Daniel Unlocked #71. We are Conquerors and Victors.
The words of Paul, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37–39 NASB.) How can we make the promise of being conquerors a real experience in our own Christian lives?
There are two themes that have emerged from Daniel 10. One is the invisible war that unfolds behind the scenes of the great conflict. The other theme that emerges is the assurance that in this war we are not alone. A victorious prince stands up to fight on our behalf. This invisible war is one of the most somber aspects of the great conflict between good and evil. It takes place in the spiritual realm. We see a snapshot of this reality in the evil forces that were influencing the Persian king to thwart God’s plan to rebuild Jerusalem. This invisible war introduces the final vision of the book. About 50,000 Jews (Ezra 2) have returned to their homeland and all is not going well.
God responds to Daniel’s prayer and fasting with the vision of a “great war” in which the curtain is lifted that veils the unseen realities from the seen.
The prophet is allowed to catch a glimpse of the heavenly war that goes on behind the earthly battles. As the vision unfolds, Daniel soon learns that the opposition to the reconstruction of the temple is not restricted to the idiosyncrasies of human rulers. Indeed, the political events involving the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Persians reflected an invisible war between the angels of God and evil powers. This close relationship between what happens in heaven and on earth is one of the distinctive features of apocalyptic prophecy. So, the angel discloses to Daniel that there has been a battle between Michael and the prince of Persia, a battle that will persist with Greece and, by implication, will continue amid the military conflicts between the kings of the north and the south (Daniel 11).
One of the heavenly beings, most likely Gabriel, tells the prophet Daniel that the prince of Persia resisted him for 21 days until Michael came to help him (Dan. 10:13). That this is a supernatural prince lies in the parallel usage of the word for the “prince” (sar) of Persia and Michael, the “prince” (sar) who represents God’s people. So, because of this contrast and opposition, the “prince of Persia” must have been a malicious being acting in opposition to Michael, the heavenly prince.
Therefore, the “great war” here described is a war between Satan, the prince of darkness—who represents the interests of the earthly enemies of God’s people—and Christ, the great prince who represents the people of God. .
This war lies at the heart of the great conflict between good and evil, which becomes visible in the political, social, and religious evils that befall the world. However, as the demonic forces increase their opposition to God’s angels and move earthly powers to attack God’s people, Michael, the “great prince,” steps in to protect and save God’s people (Dan. 12:1).