The Reality of The Unseen - Pt. 2

Last week I opened with a scenario where a person is unable to see a solar eclipse like everyone else, feeling left out and disappointed. However, a friend offers them special glasses designed for viewing such events. When they put on the glasses, they are suddenly able to see the eclipse vividly, experiencing its beauty in all its glory.

Just because they couldn’t see it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t there.

As we opened up chapter 10 of Daniel, we noticed that God has temporarily given Daniel a set of spiritual glasses which reveal “The Reality of the Unseen”…

The Reality of the Unseen

A little bit of review from last week…

This chapter serves as an introduction of the vision we will look at in Chapter 11

Daniel is towards the end of his life

He has been fasting and praying for 3 weeks, I believe due to Israel’s lack of enthusiasm… and even more disheartening their lack of desire to go back to the Promise Land and rebuild the city, the walls and the Temple.

As God revealed to Daniel “The Reality of the Unseen”… the first thing he sees is a “Certain Man clothed in Linen”, which again, in my opinion, was Jesus.

Which left Daniel so overwhelmed that he was laying face down, passed out on the ground.

As we pick up where we left off, there seems to be a significant break between verses 9 and 10. It seems that the Man clothed in linen has now vanished from the scene and we see a different hand reaching down to touch Daniel which indicates that another heavenly being has entered the scene.

Lets read the remaining verses in this chapter as we continue to look at what…

Daniel Saw...

(Read vv. 10-21)

Meat:

Moving along in what Daniel has recorded for us here, we see that he encounters…

1. A Heavenly Messenger

Daniel 10:10–11 “10 Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.”

There are some who speculate that this is once again, the Angel Gabriel, however, there is nothing to definitively say that it was…

What Daniel does say is that, while he was still weak and trembling from his encounter with the Man clothed in linen… he was strengthened by this angel.

The angel told Daniel that he was “greatly beloved”…

1.1 Daniel Was Greatly Beloved

… meaning that he was highly esteemed in the eyes of the Lord.

Throughout Scripture we encounter individuals who hold special favor with God. David is renowned as a man after God’s own heart, while Abraham is celebrated as a friend of God. John is affectionately known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and Mary is noted for finding favor with God.

These individuals, marked by their profound devotion to God and unwavering obedience, were “greatly beloved”… they were highly esteemed by God.

Which leads us to ponder: are we also counted among the "greatly beloved"?… … If an angel were to deliver a message to us from God, would our lives reflect such a deep affection, such a devotion to godly things, a strong obedience to His principles... or are there aspects of our lives that need to change?

Remember, God’s forgiveness comes after true repentance… and true repentance will always be evident… by a changed life…

1.2 Daniel Was to Listen Carefully

There is actually two commands given to Daniel in v.11 “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you (Listen carefully), and stand upright”

Essentially, the message is this.... “Hey, Daniel, time to wake up and pay attention! Get on your feet,... focus,… and get ready to understand this message loud and clear.”

Hearing this, Daniel stood to his feet, trembling but fully alert…

As I stated last week, Numerous scholars and commentators have largely overlooked the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel, considering it incidental to the book's overarching theme.

Which is very sad, considering the fact that it is packed full of information for us to look at, understand and be encouraged by…

And right here, basically in the middle of the chapter, Daniel sees that…

2. God Immediately Answers Prayer

Daniel 10:12 “Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.”

Daniel doesn't pray just once, checking it off his list of duties. Instead, he humbles himself before God, entering a period of heavy mourning for three weeks.

When did God send the answer to Daniel prayer?… … “from the first day that he set his heart to understand, and humbled himself before God… his words were heard… ” and the this Angel was sent out with the answer…

However, the answer wasn’t immediately recieved and for the next three weeks Daniel kept on praying in faith… continuing to ask God to give him understanding… …

There is definitely a lesson to be learned here…

So often... too many of us stop praying before we receive God’s answer. We pray with the mindset that if God doesn’t answer this in the way that I think He should, then I am just going to make it happen my own way…

OR… We think just because we haven’t gotten an instant answer that “it’s not God’s will” so we stop praying about this certain situation altogether…

Folks, that is not the biblical way to pray… …

We are to “Pray without ceasing”… … When Jesus taught his disciples about prayer he used verbiage to signifying a continuous action… Pray and Keep on Praying…

Matthew 7:7 NKJV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Ask (and keep on asking) and it will be given to you; Seek (and keep on seeking) and you will find; knock (and keep on knocking) and the door will be opened to you.”

Unfortunately, many people will use this verse as a way to tell God what to do… and they completely miss the fact that we are to…

Ask - in accordance to God’s will - and it will be given to you

Seek - God’s Will - and you will find it

Knock - on the door of God’s Will - and it will be opened to you.

What I want you to notice here in Daniel, is that there was no delay between Daniel’s prayer and God’s response. The moment Daniel began to pray, he was heard, and the answer was on its way.

There are many different reasons why we experience a delay in receiving an answer to our prayers. Sometimes it is because we are in no spiritual condition to receive the answer.... And Sometimes we ask for things that are not in accordance to God’s Will, and God withholds the answer to give us time to see for ourselves how wrong our request is.

Other times it is for a completely different, unseen reason… and Daniel had that reason revealed to him… Daniel Saw…

3. An Invisible War

Daniel 10:12–13 “Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”

What is being revealed to Daniel is “The Reality of the Unseen”… and it is an invisible war of…

3.1 Heaven’s Angels vs. Fallen Angels

Good vs. Evil

When this Heavenly Messenger tells Daniel that “the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days” He is not talking about a human prince … This is a demonic force…

This “prince of Persia” must have been more than a mere, or he couldn’t have resisted the coming of a holy angel and wouldn’t have had a battle with Michael the Arch Angel.

To give you an example of the strength of these Heavenly Angel’s… listen to…

2 Chronicles 32:21 “Then the Lord sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria… ”

One Angel… killing off a whole army in one foul swoop… … It would require a force of comparable strength to hinder such a powerful being from fulfilling its mission.

There are skeptics who ridicule the notion of demonic forces, they laugh at the idea of good and evil angels and they see Satan as this little, red guy that shows up on your shoulder, with horns coming out of his head and holding a pitchfork…

However, the fact of the matter is… the Bible clearly teaches there are Heavenly angels and there are Fallen angels.

We don’t have time to do an in-depth study or presentation on this today, but I will show you this…

Revelation 12:7–9 NASB95

7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

3.1 Heaven’s Angels vs. Fallen Angels

Through the spiritual glasses that God has given to Daniel, in order to record these events for us, it is plain to see that Satan has established a remarkably cunning organization, orchestrating a network of demons that influence all aspects of human history.

A demon was assigned to Persia, and verse 20 indicates that another demon would be assigned to Greece. The Bible suggests that all the “gods” of the nations are demons.

Throughout human history, I firmly believe that Satan's network of demons have been working behind the scenes, tirelessly attempting to stop God's plan.

Throughout history, why have so many attempted to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people? It is because God promised that Israel would endure as a nation forever...

Genesis 17:7 NKJV

7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

So, if Satan can eradicate the Nation of Israel and every single Jewish person, then that would make God a liar… and if God is a liar then there is no hope of any sort of Salvation.

And so, Satan uses what he has access to (the human systems of the world) in order to try and thwart God’s plan.

This is why Paul says…

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

John Piper writes, “The New Testament tells us that this prince of demons ‘darkens the minds of unbelievers’ (II Corinthians 4:4), and that he ‘deceives the world’ (Revelation 12:9), and that he plants his weeds (unbelievers) throughout the world (Matthew 13:39), and that he takes people captive to do his will (II Timothy 2:25), and that he plucks up the seed of the word when it is preached (Matthew 13:4).”

Since we know the prince of demons does all that, we may conclude this is what his sub-princes do as well…

Therefore, I truly believe that there are high-ranking demonic powers exerting influence over various regimes, dominions, governments, and realms of the world. Their aim is to spread evil, corruption, and spiritual darkness as much as possible.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are demonic forces assigned to the United States of America, working to undermine and destroy God's plan.

I also believe that there have been heavenly angels in the past defending us, although I'm uncertain if they continue to do so… as we fall further away from God and as we become more of a headache rather than a help to the Nation of Israel.

Remember, God told Abraham in regards to the Nation of Israel…

Genesis 12:3 “ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you;… ”

As of lately, we have been more of curse than a blessing.

Ok… Lets finish this chapter… …

Lastly this morning, Daniel saw…

4. The Vision

Daniel 10:14 “Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.””

The vision to which the angel referred to is the long vision of Chapter 11. As we shall see, this amazing vision covers the entire period between the Old and New Testaments, from Malachi to Matthew. It then leaps over the Church age and focuses on what the angel calls “the latter days”.

After hearing what the angel said, once again…

4.1 Daniel Becomes Overwhelmed

Daniel 10:15–17 “15 When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.””

Daniel had never heard anything like this before in his life. The concept of angelic warfare was entirely new to him. Overwhelmed, he loses his ability to speak and collapses once more, flooded with a renewed sense of weakness, lying passed out on the ground. His mouth is sealed shut; he is unable to utter a word.

Another angel shows up, touches Daniel’s mouth which gives him enough strength to say how overwhelmed he was by the vision he was given… so overwhelmed, Daniel states at the end of v.17 that he can hardly breathe…

This whole experience has really put a strain on this 90 year old man…

But even as overwhelming as it was…

4.2 Daniel Receives Strength

Daniel 10:18–19 “18 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.””

The angel restored Daniel’s strength so that he could record the prophetic message for our learning… and after receiving that strength, Daniel basically said… “I am ready, I can speak and record everything that you have revealed to me”

Which we will look at when we get into chapter 11.

Before we close, I want to point out that it is not just the touch of an angel that brings Daniel strength…

It is realizing God’s work behind the scenes…

Daniel 10:20–11:1 “20 Then he (the Angel) said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.

The angel made it clear that the battle wasn’t yet over… But it is also clear that Daniel wasn’t fighting alone. As soon as the angel had finished instructing Daniel, he was to return to assist Michael in battling the prince of Persia and eventually the prince of Greece, two satanic angels who were opposing the plans of the Lord for these nations.

Daniel also found Strength in the truth of God’s Word… The Angel said...

21 But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth.

The angel is basically stating… This is what will strengthen you… this is what will empower you… this is what will give you hope and comfort… knowing the written truth of God.

And then the Angel says… “Oh by the way...”

(No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.

1 “Also in the first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.)”

He tells Daniel, “don’t worry about these demonic forces that are trying to sabotage God’s plan… Between me and Michael, we can handle it.”

Closing:

Can you believe that some see this chapter is unimportant and irrelevant??…

As we close today, let us remember the profound truth revealed in Daniel 10: “the reality of the unseen”.

Just as Daniel saw the invisible war between angelic and demonic forces, we too are part of a spiritual reality beyond what our eyes can perceive… Just because we cannot see it, doesn’t negate the fact that the invisible war is still going on today.

Yet, in the midst of this unseen realm, we find assurance in the sovereignty of our God… … Let us trust in His plan and live our lives in accordance to His will.

Let us walk in faith, knowing that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Prayer

Benediction: Ephesians 6:10-13, 23-24

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