Are Jesus and Michael the archangel the same person?
Listen: 113.3
Michael is the only angel in scripture that is actually called an archangel. The word ‘archangel’ literally means ‘the chief angel’. He has been, and will be, used mightily of the Lord. When Moses had died and Satan tried to take his body to use for his own evil purposes, it was Michael that withstood him as 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.” Michael will be instrumental in gathering all the Lord’s people when Christ comes to rapture His church. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” In Revelation, we learn of a war that will take place in Heaven. Who will lead the Lord’s army of angels to victory over Satan and his demons? Revelation 12:7-8 says, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
Yes, Michael is a mighty and important angel. However, he is an angel; He is not the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. To show a great difference between the angels and the Son, let’s read Hebrews 1:5-8, “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” What a remarkable passage! We learn here of the superiority of the Lord Jesus over all the angels. Here in this passage we see God the Father acknowledging that His Son, Jesus, is indeed God, as we just read, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever…” How can anyone doubt that Jesus is truly God, when His Father tells us He is God?
The angels are instructed to worship the Son. Angels, themselves, are not to be worshipped and will refuse worship as we read in Revelation 22:8-9, “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” Many times in the scriptures, we see the Lord Jesus receiving worship. Just one example is found in Matthew 8:2-3, “And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Michael is a mighty angel that is mentioned several times in the Bible, but he is definitely not the Lord Jesus Christ. This misconception is taught by both the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists. It is so dishonoring to the Lord when we speak of Him as an angel, a created being of God. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. We read of the Lord Jesus in Romans 11:36 which says, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (113.3)