The Greek term translated angel in scripture means messenger. So it is a relatively unimportant point if Christ carried the title of chief angel in scriptures or not. Christ is the Word, thus he is the chief messenger of God. Whether he was Michael or not I see as inconsequential.
What is important is to recognize Christ’s position over angels and men. Why? Because recognizing and then accepting it is what exercising faith in Christ means. Some Christians (Jehovah’s Witnesses) believe the Bible teaches Christ is Michael an archangel, using that idea in order to teach Christ is not God over angels and men/women.
The mistake Jehovah’s Witnesses make in teaching that, and the illusion of their teaching, is that they equate Christ’s position to his Father as if that affects both Christ’s and his Father’s position over Christians and angels. That’s a fallacy. It’s like teaching because a wife subjects herself to her own husband then she is not a parent in equal status with her husband over her own children. And it’s like claiming that her children must not recognize her as an equal parent.
Whether or not Christ was created by the Father, whether he is inferior to the Father in any way, or whether or not the scriptures ever spoke of him as the chief messenger of God with a name Michael is not nearly as important as accepting Christ as your God alongside the Father. Why? Because believing in Christ means believing who he is and accepting him in the position he holds. John 3:16-18 reads, 16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” So does the Bible say he is God over angels and men/women, just the Son of God, or just an archangel who is the Son of God?
Although the Bible calls Christ God (e.g. Mighty God at Isaiah 9:6) -which JWs admit-he is not their God, only the Father is. JWs have changed their Bible, the New World Translation, to conform to this false idea. At John 1:1 they claim Christ is “a god” or has the quality of being divine without the actual position of God over them. Other Bibles simply call Christ “God” at John 1:1. Why?
Watchtower reasoning behind that teaching is based on the idea that in Greek there is no definite article (the) placed in front of theos (god) when referring to Christ at John 1:1. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach in ancient Greek the definite article (the) must be placed in front of the Greek word for God, if the intention is to actually refer to the Bible’s true god. They teach the Greek rendering for God must read the equivalence of “the God,” and not just read “God” every time the Bible refers to the biblical God. Yet in the same chapter of John he does not place a definite article in front of theou, a Greek word for God, referring to the Father at John 1:6, 12 , 13, 18. You can verify that by using a Greek to English Bible interlinear. Biblehub.com is a free resource to do so. Watchtower reasoning makes no sense because there is the absence of a definite article in front of the Greek word for God in those other scriptures that Watchtower admits refer to the Father.
Furthermore WT has misinterpreted the Greek word most often used for worship in the New Testament, but only when Watchtower applies that Greek word to Christ. Where it is applied to Christ they translate it as “do obeisance to,” instead of worship. You might check out the truthful rendering of that Greek word in an interlinear also, and in various translations. Again you will see Watchtower’s fallacy. True, the Greek word can be translated as “do obeisance to,” but why would Watchtower only translate it that way when applying it to Christ? They don’t even translate it that way when applying it to the Devil.
Check out the end of Revelation when John was about to bow down and worship the angel, but was stopped by the angel. Revelation 22:8 reads, “And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. 9 But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” Yes the angel added worship God, thus recognizing that act as an act of worship.
Check out Matthew where the Devil asked Christ to bow down and do one act of worship to him. Matthew 4:8 reads, “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.” 10“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” All these scriptures and many more use the same Greek word, which is translated worship in the New World Translation, except when that act and word is applied to worshipping Christ.
Note also that when Christ was asked to do that before Satan Christ said, “worship your god and serve him only.” And that statement, by Christ, is what defines Watchtower’s teaching that Christ is not the god over true Christians and teaching Christ must biblically not be worshipped as apostasy. Because Jehovah’s Witnesses admit Christ received all authority in heaven and on earth, which signifies he has the right to rule over all others, and others have an obligation before God to recognize this right of his. That means all obedient to God must, by the word of God, recognize Christ as their God and serve him. Just as Christ said, “worship your god and serve him only.” You could not serve Christ in the sense scriptures claim, that he is your absolute ruler, unless you also accept what Christ said in that statement ,“worship your god and serve him ONLY”. See Matthew 28:18.
See Matthew 28:9, “So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. 10“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go, tell My brothers to go to Galilee.” The Greek word for worship here is prosekynēsan . It is the same word used in these other scriptures. Note Christ does not tell those women not to perform that act of worship. Yet the angel told John not to do that to him.
While the tetragrammaton is thought by many to represent only the Father, which it might, I don’t feel the scriptures can prove that. I live in one United States of America. But while this country has just one federal government, that government consists of many people.
Saying “one Jehovah” or “one God,” does not necessarily mean the tetragrammaton represents just one person. That’s an assumption. There are reasons to believe it might not. One of those reasons is tied up in the facts discussed here. Christ did accept worship. He is presently accepting worship. And biblically he is still going to receive worship in the future. Since the one he called Father does also that name could represent either of them individually, while other scriptures might represent them collectively; because scriptures claim there is one God, and only God is to be worshipped.
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” Philippians 2:10
“And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’” Hebrews 1:6
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