IS JESUS CHRIST THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL?

One of the numerous controversies in Christendom is the teaching by some Christian groups that the Archangel Michael is the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre and post human existence.

When it comes to controversial subjects like this, the Christian owes himself or herself the duty of painstakingly searching out the truth. There are three sides in any controversy – their side, our side, and the truth. There should be the willingness in the mind of every honest and true Christian to be found, at all cost and at all times, on the side of the truth. Sometimes, this may require of us abandoning our own side and accepting theirs if they are found to be on the side of the truth. Some other times, it could be the other way round. The important thing is for all Christians, irrespective of their denominations, to come to know the real truth in the Bible. It is not expected of Christians to obstinately stick with their denominational dogmas even after hard and convincing biblical facts have been shown to them that what had been taught to them are erroneous or false. Such attitudes have led many people in denominations to develop hearts that are darkened in the midst of available light. Ultimately, such people become strongly deluded (Rom. 1: 21-24; John 9: 39-41; 2 Thes. 2: 10,11). When people in religion get deluded, they no longer see the falsehood in the things they have been indoctrinated with. It takes the grace of God for anyone in that state of strong delusion to see the light of the truth.

What Some Groups Teach

1. In the pre-human days of Jesus Christ, he was the chief of the angels of God in heaven who was sent by Him to communicate with the holy men and prophets of old… Jesus Christ has many other names and titles… He is also known as Emmanuel, Michael, Sun of Righteousness, the Son of Man, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David and so on.
2. God’s Word refers to Michael as “the archangel” (Jude 1:9). This term means “chief angel.” Notice that Michael is called the archangel. This suggests that there is only one such angel. In fact, the term “archangel” occurs in the Bible only in the singular, never in the plural. 
3. Jesus is linked with the office of archangel. Regarding the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Thes. 4:16 states: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice.” Thus, the voice of Jesus is described as being that of an archangel. This scripture therefore suggests that Jesus himself is the archangel Michael.
4. The Bible states that “Michael and his angels battled with the dragon… and its angels” (Rev. 12:7) … Revelation also describes Jesus as the Leader of an army of faithful angels (Rev. 19: 14-16) … So, the Bible speaks of both Michael and “his angels” and Jesus and “his angels” … Since God’s word nowhere indicates that there are two armies of faithful angels in heaven – one headed by Michael and one headed by Jesus – it is logical to conclude that Michael is none other than Jesus Christ in his heavenly role. 

Biblical Facts

In the first place, an archangel is an angel the same way a General in an army is a soldier. The author of Hebrews copiously and explicitly stated that our Lord Jesus Christ is different from and preeminent over the angels of God (Heb. 1:1-14). Secondly, Michael is not the only archangel. In Daniel 10:13, the angel which God sent to Daniel told him that Michael is one of the chief princes [of God]. In other words, Michael is one of the chief angels. The New Living Translation (NLT) renders it as “Michael, one of the archangels”. This clearly reveals that God’s archangels are more than one. (Words in square brackets and bold emphases are mine throughout.)

In 1 Enoch 9:1 is written the names of five watchers [angels] who interceded with God for humanity – Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Suryal and Uriel. In chapter 20 are the names of angels who watch [over the earth] – Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sarakiel Gabriel and Remiel. 

We read also in the Apocryphal Book of Tobit a statement made by angel Raphael, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One” (Tobit 12:15). 

In Rev. 1:4,5, St. John sent the usual salutations to his audience from “the one who is, and who was, and who is to come [God], and “from the seven spirits” [angels] who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ…” In Rev. 8:2, John refers to the seven spirits as “the seven angels”. These are evidently the seven angels of eminence, known as archangels, who are always standing before the throne of God to take orders from the Most High God and His one and only begotten Son. 

The use of definite article “the” for archangel Michael in Jude 1:9 should not be mistaken to mean that Michael is the only archangel. The definite article merely identifies Michael as the one who contended with Satan over the body of Moses. It should be noted that in 1 Thes: 4:16, the voice or shout of command is said to be that of “an archangel,” an unnamed archangel. This again suggests that the archangels of God are more than one. Michael is simply one of them.

Jesus Christ is coming as a King of kings and a Lord of lords (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). The angels who will accompany Him will be the ones who will blow the trumpets and the shout of command will be uttered by “an archangel,” NOT the King Himself (Matt. 24:31; 25:6; 1 Thes. 4:16). Matthew 25:6 makes it very clear that the Bridegroom who is the coming King is not the one who will give out the herald. Kings are not the ones who issue calls for people to come out and welcome them. That is the job of their escorting servants. Haman did it for a one-day king called Mordecai (Esther 6:6-11). 

Michael and the other archangels are created spirit beings collectively called angels. The Greek word “arche” [“chief”] is joined with another word “aggelos” [“angel” which literally means “messenger”] to form the compound word archaggelos [chief angel or chief messenger]. This simply means that an archangel is a chief angel or a high-ranking angel. Archangels are leaders among God’s angels. Jesus Christ is superior to angels because He is the “monogenes” – the only one begotten by God, thus making Him a God Being like the Father. He created the angels (John 1:3; Col. 1:16). That is why it is not idolatry when the angels of God worship Him (Heb. 1:6). God will not order anyone to commit sin. The worship of angels is sin before God (Col. 2:18). And the angels themselves, because they are faithful, do not allow anyone to worship them (Rev: 19:10). 

In heaven and earth, there are hierarchies in every army. Examples are seen in Num. 31:48-54; 2 Sam. 18:1-2; 24:4. It is a known fact that up to the Middle Ages, kings led their armies to war. And that does not mean that they don’t have varying cadres of commanders under them. In David’s army, for example, Joab was his commander who was in charge of other lower-rank commanders while David himself was the “commander-in-chief.”

The fact that Michael leads an army of faithful angels does not equate him with Jesus Christ. Neither does it make him the same person with Jesus Christ simply because two of them are said to lead God’s army of faithful angels. In the battle against the dragon (Rev. 12), Michael was sent to lead God’s army. But in this battle in chapter 19, Christ Himself, the King of kings and the Lord of lords will lead the army of heaven. Although it is not specifically mentioned, archangel Michael will likely be one of the chief angels in that battle, under the supreme command of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

Examining Some Scriptures

There is ample biblical evidence that Michael the archangel is not our Lord Jesus Christ in His pre and post human existence. The points against this teaching include:

1. Michael is called “one of the chief princes” by an angel (Dan. 10:13). This evidently means that Michael is one in a group of chief princes; he is not in a class of his own. The New Living Translation (NLT) renders the phrase as “one of the archangels.” This means that God has more than one archangel. Jesus Christ is not one of the created spirit beings called angels, one of which is Michael (Heb. 1: 1-14). He is the monogenes, the one and only begotten Son of God.
2. Jesus Christ created all the angels, Michael inclusive (John 1:1-3; Col. 1: 15-18).
3. Jesus Christ is the only one who has the same nature of God (Phil. 2:6). He is a God Being. He is unique.
4. Michael rebuked Satan in the name of the Lord. The title “Lord” refers to either God or Jesus Christ. By rebuking Satan in the name of the Lord shows that Michael is not the Lord.
5. It is evident from Matt. 24:30,31 and Matt. 25:6 that the archangel’s voice mentioned in 1 Thes. 4:16 is that of an unnamed archangel. It is NOT that of Jesus Christ Himself. Kings do not give such shouts of command; it is done by their escorts.

The argument by some that “the command will be given by Jesus Christ Himself for the purpose of resurrecting His friends, the dead saints (1 Cor. 15:20-23; John 15:13-14)” is plausible. The Lord Himself said that a time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live (John 5:25). But this fact does not mean that the phrase, “with the voice of “the” [or “an”] archangel” used in 1 Thes. 4:16 automatically confirms that Jesus Christ is the archangel Michael. Compare Matt. 25:6 where, at the coming of the Bridegroom, the Lord Himself, a shout of command rang out which said, “Look, the Bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet Him!” (NLT). It is clear that the Lord Himself is not the herald here. The phrase, “with the voice of an archangel” therefore means that an archangel will utter the shout of command on the order of the arriving King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, whatever command the archangel utters with his voice is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. It means the Lord will use the voice of an archangel to issue the powerful command. It doesn’t mean that Christ the King is the archangel. Compare Ezekiel 37:1-14.

Finally, it must be emphasized that God has warned His people against the worship of any of His creatures (Exod. 20: 4,5; Deut. 4: 15-19). Angels are part of the creatures of God through Christ. Therefore, to worship any of them would be idolatry (Rom. 1:25; Col. 2:18). That is why no holy angel of God will accept worship from anyone (Rev. 19:10). If therefore Jesus Christ is a created angel whose name is Michael, will God ever command His holy angels to worship one of their fellow creatures? In fact, the command “Let ALL the angels of God worship Him” (Heb. 1:6) is explicit enough that the only begotten Son of God is not in the same category with the angels.

An angel of God said Michael is one of the archangels of God (Dan. 10:13). The author of Hebrews devoted a whole chapter to drum it loudly that the only begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the creator of all things and is superior to the angels of God (Heb. 1:1-14). Undeniably, Michael is one of God’s holy angels. These scriptures have proved beyond any argument that our Lord Jesus Christ is not the one called archangel Michael in the Bible.

Two or three witnesses establish the truth (Deut. 19:15; Matt.18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1). This truth has been established by the words of a holy angel and of the God-inspired author of the book of Hebrews. If anyone argues against this plain truth, the person does so because he or she has been blinded by denominational indoctrination. Such a person will never know the truth no matter how long he or she has been studying the Bible in his “church” or denomination (2 Tim. 3:7).

Conclusion

A Christian writer once wrote, “The truth of a teaching is not dependent on who believes it, but it is dependent on whether or not it is in line with all of the Scriptures.”

We are supposed to be contending for the faith – the body of truth, not for the denominational teachings of men. There can be no unity in Christendom until we all live above denominational dogmas. Those who teach that Jesus Christ was archangel Michael are only trying to deny the Godhood of Jesus Christ. Without knowing it, they are teaching doctrines of men (Col. 2:22) instigated by demons (1 Tim. 4:1). These are some of the teachings that lead men into confusion, errors and false worship of God. If you are a person who has an honest and good heart, quit being on the side of denominational dogmas and be willing to align yourself with biblical truth which has been grossly distorted by men in the various denominations. Only then will you be free from denominational delusion which may eventually lead to turning away from the true faith (Luke 18:8; 1 Tim. 4:1).