6, 7. (a) According to some scholars of Christendom, who is Michael? (b) What Biblical evidence helps us to make a proper identification of Michael?

⁶ Back in the early 1800’s, Bible scholar Joseph Benson stated that the description of Michael as found in the Bible “manifestly points out the Messiah.” Nineteenth-century Lutheran E. W. Hengstenberg agreed that “Michael is no other than Christ.” Similarly, theologian J. P. Lange, when commenting on Revelation 12:7, wrote: “We take it that Michael . . . is, from the outset, Christ in warlike array against Satan.” Does the Bible support this identification? Yes, it does.a

⁷ For example, according to the angel, Michael is to “stand up.” In the angel’s prophecy, “to stand” or “to stand up” (Hebrew, ‛a·madhʹ) can mean “to give support.” (Daniel 11:1) It can also variously imply “to prevail,” “to rebel,” “to oppose,” or “to withstand.” (Daniel 11:6, 11, 14, 15, 16a, 17, 25) But frequently, it refers to the action of a king, either taking up his royal power or acting effectively in his capacity as king. (Daniel 11:2-4, 7, 16b, 20, 21, 25) This is the meaning that fits best the angel’s words in Daniel 12:1. And it certainly supports the fact that Michael is Jesus Christ, since Jesus is Jehovah’s appointed King, commissioned to destroy all the nations at Armageddon. (Revelation 11:15; 16:14-16; 19:11-16) It also harmonizes with the other prophecies that point to the time when God’s Kingdom, under Jesus Christ, acts against this world’s nations.​—Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14, 26, 27.

8, 9. (a) Who were ‘Daniel’s people’ originally, and who are they now? (b) How has Michael’s keen interest in ‘Daniel’s people’ been shown throughout the ages?

⁸ Michael has long been associated with ‘Daniel’s people,’ the Israelites. He was with them in the wilderness, and he supported them against the spirit “princes” of ancient empires. (Daniel 10:13, 21; Exodus 23:20, 21; Jude 9) And he was born on earth as the man Jesus to be the long-hoped-for Messiah, the “seed” promised to Daniel’s ancestor Abraham. (Genesis 22:16-18; Galatians 3:16; Acts 2:36) Sadly, natural Israel as a whole rejected Jesus; hence, Jehovah rejected them as his special nation. (Matthew 21:43; John 1:11) He determined to put his name on a new nation, a spiritual “Israel of God,” made up of both natural Jews and non-Jews who put faith in Jesus.​—Galatians 6:16; Acts 15:14; 1 Peter 2:9, 10.

⁹ This new nation, the anointed Christian congregation, began life in 33 C.E., and thereafter it served as the Israel of God. This would henceforth be ‘Daniel’s people.’ (Romans 2:28, 29) Before his resurrection to heaven in 33 C.E., Jesus promised continued support for ‘Daniel’s people’ when he told prospective members of that new Israel: “Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”​—Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 5:23, 25-27.