Now, if you would, let's turn
in our Bibles to the book of Daniel, chapter 10. Daniel, chapter 10. In the first few verses of this
chapter, as we began at last time, we saw the Lord God preparing
Daniel for the vision to come. As I told you, chapters 10, 11,
and 12 really should be read as one vision, one prophecy that
the Lord revealed to Daniel and to us through Daniel. It's the
vision of the kings, that's what it's normally called. In chapter
11, it shows the struggle of human kings and empires, their
struggle with each other, But not only that, their opposition
and their warfare against Christ and His church. We'll see that
in chapter 11. And so it's a vision of warfare.
I've entitled this message, The Great Spiritual Warfare. I had Brother Bill read that
Psalm 60 because it's a psalm of warfare, isn't it? Here it
speaks there in the last verse of Psalm 60 in verse 12, it says,
through God we shall do valiantly. What does that mean? And I thought
about that when I read it first, Bill, because most people believe
that God can't win the victory without us. That's the way most
people think. He's the only hands you have,
the only legs, or you're the only hands He has, the legs He
has, all that, you've heard all that. But that's not what that
is teaching. It tells you what he means in
the next line. That's what that colon is there
for in Psalm 60 in verse 12. Through God we shall do valiantly
for, and this is the reason, for he it is shall tread down
our enemies. He's the one who does the fighting
for us. Now we're instruments in that warfare, and we'll see
that tonight too. Daniel was an instrument. in
that warfare. But the battle is the Lord's.
A couple weeks ago I preached from Exodus chapter 14 on that
subject for our television message. You remember when the children
of Israel were on the shores of the Red Sea and they didn't
know how they were going to get across the Red Sea and they looked
back and they saw Pharaoh's army there and they began to complain
and murmur. In verse 13, it says, Moses said
unto the people, fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord, which he will show to you today for the Egyptians
which you have seen today, you shall not see them again no more
forever. The Lord shall fight for you
and you shall hold your peace. So what does that tell you? Well,
the Lord does the fighting, we hold our peace. Stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord. That's basically what the Lord
is telling Daniel to do. Now, he has things for us to
do, but the battle is his and the victory is his. And so, in
this vision, we see the kings of the earth during the period
between the Testaments, between Malachi and Matthew, you might
say. And their struggles with each other, overthrowing each
other, warring against each other. the history of the world written
in human blood, all of that. And then in chapter 12 he shows
us the final victory of Jesus Christ over it all in his second
coming when he ends it all and comes out victorious as he always
has been. So there is a historical context
to what Daniel is seeing here in that period between the Testaments.
at what we call the 400 years of silence. And what we mean
by that, they weren't silent, but we just don't have any biblical
testimony of that day except what's given, for example, here
in the book of Daniel, about what's going to happen. But then
there's also a redemptive spiritual context in this vision, in that
these kings symbolize and embody the spirit of Antichrist. That's
what they symbolize. That's what they literally were,
actually, the spirit of Antichrist, but they're representative. By
symbols, what I mean is they're representative of all evil kings,
evil empires, evil governments. It's what the book of Revelation
calls the beast that arises, or one of the beasts that arises.
Sometimes there's a And they're under the power of Satan. Sometimes
there's a division there. You see ungodly governments,
ungodly nations, and then you'll see the false prophet. That's
ungodly religion. But either way, it's the spirit
of Antichrist. And they represent this. An Antichrist will be defeated,
from whom all God's elect shall be saved by the redemptive work
and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why he gave him this
vision in the first 10 verses here of chapter 10. Daniel, he
was mourning over the sin and the apostasy and the rebellion
and the unbelief of himself and his people, the people of Israel,
people of Judah. But he's comforted and he's prepared
by a greater vision, a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember
verse five, then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold,
a certain man, not just any man, but a certain man, the one whom
God chose, the one whom God ordained, clothed in linen, loins girded
with fine gold of Uphaz. That's Christ in his glory, his
mediatorial glory, the warrior king, the warrior priest. Daniel
alone saw this vision. The men that were with him didn't
see it. They just felt an earthquake and they ran and hid. And I thought
about how much that is so true when the gospel is preached and
God shows one of his sheep the glory of Christ and people around
don't see it. All they see is a message of
condemnation and damnation. But when we see the glory of
Christ, and there it says in Daniel, verse 8, look at it,
chapter 10, verse 8, there I was left alone and saw this great
vision, and there remained no strength in me. I don't have
any strength or power to save myself. And my comeliness, my
beauty, my natural beauty or natural goodness, it's nonexistent. It's turned into corruption,
for I retain no strength. I don't have any power or any
goodness to save myself or to recommend myself unto God. I'm
totally Totally useless and worthless in that area. But here comes
a voice. He said, yet heard I the voice
of his words. When I heard the voice of his
words, verse 9, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and
my face toward the ground. I thought about Christ speaking,
peace be still. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. Christ, this warrior priest,
this warrior king, he's the king of kings. In this great vision, he's shown
as the one who will redeem and preserve his people by his work
on the cross, the blood of Christ. You know, he's dressed in priestly
robes here. That's his garments. So not only
does he stand as the Lord Christ, he stands as Christ and him crucified. The one who represents the people
presents the offering to God, the sacrifice of himself. And
then he will defeat all our enemies. And then there's a prophetic
context here. This whole episode in history
foretells the final outcome of the conflict that has been going
on between Christ and Satan since the fall of man. You can read
about it in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 when the Lord, that
first gospel message that was preached. We see the gospel in
picture before that even in the creation of the world. But he
preached it out in Genesis 315 in that prophecy of the woman's
seed. He said, I'll put enmity, told the serpent. Satan, he said,
I'll put enmity. That's conflict, that's hatred
between thy seed and the woman's seed, which is Christ and ultimately
his church in him. And Christ is and he will be
victorious. Yesterday morning I preached
on this subject at Middle Fork with Brother Eisen Pastors and
felt like I had a good time with it. So some of you who were there,
you bear with me. I'm gonna be repeating some of
that cause the reason I got to thinking about that so much is
by studying the book of Daniel here. But here's Daniel. He's lying prostrate on the ground. He's like John in Revelation,
and we compared this, the same language that John uses in Revelation,
same language that Ezekiel used in Ezekiel chapter one, when
he saw that vision of the glorified Christ. And John said, I fell
down as a dead man. That's what Daniel's saying there
in verse eight. I don't have any strength or
goodness, I'm a sinner. I don't have anything to recommend
me to God. And here he is, lying prostrate
with his face toward the ground. And one old writer said, every
person, this is the way every person, every sinner, who comes
face to face with the glorified Lord, when you come into the
presence of the glory of God, this is how every sinner, if
you see his glory, you'll see yourself as a filthy sinner.
who deserves nothing but damnation and wrath, and you'll never walk
away from that vision proud. You might look in a mirror and
think you can walk away proud, but you'll never, you'll never
look at the Lord in the way Daniel saw him here and walk away proud.
You'll be like Job. I've heard of you by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth you, and I, I hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes.
You'll be like, oh, the Apostle Peter. You know how proud Peter
was. He always liked to boast. He always liked to jump in and
have the first word. He had the answer for everything.
And when he saw the glory of the Lord in his true glory, remember
what he said? He said, depart from me, Lord,
for I'm a wicked, sinful man. Be like the Apostle Paul, had
his head held high on the road to Damascus, ready to fight for
the Lord. What was he gonna do? Wanted
to wipe the name of Jesus of Nazareth off the face of the
earth and kill anybody or arrest anybody that followed him. And
the Lord put him down in the dust and he said, all that I
thought was good and beautiful and holy about me, I now count
it dumb that I may win Christ. Have you ever come to that point?
You know what that is? That's Holy Spirit conviction.
That's what that is. And it'll drive a sinner to Christ.
That's what's happening to Daniel here. You see, that's not a one-time
thing. Daniel was a man of God from
his youth, the scripture says. And here he is in his nineties.
He's about 90 years old here. You know what? Still the same
glory, still the same sinner saved by the grace of God. He's
not risen above that. Somebody was talking about people
who say, well, we're not sinners. Well, you're not in the same
class as Daniel then. That's what he's saying when
he says, my comeliness melted, turned into me into corruption. I'm a sinner saved by grace.
You're not in the same class with Paul. He said, Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, and as an old man instructing
young Timothy, he said, of whom I am chief. Right now. Isn't that something? Somebody
said, the way up for a sinner is the way down. God brings us
down. Paul said, when I'm weak, I'm
strong. Why? Because that's when you look
to Christ, who is our strength. Well, when Daniel's on his face,
prostrated on the ground, the first thing that comes along
here is a messenger sent from God. Look at verse 10. He says,
and behold, a hand touched me. Now, he says, which set me upon
my knees, upon the palms of my hands, and he said unto me, O
Daniel, A man greatly beloved. Understand the words that I speak
unto thee." Now, who's speaking here? Well, most people. Some
say it's the Lord himself there, but I don't believe it is. I
believe this is talking about another person when you look
at the context of it all and how it's put forth in the original
language. And I believe what he's talking about is a messenger
sent from God. A messenger sent from Christ. Some commentators say this could
be the angel Gabriel who was sent to Daniel before. I don't
know. But I'll show you another reason why I believe this is
another messenger. But either way, I want you to
understand something here. Whoever this is, he's one who
has the message of God's power and grace. He's one who's sent
to Daniel to preach and to communicate that glory of Christ that Daniel
has just seen in that vision. He's not one who's going to draw
attention to himself. He's not one who's going to preach
himself. Paul said, we don't preach ourselves
but Christ Jesus the Lord and we're servants for your sake.
He's not going to brag about anything he is or what he's done.
He's going to talk about Christ. He's going to preach Christ.
That's what this messenger does. And we can say that even though
God uses means, here is the means of his messenger. And he says,
and behold, a hand touched me, the hand of this messenger, and
it says, which set me up upon my knees, he moved me, and upon
the palms of my hands, getting him up, lifting him up, I think
about that just like in Hannah's prayer, how God lifts the beggar
off the dung heap, that's what we're seeing here. Daniel down
there wallowing in his sins, as old Bunyan said, in the slough
of the spot, and God reaches down, and even though it's a
messenger here, we know who it is that really touched him, it's
the hand of the Lord. It's just like when a preacher
preaches the gospel. If I preach the gospel or Brother
Allen preaches the gospel or Brother Ron or any of these men,
Brother Joe or Brother Aaron, any of you men, if you preach
the gospel and God's pleased to lift a beggar off the dunghill
of sin and false religion and darkness and unbelief, if God
the Holy Spirit is pleased to bring a sinner to himself, to
the end of himself and to see the glory of Christ, I can tell
you right now, it's not, and these men will agree with me,
it's not any of us who do that. We're just the messenger. It's
God. It's the power of God unto salvation. That brings us, Senator,
to where Daniel's come to. So this is the hand of the Lord,
and that's what we have to have to be saved. We need the Lord
to touch us. We don't need human hands on,
Brother Mahan, you say, empty hands on empty heads. We don't
need that. We need the Lord to touch us
with His power and His goodness and His grace. And it says here,
it's read in verse 11, listen to what he says, now how do I
know that he preached Christ? Because he told Daniel, he spoke
words of peace. and mercy and grace to Daniel,
and there's only peace and mercy and grace from the Lord, from
God in the Lord, in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said unto me,
O Daniel, a man greatly beloved. That could be translated greatly
desired or a man of desires. Some say it should be highly
favored, some say even highly esteemed. Well, either one of
those translations would do okay. But here's the key. Whatever
Daniel is, according to this messenger, whether in being greatly
beloved or highly favored or greatly desired or highly esteemed,
it has nothing to do with what Daniel is in himself or what
Daniel has done or is doing or going to do. Because when you look at Daniel,
now Daniel here, you remember what he was doing when this thing
opened up? He was fasting, he'd been fasting, he'd been mourning
for three and a half weeks, 21 days. And most people, he didn't
anoint himself. Some say that means he didn't
take a bath. And I'll guarantee you that didn't make him greatly
desired. He's a man wallowing in sin.
What is this belovedness here? What is this desired thing about
Daniel, his favor, his esteem? It's not in him, it's in his
Savior. This is sovereign, redemptive
love in Christ. 1 John 4.10, herein is love,
not that we love thee. Not that we love God, but that
he loved us. and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. And what kind of people does
God love? What does it say in Romans chapter 5? When we were
enemies. God's love is not a reaction
to our goodness or our decisions or our promises to do better. No sir, we don't have any of
that in God's sight. God loves the unlovely. There's
nothing in us to be loved. Nothing in Daniel to be loved.
Nothing in Daniel to earn God's love or to deserve God's love.
Nothing in us. And yet he loves us with an everlasting
love. And if you don't believe that,
think about it. He sent his son to die on Calvary's cross because
of his love. One old writer said, God's love
provides in Christ what his justice demanded. I like that. And listen to what he said in
verse 11. He said, Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the
words that I speak unto thee and stand upright. You see, having
seen this great vision of the power and grace and love of God
in Christ, Daniel is commanded by this messenger of God to stand
upright. He said, for unto thee am I now
sent. This uprightness there that speaks
of the sinner's position in Christ. We can stand, and you know why? Because we're standing on the
rock, Christ Jesus. We are upright in Him. He is,
Christ is my uprightness. He's my holiness. He's my righteousness. He's my mediator. And it says,
and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Now,
Daniel's trembling because he doesn't know what this vision's
going to be yet. He's awaiting this vision. He'd
seen some pretty, pretty amazing stuff, hadn't he? Especially
about his own nation. Last time I talked about Daniel
mourning. What's he mourning over? Well, he's mourning over
his sin, but he's also mourning over the state of his nation,
their apostasy. But listen what the messenger
from God says. In verse 12, he says, Then he
said unto me, Fear not, Daniel, fear not. I think of that verse
in, I think it's the book of Luke, where the Lord said, Fear
not, little flock. He's like a shepherd. That song
I like to sing, like a shepherd out on the hillside, watching
his sheep down below. He's coming back to claim us.
Will you be ready to go? He's like a shepherd. He saves
his sheep by his death. A good shepherd gives his life
for his sheep. And he preserves his sheep, and
he feeds his sheep, and he keeps his sheep. And he brings all
his sheep into the fold. And he says, fear not, little
flock. And that's what this messenger is saying to Daniel. Fear not,
Daniel. Don't be afraid. And what's happening
here? Well, God's hearing his prayer.
And listen to what he says. He says, and from the first day
that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten
thyself before God, thy words, your prayer, was heard. And I
am come for thy words. Now prayer doesn't change God's
mind. Prayerism is a means. It's an instrument that God uses
in His people and by His people to accomplish His will. Everything
that Daniel's going to see in this vision has been predestinated
from the beginning. That's what the Bible teaches.
I can show you that in the book of Revelation in a minute. And
yet he says, I've come for thy prayers. God hears the prayers
of his people. It's not because it changes God.
It's because it glorifies God. It's not because it persuades
God when he's reluctant. It's because it's what God has
purposed to do all along. We're just his instruments of
glory. He glorifies himself in this way. But here's the key.
God heard Daniel's prayer. How? Through his mediator. Through his great high priest.
God hears the prayers of his people in Christ and by Christ. And you think about this. All
of this that's going on. That Daniel going to see. He's going to see some amazing
things here. And all of this, this messenger from God telling
him to fear not, fear not. Well, listen to what he tells
him. Look here in verse 13. Now this is something I want
to spend a little time on. He says in verse 13, but the
prince of the kingdom of Persia, we know Daniel at this time was
under the Medo-Persian Empire. He started out the Babylonians
and they were defeated. And this vision was given to
him in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia. And remember
his vision of the 70 weeks in chapter 9 was given in the first
year of Cyrus, king of Persia. So he says, but the prince of
the kingdom of Persia withstood me. He withstood me, how long? 1 and 20 days, 21 days, 3 weeks. You remember how long Daniel
had been mourning and fasting back here in verse 2? In those
days Daniel was mourning 3, 4 weeks, 21 days. And he prayed and this
messenger from God, he says, listen, The moment you began
to pray, your prayer was heard. God's not, what he's saying here
is, again, this is what I'm saying, this prayer didn't change God's
mind. God wasn't waiting on Daniel to do anything. He's not waiting
on, listen, the Bible tells us to wait on the Lord, never tells
God to wait on us. Never represents God as waiting
on us. But he said the moment you started,
I was sent, to show you, give you the understanding of this
vision, but something hindered this messenger of God. Now this
is one of the reasons I don't believe this messenger is Christ
himself. I believe it's one of his heavenly messengers, an angel,
whatever, an angelic being. Then look here in verse 13. He
says, But lo, Michael, and it says, one of the chief princes
came to help me. and I remained there with the
kings of Persia." Now, it's not really a good translation of
that. The original Hebrew scripture doesn't say, Michael, one of
the chief princes. It doesn't say that. And of course,
you know, this name Michael comes up as far as an angel, or what
Jude called an archangel, which means the highest. Many people
believe that this is the highest of the angelic, he's the highest
of the angelic beings and there's a hierarchy of angels. I don't
see that anywhere in the Bible. There are angels. Elect angels,
the Bible calls them. There are elect angels and non-elect
angels. And I don't see anything representing
a hierarchy as if there's one named Michael who's the highest
and then Gabriel's next. In fact, when Gabriel gives him
a name, but it doesn't say anything about his position in any hierarchy,
or anything like that. What this would literally read,
if I can say it, is Michael, the chief prince. Michael, this Michael here, is
the highest of the high. That's what he's talking about.
He's chief of the princes. He's not one of the chief princes.
He's chief of all of them. And you know what the name Michael
means? You can translate it one of two ways. You can say one
who is like God. That's what the name Michael
means. Now let me ask you a question. Is there anybody from Genesis
to Revelation who is ever described as being like God? And the answer
is yes, but not among angels or men. So you can translate it as one
who is like God, or you can translate it this way, properly, one who
is God. Who is Michael? He's the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's a name that has meaning.
It has definition. It's describing the Lord of glory.
It's not describing one of the chief princes. It's describing
the chief of princes, the king of kings. And this angelic being
was sent forth from God to show this vision to Daniel, and he
was hindered by the prince of Persia, prince of the kingdom. And the only one who could defeat
this prince of the kingdom of Persia was Michael, the chief
of princes. What does the Bible teach about
our battles? Christ is the warrior. Who is this prince of the kingdom
of Persia? Well, some say he's Satan himself. Some say he is
one of the demons or one of the fallen angels who is in the service
of Satan, who is especially assigned or specifically assigned to Persia.
I don't know about all that. I know I've heard of some folks
who've done studies in demonology and things like that, but I choose
not to do that and I wouldn't suggest you do it either. I don't
believe it's a profitable study for anybody. I believe we should
just read the scriptures and look at what's there and deal
with it as it is revealed in scripture. Brother Mahan used
to tell about a friend of his who did a study of demonology
and the man liked to wink crazy over it. And it's sad. But I know this, whoever this
prince of the kingdom of Persia is, it's an evil angel. whether it's Satan himself or
one of Satan's minions. Some people say that each nation
has an evil, demonic power behind it. That may be so. It is in that sense. But I don't
know if we can say it's a specific angel or whatever. But here's
what I do know. I know that this prince of the
kingdom of Persia, this evil angel, this demonic influence,
this demonic being rather, not just an influence but a being,
withstood this messenger that was sent from God for 21 days.
But lo, verse 13, lo, Behold, that's what he's saying, behold
Daniel, Michael, the chief of the princes, he came to help
me and I remained there with the kings of Persia. What he's
saying, while I remained there with the kings of Persia. And
he says in verse 14, look at it now. He says, now I'm come
to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the
latter days, for yet the vision is for many days. Now what is this telling us?
What does this teach us? Now listen to what I'm saying
very carefully. It tells us that behind the scenes
of human history, there is a great spiritual warfare going on between
Christ and Satan. I dealt with this a little bit
yesterday morning, but I want you to understand now that when
we talk about a warfare, a battle, a conflict between Christ and
Satan, that this has been a battle, a warfare that has gone on from
the very beginning of the fall of man. We can talk about the
enmity that's between the seed of Satan and the seed of woman.
We see that battle first played out in Genesis chapter 4 between
Cain and Abel. Here's Cain, the man of works,
the self-righteous sinner coming to God. pleading his works for
salvation, for blessedness, for righteousness, for forgiveness.
And here's Abel bringing the blood of the Lamb of God, the
blood that represents Christ. And there's a conflict, there's
an enmity there. The Bible says the carnal mind
in Romans chapter 8 is enmity against God. That means it's
hatred at war with God. What is the carnal mind there?
It's any mind that is not submitted to and resting in the Lord Jesus
Christ for all salvation. Even the most moan religious
mind that is not submitted to and resting in Christ for all
salvation is at enmity with God. There's a conflict. There's a
battle. The believer, the true child
of God has three great enemies. We have the world. We have the
flesh. We have the devil. It's a conflict. It's a warfare. And behind the
scenes of human history, that conflict, that battle, that warfare
is being played out. But understand, that does not
mean that God is not sovereign. Now, listen to me now. Even this warfare that's going
on and has been going on since the fall is well within God's
sovereign will and sovereign decrees from the beginning. God
has decreed and predestinated and predetermined the history
of all nations. And even in this conflict, Jesus Christ is the absolute
and unconditional sovereign over the history of nations. But at
the same time, in the fulfillment of God's purpose in history,
God has determined that the accomplishment of His sovereign will, which
cannot be changed and cannot be altered, cannot be hindered,
cannot even be thwarted, that it would come through much struggle,
much conflict, great conflict. Turn to Revelation 13. Revelation 13. Now this is talking
about Satan, the dragon is talking about the beast that will appear
on earth and all that spirit of Antichrist in the last age,
and look at verse 7 of Revelation 13. Well, look at verse 6, it
says, He opened His mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme
God's name and His tabernacle, that's God's way of salvation
by grace in Christ, and them that dwell in heaven, He blasphemed
them. And look at verse 7, And it was
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And power was given over all
kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth
shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of
life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Now,
do you see the first words up there in verse 7? It was given
unto him to make war. Who you think gave it unto him
to make war? You think Satan did that? Oh
no, Satan doesn't have that power. God gave it to him. Want me to
prove it to you again? Turn to John 19. Christ, when he was on trial before his
death, He stood before a man named Pontius Pilate. And Pontius Pilate represented
one of the most ungodly, evil, idolatrous, immoral governments
that has ever darkened the landscape of this earth, the Roman Empire. And this man stood before our
Lord, and look at John chapter 19, look at verse 11. Look at
verse 10, he says, it's talking about how
Christ gave him no answer to his questions, and then saith
Pilate unto him, speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee and have power to release
thee? And Jesus answered, thou couldest have no power at all
against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore he
that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin." Talking about
those who'd lied on him. He told Pilate, you wouldn't
have any power against me. Except it was given to you from
God. So, this great battle. Now, somebody might ask the question,
well, why did God set it up this way? I'll tell you exactly why.
And here's the stock answer, but it's the only answer and
it's the greatest answer. He did it for His glory. That
no flesh should glory in His presence. He did it to honor
His Son. Christ is the victor over all
evil. and he in the end is going to
defeat all he's already defeated it he's defeating it and he will
finally defeated in that great day of that battle called Armageddon
and he's going to be glorified and honored as the one who defeated
all who put down all enemies they're going to be put under
his feet and every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going
to confess that Jesus is it's for his glory that's why another thing that The fact of
this battle doesn't mean the outcome is uncertain. It's not
uncertain. Even though Satan and his evil
angels and demons have been allowed to make war, he's been cast out.
He was cast out at the cross. That's what the Lord meant in
John chapter 12 when he said, now is the prince of this world
cast out. Satan, listen, the ground of
condemnation for the people of God was removed at the cross
of Calvary when Christ was made sin. and satisfied the justice
of God and paid our debt in full by the price of His blood. So
that we see from the cross, we see from the good news of salvation
by grace that this battle's not ours. We're engaged in it as
instruments of God's power and grace and that's why He tells
us to put on the whole armor of God that we may withstand
Satan. And how He tells us that we're
not wrestling with flesh and blood here, It's with principalities
and powers higher than we can even see and can even know. And
that's why he tells us that this great war, this conflict, is
not a physical battle. It's a spiritual battle. Satan,
his two greatest weapons are what? Deception and accusation. That's his two greatest weapons.
How does he deceive? With false religion. 2nd Corinthians
chapter 4 and verse 3, if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them
that are lost in whom the God of this world hath what? Blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest they should see the
glorious, the glory of God in Christ. And he'll do anything
to deceive people in religion or in any way, philosophy in
any way, human wisdom, to keep a sinner from seeing the glory
of God in the person and finished work of Christ. His attacks are
always aimed at Christ and Him crucified. And then accusation. Satan, he's the accuser of the
brethren. How do you turn back his accusations?
By pleading the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 12. Think about it. Look back at
Daniel 10. Let me finish now. He says that
Michael, the chief prince, has come to help me, and I remain
there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand
what shall befall thy people in the latter days, and yet the
vision is for many days. What he's saying here is this
vision is not going to come to pass right away. It's going to
take some time. It's going to befall thy people.
It's going to befall physical Israel. They're going to be involved
in it. But it's also going to involve spiritual Israel. That's
the ultimate victory. And then in verse 15, listen
to this. He says, And when he had spoken such words unto me,
I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. I just had
to stop and be silent. Verse 16, Behold, one like the
similitude of the sons of men touched my lips, that's the messenger
of God. And then I opened my mouth and
spake and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by
thy vision my sorrows are turned upon me and I have retained no
strength. I believe Daniel's thinking about
his own nation like Paul did in Romans 9 and Romans 10. I
could wish myself a curse for my brethren according to the
flesh. He said in verse 17, for how
can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord? In other
words, what he's saying there is I'm not worthy to receive
these things, to see and to speak with it. He says, for as for
me straightway, There remained nothing, as immediately. Now,
there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left
in me." This is Daniel's reaction to the vision. Now, he was overcome,
he was overwhelmed by this vision. And then at the end, he sees
the fact that God's power and word and grace is sufficient.
for him. He says, Then there came again
and touched me one like the appearance of man, and he strengthened me,
the messenger of God, pointing Daniel to Christ. And listen
to what he said, and he said, O man, greatly beloved, fear
not. Peace be unto thee. Be strong,
yea, be strong. My friend, we can't fight this
battle on our own strength and our own goodness. We have none.
We must look to Christ. And when he had spoken unto me,
I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak, for thou hast
strengthened me. And then said he, Knowest thou
wherefore I come to thee? Do you know why I came to you,
Daniel? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia?
He's going back to fight with this demon or this angel or Satan
himself. And he said, and when I'm gone
forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. He's prophesying
of the Greek empire that's coming. We're going to study about that
in Daniel 11. But look at the last verse now.
Here's where it concludes. Here's how Daniel is really prepared
to receive this vision. and understand these things about
these nations and this spiritual warfare. He says, but I will
show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth, that
which has already been recorded. You see, all this has been recorded.
This is not contingent on anything. I'm gonna show you what the word
of God says. That's what he's telling. And he said, there is
none that holdeth or strengtheneth himself with me in these things,
but Michael, your prince, Daniel, What's he saying? He's simply
saying, Daniel, don't be afraid. Be strengthened. Because you
understand that Michael, the chief of all princes, is your
prince. Christ is your Lord. He's not
just a Lord. He's not just the Lord. He is
the Lord. But He's my Lord. Remember when
Thomas, Doubting Thomas saw that? What did he say? My Lord and
my God. You don't have to fear. I mean,
there's a battle going on and it's not easy. We have battles
within the world, the flesh, the devil. They're not easy.
It's a struggle. It's a struggle. It's a warfare.
That's the Christian life. But we don't have to faint and
give up in fear. We can have peace. We can have
a settled quietness in our soul because Christ, the victor, is
our Lord. He's my Lord. He's your Lord. All right.