All Warfare is Spiritual Warfare

One commentary I read put it in a great way

Have you ever gone to an event to find out you were improperly dressed?

When we prepare for war, we are often improperly equipped

Never bring a knife to a gun fight

When we look at the news, and see talk of wars we often only see the physical realm

totally neglecting the fact that there is a spiritual realm

If we desire to survive this word that does not like us and does not respect our beliefs, we must stop fighting in the physical realm and begin to fight in the spiritual realm

Daniel’s Response to the vision is to mourn

v1-3

We are now in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia

Daniel has recieved the vision of the 70 weeks

the first wave of exiles have returned to Jerusalem, but as the 70’s prophecy promised, things were not easy

Daniel did not return, possibly he was too old, being probably well into his 80’s at this point

Daniel receives the message and it was a great conflict

The vision is about a great conflict in the spiritual realm, that is also seen in the physical realm

this word of prophecy also caused a great conflict in Daniel

no doubt, this caused stress and sadness to Daniel to know that conflict will not end

Daniels response was to mourn

He spend three weeks in mourning

Not over something that had happened, but over something that was going to happen

To express his extreme sadness, Daniel ate no meat and had no wine

he did not anoint himself

he fasted, not to get his way, but to show his concern

Daniel Was Met By an Angel

The description of this angel is very God-like,

It resembles the description of Jesus in Revelation 1, and this often misleads people into believing Daniel is meeting Jesus (v5-6)

The events also resemble the events of Paul’s conversion (7)

The Angel was not Jesus

As with many other Biblical accounts of meeting an Angel, Daniel had a trying time

He fell on his face and fell into a deep sleep

The Angel’s Message

You are loved V.10-11

In light of Daniel’s receiving what is about to be a terrifying, this is a word of encouragement

It’s great to know that during times of great trials you are loved

It’s often the love of a family member or close friend that carries us through in the hard times

When we face trials, one of the most important things to remember is that we are loved by the God that is sending us through the trials

Malachi 3:2–3 “2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.”

Knowing our trials are for God’s purpose and for our God can help us get through these earthly struggles

Understand the words

The angels directions to command tells Daniel that he can understand what is being told to him

If Daniel can understand, it is reasonable to believe we also will be able to understand

For Daniel, to have the ability to understand the conflicts he would be hearing about is not just to understand what they mean, but also the purpose

not just the purpose, but just knowing that there is a purpose

One of the worst things about suffering, is the thought that the suffering is pointless, meaningless

Just knowing that there is a purpose, even if we do not know or understand, allows us to carry through

Stand upright

When suffering, one of the most honorable things we can do, is “take it on the chin”

to stand upright, when the world is crashing down on you is a sign of inner strength

In our case, when we suffer and “stand upright” it speaks not to our inner strength, but our faith in the one that causes us to stand

Ephesians 6:13 “13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Fear Not

Even when we know that evil is coming upon us, we can stand without fear, knowing that God can answer

The direction to not fear here is not a blind faith, but is backed up by the coming of this angel

Daniels prayer was heard (v12) and the angel was sent because of Daniel’s prayer

This is a Spiritual Battle

there is something happening that we do not always see

This angel intended to get to Daniel sooner

The prince of the kingdom of Persia

Most likely a demon fought with the angel

This tells us two things

First, the angel is not Jesus, because he would not have needed Michael’s help

Second, it speaks to the spiritual battles taking place all around us

Some are greater than others, but they are there

He is going to leave to again fight against the prince of Persia

then the prince of Greece will come

The events of the prophecy are not events controlled by men

They are spiritual events

They are a war being fought between a Sovereign King and a despot that desires to over through Him and rule from on high

Ever moment of our life, there is a spiritual battle in place around us

We need to see that the root cause of our difficulties is not the husband or wife that is being so unreasonable, or the work situation that seems impossible, or the rebellious child that is making life miserable. The root cause is not even our own bad habits and the sins that frustrate us so greatly. Rather, it is the underlying spiritual battle in which we are engaged against powerful forces in the heavenly realms. As the apostle Paul put it: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

Duguid, Iain M. 2008. Daniel. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

Angel armies (2 Kings 6)