Q:
I have a question for
you my brother, and it is concerning Jesus and his pre-human existence which
we believe Jesus was and is Michael the Arch Angel. From the evidence the
scriptures leave I believe this to be the case, but I come to realize that
some ex Witnesses no longer believe this. Can you give me your thoughts on
this matter?
_________________________
A:
As
you know, we are taught by the Watchtower Society that Michael the archangel and
Jesus are one and the same, and I have no problem with that because there are no
Scriptures that might prove otherwise. To the contrary, there are many
Scriptures that would indicate that Jesus is Michael by his previous name. Among
those who argue that Michael the archangel cannot be Jesus are
predominantly
those who also believe that Jesus is God Almighty, and view it as sacrilege to
refer to him as an “angel,” even as an “archangel.”
Is Jesus an angel? What is an angel? Simply put, an angel is a spirit person,
having a spiritual body, who resides in heaven and is able to stand before the
person of Jehovah (except for the wicked angels [demons] who have been cast out of
heaven). On the other hand, mankind is fleshly, physical, made of dust. (1 Kings
22:21; Job 1:6; 2:1; Psalms 103:14; Luke 12:8,9; 1 Cor. 15:42-48) Jesus, as "the
son of man," appears before "the Ancient of Days" in heaven to receive
"rulership and dignity and kingdom." (Dan. 7:9,10, 13,14; Matt. 16:27; Heb.
9:24) Being an angel
does not in any way detract from the glory that belongs to Jesus as an
"only-begotten son," even from the
time before he came to earth. Angels are also sons of God, and as such can themselves
be referred to as "gods." The apostle John calls Jesus "the
only-begotten god [Greek μονογενής θεός] who is in the bosom position
with the Father" ("the only God, who is at the Father's side," ESV);
while Paul calls Satan the "god of this system of things."
(Psalms 82:1, 6; John 1:14, 18; 10:34-36; 2 Cor. 4:4)
The Scriptures indicate that there
is order and rank among the angels. The Bible speaks of only one “archangel,”
namely Michael (although some religions have the tradition of there being many
such archangels). (Dan. 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7) Besides the archangel, the
Bible mentions “Seraphs” as ranking very high among the angels in privileges and
honor. (Isaiah 6:2, 6) “Cherubs” are mentioned some 90 times, and from the
description of their duties and responsibilities it is apparent that they, too,
hold a special position among the angels. (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 10:1-22) "Then there
is the great body of angelic messengers who serve as a means of communication
between God and man. However, they do more than simply relay messages. As agents
and deputies of the Most High God, they serve as responsible executioners of the
divine purpose, be it protection and deliverance of God’s people or destruction
of the wicked." Whatever their rank or position, they are all angels. (see
Insight on the Scriptures vol. I, p. 106 Angel.)
Angels are created Beings, they had a beginning, something that Trinitarians
object to as applying to Jesus. Yet, the Bible tells us that Jesus had a
beginning, that he is God’s “only-begotten Son,” the “firstborn of all
creation,” yes, “the beginning of the creation by God,” as the glorified
Jesus spoke of himself. (John 3:16; Col. 1:15; Rev. 3:14. What does
only-begotten son mean? Compare Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38; Heb. 11:17) They
argue that Jesus cannot be identified with Michael the archangel because they
claim
that Jesus has always occupied his superior position above
all creation.
But the Scriptures tell us that Jesus has not always had the position that he now holds. That is what the
apostle Paul explains in Hebrews 1:1-14. He reasons how Jesus has been
exalted far above any of the angels in that he is now sitting at God’s right hand, a
place he obviously did not occupy prior to his glorification. After his
resurrection, Jesus told his disciples: “All authority has been given me
in heaven and on the earth.” (Matt. 28:18) Clearly, he cannot be given something
that has always been his, can it? Therefore, he did not have “all authority” in
heaven and on the earth previously.
In his letter to the congregation in Philippi, Paul explains further: “God
has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”
(Phil. 2:9, ESV; Heb. 5:5; 12:2) If the glorification of Jesus included
receiving “the name that is above every name” then that means that he is no
longer known by his previous name. What is the "new name of mine" that Jesus
mentions, which is above
every name? And by what name was he formerly known? (Rev. 2:17; 3:12; 19:12,13,
16) Could we not expect the Scriptures to tell us that?
This is how the English Standard Version (ESV)
Study Bible explains Paul’s words to the Philippians (2:9):
“It was precisely
Jesus’ humiliation that became the grounds for his exaltation. By humbling
himself on the cross out of love, he demonstrated that he truly shared the
divine nature of God, who is love (1 John 4:8). For this reason
(“therefore”) God raised him to life and highly exalted him, entrusting
him with the rule of the cosmos and giving him the name that is above every
name. This name is not specified here, but many think it refers to the name
Yahweh (Heb. YHWH), God’s personal name, which in the Septuagint is
regularly translated as Greek Kyrios, “Lord,” the name specified in Phil.
2:11. In any case, Paul means that the eternal Son of God received a status and
authority (cf. Matt. 28:18 and note on Acts 2:33) that had not been his before
he became incarnate as both God and man. Jesus’ being given this name is a sign
that he exercises his messianic authority in the name of Yahweh.”—ESV
Study Bible, page 2283. (Italics and Bold is theirs.)
Does
the above explanation make sense to you that “by humbling himself on the cross
out of love, [Jesus] demonstrated that he truly shared the divine nature of God,
who is love,” and therefore “the eternal Son of God received a status and
authority that had not been his before he became incarnate as both God and man”?
Can you see why there are many who argue that Jesus cannot be Michael the
archangel, when at the same time they believe that Jesus "became incarnate as
both God and man"? One such person explains on his website: “The essence of
God's divine nature is love and righteousness. . . God's divine nature is so
awesome that we cannot fully comprehend God. His nature is a great mystery to us
that He reveals to mankind at the right place in time.” But Jehovah is not a
mystery to his people, and neither is his Son!
Regarding Michael the archangel the Scripture says that he and his angels
battled against the Devil and his angels, defeating them and ousting them from
heaven. (Rev. 12:7-9) Who else
in the Scriptures exercises authority over the angels and directs them into
battle? Another Scripture answers: “God considers it just to repay with
affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted
as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the
punishment of eternal destruction.” (2 Thess. 1:6-9, ESV) Also to
consider: When Jesus “arrives in his glory, and all the angels with
him,” where is Michael the archangel at that time with his angels? Does
Jesus arrive with “all the angels,” or only with the ones who don’t
belong to Michael? (Matt. 25:31) Yes, if Michael with his angels won the war
against "the one called Devil and Satan," then where is he when the decisive
battle of Armageddon is fought? Where is he when Jesus—who as “The Word of God,” and “King
of Kings and Lord of lords”—is
accompanied by “the armies that were in heaven,” and rides into battle against
“the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies" in order to
annihilate them? (Rev. 16:14, 16; 19:11-19)
What do you think? If Jesus received the new and superior name that is above all others,
could we expect the Scriptures to continue to refer to him by his previous
name? If Jesus was indeed known as Michael, would he still be called by that name after
his exaltation? (compare Gen. 17:5; 35:10; John 1:42) It is no coincidence that
after Jesus' glorification Michael is no longer mentioned in the Bible. Jesus said: "I am the fine
shepherd, and I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:14) Jesus' sheep
know him because the Scriptures have revealed much about him.
You might find the following website of interest as it explains in greater
detail (and convincingly I might add) who Michael the archangel is.
http://jehovah.to/xlation/ar.html
And
you might like to consider also another site. Although the person eloquently
provides evidence from the Scriptures that Jesus is indeed Michael the
archangel, he also at the same time makes it clear that he believes that Jesus
is God. It escapes me how he can reason so effectively on the one point while
missing the other.
http://www.creation-science-prophecy.com/michael.htm
http://www.perimeno.ca/Index_A.htm