[0:00] and it was a great conflict, and he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks.
[0:17] On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Ufaz around his waist.
[0:32] His body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude.
[0:45] And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me.
[1:00] My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.
[1:13] And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.
[1:29] And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.
[1:45] The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision is for days yet to come.
[2:00] When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute. And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips.
[2:12] Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, O my Lord, by reason of the vision, pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength.
[2:23] How can my Lord's servant talk with my Lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me. Again, one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me.
[2:35] And he said, O man greatly loved, fear not. Peace be with you. Be strong and of good courage. And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak, for you have strengthened me.
[2:48] Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia. And when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
[2:59] But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is none who contends by my side against these, except Michael, your prince. This is the word of the Lord.
[3:10] Speak to God. You may be seated. Well, good morning. I want to say, by way of introduction, a few words about the text and texts like these before speaking from the text.
[3:34] I want to talk about it for a minute just because I'm aware that for many of us these past three weeks and now here into week four haven't been all that easy.
[3:49] These strange visions of Daniel 7, 8, 9, and now another one commencing in Daniel 10 often raise more questions than they answer.
[4:04] I want us to be aware of that. And let you know that you're not alone. Even the prophet Daniel at the end of chapter 8 having been given an interpretation meant to help him understand closes with, And I didn't understand.
[4:25] Well, I guess we're in good company. If one reads these texts and these texts like them from a New Testament perspective, There is a moment in 1 Peter where he speaks about the prophets of old who saw these visions As if they were straining to fully comprehend.
[4:53] There was a sense where even when the veil was pulled back for them, What they saw was yet opaque. And in Peter we read that in some measure, All these things concerning the future Were connected to the future glories and the sufferings of one that would bring in God's kingdom.
[5:21] One that they couldn't really tell who he was or when he would come. Our own text, My final word about these texts, Is that it's intricately connected to chapter 11 and 12.
[5:40] I mean, we've been given chapter 7, 8, and 9 Where you get a vision and an interpretation, Game over, done, move to the next one when you arrive at the next chapter.
[5:51] But if I'm going to speak about this text or from it today, You need to know that chapter 10 through 12 really is the final climactic vision.
[6:02] So I don't want you to get lost. I want to speak very clearly about this. Chapter 10 unfolds how the vision came about. So next week in chapter 11, We see the actual content of this vision.
[6:18] And then chapter 12 actually concludes not only the book, But the substance of this vision. So as we come to the chapter in front of us today, We do so acknowledging that even Daniel struggles with the content of the preceding visions.
[6:44] We do so with an awareness that when this kind of thing happened to a prophet, They were trying to connect it to a future glory and suffering of one that it could not make out.
[6:54] And that what we are doing today is we are beginning to look at the final vision that runs you through the end of the book. So we can picture Daniel having heard in those visions of chapter 2 and 7 That the kingdoms of the world would one day collapse under the weight of a stone Or a kingdom that would replace it all from heaven.
[7:22] But not knowing what that all meant. We can understand that in chapter 8, He at least knew it was going to be a great conflict.
[7:35] A time of incredible duress on the earth. In chapter 9, That that conflict would actually end in this moment where Whatever the Son of Man did was something that actually gave the kingdom to saints.
[7:55] So now we come to chapter 10. Evidently, Daniel didn't have to wait long To learn that his prayer of chapter 9 Was effectual.
[8:07] The book of Ezra gives us a proclamation of Cyrus. Cyrus appears in the opening of our own chapter. Cyrus was the one that set God's people free.
[8:22] And with it, A real acknowledgement that the 70 years Of Babylonian exile were over. And the 70 sets of seven Left to make full atonement Were now underway.
[8:40] The book of Ezra Gives you this proclamation. Let me read it for you. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord, the God of heaven, Has given me all the kingdoms of the earth.
[8:53] And he has charged me to build him a house At Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, May his God be with him. And let him go up to Jerusalem, Which is in Judah.
[9:03] And rebuild the house of the Lord, The God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor In whatever place he sojourns Be assisted by the men of his place With silver and gold, With goods and with beasts, Besides free will offerings For the house of God That is in Jerusalem.
[9:23] Cyrus, this ruler in Persia, At the conclusion of 70 years, Roughly in Babylon, Said, go! And build a house for the God That oversees the land And the people of Israel.
[9:41] The Jewish settlements That had now, Over the decades, Grown up in Babylon, They must have been buzzing When the news hit the streets.
[9:54] Excitement ran high, Probably coupled with astonishment. Like, are you kidding me? Are we to believe this?
[10:05] We are free to return to our homeland? I can imagine somebody finding Daniel. Daniel! Daniel! Did you get your newspaper?
[10:21] Get online! We can go home! Did you hear the news? Yeah, an angel's been telling me That news for some time now.
[10:36] The proclamation of Cyrus Was used by God To stir the hearts of many people To get this wave of returnees. And Ezra even gives us the record.
[10:47] When the day of departure had come, 42,360 men, women, and children set out. And traveling with them Were 200 male and female singers, 1,000 horses and mules, 435 camels, And 6,720 donkeys.
[11:12] That's a traveling road show Heading home. I like to imagine Agent Daniel Under the Babylonian Ithmus Gate Now an octogenarian Looking into the eyes of 15, 16, 17 year olds As they reverse the journey He took Decades before For some reason He didn't make the return trip Himself It wouldn't surprise me If he stayed at the gate Until all that assembly Disappeared over the Distant horizon And the singers' voices Could no longer be heard And the dust had settled
[12:13] On the road that Laid between Jerusalem and Babylon He went back to work Probably a traveler Would have told him About a year in That it took Seven months And a bit Just to get an altar Up and running It would be about A year's time Before A traveler Would have brought News through That Zerubbabel Had actually Rededicated A city wall Two years later Now in his mid-80s Daniel would have learned That the work Had stalled That the opposition Had arrived That the troubled times Had set in And here's this Ancient Now aged
[13:14] Man Who has an appetite For what God Is doing in the world And will do An appetite That is greater Than his hunger For food Take a look At our text In those days I Daniel Was mourning For three weeks I ate no delicacies No meat or wine Entered my mouth Nor did I anoint Myself at all For the full three weeks On the twenty-fourth day Of the first month As I was standing On the bank Of the great river That is the Tigris I lifted up my eyes And looked And behold A man We're now in the third year Since the decree We're told that he'd been mourning For three weeks Refraining from eating Delicacies Most likely In contrast To the
[14:14] Leavened bread He now Took nothing Leavened We know that In the first month Of the calendar Of the year Nisan It would have been The celebration Of Passover And we're now To the twenty-fourth Day So in all Likelihood Daniel Began to celebrate The Passover feast In Babylon By fasting And prayers And longing To hear A word From God And when the celebration Finished Having heard nothing He continued on Hungry He would have God's word Above all Human food Yet nothing Came That is Until the Twenty-fourth Day Take a look At verse Five and six For the appetite Of Daniel Gives way To the appearance Of a man This was No traveler No traveler
[15:16] From the west Making his way Back east This is an angel Sent from heaven He was clothed In linen With a belt Of fine gold From Uphaz Around his waist His body Was like Barrel What a great word That is His face Was like The appearance Of lightning His eyes Like flaming Torches His arms And legs Like the gleam Of burnished Bronze And the sound Of his words Like the sound Of a multitude I mean the reverb On the Sound board Booming The appearance Of a man The man who would Speak God's word That kind of
[16:17] Vision is Consistent with What you have Almost in every Instance where You're reading about The prophetic Calling Where they Actually are drawn Into the heavens And hear From God That they might Speak For God It's consistent With all Apocalyptic literature That there's this Mediating heavenly Figure that Puts what's Happening On the world Stage into the Mind and heart Of the prophet That he might In one sense See it But in another Sense hear it And therefore Be able to Speak it Reminds me of Ezekiel In chapter 1 Or you think of Isaiah In chapter 6 And What an Overwhelming Experience Paul In the New Testament Said to have Been brought up Into the third Heavens John himself All these Prophetic Moments Of revelation Of apocalypses
[17:18] Come with This Kind of Thing Well the Appetite To hear God's word Was what Was driving Daniel And we Now have The appearance Of a man Who's ready To speak God's word To Daniel From verse Seven to the End It's very Simply Understood All that Needs to Take place To prepare Daniel To hear God's word Evidently The appearance Of the figure Made Daniel Fall On his Face And those Around him Flee And run For the Hills It's almost Like watching A Horror film When
[18:18] The figure Appears And nobody's Prepared It says In verse Seven I Daniel Saw the Vision The men Who were With me Did not See the Vision But a Great Trembling Fell upon Them And they Fled To hide Themselves So I Left Alone Saw the Great Vision No Strength Was left In me My Radi Appearance Was fearfully Changed And I Retained No Strength And I Heard The sound Of his Words And as I Heard The sound Of his Words I fell On my Face In deep Sleep With my Face To the Ground This Place Of Preparation To hear God This Falling On his Face It Gives Way To The Angel Getting Daniel On his Feet That's Really The Content
[19:18] Just The Way The Narrative Unfolds From Ten Through A Little Following The First Of Three Times Now We See The Angel Touching Him And Behold A Hand Touched Me And Set Me Trembling On My Hands And Knees And He Said To Me O Daniel Man Greatly Loved Understand The Words That I Speak!
[19:37] To You And Stand Up Right For Now I Have Been Sent To You And When He Had Spoken This Word To Me I Stood Up Trembling He's Got Him On His Feet Then He Said To Me Fear Not For From The First Day That You Set Your Heart To Understand And Humbled Yourself Before Your God Your Words Have Been Heard And I Come Because Of Your Words The Word Of God May Be Delayed At Times But It's On The Way Notice This Intriguing Enigmatic Statement Of 13 And Following The Prince Of The Kingdom Of Persia Withstood Me 21 Days But Michael One Of The Chief Princes Came To Help Me For I Was Left There With The Kings Of Persia And Came To Make You Understand What
[20:37] Is To Happen To Your People Days For The Vision Is For The Days Yet To Come We have This Mention Of Michael First Time This Angel Is Named He'll Come Again In Chapter 12 And He's And He's Indicated There As Being The Great Prince Who Has Charge!
[20:56] Of Your People There's An Indication In The Scripture Through This Sons Of God That Sons Of God Are Often Angels Themselves And In Deuteronomy!
[21:14] 32 Verses 8 And 9 Moses Speaks Of The Division Of The Nations In Accordance With The Sons Of God Almost As If If We Pulled Back The Veil On Life As You And I Know It And Saw It From Heaven's Perspective There Is A Spiritual Angelic Host That In Some Measure Might Actually Be Appointed Or Apportioned Out Over Entire Nations If You Pull Back The Veil Then This One Michael Is One Who Represents God's People In The World Beyond The Veil And Was Laboring For The Activity Of The Kingdom Let Me
[22:14] Put It To You This Way They War Over The Souls Of Humanity That Just Behind The Veil I've Done This To You Before But You've Seen It In Movies Where Someone Can Walk From One World Into The Next Like This They Take Their Hand And They They Put It Out And They Walk Into Another World And They Pull It Back And They Are In Their World The Scriptures Speak Of Another Realm A Realm That's All Around Us Yet Unseen By Us Apocalyptic Literature Giving Us An Understanding That There's More To The World Than Meets Your Eye Well
[23:19] If That's The Case Doesn't Surprise Me When We See What Happened To Daniel He Goes From Falling On His Face To Standing On His Feet To Now He's Got To Fight For Breath I Mean He's Almost Taken Back To The Canvas There Fifteen And Following When He Had Spoken To Me According To These Words I Mean When This Reality Began To Dawn On Me Says Daniel I Turned My Face Toward The Ground And Was Mute And Behold One In The Likeness Of A Children Of Man Touched My Lips And I Open My Mouth And Spoke And I Said I Just Have This Vision Of A Fighter In The Ring Who's Been On The Canvas And Now On His Feet But Now Coming To His Feet
[24:19] Is Pummeled With The Reality Of What He's About To Hear And He Doubles Over Actually Fighting For Breath I Can't Talk I Had An Appetite To Hear From God And There's The Appearance Of A Man Who Will Speak For God And The Reality Is I Am Not Prepared To Listen So Great So Great Are The Things Of God Wow Think About That I Mean Let's Just Let's Just Catch Our Breath You Know Sometimes We You Think You Had A Rough Week You Had A Rough 24 Days Wow This Guy's Having One Tough Month One
[25:20] Tough Month Some Of Us Think Wow Wouldn't It Be Great Just To Wow If I Could Have Any Job I Want Just Be A Prophet You Know Hang Around And Just Wait For The Heavens To Open And Have That Nice Intimate Communion With God And Hear From Him Evidently No I Don't Think We'd Be Looking For Taking The Prophetic Major In Our Undergraduate Days Must Must Be Overwhelming What's Just Beyond The Veil He Had Fallen On His Face He Had Been Brought To His Feet He Had Fought For Air He's Finally Ready For
[26:21] The Man To Speak Verses 18 To The End Again One Having The Appearance Of A Man Touched Me And Strengthened Me And Said To Me Oh Man Greatly Loved Fear Not Peace Be With You Be Strong And Of Good Courage And He Spoke To Me I Was Strengthened And Said Let My Lord Speak Then He Said Do You Know Why I Have Come To You But Now I Will Return To Fight Against The Prince Of Persia When I Go Out From You Behold The Prince Of Greece Will Come But I Will Tell You What's Inscribed In The Book Of Truth There Is None Who Contends By My Side Except Michael Your Prince He's Finally!
[27:03] Ready! What are We To Make Of It? At least This That Apocalyptic Literature Is Given To Us That The Veil Might Be Pulled Back Just For A Moment To Reveal That There's More Going On Than Meets The Eye Which Has Huge Implications If You Are A Naturalist It Means That You Something For Us To Consider Secondly We Should Begin To Understand That The Word That Comes To Us In The Scriptures Comes
[28:03] At A Great Cost To Someone Third It Seems To Me That One Of The Goals Was Comfort For God's People In The Midst Of Trial That He Saw Just Enough You Could Understand Just Enough To Know That God Is Working His Purpose Out On Your Side Of The Veil My Mom Was Young Probably Six Or Seven Living In Shanghai When Mao Came Through For Those In The West They Call It The Fall Of Shanghai For Those On The Side
[29:03] They Called The Liberation But She Was There She Woke Up One Morning To The Sound Of The Gunfire Where The City Fell I'm Saying Fall From Our Perspective My Grandfather Was There Trying To Tell People In Shanghai About The Gospel Trying To Reveal At That Moment In History What God Was Doing In The World His Role Was To Be On The Radio Every Morning And He Would Speak From The Scriptures And It Would Be Broadcast All Through China And Then He Would Play These Hymns Then They Shut The Radio Station Down And Off He Go And He Woke Up That Morning When The Streets Had All Changed And Prayed With My Grandma And Said I'm Going Peered Up Literally Getting Up Off The Ground To Look Through
[30:04] The Bottom Of The Windows And The Streets Are Lined With Military Personnel Bayonettes Even Drawn So He Walks Out The Door Couldn't Get On The Sidewalk So He Was Walking Right Down The Middle Of The Street About Two Mile Walk To The Radio Station Nobody Stopped Him He Walked In And There Was One Guy There Who In Here He Said Well I I've Come To Do My Job To Give My Word He Spoke On God's Presence In The Midst Of Trials And Then He Played This George Beverly Shea Song Not Written By George Beverly Shea But Sung By Him Listen To The Words If We
[31:04] Could See Beyond Today As God Can See If All The Clouds Should Roll Away The Shadows Flee Or Present Griefs We Would Not Fret Each Sorrow We Would Soon Forget For Many Joys Are Waiting Yet For You And Me If We Could Know Beyond Today As God Doth Know Why Dearest Treasures Pass Away And Tears Must Flow And Why The Darkness Leads To Light Why Dreary Days Will Soon Go Bright Someday Life's Wrongs Will Be Made Right Faith Tells Us So If If We Could See If We Could Know We Often Say But God In Love A Veil Doth Throw Across Our Way We Cannot See What Lies Before And So We Cling To Him The More He Leads
[32:04] Us Till This Life Is Or Trust And Obey And He Turned The Station Off And The Curtain Fell And For Fifty Years That's The Last Word Out Of China They Gathered Their Stuff And Miraculously Got Out A Story Unto Itself They Heard Decades And Decades And Decades Later From As Far North As Peking From Those Who Heard The Broadcast But Did Not Get Out Nor Could They And They Said To My Grandpa If You Have Come To China Only For
[33:05] Those Days Of Upheaval It Would Have Been More Than Worth While For All Of Us And Daniel Got A Word That Is Worth While For Us!
[33:28] And You Know Enough To Know Fear Not For God Is Working His Purpose Out You Know Enough To Know That You Are Loved By God And He Has A Plan You Know Enough To Know If You Been In This Church For Any Length Of Time That The Fullness Of Victory Comes Through The Work Of Jesus Christ So Stay On Your Feet Be Ready To Hear From God Our Heavenly Father This
[34:29] Strange And Enigmatic Chapter In This Unique Book Filled With Oddities May Each One Here Today Grab Hold Of Enough That Will Enable Them To Go On Their Way We Pray This In Jesus Name Amen