THE ARCHANGEL AND HIS TRUMPET

I’ve always loved music. As far back as I can remember, music has been a big part of my life. I wrote my first song when I was only 3 years old, with my grandmother, and sister. Growing up, I slept with the radio on all night long. I’ve enjoyed listening to all types of music over the years, but I listen mostly to Christian music these days, and I have to say, there’s a lot of false doctrine in Christian music. If you’ve read any of my books or my blog, you know that I truly believe the Bible is the Holy Word of God, and that it’s true from cover to cover. I believe it’s very important to understand the truth of God’s word and to make people aware of false doctrines that they may believe.

Bible doctrine is like a chain. Each subject is like a link in that chain, and they all fit together perfectly if they’re understood correctly. But, if even one of those doctrines is misunderstood, then the chain is broken. I believe that’s one reason there are so many false doctrines because if one doctrine is misunderstood then the other doctrines don’t fit, so people misinterpret, and even twist the next link in the chain to fit with the previous link because it is misunderstood.

With that said, I want to talk about a false teaching that I’ve heard all my life, and continue to hear in Christian music, and preaching. Going back to the subject of my love for music, which I listen to every day on my way home from work, and sometimes in the morning on the way to work, if I’m not listening to talk radio.

I frequently hear songs that say something about Gabriel blowing his horn or trumpet. I’ve also heard and read that he’s an archangel.

Gabriel is only mentioned four times in the Bible, (Dan 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19; 26) and neither of these references says he’s an archangel. Michael is the only one ever called an archangel in God’s book (Jude 1:9), and he’s called THE Archangel. There’s only one Archangel mentioned in the Bible, and there’s a reason for that.

According to the Strong’ Concordance of the Bible, the word Archangel means Chief, Leader, or Ruler of the angels. So the Archangel is the leader of the angels or the chief or ruler of the angels, and as I said, the Bible only mentions one. Michael is THE Archangel; not Gabriel.

Now let’s talk about Gabriel’s trumpet. A simple Bible search finds no reference to Gabriel blowing a horn or trumpet at any time. As I said, Gabriel is only mentioned four times in the Bible.

(1) In Daniel 8:16, and (2) Daniel 9:21, Gabriel is sent to Daniel to help him understand the vision that God had shown him earlier.
(3) In Luke 1:19, Gabriel appears to Zachariah to tell him that God had heard and would answer his prayer to have a son, even though he and his wife were both old.
(4) In Luke 1:26, Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary to tell her she would have a baby who would be the Son of God, and she was to name him Jesus.

None of these verses, that talk about Gabriel, ever mention him blowing a horn or a trumpet. So let’s look at the verses in the Bible that do mention the trumpet. We’ll start with Matthew 24:30-31.

Matthew 24:30-31
30 Then, the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and then all the people of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory.
31 Then, he will send his angels with the loud sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his saints from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Look, I will show you a mystery; We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet: because the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised immortal, and we will be changed.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
16 Because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and those who are dead in Jesus will rise first.

Those three New Testament verses talk about the last trumpet blowing at the resurrection when Jesus returns. Let’s compare three Old Testament verses with these and see what’s revealed.

Psalm 47:5
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD went up with the sound of a trumpet.

Zechariah 9:14
14 And the LORD will be seen over them, and his arrow will go out as the lightning: and the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south.

Jeremiah 25:30
30 So prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, The LORD will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will roar mightily upon his habitation; he will give a shout, as those who stomp the grapes, against all those who live on the earth.

These Old Testament verses show the Lord blowing the trumpet, and shouting. Is 1 Thessalonians 4:16 saying that the Lord is the Archangel, as some Christians believe? Let’s read it again.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
16 Because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout, (He Shouts) with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and those who are dead in Jesus will rise first.

So, the Lord Jesus himself will come down from heaven and shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and he will blow the trumpet of God.

The Lord Jesus himself is the Archangel. That doesn’t mean he’s an angel, with wings. He’s NOT a created being. He’s God, the Son. Remember, the term Archangel means Chief, or Leader, or Ruler. It’s Jesus, NOT Gabriel, who will shout with the voice of the Archangel, and blow the last trumpet, as he leads all the angels of heaven to the earth at the end of this world.

Again, Jesus is not a created being. He has always existed. That’s not easy for the human mind to comprehend, but that’s what the Bible teaches. He was there at creation (John 1:1-14), he was there in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), he wrestled with Jacob (Gen. 32:24-30; 35:10-13; Hosea 12:2-5), and he was in the furnace of fire with the three Hebrews (Daniel 3:8-30). He led the Israelites out of Egypt, and through the wilderness for forty years, and into the promised land (Numbers 20:16; Exodus 14:19; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Let’s clear up one more subject of controversy as we unpack this even further, and dig a little deeper. Numbers 20:16, and Exodus 14:19 say that God sent an angel and brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt. 1 Corinthians 10:4 says that “angel” was Jesus. Again, Jesus is not a created being. The word “angel” simply means messenger. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

Malachi 3:1 says he’s the “Messenger” of the Covenant.
John 12:49 shows us that he’s the “Messenger” of God.

So, Jesus is the “Messenger of God” and the “Ruler of the angels.” He’s also called the “Angel of God” and the “Angel of the Lord” throughout the Bible. He’s referred to by many names and titles in the Bible, but he was not called Jesus until he was born as a baby to the virgin Mary. Before that, he was called Michael. Yes, the Bible teaches that Jesus is Michael, the Archangel. The “Messenger of God,” and the “Ruler of the angels.”

Let’s compare a few scriptures.

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
Michael is called the Chief Prince, and the Great Prince. (Daniel 10:13 and Daniel 12:1)

Jesus will return with his angels. (Matthew 24:30-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8)
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. (Revelation 12:7)

Jesus’s voice will raise the dead at the 2nd coming. (John 5:25-29)
Michael’s voice will raise the dead at the 2nd coming. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16; Jude 1:9)

Jesus Cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, Come Out!” (John 11:43-44)
Then Lazarus was brought back to life.

Michael means “Who Is Like God”
Jesus is “Like God” (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3)
God says, “Who is like Me?” (Isaiah 44:6-8)
“Who is a God like You?” (Micah 7:18-19)

The Bible says, “No one has ever seen the Father at any time” (John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46). So all appearances of God in the Bible was Jesus before he was born into a human body. Many times he was called “the angel of the Lord.”

The Bible says God is a Spirit (John 4:24).
It also says God is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17).
So he needs a representative. Jesus is God’s representative.
The Word was God, and he was there at the beginning and created everything (John 1:1).
Then he became flesh and lived with us here on earth (John 1:14).
God created a human body for him to live in then placed him in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:26-35). That’s what the Father was referring to when he said, “This day, I have begotten you (Psalm 2:7; Hebrews 10:5; Micah 5:2).

1 Timothy 2:5 says, There’s only one mediator between God and mankind, and that’s Jesus who was called Michael before he was incarnated into a human body to be sacrificed for our sins.

Jesus, Michael, The Angel of God, and The Angel of The Lord, all refer to the Son of God.

In Exodus 3:1-2, 14, the “Angel of the Lord” appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and told him he was the “I AM.” When Jesus was here on earth, he said, “Before Moses was, I AM” (John 8:58-59). It was Jesus in the Burning Bush before he was called Jesus. He told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground where he was standing was holy. In Joshua 5:13-15 the Captain of the Lord’s host appeared to Joshua and told him the same thing. The ground wasn’t holy in itself, the presence of God is what made it holy. So this was also Michael/Jesus.

In Genesis 16:7, 11, the “Angel of the LORD” told Hagar that he would increase her seed. Angels don’t have that power. It was God/Michael/Jesus.

In Genesis 22:11-18, the “Angel of the LORD,” speaking of himself, said he would bless Abraham because he had not withheld his son from him. It was God/Michael/Jesus.

In Exodus 23:20-23, the “Angel of the Lord” was sent to guard Israel. God said, “Obey him and do not be rebellious toward him because he will not pardon your transgressions since my name is in him.

The Angel of the LORD camps around those who fear him, and rescues them (Psalm 34:7). We are to fear only God, not angels. The Angel of the LORD is God/Michael/Jesus.

So, there you have it. The Bible shows that Jesus is God, and he created everything. It shows that he has always existed, and has been interacting with humans since he created us. He is called Michael, the angel of the Lord, the Captain of the Lord’s army, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, the Son of man, and many other names in the Old Testament. 

He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, and he will return soon to take his children home. I hope you’re one of his children. If you’re not, then please repent of your sins, and ask him to save you. Then prepare to meet him face-to-face when he returns. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you then.

*For more about Jesus before he was born on earth, read the article One God.

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THE FLOOR, THE CAMERA, AND THE SANDWICH

I’ve already told you about my oldest memory, well I think this is my second oldest one. I remembered playing on the living room floor with a small toy car or truck in that little house my grandma was renting from the Richardsons in Theo, Mississippi. They also owned one of the little country stores that were there at the time.

I remember rolling a small ball around on the same floor. The floor wasn’t level so the ball would roll by itself. All I had to do was place it at the high point of the floor and let it go, then it would roll a couple of feet to hit the baseboard, and then come to a stop in the corner. I recall doing that over and over again. It never got old.

I also remember that part of the linoleum was torn back from the wall revealing another layer of older linoleum that was not torn as far from the wall as the top layer. The edges had been tacked down with those little black tacks. The raw wood floor was made of narrow boards, probably four or five inches wide.

Even though we moved from there when I was six or seven, I can still see much of the house in my mind. We have several pictures of the outside but I don’t think there were ever any taken on the inside. My grandmother had one of those old square shutter cameras without a flash. That’s the camera she used until she died. It had a viewfinder bubble, so you had to hold the camera down in front of you to see the image you wanted to take. Then you pushed a small handle down with your thumb to snap the picture. Then you had to manually turn a knob on the side to roll the film into position to take the next picture. They needed plenty of light to take a good picture so to get the best picture quality, outside on a sunny day was ideal.

The siding on the house was made of the same stuff roofing shingles are made from today but it was in big sheets. The roof was covered with corrugated sheets of rusty tin, and there was a small porch at the front of the house where my grandmother would often sit and watch us play in the front yard. We never got too far away from her. She was our protection and our lifeline and I guess we knew it even at such a young age.

In the backyard, we had a small garden in the summer. I remember almost stepping on a snake in that garden and being pulled back by my aunt just in time. When my grandmother first told me the story of Peter Rabbit, that was the garden I pictured in my mind. There was a clothesline strung between two trees at the end of the garden.

One day as she was hanging out clothes, I noticed a knot on a tree, about a foot up from the ground. I ran and jumped on the knot with one foot, then pushed myself off of it and landed back on the ground. I liked that, so I did it again. My grandmother said to me, “Stop before you get hurt.” I thought to myself, “Just one more time.” As I jumped up one last time, my foot slipped off the knot, and instead of bouncing off the tree, my chin slid down the tree, ripping the skin off in several strips. Owhhhhhhhh! I still remember the pain and embarrassment.

Closer to the house there was a spot where the wood for the heater was piled each winter. One winter we had a pile of slabs from the sawmill. I remember picking up boards about two feet long and throwing them higher onto the woodpile. That was also the spot where we would later tie our dog named Clete that we got from our uncle.

It was cold outside, but we were usually pretty warm in our little house, thanks to my grandmother, and our little wood heater, both provided by God, by the way. There was a pan to put the ashes into before carrying them out of the house when the heater would get too full. It always stayed in front of the heater to catch anything that might fall out while stoking the fire or putting more wood in.

I don’t remember where we had been that day, but we had just come home. My grandmother started a fire and put a couple of chairs in front of the heater so we could get warmed up while she fixed us something to eat. Soon, she brought me and my sister each a sandwich on a plate, and then went back into the kitchen.

Now, I never remember wasting food unless it tasted really bad, or unless I found a hair in it, but my little sister was a picky eater. If she didn’t want it, she got rid of it. She took one of her pieces of bread off her sandwich and threw it in the ash pan. Then she folded her other piece in half around her bologna slice.

When our grandmother came back from the kitchen, she saw that piece of bread in the ashpan. For some reason, she slapped me on the leg as she asked me, “Why did you throw that piece of bread in there?” I started crying. I think it was more because she accused me of something I didn’t do, more than the actual slap itself. When I explained what had actually happened, she apologized. After I stopped crying, I finished my sandwich and went on with my life.

I tell you that story because I remember it, not because I hold a grudge against my grandmother. She wasn’t perfect. She made mistakes, just like all parents do, but she loved us and she did the best she could. I don’t hold any grudges against my mom and dad for not raising us either. Too often, people can’t move on in life because they refuse to forgive their parents for the mistakes they made in raising them, but holding on to anger will eat you up inside and you’ll be a miserable person. It robs you of God’s blessings and his forgiveness.

Jesus said if we don’t forgive others, then God won’t forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15). If we’re not forgiven then we won’t make it to heaven, and that would be sad. So if you’re holding on to some hurt because of something someone has done to you, forgive them and be free from that burden Give it to Jesus and move on. Instead of dwelling on hurtful memories, choose to remember good times. The more time we spend with the good memories, the less time we’ll have to think about the bad ones. Try it. It really helps.

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FOCUS ON JESUS, NOT ON SIN

As I’ve said before, I was raised in church, and I was taught to believe in God, but I was 19 years old before I truly got to know Jesus. That was quite some time ago. Much has happened since then, both good and bad, but Jesus has always been there for me. There were times I didn’t think so, but looking back, I can see his fingerprints all over my life.

I’m ashamed to say it, but, I haven’t always been faithful to him. Like a lot of people, I’ve always wanted to be a perfect Christian but no matter how hard I tried, I could never reach that goal.

I’ve always wanted to do right, so when I would fail God, I would begin to focus on those failures and try to do better in those areas. As failure after failure piled up I became overwhelmed with the task of trying to do better. All my attention was focused on me.

That’s the wrong way to live a Christian life. The focus should always be on Jesus, not on ourselves. In focusing on ourselves we lose sight of him, and before we realize it, we’ve spent years trying to do it all on our own. We can never clean ourselves up, but too often we try, not realizing that there is a better way.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.”

If we seek God first, everything else will fall into place. He will fill us with his spirit and give us the power to do right.

As we pray and study the Bible, God will instruct us on how to live a Christian life. When we fail, we should ask God for forgiveness and move on. Sure, we need to remember how we got into that situation and avoid it next time, but we don’t need to keep beating ourselves up over what we did wrong. When God forgives us, he doesn’t hold that sin against us, so we shouldn’t either, nor should we allow Satan to.

Focus on Jesus, NOT on your sins. God will help you to obey him. Follow his teachings and the teachings of his disciples in his holy book, the Bible. We need to walk with God as his early followers did. This is where we need to start. Focus on Jesus, and before you know it, you’ll be like Jesus. In 1922, Helen Howarth Lemmel wrote a song called “The Heavenly Vision (Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus).” The words of this beautiful hymn express that thought perfectly.

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Look Full In His Wonderful Face
And The Things Of Earth Will Grow Strangely Dim
In The Light Of His Glory And Grace”

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© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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