Daniel 10:16-19 “Strength”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁶And behold! [One] like forms of sons of men one touching upon my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and one saying to one standing before me, “My lord, in the vision, my pains have turned upon me, and I have not retained strength. ¹⁷And how is the servant of this my lord able to speak with this my lord and I from now not is standing in me strength and breath is not left in me. ¹⁸And it was again and [one] as a form of a man touched me and he strengthened me. ¹⁹And he said, “Do not fear, man greatly valued. Peace to you. Be strong and be strong.” And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.”

This chapter of Daniel is such a flood of helpful instruction, I hardly know where to stop! Look back at v.14, then look ahead at v.21. In 14, the angel says, “I have come to explain to you what will happen in the future…”, then in 21, he says, “I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth” and proceeds with the prophecies of chapter 11. Notice that, in between, vv.15-20 are all about how it affected Daniel. Why did the Lord see fit to put in those six verses? Why not just get on with the prophecies? Why would He take up six verses of Scripture to record for us how it all affected Daniel?

I hope at least one answer is obvious to all of us – the Lord wants us to know. And if He wants us to know, it’s because there is something (many things?) He wants us to learn. Remember from I Corinthians 10, “Now these things occurred as examples to us…These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the end of the ages has come…” (vv.6,11).

As I often relate, the Bible is a book of discipleship. If someone is reading or studying but not looking first and foremost for how the Lord wants to change their hearts and lives, they’re missing the point. If it was just a book of facts to be compiled, why take up six verses focused almost entirely on how it all affected Daniel and how he responded? Why would that matter? “Let’s get on with the good stuff,” some Bible fact-finder would say. No. Instead, let’s pause and realize what a jewel this is —to be given this rather extended description of a very godly man’s experience in the very presence of the glorified Jesus and His angels! I am quite sure there is much to learn and I’m also sure, if I live long enough to come back and study this again, I’ll find even more. As the Samaritan woman observed, “The well is deep!” (Jn. 4:11).

Notice what gives Daniel the strength to stand in the Angel’s presence – the Angel touches him; the Angel encourages him; then he can stand and speak. What do we learn from that? That our strength must come from heaven itself! No wonder the Lord tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10). From heaven -- That is precisely where our “strength” comes from. I personally find a huge part of spiritual growth is simply learning to practice that truth. No matter what the challenge before me, big or small, at work or at home, I must be constantly learning to seek the Lord’s strength and wisdom, and “day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here.”

Notice too that Daniel’s strength is supplied by degrees. John Calvin observed, “I am never surprised when God raises us gradually by distinct steps, and cures our infirmity by degrees…” He goes on, “…if even a single drop of His virtue is supplied to us, we should be content with this consolation, until He should complete what He begun within us.” We are, of course, the McDonald’s generation – we want it now. However, it is part of maturity to realize that is rarely ever the Lord’s plan. He grows us just like everything else – slowly and by degrees. Even with Creation itself, He could have done it all in a flash, yet He spent seven days at it, with one in which He did nothing at all! Calvin’s point was that we should not be frustrated when we pray for answers, but they seem to come slowly. That’s just our Lord and we must learn to trust Him and wait on Him. “Wait, I say on the Lord, and He shall strengthen your heart” (Ps. 27:14).

There is soooo much more to observe here, but I’d better stop for today. Oh, may Daniel’s example be my own map and compass! In this great spiritual battle of life, may I learn like him to be humble yet trust the Lord for the great things He would do in me and through me.

And I want it now! …just kidding.

“And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, ‘Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.’”

 

 

Daniel 10:15 “Answers?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

In my last post, I was puzzling over how devastating all of this was for Daniel, but that I can’t say the Lord has ever affected me that way. I said there, “… I realize that, if I actually saw a vision of Jesus in His glory and of angels and Seraphim shouting “Holy, holy, holy!”, I’d probably be in a terror too. In a sense I’m being too hard on myself, expecting to respond in faith to what I can’t see with my eyes. However, we walk by faith and not by sight. I don’t want to excuse myself simply because I don’t see something with my eyes. Faith should lift us above physical sight…It bothers me that I see these things in the Bible, but fear I know little of them in reality.”

My mother and I often discuss my studies. We enjoy kicking them around and considering what lessons we might learn. As we were pondering this one, she offered an insight that has actually kept my head sort of reeling ever since. I think it really is at least one answer to my questions.

She said something like, “To see Jesus, to see His great power, that's what gives us the strength to live for Him, to serve Him with more fervor.”

There may be many other lessons to learn, but I think she’s on to one that really helps me. Yes, that is where we all must start with God – on our face. It is in being struck by His greatness that gives us the power to literally stand! In this case, I feel free to say it may not all be physical, but it is definitely spiritual. In other words, maybe knowing God doesn’t drive me physically to the ground or leave me barely able to breathe, but still that is where we must start on our way to being "strong" in Him.

Here is what I’m thinking: For myself I can say without any doubt, the biggest hindrance to my faith my entire life has been my arrogance. Jesus clearly warned us, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Perhaps it’s true of most people, but for me, being young meant I had the energy and the strength and the health to feel like literally “I can do it all.” While I was very busy “serving the Lord,” I know I never really understood Jesus’ words. I could read it and think that was what I was doing – depending on Him – but at the same time there was something in it that puzzled me. I hope it is a matter of faith that I feel I’ve become profoundly aware of just how true those words are, but the failing health of aging has certainly highlighted the truth. Without Him, I can do nothing. The fact is, I can’t do much anyway! Aging and a lifetime of reality go a long way toward skewering my pride!

I look back now and realize how very little was accomplished for all the time and energy and effort I put into doing what was, in reality, my will, not necessarily His. You see, I wasn’t starting where Daniel did – on my face. I’m sure I still have a lot more to learn, but I do feel like I’ve come a long way since my arrogant youth. Hopefully it is true that I am keenly aware of my utter futility without Him.

Especially in my morning prayers, looking ahead to another day, it’s almost overwhelming to realize how much I need Him. As Daniel said, “To Him belongs wisdom and power.” Wow is that true. To Him – not to me. I certainly don’t have wisdom – this crazy world and all its twists and turns and everything seemingly happening at once utterly overwhelms me. The fact is I don’t know. I don’t know what to do, how to respond, how to fix this or that, how to deal with this or that, what is the best plan going forward. I don’t know – but He does. I don’t know what He wants to accomplish in my world today – but He does. So sometimes, I can only sit in His presence in the morning, plead my hopeless ignorance and beg Him to let me be a willing participant in whatever it is He’s up to.

That’s the “wisdom” part, then there’s the power. I realize more today just how powerless I am. It’s not only true physically (age does a lot to impress that on me), but I see it spiritually now too. Daniel has really helped me to see that what seems to be going on here in our physical, visual world is really just an expression of that enormous cosmic battle swirling around us in the unseen spirit world. As David prayed, “Deliver me from my enemies, for they are too powerful for me” (Psalm 142:6). The truth is, I can’t make much of anything happen – really. I can’t make one day sunny or the next rain. I really have no control over many (most) of the decisions being made every day, no matter how dramatically they may affect my life. I can’t keep people from dying. I can’t keep my children from getting sick. The only person in our whole universe who can control what does and doesn’t happen is God.

So now, later in life, even as I pray, I guess it is true (hope it is true) that I am spiritually on my face and speechless. More and more often, I just want to sit in His presence in the wonder of who He is, and realize it is Him who is controlling the course of my life. Sometimes I feel even my prayers are just silly, childish babbling, that even my requests are me “darkening counsel without knowledge.” I think I could just sit in His presence and tell Him I trust Him – except that He Himself told me to “Come boldly unto the Throne of Grace,” that “the prayers of the upright are His delight.” And so I babble on.

It is true that the Lord’s presence has never driven me into physical helplessness, but I believe it’s what’s spiritual that matters anyway. “They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). “My son, give Me your heart” (Prov. 23:26). And the good news is that the Lord doesn’t drive us to our faces, except to then, like Daniel, raise us up. He knows that if we start in our arrogance, nothing we do will really amount to anything, but if we start in humility, looking to Him, trusting Him, and letting Him give us His wisdom and His power, then we can, in fact, move the mountains of our world!

I’m thankful again to my Mom for that insight. I don’t think I’ve ever really thought through the issues of spiritual vs. physical worship. As he has again and again, Daniel leaves me an example that truly opens my eyes. His life is still blessing mine – 2,600 years later! Hmmmm. You’d think he started in humility!

Daniel 10:15 “Questions”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

I have been looking forward to studying these next few verses for a very long time. From v.15 to 19, we have recorded Daniel’s response to being in the presence of the pre-incarnate Jesus and these various angels. Frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to learn, but surely the Lord recorded this “for our admonition, upon whom the end of the ages has come” (I Cor. 10:11). Hopefully, as I slow down to really ponder these verses, there are more of what I call the Lord’s atom bombs – truths that will help me see Him more clearly and help me to live a more holy life – truths that “set me free,” as Jesus promised (John 8:32)!

Before I dig in, though, I want to try to record something that has also bothered me for a very long time. I’m recording it in part so, after studying, I can go back and see if, in fact, I’ve learned some things that answered these questions in my mind. On the other hand, I’m recording it in hopes that someone might stumble across this and say, “Yes. I know exactly what you mean. That bothers me too!” Then hopefully we can learn some of the Lord’s lessons together.

Here's my attempt to put my struggle into words: In these verses, we see a truly godly man physically and mentally crushed by his vision of the spirit world. Back earlier here in Daniel chapter 10, such terror filled his friends that they ran away in a fright. Daniel himself lost all strength and his “comeliness became corruption,” and he ended up on the ground himself. There the angel encouraged him and he stood up trembling, and yet here in v.15, he’s back with his face to the ground, and he’s even going to tell the angel in v.17, “I can hardly breathe!”  No Bible student can see this without thinking of Isaiah crying out, Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the Lord!” (6:5).

Add to this, from Isaiah 6, how the Seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory!” We could remember others all through the Bible profoundly moved by visions of the Lord and the spirit world.

What bothers me is that knowing Jesus doesn’t affect me that way. I’ve certainly enjoyed many times when the Lord has revealed Himself to me in very personal and impactful ways, however, it’s never driven me to the ground. Add to that, I don’t believe anyone today even knows what holiness is. Here are these angelic beings in the presence of God, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy!” Even these sinless, perfect creatures who live in the very presence of God, are so overwhelmed by this thing called holiness, they are moved to cry out in worship...and we don’t even know what it is!

Most people think holiness is God’s sinless perfection -- in a sense, His righteousness. However, I see several objections to that understanding. First of all, if that is true, why don’t the Seraphim cry out, “Righteous, righteous, righteous?” Add to that, if holiness is sinless perfection, why would it so move angelic beings who are themselves sinless and perfect? No. It is something much more than that.

Also, the word itself in Hebrew means something like “set apart.” People say it refers to the fact that God is “wholly other” – totally different than anything in all His creation. That is all true, but I’d still ask why the Seraphim are so moved by it, as to be crying out in worship?

So here we are, supposedly worshiping God’s holiness, singing about it, and longing to be “holy” ourselves, when the truth is, we don’t even know what it means! That to me is serious, especially when we read, “And without holiness, no one shall see God!” (Heb. 12:14). The Lord said at least three times to Israel, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” then repeated it for us in 1 Peter 1:16: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Apparently the Israelites and the early Christians knew what it meant. How do we apply that to our lives today, when we can’t even tell each other what it means?

We must be fallen much, much, much further from grace than we even begin to realize, when we don’t understand one of the most basic qualities the Lord possesses or what exactly that really means for us. No wonder we’re never driven to the ground in worship!

All of this was captured in a song performed by a contemporary Christian group who call themselves Addison Road. Their song went in part,

I guess I thought I had figured You out…

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be.

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees.

What do I know of You..?

What do I know?

What do I know of holy?

“What do I know of holy?”

I have to answer, apparently not much! That song, for me, seems to capture exactly what I can’t seem to figure out.

Back to our text here, I realize that, if I actually saw a vision of Jesus in His glory and of angels and Seraphim shouting “Holy, holy, holy!”, I’d probably be in a terror too. In a sense I’m being too hard on myself, expecting to respond in faith to what I can’t see with my eyes. However, we walk by faith and not by sight. I don’t want to excuse myself simply because I don’t see something with my eyes. Faith should lift us above physical sight.

It is possible all of this is just a kindness of the Lord – to hide from us what we are not ready to see. However, if these are things He does want us to see (by faith), then may He open our eyes. I wish I could cry out, “Holy, holy, holy!” and really know intimately what it means. I wish there was some sense of being overwhelmed by His presence. It bothers me that I see these things in the Bible, but fear I know little of them in reality.

Well, there it is. All questions. No answers.

This is exactly why I study the Bible. I want to be set free. Maybe as I study on in Daniel, He will answer some of these questions. It is literally a thrill when He does!

In the meantime, it is wonderful to know what (little) I do know of Him, to know His grace and kindness, to know Jesus went to the Cross for me and you, to know He cares and that even our questions are part of whatever it is He’s doing in our lives. “My heart is secure, I will have no fear; in the end I will look in triumph on my foes!” (Ps. 112:8).

Study on. “Lead on, O King eternal!”

Daniel 10:14,15 “The Wonder”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days. ¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

Notice in v.14 that the angel tells Daniel, “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.” Reading that verse over and over and thinking about it, I am afraid it is true that, in a sense, I’ve grown to the place where I take prophecy for granted. What I mean is, stop and realize – this angel is saying he’s going to tell Daniel things that will happen in the future.

Things that haven’t happened yet. Involving people who haven’t even been born yet. In the future. Now remember that angels are not omniscient. They live in time and space just like you and me. They do not, in and of themselves, know the future anymore than you and me. So how can this angel tell Daniel “what will happen in the future?” Well, obviously, God told him. And how does God know? Because He is the eternal I AM. He knows no past, present, or future. He exists above time in an eternal NOW.

That is totally beyond our comprehension. He created time and space for us to live in, so it is all we know. We exist in a world where we (might) remember the past, we are here in the present, but we have no clue what will happen in the next ten seconds, much less in thousands of years! However, God does.

The wonder of all that is what I am afraid I’ve come to take for granted. I pick up my Bible and read prophecies and just say, “Oh.” I forget that prophecy is impossible for anyone or anything in the universe – except our Lord! For myself, I just want to stop and praise Him, worship Him. He truly is our great God! “For thus saith the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, ‘I dwell in a high and holy place – and with him who is poor and of a contrite spirit…’” (Isa. 57:15).

It would probably be enough for our feeble souls to stop there, but there is more – so much more! Remember that, just like angels in the beginning, and just like Adam and Eve, every single human being is created with the dignity of choice. All day every day you and I are making choices. Will I go here or will I go there? Will I respond graciously to that guy or punch him in the face? Will I vote for this one or that one? Will I be faithful to my wife or let my heart (and eyes) wander? Will I turn right or left? Just think about it – even now, right now at this minute, if in fact there are eight billion people on earth, you have eight billion intelligent, capable creatures making choices – seemingly totally independent choices. Some of those choices are irrelevant to you and me and some will be momentous.

We don’t know what they’re all choosing, yet the Lord can tell us exactly what will happen in the future. On the one hand, as we said above, that’s because He simply knows. He exists in an eternal present, high above us ants scurrying around our tiny anthills. However, then note, it isn’t just that He knows. It is also true it will all work out perfectly according to His plan. People think, because they have this power of choice, that they are the masters of their own destiny. They may be choosing – and that sometimes good and sometimes bad – yet they are not the masters. God is. Regardless of how they choose, this world will end up exactly where the Lord intends it to go.

Once again, this is totally beyond our understanding, but think of what a wonder it is! At the same time, our God can grant to us the dignity of complete freedom to be constantly choosing, yet, no matter what choices we make, we’ll all end up exactly where He wants us. No doubt, non-believers will scoff and chafe at such truth, but those of us who do believe can actually take that as both an honor and a comfort! That dignity of choice is an enormous honor He bestows on us, but then, knowing what an idiot I am, I can take great comfort in knowing my destiny is ever in His hands! “They (or I) might mean it for evil, but God means it for good.” “All things (including my bad choices!) work together for good.”

Are not the Jewish people (“your people” – the focus of this angel’s words!) the case in point? Their track record, sadly, has been to make bad choices ever since the Lord led them out of Egypt. If ever there was a people who seemed to completely frustrate God’s plans, is it not them? Yet prophecy is still prophecy and the Lord assures us, “And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written…” (Romans 11:26). “As it is written…” It was their choice whether or not to worship that golden calf. It was their choice whether to go into Canaan and conquer or turn away in fear. It was their choice whether to truly study God’s Word and understand the times. Because they did not, they didn’t even recognize their own Messiah and instead murdered Him! It was all their choice – and yet the Lord can still tell Daniel “what will happen to your people in the end times.”

Of course, not one of us has any room to criticize the Jewish people. We are no better. We just didn’t get our bad choices written down in the Bible for people to read about for literally centuries!

I don’t know about you, but sitting here pondering these things, I definitely think I’ve let my heart grow too accustomed to the wonder of prophecy and our great God who provided it to us. I’m going to try, every time I read or think of prophecies to pause and worship God that, while He grants us the dignity of making our own choices all day every day, even the course of human events (and my life), regardless of how we (I) choose, always has been, still is, and always will be in His wise, just, and gracious hands!

 

Daniel 10: 14 “My People”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days.

I think just a few miscellaneous observations from these verses and I will have to (reluctantly) move on. As you can see above, the literal translation from the Hebrew doesn’t seem to make much sense in English. However, the NIV translates it fairly consistently with everyone else, reading, “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.”

From the last post, don’t forget our angel friend here. Why is he here? Because he is a servant of the Most High God. He has literally been sent straight from heaven to express the Lord’s grace to this redeemed sinner on earth named Daniel. What a thrill and a joy would that be for you or me? Then realize this angel is a thinking, intelligent, responsible being just like you. God loves this Daniel and so does this angel. What a joy it must be for him just to get to do this!

Notice here too, the text is telling us exactly why the angel is here – to explain to Daniel the future of his people Israel. Back in v.2, people surmise all the reasons why Daniel was praying. However, the angel specifically says, “Since the day you set your mind to understand…your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” Regardless of whatever else was going on, obviously, what Daniel was praying about was the future of the Jewish people.

For us gray heads, that should come as no surprise. Remember Daniel is probably around 90 years old. He knows his time is short, and what weighs heavily on his soon departing heart? The future of his people. And, my gray headed friend, what fills your mind and prayers these days? Is it not your family? Is it not the longing of your heart to know that each one will know the Lord and live a blessed life? You want to know, “What will happen to my people.” I’m quite sure that is true of all believers in all ages, for Daniel and for us.

I would also suggest part of what drives that concern is seeing things which are not as we would wish. Remember Daniel’s prayer from chapter 9? In verse 11 there he observed, “All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.” It had to be a grief to him that Cyrus had granted the decree for them to return to Israel, yet relatively few did. Also, being such a godly man himself, it had to break his heart to see what looked to him like a general disregard for God amongst his people.

Back to us gray heads, I’m guessing your world and mine aren’t much different. Like Daniel, we’ve been praying for our families not just a few years but decades. No doubt we see many great blessings but also great concerns. “What will happen to my family in years to come?” we wonder. I would suggest we can take great encouragement from the fact that the Lord can send an angel to Daniel and tell him exactly “what will happen to his people in years to come.” The Lord already knows and He has it completely under control. And here is my thought for each of us, though we may die with many unanswered prayers, we will be leaving that family in the hands of the infinitely kind prayer-hearing God.

Just knowing that should encourage us, but then, for me personally, I read so many times in the Bible verses like:

Deut. 7:9 – Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Psalm 102:28 – The children of Your servants will live in Your presence; their descendants will be established before You.”

Psalm 103:17 – But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children.

Psalm 112:1,2 – Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…His children will be mighty in the land; the offspring of the upright will be blessed.

I know the Lord also says, “I will have mercy on whom I’ll have mercy,” and salvation is totally His sovereign choice, but I read so many verses like the above from cover to cover in the Bible and try to tell myself, “If words mean anything, are not those verses assuring me of God’s blessing on my family – even if it must come to pass long after I lie moldering in my grave?” And I believe the same is true of you. If the blood of Jesus has made you clean, then you are clean, and you may breathe your last breath is complete assurance of the Lord’s kind care of your family.

While I’m at it, if we read ahead, what we will find is that the plan for Daniel’s people sadly will involve a lot of pain. In the end, he dies assured the Lord is totally in control and will do good to his people. However, having said that, I am quite sure it is a kindness of the Lord that He doesn’t tell you and me how He’ll get our families to the place of blessing. Although our sun rises and sets on our children and their families, each one is still a sinner, and, unfortunately for most of us, one of the only ways the Lord can get our attention is to put us through a lot of pain. Let’s just say I like the end of the story for what the Lord has planned for my family, but I’m glad I don’t know what all it will take for Him to save them, then to train them in holiness. I like the Lord’s promises, but I think I’ll leave the details to Him!

Us grayheads can leave this world, knowing “my people” are firmly in God’s hands!

Daniel 10: 12-14 “Joining”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day which you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in [response to] your words. ¹³And the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty-one days and behold, Michael, one of the princes of the first ones, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days.

Another observation I want to think on: As I’ve noted before, and as it is particularly revealed in the book of Daniel, the whole Bible, from cover to cover, is full of angels, and what are they doing? Serving God. How familiar are the angel’s words, “I have come to…” “I have been sent to…” We see this even in our Hebrews 1 passage, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (v.14).

“Sent.” Think about this: Does God need angels? If He wants to, cannot He Himself just speak directly to people? Did He need an angel to carry this message to Daniel? Why send an angel? Why not just go straight to Daniel Himself? If the evil prince of Persia wants to oppose the Lord’s good purposes, does He need angels or even Michael to go and fight him? Remember in Rev. 12:7, where “there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” Does the infinite, omnipotent God of the universe need anyone to fight Satan and his demons for Him?

Obviously, the Lord doesn’t need anyone to do anything for Him. Yet, how many angels did He create? Remember from Rev. 5:11, “…thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand”? That math of 10,000x10,000 yields one hundred million, yet even that is only an ancient way to express “innumerable.” Truth be known, there are probably literally billions of angels.

If the Lord wants to “minister” and to “serve those who will inherit salvation,” is He not quite able to do it Himself? Yet, He created an innumerable company of angels and tasked them with the job! Think specifically about this angel speaking to Daniel. He appears to Daniel and says, “Your prayer was answered and I am come…the prince of Persia resisted me…Michael helped me…I am come to make you understand…” This one single angel gets to do, at every step, what God could have easily done Himself. Yet he gets to do it.

Is that not quite a wonder? Is it not an amazing grace of our Lord that He would allow this angel to do His work for Him? Remember, this angel is very much like you and me. He is a thinking, caring, real, live person! What a precious privilege it must be for him to be the one selected to go on this mission, to be the one sent to appear to Daniel, to answer his prayer, to deliver amazing prophecies – and that on behalf of the God of the universe! Then remember, he isn’t just one. There are probably billions! Billions – and at this very moment, every single one of them is somewhere in the service of God, doing for Him what He could easily do Himself!

Why would the Lord do this? Realize He gains nothing by it. He is infinite. He doesn’t get tired. He cannot be overloaded. Is there really not only one explanation? Is it not love? Is it not just one more expression of His great big kind heart to create all these angels and then actually let them join Him in His amazing eternal plans, especially in His great Plan of Redemption?

Observing our angel friends, what can you and I learn? Cannot we realize first of all what a privilege and honor it is for us to be allowed to serve God? This angel carries a message to Daniel, so Daniel can be used of God to write it down and bless us! Jesus said to His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you” (John 20:21). In another place, He told them, “I no longer call you servants…Instead, I have called you friends” (John 15:15). I would suggest there is an undercurrent of thought in our world that serving God is an onerous business, that He is a demanding taskmaster, that it is all about what you have to “give up.”

Observing our angel friends, can we not all say to such thoughts, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” It is an almost inexpressible grace that the King of the Universe would allow you and me to be counted as servants of the Most High God! In our prayers every morning, should we not thank Him that today He will actually allow me to live my life here on earth entirely in His service? In His service, it matters every thought I let cross my mind, every opportunity to show grace and love to others, every opportunity to actually live Jesus in my little corner of this very large, very cold, cruel world? Angels exist to show us grace. It’s then our privilege to do the same for others!

Then, somehow, we all need to think hard about this business of letting others join us. To be honest, even as I type these words, I’m not sure where this is going. It’s just there and I suspect it has profound implications for your life and mine. Memories cross my mind of girls and women saying how their mothers and grandmothers “wouldn’t let me in the kitchen.” Those girls got married and only then had to learn how to cook. I think of older men who were very possessive of their jobs and wouldn’t let younger men help them. Those kind of older men wouldn’t teach younger men how to do what they do, for fear of being “replaced.” Then we’re all keenly aware how it’s always so much easier to “just do it myself.”

However, in thinking and acting like that, are we being like Jesus? Are we being like God? Why did Jesus call twelve disciples? Was He Himself not the God of the universe, the Creator? Did He need them to help Him save the world? Obviously not, yet He drew them in, taught them, sent them, and granted to them the great honor to be His servants, His friends, to join Him in His great work of redemption!

How much do we as parents and grandparents let the kids help us? Of course, sometimes they simply aren’t interested, but what if they are? What if it takes three times as long to do it if we include them? What if it simply won’t be as “nice” if we let their little inexperienced hands do some of the work? What does all of this mean for us when we feel like “it just isn’t worth it”? Do we not need to step back and ask ourselves what really is godliness in those moments? What does it really mean to “be like Jesus?”

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve wandered into a corner of God’s truth I’ve never thought much about before. That usually means I need to just start trying to live it, ask the Lord to help me, then see where it takes me. I guess I should start by inviting you to join me!

Really, the entire created universe is all about God letting others join Him, whether angels or people, or even creation itself – “The heavens declare the glory of God!” (Ps. 19:1). The difference for us and angels is that, back to the last post, it’s our choice. It’s our choice whether we want to be His servants, then it’s our choice if we’ll be like Him and let others join us.

Wow. A lot to think about!

 

Daniel 10: 12-14 “Choice”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day which you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in [response to] your words. ¹³And the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty-one days and behold, Michael, one of the princes of the first ones, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days.

Just some more random observations: Another thing we have in common with angels is choice. Cows give milk because that is what they were created to do. Dogs wag their tails and lions roar. Why? Because that is what they were created to do. Why do angels serve God? It is because they have chosen to. Like people, they were created perfect, but somehow back in the beginning they had to make a choice. Ezekiel tells us of Satan, “You were the model of perfection…you were appointed as a guardian cherub…you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you…your heart became proud…so I threw you to the earth…” (28:12-17). We take from Revelation 12:4,9 that he took one third of the angels with him.

What is significant here is that one third of the angels chose to follow Satan and become demons, but two thirds of them chose to stay faithful to God. The ones who chose to stay are now called “holy angels” in many places throughout the Bible, and from this (and a lot of other references), the traditional understanding of Christians has been that the good angels are “confirmed in holiness,” while the bad ones are “confirmed in evil.” In other words, they made their choice and now the dye is set.

One interesting observation is that, in Isaiah 14:14, Satan in his pride said, “I will make myself like the Most High.” On the other hand, the name Michael means “Who is like God?” Satan aspires to be like God, Michael just throws up his hands and says, “Nope. Ain’t happenin,” and spends his eternity serving and worshiping the Lord. In the human realm, there are what the book of Proverbs calls “fools.” Those are people who (like Satan) can’t accept that they aren’t God and “despise wisdom and instruction.” Then there are the “wise.” Those are the people who “fear” God, which comes down to they’ve figured out He runs the universe and they’ve decided to be happy about it. Everyone else falls into the category of “simple ones.” The name itself comes from the idea of a door swinging on its hinges. They haven’t decided yet which way to go, so they tend to just follow whoever seems to have the loudest voice. Michael settled it in his heart. It’s up to you and me to make sure we’ve settled it in ours. Mi-cha-el? Who [is] like God?

Once again, I’m amazed how much we have in common with angels. If we’re going to be found in the category of the “wise,” we need to learn from our angel friends. Do you want to be confirmed in holiness? In other words, do you wish you were free of sin? Do you wish the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (love of pleasures, possessions, and applause) held no sway over you and that your only desire was to do right, to please God, and to walk with Him? Yes or no? It is your choice. The angels already made theirs. What is yours?

Pardon me if I run on too long here, but these questions run far deeper than first meets the eye. Once again, why do cows moo? Because that’s what they were created to do. Why do angels and people do right? Because that’s what they’ve made the choice to do. It is an amazing expression of God’s infinite grace that He has given to you and me (and angels) the freedom of choice. We first see it in the Bible with Adam and Eve. God did not create angels or people to just do right like a cow mooing. It is an enormous dignity that the Lord granted to us to let us choose. The down-side of this freedom is its eternal consequences – heaven or hell forever – but still it is our choice. In heaven forever, there will not be one single angel or person who is there against their will.

As you and I live our lives and although we can’t see them (usually), we are surrounded by angels who’ve made their choice to serve God and now they are forever “confirmed in holiness.” They do no wrong because they have no desire to do wrong, but again, not stupidly like a cow, but because there was a time when they decided that’s who they wanted to be. For you and me, even after we come to know the Lord, we, like the Apostle Paul (Romans 7), still have this awful sin nature always pulling us toward evil. Like a fish who can’t resist the worm, we again and again find ourselves with Satan’s hooks in our mouths.

However, if you’re a born-again Christian, you, like Paul, hate it. You long to be free. When the Lord finally calls you home, He won’t have to ask which you choose, yes? You’ve already made your choice, right? If the Lord was to appear to you right now and ask, “Do you want Me to confirm you in holiness? Would you like to never even desire evil again?” you couldn’t say, “Yes!” fast enough, right? So, when He does confirm you in holiness, then for all eternity, you won’t be doing right stupidly like a cow, but because that was your choice – just like your angel friends! God granted to us both the dignity of choice and, in His amazing wisdom, as it turns out, that will be our dignity for all eternity – it was our choice.

I wish I could speak more to this matter of dignity and choice, as it relates to how we treat others. I know people today want to make a big deal about a woman’s “right to choose,” but of course that is a massive lie. The fact is, the woman already made her choice. What she is now dealing with are the consequences of the choice she made. No one on earth has the right to decide for that baby whether it wants to live or die. To steal that dignity of choice from any human (even as an embryo) is precisely what we call murder. So that mirage of “choice” is not what we’re talking about.

However, do you and I grant to others the same freedom of choice that God does? We’re not prone to, and I think that is largely because we’re so keenly aware that choices have consequences. Just like with Adam and Eve, to give a human being the freedom of choice, by definition, grants them the freedom to choose badly and suffer for it – but, do you see, that is their choice? Of course, what we humans don’t see is that when we choose what we will do or believe, we are automatically choosing the consequences as well. You and I see the consequences coming and wish we could somehow make people choose well, but we can’t. We can’t make them. That is a dignity that God granted to them and, at some point, you and I just have to step back and let the Lord deal with people’s hearts. Sometimes sadly, it is their choice. How this all impacts parenting is enormous, but far too big a subject to delve into here.

Back to our text, for both us and the angels, God gives us the dignity of choice. It is worthwhile, I think, to note that, for them, it was a “one and done” deal. They were created perfect and already in heaven. They made their choice there and I suspect that is why it was “one and done.” As for us, ever since since Adam, we are born sinners, blind to even the spiritual world swirling around us. God grants us the choice as well. He says to us as He did through Joshua, “Choose you this day whom you will serve…” (24:15), and through Paul, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

For us, that choice, in itself is “one and done.” “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47). For we who believe, He can say of us that we are “sanctified (made holy) once and for all by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:10,14). To be born-again, is itself a “one and done” decision. However, in God’s eternal wisdom, He allows us to retain these awful sin natures as long as we live in this fallen world. Unlike the angels, we somehow are allowed to glorify God as we spend a lifetime fighting that awful sin nature, and, having started as lost sinners, yet passionately desiring to have what the angels have: Confirmed holiness.

Out of all God’s creation, we and angels have in common this dignity that He granted us, to love Him, to serve Him, to do right before Him – because we want to. It is our choice…or not. Here is this angel speaking to Daniel, and, although as an angel, this one is confirmed in holiness, yet he is here speaking graciously to this other created being named Daniel – a man who also has made his choice, yet is still struggling to live that out. I don’t know about you, but I find that massively encouraging – to realize how much we have in common with angels, that though we are totally different creatures in God’s universe, yet we share this dignity – that we love Him because we want to. Like you, I wish today He would just confirm me in holiness and free me from my sinful self – so I could be like an angel. However, I have to accept that this is His wisdom, to leave me to struggle and somehow uniquely glorify Him in it.

Someday the struggle will be over, but I’ve already made my choice. So I struggle on, love Him through the battle, and look forward to that day when “this corruptible will take on incorruption!”

We will…someday. As Juba said to Maximus, “We will…but not yet.”

 

Daniel 10: 12-14 “The Battle”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day which you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in [response to] your words. ¹³And the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty-one days and behold, Michael, one of the princes of the first ones, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days.

Just some random thoughts that arise from this passage: So how many angels are there? Interesting that John observed in Rev. 8:11, “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand…” Our pastor once read this passage in church and my wife quickly did the math and showed me: 10,000x10,000=100,000,000. One hundred million! Now, my understanding from ancient history is that they used this expression not to be precise, but simply to communicate that the number was innumerable. No matter how you look at it, there are a LOT of angels! That’s certainly encouraging if their job is to help us!

There is another passage in Revelation that might answer the question of “Then how many demons are there?” In 12:4, it says of the great red dragon, “His tail swept a third of stars out of the sky and flung them to earth.” People have long understood this to mean, when Satan fell, one-third of all the angels followed him – and became demons. If that is the case, we could conclude two things: 1) There are a LOT of them too, but 2) There are only half as many of them as there are of good angels. As Elijah told his servant, “More are they that are for us than those who are against us” (II Kings 6:16). So, in fact, we really are in very great danger, but for those who would put their trust in the Lord, He’s provided us with ample protection.

I notice too there in Revelation 12, John tells us, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven” (vv.7,8). In chapter 12, the dragon (Satan) is clearly bent on destroying Israel and through them, the Messiah to come – “he pursued the woman (Israel) who had given birth to the male child (Jesus)” (v.13). No wonder then that we find there Michael (Israel’s heavenly prince) fighting on behalf of the people of Israel.

What is curious about that to me is the idea of “war in heaven” or, even back in our passage, the angel saying that the prince of Persia “resisted me twenty-one days.” What is war in a spiritual world where no one gets killed? From our passage in Daniel, I could argue it is a war of influence – a “war” of both angels and demons somehow trying to direct the decisions particularly of the leaders of Persia. Along with the prince of Persia resisting the angel, he says, “I was detained there with the kings of Persia” (v.13). That can be translated different ways, but it would make perfect sense to me, especially since he calls them “kings,” not “princes,” that he is now talking about the kings over all the various kingdoms which together made up Persia.

As the ancient kings would conquer various nations, they would appoint kings as local rulers, though they all served under the king of Persia himself. So, if it were a war of influence, the “war” would be a matter of whether those kings do good or evil. That would be sort of easy to envision, but then back in Revelation 10, remember John said “There was war in heaven…” I don’t think the idea of simply “influence” would fit there. So, if it’s not influence, then I don’t know what it means and maybe it is simply something we cannot understand.

Regardless, all of that feeds into our understanding of Eph. 6:11,12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God…” Once again, Daniel would help us to look beyond this physical world and see the great spiritual battle that is raging unseen all around us. And not only is it raging around us, it’s all about us! Our world is being swayed left and right, particularly as the leaders, but also each of us as individuals makes minute to minute decisions of what we will believe and what we will do.

On the international scene, case in point right now is the conflict between Israel and Iran. Notably, Iran is ancient Persia – which means that same “prince of Persia,” that demon who 2,500 years ago fought against Daniel’s angel and Michael, is still at it. He hates “the woman” and stirs the evil leaders of the Middle East to constantly try to drive the Jewish people “into the sea.” All of those hate groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, and the nation of Iran itself are being driven by demons. On the other hand, who with eyes to see, hasn’t noticed the Lord’s supernatural protection over Israel? The Iranians shoot their missiles by the hundreds at Israel and almost none of them even make it. In our world, Israel calls it their “iron dome,” some kind of very effective missile defense system, but with eyes of faith, we know the real “iron dome” over Israel is Michael and his angels.

Close to home, we are two days away from a Presidential election which, in my opinion, is massively impacted by that great spiritual battle. I do not doubt that there is an evil “prince of America” whose only goal is to destroy our country and ultimately to kill Christians and to turn this country against Israel. On the other hand, we have our own “Michael,” some mighty archangel who is fighting for us. In my opinion, this will be the final blow – either good or evil will win, and with it, our destiny as a nation will be determined.

Realizing all of this, what are we to do? Back in Ephesians 6, we are to do exactly what Daniel did when praying for his people: “Put on the full armor of God…and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (vv.11-18). Like Daniel, our first concern should be our own spiritual lives. We should realize it is infinitely important that each of us as believers should be sincerely seeking to grow in faith, to live the life of love God calls us to, to live our faith not only at church on Sunday morning, but all day every day at home, at work, and in our community. Then as we would be seeking holiness in our own hearts, we should be lifting up our world and praying for the Lord’s intervention, for the success of the angels who are fighting for us.

I will certainly go vote on Tuesday, but I don’t believe our votes are accurately counted anymore, so, even with my vote, I realize the best thing I can do is pray. I pray a lot these days for two things – for “the peace of Jerusalem” and that the Lord would empower the good prince of America and give him and his angels the victory over the forces of evil, that He might frustrate those who try to manipulate the votes or in any way sway the America people to support evil.

How will it turn out? The Lord already knows. However, He invites us to pray and I believe our prayers here in time actually do sway His activities in eternity. Just like Daniel, we need to keep praying even as the Lord unfolds His great eternal plan. Who knows? Obviously, our world is right now in a seeming free fall of evil, straight towards the Great Tribulation and the Antichrist. However, could He grant a parenthesis of sorts? Could He turn back evil for two or three generations and let my children and grandchildren. and even great grandchildren grow up in the same America we used to be – a nation under God? What a wonderful thing it would be if our prayers strengthened His angels and America was once again “a city on a hill,” which could actually lead the whole world into one last great revival?

I certainly want to pray to that end. Probably by the time you read this, the election and perhaps America itself will be history. If that happens, I will be very disappointed, but we believers can go on, by faith seeing the real battle, the spiritual battle that is behind the events of this world, and we’ll keep on praying and seeking to do our part to support the Lord’s good intentions for the people around us. Even as the angels fight for good all around us, you and I can actually join them by seeking to live holy lives and lifting up it all in our prayers.

No matter what, “the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

Daniel 10: 12-14 “Ordered”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day which you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in [response to] your words. ¹³And the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty-one days and behold, Michael, one of the princes of the first ones, came to help me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days.

These few verses are filled with food for our faith! Occasionally in the Bible, the Lord draws back the curtain so to speak, to allow us some knowledge of what goes on in heaven and in the spirit world around us. Sooner or later we need to pause and study such passages precisely because the Lord wouldn’t tell us if He didn’t want us to know. Clearly, He does want us to be aware of that spirit world, what goes on, and how it might affect us. These truths are enormously significant to us because they are things we cannot possibly know unless He reveals them. Without them, we would be left like the lost world around us to simply surmise and guess what is going on.

I would suggest we are all actually at least faintly aware that there is, in fact, “something going on.” People talk about karma, imagine their dead relatives stay with them, tell ghost stories, create horror movies, and just generally acknowledge in a thousand different ways, that there is or at least could be a spirit world swirling around us and potentially affecting us for good and/or for evil. For those of us who believe the Bible, we don’t have to guess. Granted we must believe these things almost entirely by faith, but, for us, that is no hindrance. Faith – believing God’s Word – is for us the blood in our veins. It is our life.

However, we are still naturally ignorant of these things until we do read and study them in our Bibles. That is precisely why I have anticipated Daniel chapter 10 for years – longing to look deeply into these things and try to learn all that God would teach me – at least all I can understand at my present level of maturity. I’ve already recorded several observations related to angels, but there is so much more.

This passage begins once again with the angel’s grace, “Do not be afraid, Daniel…” He says in v.13, “I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future…” The angel’s mission is to give Daniel these prophecies. I wonder if, when he says, “Do not be afraid, Daniel,” if that isn’t personal? In other words, probably the Lord didn’t say to the angel, “Go and tell Daniel he’s greatly favored and tell him not to be afraid.” He was sent to relate the prophecies, but, because he is also an intelligent, thinking, caring person, those introductory remarks are actually expressions of his own graciousness.

Just like the Lord, the angel loves Daniel. We can even say he likes him. That moves him to point out that Daniel is greatly loved, then he can’t help but notice how terrified Daniel is, and so seeks to comfort him. Graciousness – one of the great blessings God gave to us created beings – something to share with one another – and that whether it’s people to people or, in this case, from an angel to one of us!

Then we learn a valuable lesson about prayer. “Since the first day you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard.” Daniel kept up these prayers for three whole weeks. Did he then finally “break through” and were his words finally heard? No. “From the first day…” There’s no “breaking through” with God. Jesus already did that for us. The Lord hears every word we pray to Him.

What then about this problem of “unanswered prayer.” There is no such thing. In the case before us, we actually learn why Daniel’s prayers seemed to go “unanswered” for three whole weeks. There was something going on in that unseen spirit world! “The prince of Persia resisted me for twenty-one days…” Evil is very real and, unfortunately, compared to us and even to angels, very powerful. Somehow, there were spiritual issues that had to be overcome before the angel could relate the prophecies to Daniel. At this point, we don’t even have to understand what they were, only that they were very real. In this world, you and I may never know why our prayers seem to go unanswered, but we can rest assured they are heard. There may be issues going on of which we simply are ignorant. That is why Jesus told us, “Men ought always to pray and not give up!” (Luke 18:1).

Then notice two things we see. The angel says to Daniel, “I have come,” and “the prince of Persia resisted me twenty-one days.” Angels, being created beings, live in time and space, just like you and me. The angel was in heaven, now he’s on earth. He had to be “sent” from one place to the other. Angels are not omnipresent like God. They are like us – they can only be in one place at a time, and in order to move from one place to another takes time! Obviously, angels don’t “age” like us, but still note that they live in time. Time passes for them just like us. In Revelation 8:1, John tells us, “There was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” The spirit world lives in time and space just like us.

I find it interesting to observe that God alone is infinite. All of His created universe, both seen and unseen, is made up of finite creatures who, almost by definition, can only be in one place at a time, and live in time. God created time and space for us to live in. He alone is the eternal I AM. Maturity would teach us that all references in the Bible to time and space are for our benefit. All expressions of past, present, and future are God speaking to us in words we can understand, while He Himself dwells above it all. He Himself lives in some kind of eternal present. He knows no past, present, future. He knows all things at the same time.

Even expressions as important as predestination and foreknowledge need to be understood as speaking to us in our language – not His! As we would struggle sometimes to understand God’s doings, maturity would remind us that so much of what we think we know, we interpret as beings who live in time and space, while we’re dealing with matters concerning Him who is infinite. There is no doubt often a point where we need to just “clap our hands over our mouth” and stop “darkening counsel without knowledge” (Job 42:3).

However, back here in our created world, let us note again that angels also live in time and space, just like us. Although our angel was sent to answer Daniel, it took him at least twenty-one days to get there. And why again? He says, “The prince of Persia resisted me.” People have argued for centuries over who is this “prince of Persia.” However, I think this is one of those places where the old rule applies – “If the plain sense makes good sense, why make any other sense?” This prince of Persia is some kind of demon specifically assigned to promote evil and thwart God’s plans for the nation of Persia.

Our angel tells us that, though he was resisted the twenty-one days, he was assisted by another angel named Michael, whom he calls “one of the chief princes.” In the New Testament, Michael is called an archangel (Jude 9). Back in Daniel 10, on ahead in v.21, the angel describes Michael as “your prince.” The “your” is plural, which is then explained in 12:1, where he is described as “the great prince who protects your people.” Michael is an archangel of God, specifically assigned to protect the Jewish people. That’s why to Daniel he is “your (plural) prince.” He’s not Daniel’s personal guardian angel, but the guardian of all the Jewish people.

For me personally, it is no stretch at all to believe the Lord assigns specific angels or archangels to protect all nations. He is a God of order. His name “the Lord of Hosts” is a military name, itself implying order. It would be totally unlike Him to create millions of angels then just leave them wandering around the universe, hoping to do someone good. The very fact that Michael is an archangel and called literally “one of the princes of the first ones,” all supports the idea that the Lord has ordered His angels, assigned each one responsibilities, and even as I type, they are all busily doing their jobs – ultimately seeking good for us people, especially us believers. “Ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.”

That said, it is also no stretch to understand that Satan, being a copy-cat, has done the same with his demons. You can be sure his “hosts” are not nearly as well organized or committed as God’s angels, yet, if God assigns Michael to protect the Jewish people, and from this passage we learn there is an evil “prince of Persia” and another evil “prince of Greece,” then the picture which emerges is that every nation has a demon assigned to do evil and destroy it, while also an angel (or archangel) assigned to promote God’s purposes of good.

That would really explain the verse, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!” (Ps. 33:12). The nations of the world actually have powerful demons assigned to promote evil and destroy them. That means that, without the Lord, we are all sitting ducks! Us frail, blind, powerless humans literally “don’t have a prayer,” except the Lord protects us – and (which we learn from this passage) that He does so through His angels. No doubt, how much power (and success) He grants to His angels depends directly on the spiritual level of each nation. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” and, for all the rest? Toast.

There is much, much more to observe just in these verses and similar references throughout the Bible. However, this morning, I’d better stop and come back to this subject again tomorrow, Lord willing.

 

Daniel 10: 7-11 “Precious”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. ⁸And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words, and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward. ¹⁰And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands, ¹¹and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the this, I stood up trembling.

One more thought I want to record from this passage. It arises from thoughts written down by Matthew Henry some 200 years ago. Notice when the angel appears and speaks to the trembling Daniel, what is the first thing he says? “Daniel, you who are highly favored…” That is the same thing Gabriel said back in 9:23 and it will be repeated for the third time in 10:19. Considering this word translated here, “highly favored,” I noted regarding 9:23, “That gets translated many ways: greatly loved, of great value, very precious, etc. As usual in ancient languages, it is a picture word, so it is hard to pin down with a single word in English. In their usual effort to express that word’s picture, the Amplified Bible stretches it out to “for you are highly regarded and greatly beloved.”

In the NT, when Gabriel appears to Mary, he says the same thing to her: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). There in Luke, it is expressed in Greek and means something like, “One who is the object of grace.”

Back in Hebrew, the word is used many times in the Old Testament, in many different ways, but always expressing something of great value or greatly loved. For instance, in Ezra 8:27, it is expressed “precious as gold.” I like that. “Precious” is in my mind perhaps the best single word we can use in English to express its meaning. The idea as “lovely” is expressed in the Song of Solomon 4:7, where one describes the other as “altogether lovely.” Ezekiel’s wife was called “the delight of his eyes.” When the Lord spoke to Moses in Exodus 33, He told him, “You have found grace in My eyes and I know you by name” vv.12&17).

Basically, the angel(s) are telling Daniel, “You are precious.” What an amazingly gracious, encouraging thing to say to someone! I am still just floored by seeing this quality in angels. I probably keep repeating myself, but, once again, I’m realizing that angels are actually like us – they are intelligent, thinking, observing, communicating beings, except that they are pure and holy and absolutely sinless. When they stand next to us and watch what we do, hear what we say and probably even what we think, how can they not be utterly repulsed? How can they not be completely disgusted to see how we abuse God’s grace and act more like demons than anything?

Yet they appear and say, “You are precious.” Someone may inject here, “But this is Daniel. He is an exceptional believer. That’s why he’s ‘precious.’” Don’t let your heart run that direction. In the presence of God and His angels, that is like comparing two piles of cow manure. We are all children of Adam with desperately wicked hearts. “Comparing ourselves with ourselves, we become unwise.” No. Remember Jesus is the model. All of us fall short of His glory and need grace from God to be saved. Remember, the angels see us through their (sinless) eyes – not ours.

…And yet they greet us and tell us we’re precious! Hmmmm. Somehow, in my mind, it is one thing to talk about God’s grace. Somehow I’ve come to understand or in some way actually accept that God is gracious to us, in Christ, but to see that same grace coming from angels is another thing. Somehow, I think to myself, “Of course God loves us. He’s our Creator,” but then what about angels?   Why should they love us?

Wouldn’t we rather expect them to act like the elder brother? Why should they be anything less than disgusted at us prodigals, watching how we’ve hurt the Father and abused His love and kindness? But they aren’t. In fact, what did Jesus say? “…there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). What is happening here? Is it not that angels are gracious, just like God, just like Jesus. They are gracious.

How that should challenge you and me! I not only have a God and Savior who sees this sinner through the eyes of grace – but I am also right now at this minute surrounded by other intelligent beings, just like me, who see me and know me, and yet they too see me through the eyes of grace! And how do I see the people around me, the people next to me? Do I see them through eyes of grace? No wonder Jesus said that to love God and love people fulfills all the commands! In that alone we join not only Him, but His angels as well!

How much do you and I communicate to other people that they are “precious?” Maybe we’re sincerely trying, but what about when they’re failing? What about when we see them sinning and abusing God’s grace? Do our words still communicate to them, “You are precious!” Angels’ do.

I hope it’s true that I am deeply convicted by all of this. I want to love everyone, yet I fear too often my love and grace easily changes to criticism in my heart, if not in my words, when someone isn’t all they should be. God forgive me. Your angels never stop loving me. Why should I ever stop loving these other sinners like me?

My mother often says to us her family, “You are precious to me.” I need to take a cue from her and from God’s angels and do a better job communicating that to others. Can I not suggest we all need to do better? If our lost world only sees us Christians as critical and judgmental, is it any wonder “our witness” doesn’t seem to be doing any good? Shouldn’t Jesus’ church be the one place people can turn to find love and grace? Well, I can’t change the rest of the world, but I can pray, “God change me.” God help us all be more like Jesus…and more like His angels and go out into our worlds today to say to people in a thousand different ways, “You are precious.”

Daniel 10: 7-11 “Angels”

 Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. ⁸And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words, and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward. ¹⁰And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands, ¹¹and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the this, I stood up trembling.

Before leaving these verses, we should note that Daniel chapters 10,11, and 12 contain some of the most informative accounts of angels in the entire Bible, along with the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. I have long anticipated getting to this section of the book precisely for this reason. I want to learn all I can from God’s Word about angels and the spirit world around us, particularly because, as we definitely see in this book, all of that is profoundly affecting us here on earth. The very fact that the Lord has chosen to reveal these things to us means He wants us to know it, and then to know how to maturely integrate that knowledge into our daily lives and our relationship with Him.

There will be much to learn as we study through these chapters, but, concerning angels, I’d like to record some thoughts which I have gathered in my studies to this point. It particularly amazes me to realize how much they are like us. As the angels told John in Rev. 19:10 and 22:9, “I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers…” They are “fellow servants.” As you or I would stand in the presence of God, let us realize we actually are standing beside angels.

We learned in 8:16 that they have names. There Daniel heard the Lord calling to Gabriel and addressing him by his name, just like Jesus when, on the Damascus Road, He called to the man who would become our Apostle Paul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9:4). We see that angels are real, intelligent beings who are, like us, each one an individual with a specific name. Back in chapter 8, when Daniel met Gabriel, he says of him, he was “one who looked like a man.” Certainly from Ezekiel and Revelation, we are aware that there are some pretty bizarre looking “angels” in heaven, particularly the cherubim and the seraphim, and there is no way to know if Gabriel actually does “look like a man,” or if he just appeared that way in order to communicate with Daniel. On the other hand, maybe there are angels that actually do “look like us.” Perhaps they were created specifically for this task of appearing to us humans – so as not to totally terrify us when they do! That is pure speculation, of course, but certainly fun to think about!

We also learn from this passage (and many others, of course) that angels speak. Dogs bark, horses whinny, cows moo, lions roar, but angels and people speak. Angels are fellow beings who are clearly intelligent and who possess the power to communicate their thoughts, just like us. Out of all of God’s creation, it is us and the angels who possess this power. Here on earth, we may be “the only ones,” but in God’s great creation, there are others – the angels. Though we usually cannot see or hear them, let us be constantly reminded they are there – and they are thinking and would no doubt have much to say, if only they were allowed to speak with us at this time.

Along that same line, I’m reminded of I Peter 1:12, speaking of the Gospel, where it says, “…Even angels long to look into these things.” So, along with the ability to think and speak like us, they are also curious – like us. People often say, “When we get to heaven, we’ll understand everything.” I don’t think so. Angels don’t “understand everything.” Why would we. Actually what that tells us is that even in heaven, intelligent thinking beings (us and angels) will still be learning. That should actually be very encouraging, I think. Isn’t it fun to learn? I love to learn. I think most people do. How great that, in heaven, instead of instantly “understanding everything,” we can go on learning for all eternity? We can, like angels, be curious forever!

It is also interesting to note that, like us, angels can only be in one place at one time. It’s actually very familiar for them to say to someone, as this angel does to Daniel, “for I have been sent to you.” We’ll see this again several times in these chapters, but it is interesting to me to realize that even angels can only be in one place at a time, and even that somehow they, like us, live in time. I’ll leave that one to observe later, but we should note that God alone inhabits eternity. God alone is omnipresent and lives above time and space. Somehow angels have to live in time and space – like us.

There will be much, much more to learn about angels as we study on through these last three chapters of Daniel, however, I want to end by pointing out again the one thing that amazes me the most – their grace. It just amazes me to think they are pure, holy, good beings who can stand (even at this very moment) in the presence of God Himself, and you would think when they come here they’d find us utterly repulsive in all our sinfulness and stubbornness and rebellion. As I’ve suggested before, maybe to them we even stink! Yet, see with what grace they treat us. “A hand touched me,” Daniel says. The angel tells Daniel, just like Gabriel did, that he is “highly favored.” And their entire purpose even being here in this fallen, broken, sin-blackened world is to be “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14).

You and I have to learn to be gracious to those who might to us be naturally repulsive. Jesus loved prostitutes and tax-collectors and “sinners.” So do angels, and so should you and I. Angels are just like us in so many ways. We need to let them encourage us to be gracious – like them!

 

 

Daniel 10: 7-11 “Grace”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. ⁸And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words, and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward. ¹⁰And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands, ¹¹and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the this, I stood up trembling.

There is so much more to observe in these verses! Here are some more thoughts, not necessarily in any order. In v.8, I’ve translated the Hebrew to say, “And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength.” Notice the “my glory was turned to corruption.” The phrase is a bit tricky to translate as the Hebrew words have a very wide range of meaning. The old KJV translated it, “All my comeliness became corruption,” while the NIV translates it “my face turned deathly pale.”

I’m not at all persuaded that Daniel is referring to his appearance, as in “my face turned deathly pale.” I say that for at least two reasons. First of all, Daniel can’t see his face. Why would that particularly strike him? As he records the ways this vision profoundly affected him, I doubt “his appearance” would even come to his mind. The second reason is his age. Remember he’s somewhere around 90 years old. I’m sorry, but that is one of the effects of aging – to turn deathly pale! With young people and all their naturally vivacious color, when they’re sick or deeply frightened, there may be a very pronounced change in their countenance. They really can turn “deathly pale,” but I’m not so sure that’s true of us old folks. I seriously doubt there’s enough difference to even notice – and since Daniel probably wasn’t carrying around a mirror, again I doubt that his appearance was of any concern at all to him.

What would concern him about himself? As we noted earlier, this vision carries our Daniel into the presence of Jesus Himself and the pure holiness of heaven and angels. Frankly, I think the old KJV translators got it right: “All my comeliness became corruption.” Daniel would not be struck by the condition of his face, but rather of his soul! What he’s saying is that everything which perhaps had appeared to him noteworthy suddenly turns to ashes. Let’s stop and acknowledge that he was in fact a model believer. He was, by our standards, a truly faithful man. Although he clearly was not swallowed up by his pride, he had to be aware of his life and how it compared with others around him.

Suddenly he is in the presence of not a bunch of other (worse) sinners, but rather pure holiness. Whatever even he himself might have considered “comeliness” would be reduced to “corruption.” As Isaiah said, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). As Paul says, “Comparing themselves with themselves, they become unwise” (II Cor. 10:12). Even the very best of the best of us are still fallen sinners, desperately in need of grace. Only when Jesus “makes our lowly bodies like His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21) will we be able to stand unashamed in the presence of pure holiness. Until then, let Daniel remind us, we never come to God on the basis of what we perceive to be “our merits.” We can come boldly to Him, but we come “to obtain mercy and find grace to help…” (Heb. 4:16). Even if we could be as godly as Daniel, we still come to God on the basis of Jesus’ merits, not ours!

And what grace we see even here in these verses! While Daniel is crushed by the awareness of his own sinfulness, what does the angel tell him? The angel calls to him, “Daniel, you who are highly favored…!” This appellation will get repeated again in v. 19. I’ve noted before how the Babylonians tried to rename him Belshazzar, but even angels call him by his name Daniel! I’ve also noted how important it was for the angel to simply “touch” him. Touch itself can be an expression of grace and affection. I still marvel at the angels themselves. As we’re told in Hebrews 1:14, angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.” They are pure and holy. They surely can see how sinful we are, how we rebel against God and resist Him, how we fail constantly. I suggested before, I wonder if, to them, we even stink! Yet, what they show us is pure grace. “You who are highly favored…!”

Although we would rarely “see” angels, let us be reminded by this passage, they are always there, and they are very specifically and very deliberately expressions of God’s grace toward us. They are, like us, created beings with names, intelligent beings who think and observe, and who, as servants of the Most High God, are constantly trying to help us, strengthen us, protect us, and help us along the path of grace. Daniel would remind us, though we realize what failures we are, to focus not on ourselves and despair, but rather to embrace the Lord’s grace and accept that even His angels are actively seeking to help us live for Him.

Last thought for whatever it’s worth, beginning in v.10, I think the “hand that touched me” and the voice speaking to him is now an angel and not the Jesus of vv.5,6. Someone may object, “But it doesn’t say that.” The last voice Daniel was hearing was that of the Jesus vision. If we read, “and he said,” that surely refers back to Jesus. My answer would be, if we were writing in English, then, yes, that would be important to us to clearly distinguish between the words Jesus spoke to Daniel and then the shift to that of an angel. However, what we’re reading is not originally written in English but rather in Hebrew and this sort of thing happens all through the Bible, where the dialogue often shifts from one speaker to another with no notation that has happened.

As I have often noted, English is a very technical language. We love to line up all the facts, clearly present them in order, and make our case with what we think is all our very tight logic. Hebrew was none of that. It was a picture language, much more suited to verbal story-telling than to any idea at all of “presenting facts.” With Hebrew, it’s like “you had to be there.” To really understand, you have to let yourself get drawn into the story, listen to what the speaker is trying to relate to you, and then, for us modern American English speakers, lay aside our iron-clad determination to get “all the facts.” As they say, “It just ain’t there.”  In this passage, I am suggesting the shift occurs with the words, “A hand touched me…,” leading to “he said.” Who said? In Hebrew I’m suggesting it would be the person whose hand just touched him. One of them would probably say, “Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” We might say, “Not to us!,” to which they might respond, “Why do you have to be told every little fact? Don’t you have a brain?”

So, anyway, let’s let Daniel remind us again that all of our hope is in Jesus, that God is very real, that His angels are very real, and that, though we are sinners and too often miserable failures, we have been swallowed up by grace! Then let us, like Daniel, live that grace ourselves.

 

Daniel 10: 7-11 “Careful What We Wish For!”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses: 

⁷And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. ⁸And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words, and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward. ¹⁰And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands, ¹¹and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the this, I stood up trembling.

These verses are so full of practical jewels, it’s hard to zero in on any one of them! I think I’ll just dive in. No particular order – just the things I think I see and learn from the passage. First of all, and for whatever it’s worth – it’s interesting how Daniel records the response of the men who were with him. They didn’t see the vision, yet we’re told, “Such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.” The same thing happened to Saul of Tarsus when he met Jesus. We’re told, “The men traveling with Saul stood speechless; they heard the sound, but did not see anyone” (Acts 9:7).

In a sense, in both cases, the other men are witnesses. Someone could say of both Daniel and Saul, “Nothing really happened. They just made up their stories of these incredible visions.” Yet, how would anyone explain away these other men’s responses? Even though they didn’t hear or see the visions, in both cases they would all testify that “something happened.” I would bet, if you could ask them about it, they would all assert that whatever it was, it was something other-worldly, something supernatural.

You and I believe our Bibles, so we don’t need to be convinced the visions were true, yet, in both cases the Lord saw fit to confirm His truth with some witnesses.

That makes me wonder how often the same thing happens to us, whether we know it or not. What I mean is that, everywhere we go as believers, the Lord is doing His amazing supernatural work through us. I wonder how often someone else senses that supernatural presence, even if we were totally unaware of their reaction? I think we’ve all experienced that ourselves – where someone said something or did something and we just knew in our hearts it was way bigger than simply what we saw or heard. For those around us, could that be something the Lord is using to melt another person’s heart, to in some way “crack their armor,” to create even a tiny opening for grace to shine into their hearts?

He says He draws us with “the cords of His love.” Would that not be the effect both of these visions had on those around our friends? In the case before us, they knew Daniel and we can be sure they knew of his faith and his excellent character. Now add to that this “supernatural” experience and how do you suppose it affected them? Could it not have moved them to think seriously about this God of Daniel? May the Lord do the same in the hearts of people around us who need to know Him – in our case, even if we often don’t even realize just how much our Lord is up to.

Then we need to wade into the whole subject of how all of this affects Daniel. I think there is a part of all of us that would say, “I wish I could see angels. I wish I could see visions of heaven and what is going on in the spirit world around me.” Yet, as we’ve noted before, we’d better be careful what we wish for. Daniel has already recorded several visions in the first nine chapters and here we are in the tenth, and what has been his experience? Remember in 7:15 when he said, “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me,” then in v. 28, he concludes, “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

Then in chapter 8, the first time Gabriel appears to him, he says, “As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate,” (v.17) then he concludes, “I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days…I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.” The next time Gabriel appears to him in chapter 9, he doesn’t record such an adverse reaction, but here we are in chapter 10 and he’s telling us, “And I was left alone and I saw the great vision, and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I retained no strength…And as he spoke with me this message, I stood up trembling” (vv. 8,11).

As we said, perhaps we’d better be careful what we wish for! Maybe we should all count it a blessing our God doesn’t allow us to see into the spirit world! As we grow in our knowledge of the Lord, we learn to thank Him not only for the gifts He gives but also for those He withholds. There is a grace in receiving, but also in withholding, and it would seem this is one.

And why is that? Hmmmm. How easily we forget that we’re sinners! Oh, yeah. Although I am born again, I am still a child of Adam and always will be until Jesus Himself “transforms our lowly bodies so that they be like His glorious body!” (Phil. 3:21). I know I quickly forget that my heart is “desperately wicked and deceitful above all things,” (Jer. 17:9) and that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). Even our friend Daniel, as godly as he seems to us, is still one of us – born rebels, prone to wander, broken images of the people God created us to be.

Although it can be variously translated, in v. 8 of our passage Daniel says, upon seeing the vision of the glorified Jesus, “all my comeliness became corruption,” or “all my glory became corruption.” It isn’t just simple fear that drives Daniel to the ground. It is the sudden realization of his horrific sinfulness. Can we imagine what it must really be like as sinners to suddenly be in the presence of pure holiness? It isn’t even close, but I’m reminded of times where I was working outside getting very hot, dirty, and sweaty, then having to step into an office full of well-dressed pretty secretaries, men in office attire, the smell of the ladies’ perfumes, and spotlessly clean furniture and carpets. When I was outside, I didn’t notice how disgusting I was, but suddenly I did and I felt so completely out of place. I was quite happy to get back out into my dirty, stinky world!

That must be about one millionth the horror we would feel to suddenly be in the presence of holy angels! I would suggest that’s just another one of the Lord’s graces to us – not allowing us to really comprehend who we are. He probably allows us just enough of a sense of our sin to keep us humble (if we’ll let Him), but hides most of it, lest we be driven to despair. Thank God for Jesus! As the song says, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus…” “By His will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ…” (Heb. 10:10).

The day will come for all of us, either through our death or the Coming of Jesus, when “this robe of flesh we’ll drop and rise, to gain the everlasting prize.” It will be that day when “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:51,57). However, until then, it is a mercy of God that He doesn’t allow us to see the full enormity of this awful sinfulness, and He Himself chooses to see us through the blood of His Son – as “dearly loved children.”

Perhaps Daniel’s example would teach us to be thankful for what we don’t see with our eyes -- that our Father “knows our frame, that we are but dust,” and in mercy instead makes us live by faith and not sight! I believe Daniel does teach us to in fact “see” the spirit world, but then to be content that we must, in this world, see it by faith.

Let us then go forward in faith and see what else Daniel does teach us about that spirit world swirling around us, yet out of our sight!