Deeper Commentary

Dan 10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia something was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar- According to Ezra 3:12, some old men returned to Judah when the possibility was created in the first year of Cyrus. Why not Daniel? Admittedly he was very old at this time. Is this one of the few indications of spiritual weakness in Daniel? Note his confession of personal sin in Dan. 9:20. Others would be in Dan. 3, where the obvious question is ‘Where was Daniel’? Another would be the consideration from Dan. 10:4 cp. Ex. 12:18 that he didn't keep Passover (see on :4). The third year of Cyrus meant 72 years after the captivity. Daniel therefore was wondering why there had been no successful restoration according to Jeremiah's 70 years-to-restoration prophecy- he'd been over 70 years in Babylon. He may also have been distressed that the majority of Jews in Babylon had chosen not to return to Judah; and he would’ve heard that those who had returned had faced huge opposition, indeed the rebuilding of the temple was halted until the second year of Darius (Ezra 4:24). Jewish tradition has it that Daniel did return, finally.

And it was true, even a great warfare: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision- The "great warfare" is that between the kings of north and south described in chapter 11, which forms part of this vision Daniel now receives. Or we can read as AV "But the time appointed was long", alluding to Daniel's deep disappointment that prophetic timetables were not going to lead to the restoration of the Kingdom during his lifetime. This is a recurrent theme in Daniel.

Dan 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three whole weeks- In Dan. 9:23, Daniel had experienced praying and then being told that the moment he started to pray, the answer had been given. And now he has another example of it. His fasting we can assume was associated with prayer; three weeks of prayer makes 21 days, and in :12 Daniel is told by the Angel that "from the first day...your words were heard, and I am come for thy words". So because of his prayer ("words"- perhaps put like that to emphasize the power of the 'mere' words uttered in prayer),  an  Angel  was  sent  from  God  to  give  him the  understanding he had asked for. His very first prayer for this was answered- but the actual answer came three weeks later. The reason for this was that the Angel had been withstood by the prince of Persia for 21 days (:13). Three weeks is 21 days. So Daniel's first prayer was answered, but it took the Angel three weeks to work out the answer in practice; but during this time Daniel kept on praying, although at the time it must have seemed to him that no answer was forthcoming. So let us be prepared to persevere in prayer, as those saints in Rev. 8 did and were rewarded by the incense finally being offered by the Angel to the Lord Jesus Christ, and thence to God. It may just be possible that there is a mighty Angel of answered prayer (Gabriel?), in the same way as there is a 'wonderful numberer' co-coordinating the timing of God's purpose, and an Angel specifically representing Jesus and Israel (do these four make up the four forms of Angel manifestation in the cherubim and four living creatures?). This Angel would co-ordinate the presentation and answering of prayers. The Angel then describes  how he confirmed and strengthened Darius (Dan. 11:1) to the same end to enable the prayer to be answered- as if when our Angel sees someone set in a course of action which will lead to the answer of our prayer, they are confirmed and strengthened in it. The wonder of all this needs some reflection. Our words, the thoughts within human brain cells, call forth the Angels from the court of Heaven. “When we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel [from the myriads standing on the right and left hands of His throne] and brought us forth out of Egypt” (Num. 20:16). Yet the voice that Angel responded to was the voice not so much of specific prayers but of the situation of the people. And the same is with us... See on Zech. 3:1; Zech. 6:8; Hag. 1:2.

Dan 10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled- This was not only fasting, but an expression of genuine sadness over the Passover period (see on :4). His sadness was clearly that the prophetic program was going to be seriously delayed beyond the 70 years-to-restoration prophecy of Jeremiah, and this was because of the weakness of Judah. Daniel had prayed in Dan. 9 for the restoration to happen anyway, but had been answered by the 70 weeks prophecy. And he would have been so sad that the opportunity to return to the land given in the first year of Cyrus had been responded to by so few Jews; and at the time of the third year of Cyrus (:1) the rebuilding of the temple had been delayed.

Dan 10:4 In the twenty fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river which is Hiddekel- This means that for 21 days before this, he had been fasting, throughout the Passover period. So Daniel didn’t keep Passover- he kept the eating of unleavened bread but if he didn’t eat any meat, he didn’t eat the Passover lamb. Was his faith in God’s deliverance of His people fading? Or was he spiritually so on another plane that it was OK for him not to keep the Passover, even though the person who didn’t keep it was to be cut off from amongst God’s people? See on :1.

Dan 10:5 I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose thighs were adorned with pure gold of Uphaz- See on Rev. 1:13; this appears to be a vision of an Angel representing the Lord Jesus in glory. The white linen represented righteousness (Rev. 19:8), and yet the visions of Zechariah present the leaders of Israel as clothed in "filthy garments". This therefore was the Messianic Saviour who was perfect. It connects with the prophecy of Is. 11:5 about the Messiah who would restore Judah: "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins". The gold therefore represents His faith and truth (1 Pet. 1:7). This awesome vision of an Angel representing the then-future Lord Jesus was to encourage Daniel that although his life was ending not as he wished, and things hadn't worked out as he had hoped, yet God's purpose remained sure, and there would be a wonderful Messianic redeemer figure who would save him and all God's people from their hopeless lethargy and sin, and bring about the restoration promised, which in their own strength Israel could not bring about.

Dan 10:6 His body also was like the beryl- This stone in the breastplate represented Dan, meaning 'judgment' (Ex. 28:17-21 cp. Num. 2:25). But Dan is absent from the list of the tribes in Rev. 7:5-8. Perhaps the idea is that this is the future Lord Jesus in judgment; and yet also identifying with Dan, the condemned excluded from the Kingdom.

And his face as the appearance of lightning- This was the feature of the Angel cherubim who are presented as present at Judah's exile and being the source of their potential restoration (Ez. 1:13). But the vision is ultimately of the Lord Jesus. The final restorer and Saviour of Israel is Him and not Angel cherubim, and so we note the connection with the vision of the glorified Lord Jesus with a face like the sun, the beams of which could be compared to lightning (Rev. 1:16).

And his eyes as flaming torches- The Angels are as it were God's eyes, and they are associated with the potential work of restoring Judah through the activity of the cherubim (Ez. 10:12; Zech. 4:10). But this is a vision of the future Lord Jesus, who was to take over the work of Angels and personally enable the ultimate restoration of God's people. It is He who has eyes as a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14). Hebrews 1 labours the point that the Lord is not and was never an Angel. Here an Angel is used to represent Him to Daniel, in His then future glory.

And his arms and his feet like burnished brass- The idea of a man who had passed through a furnace [the idea of "burnished"] would have reminded Daniel of the experience of his three faithful friends. This Messianic Saviour was truly human, and representative of all the faithful. Again, this is the language of the cherubim (Ez. 1:7) who were associated with Judah's exile and restoration. But their role and ministry for God's people was to be replaced by the Lord Jesus who likewise is presented as having such feet and arms (Rev. 1:15).

And his voice like the voice of a multitude- This likewise is the language of the cherubim associated with the exile and restoration (Ez. 1:24), but this is also the voice of the Lord Jesus in Rev. 1:15. He has taken over their work, and the potential restoration of Judah to their land by the cherubic Angels has now become reworked as the narrative of the Lord Jesus ultimately restoring and eternally saving all God's true people from bondage to sin.

Dan 10:7 I Daniel alone saw the vision; for the men who were with me didn’t see the vision; but a great trembling fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves- There are evident similarities with Saul's encounter with the glorified Jesus in a vision (Acts 9:7; 22:11). We are to understand this vision as being of an Angel who was not Jesus, not represented Him in His then future glory. The Lord Jesus, the future Messiah, was the answer to all Daniel's concerns about the when, where and how of the restoration of the Kingdom. Their trembling and fleeing into hiding is Biblically associated with the reaction of those who feel unworthy and who are condemned. Daniel's faith in God's saving grace was apparently stronger than theirs at this time.

Dan 10:8 So I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my moisture was turned in me into corruption- Daniel was to undergo a figurative death and resurrection. Perhaps this is why he had to be "left alone", to experience the totally personal issues and feelings of death and resurrection.

And I retained no strength- As in Dan. 11:6. Often in Daniel we read of “power” coming from God and being given to and taken from men. Daniel learnt in his own personal experience what this felt like, to enable him to better understand the prophecies he was giving. His mortality and weakness, and ours, is the whole world’s mortality and weakness. The Hebrew word for “power” is that used in Dan. 1:4- Daniel had ability [power] to stand before the earthly King; now he is unable to stand and has no power, before the Heavenly King. All his human strength was being shown to be nothing. Not by [human] power but by God’s Spirit would the restoration be achieved (Zech. 4:6).

Dan 10:9 Yet heard I the voice of his words; and at the time I heard the voice of his words, I had fallen into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground- This alludes to how in Persian courts, the accused lay prostrate with their face to the ground until the verdict was given; they were raised up if they were innocent. Daniel 10:9-11 describes in parabolic form the judgement, with Daniel representing the saints, rising from the grave (as he rose from "deep sleep" on the ground) in great fear and sense of unworthiness, but being comforted by the Angel with news of how pleasing we have been to them ("O Daniel, a man greatly beloved"). This indicates that the Angels will have a large part to play in the judgement; the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven with the Angels with Him, and they are sent forth to gather the responsible to judgment.

Dan 10:10 Behold, a hand touched me, which set me on my knees and on the palms of my hands- Presumably this was a repeat of how Gabriel had twice touched him in reassurance before (Dan. 8:18; 9:21). Daniel's great fear and weakness was because the whole vision was a foretaste of the final judgment, when he was to be resurrected and stand before the saviour Messiah of Israel- and be accepted. This was the final answer to all his concerns, and the disappointment of a life that had not turned out as he had expected by witnessing the restoration of the Kingdom as prophesied.

Dan 10:11 He said to me, Daniel, you man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright; for I am now sent to you. When he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling- Daniel's figurative resurrection was appropriate, because he was so heartbroken that his life was not going to conclude as he had expected, in seeing the restoration of God's Kingdom in Judah. But he is comforted through the vision of the Lord Jesus in His future glory that there would be the sure hope of personal resurrection. Gabriel says that "I am now sent", after the three weeks delay from the first prayer of Daniel being answered. Gabriel came so that Daniel might "understand", but from the end of Dan. 12 it's clear that Daniel didn't understand all the details. But there is no need to understand all the prophetic details to "understand" the essential picture- that God's Kingdom purpose shall come finally true through the Lord Jesus. Or maybe Daniel's final lack of apparent 'understanding' was because he didn't want to finally accept that, and still hankered for Kingdom now.

Dan 10:12 Then he said to me, Don’t be afraid, Daniel- Whenever Angels appear to God's people, they urge them not to fear. Angels will be sent to gather us to judgment, and meeting them will be the first we know that "He's back!". And surely we can expect the same words in that great day.

For from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard- Daniel's prayer for Israel’s restoration was above all a desire to "understand"; but his prayer was surely for the forgiveness and immediate restoration of Israel, as he had prayed in Dan. 9. But God sees to the core. In essence, Daniel was struggling to understand, and God saw this and read this as his prayer. As explained on Rom. 8:26, we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the hidden spirit of our deepest heart is read and understood as our request. See on Dan. 9:23.

And I have come for your words’ sake- This is the extreme sensitivity of God Almighty to the words of prayer, the words meant in our hearts. Human words call forth an Angel to be sent from Heaven all the way to a man on earth, struggling for three weeks to human obstacles to the fulfilment of the wish. We see the same thing in Revelation, where human prayer and actions on this earth call forth Angels to leave Heaven and do mighty things on earth- all for our sakes. We could have no greater encouragement towards seriousness and intensity in prayer. One word of prayer can result in Angels being sent all that ‘distance’ from Heaven to earth to assist us, as in Num. 20:16 “when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt”.

Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia- In the record, Cyrus seems willing to restore Israel- but he resisted three weeks. At this time (10:1) the project of the restoration had been temporarily halted, and it took the Angel three weeks to overcome this. Things aren't what they seem- people may appear to act or believe one way, when they've greatly resisted it. This means that Cyrus didn’t simply wake up one morning and decree that the rebuilding could continue; he resisted it, and the Angel had an ongoing battle with him over it. Those who appear ‘on our side’ in life may have actually battled against Angels not to be like that to us. In Dan. 10:20 Angel fought with him; and he remained fighting with the rulers of Persia, and strengthening Darius the Mede in Dan. 11:1- and I there suggest this figure may refer to Cyrus. The "prince" refers to the human prince of Persia, but then the Angel Michael is called "one of the chief princes". Intentionally, the term "prince" is used for both Angels and those whom they represent on earth, in this case, the princes of men. I suggest that the "princes" in apparent conflict are Angels within the court of Heaven; there, each Angel represents a person or entity upon earth. All the Angels are righteous, but they act out the roles of the various situations on earth, and God gives His judgment upon them.  Dt. 32:8 LXX suggests each nation has a representative Angel.

We note that the prince of Persia "withstood". God of course could have forced him to do His will. But God respects human freewill more than that. He does not force, treating men as mere puppets, but operates at length in such a way whereby His will is done whilst respecting human freewill and self-determination. The original for "withstood" is literally ‘to stand before / in front of’- the same two Hebrew words here translated “withstood” recur in Dan. 10:16, where Daniel ‘stood before’ the Angel. As Daniel stood before the Angel, so the Prince of Persia had also stood before the Angel. It could be understood that Daniel likewise withstood the Angel [see on 10:1 about Daniel’s possible weakness]. But more likely are we to perceive that the Angel had both Daniel and the Prince of Persia standing before Him- and had had this situation for the past three weeks in which Daniel had been in prayer. Our prayers are therefore a coming before God in a judgment scenario; we stand before Him, as our adversaries do; and He will hear us.

Michael came to "help" Gabriel- a common word in the restoration prophecies, promising God’s “help” for Judah’s restoration (Is. 41:10,13,14; Is. 44:2; Is. 49:8). Those promises of “help” were fulfilled in the Angels being sent to help. Michael being "one of the chief" implies a hierarchy amongst Angels; hence Jude 9 speaks of "Michael the Archangel".

Gabriel "remained" with the princes of Persia, implying the physical presence of the Angels is significant. They can as it were only be in one place at a time. We are invited to see them as leaving the court of Heaven in response to our prayers and needs (as in 1 Kings 22:19-22), and moving around the earth to operationalize God’s answers to our prayers- as in Dan. 10:20; 9:21,22; Gen. 18:10. Or we can read the text as meaning that when Michael came to help the other Angel overcome the prince of Persia, that Angel “was not needed there with the kings of Persia” (Dan. 10:13 RVmg.). It seems that once the job was done, the Angel wasn’t physically required there any more. It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10.

Dan 10:14 Now I have come to make you understand what shall happen to your people in the latter days; for the vision is yet for many days- This understanding is through the "writing of truth" (:21) which refers to the revelations of Dan. 11. As noted throughout that chapter, the various conflicts between the kings of north and south over the promised land have undeniable connections with historical realities, but they are never a perfect fit to them. They therefore refer to a situation yet to come in the last days; and here we are told that in so many words.

Dan 10:15 And when he had spoken to me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and was mute- The fact that the [fulfilment of] the vision was "yet for many days" (:14) was obviously distressing for Daniel. He had several times already been told that he was not to live to see the full restoration of the Kingdom, but no matter how many times we are told things in God's word, even by direct Angelic revelation in his case, we still struggle to accept them on a personal level. Our preconceptions of how things must work out in our own lives are very strong, and to resign them, or allow them to be re-interpreted by God, is so difficult. I will suggest on :16 that Daniel's muteness and staring at the ground is in shame, having been convicted of his sin.

Dan 10:16 Then behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spoke and said to him who stood before me- The one "like the son of man" is the Lord Jesus in Dan. 7:13 and Rev. 1:13, a vision very similar to the vision of the heavenly being Daniel has just seen. The one who stood before Daniel was presumably the same one who touched his lips. The awesome being Daniel has just seen was a vision of an Angel, perhaps Gabriel, manifesting the yet unborn Lord Jesus in His future glory, such as will be displayed at His return to resurrect Daniel and restore Israel's Kingdom. There is a similarity with how out of the same cherubic vision which condemned Isaiah, there came a being who touched Isaiah's lips and cleansed him from his sin (Is. 6:5-7). This would mean that Daniel's muteness and staring at the ground in :15 was in shame for his sins; he as representative of Israel, as well as a personal sinner, perhaps feeling guilt that he had so insisted upon seeing the restoration in his own lifetime, felt convicted of sin by the vision of the Christ in glory. And yet it was that same saviour Christ who also cleanses him from his sin.

My lord, by reason of the vision my sorrows are turned on me, and I retain no strength- "Sorrows" is an idea Biblically associated with sin. The vision convicted him of his sinfulness, as any human being would feel in the presence of the Lord Jesus- although of course the Lord didn't then exist, and was represented in His future glory by an Angel. "Turned on me" is the same word as in :8; Daniel's human strength was now felt by him to be nothing, he was totally convicted of his sin.

Dan 10:17 For how can my Lord’s servant talk with my lord? For as for me, immediately there remained no strength in me, neither was there breath left in me- This sense of inability to talk with "my Lord" [perhaps said in the same way as David in spirit called Jesus "Lord", Mt. 22:43] reflects a sense of moral unworthiness. He feels not only convicted totally as a sinner, but also dead, as if he has no breath. Daniel has previously identified himself with Israel's sins and also confessed his own sins in Dan. 9:20. But now before the presence, as it were, of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah he had so hoped to see in his own lifetime, he is the more deeply convicted of his sin. It is one thing to intellectually admit that we are sinners; but there are levels to that conviction, and Daniel now reaches a very high level of contrition. And yet from the very vision which convicted him, he is given cleansing and every assurance of salvation. It is the same experience we may pass through, perhaps when remembering the Lord Jesus as appointed at His memorial table.

Dan 10:18 Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me- This could be another Angel, or perhaps the same "son of man" of :16, representing the Lord Jesus, but described as a different personage here because He assumed a different form. The Lord Jesus likewise used physical touch to assure sinners throughout His ministry; although I again emphasize that the Lord had no personal pre-existence, and we are reading here of an Angel representing the then future Lord Jesus in the glory He shall have at His return in judgment. Hebrews 1 explains in detail that the Lord was not an Angel, but in vision He could be represented by Angels.

Dan 10:19 He said, Greatly beloved man, don’t be afraid: peace be to you, be strong, yes, be strong- I have explained on :15-18 that Daniel was deeply convicted of his sinfulness by this encounter with the Angelic representative of Messiah in glory. Hence he is again assured, and told not to be afraid- of condemnation for his sins. The "peace" wished to him is surely peace with God. And he is encouraged as we are to accept the strengthening of the Spirit.

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my lord speak; for you have strengthened me- Daniel accepts God's grace in Messiah, and believing that he is indeed forgiven and cleansed, he agrees to listen and have dialogue with "my Lord", the Angelic representative of the then future Lord Jesus.

Dan 10:20 Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come- The Greeks were required to take over from the Persians according to Daniel's visions of Dan. 2,7 and 8. But they were still some way off in time; but the Angel Gabriel was showing Daniel that he was already at work, even with Persia at its zenith under Cyrus, to bring about God's longer term purpose. Gabriel explained to Daniel that he had to battle with both the rulers of Persia and Greece in order to bring about the fulfilment of Daniel’s prayer for the final restoration to happen. By appreciating the local politics which the Angel brought about between Persia and Greece, we can better understand why Gabriel had to manipulate Greece in order for the Persians to allow the Jews to return, and even to encourage them to do so: “From the point of view of the Persian king a strong pro-Persian Judea was a major threat to the Greek coastal lifeline, and as long as the Greeks dominated the coast and Egypt he supported a strong Judean province headed by a Judean-Persian official and peopled by a pro-Persian population, most of whose families were hostages in Babylon and Persia”- Othniel Margalith.

The references to the Angel princes of Greece, Persia and Israel in Dan. 10:20,21 could suggest that each nation or people has an Angel representative in Heaven. Indeed Dt. 32:8 appears to say so: "[God] laid down the boundaries of every people according to the number of the sons of God", i.e. the Angels. It could even be possible that the strange reference in Eph. 6:12 to wicked spiritual beings in the Heavens refers to the Angelic representatives of the evil nations and powers here on earth. Those righteous Angels represent those powers in the court of Heaven- without themselves personally being the least bit wicked or sinful.

Dan 10:21 But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the writing of truth- What is noted "in the writing of truth" is the detailed predictions in chapter 11. Other such predictions in Daniel, and generally in the prophets, are presented in terms of visions which must be interpreted. But here we have a direct statement of future history without symbols and visions. This has fazed many interpreters, as they encounter what appears to be a recounting of history told in the future tense. But the key is to appreciate that this is simply a revelation to men of what is noted in God's book of time. The events are stated as they shall be, without symbols and visions.

It may be that the Bible or  the "whole counsel of God" existed in written form in Heaven before it was revealed to men. The fact that there is a literal book of life with writing in it indicates that the Angels do use their capacity to read; and will we too in some form in the Kingdom?  But the writing in view is likely the details of the great wars of Daniel 11. This passage would seem to necessitate some written record in Heaven capable of interpretation by the Angels, the meaning of which was being given to Daniel. Gabriel goes on to say "now will I shew you the truth" (Dan. 11:2). So the Angels hear God's word in Heaven, and sometimes inspire men to write some of these words down. Likewise in Rev. 1:1 we learn that the Revelation came from Jesus originally (and from God before that), but was sent to us and signified by the Angel. Does it follow that the Angel was responsible for working out the symbology, the signifying (putting into sign language) of the book, under the infallible guidance of God and Jesus? If so, we can better understand how the Angels eagerly watch over our attempts to understand the word, and are in a position, as Gabriel with Daniel, to step in and assist us in our understanding of it- not least through the trials of life which they bring opening our eyes to it (cp. Job 36:15). However, we know that not all the Angels have this ability, but rather earnestly look into the things contained in the word; or alternatively, they are used by God to work out the symbology which they themselves do not fully understand.

 

And there is none who holds with me against these, but Michael your prince- "Holds with me" is the same word used for 'strengthen' in this chapter. The word ‘strengthened’ occurs several times in Dan. 10. An Angel ‘strengthens’ Daniel, and then comments that “Michael your prince”, another Angel, had also helped him- he had “strengthened himself with me” (Dan. 10:21 RVmg.). But then the Angel comments that “As for me…I stood up to confirm and strengthen him”, i.e. Michael (Dan. 11:1 RV). The Angel who strengthened Daniel was helped by another Angel, Michael, strengthening him; and then that Angel strengthened Michael. This is possibly a window into the nature of our existence and relationship with each other in the future age! The great Angel Michael is described as "your (Daniel's) prince"- i. e. his personal guardian Angel (Dan. 10:21)?