Sunday
Morning Bible Study
June
23, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
We now start on the last section of the book of Daniel. It’s a single package that covers Daniel
10-12.
10:1-9 The Visitor
:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a
message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar.
The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he
understood the message, and had understanding of the vision.
:1 the third year of Cyrus
Daniel 7 was the 1st
year of Belshazzar (553 BC)
Daniel 8 was the 3rd
year of Belshazzar (551 BC)
Daniel 9 was the 1st
year of Darius (Cyrus) (538 BC)
Daniel 10-12 are given in the 3rd year
of Cyrus (536 BC). Daniel has to be
around 85 years old.
:1
the appointed time was long
the appointed time – tsaba’
– that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host
Like “Sabaoth”
It could refer to spiritual warfare
long – gadowl
– great; large (in magnitude and extent)
NAS – “great conflict”
I think the NKJV translation is unfortunate. The Hebrew words speak of a “war” that was “great”.
The Message: “It dealt with a big
war”
We’ll see that Daniel 10-12 are all about the
warfare that will be going on around the Jewish people.
:1 a message was revealed to Daniel
message – dabar
– speech, word, speaking, thing
true –
‘emeth – firmness, faithfulness, truth; sureness, reliability
These first couple verses are a bit confusing, but it seems that Daniel
first receives a message from God about this “war” that was coming. Even though Daniel is aware from chapter 9
that the Jews will soon be going back to their Promised Land, now he finds that
their struggle is not over.
There is more trouble ahead.
His confusion about the trouble ahead is what causes
Daniel to seek God for even more understanding, he resorts to fasting, and the result
is what we’ll read about in Daniel 11-12.
:2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three
full weeks.
:2 mourning –
‘abal – to mourn, lament; (Hithpael) to mourn; play the mourner
:2 three full weeks
Literally, “three sevens of days”
:3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came
into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were
fulfilled.
:3 food – lechem
– bread, food, grain
:3 pleasant – chamad
– to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in
:3 meat – basar
– flesh
:3 wine – yayin
– wine
:3 anoint – cuwk
– to anoint, pour in anointing
:3 three whole weeks
“three sevens of days”
:3 I ate no pleasant food
Lesson
Fasting
Daniel is describing what we call a “fast”.
We sometimes think that “fasting” means that you don’t eat any food at all,
but the words usually translated “fasting” have more to do with simply
depriving yourself of something.
Daniel is depriving himself of four types of things:
“pleasant food” – literally the
food he “delights in”
“meat” – he’s going vegetarian
during this time
“wine” – no alcohol
“anoint” – his personal care – he
didn’t put on any aftershave (or deodorant)
Daniel is depriving himself of things that make his flesh, his physical
body happy. He is denying his “flesh”.
Sometimes it’s our “flesh” that’s making so much noise in
our lives that we can’t hear the quiet things that God wants to whisper to us.
I’m a guy that likes lots of noise.
When I get up in the morning, I head downstairs and turn
on the MLB channel and catch up with baseball while I’m eating.
Whether I’m eating a meal or driving my car, I like
noise. I think that sometimes I just
don’t want my thoughts to get loud enough that I have to pay attention to them.
I find that sometimes I need to make a conscious effort to
turn off the noise so I have a chance to hear God.
When Elijah was in the cave seeking God’s help, he found
that God didn’t show up with the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. When God showed up it was with a “still small
voice” (1Ki. 19:12)
(1 Ki 19:12 NKJV) —12 and
after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord
was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
Along with depriving himself of these things, Daniel’s heart has been
characterized by “mourning”.
Another common word often paired with “fasting” is the word “humility”.
Fasting isn’t just about what you do to your body,
it’s what you do with your heart.
Are you willing to yield your will to God? Are you willing to let God do whatever He
wants in the situation? Are you okay if
you don’t get the promotion, but somebody else gets the attention?
There are some things in life that we will never see or do unless we learn
to deny our flesh and humble our hearts.
Once Jesus’ disciples were presented with a man’s son who was demon
possessed. They knew they needed to cast
the demon out of the boy, but they were unable to do so. When the father brought his son to Jesus,
Jesus cast out the demon.
(Mt
17:19–21 NKJV) —19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we
not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I
say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for
you. 21 However,
this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
The disciples’ lack of faith is the simple answer as to
why they had failed.
Prayer and fasting is the answer to the question, “How can
I get the kind of faith that can cast out a demon like this one?”
Are you looking for answers? Deny
yourself. Humble yourself. Pray.
:4 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first
month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris,
:4 the twenty-fourth day of the first
month
Daniel started his fast on the 3rd of the month, a week before each family was to take a
lamb and start preparing for the Passover (Ex. 12:1-3). The Passover
takes place on the 14th of the month. His answer comes ten days later.
:4 the great river … Tigris
Normally the “great river” refers
to the Euphrates, but here Daniel tells us he’s at the Tigris River.
The two rivers flow through modern
Iraq, known in ancient times as “Mesopotamia”, “land between the rivers”.
The Tigris is one of the two major rivers that flow through modern Iraq,
the other being the Euphrates.
Babylon was located on the
Euphrates River.
The city of Baghdad is located on
the Tigris River (though Baghdad did not exist in Daniel’s day).
:5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a
certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz!
:5 clothed in linen
linen – bad –
linen, white linen
It could be that this individual is dressed in what the Jewish priests
wore. They too wore linen garments (Ex.
28:39-42)
(Ex 28:39 NKJV) “You shall
skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the
turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work.
:5 girded with gold of Uphaz
waist – mothen
– loins, hips
girded – chagar
– to gird, gird on, gird oneself, put on a belt
gold – kethem
– gold, pure gold
Uphaz – ‘Uwphaz
– “desire of fine gold”; a place famous for its gold (site unknown)
(Je 10:9 NKJV) Silver is beaten
into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the
craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their
clothing; They are all the work of skillful men.
We don’t know where “Uphaz” is, but the meaning
of the name in Hebrew implies that it was where the finest gold was found.
This fellow has a spectacular golden belt.
Oops. Like this one…
:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of
lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished
bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
:6 body was like beryl
body – geviyah
– a body (of living creatures)
beryl – tarshiysh
– a precious stone or semi-precious gem; perhaps a chrysolite, yellow
jasper, or other yellow colored stone
This is the same word as the place
known as “Tarshish”
This could mean that this fellow’s body was a shiny yellow in appearance.
:6 face like … lightning
lightning – baraq
– lightning; lightnings, lightning flashes
The face was bright like lightning
:6 eyes like torches of fire
torches – lappiyd
– torch
fire – ‘esh
– fire; flames
Just like is says
:6 arms like burnished bronze
bronze – nechosheth
– copper, bronze
burnished – qalal
– burnished, polished
The arms are like polished metal, perhaps shining.
:6 words like … a multitude
sound – qowl
– voice, sound, noise
multitude – hamown
– murmur, roar, crowd, abundance, tumult, sound
When the fellow speaks, it comes out like the roar of a crowd.
Who is this?
This individual will be with Daniel through the next three chapters. He seems to be the one giving Daniel
instruction through chapters 11-12.
There are two main views as to who this could be, and I’m not going to
argue with you if you choose one or the other.
1. Jesus
I don’t know if you remember our time in Revelation, but this sounds just
like John’s description of Jesus in His glorified body:
(Re 1:13–16 NKJV)
—13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of
Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a
golden band. 14
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow,
and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace,
and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven
stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was
like the sun shining in its strength.
The problem some have with this being Jesus in His “preincarnate”
state (before He was born) is that this individual is able to be held back by
the “prince of Persia”. It sounds as if
the “prince of Persia” might be of nearly equal strength to our person. That doesn’t sound like Jesus.
2. An angel
Angels have bodies that are “glorious” as well. They invoke responses to their appearing much
like this person does with Daniel.
Daniel himself had already encountered the angel Gabriel, and when he did …
(Da 8:17 NKJV) So he came
near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face…
The apostle John speaks with angels
in the book of Revelation
(Re 22:8–9 NKJV) —8 Now I,
John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9
Then he said to me, “See that you do
not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the
prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Note: John also responded this way when he saw
Jesus as well (Rev. 1:17)
(Re 1:17 NKJV) And when
I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying
to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
Another form is this second view is that the person Daniel sees in vs. 4-6
is Jesus, whereas there is a second person, an angel, who is the one actually
talking with Daniel giving him the explanations, and this angel is the one who
has been fighting with the prince of Persia.
:7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the
men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them,
so that they fled to hide themselves.
:7 saw – ra’ah
– to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider
:7 terror – charadah
– fear, anxiety, quaking, trembling, (extreme) anxiety, anxious care
:7 the men … did not see
When Paul the apostle was
confronted by the glorified Jesus on the road to Damascus, he saw and
understood Jesus while those who travelled with him only saw a light and heard
noise without hearing the words or seeing a person (Acts 9:7; 22:6-9)
(Ac 9:7 NKJV) —7 And the men who
journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.
(Ac 22:6–9 NKJV) —6 “Now it
happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great
light from heaven shone around me. 7 And I
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?’ 8 So I
answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom
you are persecuting.’ 9 “And
those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not
hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.
:8 Therefore I was left alone when I saw this
great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to
frailty in me, and I retained no strength.
:8 strength – koach
– strength, power, might
:8 vigor – howd
– splendour, majesty, vigour
:8 frailty – mashchiyth
– ruin, destruction
:9 Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I
heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to
the ground.
:9 I was in a deep sleep
in a deep sleep – radam
– (Niphal) to be asleep, be
unconscious, be in heavy sleep, fall into heavy sleep, be fast asleep
Daniel fainted at the sight of this glorious person. John experienced the same thing on Patmos.
(Re 1:17 NKJV) And when I
saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead…
Lesson
True Glory
What it is.
What we’re not.
Our response to it
10:10-21 Persian and Greece
: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.
:11 man greatly beloved
greatly beloved – chemdah
– desire, that which is desirable; pleasant, precious
:11 I stood trembling
The angel asks Daniel to stand up,
and he responds by standing up, but he’s shaking while he’s standing.
: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.
: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.
:13 the prince of … Persia
prince – sar –
prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain
This is most likely the angelic being that is really running things in
Persia.
Because Daniel’s visitor has been fighting with this prince, it must be a
fallen angel, a demon.
In Ezekiel 28, Ezekiel speaks of the “king of Tyre”,
which we have come to believe was Satan himself, the real power behind the
earthly ruler.
(Eze 28:11–12 NKJV) —11 Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me,
saying, 12 “Son of man, take up
a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of
perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
Remember what year this was given in?
The third year of Cyrus, king of Persia. The Persians are the ones who are currently
overseeing the Jewish remnant.
Even though we’ve seen Cyrus as a good guy, who sends the Jews back to
their land, we catch a glimpse that that there are spiritual forces working behind
the scenes.
These spiritual entities are fighting over the fate of God’s people, the
Jews.
In a few years a young gal named Esther will be crowned the queen of the
Persian Empire. Yet a wicked man named
Haman will try to destroy all the Jews.
What we won’t see are the angelic forces at work behind the scenes.
:13 Michael
prince – sar –
prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain
chief – ri’shown
– first, primary, former; first, chief (in degree)
This is Michael the archangel.
We’ll see that one of Michael’s chief areas of responsibility is the
protection of Israel.
(Re 12:7–12 NKJV) —7 And war
broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the
dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they
did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent
of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast
to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10
Then I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them
before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11
And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to
the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O
heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the
sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows
that he has a short time.”
Lesson
Spiritual warfare
The angel that was sent to Daniel twenty-one days earlier could not reach
Daniel because of the resistance by the “prince of Persia”.
Could it be that some of the “delays” that you experience in life are due
to the warfare that is going on behind the scenes?
Sometimes when it comes to this invisible spiritual warfare, we can get to
feel like we’re about as effective as the person with the blindfold swinging at
the piñata.
Do we play a part in this spiritual battle?
Yes we do.
(Eph 6:10–18 NKJV) —10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in
the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on
the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; 16 above all,
taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the
saints—
Our part in the warfare is to take up the spiritual weapons that Paul
describes. Some of these are qualities
we need to build up in our lives.
The last thing – prayer – is what Daniel was doing for 21 days.
Keep going. Fight the good fight. Even if you don’t
always know what you’re swinging at…
: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.”
: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.
:16 one having the
likeness of the sons of men
If there are actually two persons
before Daniel (Jesus and the interpreting angel), then it’s Jesus touching
Daniel’s lips while Daniel speaks to the angel.
: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.”
: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.”
:20 Then he 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.
:20 the prince of Greece will come
The angel makes it sound as if the Greeks are coming any minute, but it
actually won’t be for another 200 years.
In heaven, time doesn’t seem to pass at the same rate as it does on earth.
Yet even during the next empire (Greece), God will have His angels in place
protecting His people.
:21 But I will tell you what is noted in the
Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your
prince.
:21 the Scripture of Truth
There is a book in heaven that lays out the future. Only God can write something like that. We’re going to see next week just how
accurate this book is. I will challenge
you next week with this thought – if God’s Word has been so accurate predicting
things that are now in our past, how well do you think it will do predicting
things in our future?
Don’t blow off God’s Word. God is
real. He wants to speak to you.
:21 Michael your prince
Michael is considered the protector
of the Jews.
:19 I was strengthened
Daniel is seeing incredible things.
He is catching a glimpse of what is going on all around us, yet is
normally hidden from our eyes. He is
seeing incredibly powerful beings. He’s seeing
that his small nation is facing great opposition – both the earthly kingdoms
like Persia, which could squash the Jews in a second, as well as the even great
spiritual kingdoms that lie behind the veil – the spiritual forces that are out
to destroy God’s chosen people.
Sometimes we might fall into the trap of thinking that God is like the “Wizard
of Oz”. What do I mean?
Play Wizard of Oz – Behind the curtain clip
We’re afraid that if we get too close to God, that we might find that
there’s just a silly old man behind a curtain who isn’t a very good wizard.
But that’s not the case at all.
The reality is that behind the “curtain” there is a very
powerful God and He has some very powerful helpers, His angels.
Lesson
Behind the scenes
We too get discouraged because at times it seems like the odds are against
us.
Yet we’re not alone.
Elisha had made some enemies in his time.
The king of Syria sent an entire army to capture Elisha. When Elisha’s servant got up early in the
morning to get the newspaper, he rubbed his eyes to realize that the entire
hill the Elisha was living on top of was surrounded by the Syrian army. The servant panicked and asked Elisha what
they should do …
(2 Ki 6:16–17
NKJV) —16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for
those who are with us are more than those who are with
them.” 17 And Elisha
prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray,
open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord
opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Be encouraged. Be strengthened.
There are great forces at war in the realm of the Spirit.
Our side wins.
We just need to be careful to stick with the One who wins.