I continue from where I previously left off: Daniel’s Son of Man: YHWH’s Angel? Pt. 1.  

What about the Archangel Michael?

The reason why certain scholars are of the opinion that the Son of Man is Michael because of what is said of him in the book of Daniel:

“But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.” Daniel 10:21

“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1

Since Michael is described as Israel’s prince it makes sense that scholars would take this position. However, there are serious problems with this identification.

YHWH: Israel’s Sole Heavenly Ruler

A repeated theme found all throughout the inspired Scriptures is that Israel is YHWH’s sole possession, having been set apart by God himself to be his cherished inheritance:  

“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.” Deuteronomy 32:8-9 ESV

“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Exodus 6:7

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Exodus 19:5

“But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.” Deuteronomy 4:20

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 7:6

“Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘O LORD God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand… Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’” Deuteronomy 9:26, 29

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 14:1-2

“Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments,” Deuteronomy 26:18

“(for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace)… For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.” 1 Kings 8:51, 53

“Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever.” Psalm 28:9

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” Psalm 33:12

“Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed— This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.” Psalm 74:2

“O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.” Psalm 79:1

“For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.” Psalm 94:14

“That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance… Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against His people, So that He abhorred His own inheritance.” Psalm 106:5, 40

“whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.’” Isaiah 19:25

“O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, The tribes of Your inheritance.” Isaiah 63:17

“The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.” Jeremiah 10:16

Jewish literature, both canonical and non-canonical, is also explicitly clear that YHWH alone is Israel’s King, since Israel has no other heavenly Being ruling over them apart from YHWH God himself:

“‘That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the LORD has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. Present your case,’ says the LORD. ‘Bring forth your strong reasons,’ says the King of Jacob.” Isaiah 41:20-21

“I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” Isaiah 43:15

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.’” Isaiah 44:6

“Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.’” Zephaniah 3:14-17

“He appointed a ruler for every nation, but Israel is the Lord’s own portion.” Sirach 17:17 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

“Over every nation he set a ruler. And Israel was made the manifest portion of God.” Sirach 17:14-15 Douay-Rheims1899 American Edition (DRAV)

“For Ishmael and his sons and his brothers and Esau, the Lord did not cause to approach Him, and he chose them not because they are the children of Abraham, because He knew them, but He chose Israel to be His people. And He sanctified it, and gathered it from amongst all the children of men; for there are many nations and many peoples, and all are His, and over all hath He placed spirits in authority to lead them astray from Him. But over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler, and He will preserve them and require them at the hand of His angels and His spirits, and at the hand of all His powers in order that He may preserve them and bless them, and that they may be His and He may be theirs from henceforth for ever.” The Book of Jubilees 15:30-32

“And we returned in the seventh month, and found Sarah with child before us] and we blessed him, and we announced to him all the things which had been decreed concerning him, that he should not die till he should beget six sons more, and should see (them) before he died; but (that) in Isaac should his name and seed be called: And (that) all the seed of his sons should be Gentiles, and be reckoned with the Gentiles; but from the sons of Isaac one should become a holy seed, and should not be reckoned among the Gentiles. For he should become the portion of the Most High, and all his seed had fallen into the possession of God, that it should be unto the Lord a people for (His) possession above all nations and that it should become a kingdom and priests and a holy nation.” The Book of Jubilees 16:16-18

As such, Michael cannot be Israel’s prince in the sense of ruling over God’s people. Rather, he is their prince in that he is the one specific archangel assigned the responsibility of defending and fighting on behalf of Israel.  

Michael: One Among Many

This brings me to my next point. Michael is merely one of the ruling angelic beings:

“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” Daniel 10:13

Therefore, Michael is not the only one spirit ruler, nor unique among the rest of God’s chief angels.

Worshiping YHWH Alone

The other problem with viewing Michael as the one like a Son of Man is that the Son of Man receives the exact same worship which God alone is supposed to receive:

“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him (yipelachun). His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed… Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship (yipelachun) and obey him.” Daniel 7:14, 27 NIV

The Aramaic verb pelach appears elsewhere in Daniel, and always in the context of worship which is to be given to the true God:

“‘There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?’… ‘If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’… Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!’” Daniel 3:12, 14, 17-18, 28

“So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, ‘Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.’… And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?’” Daniel 6:16, 20

The God-breathed Scriptures repeat this theme that God is the only heavenly Being whom the Israelites (and by extension the nations of the world) were/are to ever worship:

“(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),” Exodus 34:14

“You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.” Deuteronomy 6:13

“To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: ‘You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.’” 2 Kings 17:34-39

“All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the LORD to the next generation,” Psalm 22:27-30

“Among the gods there is none like You, O LORD; Nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O LORD, And shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.” Psalm 86:8-10

“‘And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 66:23

In fact, the inspired NT writings expressly condemn the worship of angelic spirit creatures:

“Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” Colossians 2:18

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” Revelation 19:10

“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’” Revelation 22:8-9

As such, Michael cannot possibly be the Son of Man figure since he is a created angelic being, and therefore cannot receive the worship which God alone receives.

There is, however, one specific Angel who is not a creature but is a Divine Person sent forth by God, and who is explicitly described as being equal with God in essence and glory. It is this Divine Being that I will be focusing on in the next part of my series: Daniel’s Son of Man: YHWH’s Angel? Pt. 3.

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