The Spiritual Battle!
Though the exiled Jews have been allowed by King Cyrus to return to Jerusalem, Daniel is still mourning over the vision he had seen in chapters 7-9. But as he mourned and fasted for three weeks, a man dressed in linen came before him on the banks of the Tigris river. Daniel is now in his eighties and falls before the man who appears to look like Jesus, as John describes him the book of Revelation. There is debate over whether this is the pre-incarnate Jesus, or an angel. The awe with which Daniel experiences mirrors other theophanies (word means God being revealed on the earth), in Scripture. This is similar to Isaiah when he experiences God and says, "Holy, holy, holy, is The Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of your glory."
But in verse 13, it appears he is a powerful angel fighting against the prince of Persia for 21 days, the same amount of time Daniel was praying. Then he says, "Michael, a chief prince came to help me." But verses 15 to 19 appear to be another man with Christ-like qualities. So in cases like this where there seems to be evidence on both sides, we hold these kind of these apparent contradictions in tension. In either case Daniel, the man of God, is given strength and peace. These are the same words the resurrected Jesus said to his disciples, "peace be with you".
So what can we learn from this?
1. There is a spiritual battle going on is one that we cannot see. Some call this spiritual warfare. Paul affirms this in Ephesians 6 when he says, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this present darkness."
2. Spiritual disciplines help us to battle in the spiritual realm, as we see Daniel fasting and setting aside time to pray for 21 days.
3. We are not alone in the spiritual battle, we have angels that battle for us and go ahead of us.
4. There are spiritual strongholds, where evil may be more present in some places than others. You might conjecture where those are today in our world.
5. Jesus comes alongside of us in this battle. Jesus has already defeated Satan on the cross, so He is all powerful. As we rely on His strength and power, greater is He that is in us is greater than the one in the world!
6. There is a time when Satan and his dark angels will be completely be destroyed, but for a time they can still try to thwart God's plans and God's sons and daughters. Paul tells us not to be "unaware of his schemes".
So while we don't need to be unnecessarily preoccupied with the evil one, we mustn't be naive either. We need to fight the battle with the weapons Jesus has given us: faith, the power of the Word, prayer, fasting, silence and solitude. It also shows us to pray for others in spiritual leadership and our friends, and the church as a whole. There will certainly be pushback from the evil one, as we seek to make disciples of the One who overcame sin, death and the power of the devil on the cross.
So as we pray in our Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from the evil one, so your kingdom can come on earth as it is in heaven". Amen.
Daniel 10:2-19
2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 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.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His 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.
7 I, 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. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He 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.
12 Then 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. 13 But 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. 14 Now 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.”
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man[a] 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. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”
18 Again 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.”
But in verse 13, it appears he is a powerful angel fighting against the prince of Persia for 21 days, the same amount of time Daniel was praying. Then he says, "Michael, a chief prince came to help me." But verses 15 to 19 appear to be another man with Christ-like qualities. So in cases like this where there seems to be evidence on both sides, we hold these kind of these apparent contradictions in tension. In either case Daniel, the man of God, is given strength and peace. These are the same words the resurrected Jesus said to his disciples, "peace be with you".
So what can we learn from this?
1. There is a spiritual battle going on is one that we cannot see. Some call this spiritual warfare. Paul affirms this in Ephesians 6 when he says, "Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this present darkness."
2. Spiritual disciplines help us to battle in the spiritual realm, as we see Daniel fasting and setting aside time to pray for 21 days.
3. We are not alone in the spiritual battle, we have angels that battle for us and go ahead of us.
4. There are spiritual strongholds, where evil may be more present in some places than others. You might conjecture where those are today in our world.
5. Jesus comes alongside of us in this battle. Jesus has already defeated Satan on the cross, so He is all powerful. As we rely on His strength and power, greater is He that is in us is greater than the one in the world!
6. There is a time when Satan and his dark angels will be completely be destroyed, but for a time they can still try to thwart God's plans and God's sons and daughters. Paul tells us not to be "unaware of his schemes".
So while we don't need to be unnecessarily preoccupied with the evil one, we mustn't be naive either. We need to fight the battle with the weapons Jesus has given us: faith, the power of the Word, prayer, fasting, silence and solitude. It also shows us to pray for others in spiritual leadership and our friends, and the church as a whole. There will certainly be pushback from the evil one, as we seek to make disciples of the One who overcame sin, death and the power of the devil on the cross.
So as we pray in our Lord's Prayer, "Deliver us from the evil one, so your kingdom can come on earth as it is in heaven". Amen.
Daniel 10:2-19
2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 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.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His 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.
7 I, 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. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He 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.
12 Then 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. 13 But 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. 14 Now 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.”
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man[a] 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. 17 How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”
18 Again 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.”
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