Daniel chapter 10 is a unique passage of Scripture that communicates the nature of a spiritual battle that is going on. In this chapter the veil is drawn aside and we are given a glimpse into the invisible world. According to the Biblical perspective, our visible world is surrounded by invisible or unseen angelic beings that are engaging in a continual battle. On one side, there are those angels who are loyal to God that fight to protect God’s people; and on the other side we find Satan and his evil angels fighting against God’s people, pretending that this world is his. It is a cosmic conflict in which we are involved. There is good news though, as we study this chapter; because, as we know, Jesus always wins and Satan always loses. That is the theme of the books of Revelation and Daniel.
Here in Daniel chapter 10, Daniel the prophet has an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is very interesting though, when you look at this chapter, because you do not find a lot of prophecy as we have seen and studied in the previous chapters. Here we find a man with the spirit of sanctification and we learn what it is like when sanctification occurs in our life, which is relative to our Christian experience. Remember, Paul makes it clear “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14
“In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.” Daniel 10:1. Notice that Cyrus is the king of Persia at the time of this occurrence. Continuing on, “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.” Daniel 10:2. We do know that Daniel did not always understand the vision he was given as we studied previously in Daniel 8 and 9; and so here we find Daniel praying and fasting. He is a good example that we should follow when we struggle with something in our Christian life. Whether you are struggling with sin or with understanding some Scripture, you need to know that Jesus is with you. He is there to help you in your time of need. Do you have a need in your life? Do you struggle with sin? You do not need to be afraid because Jesus will give you understanding and power to overcome and to be overcomers in this life.
We find Daniel the prophet in a situation in which he had been mourning for three full weeks. “I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.” Daniel 10:3. Daniel does not tell us yet in this verse why he ended the fast, but the Scripture goes on in verses 10–11 to tell us why. “And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.” From the context, we know that the person who was sent is none other than the angel Gabriel, sent by God to help Daniel understand the vision. So, Gabriel comes back, he is touching Daniel, Daniel is trembling but Gabriel wants Daniel to know that he is greatly beloved by God.
There is then an interaction between Daniel and this angel Gabriel, in the next verse, “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” Daniel 10:12. Here we find Daniel earnestly praying, asking God to do something. He, in fact, fasts as well as prays. This is the call of the hour today for our people who are awaiting the coming of Jesus. It is a call to prayer; a call to treat our bodies as the temples of the Holy Ghost; in fasting. In the hour that we are living in, just before the coming of Christ, God is calling us to dedicate mind, body, spirit, and soul unreservedly to Him. Yes, we too, like Daniel, must pray and long for deliverance. It has been a long time since Jesus promised to come again (John 14:1–3) and we, like Daniel, are awaiting His return. Maybe there have been moments in your life when you have been reading the Bible but not understanding what you read. Maybe you prayed and fasted but received no answer yet. Do not be discouraged—God is sending help from above when we look upon Jesus. God is sending His angels as that beautiful promise states, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” Exodus 23:20. In the Bible that “way” represents Jesus—He said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness.” Isaiah 35:8. This is where God has promised to bring us.
Daniel prayed for three weeks with no apparent answer to his prayer, and then appeared a majestic being of dazzling brightness (Daniel 10:5–9). The brightness is so magnificent, so great, that Daniel actually faints. Who could this being be? What being of dazzling brightness would consider Daniel so precious as to come down from heaven to be by his side, as he persisted in prayer? Who was this person who came to encourage Daniel, to lift his spirit, to give him hope? We find a clue to the identity of this being in Revelation 1:13. “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” This figure is referred to as the Son of Man—Jesus Christ!
Gabriel is explaining to Daniel why it was 21 days before his petition was heard and an answer came, and further explained why he was delayed in coming to him. “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.” Daniel 10:13
I mentioned at the beginning that this event occurred during the time of the kingdom of Persia under Cyrus. We previously learned that the Medes and the Persians overthrew the Babylonians sometime around 538 B.C., so we know that the 3rd year of Cyrus would be 535 B.C. We also remember that Daniel went into captivity in 605 B.C. This means that 70 years have now gone by, and Daniel is approximately 87 years old. The 70 years are significant, because Jeremiah the prophet predicted that Jerusalem would be in captivity for 70 years. Daniel, aware of these predictions, knows that the captivity is coming to an end, but at this point, three years into Media-Persian rule, there has been no release. So, Daniel longingly waits. Who is this prince of the kingdom of Persia that Gabriel is referring to?
“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” John 12:31. This verse tells us of Jesus’ response when Satan had come to tempt Him. The prince of this world is Satan. And if Satan is the prince of this world, he was the prince of the Kingdom of Persia. In other words, Satan was resisting Daniel’s prayers from being answered, because he was influencing the mind of King Cyrus not to allow the Israelites to go. Something interesting here to be noticed; we have seen the “prince” of the kingdom of Persia that is Satan is not alone in this battle, because the last part of verse 13 in Daniel 10 tells us about the “kings” of Persia. Plural form—these are the demons that have fallen with Satan when they rebelled in Heaven (Revelation 12:7–9).
“Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.” Daniel 10:14. This takes us from the time of Daniel down through the centuries to our time. It involves you and me as much as it did Daniel. We are all part of spiritual Israel, which includes all followers of Jesus throughout history up until in our time—the latter days.
“Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth
with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” Daniel 10:20–21. But, who is this Michael mentioned here? Who is this mighty conqueror who descends, leading the armies of heaven against Satan? Whoever Michael is, he has stronger power than Satan. Michael is mentioned in the Bible in only five places, but in every case, he is mentioned in conflict with Satan. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7–9. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Jude 1:9
Here we see Michael the archangel contending or fighting with the devil for the body of Moses. Michael has the power to overthrow Satan and to resurrect Moses from the dead. We know Moses was resurrected, because the Bible says his grave could not be found, and later, he appeared along with Jesus and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. Michael has the authority to cast Satan out of heaven, and has authority over death. Only one person can do these things and that person is Jesus Christ! Jesus has power over Satan, and He has authority to raise anybody from the dead. But, why then does it say Michael here instead of Jesus? First, the word Michael means “one who is like God”. Is Jesus like God? Yes, He is. But the Bible also says that Michael is the archangel. This does not mean that Jesus was a created being; one of the created angels. The definition of the word archangel means commander and chief of the angels. Jesus never had a beginning, and He will never have an ending, but one of Christ’s functions is as the Commander and Chief of the angels, the Archangel. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
No doubt Michael is Jesus Himself as we have read. It is just one of the names of Jesus. He is also known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Prince of Peace, and the Good Shepherd. He is known as the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, and Immanuel. There are many names for Jesus, because Jesus is everything to us.
Daniel chapter 10 is an impressive chapter that draws back the veil into the invisible, unseen world. We cannot physically see what is going on behind the scenes, but with our eyes of enlightenment through the Scriptures we are able to spiritually see behind the veil, so that we may have an understanding of what is going on.
When we pray we are not to use the same set routine or repetitive phrases because each situation in our life, or the lives of our family, friends, or other people is unique. Our words of prayer give God access to intervene in our life or in the life of the person we pray for in a specific manner, due to the individual circumstances at the time. So, when we pray for others, we have the privilege of opening the door in the people’s lives for God to give angels access, to hopefully have an impact.
I would like, in closing, to ask you to pray for a person or two, somebody you may know that needs to encounter the love of Christ. Somebody you may know that needs Divine intervention, because we have seen in Daniel’s prayer how God delegated help for Daniel and his people. In the last days, there will be great battles and struggles. Men’s minds will be engulfed with darkness, and Satan himself, knowing that the time is short, will take command of the battle. But Daniel records these words of encouragement, “And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.” Daniel 10:19. God says to us also, “Be strong—yes, be strong!” In the battle between good and evil, between Christ and Satan, we will sometimes feel weak and struggle to go on. In these times when we feel Satan’s temptations overwhelming us, when we feel Satan’s power coming over us like a wave of the sea, we must go on our knees and seek God. It is then that Michael will come. Yes, the Mighty Conqueror will come in power, giving us strength and beating back the forces of evil, and victory will be ours. Praise His Holy Name! Amen!
Nicholas Anca