# Is Jesus Michael the Archangel?

> Insight on the Scriptures identifies Michael the archangel with Jesus. Hebrews 1 sets the Son over every angel and has God command the angels to bow to him.

- Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-michael-the-archangel
- Religions: Jehovah's Witnesses
- Denominations: none
- Beliefs: none
- Tags: jehovahs-witnesses, christology, scripture
- Updated: 2026-10-07
- Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul))


> No verse says “Jesus, who is Michael.” The identification is an argument from *Insight on the Scriptures*. Hebrews 1 is the chapter that argument has to survive.

## The question

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that before Jesus was born, and again after he returned to heaven, he was Michael the archangel. The question is not whether Michael is real. [Daniel 10:13](/bible/daniel/10/13), [Daniel 12:1](/bible/daniel/12/1), [Jude 9](/bible/jude/1/9), and [Revelation 12:7](/bible/revelation/12/7) name him. The question is whether those lines are about the Son.

## What Jehovah’s Witnesses teach

[*Insight on the Scriptures*](https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200003035), under “Michael,” states the identification in so many words [(1)](#ref-1):

> Scriptural evidence indicates that the name Michael applied to God’s Son before he left heaven to become Jesus Christ and also after his return. Michael is the only one said to be “the archangel,” meaning “chief angel,” or “principal angel.” The term occurs in the Bible only in the singular. This seems to imply that there is but one whom God has designated chief, or head, of the angelic host.

The entry then uses [1 Thessalonians 4:16](/bible/1-thessalonians/4/16):

> At 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the voice of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is described as being that of an archangel, suggesting that he is, in fact, himself the archangel. This text depicts him as descending from heaven with “a commanding call.” It is only logical, therefore, that the voice expressing this commanding call be described by a word that would not diminish or detract from the great authority that Christ Jesus now has as King of kings and Lord of lords. (Mt 28:18; Re 17:14) If the designation “archangel” applied, not to Jesus Christ, but to other angels, then the reference to “an archangel’s voice” would not be appropriate. In that case it would be describing a voice of lesser authority than that of the Son of God.

It also ties the heavenly name to the Word:

> In his prehuman existence Jesus was called “the Word.” (Joh 1:1) He also had the personal name Michael.

The [New World Translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/1-thessalonians/4/#v52004016) [(2)](#ref-2) says the Lord “will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet.” The [New World Translation of Jude 9](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/jude/1/#v65001009) [(3)](#ref-3) says: But when Miʹcha·el the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said: “May Jehovah rebuke you.”

That is the case at its strongest. One archangel. The Lord descends with an archangel’s voice. Therefore the Lord is that archangel. Michael’s battles in Daniel and Revelation are then read as the Son’s battles.

## The texts

[Hebrews 1](/bible/hebrews/1) [(6)](#ref-6) is written to say how the Son stands relative to angels. He “hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Then: “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?” The [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:5](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001005) [(4)](#ref-4) asks the same question: “to which one of the angels did God ever say: “You are my son; today I have become your father”?”

Verse 6 answers with a command. In the King James Version, “let all the angels of God worship him.” In the [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:6](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001006) [(4)](#ref-4): “And let all of God’s angels do obeisance to him.” The angels are the ones commanded. The Son is the one they are commanded to bow to. The next contrast is the same shape. [Hebrews 1:13–14](/bible/hebrews/1) asks “to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand,” and then says of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits?” The [New World Translation of Hebrews 1:13–14](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001013) [(5)](#ref-5) keeps both lines: “about which of the angels has he ever said: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet”?” and “Are they not all spirits for holy service, sent out to minister?”

[Jude 9](/bible/jude/1/9) does not give Michael the Son’s name. Michael will not bring a railing judgment against the devil and instead says, “The Lord rebuke thee.” The Son, in the same letter’s horizon and in the Gospels, rebukes demons himself and receives a name “more excellent” than the angels’ names.

## A Christian response

Jesus is not an angel. He is the Son whom God distinguishes from every angel, and the one to whom the angels are told to bow. Hebrews 1 is not a list of honors added on top of an archangel. It is a series of denials: God never said to an angel, “You are my Son”; he never told an angel to sit at his right hand; angels are the servants, sent out. The Son is on the other side of each of those lines.

The *Insight* argument deserves a direct answer, because it is careful. “Archangel” occurs in the singular. That shows there is a chief angel. It does not show that the chief angel is the Son. A king can descend with a trumpet that belongs to a herald without becoming the herald. [1 Thessalonians 4:16](/bible/1-thessalonians/4/16) [(7)](#ref-7) sets three sounds beside the Lord’s descent: a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. The New World Translation itself lists them as three: “a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet.” The archangel’s voice accompanies the Lord. The sentence does not say the Lord is the archangel, any more than “God’s trumpet” means the Lord is the trumpet.

*Insight* says that if the voice were another angel’s, it would be a lesser voice than the Son’s, and that this would be unsuitable. The chapter that exists to compare the Son with angels says the opposite. A lesser voice is what an angel’s voice is. The Son’s superiority is the point of Hebrews 1, not an embarrassment to be removed by merging him with the chief angel.

Michael is named where the Son is not called Michael, and the Son is named where he is set over angels. [Revelation 12:7](/bible/revelation/12/7) [(10)](#ref-10) can speak of Michael and his angels at war with the dragon without transferring the Son’s titles. Where Revelation names the Son, it calls him the Lamb, the Word of God, the faithful witness, the one who was dead and lives. It does not stop to say that this person is Michael.

The bowing in Hebrews 1:6 is treated on its own page, [Should Jesus be worshipped?](/jehovahs-witnesses/should-jesus-be-worshipped), because the Study Edition renders the verb “do obeisance” when the one honored is Jesus and “worship” when the one honored is Jehovah. Even under that rendering, the angels bow to the Son. An archangel is one of the angels.

## Common follow-ups

**“Chief angel” is a way of saying he is above angels, not that he is one of them.** “Archangel” means a chief among angels. Hebrews 1:5 asks which angel ever received the words “You are my Son,” and the expected answer is none. A chief angel is still the kind of being the question is about.

**Michael is “the great prince” who stands for Israel, and Jesus is the King.** Daniel’s prince fights for Daniel’s people. That work can be an angel’s work. The New Testament identifies the Son by death and resurrection, by the name above every name, and by the worship due to God. It does not identify him by equating him with Michael.

**Jude 9 has Michael say “May Jehovah rebuke you,” which sounds like the angel in Zechariah 3.** It does. Michael refuses a dignity he will not take. The Son does not stand in that place. He is the one at the right hand, and the angels serve him.

## Keep reading

- [Should Jesus be worshipped, or only given obeisance?](/jehovahs-witnesses/should-jesus-be-worshipped)
- [Is Jesus the Creator or a creature?](/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-the-creator-or-a-creature)
- [The deity of Christ](/article/deity-of-christ)

## Sources
Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site.

1. [Insight on the Scriptures, Michael](https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200003035) (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, volume 2. Watchtower Online Library.)
2. [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (2013 revision)](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/1-thessalonians/4/#v52004016)
3. [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Jude 9 (2013 revision)](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/jude/1/#v65001009)
4. [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Hebrews 1:5–6 (2013 revision)](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001005-v58001006)
5. [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, Hebrews 1:13–14 (2013 revision)](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/hebrews/1/#v58001013-v58001014)
6. [Letter to the Hebrews, 1:4–14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1). King James Version
7. [First Letter to the Thessalonians, 4:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-thessalonians/4/16). King James Version
8. Letter of Jude, 9
9. [Book of Daniel, 10:13; 12:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/daniel/10/13). King James Version
10. [Revelation, 12:7](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/revelation/12/7). King James Version

## See also
- [Does “Jehovah” Belong in the New Testament?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/does-jehovah-belong-in-the-new-testament) — The New World Translation uses the name Jehovah 237 times in the New Testament. The Study Edition’s note on Acts 7:60 says the Greek manuscripts read “Lord.”
- [Is Jesus the Creator or a Creature?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/is-jesus-the-creator-or-a-creature) — Jehovah’s Witnesses say a literal reading of Colossians 1:16 would make Jesus the Creator, so the New World Translation adds “other.” John 1:3 and Hebrews 1:10–12 do not leave him outside creation as a creature.
- [John 1 and the Word](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/john-1-and-the-word) — Why the New World Translation reads John 1:1 as “a god,” what the Study Edition’s note says about a qualitative theos, and why Nicene Christians still say the Word was God.
- [Should Jesus Be Worshipped, or Only Given Obeisance?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/should-jesus-be-worshipped) — The New World Translation uses “worship” for Jehovah and “do obeisance” for Jesus, though its own interlinear shows one Greek verb. Hebrews 1:6, Matthew 28, and Revelation 5 give the Son the honor angels refuse.
- [What Does “Firstborn of All Creation” Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/jehovahs-witnesses/what-does-firstborn-of-all-creation-mean) — The New World Translation’s study note says Colossians 1:15 means Jesus is the first creature Jehovah made. In Scripture “firstborn” is also the title of the heir who ranks first, and the next verse says all things were created in him.

## History
[View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/is-jesus-michael-the-archangel.md)