How do the Jehovah’s Witness arrive at Michael being Jesus’s real name. I think they believe the archangel Michael is Jesus but where is the biblical source for this?
BTW I thought Jesus’s name was really Immanuel. Where does that come from
And also Why do Spanish people name their children Jesus but no other European groups do?
JW’s believe that Jesus was the archangel Michael incarnate. Why, I don’t know. There’s certainly nothing in the Bible about it. But then again, there’s lots of things that people believe that aren’t in the Bible. Pretty much anything about angels is non-Biblical.
Jesus’ “real” name is Jesus, or Yeshua if you want the authentic flavor. Matthew seems to have thought that Is. 7:14 was about Jesus, which is where Immanuel comes from.
There was a fairly recent thread about why Jesus is used by Hispanics as a first name, but not by other ethnic groups. I’m sure someone less lazy than myself will post the link.
Immanual: this is generally considered to be more of a title than a name. Matthew has a tendency view everything in terms of the messianic prophesies. Matthew says ( 1:23) “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” He is quoting Isaiah 7:7.
Jesus is simply the Greek version of Yeshua (Joshua), which was his real name. There are plenty of Europeans with this name, and variations thereof.
Huh? Maybe I misunderstand you, Opus, but that just isn’t so. Angels figure prominently in the Bible - from Genesis through Revelation. A cursory search of an online Bible shows 297 references to angels.
I concur why are angels not biblical?
I think Opus was meaning that a lot of what people believe about angels is non-Biblical. Such as that people become angels when they die.
I’ve heard that the name Jesus was common at the time, and it was at the time basically Joshua. However, I forget the source so prove me wrong at will.
Off the top of my head list of non-Biblical beliefs about angels:
[ul]
[li]Humans become angels upon death. According to the theology I know, angels and humans are different breeds entirely. You no more become an angel than you become a bird in Christian theology.[/li][li]Angels look like humans, but have wings, halo, and inner light. According to my book The Odd Index (Stephen J. Spignesi, 1994, Plume Books, ISBN 0-452-27103-7), there are nine types of angels. Of them, only a few have descriptions listed. Of them, the Seraphim, the chief angels and the only ones in the Divine Presence, have six wings. The Cherubim, a rank below the Seraphim, have large wings, a human head, and an animal body. Interestingly, the rank Angel is the lowest.[/li][/ul]
The points refuted above are basic tenets in the current faith in angels I have widely encountered. The Bible isn’t always the best guide to how Christianity is actually practiced.
Sorry for not being clearer about angels. Yes, they’re in the Bible. I was generally refering to all the popular beliefs about angels: the nine different classes of them, all the names that are never in the Bible (Raphael), the whole thing about wings, harps, clouds, etc.
In fact, the role of angels in the OT is not exactly that of messengers, but rather as manifestations of Yahweh’s presence. Read some of the early stories in Genesis and note the confusion. Three angels visit Abraham in Gen. 18. Then they leave, “but Abraham remained standing before the LORD” (Gen. 18:22).
Similarly, in the story of Hagar, an angel speaks to her. She then “gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her.”
A far cry for popular conception.
Yes, the name was Yehoshua, which is Joshua in English. Jesus is a hellenized version of the name, which later took off throughout the Christian movement. The irony of course, is that he would have had no idea that someone was talking to him if they called him “Jesus” back then. Not to mention the English pronunciation “Gee-zis” which is a further good distance away from the original Greek “Yeh-züs”.
Opup: you’re wrong about Raphael not being mentioned in the Bible. Look in the book of Tobit in the OT.
Of course, if one is Jewish or Protestant, Tobit is not in “the Bible,” but is among the Apocrypha.
However, Raphael is mentioned in Tobit which a good number of Christians accept as Scripture.
A few questions for you, then, if you will:
Do you know Spignesi’s religion? He might be Christian but belong to one of the denominations that does not agree with all that Christianity says. I know that in my religious schooling (Catholic) I was taught that angels are not corporeal beings, and as such “have large wings, a human head, and an animal body” isn’t really possible. Angels, again from what I learned can take on a physical form but are inherently intelligences and spiritual in nature, not physical.
“Humans become angels upon death.”
Where did you observe this to be common belief?
Oh, that’s definitely a common belief. “Brian, mommy’s in heaven now, and is a beautiful angel.”
jb
The funny thing is that angels are scary.
Check it out. The first thing an angel says upon appearing to a mortal is “Don’t panic”.
Thus Della Reese is the only authentic looking angel on that silly show.
Does that mean the 2nd thing an angel says is to grab your towel and that the answer to life, the universe and everything is 42?
Does that mean God is 42?
Even though I personally think TBAA is a fun fantasy show.
As to the belief that humans can become angels, look no further than “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I believe they give some details about Clarence Odbody’s human existance.
Are you suggesting that He cannot understand me when I pray in English, or did he take a Berlitz course? 
A) Jesus is God incarnate.
B) Life begins at forty.
C) A day to God (and thus Jesus) is a thousand years to a man.
D) It’s been two thousand years since Jesus was born, therefore:
E) 40 + 2 = 42.
So, yes, God is 42. And you thought it was fiction.