Many point to Daniel 10:13 as evidence against Michael being Jesus.
Daniel 10:13 – Michael is one of the chief princes.
Daniel 12:1 – Michael is the great prince.
Some say that if Michael is one of the chief princes, then he can't be the Son of God. That doesn't follow. People seem to misunderstand the biblical word for "prince." It doesn't mean "prince" in the modern English sense. It means, according to the BDB Hebrew lexicon: "chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince." Even God is said to be a prince in Daniel 8:25.
So Daniel 10:13 is saying Michael is "one of the chief rulers." This would be like saying that the President of the United States is "one of the chief rulers." The President is still a unique position, and it is the highest ranking position, but there would be others in various offices that would be counted as "one of the rulers" of the US. Daniel 12:1 says Michael is "the great ruler." The Bible doesn't say that there is only one ruler, and that that ruler is God. No, it speaks of many rulers, or princes. God is a ruler. Michael is a ruler. Jesus is a ruler. The Jewish religious leaders were rulers. The Jewish kings were rulers. All Daniel 10:13 is saying is that Michael is "one" of the rulers, without specifying his exact rank among all the rulers. Logically, Michael/Jesus can hold the unique position of "archangel," be above the angels, and still be called "one of the chief rulers." To say that this somehow prevents Michael from being Jesus is to not understand reason.
Interestingly, the Greek Septuagint has "o angelos o megas" - the Great Angel - at Daniel 12:1. Theodotian's Greek Daniel - which some used to replace the original Septuagint version of Daniel because it was thought to be more accurate - has "o arkhon o megas" - the Great Ruler. Both versions have "ton arkhonton ton proton" - "one of the first rulers" - for Daniel 10:13.
(Source: This is the answer given by Abernathy to this question.)
For more concerning "Archangel", see:
Archangel - Links to Information (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
Daniel 10:13 – Michael is one of the chief princes.
Daniel 12:1 – Michael is the great prince.
Some say that if Michael is one of the chief princes, then he can't be the Son of God. That doesn't follow. People seem to misunderstand the biblical word for "prince." It doesn't mean "prince" in the modern English sense. It means, according to the BDB Hebrew lexicon: "chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince." Even God is said to be a prince in Daniel 8:25.
So Daniel 10:13 is saying Michael is "one of the chief rulers." This would be like saying that the President of the United States is "one of the chief rulers." The President is still a unique position, and it is the highest ranking position, but there would be others in various offices that would be counted as "one of the rulers" of the US. Daniel 12:1 says Michael is "the great ruler." The Bible doesn't say that there is only one ruler, and that that ruler is God. No, it speaks of many rulers, or princes. God is a ruler. Michael is a ruler. Jesus is a ruler. The Jewish religious leaders were rulers. The Jewish kings were rulers. All Daniel 10:13 is saying is that Michael is "one" of the rulers, without specifying his exact rank among all the rulers. Logically, Michael/Jesus can hold the unique position of "archangel," be above the angels, and still be called "one of the chief rulers." To say that this somehow prevents Michael from being Jesus is to not understand reason.
Interestingly, the Greek Septuagint has "o angelos o megas" - the Great Angel - at Daniel 12:1. Theodotian's Greek Daniel - which some used to replace the original Septuagint version of Daniel because it was thought to be more accurate - has "o arkhon o megas" - the Great Ruler. Both versions have "ton arkhonton ton proton" - "one of the first rulers" - for Daniel 10:13.
(Source: This is the answer given by Abernathy to this question.)
For more concerning "Archangel", see:
Archangel - Links to Information (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACK TO HOME PAGE INDEX