Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The man who controls great armies must first control himsel.
Friday, August 1, 2003
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the commander in chief of the army of elect angels, under the title of Adonai tsebaah- the Lord of Hosts.
2. The arch angels, or army commanders – Michael and Gabriel. Extra-biblically (in the book of Enoch), Raphael and Uriel are mentioned as archangels.
Michael commands the army of angels who defend Israel, so he has an additional title – the prince of Israel,
DAN 10:21.
In the past Michael fought with Satan over the body of Moses,
2PE 2:11, JUD 1:9.
Gabriel is not only an archangel or army commander, but he is an officer of arms in the angelic college of Heralds.
Gabriel was commissioned to explain to Daniel the vision of the Ram and He Goat, Dan 8; and Gabriel was sent to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist.
3. The angelic general staff, Rev 4, 5; we have studied them in connection with leading in the worship in heaven.
4. Tsebaoth – there are quite a number of categories among elect angels in that particular group.
“Hosts” = rank and file angels, all guardian angels, PSA 91:11f. The function of these angelic armies is described in PSA 103:21 as praising the Lord.
PSA 103:21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.
PSA 148:2 Praise Him, all His angels, Praise Him all His armies of angels.
When an elect angel announced to the shepherds the birth of our Lord, he was joined by multitudes of heavenly armies praising God, LUK 2:13.
We have ministering angels included in this group, HEB 1:14.
Satan and his special imperial guard, plus all other categories of fallen angels, and also a great many of the elect angels.
This battle in heaven precedes the Armageddon campaign, which breaks out shortly thereafter on earth.
At the Second Advent he’s going to lose once more, and he’s going to be confined to a part of Hades, called the Abyss, and he will be in the Abyss for one thousand years, in prison, REV 20:1-3.
Polemos – very rarely used as a war.
Polemos – used generally for a battle, or for a campaign.
En + locative of ouranos = “in heaven” – an interesting terrain for a battle.
One of the most important things about fighting a battle and making decisions, is timing.
The one who actually makes the choice of battlefield and timing usually wins the battle, wins the campaign, and if he does it often enough, he wins the war.
One of the greatest blessings in life for any member of the human race, including everyone here tonight, is to have good timing.
You can do a right thing at the wrong time and it is still wrong.
To try to straighten someone out when it is none of your business.
If God straightened out the person it would be the right time, when you try to straighten out someone it is the wrong time.
“Waging war” – aor-act-inf – polemeo = to fight a battle, to engage in warfare. “Michael and his army of elect angels fought against.”
Michael and the army of elect angels won the battle because in the Greek you generally have the winner mentioned first, and he won the battle so that Satan and his third demon assault army were driven out of heaven, confined to planet earth.
From the word order in the Greek it is concluded that the attack was initiated by Michael, and the elect army of angels.
Michael is the greatest illustration of leadership in the angelic realm because of his tremendous self-restraint.
You cannot control others if you do not have control of yourself.
A victory over ourselves is a greater accomplishment than a victory over others.
PRO 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
Even people who deserve slandering are not to be slandered.
Even people who are wrong, even people who are evil, are not to be slandered.
When you slander someone else you are blaspheming God, you are saying that God is not in control, you are saying that there are creatures who are greater than the creator, and that is blasphemous.
If the Lord tells Michael, that you cannot slander Satan, and He knows a great deal more about that than we do, then who are we?