(4)
(1)
Scripture Reading: Dan. 10:1-21; 11:1
After the visions seen by Daniel in chapters seven through nine, Daniel saw the vision concerning the destiny of Israel. However, before we are told of the vision Daniel saw concerning Israel's destiny in chapter eleven, chapter ten shows us the spiritual world behind the physical. For us to know God's economy and to know that in God's economy Christ is the centrality and universality of God's move, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical.
What we see outwardly is the physical world, but behind the physical world is the spiritual. In the spiritual world Christ is the preeminent One. Therefore, in chapter ten He is mentioned first (vv. 4-9). He is described as wearing a linen robe, being girded with a golden girdle, and having a body like beryl (vv. 5-6).
After this vision of Christ, an angelic messenger came to tell Daniel about the things behind the physical world. He told Daniel that he himself was fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a rebellious evil spirit. Then Daniel was told that there was another evil spirit, the prince of Greece (Javan). There was also the archangel Michael, who was a prince fighting for Israel. At least four spirits are covered here.
In chapter five we saw how Belshazzar was indulging in debauchery and how in the same night Darius the Mede came to defeat him and kill him. We did not see that there was a spirit fighting for Darius. Daniel 11:1 says, "I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to support and strengthen him." Darius was strong even as an old man because this heavenly messenger stood up to support him and strengthen him. The angelic messenger strengthened Darius to defeat the Babylonians because the Babylonian Empire's commission from God had been completed. With the death of Belshazzar, the Babylonian Empire became the empire of Medo-Persia to carry out another commission for God.
Darius the Mede was the first one to conquer the Babylonian Empire. However, according to Daniel 8 a ram, signifying Persia, was seen with two horns. The second horn was higher than the first, referring to Cyrus the Persian who assumed power two years later in 536 B.C. In the first year of his reign, Cyrus issued a decree to release all the captives of Israel back to the land of their forefathers and to rebuild the temple. Because Cyrus supported them, supplied them, and protected them, Isaiah said that Cyrus was a shepherd of God to take care of God's people (Isa. 44:28).
Apparently, all of these struggles are merely the activities of human governments represented by the great human image in Daniel 2. Actually, God was behind the physical world managing the entire situation. This is what we need to see as we consider chapter ten of Daniel and the vision of Israel's destiny in chapter eleven.
"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar" (10:1a). The third year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, the year of this vision, was about 534 B.C., when Daniel was eighty-seven years of age.
The main subject of the vision concerning the destiny of Israel is the great distress. The Hebrew word translated distress in 10:1b denotes trial, distress, conflict, warfare, or an army. Here it refers to a great distress suffered by God's people. That distress came upon Israel from a war between the king of the south and the king of the north, referring to Egypt and Syria respectively. When Syria and Egypt fought each other, they waged war on Israel's land because it was used as a thoroughfare for the two kings to invade each other. These wars were a distress, a trial, to the children of Israel. This was especially true of the war that was waged by a descendant of one of the four successors of Alexander the Great who was at that time the king of Syria. This descendant, Antiochus Epiphanes, a full type of Antichrist, was a real trial sent by God to His chosen people, because they had become corrupt after their return from captivity.
Daniel 10:2—11:1 shows us the scene in the universe — the spiritual world behind the physical — before the release of this vision.
Daniel, a man on the earth, set his heart to understand the future, the destiny, of Israel (vv. 2-3, 12). This he did for twenty-one days.
After those twenty-one days, Daniel saw a particular vision in 10:4-9. The excellent Christ, the centrality and universality of God's move on the earth, appeared to Daniel for his appreciation, consolation, encouragement, expectation, and stabilization.
Before showing Daniel the great distress, God revealed to him the excellent man described in these verses. Daniel may not have known that this man was the Messiah, but I believe that Daniel understood that this One was the Lord as a man. That man was not only Jehovah but Jehovah becoming a man.
In our eyes the incarnation took place at a definite point in time, whereas in God's view there is only the fact but no time element. In the universe there is the fact that the Triune God became a man. This is revealed in Matthew and Luke. But in Genesis 18 when three persons came to Abraham, there was one among the three who was Jesus. He came as a man to visit Abraham. In Daniel 10 this man appeared to Daniel. When He appeared as a man to Abraham, He was an ordinary man with no particular characteristics. However, He appeared to Daniel with many wonderful characteristics. This excellent Christ appeared to Daniel for his appreciation, consolation, encouragement, expectation, and stabilization.
First, the excellent Christ appeared in His priesthood for taking care of His chosen people (v. 5a). His priesthood is signified by the linen robe. He appeared to Daniel not wearing armor for fighting but dressed in a linen robe, the Old Testament priestly garment. In typology, linen signifies humanity. The fact that Christ is clothed in linen signifies that His humanity is His priestly robe. At the time of Daniel 10, Christ Himself, God's centrality and universality, was a Priest taking care of the children of Israel in captivity. He is a Priest in His humanity taking care of God's captive people.
Second, Christ appeared to Daniel in His kingship (signified by the golden girdle) for ruling over all the peoples. Verse 5b says that His "loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz." A girdle is for strengthening. Christ's kingship is signified not by linen but by gold. His priesthood is human, whereas His kingship is divine.
Furthermore, for His people's appreciation Christ appeared also in His preciousness and dignity as signified by His body being like beryl (v. 6a). The Hebrew word for beryl here is not easily translated. Darby uses the term chrysolite. The Hebrew word could refer to a bluish-green or yellow precious stone. This signifies that Christ in His embodiment is divine (yellow), full of life (green), and heavenly (blue).
Furthermore, Christ appeared in His brightness for shining over the people. His brightness is signified by His face being like the appearance of lightning (v. 6b).
Christ's enlightening sight for searching and judging is signified by His eyes being like torches of fire (v. 6c).
Christ also appeared in His gleam in His work and moves, tested by people and testing people. His gleam in His work and moves is signified by His arms and His feet being like the gleam of polished bronze (v. 6d). In typology, bronze signifies God's judgment, which makes people bright. God's judgment is a kind of trial. Christ was judged, tried, by God, and God's trial and judgment made Him bright like polished bronze. Such a Christ is the One who has been tested by others and who also tests others.
Finally, Christ appeared to Daniel in His strong speaking for judging people. His strong speaking is signified by the sound of His words being like the sound of a multitude (v. 6e).
The Christ whom Daniel saw was such a One. He is precious, valuable, complete, and perfect. As a man He is the very centrality and universality of God's move to carry out His economy. He is so precious, bright, shining, enlightening, and testing. As the Priest He is taking care of us, and as the King He is ruling over us. How wonderful He is!
It was not with his physical eyes that Daniel saw this vision of Christ. Verse 7 says, "I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision." Because the vision of Christ was spiritual, not physical, it was seen only by Daniel and not by those who relied on their physical sight. Concerning seeing the vision of Christ, the physical view avails nothing. For this reason, in the eyes of the worldly people, Jesus is merely a human being. But under God's mercy and with a spiritual view, we may see how dear and precious Christ is. We all need to see the Christ Daniel saw. May we all see the vision of the excellent Christ in chapter ten of Daniel.
Following the vision concerning Christ as the precious One in God's move, we see something regarding the spiritual struggle in the air. According to verses 10 through 17, the evil prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood the sent angelic messenger, probably one of the chief princes, for twenty-one days. Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help the sent angelic messenger, and the sent messenger remained there with the kings of Persia. The evil prince of the kingdom of Persia must have been an evil spirit, a rebellious angel, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and who was commissioned by Satan to help Persia. This evil spirit struggled against the sent angelic messenger for twenty-one days. This means that while Daniel was praying for all those days, a spiritual struggle was taking place in the air between two spirits, one belonging to Satan and the other belonging to God. They were fighting because the sent angelic messenger (he might have been Gabriel) had been sent by God in answer to Daniel's prayer. Michael came to help the sent angelic messenger. Just as the archangel Michael fought in Jude 9, so he came in to fight here in Daniel. The crucial point we need to see is that behind the scene a spiritual struggle, a struggle not seen with physical eyes, was taking place.
In verses 18 through 21 we see more of the spiritual struggle behind the scene. The angelic messenger would return to fight with the evil prince of Persia. The evil prince of Greece was then about to come. No one would hold with the angelic messenger against these two evil princes except Michael, the prince of Israel. The name Michael means "Who is like God?"
In the first year of Darius the Mede, the angelic messenger stood up to support and strengthen Darius (11:1). Darius was strengthened in this way in order to receive the kingdom.
Before the vision concerning the destiny of Israel was unveiled to Daniel, he was given a vision of the spiritual scene that is behind the physical scene. In this spiritual scene Christ is preeminent. This scene also includes both good and evil spirits, spirits that are engaged in an invisible spiritual war.
