Chapter 10
2023 - Reading straight through.
2026 - Vs 1 tells us that Daniel understood this vision. It was not a mystery to him, don't make it a mystery now.
Cyrus now King, so we are back in chronological order.
Beginning in verse 2, Daniel tells us about an encounter he has. He tells us that he was not exactly fasting - likely because he was too old for his body to tolerate that - but he ate very plain food, and drank no wine for three straight weeks. At about the end of this time, he was on the banks of the Tigris river, when he saw "something". This is not described as a vision. It says he saw this with his eyes. Here is the description, as given by Daniel:
5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. [Dan 10:5-6 ESV]
The men with Daniel couldn't see this man, but they knew something frightening was going on, and they fled to "hide themselves". Daniel is able to see with his eyes a man who's body is spirit and not flesh. An angel perhaps though a very powerful sounding angel, or possibly the pre-incarnate Christ. Maybe we will be told.
The presence of this "man" drains Daniel of his strength - just to be nearby drains Daniel physically. The "man" speaks, and Daniel falls on his face in a deep sleep. As if his body of flesh cannot deal with this "man". The angel (I'm calling him angel for now) sets Daniel up as far as his hands and knees, and speaks to him. He tells Daniel that he was sent as soon as Daniel started praying. God heard Daniel's words, and it is "because of your words" that this angel is here. The angel says he was delayed by the Prince of Persia, and Michael (the archangel I presume) had to come help him. It makes it sound as if this Prince of Persia had "captured" the angel God sent, Michael came and got him loose so he could continue. I think this confirms that this is a angel, not the pre-incarnate Christ, who could not have been stopped. This "Prince of Persia" is not a person. This too is an angel, but one that follows Satan. One who didn't want Daniel to be told what was to come, indeed didn't want mankind to find out. This Prince would not have wanted such certain confirmation of things that only could have come from God Himself, and so prove and motivate all who hear it to know that He is God. Also interesting is that Persia had a demon overseeing events in that nation. One placed in charge of keeping things in the dark, and in preventing any light from entering. 2020 - There were also Kings of Persia, if the translation is correct. Need to look that up...see what the words for prince and king usually mean.
Upon hearing these words - perhaps upon being presented with a vision of what was to come, Daniel is left unable to speak. Then, possibly a second angel touches him on the lips. This one is described as "one in the likeness of the children of man". Not described as lightning and beryl and brass as above. So this seems like a different angel. Daniel is able to speak, but he says he is in pain now because of the vision, and he has lost all his strength. How then, can he talk to this angel?
Then "one who has the appearance of a man" (as opposed to the appearance of the children of man", as in yet a third spiritual, angelic being?) touches Daniel and he is strengthened. This last addresses Daniel as "O man greatly loved..." This is the same greeting used by the original, very powerful angel.
2025 - Chapter 10 - Or maybe I've been reading this wrong all along. We see in vs 1 that this is the third year of Cyrus - so a very late date. The previous chapter was in the first year of Darius. So the vision there is not the vision that Daniel describes in Chapter 10 as being a message and a vision that he UNDERSTOOD. No one needed to tell him what it meant. The ones who were sent in Chapter 10 are there to comfort Daniel with the information conveyed by this vision. But...we are not told about the vision until Chapter 11.
Then these verses:
20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. [Dan 10:20-21 ESV]
How much information is really here??? The angel who strengthened Daniel - whether a third, a second or maybe there is only one and his appearance has changed, tells Daniel that he is going back to fight the Prince of Persia. Then he says that when he "goes out" the prince of Greece will come. This makes it seem like the prince of Persia - who is maintaining the earthly power of that empire - will be defeated. Once this spiritual intervention is removed, another evil angel, the prince of Greece, will take over, and intervene to make that nation - and Alexander - assume prominence in the region. So even though a powerful angel is able to overcome a powerful demon (my words, my thinking) another powerful demon is waiting in the wings. They all want power in this geographic area so that they can prevent Israel from achieving God's purpose for them.
Vs 21 - is the statement of what is in the book about the battle with the prince of Persia, with only this angel and Michael to oppose him, or is it saying that this angel is helping Michael - who is the angel sent to oppose the prince of Persia. The use of "your prince" would seem to imply that for every demon that Satan sends, there is also an angel of God sent to do battle. There is constant war in the spiritual realm over what is going on in the earth.
Too much to take in here. Too many possibilities.
From MSB:
This messenger sent to Daniel is distinct from Michael. The description of this messenger is very similar to the description of Christ in Rev. 1:13, 14. Daniel's reaction to this messenger - that is, his physical reaction - is also similar to John's in Rev. 1. However....I just don't believe there is a "prince" who could have kept Christ from where he intended to go, and if there was, I don't think adding one more angel to the fight would make the difference. I just don't think this was Christ "sent" to talk to Daniel. It was a pre-eminent angel of some sort, but it was not Christ. Not in my book.
MSB says in vs 10 that the one who touched Daniel was likely Gabriel. Just because it was Gabriel who was sent last time. It goes on to describe the heavenly/spiritual situation much like I already have. It adds that Michael was there to assure that Israel retained it's land. It says Michael is the chief angel of heaven, and cites also Dan. 10:21, 12:1, Jude 9, and Rev 12:7. Haven't read those.
MSB says the prince of Greece was "contesting for the kingdom of Greece". I presume this means with an angel from God who was looking after Greece. Always two sides. For vs 21, MSB says that the angel with Michael intended to handle the demons of both Persia and Greece. This forms the heavenly basis for the unfolding of history in 11:2-35, so we have that to look forward to.
2023 - But the next day. This verse:
21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. [Dan 10:21 ESV]. This clearly says that Michael is Daniel's prince. Michael is an angel, but has prince also as a designation. I think we can infer here that Michael is over the "region" of Israel. He is Israel's angel. We learn from vss 13-14 that there is a "region" of Persia. We learn that in a pinch, Michael came to help this one talking to Daniel. Michael is not just a Prince, but a Chief prince.. There are also kings of Persia. Lower case kings. In vs 20, this one who was fighting the Prince of Persia will go out, and then the Prince of Greece will come. Then the thing about Michael being Daniel's prince. A LOT of information, a lot of food for rank speculation is here.
2026 - So no vision is ever recorded here in 10. There is much talk about a vision that terrified Daniel and he prayed hard for an explanation of the vision. The time stamp tells us this is a different vision than we saw in 7, 8, or 9. But I do not see that we have this vision that Daniel understood. And if he did understand, why is this angel sent?
2026 - Also, note that the angel says the prince of Greece is about to come. As I read it now, this means it is almost time for Alexander...but he is not until 350 BC. Perhaps some insight into how angels reckon time.
2026 - This is confirmed in vs 1 of Chapter 11. That is an entirely different time stamp than we saw in 10, so that is not the same vision. We need to see 10:1 as saying that Daniel understood the vision about which he had been praying after the angel explained it to him. But we do not know what that vision might have been.