The Lord’s Message:  Spiritual Warfare

The Lord’s Message:  Spiritual Warfare
Date:  September 8, 2024
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  Daniel 10

            We are at war.  Everyone who worships God is at war with this world.  The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:11-12.  The most important weapon that we have in our arsenal to deal with the Devil is prayer.  Paul says in Ephesians 6:18.   We need to pray for ourselves and to pray for each other to be ready for Spiritual Warfare.

            Let us pray.

            The last three chapters in the Book of Daniel are one vision.  We are going to take look at chapter 10 today which is the introduction to the vision.  Chapter 11 is the vision, and chapter 12 is the epilogue to the vision. 

            This vision takes place in the third year of King Cyrus the king of the Medo-Persian empire.  Daniel would have been well in his 80’s, some theologians suggest that he may have been 90 years old. 

            In verse 1, Daniel is very troubled by this vision of a great future war.  The great war is the war between angels and demons.  God against Satan.  As we go through this chapter and the next two chapters of this book in the Bible will become clearer. 

            This vision causes Daniel to go into mourning, verses 2-3.  When we close out chapter 9, we have the Jewish people returning from exile, the city of Jerusalem being restored, and the temple being rebuilt.  We also have the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, coming into Jerusalem.  Then Jesus is cut off.  He is killed.  We know that He died on a cross for our sins.  Then after His death and resurrection, Romans came in AD 70 and destroyed the city and the temple.  They came in like a great flood.  Then we switched to End times.  The reign of the Antichrist begins.  He makes a covenant with the Jewish unbelievers to continue their worship for seven years.  But 3 ½ years later, he reneges on his promise and stops the worship of God and sets up the worship of Satan in the temple.  But God has determined the period of his reign and when his time is up, he is thrown in the fiery eternal pit of Hell.  This vision and the one in chapter 10 may have been the cause of Daniel’s mourning.

It might also be that Daniel may have thought that with God telling him that Israel had paid for its sins and the Israelites would return back to their homeland that there would be peace and prosperity for the Jewish people.  In Ezra 1:1-4, King Cyrus has issued the decree for the Jewish people to return home and rebuild their city and the temple.  Sadly, we find in Ezra 2:64 that less than 50,000 Jewish people have returned home.  That is why in the Book of Esther there are so many Jewish people still living in Persia.  These people have made a comfortable living in the former Babylonian nation.  If they were to go back to Jerusalem, then they would have to rebuild their homes, the walls of the city and the temple.  Life would be very harsh for them. 

            The Bible does not tell us what caused Daniel to become very depressed, but whatever it is, Daniel dealt with it in a positive way.  In verses 2 -3, the Bible tells us that Daniel mourned for three weeks and he partially fasted by not eating choice food or drinking wine.  He also did not put on lotions or perfumes.  He chose these items as a sign to God that he was sincere in his grief.  Daniel went to the source who could provide the answer for his problem, God.  He humbled himself before the Lord.  We need to turn to God in prayer when we are facing difficult situations. 

            In verse 4, Daniel is wrestling with his problems as he is standing on the bank of the Tigris River in Babylon.  In verses 5-6, a man comes up to Daniel.  The man is dressed in linen with a belt of finest gold around his waist.  In some of Bible translations, the gold was from Uphaz which, in Daniel’s time, was the finest and purest gold that could be mined anywhere.  The description goes on to say that “his body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze and his voice like a sound of a multitude.”  Who is this man?  Allow me to read another Bible verse that describes a man like this.  In Revelation 1:12-16, here is a similar description.  John called this man, “the son of man.”  This refers to Jesus.  These descriptions are so similar that I am convinced that this man is Jesus that is standing before Daniel.  This is the preincarnate Christ.

            There is another passage of scripture that confirms that this is Jesus, Jeremiah 29:10.  When the seventy years (the exile) is completed in Babylon, I (Jesus) will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.  Seventy years are over.  Jesus comes to Daniel.

            There is more proof that is provided in verse 7 that this is Jesus.  “The men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.”  This sounds very familiar in another Book of the Bible.  Let us look at Acts 9:3-7.  Jesus tells Paul who He is.  The men with Paul did not see anything but stood there speechless. 

            More proof is found in verse 9.  “My face to the ground.”  In Matthew 17:1-6, the disciples dropped to their knees when they saw the Transfigured Jesus.  In Philippians 2:8-11, every knee will bow down to Jesus.  

            In verse 10, there is a change that happens.  As Daniel is down on his hands and knees praying, a hand touched him.  This hand is the angel, Gabriel.  Remember Daniel 9:21-22.  God sends Gabriel back to Daniel, but Gabriel does not come as swiftly as he did in chapter 9.  Why?  We find the reason in verses 12-13.  Gabriel started his return 21 days ago but was impeded by the Prince of Persia.  This is the time that Daniel started his fast.  Gabriel was blocked for 21 days until Michael the archangel and guardian of Israel help Gabriel proceed on his course to Daniel.

            Who is this prince of Persia? As this creature resisted Gabriel, angel of God, he must be an agent of Satan.  Michael is the guardian angel of Israel.  In Revelation 12:7-9, Michael fights against Satan and his demons.  Michael is the perfect angel to fight against the prince of Persia.  This is an example of why we should never stop praying when we do not receive an answer.  We may not know about what obstacles may be happening in the heavenly realms.

            One might wonder why the Demonic Prince of Persia would impede Gabriel.  The answer is that the Devil did not want God’s people to go back and restore the city of Jerusalem, because the Devil knew God’s plan of salvation.  God had already determined that before Adam and Eve bit the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that His only Son would have to been born as one of us but not sin.  He would grow up as a man.  He would allow Himself to be nailed to the cross and God, His Father, would place our sins upon Him, so that He could pay our debt.  He would die on the cross and three days later be resurrected from the grave.  He would live on this earth for 40 days and be ascended into Heaven and sit on the right-hand side of God until His return to Earth putting an end to the Devil and his demons once and forever.   If the Devil can prevent the city of Jerusalem from being rebuilt, then none of this happens.  Some people might think that the world leaders are determined by their power, their wealth, or their influence, but that is not the case.  Here the Bible tells us that the world leaders are determine by spiritual forces.  Now, that does not mean in this country that we should not vote.  We should vote, but we should pray to God before we vote. 

            For time to time, I have been involved in spiritual battles.  I have found 6 ways to overcome the spiritual battle.

1. Expose the devil to the light of God.  Physically call out the devil.  The devil does not want anyone to know that he exists.  When you call him out, he flees, Ephesians 5:11-14.
2. Stand on Scripture.  If you are reading the word of God, the Bible, then you will know when you are being attacked.   Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  In Psalm 119:11, it says.
3. Pray.  It is important to spend time in prayer with God.
4. Worship.  Worship brings us into the presence of God.  Turn on some Christian songs or hymns.  Being around other Christians who are worshipping gives us strength to overcome the attacks of the devil.
5. Bible study.  Gathering with others to understand the Bible is important to keep our minds sharp.  They also help us not to be distracted by things of this world.
6. Fast.  Through fasting, we focus on God.  God blesses us when we fast.  Look what happened when Daniel and his friends fasted from the king’s food and wine.  God blessed them.

Just as Daniel was in a spiritual battle, as children of God, we are at war with the devil and his demons.  God will win the war.  We need to continue to grow together in faith to overcome the spiritual battles in our lives.  Amen.