Daniel 10:1-3 "1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled."
Again we find Daniel fasting and praying to understand the vision that had been given to him. Notice that fasting in the Bible does not always mean going totally without eating; in this case Daniel ate very plain food, nothing fancy. He prayed earnestly for help. He was still worried that the Jews might not get to return to Jerusalem as the prophecy in Jeremiah had said. He knew God was true, and His word never fails but he also knew that many of the Jews were still in rebellion against God and were not obeying Him.
Daniel 10:4-6 "4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."
In Revelation chapter 1 we read the description of what Jesus looked like when He came to see John; when you read this you will know who it was that Daniel saw.
It was Jesus, who evidently came with the angel Gabriel to Daniel. This description is similar to that given by John when Christ revealed Himself to John on the Isle of Patmos. No less a personage than the Son of God appeared to Daniel. Our Lord now comes with another heavenly messenger to teach Daniel what would take place in the latter days.
Daniel 10:7 "And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves."
Now Daniel was down by the river 'Hiddekel' (the Tigris) and he had people with him. They did not see what Daniel saw, but they knew something was happening. They were afraid and quickly ran away to hide! Unless a person truly belongs to God, he will be terrified when heavenly beings draw near. Notice what happened to Daniel:
Daniel 10:8-9 "8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground."
There he was on his face on the ground helpless. He was then given strength and the angel helped him up. But even then he ‘stood trembling.’ If you meet people who boast that they know God and yet they are proud and like to brag about how holy they are; you can know for sure that they don’t really know God; they have never really come close to Him because anybody who really talks with God, will be quiet and very humble.
Daniel 10:10-13 "10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Now we see a very important thing here — Gabriel tells Daniel how his prayers had been heard right from the first day. Gabriel also tells him that he had been working with Cyrus to get him to fulfill the prophecy and allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Gabriel tells Daniel that the prince of Persia has withstood him 21 days. By this we see that heavenly agencies have to contend with hindrances before the purpose of God is fulfilled in its time. The devil frequently appears working in the shadow of earthly monarchs such as the king of Babylon, the king of Tyre, and the Roman power. And remember that Jesus calls Satan "the prince of this world": The king of Persia was controlled by the highest of all evil angels. He refused, as did Pharaoh, to obey the word of the Lord. Gabriel declared; He withstood me twenty-one days by his representations against the Jews. But Michael came to his help, Gabriel then remained with the king of Persia, holding the powers in check, giving right counsel against evil counsel. It is God’s purpose to carry forward His work in correct lines, in ways that will advance His glory, but Satan is ever trying to counterwork God’s purpose. Only by humbling ourselves before God can God’s servants advance His work. Never are we to depend on our own efforts or on outward display for success. Many unseen battles go on that humans have no idea of. But then it says Michael came to help Gabriel and the battle was won. Who is Michael? It is Jesus. The true meaning for "Michael", means "He who is like the Most High". This title was coveted by Lucifer. But it rightly belongs to Jesus. You will find in the Bible that when Michael is named it is involving something to do with the battle between Christ and Satan. Gabriel told Daniel that he is going to stay with Cyrus, fighting to have him follow the will of God and when he would leave — then the Medo Persian kingdom would fall to Greece. Always remember that no matter how dark and scary things in this world may be God is in charge and He will only allow Satan to go so far and no further. If we are surrendered to Jesus, we are safe under His wings. Daniel 10:14 "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days." This was the reason Gabriel was there, to talk to Daniel, to help him to understand. God wants us to understand what He has shown to us in the Bible Prophecies. He will help us if we pray and ask Him to teach us. Here are some more facts about Gabriel: The words of the angel, "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God": This shows that he holds a position of high honor in the heavenly courts. When he came with a message to Daniel, he said, “There is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael (Christ) your Prince” (Daniel 10:21). Of Gabriel the Saviour speaks in Revelation, saying that "He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John." And to John the angel declared: What a wonderful thought, that the angel who stands next in honor to the Son of God is the one chosen to open the purposes of God to sinful men. Don’t ever think that you are not important to Jesus; He would send every angel out of heaven to come and help you rather than have one of His true children overcome by Satan!
Daniel 10:15-17 "15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. 16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me." Then Daniel became dumb and fell on his face again. The angel touched him so he could speak and tried to comfort him telling him, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent.” Then the angel changed and appeared as a man and finally Daniel could stand after being strengthened again.
Daniel 10:18-20 "18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come." Again notice the “Prince of Persia” fighting against the evil that Satan would have us do. All through the history of this world and still today, God’s angels work with the earth’s rulers to guide and bring about events according to His will.
Daniel 10:21 "But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince." While... God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures. There seems to be a lot of people running around these days that are quick to tell you that there is no sense for you to try and study and learn the Bible prophesies and truths, because only the important people with many years in worldly schools can tell you what they mean. This is a lie, and it is the same lie that allowed the Roman Papacy to control the people for so long. They didn’t let the people read the Bible for themselves but told them only the important people—the church leaders could understand it. We must not be fooled by this, if we can read, we can start to learn the Bible and prophecies for ourself. We must pray and ask God to send His Holy Spirit to teach us, and He will. God wants us know, and we must not let anyone take that away from us. Now here is another thought: If one angel from heaven caused the Roman guard to fall as dead men, how can those who are unprepared and unholy bear the sight and live of seeing Jesus coming in the glory of His Father with ten thousand time ten thousands of angels accompanying Him; they will not be able to, they will cry for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Remember how the people who were with Daniel when the vision came were terrified and ran to hide themselves? They were probably not believers in God. In order to be able to bear the presence of heavenly beings, we must totally belong to God. But even Daniel was overcome by the presence of the heavenly beings, but the good news is that God strengthened him. If Daniel would have been living a sinful life he would have died when the heavenly beings came to him, but he belonged fully to Jesus.
There are people, even church leaders today who are telling people; "Don’t worry about the sins in your life, Jesus understands, you can do whatever you like, just ask Jesus to forgive you and you will still go to heaven". This is a lie and those who tell it are working for Satan whether they realise it or not! As you read the Bible and get to know God’s truths, you will learn that any sin that is not forsaken (that means you haven’t chosen to give it up and stopped doing it in the strength of Jesus) is not forgiven. To be ready to meet Jesus there must be no sins left that we have not asked Jesus to forgive and allowed Him to remove from our lives. Jesus only FORGIVES those sins we are willing for Him to REMOVE from our lives. What if you feel you are not willing to give up a sin, but you want to? Don’t despair — just ask Jesus to make you willing; tell Him "I am willing to be made willing". Then things you think you can never give up will be easy to throw away in the power of Jesus. Remember that it is Jesus' own Victory that is given to us, we can't do it ourselves, but Jesus won't do it without our choosing and asking. Each one of us can have this victory.