Daniel 10:10-14

b. ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT

TEXT: Daniel 10:10-14

10

And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

11

And he said unto me, O Daniel, thou man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent: and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

12

Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard: and I am come for thy words-' sake.

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: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

14

Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days; for the vision is yet for many days.

QUERIES

a.

What power did the being exert to restore Daniel upright?

b.

Who is the prince of the kingdom of Persia?

c.

What are the latter days?

PARAPHRASE

And behold this angelic being touched me, rousing me and raising me up on my knees and my hands. And he said to me: Daniel, God has taken great delight in you, so give all your attention to the words I am telling you, for God has sent me to you. So I stood up still trembling with fear. Then he said to me, Do not be frightened, for from the very first day you humbled yourself and began to fast and pray, God heard your prayers, and I was sent here to give you God's answer. However, I was detained for 21 days in coming to you by the mighty demon who overrules the kingdom of Persia. But Michael, one of God's angels of the first order, came to assist me overcome this demon, and Michael left me there to continue my influence with the kings of Persia until I could safely get leave and come to you. Now I am here to tell you what will happen to your people, the Jews, in these latter days of the Mosaic covenant, but these latter days are yet a number of years away.

COMMENT

Daniel 10:10-11. A HAND TOUCHED ME. The hand of the divine stranger in some supernatural way imparted strength to Daniel who was lying unconscious, face down upon the ground, and roused Him and raised him up in a crawling position on his knees and the palms of his hands. Greatly beloved is literally, God has taken great delight in Daniel's attitude. The delight of God being directed toward an individual demands a like response, so Daniel is exhorted to give attention and effort to understand the message the angel has to deliver from God. Next the angel assists Daniel to stand upright, though Daniel was still shaky with his recent unconsciousness.

Daniel 10:12. THY WORDS WERE HEARD. What a consolation to know that God hears those of humble and contrite hearthears and is able to answer. When a man willingly arrives at the attitude Daniel had, God is more than willing to act on that man's behalf to that man's ultimate good. Such a man may not always understand the answer God gives or the method God uses to answer, but such a man will accept it in faith and trust.

Daniel 10:13-14. THE PRINCE OF THE KINGDOM OF PERSIA WITHSTOOD ME. These verses and Daniel 10:20-21 of this same chapter form some of the most interesting glimpses of all the Bible on angelology! Daniel's prayer had been concerned with the relation of Persia to God's people and the current slanderous attack upon them by the Samaritans, who seemed to have convinced the Persian court that the few Israelites who had been released to return to Palestine were planning sedition.

The angelic messenger had apparently been sent to forcibly overcome and remove the demonic spirit that was at work against the people of God in its influence upon the Persian monarch. It is intriguing to note that the heavenly helper does not exert his force against the Samaritans or even against the Persian monarch, but against the prince of the kingdom of Persia. We are afforded here a glimpse behind the scenes of world history to the realm of the supernatural and spiritual, where the unseen but real battle of the ages is transpiring. In the realm of observable history there is more than meets the eye. There are powers at work of which some people never have a conception. This is why Paul exhorts Christians to gird themselves with supernatural armor and arm themselves with supernatural weaponsfor we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-20). This is the meaning of the second half of the book of Revelation (cf. More Than Conquerors, by Wm. Hendriksen). One should also consult such scriptures as Isaiah 24:21; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 13:2 and our Special Study on Angels at the end of this chapter.

Who is this prince of the kingdom of Persia? Many have supposed him to be simply the Persian king, himself. But it is not in keeping with biblical teaching to suppose that one mortal king could have so successfully opposed an angel of God for a period of 21 days, if one angel was able to smite 185,000 Assyrians in one night! An angel-prince is the meaning. Demons in the N.T. are, without a doubt referred to herethey are called evil angels in the N.T. It appears that in the downward plunge away from truth and morality the Gentile nations, even as they chose to worship and seek the fellowship of demons (cf. Cor. Daniel 10:20 ff), came under the powerful influence of Satanic angels. These demon-spirits became the controlling, deceiving, power of decadent, depraved men, and they used whatever powers they had to hamper God's work and thwart His purposes. When Christ came He destroyed Satan's power for all who will believe in Him and bound Satan to a much more restricted sphere of influence (cf. Hebrews 2:14-16; Colossians 2:15; John 12:31; John 16:11; Matthew 12:29-30; Revelation 20:1-3).

We get a rare glimpse behind the scenes of world history as it occurred then and even now. There are spiritual forces at work that are far in excess of what men who disregard divine revelation would suppose. They struggle behind the struggles that are written on the pages of history. They explain the Satanic evil that often comes to light under the things that appear on the surface. Since a particular prince of the kingdom of Persia is mentioned, it seems to be a valid conclusion that every godless, cruel, tyrannical nation is dominated by some such prince. Whether each evil angel may have but one nation as his domain, or whether there may be broader spheres of activity in. which the more powerful among them are active, we cannot decide on the limited information available in Scripture.
There are evidently ranks or orders among the angelic beings. Michael was of the first order. The name Michael means: Who is like God?

Evil angels had held the controlling position at the Persian court, They did not hold it, however, without the consent of the governed. That is, when men become so bereft of the truth willingly, that they have no love for the truth, but take pleasure in unrighteousness, God will send them a strong delusion, that they may believe a lie (cf. the state to which the Gentiles had fallen in Romans 1:18 ff). Therefore, it must have been the desire of the heart of Cyrus, and perhaps others of his kingdom, to know and be able to live the truth; so God sent His angel Michael to overthrow the rule of the evil angels in the minds and hearts of the Persian court.

It is interesting to note the harmonious cooperation between God's angels in carrying out His work. One helps the other where help is needed. Here is an example of how God's will is done in heaven. And the fact that certain of these angels of God are great and mighty does not cause any rivalry or opposition among them! What a blessing it would be if God's will were done on earth as it is in heaven!
The angel stood by the side or remained there with the kings of Persia. After the present king shall have passed from the scene, the same angelic influence from God will remain with his successors. This should be especially comforting for the people of Daniel to know.
Leupold summarizes the teaching of this important passage thus: The sum of the matter is this: There are powerful forces of evil at work in and through the nations and their rulers to defeat and to overthrow the people of God. This may alarm and cause terror when one considers how powerful these demon potentates are. On the other hand, there are still more powerful agents of good at work who, by harmonious cooperation, will prevail over their wicked opponents. So the cause of the kingdom is in good hands, and its success is assured.
This is one of the great truths of the Bible not often taught in our day and among our people. Yet it sheds light on many a puzzling situation in the course of historical developments and would help God's children to keep a balanced judgment as well as a sure hope in today's mad world.
The latter days referred to in Daniel 10:14 can be none other than the last days of the O.T. dispensation (from the Persian era to the Roman occupation of Palestine). The certainty of this interpretation is established clearly by the context. In Daniel 10:20 of this chapter the angel limits the latter days to the era covered by the empires of Persia and Greece. Chapter eleven amplifies that era by predicting in detail the machinations of the Seleucids and Ptolemies. The latter days referred to in this chapter, therefore, have nothing to do with the end of all time and the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one is to know that day or hour!

QUIZ

1.

Why did the angel touch Daniel?

2.

What makes Daniel's attitude exemplary?

3.

How does the sending of this angel fit in with the situation in the Persian court at that time?

4.

How does his section of scripture give us a revelation of forces behind observable history?

5.

Who is this prince of the kingdom of Persia?

6.

What example do we have of God's will being done in heaven?

7.

Should we teach about angels and demons today? Why?