Hello Friends!
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our study of “Daniel’s Devotion” from God’s Word…
Daniel’s
Devotion (Part 8)
Daniel is in his late 80's
and under the leadership of the Medo-Persian Empire as he writes this prophetic
passage:
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. In
those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks – Daniel 10:1-2
Daniel, in an effort to have "understanding" of the times in which he was living and wanting to serve the Lord with
more intensity, was waiting to hear from God about the future of his Jewish
people so he started a three week fast:
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 – Daniel 10:3
The Lord heard Daniel's
cries and He dispatched an angel to the earth to meet with Daniel. A close look
at the description of this "heavenly visitor" indicates that it was a
"post-incarnate" appearance of Jesus Christ:
I
lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose
waist was girded with gold of
Uphaz! 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 – Daniel 10:5-6
As compared to the Apostle
John’s vision of Jesus Christ:
Then I
turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven
golden lampstands, 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. His
head and hair were white like
wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined
in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters – Revelation 1:12-15
When Daniel saw the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Prophet fell on his face before the Lord. It is lovely what
Jesus said about Daniel:
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 – Daniel 10:11
Wow! “man greatly beloved,” What a wonderful commendation from the
Lord Jesus Christ for a mere man!
Now we come to the
two-fold purpose for studying Bible prophecy. The Lord said to Daniel that from
the first day you "set your heart to understand " the Lord had started to come to
meet with him:
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 10:12
The student of Bible
prophecy can indeed understand the times in which we are living today. We must
understand our times so that we can make decisions today that effect tomorrow.
The second purpose for studying Bible prophecy to “humble
yourself before your God.” In other words, once we understand the times we are living in, we must
get our hearts right with God!
Next we see that Satan
will dispatch "evil angels" to take control of "world
leaders" for his own purpose:
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. 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.” When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the
ground and became speechless. 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. 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.” Then again, the one
having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. 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.” 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 – Daniel 13:20
Notice that “Michael” the "archangel" is also described as one of the "chief princes" reported by Daniel. The phrase "prince
of Persia" is referring to a
Persian leader that was a demonically controlled "prince" – a word used to describe "angels" and in this case "evil
angels" – demons. This "prince of Persia" is actually the villain – Haman –
from the book of Esther. This was the
evil leader who wanted to eliminate all Jews from the earth. The "prince of Greece" is none other than Antiochus Epiphanes of whom we will address
next week.
Satan will also dispatch
"evil angels" to take control of world leaders to assist in his
"Satanic game plan" for the last days:
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 – Ephesians 6:12
With these Scriptures in
mind, we can better understand our times and why world leaders do what they do
in our world today. Some times in this wicked world we see many world leaders
that are actually under Satanic control. This "demonic activity" will
only intensify as we draw closer to the Lord's return…
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued
investigation of Daniel’s Devotion…
May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect
love, mercy and grace!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah
and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings!
Shane <><