The JWs leaders' teach that Jesus is a created being, archangel Michael, and
not to be worshipped. This view is required by the JWs leaders for membership
in the JWs and salvation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_(archangel)
In Daniel 10:13,21; 12:1, Michael is one of the chief princes who helps Ga-
briel in a fight with the angel of Persia, and who is a great prince who stands
up for the children of Israel.
"Arch" refers to Dan.10:13; 12:1 and means "chief." "Angel" means "messen-
ger." Archangel means chief messenger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel
According to the Wikipedia article at the link given above, that Michael's
name means "Who Is Like God?" is an uncertain possibility.
No other archangels are named in the Bible, but the same area of research (see
the Wikipedia article on archangel Michael) indicates that Michael is given as
one of the chief princes in Daniel because Jewish culture believed in a number
of archangels. The JWs leaders' stance is that Michael was the only archangel,
but they only use related history to make the facts fit the theory (Ante-Nicene
fathers, cross, lately agreeing with science about the age of the world, etc.),
in this case to force that Jesus is Michael.
At Daniel 12:1,2 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard
over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress
such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that
time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlast-
ing life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
At Joshua 5:13-15, "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he
lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with
his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you
for us or for our adversaries?' He said, 'No; rather I indeed come now as cap-
tain of the host of the LORD.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and
bowed down, and said to him, 'What has my lord to say to his servant?'" The
captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet,
for the place where you are standing is holy.' And Joshua did so."
The man with the sword, captain of the host of the Lord, is not named. Joshua
calls him "Lord" and worships/does obeisance to him. The man says the ground is
holy.
Since the man isn't named, either the mainstream historical view or the JWs
leaders' view can imagine the man was Jesus. The JWs leaders' view would have
the problem (as at Heb.1:6) of Michael/Jesus recieving worship/obeisance though
that's not to be done in monotheism to a "god" (NWT John 1:1) (Ex.34:14).
Theophanies--the speaker talked to an angel then realized they were talking to
God--God spoke through an angel using the angel as the mechanism, and for the
appearance, to do it with. There are examples with Hagar, Abraham, and Moses in
the Wikipedia article at the next link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophany
One of the distinctions of 1st century Jewish monotheism was that only God was
to be worshipped. Jesus recieves worship (NWT: obeisance) in the NT (Matt.28:9,
17; Luke 24:52; Heb.1:6; compare John 2:28; Rev.22:3). Anyone else it's offered
to tells the one offering it not to do it except at Matt.18:26, where Jesus
tells of a slave who did it desperately begging his lord not to sell him. The
mainstream view is stronger in not having any worship/obeisance done to a god.
For Rev.22:3: at 1 Corinthians 1:24, Jesus is called wisdom: "Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God." Wisdom at Prov.8:22-31 was thought to be God's
Wisdom (like the Greek's logos) symbolized as a person. The God and Wisdom
verses set a scriptural precedent for the God and Logos or God and Jesus verses
to be seen the mainstream way. At Rev.22:3, the mainstream view can use worship
"them" (God and Jesus") or worship "him" (God, which includes Jesus). The JWs
leaders' view has a problem with Jesus sitting on God's throne as a way to iden-
tify Michael verses the mainstream view of Jesus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_the_Logos
At 1 Thess.4:16, Jesus appears again by the word "archangel": "For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."
The JWs leaders' claim that it's Jesus' voice. The verse doesn't clarify
whether it's Jesus' voice or an accompanying voice, or, if imagined to be Jesus'
voice, is meant literally. There would need to be an identity connection made
elsewhere and there isn't one. Instead, at Rev.19:16,17, while the King of
Kings descends, apostle John "also saw an angel standing in the sun, and he
cried out with a loud voice."
At Jude 1:9, archangel Michael couldn't rebuke the devil but deferred to the
Lord to do it. So not only doesn't the Bible call Michael Jesus, but in a "one
Lord" Christianity with Jesus also called the one Lord, Michael deferred to the
Lord. This isn't how to identify Michael as Jesus. "But Michael the archangel,
when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare
pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
The JWs leaders' view might be that Jesus couldn't rebuke the Devil till
John 5:22: "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judg-
ment to the Son."
But at 2 Pet 2:10b,11: "Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they re-
vile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not
bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord."
Heb.1:3-8,13; 2:5 God didn't tell an angel "you are my Son," (as in "the Son
of God" compared to angels called "Sons of God"; the mainstream view has someone
more unique called "Son" than an angel or even archangel). God calls Jesus God
(or tells him God is his throne--Jesus can sit on God like he's Santa, I guess
symbolic of Jesus having his seat of authority on God's lap, although I don't
remember that symbolism used anywhere else), and God didn't subject the world to
angels.
Hebrews 1:6 "And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
'and let all the angels of God worship him.'" (NWT: "do obeisance to") (The JWs
leaders' view is that Jesus is a "god" at John 1:1, but at Ex.34:14 one of the
definitions of Jewish monotheism is that followers aren't to worship/do obei-
sance to a "god.") Compare with:
Angels aren't to be worshipped, and an archangel is a chief angel
Col.2:18 "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-
abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has
seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind."
Rev.19:10 (attempted worship of an angel): "Then I fell at his feet to worship
him. But he said to me, 'Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and
your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'" Also see Rev.22:9.
At Rev.12:7-9, archangel Michael and his angels fight the dragon and his an-
gels.
The dragon thrown from heaven connects with "abomination that causes desola-
tion" at Dan.9:27.
The reader could connect Dan.12:1,2 with this, but the connection isn't made
with Michael and Jesus. In subsequent verses, Christ, the Lamb, and Jesus are
mentioned without identifying Michael as Jesus by name, common action, or guar-
anteed implication. In Revelation, Jesus returns to lead the heavenly host at
Armageddon in Rev.19, but it's not given as the fight by archangel Michael who
leads the angels to cast Satan to Earth in Rev.12:7-9.
Jesus is called Jesus, Christ, the Lamb, Alpha and Omega, etc., in other sec-
tions--a multiple choice of things Michael isn't called. If the author wanted
to express that Michael became Jesus, he'd just write "Michael is Jesus," which
doesn't appear anywhere, not use "Michael" as for an alternate person, which
John did as the mainstream view would.
The idea of Jesus as Michael is imaginable in some ways but with problems (the
Bible never calls one the other, connecting the two isn't needed to make sense
of anything) that would preclude it being assumed to be a Biblically guaranteed
connection. The JWs leaders play prophet in requiring a follower to make the
connection for salvation.
