Let's begin tonight by having someone read Daniel 10:1-3. Again, we are back in time when the Medo-Persians conquered Babylon and Cyrus was king. Daniel's name was still Beltshazzar. Daniel received this Revelation in 536 B.C. This was about the same time that the Lord rescued him from the lion's den. This was in the third year of King Cyrus's reign. Right after King Cyrus conquered Babylon, he had issued a proclamation of freedom allowing all Jews who wish to do so to return to their homeland. Almost 50,000 chose to return under the leadership of Zerubbabel. When Daniel received this revelation, the Jewish exiles had already returned to Palestine and were rebuilding their homes, shops, businesses, farms, and the temple.
You might remember from our previous studies that Daniel was an official in the governments of Babylon and then Persia. Daniel had access to official records. So, he had probably seen reports that construction of the temple in Jerusalem had stopped due to the opposition of the surrounding people. This is what drove Daniel to his knees. He was deeply concerned and grieving for his people and nation. He wanted to intercede on their behalf.
So, for 3 weeks he was in mourning. He fasted and prayed. He didn't eat any choice food during that time. Nor did he eat meat or drink wine, and he didn't anoint his body with oil. He was totally consumed by his concern with the fate of his people, the Jews.
Daniel has an amazing vision and an encounter with an awesome being. It was early spring, the 24th day of the first month when the encounter took place. Daniel was possibly taking time off from his official duties in order to observe the season of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, which spanned the first month of the year. So Daniel had reason to celebrate this particular Passover in that the Jewish exiles had been released from their Babylonian captivity and they had returned home. Even so, Daniel's heart was still heavy with concern for his people.
Daniel 10:4 - 9. Daniel was by the side of the Hiddekel, or Tigris River when he suddenly saw a man who was more awesome than any person than he had ever seen. Daniel would never forget what the man looked like. His clothing was linen. His belt was made of the purest gold. His body looked like a dazzling gem that reflected bright colors. His face was as bright as flashes of lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs gleamed like polished bronze. His voice thundered like the roar of a multitude.
Who was this person? Some believe he was an angel. Others think that he was Christ himself. Several facts support the view that Christ was the awesome being who stood before Daniel:
--Daniel was helpless with fear in his presence, whereas he wasn't helpless in the presence of the angel in the previous chapter.
--The description of him is very similar to Ezekiel's and the apostle John's description of the glorified Christ (Ezekiel 1:26-28; Revelation 1 12 - 16.)
--He knew the future and he swore a Divine oath that only God could fulfill. That Divine oath was made in Daniel 12:7.
To strengthen Daniel to receive the vision and to stress the importance of its message, it appears that the Lord himself appeared to Daniel in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel and his companions' response to the amazing vision was sheer terror. Only Daniel actually saw the vision. His companions did not see this person, but they did sense his presence. And they ran away in terror. When Daniel caught a glimpse of the glorified person, he was emotionally overwhelmed and physically weakened. His face turned deathly pale, and he became utterly helpless. Falling to the ground, he heard the awesome, glorified Christ speaking. At the sound of His voice, Daniel fell asleep. He was totally humbled and surrendered to Christ.
There seems to be a significant break between verses 9 and 10 as though the awesome, glorified person of verses 4-9 has now left the scene. Daniel references a hand reaching down to touch him which indicates that another heavenly being has entered the scene, perhaps Gabriel.
Daniel 10:10 - 11. Daniel was still weak and trembling from his encounter with the awesome person described. But Daniel was strengthened by this angel. The angel told Daniel that he was highly esteemed in the eyes of the Lord. So he was to listen carefully to the special message that was now to be given to him. Hearing this, Daniel stood to his feet, trembling but fully alert.
Daniel 10: 13 - 15. The angel gave Daniel a special insight into the spiritual warfare constantly being waged between the forces of good and evil. It looks like the focus of Daniel's prayer for 3 weeks had been for the future of Israel. The Angel informs Daniel that his prayer had been answered on the first day that he had begun to fast and pray.
But in verse 13, it stated that evil forces had delayed him. For 21 days the demonic Prince of Persia had resisted God's angel, delaying the delivery of the answer to Daniel's prayer. Remember, Daniel prayed and fasted for 3 weeks, or 21 days. It took 21 days for God to give the answer to Daniel’s prayer because Satan’s demons were causing the delay. As the conflict and delay continued, God finally sent Michael, one of the chief angelic princes of heaven, to help the angel combat the demonic forces of Satan.
We need to understand that all of this was taking place in the heavenly realm. The angel was able to leave the combat long enough to bring God's answer to Daniel in verse 14. Now the angel was going to explain what would happen to the Jewish people in the future, because the message from God was a revelation of events yet to come.
Listen closely to this: When Daniel learned that spiritual forces had opposed his prayer, he was completely overwhelmed. In weakness he collapsed to his knees, completely speechless. It was through prayer that he had been involved in a cosmic spiritual warfare, and he was totally unaware of the conflict, totally unaware of the importance of his individual prayer. But his prayer was so important that the Lord had sent some of his most powerful angels of heaven to make sure his prayer was answered.
We really don't have any idea what is going on in the heavenly realm as we pray. How important prayer must be! What a lesson for us to seek God's face on behalf of others, both individuals and nations.
Daniel 10: 16 - 19. Once more God's angelic messenger encouraged Daniel. He touched Daniel's lips which enabled Daniel to speak. Daniel told the angel that he was terrified at the spiritual warfare that is fought over prayer. He was deeply troubled, so much so that he could hardly breathe. Again, what a lesson for us about the importance of prayer.
Seeing how emotionally drained and weak Daniel was, the angel again touched him and gave him supernatural strength in verse 18. He then instructs Daniel not to fear because he was greatly loved. He was a man who was faithful in prayer and consistently obeyed the commandments of God. The Lord highly favored Daniel and held him in the highest esteem imaginable. The angel pronounces peace upon Daniel and gives him strength. Daniel was now strengthened enough to receive the message of the prophecy that was about to be given. This message will be covered in chapters 11 and 12.
Daniel 10: 20 - 11:1. Before Daniel could respond, the angel said that he would soon return to fight against the prince of Persia. Then sometime later, when the Grecian empire arose, he would have to fight against the angelic Prince of Greece. It would take the angels of God opposing these two demonic angels to restrain and control evil on the earth. Apart from God's righteousness and the restraining power of the Holy angels, evil would run rampant across the face of the earth and destroy humanity.
This is not just Old testament happenings. Paul spoke of this same battle being fought when he wrote in Ephesians 6:12 - "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens."
Before the angel could leave Daniel, he first had to tell him why he had come. He had to reveal to Daniel the events in the book of truth. Evidently this is a book that covers God's plan for world history, part of which was to be revealed in chapters 11 through 12. In closing the revelation, the angel again stated that he and Michael had been opposing the demonic forces since the first year of King Darius's reign over Persia. This assures me that demonic forces are in battle right now with the Ukrainian/Russian controversy. That's why it's extremely important for each of us to fervently pray over this conflict.
We will stop there for tonight. But there are a couple of things that we can learn from this chapter. Number one, there's always been people who have scoffed at the idea of a personal devil or demonic angels who actually exist in a so-called spiritual world. These individuals feel that they are too educated and intelligent to believe such nonsense. They proclaim that these ideas are outdated and belong to the dark ages, when people were too ignorant and superstitious to know better. But God, because He is God, tells us the truth. God reveals to us the fact that there is an evil force that has access to the spirit of man and that can influence people to do evil. He is called Satan, and he rules over the darkness and spiritual wickedness of this world.
Another thing that we can learn from this passage is that it teaches us the supreme importance of prayer. God answers prayers. If we are sincere and fervent, genuinely craving for God to move and act, He will. He moves the events and affairs of society as well as the citizens and leaders, all in answer to prayer. Because of prayer:
--God will strengthen and help us,
--Save us and our families,
--Free us from the bondages and enslaving habits of life.
--He will rescue our marriages and friendships,
--give us understanding and wisdom,
--help us financially, educationally, professionally.
--He will give us and our loved ones the hope of heaven and life everlasting and He will deliver us either from or through whatever trial or temptation confronts us, even through the crisis of death.
There is nothing that God will not do for the person who truly believes and seeks Him.
But in our seeking God and because of the power of prayer, the demonic forces of hell will oppose us. Satan will do everything he can to keep us from praying or continuing in prayer. He will do his best to keep us from receiving the answers to our prayers. He will try to keep us from living righteously and following the Lord.
Satan will do all he can to cut the heart of God, which he does by tripping us up and causing us to sin. If we are true prayer warriors, every temptation imaginable will be thrown across our path. We will be seduced to give in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. For this reason, we need to prepare ourselves to stand against Satan as we pray. We must put on the whole armor of God.
