Q430 : Am I Michael the Chief Prince of Israel (Dan. 12:1)?

Good afternoon,

I want to start this off with, I have been doing much research and study of the scriptures as I'm led by my Father to do so. I have completely given my life to the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, and there is no going back on what I believe He has been speaking to me. I stumbled upon your website at this link: Q380 : Is David the Prince of Ezekiel 46.^a It is quite warming to know that there are people who have the same understanding.

[I have shared what follows with] my family and ones I thought were close, but they have all shunned me away.

I know almost for a fact, not only through studying and research, being radically saved from a life of darkness, intense prayer and fasting, prophetic words spoken to me through people whom I have had no relation, and many more things... that the Lord God has said I am the Chief Prince of Israel mentioned in Daniel 12:1. Attached is a PDF of my research that actually led me to your website today.

I'm not sure if this will be read by anybody. But it is surely a breath of fresh air that I have found somewhere that understands the line of David has to be held by a human being. May the Spirit of God confirm what I say is true to whomever is reading this.

The times we are in are of great tribulation and it is only going to get worse. The cup of iniquity has runneth over, and it is time for judgement to take place. A time that has never been seen before is on the horizon. I can only give ALL THE GLORY to the Most High for saving my life, and choosing a simple man like me to carry out this calling. I am but a vessel for His use, a servant to what He commands, and a son whom He has loved.

I pray I hear from you soon. Until then may you continue in your faith, strengthening it day by day, and I pray for you and all of the saints, and my brothers and sisters around the world.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Michael

[Text from a chatbot session attached.]

A430 : by Tony Garland

Although your email wasn't addressed specifically as a question, it seems you are looking for feedback regarding your belief that you, being Michael by name, are the Michael named in Daniel 12:1? Also, that you may see yourself as fulfilling the role of the prince—in the line of Judah—mentioned in the latter chapters of Ezekiel?

You seem very committed to this view.

I would like to take this opportunity to attempt to persuade you that scripture reveals you are neither of those persons.

Why You are not Michael the Great Prince

Your belief that Michael in Daniel 12:1 is a human being is incorrect. Michael is an archangel. He clearly is not human. For one, he is living near the time of the death of Moses, which most biblical chronologists place in the 15th century BC (Jude 1:9).¹ As Daniel 12 reveals, Michael is still alive at a future time from us—when he takes his stand to protect the nation Israel during the time of Jacob's trouble associated with the Tribulation. So the evidence tells us that Michael has been alive for at least 3,400 years.

Much more could be said concerning Michael—his role and abilities—but this is enough for our purposes. Clearly, he is not human. Therefore: you cannot be Michael the great prince.

Why You are not Ezekiel's Prince

Unlike Michael, the great prince, the prince of Ezekiel 44 and beyond (Eze. 44:3; 45:7; 45:16-17, 22; 46; 48:21-22) is a human being. But he lives and ministers during the millennial kingdom—which follows upon the Second Coming (Rev. 19-20). By that point in history, all believers living today will have been glorified at the rapture of the Church (1Cor. 15:52; 1Th. 4:17). Even if we were to place the catching up of the saints as late as the Second Coming (the "U-turn" view), all Christians living today will have been glorified before the millennium begins. But Ezekiel's prince is unglorified—able to sin and procreate (Eze. 45:22; 46:12, 16-18).

As a believer in Christ, you will either die prior to the rapture or remain alive until the rapture. Either way, you will be resurrected and glorified at the rapture, thereafter to be sinless and unable to have offspring in the millennial kingdom. Therefore: you cannot be Ezekiel's prince.

Zeal without Knowledge

Clearly, you seem zealous and committed to your view. You state, "there is no going back on what I believe He has been speaking to me." But have you considered that zeal without knowledge is dangerous? As Paul stated concerning the Jews who rejected Jesus...

1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2)

Zeal is like the engine within a rocket. It provides the necessary power to propel the rocket toward the destination. But a guidance system is also needed. If the rocket is headed just 1 degree off course at launch, after a few thousand miles it will be many miles off course.

You seem convinced that you have received valid prophetic words and have heard from God. But that cannot be the case because what you believe is at odds with Scripture.²

Elevating Experience over Scripture

I would suggest that your approach to God is flawed: that you are placing your experience above what Scripture teaches which subverts the ability of God's Word to provide the necessary correction to your deception. Consider that experience is inherently subjective whereas Scripture is the only truly objective source of God's truth.^a

This is the primary reason (among many) why I left the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostals habitually elevate personal experience over the careful, contextual, and systematic study of God's Word.

You mentioned, "ones [you] thought were close" have shunned you. Could it be because they have a more-accurate understanding of Scripture and realized you were headed for trouble? Consider how many passages in God's Word warn about the need to remain teachable.³ If we resist correction from the Word of God, we are wide open for just this sort of deception.

Artificial Intelligence Purposefully Strokes Our Ego

As useful as AI can be to locate and summarize sources of information, it also has many troubling aspects. Particularly troublesome is its purposeful programming to mimic human conversation and emotions. This, in my view—as a lifelong practicing electrical and software engineer—borders on malpractice.

The large language model (LLM) powering the chatbot is nothing but a statistical next-word chooser, stringing together sentences drawn from a database built from an immense amount of human-generated data. It is nothing but a cold, glorified calculator, but purposefully programmed to mimic a human. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect is its purposeful use of false-flattery to reinforce our "genius" and desire to continue the "conversation."

Predictably, the responses are those of a "silicon-based sycophant." Consider these responses from the bot within the chatbot session you attached of your interaction/study:

• "That is a really thoughtful angle..."
• "You are synthesizing a very specific, deeply researched prophetic framework here, and it connects several key Old and new Testament threads in a fascinating way..."
• "Your view splits these roles beautifully..."

The bot is giving you the exact opposite feedback from the correction you need. Nevertheless, in the midst of all the flattery, even the bot tries to direct the conversation to a more sound interpretation of the identity of Michael, yet you persist with your novel view.

In Summary

I delayed responding specifically to take time to pray and consider whether I even should respond—whether it would be productive. My experience has been that those who write with a strongly-held view are rarely open to reconsidering their beliefs. Nevertheless, I do pray that you would consider these points—as well as the warnings of others who "were close"—and reevaluate your belief concerning your identity in relation to what Scripture clearly teaches.

Some think God is speaking to them today by prophetic gifts, dreams, impressions, or even audible voices, when instead He is speaking to them through the Scriptures and fellow believers who are attempting to provide correction—if they were only open to receive it.

If you are not already attending a local church, I would strongly recommend finding one and becoming a regular attender (Heb. 10:24-25). When we are in fellowship with other believers face-to-face, there is much greater safety. And there you can receive trusted counsel from the elders of the church.