Hindering Spirits

Daniel 10

Victorious in Spiritual Warfare

Bible Passage: Daniel 10:1–11:2

1. Preparation through Prayer

Daniel 10:1–3 “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”

In the battles with our spiritual enemy we need to be aware of the subtleties of his “psyops”. One way to stay on guard is through preparation of our spirit. This week let’s look at this interesting story in Daniel 10. It shows us again, a view into the background of our warfare. It reveals the tactics and strategies of the devil and his demons. We see how Daniel responded to a disturbing message from God.

He prayed and fasted. For three weeks he spent his days in prayer for answers to his dilemma. what is the typical response to a disturbing message? Worry, anxiety, fear? These are some of the things that the devil would like to see us exhibit. Fear flourishes in darkness and truth and light extinguish the “psyop” of anxiety.

Daniel’s example of how to engage in spiritual warfare should lead us to practice persistent prayer and draw close to God in times of trouble, ours and our brothers’.

Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

2. Perceiving the Spiritual

Daniel 10:4–9 “Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.”

A spiritual reality surrounds us. Some are never aware of it and go day to day thinking this is all there is. Others, to various degrees are sensitive to the spiritual world. Daniel was praying for three weeks. He was seeking God’s face and God heard him and answered him. The spiritual world opened up to Daniel and it can for you.

Psalm 27:8 “When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” There is a promise there that God wants us to search for His will and pray for answers.

I like to think of this verse as God’s phone number; Jeremiah 33:3 “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”

An angel came to deliver a message about a vision that Daniel was inquiring about. There was an answer from the throne room in heaven.

Daniel was prepared to hear the message God had for him. Are you?

3. Persistence in Battle

Daniel 10:10–14 “Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.””

Sometimes we think of life as a struggle. We are constantly trying to swim upstream and getting nowhere.

We just saw an angel from heaven sent with a message for Daniel. He was described in Daniel 10:6 like this, “His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.” He was a formidable messenger! But here we see him being withstood, delayed, opposed. The territory he was traveling through was not of this world and it was not friendly to God’s message.

Life is filled with spiritual resistance, devilish “psyops” to thwart, if possible, the plan of God and destroy our faith. We are not alone in it, the angels sometimes struggle to deliver messages. Here Daniel’s message was delayed three weeks. Daniel was, however, persistent in prayer. Who knows, maybe it was Daniel’s prayers that urged Michael to get involved.

Our prayers are heard despite spiritual opposition. Remember Christ now intercedes for us.

This small story illustrates again what in going on behind the scenes and how we should not walk by sight, but should be persistent in prayer.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

4. Promise of Deliverance

Daniel 10:15–11:2

Daniel 10:18–21 “Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.”

The spiritual battle goes on. The angel after delivering his message to Daniel returns to the fight. In the world today we see conflicts and struggles and things we simply can’t understand; and behind them is a great cosmic war for dominance. Remember Christ has won the victory, we are in the last stages of this time on earth. So there will be wars and rumors of wars, cultural, moral, political, and religious upheaval, but Christ has triumphed over sin and death. He is our source of strength and victory in every spiritual battle. The Scripture of Truth is our guide to right thinking in this warfare. In cultural, moral, political, and religious matters it is the source of defensive thinking in the face of devilish “psyops”.

Phil 4:8 KJV “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture (Daniel 10: The Hindrance of Angels)

Since the angelic “prince” Michael here opposes the “prince” of Persia, it is likely that the latter is an angelic power as well. What is to be made of this bizarre heavenly battle?

First, one needs to learn as much as possible by what is written but not to speculate on what is not written about this event. A danger when seeking to understand passages like this in the Bible is to extrapolate without clear textual warrant.

Second, it is clear that when God’s people pray, there is often more going on than they could ever imagine. There is not the slightest hint in the passage that Daniel was aware of the cosmic conflict taking place. He continued doing what only he could do: praying.

Third, the “prince of Persia” is very likely to be understood in a way comparable to the “principalities and powers” in the New Testament (see Eph 3:10; Col 2:15; et al., KJV). While the Bible does not tell us a great deal about these spiritual forces, it clearly affirms their reality. Some of them, as here, may be involved with nations (Deut 32:8), explaining why some nations are particularly aggressive in the persecution of God’s people.

Fourth, Q. Why would the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” have been so resistant to Daniel’s prayer? The messenger dispensed to bring Daniel’s answer would inform him of the defeat of Persia by the Greek Empire of Alexander (Dan 11:2–4). A. When God’s word would have been spoken to Daniel, there was no chance that it would not come to pass.

Fifth, the passage demonstrates the warfare character of prayer. This point will be clearer in the New Testament (Matt 6:13; Eph 6:18–20). What is equally clear here, and throughout the Bible, is the importance of prayer in spiritual warfare. The practice of trying to identify “territorial spirits” and then pray against them with some type of confrontational prayer cannot be supported from Scripture. The Bible, however, does give enough information to help believers realize that their prayers do engage with spiritual forces and realities beyond what they can see and know.

Thompson Chain Bible Book Outlines (The Book of Daniel) {adapted} #4249

Satan’s attempt to thwart the people of God

1. FIRST CONFLICT. Between worldly indulgence and conscientious abstinence in promoting health. Abstinence in the form of positive godly decisions about what goes in your body. Satan wants to destroy the temple. Sex, Eye-gate, Poison, lethargy. Abstinence wins, boys promoted, Daniel 1:8–15.

2.SECOND CONFLICT. Between pagan magic and heavenly wisdom in the interpretation of dreams. Dreams troubled Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit. Called the world’s magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to interpret. Daniel was only one to have God’s thoughts. Divine wisdom wins, Daniel promoted, Daniel 2:1–47.

3. THIRD CONFLICT. Heathen idolatry arrayed against loyalty to God. Worship gold image or fire. Making or changing laws to entrap believers. Don’t bow down. Loyalty to God wins, Daniel 3:1–30.

4. FOURTH CONFLICT. A pagan king’s pride arrayed against divine plan. Another dream troubling Nebuchadnezzar and he called all the wise men of Babylon, Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in,’ judgements are being tested by the worlds experts. some will attest to the craziest stories. God has the last word.

Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you.

The king was chastised for a time :32 ’till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

God wins—the king turned out to eat grass, Daniel 4:4–37.

5. FIFTH CONFLICT. Impious sacrilege arrayed against reverence for sacred objects. Dan 5:2 “Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.” Not recognizing the sacred and treating it as common. (Somethings are just objects, but don’t mock God)

Reverence wins—the handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar dethroned, Daniel 5:1–30.

6. SIXTH CONFLICT. Between malicious plotting and the protection God provides His saints. Don’t bow down to the world’s idols - keep worshipping God.

Worshipers win—the lions’ mouths stopped, Daniel 6:1–28.