I have dealt with the Christology of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in two previous posts (here and here), dealing with their identification of Jesus with the archangel Michael.
On p.218 of the JW publication, Reasoning from the Scriptures, we read the following under the header, "Is Jesus Christ the same person as Michael the archangel?"
At 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the command of Jesus Christ for the resurrection to begin is described as "the archangel's call," and Jude 9 says that the archangel is Michael. Would it be appropriate to liken Jesus' commanding call to that of someone lesser in authority? Reasonably, then, the archangel Michael is Jesus Christ. (Interesting, the expression "archangel" is never found in the plural in the Scriptures, thus implying that there is only one.
There are a number of problems with the following paragraph.
Firstly, Michael is said to be”one of” the princes in Dan 10:13, where the term “prince” (שַׂר chief/chieftain/ruler/prince) is synonymous with “archangel.” Jesus is not “one of [many]” but is said to be “unique”--the Greek term μονογενης (KJV: “only-begotten”) means “unique” or “one-of-a-kind,” and is predicated upon Jesus (e.g., John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). In addition, it is simply question-begging to claim that, as Scripture only predicates “archangel” (αρχαγγελος) upon Michael, there is only one archangel—such is reflective, not of Sola Scriptura, which many JWs claim they practice, but SolO Scriptura. Additionally, intertestamental literature predicated the title, “archangel” upon other angels than simply Michael such as Dokiel (Testament of Abraham 13:10); Puriel (Testament of Abraham 13:11); Ouriel (Testament of Solomon 2:4); Uriel (Testament of Solomon 2:7; Prayer of Joseph 3:3); Azael (Testament of Solomon 7:7); Gabriel (Jubilees 2:1; 48:1).
Furthermore, as for Jude 9, this is a refutation, not a support, of the identification of Jesus with the archangel Michael, as Michael was incapable of refuting the devil vis-à-vis the body of Moses; instead, all he could do was say “the Lord rebuke you”; one should compare such with the victory of Jesus over Satan in Matt 4:1-11 (cf. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13), and this was before His exaltation post-ascension (cf. Phil 2:5-11; Heb 1:4). Furthermore, as discussed in my previous posts on JW Christology, Jesus is differentiated from, and is said to be greater than all the angels, and, as a result, archangels, too--such is part-and-parcel of the entire Christology of Heb 1.
As for 1 Thess 4:16, the text reads as follows from the NWT:
Because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel's voice and with God's trumpet.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are forced to engage in some fallacious reasoning to identify Jesus as being, ontologically, an archangel based on this verse. Firstly, note that, if JWs are correct in asserting that, as Jesus is said to descend from heaven with an archangel’s voice “proves” Jesus is an archangel ontologically, this also “proves” Jesus is God—after all, he comes with God’s trumpet. Only by engaging in special pleading can one escape such a conclusion.
Furthermore, if one reads Jesus' teachings on his parousia (final coming in glory), he will send angelic messengers before him to proclaim his coming, fitting perfectly with 1 Thess 4:16:
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt 24:31; cf. Mark 13:27)
Finally, this verse, and others, is a death-knell to JW pretensions to being God’s only true organisation. Why? In official JW theology, Jesus returned back to the earth, invisibly, in 1914:
In section 132 of the JW publication, "At God's Right hand," in the JW publication, The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, we read:
A careful study of Bible prophecies, including Jesus' own prophecy regarding the last days, reveals that "the Lord's day" began in the history-making year 1914, yes, within this generation! So it was in 1914 that Jesus returned invisibly, without public fanfare and with only his faithful servants being aware of his return. In that year Jehovah gave Jesus the command to go subduing in the midst of his enemies!
Biblical eschatology, as seen in 1 Thess 4:16; Matt 24 (cf. Mark 13; Luke 21), etc. are all unified in stating that, at Jesus’ parousia, it will be announced at a global level with great fanfare, and will not be a “hidden” affair, and, further, Jesus will return visibly, not invisibly, all contrary to the Christology and eschatology of the Watchtower.
Hopefully readers of this blog will be able to be equipped to help any Jehovah’s Witness they encounter and to convey the true conception of Jesus, as taught in Latter-day Saint Christology—as with Trinitarians, the Christ espoused by Jehovah’s Witnesses is an unbiblical one (2 Cor 11:4).
