Vision By The River

Daniel chapters 9, 10, and 11, I want you to understand, is one unit. It is one closing prophecy. What happens is that in chapters 9, 10, and 11 you have the introduction (chapter 10), the prophecy or the vision given (chapter 11), and then you have the epilogue or the conclusion to the vision (chapter 12). Chapter 10 is the prologue to the vision. Chapter 11 is the vision, and chapter 12 is actually the epilogue or the conclusion of the vision. Rightfully, you should actually study chapters 10, 11, and 12 in one setting. I encourage you to perhaps take your Bible home tonight and read all three of these chapters. We’re only going to get the prologue or the introduction to the vision in chapter 10 tonight which appears in chapter 11.

There are five movements, and I’m just going to outline and read through this chapter. I want you to follow me through this chapter. The first (verses 1-3), we have the concern of Daniel. Follow with me beginning in Daniel 10:1. It says, “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed,” it’s funny that the prophecy or the vision that’s given to Daniel is referred to as “a thing” in verse 1, “was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true,” or the prophecy or the vision was true, “but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 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.”

You have an exact date and setting for this vision that comes to Daniel. I want you to notice it in verse 1, “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia.” Daniel is now retired from active service in the kingdoms. He went through the Babylonian kingdom and then through the Medo-Persian kingdom. He lived all the way through these kingdoms, and it has been about two or three years now that Daniel is actually no longer in the palace but still in Babylon. This would be about 535 to 534 B.C., and Daniel is about 85 years of age. I guess that’s okay if you want to retire at 85, but he hasn’t retired from receiving visions and prophecies from the Lord. He hasn’t retired from his service to God. This was the fourth and final vision that Daniel was going to receive.

It mentions his name—Daniel, which is his Hebrew name and Belteshazzar which was the name given to him by the king of Babylon when he was taken away. He was probably taken away as a teenaged boy, and now he is an old man. Daniel says the thing that was revealed to me is true, even as in the book of Revelation (John received that unveiling), and he says this is true and faithful. These visions were true,“but the time appointed was long.” That phrase is translated in the Hebrew as a time of great war. He is actually saying that there is a time of war, trouble, persecution, and hardship that is going to come, yet future, for the people of Israel; and it would happen in the future.

Verse 2, “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth,” he didn’t eat any delicate or dainty food and says, “neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.” Daniel is in a time of mourning, weeping, and praying before the Lord. Here’s the question you need to ask: What caused Daniel to fast, pray, and to mourn? He says, “neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.” Today it would be kind of like saying, “I didn’t take a shower. I didn’t put on deodorant. I didn’t comb my hair. I didn’t shave.” Some of you are saying, “Yeah, that’s describing me right now. Wow, I’m in the Bible.” In those days they didn’t have showers or nice baths that available so they would actually use perfumes. They would just kind of stink so they’d just put more perfume on top of yourself. He said, “I didn’t anoint my head. I didn’t take any perfumes. I didn’t eat.” I thought about that today. He’s 85ish, 86, some say 87. Can you imagine being in your 80s and going for three full weeks without really eating—you’re fasting and seeking the Lord. I mean, I’m not anywhere near that age, but if I go a few hours, I start to have visions—but they’re not from the Lord. When I try to fast I get visions of hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes and things like that; and I don’t really last very long. What was it that caused Daniel this consternation, this mourning, and this weeping? Well, let me mention what was going on.

King Cyrus had (about two years prior to this vision) given permission for the Jews to go back to the land of Israel. You see, 70 years earlier they had actually been brought as captives to Babylon. Now, the Babylonian Empire is gone and we have the Persian Empire, and the king gave them permission to go back to Jerusalem. You would think, “Well, that would be reason for Daniel to be happy. Daniel should be excited. Daniel should be glad.” Here’s probably what was influencing him to pray; that is, 1) not all the Jews went back. It could have saddened his heart that only about 49,000 of them (some say about 50,000) returned back. That was just a very small number compared to those who stayed in Babylon. That probably caused Daniel some pain and anguish. You say, “Well, why wouldn’t they all go back?” Because they had been in Babylon for 70 years. Just think about that—70 years—and now they’re well established. They had their homes, their lifestyle, they become comfortable, and who is going to want to give that up to go back to the harshness of the land of Israel that has been destroyed by enemies and try to rebuild it? It was a very difficult endeavor, and Daniel was probably grieving.

As they returned, they began to refurbish the city of Jerusalem under Zerubbabel and under Zacharias the priest, Joshua, and eventually Nehemiah. They went back to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. They started rebuilding the city by laying the foundation and so forth, building the temple, and everything stopped for quite a few years. The construction stopped. Why? Because of opposition of local people that were against them rebuilding their city. It could be that Daniel was discouraged. Why have you stopped the building? Why have you stopped the construction? Why aren’t you busy? Why don’t you get going rebuilding the temple and the city of Jerusalem? What was probably on Daniel’s mind and heart actually was, again, “God, what’s the future for Israel? What’s happening? Why haven’t they all returned? Why aren’t they rebuilding the city of Jerusalem?” Daniel is praying.

Interesting thought. What does Daniel do when he is facing a difficulty? What does Daniel do when he’s facing a problem or hardship? He gets on his knees and begins to pray. Amen? What should we do when we’re facing a trial, hardship, or a difficulty, or something is causing us consternation, pain, anguish, or we’re upset? We should get on our knees and begin to pray. What we so often do is begin to focus on the problem and we forget the Lord. Jesus said men ought always to pray and not to faint. I think we’ve reversed that pattern. What we do is we faint and we don’t pray or we focus on the problem rather than focusing on the Lord.

A lot of times in the church, when the church has a problem, what is the first thing they do? They form a committee, right? They all get together and figure out nothing can be done instead of having a prayer meeting and getting on our knees and praying that God would heal, strengthen, deliver, and work. I want to encourage you tonight. If, like Daniel, you’re looking at something that is discouraging or causing you fear, pain, or doubt, do what Daniel did—spend time seeking God. Spend time praying to the Lord. Spend time going to God in prayer, getting on your knees, seeking the Lord, and calling out upon the name of the Lord. I believe as Christians that we should be moved to pray.

How concerned are you for the church, for the needs of the church, for God’s work, and for God’s people? Do you ever look at the ministry or the church or the universal church and it’s situation? Do you ever pray for the church? You know, the church is the apple of God’s eye. It’s what’s on God’s heart, and it’s sad to me that so many times Christians just blast through their lives without stopping to be thankful for the church, universal and locally, and being concerned, praying, and participating for it. Do not ever take the church for granted. Be concerned, pray, and intercede for it. I’m so thankful for those of you that remind me often, “Pastor John, we pray for you. Pastor John, we pray for Revival. Pastor John, we’re praying for the ministry, we pray for the pastors, we pray for the leadership, we pray for God’s strength and guidance.” That’s so very important. I just wanted to use this setting here in Daniel to encourage you to have a burden, a concern, for the needs of the church, for the needs of the people of the church, and for the needs and ministries of the church. What really keeps the church moving and running is prayer. I would actually challenge and ask: Do you come to church? Do you enjoy church? Do you get blessed at church? If so, how much time do you spend praying for this church? How much time do you spend praying for the ministries of this church and for the life of the church or do you just focus on the problems and criticize the work of God. Are you serving God’s people?

Daniel could have very easily said, “I’m about ready to die,” by the way he dies about three years after this vision. He could have very easily said, “I’ve done my duty. I’ve served the Lord. I’ve been enthroned in lions dens and all kinds of crazy stuff. I’m an old man, and I just want to cruise out.” He fasted, prayed, and sought the Lord. Until the Lord took him home he was concerned about God’s work, God’s people, and what God had in store for the people of God. I think that as Christians we should carry God’s church on our hearts and be engaged and serving. We should all be praying for the church, involved and serving the church, and serving the people of God.

The concern of Daniel moves secondly (verses 4-9) to a certain man, and that’s what he is called here “a certain man.” I want you to notice it in verses 4-9. It says, “And in the four and twentieth day of the first month,” this is the 24th day of Nisan. This is what is known in the Jewish calendar as the month of Nisan. In our calendar it would be April. It is actually Passover time. The Jewish Passover started on the 14th of Nisan. Then, on the 15th of Nisan there were seven days that were called the days of unleavened bread. Just after that Daniel had been praying, fasting, and seeking the Lord during this time. “And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is…,” in my King James translation has “Hiddekel” but it is actually a reference to the Tigris River. Hiddekel is the Hebrew name used in the Old Testament for the name of the Tigris River. There in the valley of Babylon was what’s called the Tigris and the Euphrates River. They exist to this very day. So, it gives us the time and the place. It’s interesting that in the Bible it doesn’t say, “A long, long time ago in a land far, far away…,” kind of a thing. This isn’t fairytale. We have a historical date and setting, the people involved, the king that was reigning, and the place, location, and time of year. Archeology has proven time and time again the accuracy of the historicity of the Word of God.

Daniel says, “…I was by the side of the great river…” by the way, I’ve titled this message, Vision By The River, and he says (verse 5), “…then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man,” there it is, “clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.”

This is a fascinating experience that Daniel has at this time. He lifts up his eyes (verse 5) and sees a certain man clothed in linen. We could spend quite some time on this vision, but let me just say a couple of things. I personally believe (and I can’t be dogmatic) that this is what we would call a pre-incarnate vision of Jesus Christ the Son of God. If not, it at least is a mighty angel, a powerful and glorious angel. Some say it’s Gabriel, mentioned in the book of Daniel. Some say it’s Michael, mentioned as well in the book of Daniel. Some say it’s just a third or another mighty angel, but the description is so near to the description that you find in Revelation. We’re going to turn there in just a moment. I want you to see that and compare them.

It is true that angels can appear as men, and that has happened quite often in the Bible; but it’s not uncommon in the Old Testament to have what is called an appearance of Jesus pre-incarnate. The technical term for that is actually a Christophany. It’s an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. It’s not an incarnation as what happened when Jesus was born in Bethlehem as He came through the womb of the virgin Mary and took on humanity. At that time you actually had humanity and deity fused together for all eternity—humanity and deity brought together for all eternity. Jesus now is the glorified God-man in heaven. He still bears the scars of our redemption for all eternity, but this is before the incarnation. I believe that it is a manifestation of the Lord Jesus. All throughout the Old Testament you’ll find the phrase sometimes mentioned “the angel of the Lord” or “the angel of Jehovah or Yahweh” and quite often that’s a reference to Jesus Christ.

Notice this man is “clothed in linen.” Linen was the clothe of the high priest, so he has a high-priestly aspect to him. “…whose loins were girded with fine gold,” or his belt was that of fine gold, “His body also like the beryl,” beryl is also knows as topaz, which is a beautiful goldish yellow, “and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.” It’s no wonder that Daniel falls on his face after seeing this vision. You would fall on your face too.

You hear people say, “Well, I had a vision, and I saw Jesus,” and they’re kind of cavalier and cocky about it. They’re like, “Yeah, I wrote a book about it, and you can buy it for only $39,” or something. It’s like, “Dude! If you saw Jesus, you would probably be dead is what you’d be,” or at least you’d be a little more humbled about what you saw. You’d be face-down in the dirt. I personally (I’ll probably offend somebody) am very, very suspect of these “I died and went to heaven and came back and wrote a book about it and made movies about it and now I’m famous because I died and went to heaven and wrote a book about it.” I’m very suspect. That’s so subjective. Anybody can say that. Anybody can do that. The only true word that we have is the Word of God, the Bible, and it’s the objective truth of Scripture. Daniel saw this vision and he fell upon his face and was just completely wiped out.

Let me come back to this vision here, but turn with me real quick if you can to Revelation 1 and I’ll just show you. I could relate it to you, but I just wanted you to see it yourself. Revelation 1:12, John says, “I turned to see the voice that spake with me.” This is John the apostle on the island of Patmos when he got the revelation. “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 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. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass,” which is the metal of judgment, “as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.” A lot of the description here in Revelation, (which is clearly Jesus Christ. This is in His resurrection glory after He died, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. Now, as you go back with me to Daniel 10,) parallels one another very closely. There are good Bible scholars and teachers that believe this is not a reference to Jesus but a reference to (later on in the chapter) the angel that spoke with and touched Daniel. Again, that’s not really perfectly clear.

Going back to Daniel 10, as I mentioned, I want you to notice Daniel’s response. First of all, notice that he says (verse 7), “And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision,” what’s with that? The men that were with Daniel didn’t see the vision but knew something supernatural was happening. They were scared to death and ran for their lives! There’s a parallel in the Bible in Acts 9. In Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians. This was the conversion of Paul the apostle. At this time he’s Saul. Saul sees this great light from heaven and is struck down to the earth. He hears an audible voice calling his name, “…Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? …it is hard for thee to kick against the goads.” The Bible actually says that the people who were traveling with him saw this great light and heard a noise, a phone, but they didn’t hear the articulation. They didn’t hear the actual words. They didn’t hear what was being said. They knew that something supernatural was happening, but they didn’t actually hear the words, “Saul, why persecutest thou me?” This is interesting. The same thing happens to Daniel. He sees the vision and begins to interact with the Lord and these angels, but those that were with him fled (verse 7) to hide themselves. They say, “Uh, Daniel, uh uh, I think I have a dental appointment I need to get to real quick!” SWOOSH! They took off. It’s hard hanging out with a prophet—radical things happen! They just didn’t want to mess with this. They thought they would die.

Daniel says (verse 8), “…there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption,” then in verse 9, “…then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.” This is what happens when you get a vision of Jesus Christ. You are humbled to the ground. In Isaiah, when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and his glory filled the temple what did Isaiah say? “Wow! Awesome!” Is that what it says? You guys are looking at me like you think that’s what he’s supposed to be doing. “Really?” I’m kidding! You say, “Oh.” No, he didn’t say, “Wow! Awesome!” He said, “Woe is me! for…I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Isaiah was humbled by his own sinful heart. As he saw God, he saw himself. At the end of the book of Job, Job saw God, had a vision of God, and heard from God. Job said, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” When Jesus was with His disciples on the Sea of Galilee and they caught that great draft of fish and came to understand that Jesus was the Lord, how did Peter respond? He said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.” Seeing God you see yourself, and when you see yourself you’re humbled and brought down to the earth. How humbling it is to see ourselves in the light of the majesty, glory, and splendor of God.

The third movement is verses 10-12; that is, the communication. We have the concern of Daniel, the certain man, and now the communication, beginning in verse 10 down to verse 12. “And, behold, an hand touched me,” Daniel says, “which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.” He is lying prostrate and a hand reaches out and touches him. We don’t know that the hand is the same individual that Daniel just saw in this majestic vision or not. It could be another angel that reached out and touched him, but this hand “touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved,” it’s nice to be reassured after you’ve had this vision that you feel like, “I’m gonna die! I’m gonna be judged by God,” to have the voice say that you’re greatly beloved. You can just kind of breathe a sigh of relief at this point. He’s touched to stand up. “…greatly beloved,” and as I pointed out last week, only Daniel and John, these two individuals that got such prophetic insight, are called the beloved in the Scriptures. Verse 11, “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. 12 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 is touched by God. He is strengthened. He stands up and the voice speaks to Daniel and tells him (verse 12) that from the day that you began to pray, which was three weeks ago, God heard and God is going to answer your prayer. It’s exciting to know that when we do pray, when we do seek the Lord, God hears us and answers our prayer. By the way, Daniel had to persevere for three weeks to get the answer to this prayer. Sometimes we pray and if God doesn’t answer us right away we give up. He was persevering, and that’s why we need to persevere and keep praying.

Fourthly, I want you to notice the thing that is really amazing, the conflict (verse 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,” whoever this is that is talking was an angel because he needed Michael’s help to stand against another fallen angel, a demon. It’s not referring to a human individual, it’s referring to an angel that needed Michael the archangel to come help and assist him to be able to deal with this “prince of Persia,” (I’ll explain who that is) to be able to bring the answer that God wanted for Daniel.

What you’re getting in verse 13 is some amazing insight into the spiritual realm and to spiritual warfare. He says, “…lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” Let me just say a couple of things about this and then we’ll finish up this chapter. There is war going on right now in the unseen realm. There is spiritual warfare going on that we are many times unaware of because we can’t see it, but in the Bible it talks about war in heaven. This is basically how it breaks down. In the spiritual realm there is God and there are angels, period—God and angels. You say, “Well, what about the devil?” The devil is an angel. He was created as Lucifer, son of the morning, an angel. He was probably a beautiful angel. Some feel he was maybe one of the most beautiful angels ever created and was in charge of worshiping God in heaven. The only indication in the Bible of the origin of sin is that it started in the heart of Lucifer. So, Lucifer wanted to exalt himself above God. Isaiah speaks of how he wanted to exalt himself above the throne of God. As a result, he was actually kicked out of heaven. It’s called the fall of satan or the fall of the devil. When he fell from heaven, the Bible says he drew with him one-third of all the other angels. It was the angelic rebellion where they fell with satan or Lucifer. The good thing about that is it means satan is outnumbered by good angels two to one. Amen? The thing you need to understand is satan is a creature. He was created by God.

Many times people get this idea that satan is equal with God, and there is good and bad. It’s kind of like the ying and the yang, you know, and they’re battling out in heaven. Who’s going to win? Will it be God or the devil? By the way, this prince of Persia is believed to be (I think rightfully so) a demon. It is not necessarily satan but a fallen angel, which is a demon. You have God, good angels, satan, and fallen angels which are demons. The angels come in two categories—satan and demons, and good angels. That’s all that exists in the spiritual realm. Anybody that thinks supernatural spiritual things are happening and it’s my Aunt Harriet or my Uncle Harry or just some supernatural powers that I possess, don’t realize that it’s either God or satan. That’s all it can be. It can either be God working—good angels—or satan working—bad angels. Those are the only two in the spiritual realm.

I believe this prince of Persia is a reference to a demon that was assigned over Persia. Many conclude from this (I think somewhat rightfully so) that they believe (we can’t really make a case for it, but some people have gone too far with it) every city has demons assigned to it. I don’t know how many demons are assigned to Menifee. They’re probably like, “Uh, do I have to go to Menifee? Can’t I go to San Francisco? That’s where all the fun is,” you know. “At least give me Las Vegas or something like that.” They believe that all these cities have demons and each one has a prince of demons assigned to it. You know, you can’t look at the world and see the horror, evil, and wickedness happening around us and not realize that there is demonic activity behind that. There is demonic activity, and even the governments that have the demonic influence and activity behind it. I think of Hollywood and the evil, demonic activity behind that domain—so a lot of the demons are assigned to live in Hollywood. To take it so far that people bind the devil and loose the devil…I’ve had people who always want me to bless or cast the demons out of and sprinkle holy oil on their houses. There is no reason to do that. If you’re a Christian, it doesn’t matter what has gone on in your house—greater is He that’s in you than he that’s in the world. Demons aren’t looking for a house, they’re looking for a person to dwell in. They don’t need a house to live in.

It’s interesting that there is this spiritual warfare going on behind the scenes, which is what we’re going to study in the next several weeks. We’re going to study Ephesians 6 where Paul says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” There are rankings of these demonic powers, and that’s where the warfare is and we’re involved in. God and satan are not co-equal. God is omnipotent and all-powerful, satan is not. God is omnipresent, satan is not. We sometimes will say, “The devil is tempting me.” It’s more likely a demon. Satan doesn’t really have time for us. We’re little fish, and I doubt that we’re actually encountering the devil.

It’s interesting (I looked it up this afternoon), there are only six people in the Bible that actually encountered the actual devil in the way of individuals being tempted by the devil; that is, Eve, Job, Jesus, Judas, Peter, and Ananias. Those are the individuals that actually encountered satan personally, but there have been many times that I have sensed demonic activity—sometimes more than usual—when you’re preaching and when you’re doing evangelism, when you’re doing the Lord’s work. Trust me, you will experience demonic attack and oppression. He will come to come against and attack you.

Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, said to have wrestled with the devil so radically that he took the ink well in his room and threw it at the devil and hit the wall in his study. I don’t know if that’s factual or not, but as a Christian you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. We need our eyes open to the spiritual realm. We need to spend time in prayer. We need to spend time in God’s Word. We need to put on the whole armor of God that we might be able to stand against the wiles or tactics of the enemy. We’ll learn those tactics as we go through the armor of God, but the spiritual battle is real. God is omniscient—He knows all things—and satan does not. The victory is ours through the Person of the Son, Jesus Christ.

I want to close in verses 14-21. This is the fifth movement of the story. This is the cause of the vision. Let’s read it. The angel speaking to Daniel says, “Now I am come to make thee understand,” now he’s explaining why he’s come to Daniel, “…I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days,” or the end of time, “for yet the vision is for many days,” or future or yet to come. He’s explaining in verse 14 the reason for the vision that will come in chapter 11. In chapter 11, you actually get the vision which is divided into for us now, history and future prophecy, but in Daniel’s day it was all future prophecy.

Verse 15, “And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became,” King James says, “dumb.” In other words, I couldn’t speak. “And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord,” notice that small “l.” It’s not a reference to Jesus or Jehovah or Yahweh. This is most likely an angelic being. Again, some believe it could be Gabriel or just some angelic being. He said, “For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway,” or immediately, “there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou has strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia,” now he’s telling him why he came and then he’s going to go back to the spiritual battle with the prince of Persia. “…and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me,” or none that fights with me, “in these things,” this battle except for “Michael your prince.”

In verse 14, he tells very specifically why he came. I think it’s important to note (and we’ll get it next Wednesday night), the prophecy or the vision was about “thy people” and it would be fulfilled “in the latter days.” It revolves around and deals with the nation of Israel, but the hand that touched him and he was able to speak and then he says you’re greatly beloved, but I love it (verse 19), “…fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong,” and he says, “I was strengthened.” Three things happened. He told Daniel not to be afraid, I want you to experience peace, and I want you to be strengthened. It’s interesting that God assures Daniel that He loved him in verse 11. I like that. Then, Daniel is touched by God in verses 10 and 16. In chapters 11 and 12, God will give instructions unto Daniel; so he would not have to be afraid, he would have God’s peace, and he would be strengthened. I think that God wants to do the same for us. God’s wants us to do spiritual warfare by getting on our knees and praying. The best way to fight the devil is to fight him on your knees. Amen?

When you come to the end of the whole armor of God, Paul says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching…,” you put on the armor through prayer. He ends this chapter by reference to the “scripture of truth.” The “scripture of truth” here is the vision that is going to be unfolded in chapters 11 and 12. It’s the scriptures that God is going to give him. Some see the scriptures as not the written Word of God but God’s vision that He gives to Daniel. It comes from heaven and imparts to Daniel, but I think it’s interesting in the context of the spiritual warfare that our eyes are opened up to in this chapter; that is, that we fight the devil by prayer and by God’s Word. Again, when we get to the armor of God, we take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” “Praying always with all prayer and supplication,” and you take the sword of the Spirit as well as the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, sandals of peace, shield of faith, but you have to have the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, then we experience God’s peace. The peace of God that Paul says in Philippians 4 which passes all knowledge and understanding shall guard and protect your minds through Christ Jesus. That’s one of the things satan does. He attacks the mind and wants to rob you of your peace of trusting in God. Then he says be strong. That’s what Paul says in Ephesians 6. He says that we stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. You can’t fight the devil (the enemy) in your own strength, power, and with your own resources.

Now, as I said, chapter 10 of Daniel (one of the reasons why it is overlooked by so many) is a prologue. It’s an introduction to the vision. The vision is in chapter 11, and we’ll come to that next Wednesday night. Let’s pray.