Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ is the angel Michael
In Comparative Theology
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ is the angel Michael
Their belief:
They believe that the Lord Christ is the angel Michael, who is the prince of angels and the chief of the Lord’s host, and he is the commander and marshal of Jehovah’s warlike force, the prince of Jehovah’s great armies, and that he is “the offspring of the woman who crushes the serpent’s head.” All this appears in their books.
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They say in their book (The Truth Will Set You Free) p. 50:
“For the Word is a prince or chief among all other creatures. And in this office he has another name in heaven which is Michael which means ‘who is like God’..
And he has also been given other names over the course of time. Indeed, among the principalities created in the invisible spiritual world, Michael was one of the foremost princes. And at the appointed time he became the invisible prince of Israel the chosen people of God (Dan 10:13, 23) (Dan 12:1) (Jude 9) and (Deut 34:5, 6).
Also as the chief of Almighty Jehovah and bearer of a message, Michael had angels under his command, therefore he is the prince of angels, and likewise he is the one whom Jehovah uses in cleansing every rebellion from the universe. Even if that was at a time of distress on earth he had never before had an equal. See (Rev 12:7-9), (Dan 12:1), (Matt 24:3, 21, 22), (1 Thess 4:16).” -
And they say in their book (Preparation) p. 24:
(Commenting on what is in the book of Zechariah (1:8): “And behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were horses, red, sorrel, and white.” And likewise commenting on what is in (Isa 63:2, 3) “Why is your apparel red, and your garments like him that treads in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone..”) they said:
“The rider on the red horse was the personalized angel of the Lord, to whom the other remaining angels present a report of the result of their inspection (Zech 1:11). Riding a red horse is a figure for bloody war (Isa 63:2). It appears that the rider on the red horse represents Christ Jesus, leader and marshal of Jehovah’s warlike host” (Ps 45:4). -
And they said in the same book (Preparation) chapter 12 (The War) p. 272:
“Jehovah the mighty God of war is for fighting (Exod 15:3) (Ps 24:8, 10). He does not fight except for a righteous cause. Therefore it is said ‘To everything there is a season… a time to war and a time to peace’ (Eccl 3:1-8).
.. (after the appointed time for Satan) … a fierce war will break out… that war must precede the day of eternal peace on earth and the delight of people… It is incumbent upon Christ Jesus, the Prince of Jehovah’s mighty armies, to wait without stirring against Satan (Ps 110:1). That time ended in the year 1914, and a war in heaven broke out thereafter (Rev 11:17, 18) (Rev 12:7).” -
And they say in their book (This Is Eternal Life) p. 289:
“And the day of ‘the offspring of the woman’ will come. The appointed hour comes to crush the head of the serpent-crusher, to kill the head of the serpent and to trample and kill its seed. Christ Jesus, called the offspring, is the great angel sent by Jehovah, anointed with power to perform this mighty work. He is the chief angel called Michael, which means ‘who is like God.’ He is the one who cast out Satan and his angels from heaven after they initiated a successful war (Rev 20:1-3).” -
See also what is in their books (Creation) p. 18, and (Salvation) p. 319, and (The Divine System of the Ages) p. 347, and (The Harp of God) p. 309, and (Let God Be True) p. 60.
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Comment: In (Joshua 5:14) “I am the commander of the Lord’s host.” They understand that the one who spoke was Christ, and he is the commander of the Lord’s host. Thus he would be the angel Michael.
Response to their heresy:
1- Indeed God appeared as the angel of the Lord when He appeared in the burning bush to Moses the prophet (Exod 3:2-6). He appeared as the commander of the Lord’s host to Joshua son of Nun, and spoke to him as God (Josh 5:13-15).
But God appearing as an angel does not mean that He is an angel:
Just as God appeared repeatedly as a man, that does not mean that He is a man. He appeared to Jacob the father of the fathers as a man who wrestled until dawn, blessed him and changed his name (Gen 32:24-30). Was God then a man?! Far be it. And He appeared as a man to Abraham (Gen 18:2, 17).
As for the Lord Christ not being able to be the angel Michael or any other angel, there are many replies, of which we mention:
2- What Paul the Apostle stated in his Epistle to the Hebrews that the Lord Christ is greater than all the orders of angels:
For example “For to which of the angels did He ever say: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool?” (Heb 1:13). This is a prophecy found in (Ps 110:1). And the Lord Christ indeed sat at the right hand of God the Father, as is stated in (Mark 16:19) “So then, when the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” And in (Acts 7:56) in the vision of Stephen the martyr, he said “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” It is not mentioned in the Holy Bible that the angel Michael stands or sits at the right hand of God.
3- It is also stated that the angels worshipped the Lord Christ.
Something that never happened to the angel Michael… And in this Paul the Apostle says “And again, when He brings in the firstborn into the world, He says: Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb 1:6). Was such said about the angel Michael?! Did it not occur in Revelation that an angel refused to be worshipped by John (Rev 19:10)? Would the angel Michael be the one before whom every knee in heaven and on earth bows?!
It is also said about the Lord Christ at the end of the temptation on the mountain “and angels came and ministered to Him” (Mark 1:13). Who do the angels serve if not God?!
The worship of the angels to the Lord Christ is stated in (Phil 2:10) where it says “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.” Would the angel Michael bow his knee to him?! Or is it “indeed every knee in heaven bows to the Christ.”
4- It is said of the Lord Christ in the Psalms:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness” (Ps 45:6) (the word “Your throne” also translates as “Your chair”).
And Saint Paul the Apostle quoted this verse in (Heb 1:8), citing it regarding the greatness of the Lord Christ. Thus Christ is king on a throne. Whereas it is said of the angels “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb 1:14). It is said of them “Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire” (Ps 104:4). As for the Lord Christ it is said “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”
5- The Lord Christ is the Creator, and the angel Michael is created.
It is said of the Lord Christ “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). And of course the angel Michael is among all that was made by Him. This is supported by what is said of the Lord Christ in the Epistle to the Colossians “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Col 1:16). And Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves believe that the Lord Christ created everything.
But the angels, among them the angel Michael, are created spirits. It is said of them “Who maketh His angels spirits” (Ps 104:4).
6- It is said of the Lord Christ “You have put all things under His feet” (Ps 8:6).
And Saint Paul the Apostle also quoted this verse. And he said thereafter “For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him” (Heb 2:8). No doubt that the angel Michael is among all that are subject to the Lord Christ.
And concerning this authority of the Lord Christ to which all are subject, the Lord Christ said to His disciples before His ascension “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and in earth” (Matt 28:18). And this authority of Christ is, of course, one to whom the angel Michael is subject among the rest.
Other notes:
7- It is said of Michael the chief angel that “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he dared not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 9).
So the angel Michael did not dare to rebuke the devil.
But the Lord Christ how many times did He rebuke the devil… On one occasion when He cast out a demon, the demon cried out: “What have we to do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God!” Then Jesus rebuked him saying: “Hold thy peace, and come out of him!… And with a loud voice the unclean spirit came out of him” (Mark 1:24-26). And the people were amazed… “For with authority He commandeth even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Mark 1:27).
Not only that, but the Lord Christ gave this authority also to His disciples: to cast out demons (Matt 10:1, 8) (Luke 10:17). Thus the disciples rebuked the demons and cast them out. The demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17).
Therefore the angel Michael is not the Christ. For if he were Christ he would have dared to rebuke Satan. Whereas it is said in (Jude 9) that he did not dare to do that. While the disciples of Christ rebuked demons and cast them out, and the demons were subject to them.
8- It is said of the Lord Christ that He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant.
As it is stated in (Phil 2:7). Thus His incarnation was a state of humility and self-emptying “in the form of a servant,” whereas the angels each by their nature are servants of God (Rev 19:10).
9- It is said of the angels that they are sons of God (Job 1:6) (Job 38:7). They have an honorific sonship.
But the Lord Christ differs from them. For He is the only-begotten Son of God. (John 3:16, 18) (John 1:18) (1 John 4:9). For He alone is Son of God by essence, by nature, by His divinity. The phrase “only-begotten Son” distinguishes Him from the sonship of all people to God, and from the sonship of all angels to God including the angel Michael.
10- Jesus Christ said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
He repeated this meaning in (John 17:22). The angel Michael cannot dare to say “I and the Father are one.” Nor can the angel Michael dare to say—as the Lord Christ said—“I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:10, 11) “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).
11- Neither the angel Michael, nor any other of the princes of the angels, were attributed the divine properties that were attributed to the Lord Christ.
Such as divinity (John 1:1) (Rom 9:5) (Isa 9:6). And the power of creation (Ps 102:25-27) (Prov 22:30), the miracle of turning water into wine (John 2), the feeding of the multitude with five loaves and two fishes…
And no angel among them was attributed omnipresence (John 3:13). As the Lord Christ said of Himself “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20).
And concerning the divinity of Christ, and reading of thoughts (Mark 2:6-8). For the divine properties of the Lord Christ, read our book: The Theology of Christ.
12- The Lord Christ is the Judge, who will reward each according to his work.
He said: “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:31-41).
If the angel Michael were the Christ, would the angel Michael be the Judge, or is the Judge God (Ps 50:6) who comes to judge the world in righteousness (Ps 96:13) (Ps 98:9)? It is the mighty God Christ.
The Lord Christ also said “For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt 16:27). Will the angel Michael who did not dare to rebuke the devil (Jude 9) reward every man according to his works?! Far be it.
And will the angel Michael come in the glory of the Father?!
As is said about the Lord Christ in (Matt 16:27) and also in (Luke 9:26) that he will come “in his glory and the glory of the Father” while the Lord says “I am the LORD; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another” (Isa 42:8).
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt 13:43).
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