Lesson for August 10, 2022
The Book of Daniel
Chapter 10
Daniel’s Vision of an Angel
Verses 1-14 – The Vision
“In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and it concerned great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man dressed in linen, whose waist had a belt of pure gold of (the region of)Uphaz. 6 His body also was like topaz, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great fear fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my complexion turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.10 Then behold, a hand touched me and shook me on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, ‘Daniel, you who are treasured, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand at your place, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision pertains to the days still future.”
In chapter 11, the only future event is when the prince (ruler) of Greece is mentioned as the conqueror of the kingdom of Media-Persia (a great conflict) What we learn about Daniel and his visions is that he faithfully prayed three times a day. So, the doctrine of prayer and the doctrine of angels are prevalent in this chapter.
Throughout the Bible we see the importance of prayer. Daniel was so troubled by the vision that he could not eat. Prayer is the grace system of communication with God for believers. The purpose of prayer is to communicate with our Heavenly Father. God communicates with us through His Word. We communicate with God through prayer. God, therefore, expects all believers to pray. We are commanded to pray without ceasing, which means to have a consistent prayer life. Prayer can be powerful when a believer knows how to properly pray. (I Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Hebrews 4:16)
We also get a glimpse into the roles of certain high-ranking elect angels who do battle with the fallen angels in the unseen world around us. The messenger angel who God sent to Daniel had been doing battle with someone identified as the prince of Persia, which could be a reference to a fallen angel who was attempting to influence the kingdom in a negative way. The battle was so intense that this angel had to call for Michael, the Archangel to help him.
Verses 15-21 – The Vision Explained
15 “When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And behold, one who resembled a human was touching my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, ‘My lord, due to the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.’18 Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. 19 And he said, ‘You who are treasured, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be courageous!’ Now as soon as he spoke to me, I felt strengthened and said, ‘May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’ 20 Then he said, ‘Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so, I am leaving, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. 21However, I will tell you what is recorded in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.’”
The vision pertains to the days still future tells us that prayers are not always answered based our timetable. There are times when our prayers are not answered as quickly as we think they should be. If God is delaying in answering our prayers, remember this – He may delay, but He is never late!
Daniel had prayed for twenty-one days, and he had not received an answer to his prayer until an angel appeared to him. The angel declared that the very first day he prayed his prayers had been heard, and that he had been sent to give Daniel the answer. What caused the delay?
The prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against this angel for those twenty-one days and he was unable to get to Daniel. Only when the archangel Michael arrived was the angel able to go to Daniel. This was a part of the invisible battle that has been going on for centuries. Who is the prince of Persia? We believe him to be one of Satan’s high-ranking angels, who was in charge of destroying Persia from the inside by indwelling unbelievers and influencing believers in a negative way.
Satan has a well-organized army of demons (fallen angels) who do his bidding in an attempt to control or change history to reflect badly on God. (Ephesians 6:12). This world system is controlled by Satan, and he sees to it that his angels are connected with all governments. (I John 5:19)
When Greece comes upon the scene, it too will have a fallen angel appointed over it by Satan. Michael, the archangel, defeated the prince of Persia, allowing this other angel to come to answer Daniel’s prayers. Satan has his angels set up to defeat believers in every dispensation, therefore God gives us each a guardian angel to watch over us. The lesson we derive from this encounter of the good and the bad angels is God’s answers to our prayers are His sovereign decision. Daniel’s answer to his prayers were delayed but they were eventually answered. This is what the angel communicated to Daniel.
Michael is the deliverer of God’s people; he contended with Satan over the body of Moses; he will fight with Satan and his angels, casting them out of heaven in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:7-10). And he will deliver the Jews during the Great Tribulation (Daniel 12:1).
The angel’s message was to stay strong and trust in God because the ruler of Greece will come and conquer Persia. Daniel had already survived and thrived under several rulers, and it was going to happen again. Therefore, Daniel had nothing to fear because God was in total control of his life.