Is it not true that Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus was the archangel Michael?

Question

If so, why does the Bible say believers in Heaven will reign over the angels?

What about thier leader Charles Taze Russell? He predicted the Lords return to happen in the late 1800's. I bet his followers believe that he spoke the truth about this also.

Answer 1

It is true, Witnesses, "incorrectly" believe, Jesus is Michael the Archangel. Unfortunately, this contradicts scripture!

Angels are created Beings with limited power, authority, and responsibilities. One example can be seen when it comes to their Angelic interaction with Satan the Master Manipulator.

Michael the Archangel could not rebuke Satan on his own.

We read in Jude 1:9:

"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."

In contrast, Jesus - God in the flesh, even on earth, clearly rebukes Satan.

We read in Matthew 4:10:

"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve!"

There are several scriptures which reveal why Michael the Archangel, and Jesus could NOT be the same. However, this is one of the most simple, visual, and straightforward examples. The Lord has explained truth in simple terms so that we can easily comprehend what is written.

Unfortunately, humans, led by intellectual pride, make scriptures confusing, by adding, subtracting, and twisting what is written. Simply read what is written...in humility!

What a Powerful and Gracious God we serve. He is worthy of Praise, Glory, and Obedience!

Blessings, Miji

Answer 2

There are good angels and bad angels. It seems only fair that the bad ones would have to deal with some teaching with the good ole rod, don't ya think? :)

Answer 3

according to JW's Michael the Archangel is indeed Jesus...

but the real question is, do you believe this is the truth?

and on your last question -- yes, the believers will reign over angels and no, Jesus is not an angel.

Answer 4

Jehovah's Witnesses well understand that those humans who are resurrected to heaven are given a position higher than mere angels. However, it seems rather obvious to note that those humans who are resurrected to heaven thereby BECOME angels themselves.

Clearly, there is a hierarchy of angels. At the very apex of spirit creatures is the only-begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there a term which is literally defined as "Chief of the Angels"? Yes. The term is "Archangel". The bible teaches that there is a SINGLE archangel, despite what Christendom pretends. Who besides Jesus could be the undisputed head of the entire heavenly host?


Jehovah's Witnesses fully understand and agree that Jesus Christ the Son (who is much more than a mere angel) has been appointed by Jehovah God the Father as King of God's Kingdom. Jehovah God is the source of Christ's authority, so that Jesus is now "better than the angels".

(Hebrews 1:3-4) [Jesus] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. 4 So he HAS BECOME better than the angels [caps added]

(Matthew 28:18) And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying: "All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.

(Acts 2:36) God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.

(John 3:35) The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

(Acts 5:31) God exalted this one as Chief Agent and Savior to his right hand

(Psalm 2:2-6) The kings of earth take their stand And high officials themselves have massed together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one... Jehovah himself will hold them in derision..., Saying: "I, even I, have installed my king [Jesus]


No true student of the bible would suggest that an "archangel" is the peer of mere angels. Christendom has pretended that Gabriel is also an archangel, and that Satan had been; both ideas have no foundation in Scripture. Some religions in Christendom invent names for four or five additional supposed "archangels"; those invented names have no foundation in Scripture. "Archangel" actually means "Chief of the Angels"; the fact remains that the bible itself speaks of only one single solitary archangel. The Scriptures never use the term "archangel" in the plural, but only in the singular.

Who is a better person than Jesus to be the single "Chief" of all faithful angels? Of whom can it be said that faithful angels belong to him, or are "his"?
2 Thes 1:7 Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels
Rev 12:7 Michael and his angels battled


The bible certainly teaches that the archangel Michael is the same person as Jesus.


Note that Jesus the Lord calls with an archangel's voice:
1 Thes 4:14-16 Jesus died and rose again, so, too... the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel's voice


Do two different persons present themselves during a time of "distress" such as has "not occurred" before?

Dan 12:1 And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time.

Matt 24:3-21 Disciples [asked Jesus] what will be the sign of your presence...?" And in answer Jesus said to them: "...All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. ...for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world's beginning until now


Do two different persons both lead the heavenly armies?

Rev 19:13,14 [Jesus] is The Word of God. Also, the armies that were in heaven were following him

Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled


Once you study it, the bible really teaches that Michael is another name for Jesus. Though the term may confuse some, Jesus can properly be called an "archangel" or an "angel" (though not a mere angel) or a "son of God" or a "morning star" (though not a mere 'morning star'). Interestingly, the Scriptures refer to *ALL* angelic spirit creatures as "morning stars" (not just Jesus or Lucifer). Note that the archangel Jesus is uniquely elevated above mere angels by the title "the BRIGHT morning star".

Job 38:4,7 When [Jehovah] founded the earth... When the morning stars [or "angels"] joyfully cried out together, And all the sons of God began shouting in applause

Rev 22:16 I, Jesus... I am the root and the offspring of David, and the BRIGHT morning star. [caps added]

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20050422/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/19951101/article_02.htm

Answer 5

Yes an in very simple several verse of the bible prove that
about 50-70 verse prove that Michael is the first son of god, angels are sons of God (Job 1:6 , 2:1 and 38:7) and Michael is the chief of them the great prince (Daniel 12:1) and God said that he sent his son (John 3:16) Which one his first one people think that the term firstborn means that he is in earth and the bible said that the first son in earth was Adam (Luke 3:38) not Jesus, Jesus was son of God in earth yes and the first son of Mary yes but not the firstson of God in earth the term firstson that said Colossians 1:15-16 is in heaven and in revelation 3:14 said that the first creation of God was Jesus
The bible said that Jesus has the voice of Archangel (1 Thessal 4:15) why that voice? if he is almighty God why dismiss his authority? it doesn´t have any sense, Jesus is the chief commander of angels because he is the firstson of God and the bible said that angel are sons of God. As I told this is only the 10% Jesus is a god yes and Jehovah is a god yes and the bible said that Satan is a god (2 Corithians 4:4) but that doesn´t mean that they are the same person the bible gave the same title but title not person. the point is that Jesus need to be God almghty because catholic church need it to worship Mary as the mother of God almighty which is wrong.

Answer 6

In his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul prophesied: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) In this scripture Jesus is described as having assumed his power as God’s Messianic King. Yet, he speaks with “an archangel’s voice.” Note, too, that he has the power to raise the dead.

While on earth as a human, Jesus performed several resurrections. In doing so, he used his voice to utter commanding calls. For example, when resurrecting the dead son of a widow in the city of Nain, he said: “Young man, I say to you, Get up!” (Luke 7:14, 15) Later, just before resurrecting his friend Lazarus, Jesus “cried out with a loud voice: ‘Lazarus, come on out!’” (John 11:43) But on these occasions, Jesus’ voice was the voice of a perfect man.

After his own resurrection, Jesus was raised to a “superior position” in heaven as a spirit creature. (Philippians 2:9) No longer a human, he has the voice of an archangel. So when God’s trumpet sounded the call for “those who are dead in union with Christ” to be raised to heaven, Jesus issued “a commanding call,” this time “with an archangel’s voice.” It is reasonable to conclude that only an archangel would call “with an archangel’s voice.”

Yes, there are other angelic creatures of high rank, such as seraphs and cherubs. (Genesis 3:24; Isaiah 6:2) Yet, the Scriptures point to the resurrected Jesus Christ as the chief of all angels.

All heavenly creatures are called angels but why is Jesus special? Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation,” the very first angel. That is so “because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible.” (Colossians 1:15, 16) Yes, Jesus was the only one directly created by God himself. Therefore, he is called God’s “only-begotten Son.” (John 3:16) The firstborn Son also bears the title “the Word.” (John 1:14) Why? Because before being born as a human, he served in heaven as one who spoke for God.

What about those humans who will rule over the angels? The verse says: 1 Corinthians 6:2 "Or do YOU not know that the holy ones will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by YOU, are YOU unfit to try very trivial matters? 3 Do YOU not know that we shall judge angels? Why, then, not matters of this life?"

Who are the holy ones? The Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to Jesus at night, and Jesus said to him: “Unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Nicodemus, who as a Pharisee must have studied the Hebrew Scriptures, knew something about the grand truth of the Kingdom of God. The book of Daniel prophesied that the Kingdom would be given to “someone like a son of man” and to “the people who are the holy ones of the Supreme One.” (Daniel 7:13, 14, 27) The Kingdom was to “crush and put an end” to all other kingdoms and to stand forever. (Daniel 2:44) Likely, Nicodemus thought that these prophecies would be fulfilled with regard to the Jewish nation; but Jesus said that to see the Kingdom, one had to be born again. Nicodemus did not understand, so Jesus went on to say: “Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”—John 3:5.

Earlier, record says: “[John] would preach, saying: ‘After me someone stronger than I am is coming; I am not fit to stoop and untie the laces of his sandals. I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with holy spirit.’” (Mark 1:7, 8) Before that time, no one had been baptized with holy spirit. Now, Jesus adds that an individual must be born from holy spirit if he is to enter into the Kingdom of God. By this unique birth, imperfect men and women enter into a very special relationship with Jehovah God. They become his adopted children. We read: “As many as did receive [Jesus], to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.”—John 1:12, 13; Romans 8:15.

The holy/anointed ones or the 'little flock' are the ones who will reign as corulers of Christ as kings and priests in heaven(Revelation 20:6) subjecting the meek followers of God (Psalms 37:11). Since Jesus is the archangel, all other angels honor him, and since the anointed ones corules with Christ it is fitting that the angels alsp honor them.

Answer 7

Yes, the Bible points to Jesus being known as Michael the archangel.

Is there valid scriptural basis for this? And who is Michael?

First, we need to figure out what being the archangel means. The prefix “arch,” meaning “chief” or “principal,” implies that there is only one archangel, the chief angel; in the Scriptures, “archangel” is never found in the plural. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, in speaking of the preeminence of the archangel and the authority of his office, does so in reference to the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.” It is, therefore, not without significance that the only name directly associated with the word “archangel” is Michael.—Jude 9

Michael is also the only holy angel other than Gabriel named in the Bible, and the only one called “archangel.” The first occurrence of the name is in the tenth chapter of Daniel, where Michael is described as “one of the foremost princes”; he came to the aid of a lesser angel who was opposed by “the prince of the royal realm of Persia.” Michael was called “the prince of [Daniel’s] people,” “the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of [Daniel’s] people.” (Daniel 10:13, 20, 21; 12:1) This points to Michael as the angel who led the Israelites through the wilderness. (Exodus 23:20, 21, 23; 32:34; 33:2) Lending support to this conclusion is the fact that “Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body.”—Jude 9.

Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God’s Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. Michael is the only one said to be “the archangel,” meaning “chief angel,” or “principal angel.” The term occurs in the Bible only in the singular. This seems to imply that there is but one whom God has designated chief, or head, of the angelic host. At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the voice of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is described as being that of an archangel, suggesting that he is, in fact, himself the archangel. This text depicts him as descending from heaven with “a commanding call.” It is only logical, therefore, that the voice expressing this commanding call be described by a word that would not diminish or detract from the great authority that Christ Jesus now has as King of kings and Lord of lords. (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 17:14) If the designation “archangel” applied, not to Jesus Christ, but to other angels, then the reference to “an archangel’s voice” would not be appropriate. In that case it would be describing a voice of lesser authority than that of the Son of God.

There are also other correspondencies establishing that Michael is actually the Son of God. Daniel, after making the first reference to Michael (Daniel 10:13), recorded a prophecy reaching down to “the time of the end” (Daniel 11:40) and then stated: “And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of [Daniel’s] people.” (Daniel 12:1) Michael’s ‘standing up’ was to be associated with “a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time.” (Daniel 12:1) In Daniel’s prophecy, ‘standing up’ frequently refers to the action of a king, either taking up his royal power or acting effectively in his capacity as king. (Daniel 11:2-4, 7, 16b, 20, 21) This supports the conclusion that Michael is Jesus Christ, since Jesus is Jehovah’s appointed King, commissioned to destroy all the nations at Har–Magedon.—Revelation 11:15; 16:14-16.

The book of Revelation (12:7, 10, 12) specifically mentions Michael in connection with the establishment of God’s Kingdom and links this event with trouble for the earth: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled. And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down . . . On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea.’” Jesus Christ is later depicted as leading the heavenly armies in war against the nations of the earth. (Revelation 19:11-16) This would mean a period of distress for them, which would logically be included in the “time of distress” that is associated with Michael’s standing up. (Daniel 12:1) Since the Son of God is to fight the nations, it is only reasonable that he was the one who with his angels earlier battled against the superhuman dragon, Satan the Devil, and his angels.