In Daniel chapter 9 (which I said would be our last message in this series) we see where Daniel took it on himself to intercede on behalf of all the people of Israel who were in captivity in Babylon; and Daniel was just one individual, yet the Lord heard his supplication. Daniel’s prayer reminds us that God will intervene on behalf of the few who fear His name and seek His face. You see, it might appear at times as though our nation is not going to make it for all the problems, but if God’s faithful remnant get serious about praying for America, then it’s never too late to turn things around.
Now, we’re not going to be viewing Daniel’s entire intercessory prayer this morning. Suffice it say that, in addition to a prayer of repentance, he also offered up a prayer for the release of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. His prayer for release in Daniel chapter 9, and the reason for the delay as explained in Daniel chapter 10, is what we’re going to focus on in today’s message, which I’ve entitled, “The Unseen Battle.” So, let’s go ahead and get started with Daniel 9:1-3:
Standing on the Promises (Daniel 9:1-3)
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans – 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
In verse 2, Daniel stated that he understood “by the books” and “by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet” concerning how long the captivity would be. In my message on “A Time to Kneel,” I said the books that Daniel was familiar with were found in the Torah, or the Law, which we know as the first five books of the Bible – Genesis through Deuteronomy. Well, that was actually an oversight. According to commentator Warren Wiersbe, among “the books” mentioned by Daniel would have also been a scroll containing the prophecies of Jeremiah.(1)
Now, look again at verse 2. Daniel said that he understood from Jeremiah that God “would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” Israel was sentenced to captivity in Babylon, because the people had lived in defiance to God’s commands; and in Jeremiah chapter 25, the prophet had warned of this impending judgment, declaring, “Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: ‘Because you have not listened to My words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them against this land . . . This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years’” (Jeremiah 25:8-9a, 11, NIV).
Daniel was well aware of this seventy-year prophecy. He also knew, based on Jeremiah, what God had promised to do as soon as the seventy years were up. In Jeremiah 29:10-11, we read this: “For thus says the Lord: ‘After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’.” So, Daniel had been counting the days and marking his calendar for the seventy years to be completed; and as soon as he knew that God’s people had entered the prophesied time of release, he began praying.
Daniel began standing on God’s promise at that very moment. You see, it wouldn’t have done him any good to be praying for release from captivity before the appointed time. When God was planning to cast His people into captivity, He said in Jeremiah 7:16, “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.” If Daniel had prayer before the appointed time, he would have been praying in vain, for he couldn’t override what God had declared; but as soon as the time of deliverance was at hand, he knew he had something to stand on. So, he began pressing the Lord to uphold His Word, and he did so through prayer and fasting; which Jesus tells us is a powerful combination. In fact, in Matthew 17:19-21, Jesus said that if there’s ever a moment when our faith can’t move mountains, then we need to get busy with prayer and fasting! Let’s now skip down and look at Daniel 9:20-23a:
Deliverance Set in Motion (Daniel 9:20-23a)
20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved.”
What I want us to note here is how Gabriel said, “At the beginning of your supplications the command went out” (v. 23). Now that’s powerful! Because Daniel was standing on God’s promise, then as soon as he began to ask the Lord to uphold that promise, his prayer ascended into the throne room of God; and at the exact moment his prayer was received, God acted and Israel’s deliverance was set in motion.
So, let me ask you, “What are we to stand on?” In Daniel’s time people looked to the words of the prophets. In Amos 3:7, we read, “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” Prophesy is one of the gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament (Romans 12:6), and there are those today who come bringing a word from the Lord. So, some of us might choose to put our hope in the words of a prophet; but as a word of caution, let me warn you that any prophecy should always be weighed by the authority of God’s Word; and if it doesn’t line up, then it must be abandoned. But let’s not forget that the Bible itself contains prophecies that have stood the test of time; prophecies that give us hope and help us make sense of our ever-changing world.
Now, in addition to the “prophecies” found in Scripture, we can also stand on the “promises” of the Scripture. We find an example in 2 Chronicles 7:14. The Lord said, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The “promises” are 1.) God will hear our prayers, 2.) God will forgive our sins, and 3.) God will heal our nation. But the promises are tied to a condition, which is this: “If my people.” We have to get busy before God will get busy! The Lord said that we must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and repent if we wish to see these promises fulfilled. And let’s not forget how, in verses 19-22 of this same passage, the Lord made some undesirable promises of disaster should we fail to seek His face.
What God said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 can be applied to any nation; and so, this is His will for America too! The Lord wants our numerous sins to be blotted out; He wants our nation to be healed; and He wants this country to enter a time of blessing and prosperity. Maybe our nation has found itself in spiritual captivity; under siege by demonic strongholds and held hostage by liberal factions; but if we will lift up our prayers of intercession for the nation, then the Lord will hear our prayers; and not only that, but He will immediately send out a command that the chains be broken! Amen? But let me ask this: “What happens when we stand on God’s promise, knowing that He has sent out the command, and then there is an unexpected and unexplainable delay?” We begin to understand in the next chapter; so, let’s now take a look at Daniel 10:1-3:
Deliverance Was Delayed (Daniel 10:1-3)
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Here, we see Daniel still in Babylon three years after his initial intercession; however, God’s promise had already started to come true. Wiersbe says that just a year before, fifty thousand Jews “had left Babylon and traveled to their native land to rebuild the temple.”(2) So, why was Daniel in mourning? “Since Daniel had access to official reports, he no doubt heard that the remnant had arrived safely in Jerusalem and that all of the tabernacle treasures were intact. He also would have heard that the men had laid the foundation of the temple, but that the work had been opposed and finally stopped (Ezra 4). He knew that his people were suffering hardship in the ruined city of Jerusalem, and he wondered if God would fail to fulfill the promises He made to Jeremiah.”(3) So, what was the actual cause of this delay? Well, the answer can be found in Daniel 10:10-13; so, let’s now skip down and take a look at these verses:
Fighting the Unseen War (Daniel 10:10-13)
10 Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 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.”
In verse 10, we read that while Daniel was praying and fasting that a hand touched him, and how the one who touched him began to comfort him and deliver a message. The depiction of the one who touched Daniel can be found back in verses 4-6; and the description is similar to that of Jesus seen in Revelation 1:12-18. Keep in mind that Christ has already made an appearance in the book of Daniel as the fourth man in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, where He is described as being “like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25). Commentator Matthew Henry said of the figure in Daniel chapter 10, that “a description of that glorious person whom Daniel saw in vision . . . is generally agreed, could be no other than Christ Himself, the eternal Word.”(4)
In verse 12, Jesus told Daniel that even though there was a delay in the fulfillment of God’s promise, that He still heard his words. He heard him from the first day he began to pray three years earlier. So, why was there a delay in the restoration of the Jewish homeland? And why was there a twenty-one day delay in waiting for his most recent prayer to be answered? The reason why is because something was going on in the spiritual realm unseen to Daniel. It was a war between the kingdom of God and the evil one. There was a delay, because the Son of God was busy doing battle.
You see, Jesus was tied up in fighting “the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia” (v. 13). Now, when Daniel first began to pray three years earlier, the actual physical Prince of Persia was King Darius (9:1). Here in chapter 10, the actual physical Prince of Persia is Cyrus (10:1); but the battle was not in the physical realm. Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” In his book Engaging the Powers, Walter Wink says that these physical entities called principalities and powers are underlain and controlled by spiritual forces.(5) So, it’s not a flesh and blood battle, but a spiritual one.
The Prince mentioned here was a “spirit-being.” The New Living Translation reads, “But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Dn 10:13). Now, the one who came to assist Jesus was Michael, an archangel of God. But, the Prince of Persia was an angel too; an evil and fallen angel, known as a demon. The evil angels fell from heaven with Lucifer in his great rebellion against God, as seen in Isaiah 14:12-16 and Revelation 12:7-9.
So, let me ask this question: “What demons have set up shop in America?” The two main ones are Molech and Baal, ancient gods who both demand the sacrifice of children; and in America we are literally sacrificing our children through abortion, which claims the lives of nearly 1,460,000 babies each year.(6) Molech, was later renamed Kronos, by the ancient Greek culture of North Africa, and Kronos is the god of time. Molech is also being manifested by enslaving people to grueling work schedules, with no rest and no time off for the Sabbath, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar; and Baal too is being manifested through obsession with financial prosperity, political power and sexual perversion. Molech and Baal are the two main principalities blocking the church and conservative government from advancing; but let’s not become discouraged!
The answer as to why Daniel’s prayer was delayed is because Jesus was tied up in fighting the demons; but the thing to remember is that someone is fighting for us! Now, it was such an intense battle that Jesus couldn’t step aside and answer Daniel’s prayer until He had received relief from Michael. You see, sometimes we can get discouraged when God delays, and feel like giving up hope, when all along Jesus has been fighting for us and preparing the way. And let me tell you, we can’t see progress, and we cannot advance, until He has cleared the obstacles and opposition.
But let me remind us that we have a role to play too. In Ephesians 6:13-17, Paul tells us to put on the armor of God for battle, and he mentioned all the specific pieces of the armor, along with their spiritual function; but the most powerful weapon, next to the sword of the Spirit (or the Word of God) is prayer. In Ephesians 6:18, Paul continued to say, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” If we want to see Jesus and the angels do battle in the heavens, then we need to be their ground support through fervent, persevering prayer. And even though we might have already been praying for weeks, months, or maybe even years, we have to keep on praying if want to see a breakthrough!
Time of Reflection
Now, the greatest battle of all is “the battle for the soul,” as Satan is seeking to drag as many souls to hell as he possibly can before his time is up. But through our prayers, God will wage war for the soul. We read in Psalm 55:16-18, “I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.” The demons of hell, described as the “many against me,” have been waging war against those living apart from God and living in sin, but they can be saved; not only as the church prays for them, but by their own “prayer of repentance” and “confession of faith in Jesus Christ.” Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
NOTES
(1) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete Old Testament in One Volume,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), pp. 1375-1376.
(2) Ibid., p. 1380.
(3) Ibid., p. 1380-1390.
(4) Matthew Henry, “Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible,” CrossWalk: bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/MatthewHenryComplete/mhc-com.cgi?book=da&chapter=010 (Accessed November 30, 2009).
(5) Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992), p. 6.
(6) Steven Pace, “Sanctity of Human Life,” a sermon taken from the Internet January 2003 on sermoncentral.com.
