Dan.12:1 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.
Prince= rs sar, sar a head person (of any rank or class):–captain (that had rule), chief (captain), general, governor, keeper, lord, ((-task- ))master, prince(-ipal), ruler, steward.

Verse 1. And at that time Michael shall stand up] Michael the archangel, as has already been observed, was ever reputed to be the guardian of the Jewish people.

Look at this
Deut 32: 8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

Acts.17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

Here was when the Nations were divided into their various portions, God gave each of them an angelic being as their guardian spirit but for Israel it was Christ, hence they had none, this is why he was referred to in Chapter 12 as the prince that standed for the children of your people Israel.

Similarly , In Josh.5: 13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant.

Here he was seen with the sword drawn .The Lord Christ.

This is why when you read in Dan 10: 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

So who was this prince in Verse 13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me]

Let it be noted that, no good or evil ANGEL is intended here. Cyrus alone was the prince of Persia, and God had destined him to be the deliverer of the Jewish people; but there were some matters, of which we are not informed, that caused him to hesitate for some time. Probably the fear of the greatness of the work, and not being fully satisfied of his ability to execute it, he therefore for a time resisted the secret inspirations which God had sent him. The opposition could be in reference to the building of the temple as he was not a Jew.

We have a similar inspiration given to the widow that fed Elijah in 1King, 17:9

“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee”.

The key word there is the word “commanded.” note it, this was unknown to the woman that she was working out the perfect will of God when she finally gave the Prophet her last meal.

So, same was with king Cyrus, but he was more or less resisting this inspiration that God was giving to him to carry out. Which he finally yielded to do, when Michael came into the scene to persuade him. And so in yielding to go he finally wrote the decree..

Ezra.1: 1 ¶ Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Here was the assignment given to him why the Lord God called him his anointed ..

Isa.44: 24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid…..

Isa.45:1 Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;…….
13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of host”

You see that?

But lo, Michael] But angel Gabriel, who was speaking, did not leave Cyrus till Michael came to take his place. Michael, means “who is like God,” and this often appears to mean the Messiah, at other times the highest or chief archangel.
Indeed there is no archangel mentioned in the whole Scripture but this one. Jude 1:9; Re 12:7. The one Chief or arch angel means chief messenger, and Malachi tells us he is the Christ.

But note this fact also in Col 1:18 “
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence”

The word preeminence .= prwteuw proteuo, prote-yoo’-o =means.. to be first (in rank or influence):–have the preeminence.. Foremost (in time, place, order or importance):–before, beginning, best, chief(-est), first (of all), former.

Now look at this, talking about Jesus Himself
Mal.3.: 1 ¶ Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Here the two messengers mentioned, one is John the Baptist the other is Jesus Christ .

But what did the scripture called him here ? a messenger, same thing as angel as used of John in
Luke 7:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

aggelov aggelos, ang’-el-os = from aggello (probably derived from 71; compare 34) (to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an “angel”; by implication, a pastor:–angel, messenger.

It is an issue for some people when you use the title messenger or angel for Jesus the Christ, forgetting that it’s just another phase of his ministry in relation to his work of redemption of humanity. Otherwise how will you believe the everlasting Father is the same person as the son. (Isa.9:7.) It just a ministry, for father, son and Holy Ghost which are titles are one and the same person in different dispensation of the ministry of redemption.

To be continued…