Hey Pastor John,
I was reading in Jude and had a question about a verse. Your translation of Jude 1:9 says, “Yet, Michael the archangel, when opposing the Accuser, disputing about the body of Moses, did not presume to bring against him a railing accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.””
I am curious what Jude meant by this. Are there any other instances when this dispute between Michael and Satan is mentioned? Is this related to Moses having a role as one of the end-time witnesses that are mentioned in Revelation? Just wondering if you know of any additional context that I am missing.
Thanks,
Caleb
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Very good questions, Caleb!
First, Michael’s phrase, “The Lord rebuke you,” sounds to us like “a railing accusation”, but it was not. It was a way of saying, in this instance, “God has refused to give you what you want.” In Zechariah, when Satan lost his court case against Israel’s high priest, the angel said the same thing to Satan, “the Lord rebuke you”, which was also not “a railing accusation”, but only an announcement to Satan that he had lost his case.
Michael’s rebuke of Satan may indeed have something to do with Moses being one of God’s Two Witnesses in Revelation 11. That is an eye-opening thought, there. Thanks for that. It’s obvious that Satan wanted Moses’ dead body for something, even though we are not told what his reasons were.
Later in the Father and Son book reading, you will see that Michael and Satan have never gotten along well, but that insight has to be pieced together from a number of scriptures. It is interesting to me that in the end, Jesus will grant Michael the honor of casting Satan and his angels out of heaven. That almost seems like a reward for all the trouble Michael has had with Satan though the millennia.
Thank you for the questions.
Pastor John
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