Daniel 10

 

Daniel 10   The Invisible War

¹In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

²At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. ³I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

¹⁰A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

¹²Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

¹⁵While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶Then one who looked like a man^b touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe."

¹⁸Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ¹⁹"Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."

²⁰So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

 

 

 

Akin

1. How often do you think about the realities of spiritual warfare? What causes you to recognize these realities?

2. Is revelation always a result of divine initiative? Why or why not?

3. What does Daniel show us about the proper response to divine revelation? How do you respond when you read a difficult message in Scripture?

4. What is the relationship between prayer and spiritual warfare? How can you use your prayers to engage in spiritual battle?

5. Read Ephesians 6:10-20. What does that passage say about spiritual warfare? What does it say about prayer?

6. How can we make sure our prayers are humble? Why is this so important?

7. This passage teaches that angels and demons are engaged in combat with one another. Why do you think this is so difficult for many people to believe or understand in our day?

8. Have you ever been overcome by the weightiness of a message from God? If so, how has God also encouraged you in those times?

9. Daniel is encouraged because he is treasured by God. Reflect on God's love for you as shown in Christ (Rom 5:8). How can this encourage you as you encounter spiritual opposition?

Message:

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Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920), the brilliant journalist, theologian, and prime minister of the Netherlands, once wrote,

If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle ever fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there—that is where the real conflict is waged. Our earthly struggle drones in its backlash. (Ferguson, Daniel, 199)

Today we Peek Behind the Curtain.

Chapter 10 is the introduction to a long vision that extends into chapter 11 and chapter 12 of Daniel.

But this introduction gives us insight into what is behind the curtain. Be careful. It nearly sucked the life out of Daniel himself.

The vision came in the third year of Cyrus. This probably means the third year after Cyrus' conquest of Babylon and so ca. 536 BC. Daniel says that  Its message was true and it concerned a great war. (NIV)

The word [i.e., the revelation he was given] was true and it was a great conflict (ESV).

Some think the conflict consisted of Daniel's difficulty in understanding the revelation. More likely, the conflict alludes to the content of the vision. Conflict renders ṣābā, which means ʻarmy' and ʻwarfare,' and includes extended meanings like ʻhard service'. Leupold seems to pick up on this last option and translates, ʻit involved great suffering'. This is likely on target. To be sure, the vision will major on ʻwarfare' (e.g., 11:21–28) but such warfare will also include severe suffering for the people of God (e.g., 11:29–35; see also 12:1).

It is a bit haunting that this reminder should come at the very first, in the heading to the whole vision. We who live under governments that, for all their godlessness, at least do not inflict overt persecution can forget that we are in an abnormal situation. Our brothers and sisters who are daily harassed for Christ's sake – whether in North Korea or Myanmar or Pakistan or Iraq or Nigeria or Sudan or  elsewhere, where they are hated and hunted – are wading through what is far more normal for Christ's servants. Both faith in Christ and suffering for Christ are equally gifts of grace, as Philippians 1:29 teaches us: ʻBecause to you it has been graciously given on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake.'

Why is Daniel mourning for three weeks (2)? Why the semi-fasting regimen on a subsistence-level diet? Why the ban on using aftershave lotion (3)? Clearly, as verse 12 makes clear, this period was a time of extended and focused prayer. But what was behind the prayer? Why was Daniel driven to such intense petitioning? Daniel may have been disturbed by reports filtering back from Judah of the ongoing, unrelenting opposition the returned exiles were meeting. If the exiles had returned to Judah in 537 BC, sufficient time had likely passed by the third year of Cyrus (1; ca. 536/535 BC), the date of the present vision, for the schemes and malice depicted in Ezra 4:1–5 to be striking God's people.  If Daniel was still serving in some governmental capacity he would have access to reports on provincial affairs. Hearing of Judah's distress drove Daniel into his prayer closet. "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over" (Dan. 10:1–3). In the first year of Cyrus, the first party of Jewish exiles had returned to Jerusalem in response to Cyrus's decree, but they had found life there far from plain sailing. They rebuilt the altar of the temple but almost immediately ran into powerful opposition from their new neighbors on all sides (Ezra 3:1–6). This opposition, on top of the difficulties of scratching out a basic living in their new home, caused the returned exiles to cease the work on the temple, for more than fifteen years until the time of Haggai and Zechariah. The third year of Cyrus would therefore have been a time of discouragement for God's people, both in Judah and in Babylon. The euphoria that surrounded the initial return and the rededication of the altar was fading and the challenges of maintaining faithfulness over the long haul in the midst of great opposition would have been on Daniel's mind. –Duguid.

Seventy years had been concluded and now nothing was happening. Some of the people of Israel were showing no signs of leaving Babylon.  They turned from a nation of sheepkeepers to a nation of shopkeepers. They had founded Coles- Myer of Babylon and they were making so much money that many of them did not have any intention of going back to Palestine. But Daniel knew that it was God's program for His people to return and that they could never find any blessing or fulfilment of the great promises God had made this nation unless they returned to Palestine.    So Daniel was greatly concerned about this. So Daniel prayed!  Isn't it interesting that the older we become the more important we realise that prayer must be to see God's plan work out. We start to realise that we don't pray for the work, but prayer IS the work!

Look at verse 12: ʻI have come because of your words [v. 12b] implies that this visitation would not have occurred apart from Daniel's specific prayer'. God moves his servant to pray for his people, then in response to the sweat and struggle of prayer he begins to bring help to his people. I have come because of your words. Daniel prayed, and angels went to war.

A lady came out of the chemist..looked at her car and found she had locked the keys in her car. She had to get home to sick her husband. There was a rusty old coathanger near bye, but she had no idea how to use it to break into her car.  She prayed for help.  An older man was walking bye and asked if he could help. She explained her situation. He quickly used the coat hanger to get her into her car. Praising God the elderly lady said "Oh Praise God, He sent me a good man to help me!"  He said, "Lady I am not a good man. I just got out of gaol for stealing cars!"  "Oh Praise God not only did he send me someone to help me, He sent me a professional!"

It is hard to know how often angels have been involved in your life.  I am sure the Lord sent angels to divert me (and my car load of other students) from what would have been a certain fatal accident on Mt Ousley road in the days I was travelling to teachers college.  We were sure to run into the back of a truck just 50 metres away at 110 kph.  I shut my eyes braced my chest and waited for impact as did the other students.  A few seconds later I opened my eyes to discover we were in a different lane, 50 metres ahead of the truck. What happened? None of us knows.

Billy Graham says: While angels may become visible by choice, our eyes are not constructed to see them ordinarily any more than we can see the dimensions of a nuclear field, the structure of atoms, or the electricity that flows through copper wiring. Our ability to sense reality is limited…Bats possess a phenomenally sensitive built-in radar system. Some animals can see things in the dark that escape our attention. Swallows and geese possess sophisticated guidance systems that appear to border on the supernatural. So why should we think it strange if men fail to perceive the evidences of angelic presence?

Sometimes, though, angels show up in Scripture in ordinary human form. Gideon at first didn't seem to recognize the person standing before him as an angel (Judges 6:12-13). Nor did Samson's father, Manoah (Judges 13:16)—though Manoah's wife was quicker on the uptake. "A man of God came to me," she told her husband. "He looked like an angel of God, very awesome" (13:6).

When angels came to rescue Lot and his family from Sodom, Lot assumed they were only men as he greeted them, then invited them into his home and off the wretched streets of Sodom, and showered them with hospitality (Genesis 19:1-3).

Before rescuing Lot, these same heavenly beings had been calling on his famous uncle. "While he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day," the passage tells us, "Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby" (18:1-2). Abraham also lavished hospitality on these visitors whom he first perceived as men, and after they washed up they ate Sarah's cooking. But Abraham, the man of faith and the friend of God, seemed quicker to grasp the Lord's presence in these "men" than Lot was.

The New Testament implies that it's still possible to receive angelic visitors who appear to be only human. Hebrews 13:2 We're told, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." 

Daniel was even more certain about what he saw. His report in Daniel 10 of the awesome figure he saw on the riverbank has been called Scripture's most detailed description of an angel's appearance. Notice how much Daniel observed:

I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite [a yellow or golden stone], his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. (10:5-6)

5I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

No wonder the experience drained him. "I had no strength left," he says; "my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless" (10:8).

To Daniel, alongside the Tigris river and to John on the island of Patmos, many centuries later, as they were praying, the curtain dropped that separated them from the invisible spiritual kingdom and they were able to see the very One to whom they had been speaking in prayer. Now that Person was there all the time -- it was not that he suddenly appeared -- but Daniel and his friends could not see him until the curtain suddenly dropped and their eyes were opened. They then saw the invisible world of spiritual beings around them and especially this great figure whose eyes were like flaming torches and whose face shone like the sun in its strength. Actually, if we can equate this figure as one whom Daniel and John both saw, it was the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to them in this marvelous way, unveiling the glory and majesty of his being.

⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

¹⁰A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

A second being now appears, an angel sent to help Daniel. It does not seem likely that it is the same person he first saw, the man clothed in linen with eyes like flaming torches. The rest of the vision indicates that this is an angel sent from this great Person to help Daniel.  The New Testament tells us that angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation," {Heb 1:14}. They are at God's beck and call, to run his errands, do his work and to carry out his will on earth.

 

1. The Peek Behind The Curtain

Have you seen things occur for which there is absolutely no human explanation? What made that happen? Surely it was not an accident; it was an angel. The ministry of angels is continually occurring, though we are not aware of what is happening. What we think are ordinary coincidences are oftentimes the result of the ministry of angels. Daniel now has his eyes opened so that he can see what lies behind prayer.

¹²Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

Warren Weirsbe The problems that the Jewish remnant were having in Jerusalem at that time weren't being caused by the local officials but by Satan's evil powers using those officials. Christians are never to worship angels (Col. 2:18–19; Rev. 19:10; 22:8–9) or pray to angels, for our worship and prayer belong to God alone. But when we pray, God directs the armies of heaven to fight on our behalf, even though we may know nothing about the battles that are being waged in this invisible war. (See 2 Kings 6:17.)

Daniel 10 makes it clear that spiritual warfare is a reality. There is a great struggle going on behind the scenes of human history between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. When we read about the incredible atrocities of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, or the leaders of the Bosnian-Serbian conflict, we cannot escape the fact that there is a Devil who is bent on the destruction of the human race. Satan is the great "Destroyer." He never built anything of lasting value. He has ruined everything he has ever touched. And he will wreck your life if you let him take control. Our only hope is God's promise: "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4)!

Billy Graham wrote, "The Reverend John G. Paton, a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands, tells a thrilling story involving the protective care of angels. Hostile natives surrounded his mission headquarters one night, intent on burning the Patons out and killing them. John Paton and his wife prayed all during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see the attackers unaccountably leave. They thanked God for delivering them.    A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Jesus Christ, and Mr. Paton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, 'Who were all those men you had with you there?' The missionary answered, 'There were no men there; just my wife and I.' The chief argued that they had seen many men standing guard--hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands. They seemed to circle the mission station so that the natives were afraid to attack" (Angels: God's Secret Agents [N.Y.: Doubleday, 1975], p. 3). Did God dispatch a legion of angels to protect His servants? It wouldn't have been the first time.

2Kings 6:15-17 relates an incident involving the prophet Elisha and his servant, who were about to be captured by the Syrian army: "When the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! What shall we do? And he answered, Fear not; for they who are with us are more than they who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." That was an invisible angelic army.

While they cannot normally be perceived by human vision, angelic beings, both God's Army and Satan's army, do mingle in the earth. They exist in a dimension we can't comprehend. But just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. When the natural vision of the young man in 2 Kings 6:17 was enhanced, he saw the previously invisible army.     Did you know there are almost 300 references in Scripture to angels? Nearly every system of religion has believed in angels at one time. The Chinese designed slanted roofs to prevent demons from gaining access. The Gnostics believed in aeons, demons, and demi-gods. Various religions believe in genies. Heathen philosophers referred to spiritual beings: Socrates referred to a good demon (daimon) that took care of him. With that kind of confusion in its midst, the church tended to withdraw from teaching about angels and concentrated on Christ.

God created angels to serve Him. An important part of their service to Him includes service to His children (Heb. 1:14). Angels are an inextricable part of the New Testament as well. Who announced the birth of Christ (Luke 2:8-14)? Who told the shepherds where to go (Luke 2:8-12)? Who came to Jesus at His temptation and ministered to Him after He had fasted for forty days (Matt. 4:11)? Who went to Christ's tomb and announced His resurrection (Matt. 28:2-7)? Who is coming to gather the elect from the four corners of the world (Matt. 24:31)? Who freed Peter and John from jail (Acts 5:19)? Angels. If those supernatural beings didn't exist, their marvelous interventions would be reduced to lies, spiritual warfare would be nonexistent, Christ's temptation would be meaningless, and the book of Revelation would be reduced to chapter headings since angels appear on virtually every page.  The greatest single testimony to the existence of angels comes from Jesus Christ Himself. He referred to angels on many occasions (e.g., Matt. 18:10; 22:30; 24:31; 26:53).   

 Their Origin.    Psalm 148:2-5--"Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord; for he commanded, and they were created." Like the heavens and the earth, angels were created by the command of God.      Job 38:7 says that "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." What are the angels (the morning stars) singing and shouting about? Just before, God said to Job, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... Who hath laid the measures of it, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are its foundation fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (vv. 4-7). So the angelic hosts were rejoicing at the creation of the earth, so we know their creation predates that.       There was no procreation among angels--they were all directly created by God at one time. They have no capacity to reproduce. That's what our Lord implies in Matthew 22:30: "In the resurrection they [people] neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven."   With just an instantaneous command, millions of creatures came into existence. Since they do not reproduce, there is no increase in their number. They do not die, so there's no decrease in their number. The only change came when Satan was banished from heaven with a third of the angels who followed him in his rebellion (Rev. 12:4). Apparently those angels became demons. But they will all live forever some in hell, some in heaven.

How many angels are there? How many did God create? Let's look at some facts and some theories.   A multitude--At the birth of Christ there appeared "a multitude of heavenly host, praising God" (Luke 2:13). Not all the angels were present--just some of them.       Twelve legions--At His arrest, Jesus told the disciples He could have asked the Father for "more than twelve legions of angels" to defend Him (Matt. 26:53). Since at that time a legion consisted of between 3,000 to 6,000 men, twelve legions would number between thirty-six and seventy-two thousand angels. That many angels could protect anyone against anything--after all, only one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35).      More than believers--Referring to how God loves His own and cares for them, Jesus said, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father, who is in heaven" (Matt. 18:10). The angels assigned to God's people report to God about what happens to them. Those who believe that verse teaches that every believer has a group of angels assigned to him or her reason that there would have to be at least as many angels as believers. That could mean there are billions of angels. However, that is just a theory, not a fact.      Hundreds of millions--In Revelation 5:11 John says, "I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels ... and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." That's 100 million and untold thousands besides. Consequently I believe there are billions of angels in the universe.   An innumerable company--Hebrews 12:22 says, "Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels." There are too many to be counted.

Their Organization   Millions of beautiful and mighty angels carry out God's commands. They sweep with great speed throughout heaven and earth. They are better organized than the armies of Caesar, Alexander, or Napoleon. They organized into cherubim (Gen. 3:24), seraphim (Isa. 6:2-3), living creatures (Rev. 4:6-8), and thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers (Col. 1:16). They are led by the archangel Michael (Dan. 10:21; Jude 9), who is assisted by Gabriel (Dan. 8:16). Angels can be found in the third heaven, the abode of God (2 Cor. 12:2-4; Rev. 4:6-11). You can find them in the second heaven, which is the universe (Dan. 10:13). And they can be found in the first heaven--the earth and its atmosphere-- interacting with people (Luke 2:13).   As creatures, both angels and men are limited by time and space, are dependent on God for their existence and well-being, and are responsible to Him. Yet angels differ from us. The angelic realm is just as active and complex as the human realm. The difference is we can't see their realm while they can see ours. They are spirits; we are not. Hebrews 1:14 says, "Are they not all ministering spirits?"   Angels are not made out of flesh and blood (Luke 24:39). Although they have spiritual bodies, they are still beset by certain limitations.   Angels have spatial limitations even though they are spirits. They're not like God. He is omnipresent--His spirit cannot be contained in the created universe (2 Chron. 6:18). Angelic beings are confined to one place at a time, which means they have some kind of form, although it's one we cannot yet perceive. They must travel through space to go from one place to another (Dan. 9:21; 10:13, 20).      When God chooses to let angels appear before human beings, they always appear as men (the one possible exception being Zechariah 5:9). In every other case the masculine pronoun is used to speak of them. For example, in Genesis 18-19 the two angels who visited Abraham and later went into Sodom appeared as men. They sat down with Abraham. They ate, walked, and talked with him.    Sometimes angels take on a dazzling appearance. Matthew 28:3 says of the angel who appeared at Christ's empty tomb, "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow."     Being in the presence of an angel can be a startling experience. Mary experienced mental turmoil when Gabriel greeted her (Luke 1:29). Panic and terror gripped Zacharias when an angel appeared to him (Luke 1:12). Great fear fell upon the shepherds when angelic messengers announced the birth of Christ (Luke 2:9). The Roman soldiers who were guarding Christ's tomb were so overcome by fear when they saw the angel roll back the stone, they fell over and became like dead men (Matt. 28:4).

Their Occupation     Besides being active in the Worship of God, Hebrews 1:7 says,"[God] maketh his angels spirits [winds], and his ministers a flame of fire." The Greek word translated "ministers" (leitourgos) gives us the English word liturgy. It refers to worship--to priestly service in the presence of God. That angels are like wind refers to their speed, and "a flame of fire" refers to their fervency and intensity. Angellos means messenger.   From Luke 1:19 it appears as though angels wait until God gives them specific orders to carry out: "The angel ... said ... I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God." Apparently Gabriel stood in God's presence until he received orders. His order in Luke 1:26-38 was to announce to the virgin Mary that she would soon bear the Son of God. Galatians 3:19 says about the law, "It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels." Acts 7 tells us they were present on Mt Sinai when the Law was delivered to Moses..  Acts 7:53--The prophets "received the law by the disposition of angels."     Those references show us that angels were involved in the giving of the law. Apparently God authored the law (Ex. 31:18) and then delivered it to Moses through angels. After Moses broke the stone tablets in anger over the Israelites' sin, God rewrote them (Ex. 34:1-5). It is possible that angels again delivered it.

Angels assist God in plans He has for world governments.

By restraining wickedness      We understand the Holy Spirit to be the restrainer of wickedness (2 Thess. 2:7), but angels also restrain people. Whereas the Holy Spirit's restraint is primarily internal, angels externally prevent people from doing evil. As an example consider Genesis 19:1: "There came two angels to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them." Their arrival created much interest on the part of the men in the city. When the men came near to breaking down the door of Lot's house, where the angels were staying, the angels "put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great; so that they wearied themselves to find the door" (vv. 10-11). The angels restrained the evil of the Sodomites by blinding them.

(2) By controlling the elements       Revelation 7:2-3--John said, "I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Those angels were preparing to bring God's plagues on the world by letting go of their control of the elements (v. 1 Revelation 8:7-8, 10, 12, Revelation 16:3-4, 8, 10-12) Angels have God-given power over the elements. The Lord will use them to bring about the most terrible catastrophes in the Great Tribulation.

(3) By controlling the nations      Angels are active behind the scene of governments. Demons fight to control nations and societies. The holy angels counteract their control. Daniel said, "I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one [an angel] came down from heaven.... This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men" (4:13, 17). Even the worst officials in government are there because God has allowed it. But angels watch over them all and carry out God's plan

In this passage the angel says that he was delayed by the prince of Persia (a demon) and then he says that Michael (an angel), one of the chief princes, helped him. In verse 20, the angel says he is going to fight against the prince of Persia. That's warfare language. Have you ever thought about the fact that the devil has a highly organized, demonized, mobilized army? That he assigns demons to certain nations and governments to try to influence them for evil? Just as there was a prince of Persia, I'm convinced that there is a "prince of Australia" or America who devotes much of his attention to our political leaders in Washington. It is logical to assume there is a "prince of Russia" and a "prince of China" as well. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6. "Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms . . .(and what do you do once you are dressed up in this armor?) . . . And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Vs. 11-12, 18a)

Pastor John Piper writes, "The New Testament tells us that this prince of demons 'darkens the minds of unbelievers' (2 Cor. 4:4), and that he 'deceives the world' (Rev. 12:9), and that he plants his weeds (unbelievers) throughout the world (Matt. 13:39), and that he takes people captive to do his will (2 Tim. 2:25), and that he plucks up the seed of the word when it is preached (Matt. 13:4)." Since we know the prince of demons does all that, we may conclude that this is what his sub-princes do as well. So then, I would conclude that there are high-ranking demonic powers over various regimes and dominions and governments and realms of the world; and that they work to create as much evil and corruption and spiritual darkness as they can. Daniel 10 makes it clear that spiritual warfare is a reality. When we read about the incredible atrocities of Hitler, Stalin, or the leaders of other conflicts, we cannot escape the fact that there is a Devil who is bent on the destruction of the human race. Satan has ruined everything he has ever touched. And he will wreck your life if you don't resist him. Our only hope is God's promise: "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Now I'm not one who sees a demon behind every tree and I'm not like some people that every time they hear someone sneeze they rebuke the demon of sneezing or when they hear someone hiccup they rebuke the demon of hiccups! But I am convinced there is an invisible of world of spiritual conflict that rages around us and our prayers are an important part of the battle plan.

Angels protect God's people from physical danger. The Bible gives us several illustrations of that.   a) The fiery furnace   b) The lions' den  

What is the most common message that angels deliver in the Bible?  The number one message they bring is "Don't be afraid!" Is that the message you need to hear from God today? Don't be afraid   You will see God's tremendous sovereign control over the world and universe through His creative power, which includes the angelic host. When you see how they operate, you will gain a new perspective of what God is like.

A modern yet similar story is told by Doug Connelly in his book Angels Around Us. In the early 1950s, a missionary group in Kenya learned of an imminent attack on their mission by Mau Mau warriors. To defend their families as well as they could, the men put up a barbed wire barricade and turned on the few floodlights. With what few weapons they had they stood guard along the mission's perimeter, while their wives and children prayed inside. They waited. But no attack came. Months later a converted Mau Mau tribesman explained that just as he and his fellow warriors prepared to attack the mission from all sides, large fiery figures appeared from out of the night. They stood between the Mau Mau and the missionaries, racing in a circle around the barricade. Frightened by the sight of these creatures, the Mau Mau fled. "The missionaries may not have seen them," Connelly writes, "but God opened the warriors' eyes to what normally would have been invisible—His band of holy angels."

Sometimes when angels intervene on the fields of human conflict, God opens the eyes of both sides to see his heavenly beings at work. In her book Angels, Hope Price records two hopeless situations in World War I related by a British captain. The first occurred early in the war near Mons, France, where outnumbered British troops had been fighting for days without relief.

They had lost many men and guns, and defeat looked inevitable. Captain Cecil W. Hayward was there and tells how suddenly, in the midst of a gun battle, firing on both sides stopped. To their astonishment, the British troops saw "four or five wonderful beings, much bigger than men," between themselves and the Germans. These "men" were bare-headed, wore white robes and seemed to float rather than stand. Their backs were to the British and their arms and hands were outstretched toward the Germans. At that moment, the horses ridden by German cavalrymen became terrified and stampeded off in every direction.

Hayward also told of another battle sometime later in World War I when matters again seemed hopeless for British soldiers, who were surrounded by German troops. Suddenly the heavy enemy fire stopped completely, and everything grew strangely quiet. Then "the sky opened with a bright shining light, and figures of luminous beings appeared floating between the British and German lines." German troops retreated in disorder, allowing the Allied forces to reform and fall back on a line of defense farther to the west. German prisoners were taken that day, and when they were asked why they surrendered when they had the British troops surrounded, they looked amazed, saying, "But there were hosts and hosts of you!" Hope Price comments in her book that the British government officially sponsored national days of prayer during the conflict. She believes the government's commitment to prayer played a role in the angelic intervention on behalf of the British soldiers.

No doubt the key event in the missionaries' story from Kenya during the Mau Mau uprisings was the praying being done inside the mission by the women and children. Many a godly teacher has reminded us over the centuries that all that the Lord does on our behalf is in answer to someone's prayer. That surely includes sending angels to our rescue, plus opening our eyes to see them.

2. The Provision

Daniel is devastated.

no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was

fearfully changed. . . I retained no strength (8);

and as I heard. . . I fell on my face in deep sleep (9);

a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees (10)

when he had spoken. . . I stood up trembling (11);

When he had spoken. . . I turned my face toward the ground and was mute (15);

by reason of the vision pains have come upon me,

and I retain no strength (16);

now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me (17);

one. . . touched me and strengthened me (18);

as he spoke. . . I was strengthened and said,

'Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me' (19).

(1) The Bible affirms the reality of demonic activity and the relationship between demons and specific geographical locations; (2) "of even greater significance … is the fact that the Bible nowhere narrates, describes, or instructs us on how, or even whether, we are to engage these high-ranking territorial spirits."²³ In regard to the second point, we should note that Daniel never engages or prays against the spiritual enemies about which the celestial beings speak. He leaves those matters to God.

In the midst of a controversial issue, we must not forget the central teaching of Daniel 10: the amazing truth that God's people are not in the conflict alone. The Bible as a whole calls us to the life of a warrior in a world of conflict. But God does not send us out to fight on our own or even to pool our resources with other Christians. Tremper Longman.

His Power

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

Prayer

 

 A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.