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Is Jesus
Christ The Archangel Michael?
(All scripture quotes are
from the NASB unless otherwise noted)
The
Watchtower Society teaches that Jesus existed as Michael the archangel prior
to coming to earth and became Michael again once He returned to heaven. They claim
that Jesus was only a man when he was on earth, and when He died, the "man"
Jesus ceased to exist, being raised as a "spirit creature" and returned to
heaven as the archangel
Michael:
"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,
1985, Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society, p. 218
In order to try
to prove that Jesus is Michael the archangel, Jehovah's Witnesses often
point to passages like Daniel 10:13 where Michael is seen as "one of
the chief princes." The fact that Michael is "one of the chief princes,"
however, indicates that Michael is not unique. Jesus is more than just a
"Prince" or "Ruler." The Bible calls Jesus "King of Kings" and "Lord of
Lords." (Revelation 17:14; 19:16) This title indicates absolute sovereignty
and authority and is a far cry from being "one of the chief princes" who is
one among a group of equals.
1 Thessalonians
4:16 states, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of
the archangel, and with
the trumpet of God...." Jehovah's Witnesses use this verse to try to prove
that Jesus is Michael the archangel because He comes "with the voice of the
archangel." However, the fact that Jesus is coming with the archangel's
voice doesn't mean that He is an archangel. Notice that this verse
also says that Jesus is coming with God's trumpet, but one wouldn't argue
that Jesus is God simply because He is coming with God's trumpet.
In 2
Thessalonians 1:7, we read that "the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire." Thus, it appears that Jesus will
come with the archangel who issues the shout. In Zechariah 14:5-6, we
read that Jehovah God "will come, and all the holy ones with Him! And
it will come about in that day that there will be no light." When we
compare this passage of Jehovah's coming with the coming of Christ as
described in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and Matthew 24:29-31, it is obvious that
the Jehovah who is coming in Zechariah is the Jesus who is coming with "His
angels" in Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians.
In order to try
to prove that when Jesus was claiming to be the "Son of God," He was
claiming to be one of God's angels, Jehovah's Witnesses often point to
Job 38:7 where angels are called sons of God. However, Hebrews 1:5
states, "For to which of the angels did He ever say, 'YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU'? And again, 'I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE
SHALL BE A SON TO ME'?" Since the Bible doesn't contradict itself, it is
obvious that Jesus is called the "Son of God" in a different sense than
angels are called sons of God.
Historically,
the Jews understood the term "son of..." to mean "of the order of..." (see 1
Kings 20:35; Nehemiah 12:28) Therefore, when Jesus claimed to be the "Son of
God" (John 19:7), the Jews tried to stone Him for blasphemy (Leviticus
24:16) for they understood Him to be claiming to be "of the order of God",
hence, claiming to be Jehovah God (John 5:18). In Isaiah 46:9, God declares,
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one
like Me."
The Jehovah's
Witnesses will also try to use the term "only
begotten" to try to prove that Jesus was created, but this is not the case
at all. When Jesus is
called the "only begotten God" in John 1:18, this term is used to refer to
Christ's uniqueness as God. Originally, it was thought that the term
monogenese
(monogenhV) came from
monos
(monoV) meaning
"only" and
gennao
(gennaw) meaning
"begotten." However, further research has determined that the term
genese
is derived
not
from gennao,
but rather from
genos
(genoV)
which means "kind" or "type." Therefore, when the Bible refers to Jesus as
the "only begotten God," it is literally saying that Jesus is the "one and
only unique God", which is Jehovah (see John 1:18).
Indeed, Jesus
was never Michael the archangel before He came to earth, nor did He get
raised as "a spirit creature" and return to heaven as the archangel Michael.
The Bible testifies: "For He did not subject to angels the world to come,
concerning which we are speaking." (Hebrews 2:5). So as you can see, the
bible shows that Jesus is NOT the archangel Michael, but is God manifest in
the flesh who came to die for us and free us from all our sins. No angel
could ever do that.
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