Michael the Great Prince - Daniel 12v1-3

^[1]And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ^[2]And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^[3]And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. [Dan 12:1-3 KJV]

cf., Rom 1:4; Joh 5:20-29; Act 3:15

Again, Gabriel speaks of Michael as he had before [Dan 10:13].

Key Points, Observations and Deductions

Michael stands for Israel (the children of Daniel’s people)
Michael will stand up at a certain time for the people of Israel. (Since he stands for the people of Israel, his standing up is for the people of Israel)
His standing up will bring about a great tribulation, “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation…”
He will also bring about the resurrection of all whose names are written in the book.
He will also bring about the resurrection of the dead.
Michael has the power of life. He is the only angel that has the power to raise all the dead [cf., Jud 1:9].
From the next verse [Dan 12:2]—He will also raise up all the dead and not just those whose names are written in the Book.
Calling Michael “the Great Prince” is praising him.
It is unusual to directly address an angel as such.
That Michael is called great means that there is something peculiar and great about him.
As far as can be seen from the Scriptures, apart from God, Michael alone has the power of life.
1. First, he will drive out from heaven, the one who holds the power of death, i.e., the devil [Rev 12:7-12]and then
2. He will raise up the dead.
God alone has the power of life [1Ti 6:16; Joh 5:26,21; Act 17:25; Psa 36:9; Jer 2:13; 17:13].
1. Therefore, that Michael has this same power of life is what makes Michael great, truly great.
2. This makes Michael equal to God

“Michael, The Great Prince”

Why call Michael “the Great Prince”? Why draw so much attention to Michael?

If Gabriel simply wanted to say that Daniel’s people, the people of Israel, would be saved at the prophesied time, he could have said so without mentioning Michael and he certainly did not need to describe Michael as “the Great Prince” to make that point. Therefore, his goal is not simply to inform Daniel and us that Israel would be delivered.

He is not only drawing attention to the role of Michael in the deliverance of Israel, but beyond this, and more significantly, he is drawing attention to Michael’s greatness which is apart from his role in the coming tribulation and deliverance of Israel. He is calling our attention to Michael as a person and not just as an actor in the coming deliverance. Clearly, this means that he wants us to know Michael, to recognize and hold him in highest honor. The way he speaks of him, Michael is someone that we ought to know well.

Now, if he was sent from God’s presence and was faithful to God in his delivery of the message to Daniel, then this is the will of God. It is in fact God who wants us to know and honor Michael [cf.,Joh 5:20-23].

But what makes Michael great?

Michael’s Roles In this Prophecy

There are two major events in this prophecy that are connected to the “standing up” of Michael the Great Prince.

The great tribulation [Dan 12:1] and
The deliverance and resurrection of Daniel’s people (and of other men) [Dan 12:1-3].

Michael’s Standing and the Great Tribulation

In the Book of Revelation, we have it confirmed to us that Michael’s standing up is what results in the great tribulation. When Michael stands up, the devil, the prince of this world, will be cast out of heaven and then will follow the great tribulation as a result because, knowing his time is short, the devil will be very angry and especially with Daniel’s people, the Israelites [Rev 12:5-12].

Michael’s Standing and the Deliverance and Resurrection of Israel

That Michael’s standing up is to bring about the deliverance, the salvation from death of God’s people we can be sure. Since

Michael is the one who stands for the people of Israel,
And so his standing is for the sake of the good of the people of Israel, and
Since the people of Israel are delivered (from death) after the standing up of Michael which is for them, then,
Clearly, the deliverance of the people of Israel, their resurrection from the dead, is by Michael.

Let us restate that Michael is the reason for the resurrection of the dead. Michael is the one who brings about the resurrection of the dead.

Michael’s standing up is, as must be, for his people. Therefore, although his standing up results in tribulation for them—the great tribulation—his goal was not, as it could never have been, to bring trouble on his people. In other words, his goal wasn’t really to bring tribulation upon his people (much less, the great tribulation), but the great tribulation is, as must be, a necessary consequence of means to Michael’s true goal.

What then could be the goal of Michael’s standing up? A goal so great, it is worthy of bringing greatest tribulation upon his people and the whole world?

Simple, it is to save Israel. His goal is to deliver his people, Israel.

But from what?

From the great tribulation, the same tribulation he caused by his standing up?

Certainly not.

It wouldn’t be deliverance worthy of mention if he stood up to bring trouble on his people and then delivered them from the same trouble he brought on them.

So what is this deliverance?

The deliverance is from death as should be clear from Gabriel’s words. What Michael stands up to bring about for this people is RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD!

The Book

The fact that those who are delivered are all those whose names are written in the book [Dan 12:1], which is to say that they are raised from the dead, clearly shows that Michael is responsible for the resurrection of the dead.

So, let’s answer the question from before,

What Makes Michael Great?

Greatness has to do with great deeds. And no one is rightly called great if he hasn’t done or is known with certainty to have the required capacity for great deeds. Greatness comes from power, authority and wisdom. Therefore, to be considered great, one must have the power or authority or wisdom to bring about a great thing or deed.

Therefore, Michael, like any other, wouldn’t be rightly called great if there was no great deed associated with him. So, what deed(s) makes Michael great?

Michael is great, because he will bring salvation from the dead for his people. He is great because of resurrection from the dead. There is no other worthy reason in this prophecy why Gabriel considers Michael great.

Calling Michael “the Great Prince” is praising him. It is honoring Michael and, as just stated, this honor has to do with the resurrection of the dead. Again, Michael is great because he will bring about the resurrection of the dead.

In other words, Michael is honored because of his role in the resurrection of the dead. But not only so, in the fact that there is a distinction between the righteous and unrighteous at the resurrection—“some to everlasting life”and “some to shame and everlasting contempt”[Dan 12:2], also indicates Michael to be destined to be the judge of all men—the living and the dead alike!

Again, We See That Jesus Is Michael!

Now, why did Jesus say that he is to be honored by all men?

It is for the very same reason Michael is praised as “the Great Prince”. It is because God has given him the power and authority to raised the dead and to judge all men [Joh 5:20-29].

That Michael has power to raise the dead we see in the resurrection of Moses where Satan opposed Michael [Jud 1:9].

Moses died and was buried by Yahweh [Deut 34:1-8]
Yet we see Moses, along with Elijah, on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus [Mat 17:1-5]
Therefore, Moses must have been raised back to life after his death and burial
Therefore, when we read of Satan’s opposition to Michael over the body of Moses, we know that this is when Moses was raised back to life and that it was by Michael that he was raised back to life (Satan wouldn’t have opposed Michael burying the body of Moses it could only have been about raising the body of Moses).
Therefore, it is because Michael raised Moses back to life and took him to heaven that Moses could appear with Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.
That Michael should so stand for Moses that he even raises him from the dead and saves his body from decay, should not come as any surprise since
1. Michael stands for God’s people, especially the Israelites and so certainly stood for Moses since he was
  1. The most distinguished Israelite of his generation and
  2. Was leader of Israel appointed by God through Michael (called the the Angel of Yahweh outside the Book of Daniel) and
  3. Who had personally known the Angel of Yahweh (i.e., Michael), and
  4. Who was personally known by the Angel of Yahweh [Exo 33:12-15]

We can see more clearly what Peter means and why he referred to the Lord Jesus as “the Prince of Life” [Act 3:15],