You see this picture quite often. Michael is positioned on the devils back with a scale and his sword raised in victory. I like that he is stepping on his head. You see cherubs in the clouds and a dove above his head.
Some of the others depict the devil in more detail but what matters to me most is that he is defeated. Michael is victorious, he is the angel over Israel, his name means who is like God. Personally, I believe he is the closest to Jesus.
I believe that he is the angel that returns with him, hence the phrase with the shout of an archangel. There are those that would teach that Jesus and he or perhaps Gabriel are the same but that is not the case, The Bible makes it clear.
While Jesus was secreted throughout the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord, as we discussed earlier, He is never called Michael or Gabriel, and while God or Elohim as he was called may have mentioned angels as the sons of God, it is not that He fathered them, they were created, it was a term of endearment just as we are termed His sons and daughters.
Lucifer, was created, God did not create sin, but free will. the devil is a fallen angel, he was never the brother of Jesus. Jesus was and is the only begotten and beloved Son of God and that by an Immaculate conception as the Holy Spirit entrusted Mary’s womb with the Savior of the world.
There is way too much irreverence and disrespect for holy and sacred things, in the days of these paintings, people were aware of what the Church taught. Many people came to believe that Catholics, were worshiping angels and exalting Mary above Jesus, I don’t think that is true of most people. There are extremes on all sides.
Perhaps Protestants and the Reformation changed how some looked at angels, also those who claim to have had visitations and started their own religions. But angels have always portrayed by artists and I love those old paintings, whether they are accurate depictions of them or just an artist’s rendering, we know from Psalm 103 that they excel in strength. One statue of Michael is twice as tall as a person. I’m glad he is on our side.
Michael is clearly identified as having contended with the devil for the body of Moses. He also did not have to rail or be loud, he was just victorious. God buried Moses. And he came to help Daniel, when the Prince of Persia, is blocking his prayers, in Daniel 10:13, and he stands guard over Israel in Daniel 12:1. Jude 1:9 also mentions him in reference to Moses body again.
1 Thessalonians 4:16, Michael accompanies Jesus with the shout of the archangel and trumpet, the return of Christ, or the rapture, catching away of the church. And I realize there are different opinions on that. In Revelation 12:7, we see Michael again going up against the devil. Of course, he is always the victor as Jesus is. No matter how much the devil thinks he is winning, he is a defeated foe.
While this is a reference to a war breaking out in heaven, I believe that that occurred at the fall and that this is also a battle in the future, when Jesus will eventually defeat the Anti-Christ, and reign a thousand years before beginning eternity.
I am happy to know the Lord has placed everything and every time in a certain order, and has angels at the ready to gather a harvest of souls. it will be an interesting time in history to see heaven on earth again. And it will be nice to stand among the angels, ans walk with them on the golden streets of heaven. Rebecca Jones ( Remember to scroll back to read about angels all month long. )
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