Daniel Chapter 10
INTRODUCTION:
Chapters 10-12 are probably all one vision, and it is about Israel in the immediate future, relative to Daniel's last/latter days, as a double prophecy, with the little horn and the little horn of the last days. Much has already been fulfilled, and much is still waiting to be fulfilled in the future.
(Daniel 10:1)In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
- Daniel is in his late 80s-early 90s by this time
- This is a retired Daniel, and this is about four years after the Daniel 9 visions
- Cyrus had made the decree to return to the land, but two years had passed and only a handful had done so
CYRUS OF PERSIA
(2 Chronicles 36:22)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
(Ezra 1:1-2)
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
(Ezra 6:14)
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
(Daniel 10:2-3)
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 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.
- Daniel is in mourning
- This has to be some revelation!
- This is a full out fast to determine the will of God
And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
- This is probably (though not definitive)
the Tigris River, post-Flood - He started on the third of the month, to the twenty fourth day of the month
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
- He has fasted and prayed for twenty one days straight. He is ready to hear from God
- Girt with gold, as a direct messenger from the throne of the King Himself (Revelation 1:13)
LOINS GIRDED WITH GOLD
(Jeremiah 10:9)Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
(Exodus 12:11)
And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
(Ephesians 6:14)
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
(Revelation 1:13)
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
(Daniel 10:6)
His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
- Who is this man sent from? Who does he resemble, exactly?
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
(Daniel 10:7)
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
- The same happened to Paul when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus
- The same happened to the Israelites when Moses saw God on the mountain
- They shook with fear and ran away. This was a frightful angelic appearance
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
(Exodus 20:18)
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
(Acts 9:7)
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
(Daniel 10:8)
Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
- It was so awesome that the effect was on Daniel as well
- His face was no longer handsome, but ugly from fright
- Weakness set in as well, from everything before this time, to the angelic appearance
- Fasting
- Prayer
- No anointing himself with oil
- The appearance of Gabriel
- Even his friends running off
Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
- Perhaps fainting, sheer shock, the sight of the angel, humility, and utter weakness and exhaustion combined to take down Daniel to his face.
And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
- The angel Gabriel is not God, but certainly representing Him
- This seems to be a worshipful, fearing position
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
(James 4:10)
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
(1 Peter 5:6)
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
(Daniel 10:11)
And he said unto me, O Daniel, a 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.
- Being old is one thing
- Being old and having this vision is devastating to the body and mind and heart
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
- Our prayers are held back, not because of our timing in the prayer, or how fervent, how often, we pray.
- They can be held back by God for His timing purposes, and HE allows spiritual battles to occur on big answers
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.
- Devilish realms are divided into military-like levels of power
- Most likely very powerful princes rule over large kingdoms and areas
- We do not always understand these things in the spiritual realm, as the angels often do not understand out realm (they desire to look into them)
- We can wrestle against them, and so can the angels who are much more powerful than we are
WE DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SPIRITUAL REALM
(Romans 8:38)For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
(Ephesians 6:12)
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.
(Colossians 1:16)
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
(Colossians 2:15)
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
THE ANGELS DO NOT UNDERSTAND OUR REALM
(1 Peter 1:12)Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
(Daniel 10:14)
Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
- This is not an immediate fulfillment at all for Daniel's times
And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
- Right back down to the ground he just got right up from! Is this a huge and disturbing vision or what?
And, behold, one like the similitude 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 the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
- One of the purposes of angelic visits, known or unknown, seen or unseen, is to strengthen believers
- They appear on earth to us as men, not as some sort of weird creature like some may be in Heaven.
- The angels, for instance, who appeared to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were as men, so much so that the sodomites wanted to have relations with them
And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
(Genesis 19:5)
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
(Daniel 10:17-18)
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 is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,
- Daniel has a lot to say about what he saw, and is unable to find the strength to express himself because of his weakness
- In addition to this, he is humbled and realizes that he, as dust, is speaking to God's representative and, therefore, to God as a mere mortal man
- Again, this was apparently some vision he saw!
- Add to that an angel coming to strengthen him, and he is weaker still from the experiences
- Is this where the name of the show "Touched By An Angel" came from?
- When we reach out and touch other Christians in any way, it strengthensthe body, but them specifically, primarily
When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
(Daniel 10:19)
And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
- Daniel has the title of "O man greatly beloved"
- In addition to a personal touch, the words we speak can either tear down or build up, as is taught throughout Scripture
There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
(Daniel 10:20)
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
- A question to Daniel, who is now stronger..........it appears the angel Gabriel is unsure if Daniel is ready to hear the interpretation yet.
But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
- The Word of God is called "The Scripture of Truth"
- This battle was fought with only Gabriel and Michael
- Michael is his prince, at his service to do battle for him
- The same is for us as well.
Daniel Chapter 11
