Trinity Baptist Church

 

I'm speaking on the subject Angels and Demons. One of the most unusual and amazing chapters in the entire Bible to me is Daniel 10.

 

The year is 536 B.C., and Daniel, the great prophet of God and the great statesman, is beside the Tigris River. It may be a time when evidently Daniel is discouraged. He has been praying about a matter for three full weeks and there is no answer. 

 

We know that Daniel was a great man of prayer. When Daniel prayed, God answered his prayer. Yet here is an occasion in the life of this great man of God when he prays, and for three full weeks there is no answer from heaven. It seems as if the heavens are brass. There is no response from God in heaven. 

 

Have you ever prayed and it seems as if there is no answer? Have you ever prayed about a matter, some great burden upon your heart, some great need in your life, and it seems like the heavens are brass to you and God does not answer?

 

This is the situation that Daniel encounters on this particular occasion. Daniel may be a little bit discouraged. He's an old man at this time. He is probably somewhere between the ages of 85 and 90. 

 

Sometimes there's the tendency in old age for depression to begin to come. As you realize that most of your life is behind you instead of ahead of you, sometimes there is the tendency to get a little bit discouraged and depressed. 

I would suggest to you that there is another reason why Daniel is a little bit down on this occasion. Do you remember that the Lord had revealed to Daniel that the time was just about up for the captivity to end and that there would be a decree that the Jews would be allowed to go back and rebuild their capital city of Jerusalem? 

 

The time had come, but the response had been very, very disturbing. Only a small group of Jews were even interested in going back. The majority of them had adjusted to Babylon. They had become accustomed to the styles and the customs of Babylon. They had become used to life in a foreign land. When the opportunity came for them to go back to their homeland, back to the city of God, the response was very, very disheartening. 

 

It is a time of great need in the life of Daniel. God is going to do something in this chapter which is absolutely overwhelming.  God is going to reveal to us in this chapter some very interesting aspects of truth.

 

 

In these verses of Daniel, chapter 10, I want to lay before you first of all what I call the overwhelming vision. Daniel has a vision which is so overwhelming that though the men who were with him did not see the vision, there is such a quaking, such an astonishing development, that the Bible tells us these men, in verse 7, ran and they hid themselves. 

 

 

 

 

So overwhelming was the vision that Daniel experienced, the Bible says that his normal, natural color changed and that his countenance took on a deathly pallor, a deathly pale.

 

God gives to Daniel a remarkable vision, and the vision is given to us beginning in

 

verse 5. 

 

There is a difference of opinion on this, but I personally believe that this is what is known as an Old Testament theophany. 

 

In the Old Testament sometimes God would take human form. There would be a theophany, an appearance of God in human form. God has already done this. The Lord has already revealed Himself on at least two occasions in this book of Daniel. 

 

In Daniel, chapter 3, when the three Hebrew children went into the fiery furnace, the Bible says that when the king looked into that fiery furnace he didn't see three men, he saw four men and one of them was liken unto the Son of God. I believe that was a theophany. That was an appearance of the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ walking with them in the fire.

 

In chapter 7 of Daniel, he had a vision of the Ancient of Days upon the throne. I think that was another theophany, another pre-incarnate vision or revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

God is evidently giving to Daniel a pre-incarnate look at the Savior, the Son of God. 

 

You will notice this marvelous description given of Him in verses 5 and 6. When you read this description you are drawn to the first chapter of the book of the Revelation. In Revelation, chapter 1, after the incarnation of Jesus, His death, burial and resurrection, John, on the isle of Patmos, got this glorious vision of the Savior, the glorified Christ. 

 

Here, before the incarnation, the Lord gives to this old faithful man of God, this old faithful prophet, a vision of the Savior. Notice that it says His body was like beryl, that is like a crystallite, like a precious stone. 

 

We remember that the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was the virgin born body of our Lord. Everywhere you look in the Bible you will find reference to the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus. He was virgin born and He did not have a sinful nature. Here we have a picture of the body of the Lord.

 

It says the face of the Lord was like the appearance of lightning. I think about the face of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. None of us have seen the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we have descriptions in the Bible of how His face must have looked. Not that it is described for us in terms of its features, but it is described for us in terms of the impact of the face of Jesus.

 

One of the most familiar occasions about the face of the Lord is that night when Simon Peter denied the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that Simon Peter three times denied he even knew Jesus. The rooster began to crow, and the Bible says that the Lord turned and looked at Peter. 

 

If you think there was anger upon the face of the Lord, I believe you misunderstood it. When the Lord Jesus turned and looked at Simon Peter, I believe it was the look of wounded love. Simon Peter saw the love of the Savior on His face; and it broke his heart, and the Bible says he went out and he wept bitterly. 

 

Think about the face of the Lord when the crown of thorns was pressed down upon His head. Think about the face of the Lord as they slapped the face of our Savior. Think about that marvelous face of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible says that His face is like the appearance of lightning.

 

One of these days the Bible says we're going to see His face. The Bible teaches that you and I are going to be able to look upon the face of our wonderful Savior. Daniel saw a vision of the face of Jesus.

 

It says His eyes were as lamps of fire. That reminds us of the penetrating insight of Jesus. The eyes of the Lord are like fire. The Lord Jesus Christ looks right into our very heart. There is nothing hidden from the Lord. The Bible says that all things are open and naked before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Jesus sees us and He knows all about us. There is nothing hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

 

It says His arms and His feet were in color like polished brass. I think about the arms of the Lord. Sometimes those arms of the Lord would be extended and wrapped around the little children as He would bless them. The Bible says in the Old Testament underneath are the everlasting arms. You have a strong Savior and His everlasting arms are under you.

Then it talks about the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think about the marvelous feet of our Savior as He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. I think about the feet of our Lord as He went in and out of the homes of the people who had needs and problems and burdens. I think about those feet of the Lord Jesus Christ as they were driven through with a spike on the cross of Calvary.

 

Daniel saw a vision of the arms and feet of Jesus. Then it says that His words and His voice were like a voice of a multitude, the voice of a roaring. I think about the voice of the Lord and the words that Jesus spoke. Think of some of the things that Jesus said with His voice and some of the words that came from the lips of Jesus. 

 

On one occasion the Bible tells us that the officials sent some soldiers to arrest Jesus. I can almost picture it as those officials came to the edge of the crowd getting ready to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ, letting Him finish the message that He was giving on that occasion and when it was all over they went back to their superiors without Jesus and when they asked, "Why didn't you bring Him back?" they said, “Nobody ever talked like Jesus talked" Amen!   

 

Wouldn't you have liked to have heard Jesus teach? Wouldn't you have like to have heard the Sermon on the Mount? Wouldn't you have like to have heard the Son of God as He preached? Jesus never had to search for a text. The whole scroll of Scripture was wrapped up in His heart.

 

Daniel got a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was a vision that was filled with pictures of precious stones. 

Oh, the preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

First Peter 2, verse 7, says, "Unto you, therefore, who believe he is precious." That's what the King James says. A better translation is "Unto you who believe He is the preciousness." In other words, Jesus Christ is that which makes everything else precious. 

 

When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ you will find just how precious Jesus is and you will find that Jesus Christ meets every need of your life. He is perfectly suited to meet every need of your life. Whoever you are, whatever your circumstances are, Jesus Christ is perfectly able to meet that need. 

 

What you and I need in times of our discouragement, what you and I need to experience in our times of despair, is another vision of the Lord Jesus Christ and see Him in all of His magnitude and His glory. 

 

 

In verses 10 and following I want to show you one of the most amazing passages in all of the Word of God. 

 

verse 10

 

He was down on his face. 

 

That was always the response when people got into the presence of God. That's the way it was when Simon Peter got in the presence of the Lord and he said, "Depart from me. I'm a sinful man, O Lord." 

 

It's the way it was when Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the Damascus Road. The Bible says that he was smitten to the ground. It's the way Isaiah was when he was in the presence of the Lord. He said, "Woe is me. I am undone." 

 

Daniel is down on his face, but then the Bible says that a hand touched him and set him on his knees and upon the palms of his hands. 

 

Verse 11

 

He's in the presence of the spirit world. 

 

Verse 12

 

He's talking about Daniel's prayer three weeks ago. 

 

But look at verse 13-14

 

What God's getting ready to reveal to Daniel we will study in the eleventh and twelfth chapters, another vision of the future days.

 

verse 15

 

That is one of the most amazing scriptures in all of the Word of God. What we find here is that Daniel had been praying for 21 days. There had been no answer to that prayer, and now an angel of God comes to Daniel and says, "Daniel, 21 days ago I was on my way to give the answer to the prayer but the prince of Persia withstood me 21 days." 

 

Angels and Demons. We discover that there is a spirit world.   It is an unseen world.

 

There are some people who believe that there is no such thing as spirit beings. There are some people who believe there are no such things as angels and demons. They say that if you can't see it, it's not there. 

 

But the Bible teaches that there is this visible world and there is also a spirit world. Behind the scenes in this spirit world, activity is going on far beyond what normally people would understand. We learn from this experience of Daniel that in that spirit world there are forces that hinder and there are forces that help. There are demons and there are angels.

 

Of course, we know that demons are angels too, but the Bible says they are fallen angels. When Satan fell from heaven, the Bible says that one third of the angels fell with him and these fallen angels became what we call today demons. There are demons in the spirit world. 

 

We learn from this passage something unusual and amazing about these demons in the spirit world. We learn that these demons sometimes are involved in the nations of the world.

 

In Ephesians 6, verses 11 and 12, it says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood." In other words, our battle is not just against people we can see. "But against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." 

 

What an interesting verse of scripture. The indication here is that there are ranks of demons. He said that there are principalities. This may be a reference to the closest demonic associates of the devil. Then he says that there are not only principalities, but there are powers. This could be a reference to specific demonic powers that exercise influence behind the scenes over the leaders of the nations of the world.

 

What did Daniel see and hear? There was a demon who was a prince over the kingdom of Persia. These world leaders that we sometimes read about are just pawns on a chess board. The real power is behind the scenes.

 

I remember a number of years ago I was researching this whole subject of demons, and I ran into a rather fascinating aspect of it in terms of Adolph Hitler. It is a little known fact that the evidence is that Hitler was a member of a secret demonic society. There is strong evidence to believe that Hitler was influenced by demonic powers behind the scenes.

 

We believe today, behind the scenes, there may be these demonic powers, and they are working to do damage and are working to bring violence. How do you explain some of the violence that goes on in the world if you do not see beyond flesh and blood the demonic influences that are going on? There are forces that hinder in the heavenlies. There is a spiritual battle that is going on in the heavenly realm.

 

Daniel was told that the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood 21 days. We never know what's going on behind the scenes. 

 

You may be going through an experience in your life right now and you don't really understand everything that's involved in it. But there may be forces that work and spiritual battles that are going on that are far beyond your ability to realize and to understand. There are the forces that hinder, the devil and his angels.

 

In Revelation 12 there is another indication of this. In verse 7 it says, "And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels (the good angels) fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels (the devil and his demons)." Forces that hinder and forces that help.

 

We are told in verse 13 of Daniel 10 that there was a prince of the king of Persia, demons that hinder. In the twentieth verse Michael is told that he will return and then the prince of Greece would come, another demonic force. In verse 13, it says that Michael was one of the chief princes. Evidently there are ranks of angels as well. 

 

In the ninth chapter, verse 21, Daniel says, "Yea, while I was speaking prayer, even the man, Gabriel." There is an angel Gabriel and we know that the angel Gabriel came to Mary before Jesus was born and announced that Jesus was going to be born. There is Gabriel who is evidently an archangel. 

 

There is Michael, who is also an archangel, who evidently had a specific assignment for the nation of Israel. Behind the scenes there are not only forces that hinder, the devil and his demons, but behind the scenes there are forces that help, the angels of the Lord.   The Bible says that the angels of the Lord encamped round about them that trust Him.

Elisha was surrounded by the enemy on one occasion and his servant panicked. He said, "Master, what are we going to do?" Elisha said to the Lord, "Lord, open his eyes." When the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, he looked in those hills and he saw chariots of fire. The angels of the Lord were all around them.

 

You've got angels all around you. Keep in mind that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

 

The Bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. As we claim the shed blood of Jesus, Revelation 12, and as we use the Word of God like Jesus did in the temptation experience, and as we pray unto the Lord, the Bible has promised that you and I can have victory in the spiritual battles that we face. 

 

III. The Overwhelming Visit.

 

verse 16-20

 

For the third time the Lord came and touched Daniel. Daniel was overwhelmed with sorrow. He says in verse 16, "My sorrows are returned upon me and I retained no strength." 

 

I wonder if I speak to some hurting heart. You've been praying and battling with a spiritual need. You've been struggling with some problem in your life and your heart is overwhelmed and you are burdened and sorrow has engulfed you and there seems to be no solution. 

 

There is a God in heaven who can come and touch your life and meet whatever need may be in your life. 

 

When the Lord touched Daniel, Daniel said, "I was strengthened." There is strength in the name of the Lord. There is strength in Jesus Christ. You're going to make it. You're going to get through that problem.  

 

In God's due time, regardless of what may be going on in the spiritual realm, God's going to answer your prayer and God's going to meet your need. One of these days the Lord will touch your life, and when He does He'll strengthen you and He'll raise you up and He'll meet the deepest needs of your heart and your life.

 

Let's bow our heads and pray.