Hi, Let me start by stating that I'm not a Jehovah's Witness but have family who have been discussing it with me and I am hoping for a better answer than I have gotten thus far. I can find no scriptural backing for Jesus being the Arch-Angel Michael. In fact I find things that seem to show me that they are two distinctly different beings. Any help?
Jesus as Michael
by Kphoto 52 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
Finally-Free
I was a JW for 20 years and it made no sense to me either. There is no scriptural backing for it. I suspect they adopted that belief as part of their strategy to disuade members from believing in the trinity.
W
-
lovelylil
Is Jesus Michael the Archangel? Some religious groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bible Students teach that the Lord Jesus is the same person as the Archangel Michael. It is asserted that as the only Archangel, Jesus was the highest-ranking Angel prior to coming to earth and that upon his ascending back to heaven; he took the identity of Michael again. We will examine the biblical evidence to see if the scriptures really teach such a thing. The bible mentions Michael the Archangel in only six verses found in four biblical books and these are; Daniel 10:12,21, Daniel 12:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Jude 9 and Revelation 12:7. It should be noted that none of these verses make the direct statement that “Jesus is Michael”. However those that support this view believe that these texts “infer” that Jesus is Michael. The most commonly used scripture for supporting this view is the verse in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16 “ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first”. From this verse it is taught that the Lord is doing the shouting with his Archangel voice and thus he is Michael. However, that is not what this verse is saying. Note carefully that it states that the Lord will come down from heaven, WITH a loud command and WITH the voice of the Archangel and WITH the trumpet call of God. Nowhere here does it say that the Lord Jesus is doing the shouting. The term “WITH” means “accompanied by” therefore the bible writer is simply stating that the Lord when he arrives will be “accompanied by” the loud command made by the Archangel. If we reason that by using the term “WITH” it means Jesus is the Archangel then by his being WITH the trumpet call of God we would have to conclude that he is the trumpet of God. We know that would not make sense, and it does not make sense to assume that the Lord is doing the shouting unless it specifically states that he is. However rather than clearly identifying Jesus as Michael in this verse, it does the opposite. In the very beginning of the verse it identifies Jesus as “the Lord”, not Michael. It is also taught that Jesus must be the Archangel Michael because there is only one Archangel mentioned in the Bible and this term means the highest ranking Angel. Thus it is concluded that the highest-ranking Angel must be God’s Son. However in Daniel 10:13 it clearly shows that Michael is not the only one of his status or rank “But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me”, According to the American Heritage Dictionary the term “Arch” has the following meanings; Chief or Principal, highest rank or chief status. Chief prince is another term for Archangel and Daniel records that there are more than one. Michael is the only one specifically called by his rank of Archangel in the Bible but this does not dismiss the fact that there can be more than one Angel occupying this high rank. And in light of Daniel chapter 10, we know there are others for Michael is only one of the Chief Princes. Gabriel is the only other Angel specifically named in the Bible, and according to some ancient historical books such as the book of Enoch, he is also an Archangel. Daniel 12:1 state; "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. It is asserted here that this great prince must be Jesus. But again, the scripture does not make any direct statement that Michael here is actually the Lord Jesus. And while the Lord is called the Prince of Peace in the Bible, he is not known as the Great Prince or protector of Israel . Rather Christ is the King of Israel and the Savior. Some try to force Jesus into this text by saying that this scene is depicting Christ taking his Kingly rule. They come to this conclusion by mistranslating the meaning of the verse. This is done because some Bibles such as KJV translate verse 1 as “Michael, the great prince who protects your people, stands up”. By using the term “stands up” instead of “will arise” it is taught that the term “stands up” could denote the taking of kingly rule, as Kings were known to “stand up” or assert rule over their kingdoms. However this verse does not support any such translation, as it does not clearly say that kingship is being assumed. To get this opinion, you need to assume that this is what the verse is saying. This is what Charles Russell did, but this verse is ambiguous and could be translated in other ways. And you may note that this verse refers to Michael as a great Prince but not a King. The Prophet Isaiah called Christ the “Prince of Peace” prior to his human birth on earth. But, when Christ returns to reign on earth he will be returning as our King, not a Prince. Again, this verse does not say Michael is assuming kingship but simply says that Michael the Archangel who protects God’s people arises to help deliver them, and is a scene during the final tribulation period. And it certainly is not uncommon for Angels to be used in this capacity even if they are not Archangels. For instance two Angels helped deliver Lot from Sodom before God destroyed the city (Genesis 19). Thus if Michael arises to help deliver Israel , he does so under the order of Christ the King. Jude 9 states about Michael “But even the Archangel Michael when he was disputing the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said “the Lord rebuke you!” Michael would not rebuke or make a harsh statement to the Devil because he lacked the authority to do so. However, the Lord Jesus would rebuke Satan and did in Matthew 4:10, Jesus says “Away from me Satan! For it is written; worship the LORD your God, and serve him only”. This verse clearly shows that the Lord Jesus and Michael are not the same person. However in an effort to hide this fact this scripture has been tampered with in some Bibles such as the NWT. It translates this verse “May Jehovah rebuke you” instead of the “Lord”. There is no support in the early Greek Manuscripts for inserting the name Jehovah here and this is shown even in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of Greek Scriptures distributed by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society . (See page 1055 for the Greek translation of Jude 9). The original Greek translates this verse as “Lord” (Jesus), not Jehovah. The last verse is Revelation 12:7 “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon and his Angels fought back, but were not strong enough, and lost their place in heaven” “He was hurled down to the earth and his Angels were hurled down with him”. Here again, Jesus is not identified with being Michael. It is said that this Michael must be Christ for whom else would have Angels under him to fight for him? Well, this verse states that Satan had his army of Angels under him. Therefore if Satan can have command of Angels under him, so could Michael as an Archangel. And certainly the Archangel can toss Satan out of heaven with God’s blessing! Rather than the Bible teaching that Jesus is the Archangel Michael it clearly teaches the contrary, which is that the Lord Jesus is far superior to any of the Angels. He is the Son of God, the Logos (Word) and as such the fullness of God’s Divinity dwells in him. The Lord is also the firstborn of all creation, and by means of him all things (not all “other” things) have been created. (See KIT book page 880 for the Greek rendering of Col. 1:15-20) Note the addition of the word “other”. It was the Lord who laid the earth’s foundations and the heavens are the works of his hands. God commands all, including the Angels to honor and worship the Son just like we do him! And the Lord is returning to earth as the ‘King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords” and not as an Angel or chief prince. (Hebrews 1:1-14, Colossians 1:15-20, John 1:1, John 5:22-24, Revelation 19:15-17) Lilly Cruz 2004
-
real one
there is no proof in sripture of this
-
Leolaia
There is no reference to this in early Christian sources. Revelation portrays Michael as defending the infant Messiah from being attacked by the Dragon. The Ascension of Isaiah, in typical Jewish fashion, portrays Michael as one of the angels helping Jesus out of his tomb. One of the Jewish-Christian gospels presents Mary as the incarnation of Michael, not Jesus. Hebrews has a polemic against the idea that the Son is one of the angels.
Meanwhile, the Society is wrong in assuming that the term "archangel" implies a single top angel. In fact, the term was most frequently used to refer to a highest four or seven angels. So 1 Enoch lists Michael alongside Gabriel, Raphael, Sariel, and other archangels.
It's a bit more complex than this, as the Hebrew apocalypse of Daniel hints that the heveanly figure in ch. 7 (from the Aramaic apocalypse) may be identified with Michael, but I know no indication in Christian tradition that this was picked up and applied to Jesus per se. Since an angelic christology likely existed in some quarters, the possibility may still exist even if nowhere is Michael named as being Jesus.
-
lesterd
Time and place? Jesus, his name as a human, Michael as a spirit, Archangel before his earthly existence, and after his death, while awaiting his in thronement as king of kings and lord of lords???
-
Raphael
"in an effort to hide this fact this scripture has been tampered with in some Bibles such as the NWT. It translates this verse “May Jehovah rebuke you” instead of the “Lord”. There is no support in the early Greek Manuscripts for inserting the name Jehovah here and this is shown even in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of Greek Scriptures distributed by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society . (See page 1055 for the Greek translation of Jude 9). The original Greek translates this verse as “Lord” (Jesus), not Jehovah. "
The above is an incorrect assumption as it is likely Peter was quoting from a Jewish apocraphyl book , writen before the time of Christ and therfore the "lord" in Jude 9 could in all reality be in reference to Yaweh and not Yeshua.
A number of evangelical christians also believe Michael is Christ and the issue is in fact one of semantics as follows:
the Baptist evangelist Charles Spurgeon [10] and the Presbyterian Commentary author Matthew Henry, [11] who believe that the Archangel Michael is not an angel but is instead the uncreated, divine Son of God. In this view "archangel" means "head of the angels" rather than "head angel," and is a title similar to "Prince of the host." (Daniel 8:11
Personally I believe that Michael the Archangel , does have reference to Jesus and that this in no way diminishes his deity , but affirms it - Jesus has the power to become whatever he needs to to . In some way it is similar to Prince Charles or the Queen , who both hold numerous titles including military titles and are considered heads of various organisations , yet still remain Royalty .I dont think we should get too hung up on this issue , ultimately we will only know for certain , when Christ returns - and all things are reveled. It is not an issue that effect s salvation- having a relationship with God the father and Jesus does !
-
lovelylil
Raphael,
In the WT's own kingdom Interlinear Greek translation of scripture they mark Jude 9 with an asterisk *, the footnote recognized that Jude 9 in the Greek says "may the Lord rebuke you", not "Jehovah". But the translators of the NWT put Jehovah's name in the NT where like you said, the text makes a direct quote about God from the OT. This is because they deny the diety of Christ. But it still does not hold up under scrutiny because most Bible scholars agree that the Name Jehovah appears nowhere in any of the older NT scriptural writings we have.
I also disagree that believing Jesus is Michael is not really an issue. It is because the WT (beginning with Russell) has consistantly denied the Divinity of Christ by claiming he is only an angel that was created by Jehovah. This goes against many scriptures proving Christ was and is the Divine Son of God. This teaching that Christ was created was a heresy in the time of the early church and those responsible for teaching it were ex-communicated. (Arian heresy). Russell adopted this heresy from the Adventists and helped spread this heresy to millions more people today, including JW's and bible students.
This teaching that Christ was an angel also gave the early WT support for even another false teaching which is that they deny the bodily resurrection of Christ! They also use the Jesus is Michael to support that view. By saying he is now again an invisible spirit (angel) and thus cannot have a bodily resurrection. But the hope of christians is to have a bodily resurrection just like our Master did!
And as IF that is not bad enough, here is a 3rd false teaching that was spawned from the Jesus is Michael view: the WT false teaching that Christ already came invisibly. Again, they claim he is now an invisible spirit, apparently giving up his human nature to be an Angel again and thus he will never return visibly to earth again. This is also contrary to many scritpures that when Christ comes "all eyes shall see him".
IF not for the false teaching that Jesus is Michael, Russell could not use it to promulgate the other teachings such as - denying the divinity of Christ, Christ was a created being, no bodily resurrection, no visible return of Christ. They all hinge on the wrong view Russell had of who Christ really was. Since Russell onward, the WT has been adding error upon error and misleading millions of people along with themselves. Peace, Lilly
-
Atlantis
Watchtower-1879-November-11-p.48 "Let all the angels of God worship him'; (that must include Michael, the chief angel, hence Michael is not the Son of God)" did not send an angel to earth to pretend to die by laying down an incarnated body while he lived as a spirit."
-
lovelylil
Russell later changed his mind. I believe it was in the 2nd Studies of the Scripture books when he says Jesus is Michael. The JW's and Bible Students today both teach this heresy.
I am trying to find the exact excerpt from the SIS book about Michael being Jesus. If anyone else finds it first, please post it. Thanks Lilly