INTRODUCTION
This will be the last vision given to Daniel. These last three chapters
will take us from the Grecian Empire to the Roman Empire.
This chapter will introduce us to the visions that depict the rise and future of these kingdoms in the following chapter.
This final vision Daniel recieved takes place about two years after the vision found in Chapter 9.
DANIEL AND HIS PRAYERFUL FAST
The prophet Daniel is now a very aged man.
God is going to allow Daniel to see the future of Israel that will be heart-breaking.
The vision will allow him to see the end of Judaism.
Perhaps another sadness for Daniel to face was the fact that the work on the temple had stopped.
Dan. 10:1-3 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a
thing was revealed unto Daniel,
whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, even a great
warfare: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks. I
ate no pleasant
bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint
myself
at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
As we can see, this is taking place on the 24th day of the first month.This follows the time of the Feast of unleavened bread which arrives immediately after the Passover.
The Passover speaks of salvation through blood, the Feast of unleavened bread portrays the holy life that should follow salvation.
During this time the Jews abstained from meat and ate only unleavened bread for one week.
Daniel extended the time to 3 weeks.
The date in this first verse is very significant. The vision came to Daniel in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia.
This time would be about 536 B.C.
This is the time the prophet Jeremiah prophesied that the seventy year of captivity was to be finished.
The seventy years concludes at this time. To Daniel is seems nothing was happening.
The Jews showed no signs of leaving Babylon.
Only a smaall remnant, returned and worked on the temple. The Jews that returned were frustrated, by the vigorous opposition coming from the Samaritans
Daniel knew that God wanted his people to return and rebuild the temple and the city.
Daniel is found in mourning and is very sad. Cyrus was permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem, yet the rebuilding is not going well.
No doubt this saddened Daniel.
Daniel was deeply concerned about this matter.
Cyrus the king of Persia had dispatched orders to rebuild the temple. Unfortunately the people were not as industrious and fervent as they should have been completeing their tasks.
Oposition came from the Samaritans and the other enemies of the Jews.
Ezra 1:1-2 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
that the word of Jehovah by
the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all
his
kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king
of Persia,
All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me;
and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Ezra 4:4-5 Then the people of the land weakened the hands
of the people of Judah,
and troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against
them, to frustrate
their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign
of Darius
king of Persia.
The temple that was being rebuilt would be desecrated and finally destroyed. The desecration would take place under Antiochus Epiphanes IV and the final destruction would be made by the Romans under the command of Titus in 70 A.D.
God sends a figure that will reveal these "last things", to Daniel to seal and write down.
Dome believe this figure to be the one seen walking in the fire with the three Hebrew boys.
Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking
in the midst of the
fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son
of the gods.
The figure is described in very symbolic detail. Many students of the Bible believe that the figure was Christ Jesus. The description given of this individual seems similiar to the one given by the Apostle John on Patmos.
Daniel, was by the Tigris river called Hiddekel.
Gen. 2:10-14 and a river went out of Eden to water the garden;
and from thence it was
parted, and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon: that
is it
which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
and the
gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
And the name
of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole
land of
Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth
in front
of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
John was exiled on the island of Patmos, centuries later, bothof these faithful men were praying.
God opened up the invisible spiritual kingdom and they were able to
see the very one to whom they had
been speaking in prayer.
Daniel could now see him his eyes were opened.
Daniel and John saw the world of spiritual beings and this great figure whose eyes were like flames and whose face shone like the sun in its strength.
Another similar caccount is given concerning Elisha the prophet to the Northern Kingdom.
II Kings 6:15-17 And when the servant of the man of God
was risen early, and
gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round
about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master!
how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not; for they that
are with us are more than they that are with them. And Elisha
prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he
may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man; and he
saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha.
Elisha the prophet, and his servant were in the city of Dothan.
The Syrian King was very angry with Elisha.
The king dispatched a great army by night, Elisha slept, and the enemy surrounded the city.
In the morning the servant of Elisha woke and saw the army of Syria circling the city.
The servant came Elisha and called for him to look outside. Elisha saw the armies of the Syria around the city.
The servant cried, What will we do? Elisha said, "Don't worry. Those who are with us are far more than those who are with them."
The servant said, "What do you mean? There's no one here with us. We're all alone in the city."
Elisha prayed, "Lord, open this young man's eyes." Tthe Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire.
He understood Elisha meant what he said, "They who are with us are more than they who are with them,"
Daniel was allowed to see in the spiritual realm and the one to whom he prayed.
In the next two verses there is recorded something very similar to the experience of the Apostle John.
Rev. 1:12-20 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.
And having turned
I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks
one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. And his
head
and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were
as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if
it had been
refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
And he had
in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged
sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I
saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me,
saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living
one; and I was dead,
and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of
Hades.
Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are,
and the
things which shall come to pass hereafter; the mystery of the
seven stars which
thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven
stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks
are seven
churches.
Dan. 10:4-6 And in the four and twentieth day of the first
month, as I was by the side
of the great river, which is Hiddekel, I lifted up mine eyes, and
looked, and,
behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold
of Uphaz:
his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning,
and
his eyes as flaming torches, and his arms and his feet like unto burnished
brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
This vision given Daniel will be seen and made known only to him.
The men that were with Daniel did not see the vision.
Dan. 10:7-9 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision;
for the men that were with me saw
not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, and they fled to hide
themselves. So I was left alone, and saw this great vision,
and there
remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into
corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice
of his words;
and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I fallen into a deep
sleep
on my face, with my face toward the ground.
Although they could not see what Daniel was given they knew something was going on that terrified them
The men left in haste and hid themselves leaving Daniel alone. The vision and encounter that Daniel experienced took his strength from him.
Dan. 10:10-11 And, behold, a hand touched me, which set
me upon my knees and upon
the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, thou
man greatly
beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright;
for
unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood
trembling.
The prophet is brought from a posture of lying down to moving into a crouched position and then a standing up posture.
The faithful prophet and servant of Jehovah is praised and commended.
What a great compliment God paid Daniel.
For the child of God, there awaits commendation and approval from Jesus on the day of judgement.
Matt. 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and
faithful servant: thou hast
been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter
thou into the joy of thy lord.
The love and affection God feels for Daniel is heard in these words given to Daniel
The aged prophet listens intently to the things that will be revealed and delivered unto him.
Dan. 10:12-14 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for
from the first day that thou didst
set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy
words
were heard: and I am come for thy words' sake. But the prince of the
kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one
of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings
of
Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people
in the latter days; for the vision is yet for many days:
We are shown in this account how powerful prayer can be. The coming of the man is an answer to the prayer of Daniel.
The Persian Empire will fall and be consumed by the Grecians under Alexander The Great.
The messenger is the Archangel Michael. We meet him here as in the book Revelation commanding God's forces in heaven. We meet him in the book of Daniel as the guardian of the nation of Israel .
Dan. 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for
from the first day that thou didst
set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy
words
were heard: and I am come for thy words' sake. 1
The heavenly messenger recounts that there will be struggles and battles of one kingdom against another.
The care and concern of God is seen in the way he works with the affairs of this world to bring about his ultimate plan and will.
Dan. 10:15-17 and when he had spoken unto me according to these
words, I set my
face toward the ground, and was dumb. And, behold, one in the likeness
of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake
and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by reason of the vision
my sorrows are turned upon me, and I retain no strength. For how
can the
servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway
there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me.
Again we see how this event and experience overwhelms Daniel. The vision from God literally seem to take his breathe away.
This experience had a strong physical toll on Daniel.
The prayer, the mourning, the fasting, the waiting for three weeks, all this had caught up with him.
The vision was powerful and the message given seemed to drain away his physical strength.
When we think of the great things of God and his power it should cause us to fear and tremble.
Dan. 10:18-19 Then there touched me again one like the
appearance of a man, and he
strengthened me. And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not:
peace
be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he spake unto me, I
was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened
me. Daniel was strengthen by the messenger. The Lord gives strength
to
his children to bear the burdens of life.
The angel's touch strengthened the prophet greatly. The angel said to him, "Fear not, peace be with you: be strong and of good courage."
Daniel will need all the strength he can muster as he is given the vision that is outlined in chapters eleven and twelve.
Dan. 10:20-21 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am
come unto thee? and now will I
return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the
prince of
Greece shall come. But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in
the writing of
truth: and there is none that holdeth with me against these, but Michael
your prince.
The messenger had more fighting to do.
The messenger would go fight the prince of Persia.
After the angel fought with the king of Persia, then the prince of Greece will come.
Daniel needed to be strengthened that he might stand in all this powerful vision.
CONCLUSION
Believe in Christ, JOHN 8:24
Repent of Sins, Luke 13:3
Confess Christ with the mouth, Romans 10:10
Be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38
Be faithful unto death, Revelation 2:10