IS JESUS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL?

Transcription

1 IS JESUS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL? Contents: Introduction A Look at Michael Some Scriptures From Hebrews INTRODUCTION In their Booklet "Reasoning from the Scriptures" the Jehovah's Witnesses write: "Is Jesus Christ the same person as Michael the archangel? The name of this Michael appears only five times in the Bible. The glorious spirit person who bears the name is reffered to as "one of the cheif princes," "the great prince who has charge of your [Daniel's] people," and as the archangel." (Dan. 10:13; 12:1; Jude 9 RS). Michael means "Who Is Like God?" The name evidently designates Michael as the one who takes the lead in upholding Jehovah's sovereignty and destroying God's enemies. At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (RS), the command of Jesus Christ for the ressurection to begin is described as "the archangel's call," and Jude 9 says that the archangel is Michael. Would it be appropriate to liken Jesus' commnding call to that of someone of lesser authority? Reasonably, then, the archangel is Jesus Christ. (Interestingly, the expression "archangel" is never found in the plural in the Scriptures, thus implying that there is only one.) Revelation 12:7-12 says that Michael and his angels would war against Satan and hurl him and his wicked angels out of heaven in connection with the conferring of kingly authority onn Christ. Jesus is later depicted as leading the armies of heaven in a war against the nations of the world (Rev. 19:11-16). Is it not reasonable that Jesus would also be the one to take action against the one he described as "ruler of this world," Satan the Devil? (John 12:31) Daniel 12:1 (RS) associates the 'standing up of Michael' to act with authority with a "time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time." That would certainly fit the experience of the nations when Christ as heavenly executioner takes action against them. So the evidence indicates that the Son of God was known as Michael before he came to earth and is known also by that name since his return to heaven where he resides as the glorified spirit Son of God." - ("Reasoning from the Scriptures" Pg 218) How accurate is the reasoning of the above. Is, as claimed by the Jehovah Witnesses, Jesus really Michael the archangel? This study will look at the Scriptures used above (as well as other Scriptures) to determine whether Jesus is Michael, or whether such a conclusion is unreasonable and at odds with the Bible. file:///c /My%20Documents/Godzone/JesusMichael.html (1 of 5) [26/09/02 13:33:00]

2 A LOOK AT MICHAEL Let us begin by looking at the verses that refer to Michael the Archangel. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. - Dan. 10:13 But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. - Dan. 10:21 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. - Dan. 12:1 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. - Jude 9 (We'll look further at this verse later) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. - Rev. 12:7-8 We need to logically ask "Do any of the above Scriptures prove that Michael is Jesus?" The answer is "No". All that the above Scriptures tell us is that Michael is given a title that represents his position (e.g. prince) and that he is involved in the warfare between God and Satan. The above Scriptures aren't sufficient proof that Jesus and Michael are one and the same! Let us look at another Scripture: Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. Now we can see some correlation between Jesus and Michael! Both are involved in the war in against Satan and his angels. But does this prove that Jesus is Michael the archangel? No, if one follows this logic we may as well say that Jesus is also Gabriel the archangel, for both are sent with a message from God! (Lk. 1:19,26 cf 1 Jn. 1:5;3:11)The above verse from the Book of Revelation contains a point that is damaging to the Jehovah's Witness point of view. Let's look at it: file:///c /My%20Documents/Godzone/JesusMichael.html (2 of 5) [26/09/02 13:33:00]

3 Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. (Emphasis mine) We see here that the person whom this verse is talking about (which is Jesus if you read the entire passage in context) judges! Judgement is a privilege reserved for God only. If Jesus is Michael the archangel, then He has no right to judge! But here we see Jesus judging, therefore Jesus has to be more than an angel i.e. Jesus has to be God! Let us look at another verse: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. - Jude 9 In this verse we see that Michael was having an argument with Satan concerning Moses body. The interesting part in this verse is at the latter end of it:...durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. - Jude 9 (Emphasis mine) Compare this with the following verse: But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. - Matt. 16:23 In Jude we see that Michael won't bring an accusation against Satan but says "The Lord rebuke thee", but then in the Gospel of Matthew we see Jesus rebuking Satan! How can this be if Jesus and Michael are one and the same? It can only be the case if Jesus is not Michael. Look at the latter half of Jude 9: "...The Lord rebuke thee." The word "Lord" is the Greek word "kurios" (Strongs #2962) and means "God, Lord, master, Sir". It is never used as a title for angels. Therefore Jesus is not an angel, HE IS GOD! CONCLUSION Though both Jesus and Michael are actively involved in the war against Satan and his angels, they are not one and the same. Michael is an archangel and Jesus is God. Michael doesn't rebuke Satan nor judges Satan, but we find Jesus doing the very thing that Michael, as an file:///c /My%20Documents/Godzone/JesusMichael.html (3 of 5) [26/09/02 13:33:00]

4 angel, can't do. SOME SCRIPTURES FROM HEBREWS There are a several Scriptures that are "the final nails in the coffin" to the Jehovah's Witnesses point of view of Jesus being Michael the archangel. Heb. 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Emphasis mine) We see in the above that Jesus was made "...so much better than the angels..." This begs the question: "If Jesus is Michael the archangel, then how can he be possibly made better than the angels, seeing he is an angel?" The only viable answer is that it Jesus can only be made better than the angels if He was something other than an angel (i.e. God). In the next verses we read: Heb. 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. For the Jehovah's Witnesses the above two verses are problematic. First of all to the question "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" The answer is NEVER! Secondly, we read "And let all the angels of God worship him.". If we follow the Jehovah's Witnesses view-point of Jesus being Michael the archangel, then we have angels worshipping an angel! Such a thing is forbidden in Scripture: Rev. 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. Notice what the angel says to John in the latter half of verse 9: "...worship God" -Rev. 22:9 file:///c /My%20Documents/Godzone/JesusMichael.html (4 of 5) [26/09/02 13:33:00]

5 God is the only One who we are to worship, if we worship anyone else be it an angel, man or any other created thing it is idolatry. The author of Hebrews asks: But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? - Heb. 1:13 The answer to this question is also NEVER!. If Jesus was Michael the archangel then this question (and also the question in Heb. 1:5-6) would be null and void and the Scripture would read: And to Michael the archangel he said... But the Bible does not say that! The Bible shows a clear distinction between Jesus and the angels. To further emphasise this point we read: For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. -Heb. 2:16 From this verse we see that, prior to His incarnation, Jesus did not have an angelic nature! Nor did He have a human nature. So if Jesus didn't have an angelic nature nor a human nature, what type of nature did Jesus have? He had a divine nature (i.e. He was God!) CONCLUSION We've looked at several Scriptures from Hebrews that teach that upon His incarnation Jesus' took upon Himself the nature of man and not of angels. Due to His obedience in dying on the cross for the sins of man Jesus holds an exalted positon (Phil. 2:5-11) and receives the worship of angels. These Scriptures destroy any credibilty behind the belief that Jesus is Michael the archangel. Back to Bible Studies Back to Godzone Front Page file:///c /My%20Documents/Godzone/JesusMichael.html (5 of 5) [26/09/02 13:33:00]