Why do you believe that Jesus preexisted as Michael the Archangel?
Ok this one is a big one. big as in there is a lot of ground to cover if you go into it enough. I will try to keep it shorter than It can be.
Lets look at where Michael shows up in scripture and what we can learn about Him. but first lets us acknowledge the name.
Michael the name means "(one) who is like God"
There is a lot of confusion on archangels and Michael due to many different sources. here we will only acknowledge what the Bible says about it. lets start with passages that actually mention Michael.
Dan 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo,
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Dan 10:20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Dan 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but
Michael your prince.
Notice here that Michael is one of the chief princes. chief means first, head, boss man. while prince means leader, Lord, Master etc. this indicates that Michael is in line for the throne. we also see him working behind the scenes with Gabriel to ensure that God's will actually occurs.
here again:
Dan 12:1 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.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Now he is called the GREAT prince. this even further upholds this Michael in high regard and authority.
Now notice that when this Michael stand up the time of trouble starts and God's people are delivered. Why when Michael stands up? why not God? why not Jesus? and why is Michael described as the one who stands as protector for the children of thy people?
Jud 1:9 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.
Now we see Michael confronting Satan when Moses was resurrected. why would God send an angel to confront Satan? I would like to note something here.
Archangel is a misunderstood term. mostly because people do not understand Greek. Angel means messenger and arch means head. so the term hear means head messenger. or leader of the angels.
another thing notice that Michael says to the devil, "The Lord rebuke thee." This term is one that is only found in one other place in the Bible and it is God himself speaking. This makes sense being that there is none higher in which to speak of.
Zec 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
If you read around this text it is clear that something similar is being portrayed. Joshua is standing before God and Satan comes to stop God from taking Joshua as His own. but God says "The Lord rebuke thee" This was a vision. but notice the parallels We have someone who is on our side who stands for us. and satan who stands against us. who other than Jesus stands for us?
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Notice here we have a war in heaven between the dragon and his angels, which we know is Satan and his angels and Michael and his angels. The war in heaven is important, so why is God or Jesus not involved. why are the angels Michaels angels and not Gods?
Just reading these few texts from the Bible seem to create more questions than answers. Who is Michael anyway? Michael is the archangel, the chief of the angels. He is described as one of the chief princes and our prince. When He stands up, things happen. He is described as standing for the children of thy people. So when He stands, there is a time of trouble that results in God's people being delivered, every one who's name if found written in the book. He contends directly against Satan and the angels in heaven are described as being Michael's angels.
So, I want to ask you a question. Because Michael does things that we might think God or Jesus should be doing: Is it possible that Michael could be Jesus Christ? To answer this question, I will explore the evidence from the Bible.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Here we see the Lord coming from heaven and he is shouting with the voice of an archangel. Those of you who know how Greek works will know that this voice is being directly connected as the voice of the Lord. and not someone or something that is speaking on His behalf.
now lets have a look at what Christ said when he was on earth:
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Here we have proof from Jesus own mouth that shows it is actually Jesus who speaks and then the dead in Christ rise. according to John 5 Jesus must be the one who speaks in Thessalonians. Thus with Jesus' words we know that 1 thessalonians means that Jesus descends from heaven with the voice of the Archangel. we see in both of these that it is the voice that causes the dead to come to life. thus they must be the same person.
I will continue on this study later I have run out of time. next we will go into how Jesus is called the angel of the Lord in the old testament. which simply means messenger of the Lord. Before I go I want to make on thing clear. I do not believe that Jesus is created. Jesus is God and has always been God. Michael is just a name he had before he became a man. Revelation says he has received a new name. we will look further into this when I have time. but know this. we have just started scratching the surface of the evidence that Michael is another name for the one we know as Jesus. and he is not an angel but God.
Blessings all