Jude 9

Christian Standard Bible Jude

9 Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Deuteronomy 34:1–6 CSB

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev, and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. The Lord then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s word. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.

The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude (B. Body Proper: Proof for the Thematic Statement (vv. 5–16))

Clearly that story mentions neither “the archangel Michael” (found in the OT only in Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1) nor the devil .According to the church fathers, starting with Clement of Alexandria (Fragments on the Epistle of Jude), the reason for this is that Jude is citing, not the OT, but the Assumption of Moses. (Clement wrote, “’When Michael, the archangel, disputing with the devil, debated about the body of Moses.’ ” Here he confirms the Assumption of Moses. He is here called Michael, who through an angel near to us debated with the devil.”) Thus there is universal agreement that Jude is citing an apocryphal work.

Davids, P. H. (2006). The letters of 2 Peter and Jude (pp. 59–60). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Apocrypha, Old Testament)

APOCRYPHA, OLD TESTAMENT (ἀπόκρυφος, apokryphos). A collection of books included in the Old Testament of ancient Christian Bibles in Greek or Latin but not included in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. Their canonical status in different Christian groups varies. The Old Testament Apocrypha were composed primarily during the period between the undisputed Old Testament books and the New Testament (ca. third century BC into the first century AD). NOT CANON

Michael

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Michael the Archangel

One of two angels named in the Bible, the other being Gabriel. Named as one of the archangels in Second Temple Jewish literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Old Testament

Michael—which means “Who is like God?”—first appears in Dan 10:13, and later in Dan 12:1, as Israel’s patron angel. In the instance of Israel, which belonged ultimately to God, Michael is identified as Israel’s prince (Dan 10:21), the protector of Daniel’s people (Dan 12:1), and thus the one who fights the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Dan 10:13). The book of Daniel reveals how the battles between nations on earth are mirrored in the heavenly realm.

New Testament

Michael appears as the leader of the angelic army who fights and defeats the dragon (Satan) and his angels in Rev 12:7–9. Michael’s role in Revelation assumes much of the development of thought present during the Second Temple period. Michael is portrayed as the chief angel who fights on behalf of the elect and is the leader of the angels. Jude 1:9 refers to Michael contending with the devil over the body of Moses. This account is not found in any extant works, but the early church father Origen states that the story to which Jude refers is from a lost work called The Ascension of Moses (Origen, First Principles 3.2.1).

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Michael

11. The archangel, guardian of Israel. Michael is called “official” or “prince” (Heb śar) over Israel in Dnl. 10:21. He was one of the “chief princes” (10:13), i.e. archangels, involved in the angelic warfare against the demonic powers that influenced the national leadership in Persia and Greece (v 20) during and after the Israelite Exile. Michael is the only archangel identified as such in the Bible, though GABRIEL (Dnl. 8:16; 9:21; Lk. 1:19, 26) appears to function as an archangel.

In Jewish apocalyptic tradition as reflected in 1 En. 20:1–7 and Tob. 12:15 there were seven archangels, four of whom stood in God’s presence (1 En. 9:1; 40:9). These were Michael, Gabriel, RAPHAEL, and URIEL (sometimes called Phanuel). Rev. 8:2 mentions “the seven angels who stand before God,” but the Bible otherwise neither names archangels nor describes specifically their duties. Nevertheless it may be presumed that they, on the analogy of generals in an army, stand directly under the supreme authority of God, and command other angels, though never independently of God’s will. The Bible clearly implies that the events of nations can be influenced by both God’s angels and by fallen angels (Ex. 23:20–23; Ps. 78:49; 82:1–8; Isa. 63:9; Mt. 4:8f) and seems to imply also that archangels may be assigned individually to given nations (e.g., Dnl. 10:13, 21; 11:1; 12:1).

So whats’s Jude’s point

2 Peter and Jude: An Introduction and Commentary (d. The Analogies of Judgment Applied (8–10))

9. Their presumption towards the angels stands in stark contrast to the archangel Michael. He did not presume to condemn the devil for slander, when he was disputing with him over the body of Moses. In what follows, Jude appears to be drawing illustrative material from the apocryphal Assumption of Moses. So we are assured by Clement, Origen and Didymus, though the details here given do not figure in what survives of the Assumption. It is a story which obviously had great currency in oral tradition, and derives from speculation about what happened to the body of Moses. Jude is using it as an effective ad hominem argument to men who were steeped in apocryphal literature. A scholiast on Jude gives the details.32 When Moses died, the archangel Michael was sent by God to bury him. But the devil disputed his right to do so, for Moses had been a murderer (Exod. 2:12), and therefore his body belonged, so to speak, to the devil. Furthermore, the devil claimed to have authority over all matter, and Moses’ body, of course, fell under this category. But even under such provocation, the story goes, Michael was not disrespectful to the devil. He did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him. He simply left the matter with God, saying, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’ The point of the story lies just here. If an angel was so careful in what he said, how much more should mortal men watch their words. Such is the normal explanation of this remarkable apocryphal story.

The contrast Jude draws is not between Michael’s restrained speech, even to the devil, and the blasphemies of the errorists against the angels. No, the point is much sharper. The errorists wanted to be autonomous, to please their promiscuous selves and to have no truck with the Law and its angelic guardians. The story of Michael shows that even an archangel is not autonomous. The devil was certainly bringing a slanderous and malicious accusation against Moses,(WHICH WAS IN FACT ACCURATE) but the archangel did not take it on himself to repudiate it. Moses was indeed a murderer, so Michael did not attempt to dismiss his charge as unjustified on his own authority. He could only appeal to the Lord for judgment and say The Lord rebuke you (words drawn from Zech. 3:2). What a contrast to Jude’s opponents who set themselves up over against the Law, and against God who gave it.

So this angel, this Ark angel the most powerful angel that there is when it dispute with satan did not rebuke satan himself but made a statement that “The Lord rebukes you”

My commentary is that many times we may be rebuking satan for stuff the Lord is sovereignly using to our advantage, or in that situation of accusation towards us the devil was not wrong.

Look at Zech 3:1-10

What does rebuke me anyway?

Rebuke - In the RSV “rebuke” is nineteen times the translation of the Hebrew hiphil of yaḵaḥ (“decide,” “judge,” “reprove,” “correct”) or one of the cognate nouns, tôḵēḥâ (“correction”) and tōḵaḥaṯ (“argument,” “reproof”). The terms frequently have a juridicial significance (e.g., Gen. 31:42 [cf. v 37, RSV “decide”]; 1 Ch. 12:17 [MT 18]; Prov. 24:25). This significance is especially clear in figurative descriptions of Yahweh bringing a lawsuit against His covenant-breaking people (e.g., Ps. 50:21 [cf. v 8, RSV “reprove”]; cf. also Isa. 1:18, niphal of yāḵaḥ [RSV “reason”; NEB “argue it out”]; Mic. 6:2, hithpael of yāḵaḥ [RSV “contend”]). But because He is Lord and Judge of creation, all of His rebukes—including His corrective discipline—have judicial overtones

Rebuke — The practice of pointing out another's mistake, fault, or sin for the purpose of correcting behavior.

Opperwall, N. J. (1979–1988). Rebuke. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 4, p. 52). Wm. B. Eerdmans.

So if the arch angel Michael didn't rebuke Satan why should we?

Give me scripture family? any scripture on man rebuking satan or demons?

Luke 4:35 CSB

But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be silent and come out of him!” And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

Luke 4:41 CSB

Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

This is Jesus this is God....

Well Jesus said He would give us power over demons,

That power that we have would you consider Paul to have it?

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 CSB

especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

WHY DIDNT PAUL REBUKE THE DEMON?

He asked God to handle it

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

We need to be careful that we don't attempt to superseded the sovereign will of God...

That was the issue with the false teachers!

When we are over here rebuking demons I believe we are out of order assuming a position that God obviously dictates that He will plays sovereign ruler of the world.

So what about the binding and loosing part where does that show up in scripture?

Matthew 16:13–19 CSB

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 16

The keys are a symbol of authority. The rabbis used the words bind and loose to denote decisions about what was or was not permitted. Note that Peter will permit or prohibit only what had already been permitted or prohibited in heaven. Peter was an agent of divine revelation.

Matthew 18:15–20 CSB

“If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 18

18:18 On binding and loosing, see note at 16:19. The decisions made by the church about what behavior is permissible or unacceptable reflect decisions already made by God in heaven.

The binding and loosing is reflective of church government, it has nothing to do with demonic activity.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Binding and Loosing

BINDING AND LOOSING The Hebrew phrase for “restricting” and “permitting,” with respect to interpretation of the Torah.

Historical Usage

By Jesus’ time, the language of binding and loosing was commonly used to signify restricting or permitting a given action according to the Torah. Ancient rabbinic texts speak of binding (forbidding) certain wedding practices or Greek lessons for a child (m. Sotah 9:14) and of loosing (allowing) someone to drink broth even if the person had made a vow to abstain from meat (m. Nedarim 6:5–7).

In explaining the close ties between Queen Alexandra and the Pharisees during the first century BC, Josephus writes that the Pharisees “bound and loosed [men] at their pleasure” with their virtual royal authority (Jewish War 1.5.2). While Josephus may mean that the Pharisees “bound and loosed [men]” from prison rather than from Torah observance, the Pharisees also manipulated the populace by binding and loosing commands (Bivin, New Light, 98–99).

Biblical Relevance

Jesus mentions binding and loosing twice in the book of Matthew—each time giving his disciples the authority to do these things.

In the first instance (Matt 16:13–19), Jesus asks His disciples about His identity. Simon Peter replies with his famous confession of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responds by blessing Peter and saying that whatever Peter binds or looses on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven.

The second case occurs during a larger discourse on the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus gives the disciples instructions for confronting someone who has sinned against them. Jesus again indicates that whatever they bind or loose on earth will be treated likewise in heaven (Matt 18:15–19).

In both instances, Jesus gives His disciples authority to govern the church by restricting or permitting certain behaviors with divine support. In the first passage, Jesus seems to give Peter authority to set the church’s teaching and practice—which the disciples did in Acts 15:1–20 in establishing requirements for Gentile believers (see Acts 15:10). In the second passage, Jesus’ words appear to grant believers authority in matters of church discipline. These texts align with the known understanding of the terms binding and loosing, as the disciples had to work out which elements of the Torah were applicable (or not) in the newly revealed kingdom of God (Powell, “Binding,” 438–45).

Interpretive Issues

I we keep binding satan, I think we need to sit down and have a talk with the guy that keeps letting him out...

Rebuking

Binding

Loosing