and its tail drags a third of the starsc of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth, it might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God and where they would feed her for 1,260 days. And war broke out in heaven: Miʹcha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devill and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God!’” Revelation 12:1-10

The following are the verses from Psalm 2, which John has attributed to Christ in describing his birth, heavenly ascension, and enthronement:

“Why are the nations agitated And the peoples muttering an empty thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And high officials gather together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one. They say: ‘Let us tear off their shackles And throw off their ropes!’… ‘Ask of me, and I will give nations as your inheritance And the ends of the earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, And you will smash them like a piece of pottery.’” Psalm 2:1-3, 8-9

How ironic that this Psalm, which speaks of the Davidic King, is cited in the very context where Michael is described as casting Satan out of heaven since this shows that Michael and Christ cannot be the same Person, thereby refuting Arian cultists like Stafford.

Here is a breakdown of all the points I have raised thus far:

1. Jesus is described as still being a physical human descendant of David as he sits enthroned in heaven.
2. Psalm 2, which the Christian Scriptures interpret as a prophecy of the Messiah, is attributed to Jesus in Revelation 12, the very same chapter where Michael is depicted as hurling Satan to the earth.
3. Jesus, therefore, reigns from God’s heavenly throne as a Son of David, in fulfillment of God’s promises to David.
4. The book of Hebrews expressly teaches that God has not assigned any angelic creature the authority to rule on the throne as David’s heir.
5. Since Michael is a created archangel he cannot be David’s heir, nor could he be seated on God’s heavenly throne on behalf of David.
6. This, in turn, proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus cannot be the archangel angel.

There is simply no way around this for Stafford and his fellow Arian heretics.

I’m not through yet since I have one final section to my rebuttal (https://islamunmasked.com/2019/08/29/is-michael-the-ruler-of-israel-further-proof-that-jesus-isnt-an-archangel-pt-4/).

Endnotes

(1) Revelation isn’t the only book to affirm that Jesus still exists as a physically embodied human being. The following verses testify that Christ is still a man with a glorified physical body of flesh:

“While they were speaking of these things, he himself stood in their midst and said to them: ‘May you have peace.’ But because they were terrified and frightened, they imagined that they were seeing a spirit. So he said to them: ‘Why are you troubled, and why have doubts come up in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones just AS YOU SEE THAT I HAVE.’ And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they were still not believing for sheer joy and amazement, he said to them: ‘Do you have something there to eat?’ So they handed him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it before their eyes.” Luke 24:36-43

“But Thomas, one of the Twelve, who was called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him: ‘We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them: ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side, I will never believe it.’ Well, eight days later his disciples were again indoors, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and he stood in their midst and said: ‘May you have peace.’ Next he said to Thomas: ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands, and take your hand and stick it into my side, and stop doubting but believe.’ In answer Thomas said TO HIM: ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him: ‘Because you have seen me, have you believed? Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’” John 20:24-29

“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… 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.” Acts 2:24, 29-32

“True, God has overlooked the times of such ignorance; but now he is declaring to all people everywhere that they should repent. Because he has set a day on which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by A MAN whom he has appointed, and he has provided a guarantee to all men by resurrecting him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, A MAN, Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5

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