This is Connect with Skiff Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. At Connect with Skip, the heart of what you hear each day is to help you go deeper in your walk with Jesus through clear, practical Bible teaching and real-life encouragement. but you don't have to wait for a broadcast to connect. When you sign up for Pastor Skiff's weekly devotional email, you'll receive inspiring messages and free resources right in your inbox, all to help you weave God's word into daily life.
It only takes a minute to sign up. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. That's connectwithskip.com.
Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Can you remember back in grade school? Can you remember the bullies that you had in your school? Does somebody come to mind when you think of? The school bully.
I don't know, maybe I'm looking at a couple of them right now. Maybe you were it. But I was not, but I do remember one particular bully who pushed and pushed and just got in my grill like all the time. And I knew he wanted a fight. And I wanted to steer clear of a fight, but this was one fight I couldn't avoid.
And I remember that it was sixth grade or thereabouts, and it was break time. I was in the restroom. No one else was there but this guy. And he just pushed and pushed and pushed. And so I'm a kid, you know, and I'm getting all red-faced, and I doubled up my fist.
And I remember the last thing he said to me is. You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you? And I decked him right there. No, I wouldn't clap for that. That was not good behavior.
I think I got kicked out of school for that one, but. I I I wanted to steer clear of these things, but I couldn't do it. I had three brothers older than me. They were not pacifists.
So there were certain Altercations that no matter what I did, I could not avoid. And I just want to tell you today that there is a conflict. that you're a part of. You may not realize it, you may not want it, but there's one conflict that you cannot be a pacifist in, and that is a spiritual conflict, of which Daniel will. See, he'll get the picture of it.
And so will you and I as we go through this chapter, Daniel chapter 10. The reason you're in this conflict is because of the family you belong to. Because you're a child of God, his enemy is on the prowl. And you're caught in the crossfires. The Gallup organization noted that Most Americans will believe in God, but fewer will believe in a devil.
It's very convenient. Most will believe in heaven, fewer will believe in hell. And of those Americans, says Gallup, who believe there is a devil, about half. Say that he is a personal being, like the devil declares, or the Bible declares the devil is. The other half just think that the devil is a word for an impersonal evil force that exists in the world by virtue of.
There being a lot of people. It was C.S. Lewis who said, Humanity falls into two equal but opposite errors concerning the devil. There's those who don't take him serious enough, and there's those who take him way too seriously.
So there's denial. On one hand, And there's obsession. On the other hand, there are people who just flat deny that there's any spiritual reality whatsoever. If they can't see it, it doesn't exist. And can I just say that You don't have an enemy more powerful than the one you can't see.
If you have an enemy on the other side of the hill and you don't know he's there, he's got you where he wants you. And I feel that even some believers, some Christians, just Don't get engaged in spiritual warfare because They're absorbed with other things. But then The opposite error. is obsession. There's some people who see the devil everywhere and in everything.
And they become so obsessed with him. And they become fascinated with them. And I would just say that. The devil would love to have that kind of attention. I think the balance is found in the words of Dr.
John White, who said: Have no delusions about the reality of demons or their hostility. They will also oppose you as you obey Christ. If you play it cool and decide not to be fanatic about Christianity, you will have no trouble from them. But if you're serious about Christ being your Lord and God, you can expect. opposition.
Now in Daniel chapter 10, He gets the needed insight into the cosmic bully. called the devil. and some of his cohorts that will be working behind the scenes. This will let you know where we're at. Daniel chapter 10 introduces us to the fourth and final vision of Daniel.
Chapter 10 is the prologue. Chapter 11 is the actual vision of conflicts for the nation of Israel as predicted. And chapter 12 is the epilogue. But chapter 10 begins in an odd kind of a way. I introduce you to verse 1 by just simply saying that There's a problem with Daniel.
A concerning problem, something is bothering him. Verse 1: In the third year of Cyrus, the king of Persia. A message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Beltashazar. That's his Babylonian name. The message was true, but the appointed time was long.
And he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. That's just sort of the opening statement to set up the rest of the chapter. In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning. You know what mourning is? Weeping, crying, lamenting.
For three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks. We're fulfilled. There's something you gotta know. This is the latter end of Daniel's career.
He's in his mid to upper 80s. I'm going to guess around 86 or 87 years of age. It's pretty significant to have an 86-year-old not eat for three weeks. Not only is he an aged man, Not only does he not have the strength he once had, But now he's mourning, weeping. and fasting.
for three weeks. Question is why is he weeping?
Well, you'll notice in verse 1 it says it's the third year of Cyrus the king of Persia.
Now that's important. The Jews have been back in Jerusalem for two years. It's what Daniel saw and prayed for in previous chapters. He announced it. He prayed for it, now it's happened.
If you're a Bible student, you know. that in the book of Ezra, chapter one, it tells us in the first year of Cyrus, The edict was given for the Jewish people to return from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Two years have passed. What has happened in those two years that would cause Daniel this kind of grief. I think I know the answer to that.
Number one, only a small portion of the Jewish people in Babylon actually returned to Jerusalem. It says in Ezra chapter 2, it gives us the exact number: 49,697 Jews left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem. That's a drop in the bucket compared to how many stayed back in Babylon.
So that was enough grief to Daniel. They can go back. They don't want to go back. Why didn't they? Why did they stay?
For a number of reasons, they got comfortable. They've been there for a long time. They've raised kids there. They become prosperous. They become absorbed in the culture, paganized by the culture.
They don't care about uprooting and roughing it and going to a place that is desolate, whether it's God's town or not.
So they just flat didn't go. Number two reason. Those that went back weren't very successful. They weren't able in two years' time to establish the monarchy again.
Now again, if you're a Bible student, you know that The Jews went back. Under the leadership of a guy named Zerubbabel, of the lineage of King David. To establish the monarchy, but when they got back, it took them seven months just to clear the rubble from the temple grounds. And eventually, they were hassled by their enemies. until the work came to a screeching halt.
So here's Daniel. He's been praying and dreaming about them returning back. Only a few returned. And those that did return were unsuccessful. The work has come to a stop.
He's mourning. He's fasting. And as you'll see as we go on in the rest of the chapter, he has been. Praying.
Now, Daniel is doing what Daniel always does whenever his heart is overwhelmed. He takes it to the Lord. He prays about it. He gets on his knees.
So here's what I want you to see. Daniel is about to be let in on a cosmic battle, a fight going on in the heavens that spills onto the earth. He's in the right place. at the right time. doing the right thing.
He's on his knees. He's praying. He's engaged in a spiritual battle: the battle of apathy, the battle of indifference, the battle of worldliness. He's engaged. by being on his knees.
What do you do in a spiritual battle? Are you on your feet doing stuff, busy? Or do you get on your knees first? and pray. Hey, you want to know what most churches do whenever there's a spiritual battle?
They have a committee meeting. That's typically what happens. There's a problem, let's have a meeting, and then let's have a committee assigned to. address the problem. First thing they ought to do is get on their knees and pray.
You know what most Christians do in a spiritual battle? Same thing most churches do, only their committee is smaller. They get their friends together and they moan and groan and gripe and complain or gossip. when they should be on their knees praying. In Ephesians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul lists the weapons that we have at our disposal for spiritual warfare, and he writes: Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. I've committed this to memory because it speaks volumes. Satan trembles when he sees. The weakest saint. upon his knees.
You can always do more than pray after you've prayed. But you really can't do more than pray. until you've prayed.
So Daniel knows what's happening back in Jerusalem. And it Causes him to mourn and weep, and suddenly. Suddenly. Heaven breaks in on him. This concerning problem that he has gets eclipsed.
by a commanding presence. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before today's message continues, there's a special offer for your family this Christmas. Hey, this is Nate Heitzig. And if you're like me, one of the best parts of the Christmas season is gathering your kids to share the story of Jesus in a way that makes it come alive.
That's why I wrote Christmas Under the Tree, a beautifully illustrated book and companion audio experience for families of all ages. My hope is that this story helps you and your kids connect the cradle to the cross and treasure the true meaning of Christmas for years to come. Christmas under the tree is yours when you give a gift of $25 or more to help more people discover God's word through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Request your copy at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888.
Now, let's get back to today's teaching. Verse 4.
Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, As I was by the side of the great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen.
Now stop right there. That's not unusual. And it sounds, if you stop here, like we're just dealing with a human being. But when you read the rest of it, Doesn't sound like any human you've ever met. Whose waist was girded with a gold, the gold of Ufaz.
Now, if you're going to ask me afterwards, what is the gold of Ufaz? I'll be able to tell you, I have no idea what that is. But it must be the standard For pure gold In the Babylonian era, At the time of Daniel, it would be like saying today: it's like the gold from Tiffany's. You know, it's just like the highest grade known. His body was like buryl.
Buryl is translucent or transparent gold color. His face, like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like torches of fire. His arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. Wow. That's something to see.
How does it react? In Daniel's experience, I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision. But a great terror fell upon them, so they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone. When I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me, for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.
Yet I heard the sound of his words. And while I heard the sound of his words, I was in a deep sleep on my face with my face to the ground.
Now, can I just remind you again, Daniel is Eighty-six years old. He has seen an eye fall in his lifetime: dreams, visions. He's interpreted other people's dreams and visions. His heart is not what it used to be. And now this luminescent being stands in front of him.
Daniel just collapses. The others? They get out of town. They're out of Dodge.
Now what this illustrates for us Among other things. is the problem the earthly has interacting with the heavenly. When an earthly being Encounters Divinity. There's always a problem. Every now and then, somebody will get on Christian television and say, I saw God, and I've written a book about it.
And they almost sound prideful. And I'm thinking: if you ever saw God, dude, either you'd be dead. Or you'd be so humble about it. Because those in the Bible who had divine encounters had that kind of reaction. You remember Job?
Said to the Lord. I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself and I repent in dust and ashes. That's a guy who saw God. Isaiah the prophet had a vision of God and he said, Woe is me, I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips.
Remember that? How did Peter react when he discovered who Jesus really was in that boat? He said, Lord, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. I can't even hang out with you.
And then in Revelation chapter 6. It describes a group of people who will say to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us. And hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
So, Daniel, he collapses. He swoons. He can't handle it. The rest of the dudes are out of there.
Now who is this certain man in this apparition that he sees.
Some have suggested it's the angel Gabriel mentioned in Daniel. Others suggest it's the angel Michael, also mentioned in the book of Daniel. Others will say it's an angel. of equal rank but unnamed.
Now to me the context as well as the cross-references. point to only one person. This is what I believe. You ready? It's the pre incarnate Christ.
Which is not unusual if you're a student of the Old Testament, you know, there's this personage. Called 50 times in the Old Testament the angel of the Lord, who is oftentimes addressed as the Lord and is even worshipped as the Lord. Let me read something to you. You don't have to turn there, I'll just read to you. I want you to listen to the description.
Of another person that John sees in the book of Revelation, chapter 1. Just listen to see if it's any similarity to this.
Now, in Revelation 1, John hears a voice, and the voice says, I'm the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, and the end.
So I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to his feet, girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were like white wool, white as snow, his eyes like a flame of fire, his feet like fine bronze or brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. In his right hand he had seven stars.
Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining. in its strength. When I saw him I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his hand on me and he said, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.
Listen, I am he who lives, was dead, but behold, I am alive. Forevermore. Amen. Who's that? That's Jesus Christ.
The only difference between the vision is the hair. Everything else is identical to it.
So I'm submitting to you that what John saw was the post-resurrected Christ in his glory, what Daniel saw was the pre-incarnate Christ in his glory. The question is. Why does he see this? Yeah.
Well He's about to be told. All of the future battles. of Israel in the near future and in the far future. Between Greece and Persia, Antiochus, Epiphanes, Alexander, etc. He's going to be told details of that in chapter 11.
But before that, he's going to be shown another cosmic battle taking place in heavenly places.
So before the battle, God wants Daniel to know who's in charge, who the commanding officer is.
Now, again, if you're a Bible student, you remember the Battle of Jericho, right? The book of Joshua? And remember in Joshua 5, before the Battle of Jericho, Joshua turns, he's the general. And he sees a man standing with his sword. Exposed, lifted up.
And Joshua, the general, says, are you for us? Or are you for our enemies? And the answer is classic. This person says, no. Uh it's not what I asked.
Are you for us or for our enemies? No! But as the commander of the Lord's armies, I have come. And it says, Joshua fell down and worshipped. And this person said, take the shoes off of your feet.
You're standing on holy ground. For the same reason, Joshua saw the commanding officer, the Lord, in charge of the battle of Jericho, so Daniel sees who is in charge of the battle he's about to. Get the details too. In the spiritual battle you and I face, You better know who your commanding officer is. Or you're gonna go into this and get bloodied.
and beaten. The Bible says in Hebrews We should be looking unto Jesus. the author and the finisher of our faith. You know what our problem is? When we go through hard times, especially spiritual battles, we have a tendency, I have a tendency.
to gaze at my problems. And glance of the Lord. Gaze at the problem. This is tough. This is horrible.
This is bad. I got to talk to people about it. Bad, bad, bad. Glance at the Lord. Shoot up a prayer.
Help me, Lord, help me. Gaze, gaze, gaze. Help me, help me. Glance, glance, glance. That's the problem.
We need to reverse that. glancing at our problems, gazing at the Lord. I read an article by AAA, you know, American Automobile Association. And they noticed a few years ago this interesting occurrence of drivers on the road. hitting parked cars.
And uh they just notice that people are driving along and then they Get in an accident by driving into a parked car. They said, What's going on? They noted that in all of the cases they studied, or most of them, alcohol was not involved, drugs were not involved, weather conditions were perfect.
So they called this in the article the moth effect. Just like a moth is inadvertently drawn to the flame. to the light.
So drivers Are attracted to whatever their eye notices and looks at for long enough. They hit whatever they look at. You will hit whatever you look at. And if you're gazing at your problems and glancing at the Lord, You're going to be living there. But if you're gazing at the Lord and only glancing at your problems.
You got a good, good footing in spiritual warfare. Finish this chapter. From the concerning problem to the commanding presence, now to The real show, the contending powers. Suddenly, verse 10, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees. and on the palms of my hands.
And he said to me, O Daniel, Man greatly beloved Understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright, for I have been.
Now sent to you. While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Poor guy. And he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel. For from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words.
were heard And I have come because of your words. Three weeks ago, when you started this, your prayer was answered in heaven, and I got dispatched. But, now this is wild, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. And behold Michael. One of the chief princes, who we'll be introduced to in chapter 12, as the chief angel of Israel.
came to help me. For I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come. When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. Suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. And I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, My Lord, small L. Because of the vision My sorrows have overwhelmed me and I have retained no strength.
How can this servant of my Lord Talk with you, my Lord. As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is there any breath left in me. Then again, one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, O man, greatly beloved, Fear not. Peace be to you.
Be strong. Yes, be strong. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skiff Heidzig. Before you go, don't miss your chance to request Christmas Under the Tree, the beautifully illustrated book and audio experience by Nate Heitzig that helps your family see the Christmas story with fresh wonder and excitement. It's yours for your gift of $25 or more to help reach more people with biblical teaching through Connect with Skip.
Call 800-922-1888 or go to connectwithskiff.com slash offer. And don't forget to sign up for the free weekly devotional for encouragement from Pastor Skiff right in your inbox. Thanks for spending time with us today and we'll see you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzigs. Make a connection! Make a connection now.
Mm. Of the crossing. But you have so perfect. Insomnia. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
