Daniel 10:15-21

c. ANGELIC ACTIVITY

TEXT: Daniel 10:15-21

15

And when he had spoken unto me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and was dumb.

16

And, behold, one in the likeness 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, by reason of the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I retain no strength.

17

For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? For as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me.

18

Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me.

19

And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he spake unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

20

Then said he, knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

21

But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me against these, but Michael your prince.

QUERIES

a.

Why does Daniel grow weak again?

b.

Who is the prince of Greece?

c.

What is the writing of truth?

PARAPHRASE

All this time I was looking down, being abased in the presence of deity, and unable to speak a word. Then the heavenly beingwho looked like a mantouched my lips and I was able to begin speaking again. Then I said to the heavenly being, O my lord, this supernatural visit and your holiness has made me so aware of my unholiness, I haven-'t even the strength left to stay in your presence. How can such a person as I even dare assume the same level of existence as you? I have no ability in me to even live in your presence, let alone converse with you. Then the same heavenly being touched me again and I felt a superhuman strength in me to sustain me in the presence of this holy one. And the angel said, O man, greatly loved and blessed, do not be afraid, for God's peace is with you. Have the boldness and strength, therefore, which His grace suppliesbe strong! And as he was speaking to me, I took courage and said, Then let my lord speak for I am ready now to receive God's awful word. Then the angel said, Do you remember what I told you about my purpose for coming to you? Well, now, I will return to continue my conquest and rule over the demon-angel who influences the king of Persia; and after this I will have to conquer and rule the demon-angel who will be influencing the empire of Greece in order to fulfill God's purpose with the covenant people. But before I go I will tell you what God has predicted in His history book, the only accurate writing of history on record, concerning the last era of history before the coming of the promised Messiah. Do not worry, even though only I and Michael, your prince-angel, are the only two angels protecting the covenant people in the troubled times to come; we shall be sufficient to carry out God's purposes.

Daniel and the Ministering Spirit

COMMENT

Daniel 10:15-17. ONE IN THE LIKENESS OF THE SONS OF MEN TOUCHED MY LIPS. Daniel was still dumb-founded. Being in the presence of the divine being, he still found himself in abject abasement, unable to find words in human language to adequately express himself to this glorious one. The angel (undoubtedly the same angel as before) touched his lips (cf. Isaiah 6) and enabled him through divine assistance to find boldness to address supernaturalness. It was the unutterable awfulness of the glory of this angelic visitor that intensified Daniel's human limitations. Daniel found there are groanings of the human spirit which have no adequate way of finding expression unless the Divine Spirit helps (cf. Romans 8:26). This divine appearance took Daniel's breath away! How often we treat the things of glory lightlywe who are so familiar with divine things need to beware for they are not to be taken lightly. If the angels can strike such awe and abasement in sinful man, how much more we ought to be thankful for the gracious blood of Jesus which provides us with bold access to the majestic Throne of God!

Daniel 10:18-19. I WAS STRENGTHENED, AND SAID, LET MY LORD SPEAK. Daniel, the sinner, realized that there must exist enmity between him and the Holy God and so he was weak with fear. But the angel assured him of God's peace. Daniel's faith appropriated for him the grace of God and thus the message from the throne for Daniel was peace, be strong, fear not. This knowledge of being approved of and at peace with God brings strength to the weakest sinner. This is the very essence of the message of the New Testament (especially those two great treatises, Romans and Hebrews).

Daniel 10:20-21. NOW I WILL RETURN TO FIGHT THE PRINCE OF PERSIA. THE PRINCE OF GREECE. The angel's question is rhetorical, Do you remember what I told you about my purpose for coming to you? The angel expects Daniel to remember some of what he had been told earlier. Daniel should remember that the angel had been sent to overcome the evil-angel who was being allowed to influence the decisions and actions of the rulers of Persia. God's angel had overcome this evil-spirit and now announces that he is about to return and continue such overruling. Evidently God's angelic helper to Persia will not go unchallenged, but he will have to continue in the spiritual struggle (in the realm of the unseen spiritual world) just so long as God deems it necessary to fulfill His work with the covenant people in preparing them to bring forth the Messiah.

As soon as the one conflict ends with Persia, the angel will be engaged in the same sort of conflict with another demon-angel sent from hell to attempt to thwart God's plans by influencing the rulers of Greece. If God's angel were not there, demon influence might well meet with success. So Daniel is apprized of some of the undercover movements in history and also of the type of checking that God employs to keep them within proper bounds. One of the interesting revelations of such angelic help for God's people when God deems necessary is found in 2 Kings 6:14-19, where Elisha's servant had his eyes opened and was enable to see mountain ... full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. The same God is alive today and He can, if He wishes, and will, if necessary, provide a great host of heavenly beings to minister to those who inherit salvation (cf. Hebrews 1:14).

The writing of truth is a phrase to inform Daniel that the history which is about to be revealed (chapter 11) contains events of which God's wisdom alone bears record, and, as always, infallibly accurate. In other books of prophecy, future history which God is prepared to unfold before the eyes of man is represented by a scroll (cf. Ezekiel and Revelation). And one need only compare Daniel 11 with profane history to realize that God knows with infinite accuracy and in minute detail what is to come to pass before it ever passes through the mind of man! (cf. Deuteronomy 32; Deuteronomy 34; Revelation 5:1; Psalms 139:16).

QUIZ

1.

What would be a good description of Daniel's attitude even after the angel had set him upon his feet?

2.

What should be our attitude toward things divine?

3.

How was Daniel strengthened?

4.

Why did the angel have to be prepared to fight against the prince of Greece?

5.

Is there a warfare in the unseen realm of the spirit-world?

6.

May we expect God to use angels to help Christians today? How?

7.

What is the writing of truth?