Daniel 10:13"But the prince of the royal realm of Persia stood in opposition to me for 21 days. But then Mi′cha·el, one of the foremost princes, came to help me; and I remained there beside the kings of Persia."
Also the one who gives the most support
.
Daniel 10:21 "However, I will tell you the things recorded in the writings of truth. There is no one strongly supporting me in these things but Mi′cha·el, your prince."
The word Arch means Principal/Chief/Leader. There's a debate whether or not Jesus is this archangel. Well for one we know that Jesus wasn't always named Jesus.
Phillipians 2:9,10"For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position+ and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name,+ 10 so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground"
Also In Daniel 12:1,2 Michael the prince is standing in behalf of everyone around the same time of the Great tribulation
"During that time Mi′cha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. And there will occur a time of distress such as has not occurred since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written down in the book.
2 And many of those asleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to reproach and to everlasting contempt.
We now that Jesus is the one that is actually going to be standing on everyones behalf so we have 1 parallel account for now.
In Revelations 12:7-8, Michael battles with his angels and Jesus isn't mentioned although we know that Jesus was given authority over angels.
And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el*+ and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled8 but they did not prevail,* nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven.
In 1Thessalonians 4:16 Jesus is said to ascend with an archangels voice.
because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.
Since it says an archangels voice, does it mean that there is more than one archangel? Well for one there is no mention on any other archangels.
Could this possibly just mean that Jesus is coming with an archangel? Well for 1 there is no scripture that mentions Jesus and Michael together. And the greek translation reads.
"because himself the Lord with loud command in voice. archangel and in trumpet [of] God...
1. Jesus is coming with a commanding shout
2. Sounds like an archangel.
But like Daniel 12:1,2 states Michael the great prince will stand up for God's people during the Great Tribulation. Which we know is a task assigned to Jesus.
Revelations 19:19"And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse[Jesus] and against his army."
Now going back to verse 1.
""During that time Mi′cha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. And there will occur a time of distress such as has not occurred since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written down in the book. "
What do scholars have to say about this?
Benson commentary"At that time — When the troubles are the greatest; shall Michael stand up — The word Michael signifies, Who is like God? which name, with the title here given him, The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people, manifestly points out the Messiah, and cannot properly be understood of a created angel."
To be honest, I'm not sure what his position is. First he points out that Michael the Great Prince is Jesus, but at the same time says that he is not a created angel. Although I don't see why he assumed an angel wasn't created. Maybe he thought Michael wasn't actually the name of an archangel even though Jude 9 clearly states he is. You can read the rest of this commentary by clicking here. You can draw your own conclusion on what point he was actually trying to make without contradicting himself. But let's look at another one.
Barnes Commentary "The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people - See the notes as above at Daniel 10:13. The meaning is, that he had the affairs of the Hebrew people, ........... The simple meaning is, that he who was the guardian angel of that nation, or who was appointed to watch over its interests, would at that time of great trouble interpose and render aid."
So basically he's saying that Michael is the guardian angel for the Jews. Which is interesting because why would God continue to have the same favor with the Israelites as he did in the O.T.? Considering the percentage of Christians in Israel is around 2% according to Wikipedia. So those who deny Jesus have no life in them John 6:35,51. Even then, the scriptures make it clear that their is a spiritual Israel made up of non-lteral Jews.
Romans 2:28 "For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision something on the outside, on the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit and not by a written code. That person’s praise comes from God, not from people"
Galatians 6:15,16"For neither is circumcision anything nor is uncircumcision, but a new creation is. 16 As for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon them, yes, upon the Israel of God."
Galatians 3:26-29" “You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one person in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.”"
Romans 9:6-8 "....For not all who descend from Israel are really “Israel.” 7 Neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s offspring;.....the children in the flesh are not really the children of God, but the children by the promise are counted as the offspring."
Revelations 19:19"And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse[Jesus] and against his army."
Now going back to verse 1.
""During that time Mi′cha·el will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. And there will occur a time of distress such as has not occurred since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written down in the book. "
What do scholars have to say about this?
Benson commentary"At that time — When the troubles are the greatest; shall Michael stand up — The word Michael signifies, Who is like God? which name, with the title here given him, The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people, manifestly points out the Messiah, and cannot properly be understood of a created angel."
To be honest, I'm not sure what his position is. First he points out that Michael the Great Prince is Jesus, but at the same time says that he is not a created angel. Although I don't see why he assumed an angel wasn't created. Maybe he thought Michael wasn't actually the name of an archangel even though Jude 9 clearly states he is. You can read the rest of this commentary by clicking here. You can draw your own conclusion on what point he was actually trying to make without contradicting himself. But let's look at another one.
Barnes Commentary "The great prince which standeth for the children of thy people - See the notes as above at Daniel 10:13. The meaning is, that he had the affairs of the Hebrew people, ........... The simple meaning is, that he who was the guardian angel of that nation, or who was appointed to watch over its interests, would at that time of great trouble interpose and render aid."
So basically he's saying that Michael is the guardian angel for the Jews. Which is interesting because why would God continue to have the same favor with the Israelites as he did in the O.T.? Considering the percentage of Christians in Israel is around 2% according to Wikipedia. So those who deny Jesus have no life in them John 6:35,51. Even then, the scriptures make it clear that their is a spiritual Israel made up of non-lteral Jews.
Romans 2:28 "For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision something on the outside, on the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit and not by a written code. That person’s praise comes from God, not from people"
Galatians 6:15,16"For neither is circumcision anything nor is uncircumcision, but a new creation is. 16 As for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon them, yes, upon the Israel of God."
Galatians 3:26-29" “You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one person in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.”"
Romans 9:6-8 "....For not all who descend from Israel are really “Israel.” 7 Neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s offspring;.....the children in the flesh are not really the children of God, but the children by the promise are counted as the offspring."
So Michael the Archangel will rise up for All of God's people, Also known as the Israel of God Galatians 6:16
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