coming again. There's a book of Jude, book of Jude tonight again verse 9 or again we haven't been in here for it's three weeks because we had two weeks off so three weeks between them all in the book of Jude. We had New Year's Eve, we had Christmas Eve, well we're back in Jude. Looking at this very negative but necessary topic. Well, it's a bit of positive tonight. If we read at verse 8, In like manner also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, dest not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. of those that had had authority, though they had lost it, he still had respect for their position prior. We do pray that you'd teach us to be like these who know a whole lot more than we do about your existence and your personality, your attributes. They're in your presence, Lord, and I pray, Lord, that we would follow as they follow you in obedience to you, in submission to those you put over us. Lord, we We pray for ourselves as we're in the day of apostasy and terrible things happening within the church. It's lukewarm, it's cold, and the Lord is dying. And I pray that we would be a light and be encouraged and be excited about our Christian faith. Looking forward to your coming. Bless our church. Time to gather in the camp as it continues to operate and even as I have a sermon right now there at camp, we ask for your blessing in Jesus' name. Amen. So we've looked at the intrigue of Jude as he takes us to the rebellion in the Pilgrim Age, the reprobates in the Primeval Age and the renegades in the Patriarch Age, that's 5, 6 and 7. and the reprehensible apostasy in the present age. He's gone from the past to the present, examples all over the place in this one chapter book of the Bible. And we see there the apostate's reaction, first of all, and their recourse, what course they follow, verses 8 to 11. And verse 9 is a bit of a different, a different stance of a different individual, a different being. But we see their sordid vices that they have in verse 8. It says there, in like manner, these filthy dreamers defile the flesh. Go over that with Romans chapter 1, 2, and 3, but particularly chapter 1. It matches that. Filthy dreamers. You wonder how they come up with such filth in their life, with such things in the movies they have. It's just bad and just bad to the core, you could say. Very depraved in their thinking. So their sword advices, their scurrilous behaviour, seditious views, again in verse 8, defile the flesh, despise dominions, despise dominions and their slanderous vitriol against those that do or have authority, speak evil of dignities. We've looked at all that. And now we come to the next one, and this is Michael. Michael the Archangel, as we have him here. The scriptural view of respect is given from looking at his life and his ministry as we see it. And so Jude gives us insight here that's not given elsewhere in the scriptures about Michael, because he is mentioned in other places. Michael the Archangel. And he reveals three things about him. Michael's recognition. First of all, he recognizes him in his responsibility and his restraint. So first of all, Michael's recognition. The archangel. Turn over to Daniel. Because we'll be looking at a few verses there. Daniel chapter 10 and verse 13 to start with. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and 20 days. This is an angel talking to Daniel, but Lo, Michael, one of the chief princes. So here's an angel talking about someone that's chief. Chief one of. So you get a lot out of that. There's more than one chief prince. There's more than one angel in this position, but we haven't got any of their names. But this one, Michael, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. And so this is what's happening behind the scenes. There's warfare in an angelic realm and particularly to do with political positions. And this is what Daniel was told. So his recognition here is the archangel. Chapter 8, verse 16 of Daniel. 8 and verse 16, and there it says, and I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai and between, oh, and he called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. What did you just see there? There's another name for an angel. What is his name? Gabriel. So there's Michael, the archangel, and Gabriel, it doesn't say there that he's an archangel, but he is named as an angel there. Luke chapter one. You put them all together and you say, ah, he's in the Bible a little more than we think. In chapter 1 verse 19, this is talking to Zacharias. Who was Zacharias in the New Testament? The priest. The priest. You're doing his course. Father of John the Baptist. And so we have him here, Luke 119, and it says there, and the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings of the Lord's coming. And John, I'm sorry, of John the Baptist being born. And he sort of couldn't believe it, but all the story goes around that. And back in Daniel chapter nine this time, and verse 21, I don't know if I put all these verses in the outline. I don't think we did. Daniel 9.21, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly, angel, fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. So here's Gabriel mentioned, Luke 1.19, Daniel 8.16, Daniel 9.21, and then in Daniel 10.21, Again, Michael is talked about in this verse, 10, 21, and it reads there, but I will show thee that which is not, is noted in the scripture of truth. And there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael, your prince, Michael again, Michael, your prince, who is being talked to here, Daniel, your Jewish Prince is Michael and that is confirmed later in Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1. So we're looking at Michael's recognition in the scriptures of his position, just a few hints of some of the things he does. He's a busy individual, a busy archangel. And he says there in verse 1, And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people, there you go, Jewish people, You know, for people that deny that the Jews have a position in the future, they're saying, this fella, I mean, this angel has got no business anymore. He has. He stands up for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. And what time of trouble is that? The time of Jacob's trouble, thank you, even to that same time, and at that time, thy people shall be delivered by whom? The help of Michael. Everyone that shall be found written in the book. And why are they written in the book? Because they believed on their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. And that's why they're written in the book. And so everyone that shall be found written, they will be taken care of by Michael, their prince at that time. Now, I like this one, Revelation chapter 12. Michael has more business. And this is to do with chapter 12, Israel. And the Antichrist casts out a flood out of his mouth trying to wipe them out, destroy Israel. Here again Michael steps up in Revelation chapter 12 verse 7 and 9. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And who's the dragon? The devil. And the dragon fought with his angels. And who are his angels? Demons. And prevailed not. Now, Michael prevailed, but the dragon didn't, and his angels. Neither was their place found anymore in heaven. You know, he has access in heaven to accuse the brethren in Revelation. That is the devil. And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Think of that in relation to Jude, verse 9, and how Michael the archangel is speaking to and about the devil. Here, on this occasion, Michael's going to throw him out of heaven so that he's cast to earth, and woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, it says in Scripture. So he hurls Satan out with his demons from heaven, from access there. And with the prefix arch, arch, arch, sorry, angel, it seems this marks him as one of the first or chief angels. May have, I'm not saying so, but may have taken the position that Satan fell from, because he's so prominent in what we're speaking of here, but has a lot to do with Israel. In Daniel 10, 13, back in Daniel again, as I think we pointed this out when we were there, in Daniel 10. But Daniel 10.13, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia, when we started with this one, withstood me one and twenty days, but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes. So he's one of several, we don't know how many, of the princes. So there are others. And, just, it doesn't give a name here, but in 1 Thessalonians 4.16, the voice of the Archangel. Now, I know he has to do with Israel, but he might be sounding the trumpet when the rapture happens. And that's what made me think of it as I was just staring into space or at the floor somewhere thinking, you know, it could happen just right now. This happened, the voice of the archangel with the Lord's shout and the trump of God that goes off simultaneously at that time. So Michael's recognition throughout scripture, Michael's responsibility back in Jude verse nine, Yet Michael the Archangel went contending with the devil. He contends with the devil in this verse. There's some more revelation about his business and what he does. He disputed about the what? Body of Moses. The Old Testament doesn't talk about this dispute that happened, but here we have it in the New Testament. God, by revelation, has given this in Scripture. And where did Moses die? Let's go back into the Old Testament to Deuteronomy chapter 34 and verse 5, because there was a contention with Michael and the devil about the body of Moses. Chapter 34, verse 5. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. So he died in the land of Moab. Ammon, A, M, Moab, and then down lower, there's the other crowd, the Edomites. And so Moab was right there in the middle, on the east side of the Dead Sea. This is where he died, in Moab, just before they entered into the Promised Land. Now where was he buried? Chapter 34 and verse 6 of Deuteronomy says, And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab over against Beth Peor. But no man knoweth his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim. He didn't wear glasses. or anything else that didn't happen in those days, and his natural force was not abated. He wasn't being wheeled around in a wheelchair. He was still going for it at 120. We don't get that long, do we? You know what it is when you get older to have your natural force abated. Well, his was still going, along with Caleb and Joshua too, faithful men. But he had to die because of his disobedience. So he died in Moab. He was buried in Moab in a valley there. I've got a poem. It's just one stanza of a poem about this. By Nebo's lonely mountain, on this side Jordan's wave, in a vale in the land of Moab there lies a lonely grave. And no man knows that sepulchre, and no man saw it ere, for the angels of God upturned the sod and laid the dead man there. Now, do you know of anyone that's been buried by an angel? This one, yeah, Moses was for privacy reasons, we could say. So why did Satan want, you know, we ask these questions. You read the Bible, or why? Why did Satan want Moses' body? Doesn't tell us, does it? It's not in the scripture. Well, why do you think he may have wanted Moses' body? What would have they done with it? It would have been something they idolised. Now, if you go to Jerusalem, you could go to Solomon's thing down there in Kidron Valley. We didn't go down there, we just looked, there it is, Andrew pointed it out. Or you could go to David's tomb, isn't it? David's tomb down in South Jerusalem, there, and it's all, you know, people treading the path, wearing the bricks out there. But they would tend to idolize it, an object of worship like Solomon and in Kindred Valley as we just mentioned. We see particularly in Roman Catholic Church The gullibility of people who are deluded in believing that they have a piece of the cross or a bit of the shroud? You're talking to millions of people. Okay, billions of Catholics. I don't know that all of them have tried to buy a bit of it. But what is it all about when you get back to who's promoting this? It's devilish, but the Catholic Church is trying to make money and they are making money out of the sales of these things and indulgences and things they sell. They venerate and they adore it. Some non-genuine article to make millions and billions of dollars to make themselves rich. Here is a decree or two from the Catholic Church. This is Pope Gregory III some time back. If any person should hereafter, in contempt of the ancient and faithful customs of all Christians, Catholic Christians, Catholic, I say, full stop, and of the Apostolic Church in particular, stand forth as a destroyer, defamer, or blasphemer of the sacred images of our Lord Jesus Christ. Images, idolatry. You know, this is what Satan would have used this for, to corrupt the people as if they weren't already going to be corrupted enough. And I read on, "...and of his mother, the Immaculate Ever-Virgin Mary of the Blessed Apostles and of all other saints. The Pope says, Gregory, be excluded from the body and blood of the Lord and from the communion of the universal church. Well, I say, amen. If you're kicked out of that place, that's a good thing. Not partaking of this idol-ish stuff. This crucifying the Lord afresh every Sunday. These, and it goes on, these images shall be treated as holy memorials, worshipped. This is what the Pope said. Kissed only without that peculiar adoration which is reserved for the invisible. Well, he had at that, didn't he? Incomprehensible God, the invisibly incomprehensible God. all who shall violate this, as is asserted, immemorial tradition of the church and endeavour, forcibly or by craft, to remove any image, if ecclesiasticals, ecclesiastics, that's what he says, are to be deposed and excommunicated, if monks or laymen, they are to be excommunicated. Anything to do with idolatry, they've got it up there. And if you desecrate their idolatry, you're kicked out. Well, that'd be the best thing that happened to you if you're in that system. Because if you don't get kicked out, you might get burned up. Revelation 7a speaks of the final end of that, the city on seven hills. I think that gives it away some. So here are some of the thoughts from what we could think that, OK, if Satan had got the body of Moses, what might have he done with it? Who is delighted when idols are worshipped and things are venerated like this? It's the devil, isn't it? That's why I believe that Satan wanted the body, as I've just written this and reading it, so that they might worship anything else but God. Satan laughs when people weep and worship, plead and pray, crawl and grovel to such dead bodies and kiss Peter's Toa, I mean, the idol of Peter, they've kissed his Toa, being made of stone. I don't know if they had to resurrect or build another concrete on the end of it, but it's terrible, isn't it, when you see that? What does the Bible say about this sort of thing? Well, look at what Isaiah 44 in verse 9 says, and a few verses following. It says, they that make and grave an image are all of them vanity, and their detectable things shall not profit, and they are their own witnesses. They see not, nor know, that they may be ashamed. These idols, they're dead, totally dead, dead wood. Who hath formed a god? or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing. Behold, all this fellows shall be ashamed, and the workmen, they are of men, let them all be gathered together, let them stand up. Yea, they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. The smith with the tongs that worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with strength of his arms, yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth, he drinketh no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, he maketh it out with a line, he fitteth it with planes, and he maketh it out with a compass. There's a few for you, Joshua, builder. And maketh it after the finger of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak. He strengtheneth himself among the trees of the forest. He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn. He will take of it and warm himself, yea, he kindleth it and breaketh bread, yea, he maketh a god and worshipeth it, he maketh a graven image and falleth down to it. It's taken it from the start. This fella, he grows the tree, he nourishes the tree, he cuts the tree down, he cooks from the leftover bits of wood of the tree, and then he makes a graven image and he worshipeth it. You see, thou shalt have no other god before me. God is a very jealous God. And I believe why God had this, Moses' body, to be hidden very privately was for the very purpose that Israel would corrupt themselves. And it goes on and reads more there, and it also talks about that in Jeremiah 10. So Michael's responsibility was to ensure that the devil didn't get Moses' body. Now you say, how could he do that? Well, we don't know how angels go and work and fight and warfare and how Michael kept him away from the burial site. It's in Moab. If you're looking for a burial site and there's a fresh burial site, what do you look for? Dirt that's been moved. That's what the detectives do. The old devil didn't have the wit and that to find where Michael had hidden, might have been in a cave that didn't have to be touched or disturbed. But Michael's restraint. We see that in the last part of verse 9. This is something we need to learn from. He had a controversy with the devil. And remember what Revelation said? He's going to get the devil and throw him and his angels out of heaven one day. But at this time, at this incident, he said the Lord rebuked them. Total the opposite to the apostates who spoke evil of dignities back in verse 8. Michael showed respect to this fallen being who shall or who still has some, that is the fallen being, Lucifer, some trace of his former glory. He says Ezekiel 28 talks about that in verses 12. Lucifer, the day star, was the pinnacle of God's creation. He sealed up the sun full of beauty, it says in Revelation, I mean, Ezekiel 28, 12. He's called now in Revelation 22 the old serpent. Back in Genesis, it's referring to that in verse chapter 3. He's called in 2 Corinthians 11, 14, an angel of light. You see, he's deceptive in the way he comes. It's said in Ezekiel 28, 13, being in the garden of God. In verse 14 of Ezekiel 28, the anointed cherub that covereth, he ministered at the very throne room of God, the very throne of God. Perfect in beauty, 28 and verse 17. And verse 14 and 16 of Ezekiel 28, he was upon the holy mount of God. Now we call him a lot of different names. The Bible calls him a lot of different names. Devil, Satan, Evil One, Serpent. We are to despise him, the despised one, and he despises. He still retains, even though he be this one, some of the glory that he had, because he comes as an angel of light. He's very convincing. He's a formidable foe. And this is why Michael the Archangel is treating this one with respect and he's saying the Lord rebuke thee in the name of the Lord. He adjured him and fought against him. Michael durst not, dared not, rail or abuse him. This is the way Michael treated him respectfully and honorably. And when I hear of those that do this demon possession deliverance, they are not that way at all. In Acts chapter 19, we haven't got time to turn there, we're running out of time. Verses 11 to 17. where the sons of Scevia, vagabond Jews, exorcists, were trying to cast demons out of an individual. And what happened to them? They come out of the house with all their clothes torn and ripped and injured because they were dealing with something they knew nothing about. They were dealing with demons in the individual. Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you? See, unless you're a Christian, they don't have protection. That's in Acts chapter 19. Yeah, and that's what I've written down here. Remember Brother Lachlan? The other Sunday, he preached about authority, and because he's in that sort of situation with the army, authority, the authority of knowledge and the authority of command, and he went to different ones. I had prepared this when he was preaching that, this one back then, and I thought, yeah, that goes right together, the authority and the command. And like Joshua, the high priest, had respect in Zechariah 3 verses 1 to 2. And like Lachlan used Matthew 8 verses 5 to 10 about the centurion. Just speak the word. You don't have to come to my house. You've got authority. I recognize that. You can do it. Michael recognized the authority of the Lord Jesus. We need as Christians to recognize the authority of the Lord. act under his command, come under his authority and not our own. So there's the three things about Michael in verse 9, a little bit of light in a dark passage describing darkness, Michael's recognition, his responsibility and his restraint of just going for it and throwing him out of heaven then. He didn't. Excuse me.