EWTN Catholic Q&A Micheal the Archangel contending the body of
Moses Question from Joe from Ventura CA on 10-18-2012:  In the
book of Jude, verse 9, there was a dispute between Michael the
Archangel and the devil over the body of Moses. Why were these
two angels contending over his body? What was his gain of having
the body of Moses for the devil?  Thank You and God Bless You.
The Church Fathers speculated that it related to the devil
wishing to make the body available to the Israelites in some
manner, so that they would fall into idol worship of Moses
rather than God. We know that with regard to the bronze serpent
that Moses fashioned, it was eventually destroyed because the
Israelites were inclined to worship it as an idol. These matters
are more a matter of ancient traditions and not known purely
from biblical accounts. The issue with the body of Moses could
also be related to his later appearance at the Transfiguration,
along with Elijah, and some speculate he may be one of the two
witnesses who usher i