Continuing our burden from the Book of Daniel, in this article we are drawn to chapter 10, the beginning of a vision of Daniel that continues unbroken to the end of the book. In this chapter Daniel is once again seen as a man who would not cease from prayer. Previously in chapter 6, when threatened with the lion’s den, this prophet continued to engage in his holy vocation of prayer. He never ceased from praying; he never vacated his devotions to his God. It was through this channel of prayer that Daniel kept in touch with heaven and by which he received his revelations of coming events. Without his habit of prayer Daniel would have succumbed to being a typical Jew in the captivity. Prayer opened heaven to his prophetic gaze and unrolled the panorama of coming events to his sight. In chapter 9, for example, during Daniel’s daylong prayer God revealed to him the vision of the seventy weeks. This vision has become a critical key-insight concerning the End Time for the Christian. How we must all watch and pray!
The Burden of Daniel 10
The opening of chapter 10 reveals that Daniel had been through a season of prayer lasting three weeks. It is not that Daniel spent these three weeks in a bodily posture of prayer, and in wording out petitions to God; it was a time spent in waiting upon God with a spiritual attitude of expectation. The ordinary avocations and occupations of life were laid aside, and even the ordinary bodily necessities received but a minimum of attention. Daniel 10:3 notes, “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.” This minimal diet may have added to his weakness mentioned in 10:7, 8. These self-denials were supplemented by vigorous exercises of a positive kind: “from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before God” (10:12).
It is interesting to observe the time of the year Daniel had this strenuous season of prayer: according to 10:4, it was “in the four and twentieth day of the first month.” Passover came on the fourteenth day of the first month, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread followed on the fifteenth day (which lasted for seven days). Daniel’s twenty-one days of devotion included the days of the annual celebration of the deliverance from Egypt. Unleavened bread was required to be eaten: “no pleasant bread.” At the end of the prescribed time of abstinence he had not yet reached the object of his quest in prayer. Instead of closing his devotions with the thought that he had done his duty, he pressed on for the desire of his heart. How often duty drives many to do their devotions, but the pleasure of the heart in doing these things draws so few. Prayer for Daniel was an opportunity to seek what he wanted to know. Seasons of restraint offered him special opportunities to press his claims. Long vigils enabled him to look away from the dimension of time into the vast stretches of eternity and its insight to history. Daniel took time to search the Scriptures already written and to wait on God for revelations He was yet to give.
Satan: Prince Power of the Air
It seems that Daniel had sought a place of retirement from the demands of other duties in order to wait on the Lord. He states in 10:4 that he was on the banks of the Hiddekel River (or the Tigris River) when he received the vision. Here he beheld “a certain man”; Daniel’s description in 10:5, 6 is very similar to John the Beloved’s description of the “son of man” (Revelation 1). Daniel fell down on the ground as a dead man; then the heavenly messenger came and caused him to stand on his feet. The messenger then addresses a twenty-one-day delay concerning his prayer. He assures Daniel that his prayer was heard on the first day. He tells Daniel that now “I am come for thy words” (10:12).
For three weeks Daniel had sought the answer, but the heavens seemed closed to him. Previously, in chapter 9 Gabriel suddenly appeared to answer Daniel’s prayer before he could even finish it; in this prayer, there had been no immediate answer. Twenty-one days later Gabriel finally arrived with the answer to Daniel. Why the delay? The answer was delayed because the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia had withstood Gabriel for exactly three full weeks. Such ability to delay Daniel’s answer gives great evidence of the power of the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia. Somewhere on his flight from the heaven of his abode, Gabriel invaded the realm of high places referred to in Ephesians 6:12, populated by wicked spirits. Michael came to relieve Gabriel in his opposition to the Prince of Persia. This Prince was a spirit being of great wickedness.
Who was this Prince? We believe he was Satan who controlled the kingdom of Persia. Satan is the head of the innumerable host of fallen angels. He is the god of this age; he controls the affairs of the kingdoms of this world. The wicked spirits in the heavenly sphere are his agents, by whom he effects control and influence in these kingdoms. Later in history the Devil made a statement to Christ in the wilderness temptation, “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it” (Luke 4:6). The Devil came into this power or authority over man because man gave it to him over a process of time. It must be acknowledged that Jesus did not deny the statement given by the Devil.
Satan truly is the power behind the leaders of great kingdoms. When men rise in national and global authority, they come under dark influences of evil that are trying to implement Satan’s plan. In contrast, providential forces of angels encourage leaders toward righteousness. God has His plan; Satan also has a plan. God often influences world leaders toward righteousness through dreams. Satan himself as the prince of the power of the air is above these leaders and stands behind all these agencies.
Ezekiel 28:11–19 is addressed to the king of Tyrus. In connection with this king, a description is given of another being standing behind that king who is his controlling power. This description fits only one spiritual being—Satan. Isaiah 14 tells us of the power behind the king of Babylon—again it is Satan. The powerful domain of Satan is in the heavens right above the earth and upon the earth as well. He is both the “prince power of the air” and “the god of this age.” He has control over all the kingdoms of the earth as the result over the centuries of man’s inviting the forces of darkness to enable him in his conquests of nations.
This same prince, Satan, withstood the messenger Gabriel for three weeks. There was conflict in the air. The great archangel Michael eventually came to the assistance of the messenger.
Angels and Their Involvement in History
There are two other incidents, which the Bible reveals of Michael in confrontation with the Devil. One is found in the Book of Jude where Michael contended with Satan over the body of Moses; in this incident Michael simply stated, “The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 9). The second is found in Revelation 12 concerning a battle that will be fought between Satan and Michael; here Satan will be cast to the ground, leading to the coming of Antichrist. Oh, what power this once-anointed cherub has in order to hold God’s messenger in check and keep back God’s message! He is responsible for the bloody wars among the nations and for the abominable things in idolatrous heathendom. The Bible also declares that Satan has power to move upon individuals to influence their actions, such as his moving upon David to number the people (I Chronicles 21:1).
But God uses His angels to keep and defend those who are His: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). They are not only sent forth to minister to them, who shall be heirs of salvation, but also to keep them in the way, and bear them up “lest they dash their foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11, 12). The Scriptures also declare that they minister in other ways. The cherubim were placed as guardians over the Garden of Eden, lest men should enter and eat of the Tree of Life. In Genesis 19 when the time came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, two angels were sent to deliver Lot and then destroy those two cities. At Bethel Jacob saw the angels ascending and descending. Later in history an angel brought bread and water when Elijah lay under a juniper tree despondent and praying that he might die (I Kings 19). When Elisha was besieged at Dothan the angelic hosts were sent to deliver him, which they did by smiting the enemy with blindness (II Kings 6). The angel of the Lord smote in one night 185,000 of the army of Sennacherib, the King of Assyria (II Kings 19:35).
Another scene of the presence of an angel occurred when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den; God sent an angel to close the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6). It was an angel that warned Joseph to flee into Egypt with the child Jesus and when to bring Him back (Matthew 2). After Jesus had fasted forty days angels came and ministered unto Him (Matthew 4). At the close of His sufferings in Gethsemane an angel appeared to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). An angel liberated the apostle Peter from prison (Acts 12), and one informed the apostle Paul that he and all who sailed with him would be saved from shipwreck (Acts 27:22). An archangel will be present for the secret coming of Christ in the air (I Thessalonians 4:16); and, there will be angels involved in the Tribulation Period (Revelation 8:2). Only heaven could reveal the many times angels have assisted us in providential workings. Even at death angels seem to be the divine escort of the soul to our place of rest (Luke 16:22).
In Daniel 10, Gabriel came and strengthened Daniel. He brought physical strength to the prophet as well as imparted words to his soul for spiritual strength. Yet Daniel was ignorant of the fact of what was happening. Gabriel rendered service of which we are not told. Gabriel speaks of fighting with this prince. How often Satan and his angels of darkness are vying for the lives of our young children while we are in the throes of prayer over them! This chapter 10 reveals there is often hot warfare in the heavenlies of which we are not aware.
In this incident Gabriel was able to leave the battle when Michael came, but he would later return to fight the prince of Persia (10:20). Spirit beings contending with spirit beings! A world above us is ever active against the world that is seen. It causes the heart of the present day Christian to ask, “Who is the angel of evil over America?” “What angel is appointed by God over America influencing our leaders toward righteousness as high demons are endeavoring to influence leaders toward evil?”
The prayers of Daniel were evidently the disturbing element among the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. What was the nature and purpose of Daniel’s prayer at this time? This prayer was a continuance of prayer from the previous chapter where Daniel was praying about the seventy years that Jeremiah had foretold. Nevertheless, the incident in this chapter 10 takes place two years later when the return of Israel was at hand. While God’s time for their return was imminent, Satan was endeavoring to stop their return.
To fulfill his plan Satan must often work through kings. Michael was working on these kings to influence them to let the Jews return. Of course, Cyrus and Darius were un-conscious of the presence of this angelic prince of Persia, and equally unconscious of the angelic messenger who had come in answer to Daniel’s prayers. This prayer of Daniel was truly for the fate of the Jewish nation! The power of prayer is seen here to resolve a history; and yet, Satan fought against it as Michael fought for it.
Perhaps Daniel in his favor with Darius had told him and Cyrus of the prophetic writing of Jeremiah and the prophecy concerning Cyrus (foretold in Isaiah 45:1–6). He was now praying that the desired end might be obtained. Yet, back and forth the battle raged. When the prince of Persia gained an advantage, the kings of Persia felt it would not be wise to let the Jews go back to Jerusalem. When the messenger that came at Daniel’s prayer victoriously withstood his adversary, the kings of Persia then felt he ought to let the Jews return. Only after twenty-one days was the issue decided. The coming of Michael had relieved the messenger long enough to go and tell Daniel of the progress being made, much to his encouragement we may well believe. Then Gabriel returned to help in the fight with Michael. The result of the struggle is seen in II Chronicles 36:22, 23 and Ezra 1:1–4.
In a very graphic way this struggle in the heavenlies shows the determined effort of the powers of darkness to defeat the prayers of God’s people. Although prayer took immediate effect in heaven (according to the statement of the heavenly messenger), Daniel did not have any manifestation of this fact for twenty-one days. The powers of darkness in heavenly places had delayed the message that Daniel’s prayer had been heard and answered. The Christian must discern that the power of prayer is not only to be seen in an individual’s life but also with a global perspective. The End Time demands that God’s saints be involved in prayers for the world and its powers. When our prayers go beyond our own personal needs and enter the global arena, then we are entering where powers and principalities reside. We need men and women in this realm of the world arena of spiritual warfare in prayer!
Conclusion
How often we read in Ephesians 6:10–20 of the panoply for war and never take into consideration the extent of this battle.
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 (Ephesians 6:12).
To what extent is Christian warfare? Even for ordinary purposes we have to fight against indolence, evil lusts, dishonest tendencies, and many other proclivities in ourselves. We must also fight against opposition, ill treatment, temptation on the part of others, and the depressing effects of trial and disappointment. There are also the powers of monotony, feelings of weariness, the longing for ease. Even when we are sick, or feeble, or discouraged, it is often hard to hold on the straight path of duty and turn away from the allurements of pleasure.
But, O dear Christian, there is so much more in the Christian life to battle! The chief enemies are unseen! The offensive, the part of war that advances on the enemy’s ground, is summed up in these words:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:18–20).
We are going to face more of this spiritual warfare in the coming days. The power of the Gospel in the End Time is being aggressively confronted by the increasing assault of demons fighting with their influence against that Gospel in the lives of people. My earthly father used to say that between the mouth of the preacher and the ear of the hearer are the powers of darkness trying to stop the individual from understanding the truth being preached. This has reached a global proportion.
May the Lord grant us the full armor of Ephesians 6 and a prayer life to fight in the heavenlies.