daniel : chapter 10 (10-12)

Chapters 10-12 are all one unit; 10 introduces the set.

Chapter 10: The Setting

Daniel was in mourning, fasting and praying for three weeks. (v1-3)

Evidentally he was praying to know what would happen to his people, v12,13 "since the day you set your heart on understanding this...but 3 weeks i've been detained"
Note on prayer:

daniel spent three weeks in prayer.
that's quite a bit of persistance.

When...all of a sudden, a being in linen that only Daniel could see appeared! (v4-9)
The angel then twice encourages Daniel to understand the vision. (v10-21)

Daniel lost his strength due to the vision (v9), then fell asleep when he heard the words (v9)
An angel then touched him and set him 'trembling on [his] hands and knees' (v10). The angel then encourages him and tells him to stand up (v11).

After the angel spoke, Daniel turned his face toward the ground and couldn't speak. (v15)
An angel then touched his lips and Daniel spoke (v16)

Now that Daniel can speak, he says that he's has no strength/breath (v17).
The angel touches him again and strengthens him again (v18).

Finally, it's the angel's turn to talk about how tired he is; he is going to go back and fight the prince of persia, and none helps him except michael.

Chapter 11: The History Lesson

The king of the north, blah blah blah.
The king of the south, blah blah blah.
"He will enter the beautiful land", oh no!

Chapter 12: The End

The end of time.
The end of the vision.
The end of the book.

Who's the guy in the linen suit? (v4-6)

- It's Christ!

well, daniel sure is scared. But the shepherds are scared of the angels, etc...
If you say this you have to say that the dude is different than the guy who calls himself 'an angel' elsewhere

- It's an angel!

- maybe! daniel was terrified in chapter 8 when he met gabriel (v17)
- why not. i like this view because i see no reason not to assume it's the same being he talks to in the chapter.

- Who knows!

good luck proving either...
what we do know:

- it was a being from God
- beings from God are terrifying

note that there is never a time when a human has a direct encounter with god or his angel and feels tremendous acceptance.
with the possible exception of christ, depending on how you argue/limit it.

Angels: Who are these mysterious beings who do things?

Every Frank Peretti book is taken from this chapter.
We have angels fighting, angels with rank, angels assigned to nations, and angel names.

What does the chapter say about angels:

Angels exist.
If we assume that the Prince of Persia is an angel:

Some are bad.
Nations may have spiritual princes.

Good angels fight (bad angels probably).
Good angels may also have 'assignments', e.g. Michael is called 'Daniel's prince'.

Sidenote on Fasting

Daniel's fast consisted of avoiding choice/good food, meat, and wine.
Note that fasting is a cultural norm for Jews, but is never biblically commanded.

Should we do it? I don't know.

On one hand, Christ did it to the extreme. Many others in the Bible did too.
On the other, it's never commanded.

Decide for yourself; good luck.

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood...

Physical vs Spiritual:

Here, there are princes over nations.

the real authority is the spiritual.

Matt 18:18

'whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven'

Don't forget the spiritual reality just because you can't see it. 1 Peter 5:8,9 (eph 6:10-20):

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

God is in charge, but there sure is a lot of work to do.

Calvinism? Arminianism? Strangely, I think both.

The vision is about what will happen, implying that God is in charge of the situation and is going to make sure it does happen.
The context is fighting to achieve God's will and having problems, even on the angelic scale.

Where does that leave us?

Be like David (2 Sam 12:15-23). View the past and history as a Calvinist and the present as an Arminian.