Expert: Brenton Hepburn - 10/6/2006

Question
hi, thanks for taking my question. My friend has in the past year become a jehovahs witness. She sais they believe micheal the archangel is jesus now. well I am confused because in rev. 12 chap.7 micheal and his angels wage war against the dragon. did he turn back into micheal from being jesus? please dont say its a different micheal or another name for jesus because the name of jesus or "the lamb" is used throughout  revelations. why would they only use it for this one event. thank you for taking time out to answer this.

Answer
Hello Laura

Thank you for your question regarding the identity of Michael the Archangel,  This is often asked of JWs as to why we feel that Jesus is Michael.

First I just want to say that there is no definite text that we use to prove out right that this is the case.  It is not a doctrine of JWs as there is no absolute reference in the Bible as to the identity of Michael, but by examining the roll Jesus has in Gods Kingdom as well as what the Bible says about Michael, the evidence appears to show that they are on and the same individual. So it is our understanding of what the Bible says that leads us to the conclusion that Jesus was named Michael before he came to earth and after he ascended to heaven.

Lets start by examining what the Bible has to say about Michael.   This Michael appears only five times in the Bible. The name Michael means 'Who Is Like God?'.  The designation as Archangel suggest only one as the prefix Arch means "chief" or "principal"  or "predominate" or "first'.  The term Archangel is only found in the singular and not plural also leading to the conclusion there is only one Archangel

The glorious spirit person who bears the name is referred to as one of the chief princes, the great prince who has charge of your [Daniel's] people, and as the archangel. (Dan. 10:13; "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me";    12:1; "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since then"; - RSV ) There also seems to be a connection that this Michael is the angel who led the Israelites through the wilderness. ( see Ex 23:20, 21, 23; 32:34; 33:2) In Jude 9, Michael is disputing over the body of Moses which seems to lend support to this conclusion ("But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses,"  - RSV)   

In First Thessalonians 4:16, we find the Apostle Paul speaking of the pre-eminence of the archangel and the authority of his office, and he 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."  (RSV)  It would appear, therefore that there is a significant connection between the direct association of the term "archangel" with Michael,

It also seems  logical, therefore, that the voice expressing this commanding call (1 Thessalonians 4:16, ) 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. (Mt 28:18; Re 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. Just going back to the book of Daniel 10 and 12, Michael's standing up (“shall arise”) was to be associated with "a time of trouble, such as never has been since then" (Dan. 12:1) In Daniel's prophecy, “shall arise up” frequently refers to the action of a king, either taking up his royal power or acting effectively in his capacity as king. (Dan. 11:2-4, 7, 16b, 20, 21) This lends supports the conclusion that Michael is Jesus Christ, since Jesus is Jehovah's appointed King, commissioned to destroy all the nations at Har-Magedon.-Re 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. (Re 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 rising up. (Dan 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.

In his prehuman existence Jesus was called "the Word." (Joh 1:1) He also had the personal name Michael. By retaining the name Jesus after his resurrection (Ac 9:5), "the Word" shows that he is identical with the Son of God on earth. His resuming his heavenly name Michael and his title (or name) "The Word of God" (Re 19:13) ties him in with his prehuman existence. The very name Michael, asking as it does, "Who Is Like God?" points to the fact that Jehovah God is without like, or equal, and that Michael his archangel is his great Champion or Vindicator.

I hope that explains why we understand that Jesus and Michael are one and the same

Please feel free to ask for more clarification or an other questions


Brenton