But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Daniel had mourned and prayed for three weeks before a heavenly messenger reached him. The messenger's first words explain the delay: a struggle between spiritual powers over the empire that then ruled the world.
The delay had nothing to do with whether God heard Daniel.
God heard Daniel's prayer on the first day that he poured out his soul before Him. Even so, the answer did not reach him for three weeks. The angel gives the reason for the delay. Spiritual forces were at work in opposition. For three weeks the prince of the kingdom of Persia had withstood the angel sent to answer Daniel's prayer.
God may hear a prayer long before the answer arrives. That is where the comfort of this passage lies.
So there were spiritual obstacles, not to Daniel's prayer, not to its being heard and granted, but to the answer reaching him. Here there is good encouragement. We are apt to suppose that our breath in prayer is wasted if the answer does not come at once. But exercise of heart in prayer is never fruitless, though the result may be long delayed. Cornelius was told, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God"; and we do not know how long he waited before God sent Peter to him with the answer — it may have been years (Acts 10). As in Daniel's case, so in Cornelius', and so in ours, there is a time as well as a way of answering, which rests in the wisdom and grace of God.
One writer argues from the situation itself that this "prince" cannot be the Persian king.
Of whom is the angel speaking? Not of a man, certainly; for how could the Persian ruler hinder an angel coming from heaven with an answer to the prophet's prayer? And would he be likely to know that the prophet had prayed at all? It is a mighty spirit the angel speaks of, a spirit that took an interest, for good or for evil, in the politics of the Persian State.
The wording of the verse gives a second argument, and with it a picture of how Satan organises his power.
First, notice that "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" is an angel. The same verse calls Michael "one of the chief princes," and Daniel 12 calls him "the great prince" in connection with Israel. On the authority of Jude, we know Michael is the archangel. If so, then since this "prince" of Persia acts here against the mind of God, he is a bad angel — in fact one of Satan's princes... It would seem, then, that Satan has imitated the kingdom of God, and formed his ranks of authority and power on the divine pattern.
Michael is named only a handful of times in Scripture, and always with one nation in view.
This distinguished angel is named five times in the Scriptures... He seems to be the leader of the angelic ranks, since Jude calls him "the archangel." In Daniel 10:13, where Michael is first named, he is called "first of the chief princes" (see margin). In each of the five passages where his name occurs, and in their contexts, the Jewish people are in question. Clearly he is the angel to whose guardian care the interests of Israel are committed.
The same writer takes this further, into the way history really works.
The contests between Persia and Babylon looked as though the generalship and arms of the famous Persian, Cyrus, decided them, but it was not really so. Higher and spiritual powers shape and direct the movements of nations, their wars, politics, and social policy. Of course all is under the wise, strong, and controlling hand of God. He is the supreme Arbiter in human life and history.
The verse ends not with the obstacle but with the reinforcement.
It is an encouragement to learn from this scripture that we are not left to ourselves. If Satan's prince was seeking to hinder the answer to Daniel's prayers, Michael, one of God's chief princes, came to help His messenger. And the angel was "left there with the kings of Persia," victorious, through Michael's help, over the wicked agent who had dared to thrust himself between God's command and its carrying out.
- Heard — God received Daniel's words the first day. The delay held up the answer, not the hearing.
- Hindered — the prince of Persia is a spiritual being set against God's work. No human king could block an angel, or even know that Daniel had prayed at all.
- Ranked — Satan copies God's order of authority, setting his own princes over kingdoms as God set Michael over Israel.
- Helped — Michael, one of the chief princes and the archangel, guards Israel's interests. He came to the messenger's aid.
- Held — prayer is never wasted breath. God sets the time and the way of the answer, and His hand moves nations from behind the scene.
And I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people at the end of the days for the vision is yet for [many] days.
Daniel had mourned and prayed for three weeks when a heavenly messenger reached him. In this verse the messenger says why he came: he names who the revelation is about, and how far off it lies.
The visit answers a prayer that had seemed to go unanswered for twenty-one days. Commentators read that gap as a real conflict in the unseen world. They also read it as a test Daniel passed by refusing to stop praying.
God makes the certainty of everything known to faith before He carries out His thoughts. But meanwhile we are shown the serious conflict going on unseen. This puts faith to the test. Daniel had to go on waiting, mourning, praying, spreading everything out before God. We see in him the perseverance of faith — praying always. And how his faith was rewarded! For when the angel does come, he makes this known at the command of the glorious One who had first appeared to Daniel. It was the prince of the kingdom of Persia who had withstood him twenty-one days; but Michael had come to his help.
The messenger says your people, not God's people. The same wording runs through the closing chapters of Daniel. It marks how God stood toward the nation at that moment.
From the first, one solemn fact is clear: the Jews are for the present Lo-ammi (not My people). God no longer addresses them through the prophet. They are called Daniel's people in Daniel 9:24, 10:14, 11:14 and 12:1, and God carries the distinct title "the God of the heavens" … Their state, their turning away to idols, made it impossible for Him, in His nature and majesty, to act at their head or among them as "the Lord of all the earth."
The messenger names his subject before the details come. That makes this verse a check on every reading of chapters 11 and 12.
Only people who have read widely know how much this chapter has suffered from men bringing their own ideas to explain it. The pope, of course, has been given a large place in it. And then the daring soldier of the early 1800s was found in it too: I mean, of course, Napoleon. In short, whenever something remarkable happens in the world, people try to find it in Daniel 11. Daniel 10:14 puts all such ideas to flight. "I came," says the angel, "to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision is for days yet to come." Nothing could be plainer. It stands like a title page to the prophecy. It shows that God's great thought for the earth is the Jewish people, and that the main design of this prophecy is what must happen to them in the latter days.
Much of what follows in chapters 11 and 12 has already happened. The weight of it, commentators say, still lies ahead.
As these messages go on, we find many events foretold that have already been fulfilled. But their importance lies in their link with the future, and in the way they lead up to the appearing of the Antichrist and the great tribulation of the last days.
Yet the end point named here is not disaster. Commentators take "the latter days" as reaching past the trouble to what God does after it.
The revealing angel declares (Daniel 10:14) that this vision refers to the Jew and to the latter day. He does not mean its starting point of sorrow and trial, of weakness and shame, but its bright end, when God will bless His people and His land with power and glory.
Verse 14 also settles whose trouble the last chapters describe. One writer follows the link from here into the Lord's own words in Matthew.
The whole prophecy is a description of what is to happen to Daniel's people in the last days, Daniel 10:14. Michael also (compare Daniel 10:21) will then stand up for that people. As Jeremiah had said, they will be delivered — that is, the elect remnant, those written in the book. Daniel's testimony, then, is quite clear. The tribulation is the tribulation of Daniel's people. But this matters all the more because it carries us straight to Matthew. There the Lord Himself declares that He speaks of this same time and same event. He uses Daniel's terms, names him, and points to the statements of the passage. Compare Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:11.
- Prayer — the answer took twenty-one days to reach Daniel. The delay tested his faith, and he kept waiting, mourning and praying.
- Purpose — the messenger says why he came: to make Daniel understand. The answer reaches the man who kept praying.
- People — the subject is "your people." They are Daniel's people, not God's own, while the nation stands as Lo-ammi, not My people.
- Period — "the latter days" is the target of the whole vision. Some of it is fulfilled along the way, but the end is the point: blessing for the people and the land.
- Protection — verse 14 names its subject in advance, so readings that plant the pope, Napoleon or today's headlines in Daniel 11 fall apart. The Lord Himself points back to Daniel when He speaks of the great tribulation.
And as he was speaking with me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
The messenger has just told Daniel what will happen to his people in the latter days. Those words flatten him — face to the ground, voice gone.
The verse ties Daniel's collapse to words spoken to him. One writer explains why the Lord let His servant be pushed past his own strength.
Daniel is once again overcome by what has been revealed to him about the conflicts in the spiritual world that concern his people... Though the human vessel was too weak in itself to speak the thoughts that rose in his heart, God's help was at hand. The vessel could barely carry the weight of what the vision held. In this way the Lord would teach His servant his complete weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness. So as soon as Daniel admitted that no strength was left in him, one having the appearance of a man touched him and strengthened him... The Lord expects nothing from us except that we look to Him, and even for that He will give the power. Who ever goes to war at his own expense? No — He who calls also equips and sustains, and the servant only has to learn how to use what is provided.
Being struck dumb here is not panic. Read alongside what follows in the chapter, the bowed face and the closed mouth are the posture of a man measuring himself against the One speaking to him.
These messages are so great, and the being who brings them so glorious, that Daniel is overcome. He feels his own unworthiness and helplessness. He bows his face low and cannot speak. But an angelic being in the likeness of a man holds him up and touches his lips. That gives him courage to speak, and to admit that the vision had filled him with sorrow, left him completely weak, with a sense of his own unworthiness to talk with this heavenly messenger.
The silence does not last. One writer starts from God's command to the prophet Ezekiel and finds the same pattern in Daniel.
The weakness of the instrument is recognised, and it calls out the Lord's might to sustain it. We see this at the start here: "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And not only that — the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while he lies face down. Lying there may rightly express that the creature is nothing in the presence of God, but it cannot fittingly express God's grace toward him. We see this all through the history of the prophets, clearly in Daniel, and again in John the beloved. God cannot speak His thoughts to someone lying in the dust before Him.
Why all this before God gives the message about the future? One commentator says a frightened heart cannot take it in — and he turns the point on the reader.
People cannot profit from prophecy until they are firmly settled in peace, until their hearts know the real source of strength. Here we see Daniel set on his feet, his mouth opened and his fears quieted, before the Lord can open out the future to him. Anxiety of spirit, the lack of settled peace, has more to do than people think with how little progress people make in understanding many parts of God's word. Daniel had to go through this scene to prepare him for what he was to learn, and we must go through it too, in our measure.
Daniel is not the only prophet who shook. Writing about Habakkuk, one commentator reads Daniel's experience as the road into God's thinking.
The same thing happened to him as had happened to Daniel. When Daniel saw this great vision he said, "my radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength" (Dan. 10:8). This is a necessary preparation for receiving prophecy and entering into the thoughts of God. That is why the angel had comforted Daniel: "O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage" (Dan. 10:19).
- Words crush. The message about his people in the latter days put Daniel's face on the ground and stopped his voice.
- Weakness is the lesson. The vessel could barely carry what it held. That was the point: Daniel had to learn that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.
- Silence is honest. His silence was real humility — a sense of his own unworthiness before a glorious messenger.
- God lifts before He speaks. God does not speak His thoughts to a man lying in the dust. He touches the lips, raises the man, and equips him for the service he is called to.
- Peace comes before prophecy. Fear and an unsettled heart block understanding of Scripture. God quieted Daniel and strengthened him, and then opened the future to him.
And behold, one after the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, My lord, by reason of the vision my pains are turned upon me, and I retain no strength.
A heavenly messenger has just told Daniel what will happen to his people in the days ahead. The weight of it has left him face down and speechless. Then a figure in human likeness touches his lips. The first thing Daniel says is not a question about the future. It is a confession about himself.
The silence before this verse is a collapse. Daniel has met more than a man can carry. The touch on his lips is what lifts him out of it.
Daniel is overwhelmed by the greatness of these messages given by such a glorious being. He feels his own unworthiness and helplessness. He bows his face in humility and is silent. He is, however, sustained by an angelic being in the likeness of a man who touches his lips. This gives him courage to speak. He admits that the vision had filled him with sorrow and left him with no strength at all. He felt unworthy to talk with this heavenly messenger.
The word behind "likeness" is worth a look. It is the word for a likeness or a representation:
demuth, 'likeness, representation.' 2 Chronicles 4:3; Daniel 10:16; Hosea 12:10.
This chapter has more than one helper. One opens Daniel's mouth here. Another comes afterwards and strengthens him.
Daniel learns that this wonderful being seen in his vision has come to make him understand the latter days. Daniel looked at the ground and became silent. Then one who looked like a man touched the prophet's lips, and another came and strengthened him.
Touching a prophet's mouth is not a one-off gesture in Scripture. But the same act does not always carry the same sense.
In the Old Testament the touch expresses God giving power to people. So it was with Isaiah (Isaiah 6:7), with Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:9), and with Daniel (Daniel 10:10, 16, 18). In Job's case the touch stands for the sending of personal trial (Job 1:11; Job 2:5).
Notice what the touch produces. It does not make Daniel strong. It makes him able to say out loud that he is not.
But if the human vessel was too weak in itself to speak the thoughts that rose in his heart, divine help was at hand… The vessel could hardly bear the strain of what the vision held. In this way the Lord would teach His servant his utter weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
The order matters. Daniel first admits that nothing is left in him. Only then does the second touch come, with strength and peace. See how little God asks — and how fully He equips the servant He calls.
This is very beautiful. It shows us that the Lord expects nothing from us except looking to Him, and even for that He will give the power. Strength, the sense of His love, calm, peace, and even double strength are all given to Daniel to fit him for the service he was called to. Who ever goes to war at his own expense? No one. He who calls also equips and sustains. The servant has only to learn how to use what is provided.
Notice what comes first. God does not pour prophecy into an anxious mind. He opens it to a settled one.
Until people are firmly settled in peace, and until their hearts know the real source of strength, they cannot profit from prophecy. Here we find Daniel set on his feet, his mouth opened and his fears quieted, before the Lord can open out the future to him. His heart must be at perfect peace in the strength of the Lord, and in the presence of his God.
The same holds for any reader who finds parts of Scripture closed.
An anxious spirit, a lack of settled peace, does more than people think to keep them from understanding many parts of God's word. It is not enough for a man to have life and the Spirit of God. The flesh must also be broken down, and there must be simple, peaceful resting in the Lord. Daniel must go through this scene to prepare him for what he is to learn, and so must we in our measure. We must know that same peace and strength in the Lord.
- Silence — The vision leaves Daniel face down and unable to speak. He feels his own unworthiness and helplessness before a glorious messenger.
- Touch — A hand in human likeness on his lips repeats what God did for Isaiah and Jeremiah. He gives power a man does not have.
- Confession — Daniel's first words own his sorrow and his total weakness. That is how the servant learns that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
- Strength — The strengthening comes only after Daniel admits he has nothing. The Lord who calls also equips, and He gives the power even to look to Him.
- Understanding — Feet steady, mouth open, fears quieted — then the Lord opens the future to him. Anxious hearts are slow readers of God's word.
And how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
Daniel has just heard what will happen to his people in the days to come, and the weight of it flattens him. His words raise a question every reader of such a vision must face: how can a creature of flesh talk with heaven at all?
Daniel's question is not modesty. He has seen who is speaking to him, and the comparison crushes him.
These messages come from such a glorious being that their greatness overwhelms Daniel. He feels his own unworthiness and powerlessness. He bows his face low and cannot speak. But an angelic being in the likeness of a man holds him up and touches his lips. This gives him courage to speak, and to own that the vision had filled him with sorrow and left him utterly weak, feeling unworthy to talk with this heavenly messenger.
Commentators differ on who this glorious person is. One writer calls him a heavenly messenger; another sees more than an angel.
Besides these angels, another appears on the scene: "a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist." Only Daniel sees him. The one described so grandly in verse 6 does not appear to have been a mere angel... I believe this is One who often appears in both New and Old Testament history — the Lord of glory Himself. He appears now as a man — as One who had the deepest sympathy with His servant on the earth.
Daniel is not under punishment. What happens to him happens to anyone brought near that glory.
Fallen man cannot stand in the presence of God. Even a saint falls down "in a deep sleep," or "as one dead" — whether Daniel in the Old Testament or John in the New. We know God as our Father, but we must never forget His supreme majesty as God.
Notice what is exposed. Nothing in Daniel's conduct is under review here.
Is not this all very striking? Each of these servants of God — Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel — declared their unfitness, and their sense of it, in the presence of the glory of God. Let me draw special attention to this one point. With each and all of them, it was never for a moment a question of what they had done, but of what they were. The glory of God told them this about themselves.
There is a further reason his strength fails him.
Even a beloved man and faithful saint of God must prove that all his past wisdom was of no use... Whatever the value of what a believer has learned, the past alone does not enable us to understand the new lesson of God. God Himself is necessary for this.
The loss of breath and strength has a purpose. It is a lesson the Lord is teaching His servant.
The vessel could barely bear the strain of what the vision held. In this way the Lord would teach His servant his utter weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness. As soon as Daniel owned that no more strength remained in him, one like the appearance of a man came again, touched him and strengthened him. This is beautiful. It shows us that the Lord expects nothing from us except looking to Him — and even for that He will give the power.
Daniel's admission of emptiness is not the end of the scene but the turn in it.
Again the angel touches him and gives him strength. He assures Daniel that he himself is greatly beloved and has no need to fear. He fills him with the peace of God and urges him to be strong. Daniel, having poured out his soul before God, has the peace of God poured into his heart. The result is that Daniel is strengthened and can say to the angel, "Let my lord speak; for you have strengthened me."
The strengthening is not simply comfort. Watch what it leads to.
Great things came to Daniel in vision, and "there remained no strength" in him. Words that he heard produced the same effect. Then a glorious one, who had spoken to him, touched him and strengthened him. This strengthening left Daniel ready to listen to more.
This is why humbling and understanding travel together in this chapter:
In reality all truth, if grasped in the heart, humbles us... Did we chasten ourselves more truly before God, we should soon have a larger understanding of His truth.
- Glory exposes. Standing near God showed not what Daniel had done, but what he was.
- Collapse is right. Fallen man cannot stand before God; even a saint goes down. Daniel's loss of breath is the honest reaction, not a failure.
- Confession opens. The strengthening comes only when he owns that nothing is left in him.
- Touch restores. In place of the sorrow he poured out, he receives strength, the assurance that he is loved, and peace.
- Strength serves. The renewal is not an end in itself; it makes him able to say "Let my lord speak" and to take in more truth than before.
Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me;
Daniel has just said that no strength is left in him. The answer is not a rebuke but a second touch. Three questions follow. Who is this figure "having the appearance of a man"? Why does the strength come only after Daniel is empty? And what is the strength for?
Daniel confesses he has nothing left. Only then does the touch come.
Daniel could hardly bear the weight of what the vision contained. In this way the Lord would teach His servant his utter weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness. So as soon as Daniel admitted that no strength was left in him, one like the appearance of a man touched him again and strengthened him. He told him he was greatly loved, that he should not fear, that peace was his, and that he should be strong — yes, strong. This is beautiful. It shows us that the Lord expects nothing from us except looking to Him, and even for that He will give the power. Strength, the sense of His love, calm, peace, and double strength are all given to Daniel to fit him for the service he was called to. He who calls also equips and sustains.
This same gesture runs through the Old Testament. It does not always carry the same meaning.
In the Old Testament the touch expresses God giving power to people, as with Isaiah (Isa. 6:7), Jeremiah (Jer. 1:9) and Daniel (Dan. 10:10, 16, 18). In Job's case it stands for the sending of personal trial (Job 1:11; Job 2:5).
Verse 6 describes the visitor in words close to the vision of Christ in Revelation 1. So is this an angel, or the Lord Himself? Commentators differ.
When angelic beings take a form visible to human eyes, they always appear as men. Yet something supernatural marks them, reminding the one who sees them of the presence of God. It was so on this occasion, and the description in verse 6 reminds us of John's description of his Lord in Revelation 1:14-15. Yet the angel here was not the Lord, as verse 13, we think, makes plain.
Others see more than a resemblance:
The man who appeared to Daniel on the banks of the river Hiddekel (Tigris) was the Lord. Compare Revelation 1, where John saw Him in a vision of glory. Daniel saw Him before He became man. John saw the same One after His resurrection, in His glorified humanity.
The strengthening happens while a conflict is going on in the unseen world.
In the angelic world there was also "the prince of Grecia," as verse 20 shows. Yet despite these hostile powers God's messenger had come to Daniel. He lifted him up and strengthened him to receive the message God was now sending him. Conflict in the angelic realm still had to take place with the princes of Persia and Grecia — Greece was the empire that would soon overthrow the Persian empire. But the teaching of this humble and devoted servant of God came first, even before that.
The touch does more than put Daniel back on his feet. It quiets his fears — and that comes before any word about the future.
People cannot profit from prophecy until they are firmly settled in peace, until their hearts know the real source of strength. Here we find Daniel set on his feet, his mouth opened, his fears hushed, before the Lord can open out the future to him. His heart must be in perfect peace in the strength of the Lord, and in the presence of his God. An anxious spirit, a lack of settled peace, has more to do than people think with how little progress they make in understanding many parts of God's word.
What Daniel pours out in prayer, he receives back in a different form:
The angel touches him again and gives him strength. He assures him that he himself is greatly loved and has no need to fear. He fills him with the peace of God and urges him to be strong. Daniel, having poured out his soul before God, has the peace of God poured into his heart (see Phil. 4:6-7).
- Emptied. Daniel's strength had to fail before the second touch came. God was teaching him that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
- Touched. The touch is the Old Testament sign of God handing power to a man — the same gesture used with Isaiah and Jeremiah.
- Strengthened. God's messenger reached Daniel despite hostile powers in the unseen world. Teaching one humble servant came before that conflict.
- Disputed. Who touched him? Commentators differ. Some say an angel; others say the Lord Himself, since verse 6 echoes the vision of Christ in Revelation 1.
- Settled. With strength came the word "fear not" and the gift of peace. Only a heart at peace can take in what prophecy says about the future.
and he said, Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And as he was speaking with me I was strengthened, and I said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.
Daniel has just collapsed under a vision too heavy for him, drained of strength and unable to speak. Now a hand touches him a second time. Before any prophecy comes, he first receives a name — greatly loved — with peace and a call to be strong.
The order in the chapter matters. One writer turns that order into a rule for every reader of prophecy.
People cannot profit from prophecy until they are fully settled in peace, and until their hearts know the real source of strength. Here we find Daniel set upon his feet, his mouth opened, his fears hushed, before the Lord can open out the future to him.
The same writer applies this to daily life. A restless heart is a poor student of God's word.
A troubled spirit, a heart without settled peace, holds people back more than they think. It explains much of the little progress they make in understanding many parts of God's word. It is not enough for a person to have life and the Spirit of God. There must also be a breaking down of the flesh, and a simple, peaceful rest in the Lord.
Daniel had said he had no strength left. One writer treats that confession as the very thing God was working toward, and shows how fast the answer came.
The vessel could barely bear the strain of what the vision held. In this way the Lord would teach His servant his utter weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness. So as soon as Daniel owned that no strength remained in him, "again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me."
The verse hands Daniel four things and asks nothing of him but attention. One writer counts them and draws out who supplies them.
This is very beautiful. It shows us that the Lord expects nothing from us except looking to Him, and even for that He will give the power. Strength, the sense of His love, calm, peace, yes, and double strength — He gives them all to Daniel, to fit him for the service He called him to. Who ever goes to war at his own expense? No; He who calls, equips.
This is the second time in the chapter Daniel hears the title, and its weight is personal rather than official. One writer stops on how near it brings God to a man lying face down on the ground.
How near the Lord comes to him, as He says to him, "O Daniel, man greatly loved!" What a touching way to address him. He entered into the sense of how deeply the Lord loved him. The sense of the love of God is deep joy to the soul.
Daniel had already poured out his soul before God. A commentator names what came back in return.
Again the angel touches him and gives him strength. He assures Daniel that he himself is greatly loved and has no need to fear. He fills him with the peace of God and urges him to be strong. Daniel, having poured out his soul before God, has the peace of God poured into his heart (see Phil. 4:6-7). The result is that Daniel is strengthened and can say to the angel, "Let my lord speak; for you have strengthened me."
The strength given is not for action but for hearing. Daniel's reply at the end of the verse marks the turn.
When great things were revealed to Daniel in vision "there remained no strength" in him (Dan. 10:8). Words that he heard produced the same effect (verse 17). Then a glorious one, who had spoken to him, touched him and strengthened him (verse 18). The result of this strengthening was that Daniel was prepared to listen to further unfoldings. He said: "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me" (verse 19).
From here the prophet says almost nothing more. As one writer observes, "from this point Daniel becomes a listener" — and what follows is the long revelation of chapters 11 and 12, given before the messenger returns to his own conflict.
- Emptied. Daniel admits he has no strength left. Help arrives at that exact point. The Lord was teaching him his utter weakness, so that he might learn that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
- Beloved. Before instruction comes affection. God calls him greatly loved, and the sense of the love of God is deep joy to the soul.
- At peace. Having poured out his soul before God, Daniel has the peace of God poured into his heart.
- Strengthened twice. Strength, the sense of His love, calm, peace, and double strength all come from God, to fit Daniel for his service. He who calls, equips.
- Then hearing. Only a settled, strengthened heart can take in prophecy. A restless heart explains more of our slow progress in God's word than people think.
And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.
Daniel has mourned and prayed for three weeks, and now the messenger who reaches him explains why he must leave: he is going back into a fight. He names two opponents, "the prince of Persia" and "the prince of Greece" — but who are they, and why must an angel of God fight them?
The messenger asks Daniel, "Do you know why I have come to you?" He came to teach him first. The fight could wait.
In the angelic world there was also 'the prince of Greece', as verse 20 shows. But these hostile powers did not stop the messenger of God. He came to Daniel, lifted him up, and strengthened him to receive the message that God was now sending him. Conflict in the angelic realm still had to take place with the princes of Persia and Greece — and Greece was the empire that would soon overthrow Persia. Yet the instruction of this humble and devoted servant of God came first, in time, even before that.
The wording rules out reading these "princes" as kings or generals.
Of whom is the angel speaking? Not of a man. How could the Persian ruler hinder an angel coming from heaven with an answer to the prophet's prayer? How would he even know that the prophet had prayed at all? The angel speaks of a mighty spirit — a spirit that took an interest, for good or for evil, in the affairs of the Persian monarchy... It is impossible to bring men into such a passage. The angel is speaking of movements and counter-movements in the spirit world.
This chapter names princes on both sides. Michael is "one of the chief princes." The prince of Persia works against God's purpose. Dennett draws out what that tells us about evil.
The "prince" of Persia is an angel, and here he acts against the mind of God. So he is a bad angel — in fact, one of Satan's princes. This helps us understand something we often find in the New Testament: there are good principalities and powers (Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16; Col. 2:10; 1 Peter 3:22), and bad principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Eph. 6:12). It seems, then, that Satan has copied the kingdom of God, and formed his own ranks of power on God's model.
Dennett reads the prince of Greece in the same way. He also explains why Persia was the enemy at that moment.
If the prince of Persia means a Satanic angel, so does the prince of Greece. We are not told why he will appear, except that we know it must be in hostility to God's people. It is easy to see why "the prince of Persia" was so hostile. Persia was the kingdom in power at this moment, so it held the people of God captive. Satan's prince was at work in it. Apart from any natural reasons, Persia would be the enemy of Daniel and his people, however tolerant its rule was. Persia had an interest in keeping them under its power. Remember this, and you can better understand why the angel had to fight.
Daniel 6 tells how Daniel's enemies plotted against him and how King Darius favoured him. This chapter shows what was moving underneath that story.
In Daniel 6 we have the outward history: in Daniel 10 and Daniel 11:1 we see the spiritual conflict behind the history. We now learn that the hostility of Daniel's enemies came from spiritual wickedness working behind the scenes. In the same way, the favour Darius showed to Daniel was the result of God's angelic messenger confirming and strengthening the king. Neither Daniel's enemies nor his friends knew that these spiritual beings were at work.
Mawson applies the verse beyond the ancient empires, to the upheavals of his own day.
We believe there is more in the present upheaval in the world than the wickedness and ambition of godless men. Spiritual powers are working behind the scenes — the principalities and powers in the heavenly places that rule this world's darkness (Eph. 6:12)... We read in the prophecy of Daniel of "the Prince of Persia" and "the Prince of Greece." These were great spiritual powers. They controlled and gave energy to those world empires in ancient days. We are convinced that such powers are growing more active in world affairs in our time.
- Behind Persia. The "prince of Persia" is a spirit, not a king. No human ruler could block an angel carrying an answer to prayer.
- Behind the throne. Daniel 6 looks like ordinary court politics. A spiritual conflict was running underneath it, and neither side saw it.
- Behind the empires. The angel names Greece before it rises. The same hidden opposition carries over from one world power to the next.
- Behind the delay. Persia held God's people captive. That is why its prince fought the messenger so hard.
- Ahead of the fight. The angel teaches Daniel first, then returns to the battle. God's servant gets his message before the war goes on.