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.