Truth Matters: Between The Exile and The Glorious One

Welcome to Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis and the Weekend Edition. Our study today takes us to the 10th chapter of Daniel, one of the most prophetic and compelling chapters in all of Scripture. Here's Dr. Davis, the 469 weeks between Israel's exile in Babylon and the glorious one to come.

In the last time we talked, we continue our study in Daniel. We ended with chapter 9, actually one of the most important chapters in the Bible as it pertains to prophecy. The 490 weeks prophecy is the backbone of end times prophecy.

But before we move into chapter 10, I would like to just summarize some very key dates of chapter 9. The overall timeline to deal with the Jews is 70 weeks, or 70 times 7, 490 years. That 490 years began when Artaxerxes issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, which we know to be March 14, 445 BC. After 483 years passed when the Messiah, the prince, was presented to the Jews, and we know that to be April 6, 32 AD. This is when Jesus came riding in on a donkey on Palm Monday. There is a pause here because after the Messiah is cut off by the crucifixion, this is the Jews' rejection of Christ.

There is a blindness on behalf of the Jews. That is why Jesus wept on Palm Monday as he's riding on the donkey because he knows what will happen to him on Friday, that he'll be crucified. After the crucifixion, resurrection, 50 days passes by, then the gospel was made available to the Gentiles on the day of Pentecost. This is what marked the beginning of the church age. We are living in the church age currently. The church age will end with the rapture. At the rapture, the tribulation begins, and the tribulation, when it starts, will restart the stopwatch to continue the final seven years of the 490 year prophecy.

As to deal with the Jews. That was a quick run through chapter 9 of Daniel. Chapter 10 prepares us for chapter 11 and 12. Chapter 11 is the final vision God gives to his servant Daniel.

But let's begin in chapter 10. We'll start with verses one through three. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long, and he understood the message and had understanding of the vision. Why was Daniel mourning? We know the timeframe in which this is.

It's the third year of Cyrus' reign in Persia. And we know that anyone who was a Jew could go home at the end of the 70 year captivity. Captivity was over, his people were free. So why not Daniel was celebrating? But in this case, we see that Daniel was mourning or he was deeply burdened. My Bible says the message was true, but the appointed time was long.

Long can mean of a great conflict or war. Daniel's heart was burdened for his people. Less than 50,000 people volunteered to return to Israel when the decree was given that they could return back to their ancient homelands. News from Jerusalem was disappointing. Two years to get the foundation of the temple started, and believe me, it was a troublesome build if you read that in Ezra.

An edict was sent out to stop construction. Word came back to Daniel that the Jews had fallen back into the same kinds of sin. And then Daniel did, as he always did, he prayed. I think whenever you look at this, and you know the question really ponders in our mind, does Daniel believe that the Jews would be restored to their pre-captivity splendor? For we know that he had the writings of Jeremiah at this time, and he knew that after 70 years that they would be back home in their ancient lands. But did he really believe that they would be restored to pre-captivity splendor?

If so, the current report that he was getting back was a huge disappointment, which I think leads to his burden. But I want to take a side note here to talk about a concept called the stewardship of influence. It's a concept known in leadership as the stewardship of influence. Daniel was authentically burdened for his people. Even though he was a governor in Babylon, really, he was a leader for the Jews in captivity.

This is a perfect example of his leadership and the stewardship of his influence. He did not act like anyone else. He had a fervent prayer life. He did not leave Babylon. He was genuinely burdened for the Jews and did something about it, he prayed. Even though he could have left, even though he could have gone back as he was a Jew, he knew there were a significant number of them that stayed in Babylon. He knew the importance of the stewardship of his influence that he would have on the king of Babylon at the time, so he sacrificed himself to stay in Babylon in order to preserve the Jews. Stewardship of influence is really going by the wayside in leadership today.

A lot of leaders are self-serving. But we see the perfect example of this stewardship of influence in Daniel as he served those in which he governed. Let's move on to verses 4 through 11. 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, whose waist was girded with the gold of Jephas. His body was like beryl, 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. And 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 that 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 and with my face to the ground. Suddenly 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 now been sent to you.

While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. If you read these verses in 4 through 11, it's very similar to how John describes Jesus in Revelation of chapter 1. Some people think this is a Christophany or a Theophany, which what we know that to be is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus.

Really, but when looking at this, what do you think? We'll find the answer in verse 13. We believe this to be a high-ranking angel, because if you read verse 13, But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. When I think about Jesus, he doesn't need any help.

He is the God with all ultimate authority and with the greatest strength of anyone. Therefore, most likely, in this verse, that it is a high-ranking angel and that it's not a Christophany or a representation of Jesus. Let's move on to what the angel has to say to Daniel in verses 12 through 14. Then 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. Before I go on, I just want to say that we need to take peace and solace and to know that just as soon as we cry out to God, in the time that we cry out to God, he hears our words, and he will send his help, his aid, his angels, because he hears our words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, 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.

This is a very interesting picture and view of the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Michael is mentioned in Revelation 12 verse 7, and we know that the prince of Persia, who was a demon, out to delay the message to Daniel. For the important point here is that just as soon as Daniel humbled his heart before the Lord and began praying, his words were heard, and an angel was sent to send a message to Daniel. However, he had to fight a demonic battle before he got to Daniel. In Ephesians 6-12 we find, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

He had to fight a demonic battle before he got to Daniel. In Ephesians 6-12 we find, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Evil is not abstract. A lot of us think about evil as abstract or foreign.

It is not abstract. It is organized and has an intelligent, conscious source. And we see evidence of this as the battle going on between the angel, as well as a demon of the prince of Persia, and needing help from Michael to be delivered so that he could get the message to Daniel. Which really, this begs a good question of, if Satan has been judged, why does it appear that he's in control? And notice I said it appears that he's in control, because we know for sure that he's not in control. We know that Satan was defeated when Christ died on the cross. But sometimes in our situations in life, it appears that our answers are delayed, and that we pray and pray, and we want instant gratification when we answer our prayers.

But there is a delay, and even we see that Daniel experienced a delay. But I like how Dr. David Jeremiah's book, The Handwriting on the Wall, addresses this question. If Satan was judged, why is he winning? Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. That is the devil.

This is found in Hebrews 2.14. Satan was judged at the cross, but for a defeated person, he appears to be quite alive. He seems to have gained control of philosophy, religion, and politics, wormed himself into our homes, and destroyed nations.

He has plenty of invading marauders doing his work. Calvary's victory destroyed all the claims that Satan has upon us, but the enforcement of that victory is a different matter. Legally, all of his claims were canceled when the Lord died for us. But like any other legal victory, it must be enforced. Someday, it will be enforced forever when Satan is thrown into the pit of hell, and his angels are consigned to perpetual torment. If a man commits murder, he's breaking the law of the land.

However, if there are no police to arrest him, courts to try him, or jails to contain him, there can be no enforcement of the law. Although Satan has been judged at the cross, that judgment has not yet been administered. One day that sentence will be carried out, and he will be banished forever from our presence. There is a way to enforce Satan's sentence, and we are to be the enforcers. Our first weapon is the Word of God. Here is how we fight Satan and his demons. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Take the helmet of salvation in this word of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests.

That is found in Ephesians 6, 11 through 13, 17, and 18. Another way to enforce Satan's sentence is prayer. The Bible has a key passage that teaches us the way to fight the battle, and this is found in 2 Corinthians 10, 4 through 5.

The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. So why did the angel finally get to earth to speak with Daniel? We believe it is because Daniel never quit praying. The tool that enforces Satan's defeat is prayer. If we really believe that, then praying would be the main business of the church.

But here is where Satan has defeated us. He keeps us so busy reading the latest bestsellers and Christian bookstores, organizing all kinds of evangelistic strategies, counseling, and putting out the fires of opposition that we don't have the time to pray. As we run around trying to get all the work done, we become so frustrated and fatigued that we wonder why we don't have the victory. God has been teaching me that the only way we are going to have victory in a ministry, in a life, or in a church is to come to grips with the power that he has put in our hands through prayer. If we are honest with ourselves, we would probably admit that we don't put a high priority on prayer.

We give it a hope and a promise as often as we can. We pray before we go to bed sometimes and before we eat. Once in a while when we get real bad shape, we ask God to get us out of trouble. But when it comes to the fervent praying that makes a difference in our life, in the life of this earth, we scarcely give it lip service. And really, I think that's one of the most important things that we can learn from Daniel, is his fervent prayer life. If you've been praying a long time for certain things in your life, I just want to encourage you, do not stop praying.

There's always hope. Like Daniel, each time we earnestly seek God in prayer, we can be met with all kinds of resistance, whether it's demonic powers interfering or our own lack of faith, doubt, or worry. Satan will stop at nothing to shut down our prayer life and confuse your faith in God.

His plan is to disrupt and shatter God's blessing in your life. Prayer and the Word of God are the believer's most powerful weapons against temptation and evil. When you fail to pray or get lazy in your prayer life, it can cause spiritual fatigue and lack of growth. But when you earnestly pray, believing God as Daniel did, it can shake the powers in the air that may be blocking God's blessing in your life. Never doubt God. Walk by faith and not by sight. Do not look at your circumstance or problem, but trust God for an answer. As we trust Him, He works on our behalf, opening doors that no one can shut and shutting doors that no one open. But when you pray, you must be patient, as God has a time and a reason for everything He will do in your life.

He does not forget his others. Keep praying until you get a breakthrough. The answer will come at God's perfect timing. If you would like to contact Truth Matters, you can reach us by emailing Dr. Davis at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or write her at P.O. Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina, 28348. You can connect with Truth Matters on Facebook or visit our website at ProjectTruthMatters.com. Please join us again for our next edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. We are a Christian ministry of The Truth Project.