Day 259 (Daniel 10-12) - Year 4
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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today we finished our 32nd book of the Bible. It opens during the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, who is currently in charge of Babylon. We've read about Cyrus in other books of prophecy. He's the one who is not a follower of Yahweh, but whom Yahweh uses to move some of his important plans along, like eventually rebuilding the temple.

We're not there yet, though. We're currently on the banks of the Tigris River with Daniel, who has been in mourning and seeking God for three weeks. He sees a vision that has some familiar components. It's a shiny metal-looking man dressed in linen and gold. Lots of commentators think this is the angel Gabriel again.

The angel slash messenger of God peels back the curtain to let us see what's been happening behind the scenes. First, the angel lists three things Daniel did as he sought to hear from God. He set his heart to understand, he humbled himself, and he positioned himself before God.

And God sent the angel in response to Daniel's prayers, much like we read about with Gabriel yesterday. Then the angel gives us a bit of a glimpse into the spiritual realm. We don't often get those in scripture, at least not this explicitly, probably because we wouldn't be able to handle it. The angel talks about a fight he's been having with the prince of the kingdom of Persia.

Remember how each nation has their own set of gods to worship? Those gods are often connected to demonic powers. The holy angels and fallen angels who serve in those roles are often referred to as patron angels. In other words, the angel Daniel is talking to is probably not fighting a literal person prince. He's probably fighting the demonic power who is in charge of Persia.

But to be fair, some people believe those demonic powers would actually indwell the kings and leaders of those countries. So it could be a both-and situation, not an either-or situation, where he's fighting the demon who is indwelling the king. This fight lasted for three weeks, the exact amount of time Daniel was in mourning and seeking God's response. It turns out the angel wasn't just fighting with one demon, but lots of demons who were over Persia.

Then another angel, the archangel Michael, came in as backup and they defeated them. This news is stupefying to Daniel. The angel touches him and strengthens him and speaks encouraging words to him, starting again with, O man greatly loved, fear not. Peace be with you. Be strong and of good courage. God's message to his faithful servants brings reminders of his love and peace.

The angel says he'll fill Daniel in on things, which he does in the next two chapters, but then he has to peace out of this dimension because he's got another fight to handle in the spiritual realm. And this time some Greek demons will be added to the mix.

Fortunately, Michael will be there to help him again. And we also find out here that Michael is the angel who is assigned to protect Daniel and, as we see in 12.1, all of God's people. It's a pretty big deal to have the archangel Michael as your patron angel. Chapter 11 has a lot going on, so we're going to cover it in broad strokes. If you're especially interested in learning more about these prophecies, I recommend digging deeper in a study Bible or commentary for starters. We'll link to two of our favorite study Bibles in today's show notes.

But in the meantime, here's a more surface-level, easily accessible recap of what happens in this chapter. The angel says Persia is about to flourish until a powerful Greek ruler, probably Alexander the Great, takes over. His reign will end when his kingdom is divided into fourths. We're barely ten lines into this chapter, and we're already seeing how earthly power, even when aided and abetted by demons, is temporary and control is an illusion. All kingdoms crumble except one.

There will be wars between lots of different kingdoms that were unnamed by the angel, but that are easily recognizable to modern historians looking back on these prophecies. These kings and kingdoms use murder, manipulation, and even marriage alliances to try to keep their positions of power. One king will stand in the glorious land with destruction in his hand, according to verse 16. This is almost certainly a reference to Jerusalem and the terror that Antiochus IV will bring to it.

Let's pause for a second and address something you might be wondering about. Didn't God promise he would bring the remnant back to the land after 70 years and establish an eternal kingdom and there would be peace forever? Yes, he did. So why is he now telling us there will be more wars? What about the peace he promised?

The trajectory of God's redemption has always been a process. His people still haven't repented. They still don't have new hearts. He still hasn't put his spirit in them. And the eternal Messiah King hasn't established his reign on earth yet. God's 70-year timeline was for the return to Jerusalem. But the promises of peace have always been pointing us to Christ and his eternal kingdom. In the meantime, though, there will be transgression and war, but on the upside, more time for people to repent.

In the midst of all this, verses 32 through 33 say, The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action, and the wise among the people shall make many understand. It goes on to say that some of the wise will be persecuted, but persecution isn't the end for them. Glory is. Do you know who does reach his end? The wicked king who destroys everything in his path.

Verse 45 says, He shall come to his end with none to help him. Chapter 12 starts out with the reminder that the archangel Michael is the patron angel currently assigned to Israel. It goes on to say there will be a terrible war, the worst they've ever seen, but all of God's people have been accounted for by name and they will survive it.

Then, for the first time in the Hebrew Bible, Scripture explicitly addresses the afterlife. Up until this point, we've mostly just heard death referred to as the grave, with only a few hints toward life after death, like in 2 Samuel 12, when David said he would be reunited with his son who died. But here in verses 2-3, the angel gives us more revelation about those things. Those verses say those who sleep in the dust, i.e. the dead, will wake to face one of two realities—

Everlasting life or shame and everlasting contempt? God tells Daniel that he has already appointed a specific place for him in the afterlife. As the angel starts to leave, two others appear and someone, probably one of the other angels, wants to know when everything from chapter 10 through 12 will take place. The main angel replies with a phrase that has typically indicated three and a half years. And this is where my God shot comes from today. And honestly, my God shot for the whole book.

According to Romans 1, God reveals some things to all people, like that he's the divine creator with infinite power. But a lot of this book is filled with things God only told Daniel, and it even includes some things God didn't tell Daniel even when he asked, like how God left him hanging in 12.8. Not only that, but if one angel is asking another angel for info here, then it seems like even some of the angels don't have most of this information. There is so much about this that we don't know.

Some of it we might have ideas about, but the books of prophecy don't let anyone get away with feeling like a genius. They really humble us. We don't know if these stories point to Antiochus IV or to the Roman Empire during Jesus' day or to the future return of Christ or even to some combo meal that includes all of those. So we hold all of it with an open hand. Maybe you know a lot about this book. Maybe you don't, but you want to learn more. Or maybe you're like, I barely kept my head above water during Daniel.

I feel like I've been able to relate to all three of those options at some point. So here's what's important for me to remember, at least. Sometimes I treat information like a security blanket. Sometimes I want to know exactly what to expect because it lets me off the hook of having to trust God. But it doesn't quite work that way, does it?

The only knowledge that brings security is knowledge of who God is. We're here to look for God on these pages. So I can rest knowing that I don't have to solve Daniel and map out what may or may not be happening in the future because Yahweh is already there and he's where the joy is. Tomorrow we'll be starting the book of Ezra. It's 10 chapters long.

We're linking to a short video overview of Ezra and Nehemiah in the show notes that will really set you up for success. Check it out if you've got eight minutes to spare.

Okay, Bible readers, it's time for our weekly check-in. How are you doing? What have you learned so far? If you're behind, don't beat yourself up about it. You're probably reading the Bible more than you would on your own. Think about what you've learned so far. Reflect on the attributes of God's character that you've seen in the chapters we've read. Lean into those things. Ask Him to grant you an increasing desire to know Him more. He can change your heart.

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