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Are the Angel Michael and
Jesus Christ the Same Person?

Louis Rushmore, Editor

Please how do you explain to a Jehovah witness when they cite Daniel 12:1-2 that Jesus Christ is not the angel Michael according to the bible passages quoted? Thanks, Godswill Ujah

Jude 9 makes a distinction between the archangel Michael and Jesus Christ. “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (NKJV).

Michael is the only archangel named in the Bible (Jude 9; cf. Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Revelation 12:7), but evidently, he is not the only archangel (Daniel 10:13). An unspecified archangel will accompany our Lord at His Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The description of an angel, Gabriel, appears in Daniel 10:5-6.

Angels are created beings whose creation predates the creation of humanity (Colossians 1:16; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:2, 5). However, Jesus Christ is not a created being; He existed before creation and was responsible for creation (Colossians 1:16-17). In addition, the apostle John wrote by inspiration that Jesus Christ is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3 NKJV). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The “Word” in these verses is a reference to Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

There is a Godhead (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9) in which there are three divine persons, one of which is Jesus Christ. They are collected together and named essentially in Matthew 28:19 – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Regarding Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul penned in Colossians 2:8-9, “…Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

The archangel Michael and Jesus Christ are not the same person. Instead, Jesus Christ created Michael.

Trunk or Treat

Louis Rushmore, Editor

Do you believe the church can have activities like Trunk or Treat, in the realm of expediency (as a means of fellowshipping each other)? I ask because I see Trick or Treat like I see the expediency of the church coming together to eat and fellowship each other. There are some, though, who oppose the event (they are NOT Non-institutional, but oppose the event because they don’t believe it’s a work of the church).

I have only heard of “Trunk or Treat” twice, first with this question and secondly in the bulletin of a respected congregation of the churches of Christ. Whether this activity or some other activities are things with which I am personally comfortable is immaterial (i.e., it doesn’t really matter whether I personally like it). From the perspective of fellowship, perhaps outreach and trying to capitalize on something of which Christians and non-Christians are familiar, I understand the reasoning for “Trunk or Treat,” etc. It is my opinion that “Trunk or Treat” as described herein is a matter of opinion or personal judgment of individuals and local congregations. The wisdom of promoting an event among Christians or opening it to the community that may correspond with holidays, denominational and Catholic holy days and community occasions (e.g., Halloween, Easter, Christmas, prom, etc.) is something for Christian parents and local congregations to decide for themselves (Romans 14:5-6).

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