A Behind The Scenes Look at Daniel’s Revelation
Daniel 10:1-11:1
July 24, 2016
If you’ve been studying Daniel with us
You know that Daniel has certainly be singled out by God
As a conduit through which He would reveal much of His sovereign plan.
• We saw God use Daniel to reveal His sovereign authority even over pagan nations and Gentile kingdoms.
• We have seen God use Daniel to also begin to reveal His plans for Israel, both near and far.
• And beginning in chapter 11 God will give His most extensive and detailed revelation to Daniel yet.
But before the book jumps into that revelation we first come to chapter 10
Before we are given the revelation,
We first are given a Behind The Scenes look at the revelation.
And the MAIN THING we learn is it is a tremendous privilege
That we would ever possess any of the revelation of God.
Perhaps you’ve never thought about it before,
But it is worth contemplating it for a moment.
John MacArthur did a good job explaining this to our youth at camp,
And it is certainly something you should consider as well.
Namely that God exists in a dimension that is beyond you and me.
• We exist in the dimension of time and space; we are trapped in it.
• God exists outside of that dimension. He is not limited by either.
So to really simplify it, we live inside the box, God lives outside of it.
That means that it is NOT possible for you or I
To ever go and gain knowledge of God.
We’ve heard stories of various religious pilgrimages that people have gone on seeking enlightenment and understanding.
• Someone may travel to the depths of the oceans looking for understanding…
• Someone may travel through the realms of space looking for answers…
• Some have sought enlightenment through pain and deprivation…
• Some have looked for understanding through mind altering drugs…
People have gone on all sorts of pilgrimages looking for knowledge.
But it is not possible that you and I could ever travel far enough, deep enough, high enough, inward enough, or outward enough
To ever gain 1 peck of a knowledge of God.
He exists outside of our box.
The only possible way that we could ever gain knowledge of God
Is if God chooses to reveal Himself to us.
The only way we could know anything of God is if God chooses to speak into our world.
SO THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THE VALUE OF DIVINE REVELATION
Think of what a tremendous treasure it is to us
For God to shine light into our darkness.
THIS IS HUGE!
• It is remarkable that God would choose to make Himself known.
• It is remarkable that God would choose to reveal a piece of His sovereign plan.
• It is remarkable that God would choose to reveal His holy standards.
He certainly didn’t have to, but He has chosen to break into our world
And reveal to us His divine truth.
This reality has led writers of Scripture to make statements like:
Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalms 139:17 “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”
Psalms 119:72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
The fact that God would break through into our dark and silent world and reveal His truth to us is nothing short of remarkable and wonderful.
And we are talking of course about the infinite value of sacred Scripture.
Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
In the Old Testament God spoke in various ways to various people.
In the New Testament God spoke to us in Christ.
Jesus was the final word of God.
In Him the revelation was complete.
God appointed the apostles to record this message of Christ,
And in Him the message of God was finished.
Revelation 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
With that statement God put an end to all new revelation.
Jude said:
Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
“the faith” Jude speaks of was the written and revealed word of God which came through the apostles and it was “once for all handed down to the saints.”
There is no more.
I only bring that up because we have had a minor issue in our church over the course of the last month regarding the idea of ongoing revelation.
According to Scripture these are NOT occurring.
I do get bothered by talk of the “ongoing personal revelations from God”
For not only are they false,
But they’re only effect is to reduce man’s dependency
Upon the true revelation of God, which is Scripture.
Ezekiel was livid with them:
Ezekiel 13:3-9 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. “O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. “You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD. “They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. “Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘The LORD declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”‘” Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord GOD. “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Jeremiah had these would be prophets pegged early:
Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.
• There have always been those who claim to speak for God who do not.
• There have always been those who have claimed to hear from God when they did not.
And the devastating effect of these visions and revelations is that
They lead people away from the true revelation of God
Which is the Scripture.
And leading people away from a dependency of Scripture
Neither honors God nor benefits the people.
It was during the days of the Reformation (16th century)
• That the church of God was rescued from the dark ages
• Regardless of who you read or study regarding that period, the catalyst for
the reformation was crystal clear.
Men began to examine and understand Scripture.
That is why in the old city of Geneva, where John Calvin preached
• There is a walking park and the center piece of the park is giant wall of
marble which is called “The Reformation Wall”.
• It is a tribute to the heroes of the reformation of the 16th century.
• In the top of the wall is a motto chiseled which says: POST TENEBRAS LUX
It means “after darkness light”
It referred to the time of the dark ages when the Scriptures were only recorded and preached in Latin (which common people did not speak) and therefore did not understand.
It was the dark ages because people did not have access to God’s Word.
But through the reformation, God began to once again reveal His word.
God did not speak new revelation,
He merely used amazing men to bring the revelation of Scripture
Back to the people and with it came revival or light.
One of their cries was SOLA SCRIPTURA or “Scripture Alone”
They had no interest in church tradition or hierarchy
They had no interest in new or private revelation.
In fact Martin Luther said, “Whenever you hear anyone boast that he has something by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it has no basis in God’s Word, no matter what it may be, tell him that this is the work of the devil.” (Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol 23, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia, 1959), 173-174
Furthermore Luther stated, “Whatever does not have its origin in the Scriptures is surely from the devil himself.” (Luther’s Works, vol.36, 144)
These men understood the tremendous value that is Scripture
They saw Scripture alone as the true revelation of God
And had no need nor desire for any other revelation.
And this is what we are talking about here tonight:
THE VALUE OF GOD’S REVELATION TO US.
• How precious it is that God would break the silence and the ignorance and the darkness and would choose to speak!
• How precious it is that God would choose to reveal to us His perfect word!
• How awful it would be to not have that revelation.
Amos 8:11-12 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.”
What a horrific day that would be!
God’s revealed truth of Scripture is extremely valuable!
TONIGHT I WANT TO SHOW WHY IT IS SO VALUABLE
AND ALSO HOW YOU AND I SHOULD TREASURE IT.
We see this in Daniel chapter 10.
There are two main points we will look at tonight.
#1 THE DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING GOD’S REVELATION
Daniel 10:1-17
Verse 1 is simply and introductory verse to the chapter
Which helps us understand the point.
(1) “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.”
Revealed in that verse are two remarkable occurrences.
1) “a message was revealed to Daniel”
2) “he understood the message”
It is in fact remarkable that “a message was revealed to Daniel”
Especially when you understand how difficult it is for this to happen.
One of the ways WE APPRAISE VALUE even in our culture
Is through the idea of how hard something is to come by.
If something is rare or difficult to obtain its value only increases.
This reality will help you understand
Why God’s revealed truth in Scripture is so valuable.
Let me show you why it was so hard for Daniel to receive this message.
The writer actually reveals 4 massive obstacles.
1) THE INABILITY OF MAN TO DISCERN IT (2-3)
That is to say, that even if God were to speak,
There is no way man would be able to comprehend it.
We certainly find that truth here with Daniel.
(2-3) “In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.”
• Daniel has been in “mourning for three entire weeks”
• He is actually in a state of fasting.
• No “tasty food”, No “meat”, No “wine”, No “ointment”
Daniel is not fasting in order to manipulate God to speak,
Rather Daniel is in a state of fasting
Because he can’t understand what God is saying.
Fasting occurs when the spiritual takes precedent over the physical.
Daniel isn’t eating because food is not what he wants.
What does he want?
Look at verse 12
(12) “Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.”
What did Daniel not have that he wanted? “understanding”
Do you not remember what God just showed Daniel back in chapter 9?
Daniel 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
Daniel wants to understand God’s truth, but there is a problem.
HE CAN’T
• It didn’t matter how humble he was…
• It didn’t matter how educated he was…
• It didn’t matter how deprived he was…
Daniel could not understand what God was doing.
And this true not just for Daniel, but for humanity in general.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Paul said:
Romans 11:34 “For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? NASU
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
That simply means that on his own
Man can’t understand the things of God.
That is one of the things that makes God’s revelation
So difficult and so valuable.
MAN CAN’T OBTAIN IT ON HIS OWN.
We learn from Daniel that the only way man can gain understanding is to petition God for it, and hope that God is merciful and desires to reveal Himself.
Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
That is what Daniel is doing.
He is seeking God for understanding.
We will see that God is going to honor that request and send a revelation.
But that leads to a second problem.
There is a second obstacle that makes it difficult:
2) THE UNWORTHINESS OF MAN TO POSSESS IT (4-9)
Daniel has been crying out for understanding
And God is merciful and determines to send a revelation.
That revelation is found in verses 4-9.
(if you’re paying attention on Sunday mornings you should know who this is)
This is Jesus!
It’s the same way John saw him in Revelation 1:12-16
God sends Jesus to Daniel and Jesus even begins to speak.
BUT DID YOU CATCH THE PROBLEM?
No one could handle it!
• Certainly not the men with Daniel, they didn’t even see Jesus, and they took off.
• And Daniel couldn’t even handle it.
(9) “But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.”
When it doesn’t frustrate me, I actually get a little amused at people
Who claim all these revelations from Jesus in their lives.
I had a guy at camp tell me, “I’m one of those people Jesus regularly comes and speaks to.”
WOW! Even John the apostle, Ezekiel and Daniel couldn’t handle that!
They all fell on their face like dead men.
Isaiah said:
Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Peter told Jesus on the fishing boat, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Adam hid, Zacharias became deaf
It’s remarkable to me that so many today claim these special revelations from God when Scripture made it clear that this was no minor thing.
MAN (even the best of them throughout Scripture) IS NOT WORTHY to receive revelation from God, and those that did knew it!
NOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT JESUS SAID TO DANIEL?
Me neither! Daniel couldn’t handle it.
• In fact, God is going to send an angel to Daniel to try and help him receive the revelation and most of the chapter is spent with this angel trying to reassure Daniel that it will be ok.
(READ VERSES 10-11)
And then the angel will try again in verse 14, but Daniel still can’t handle it.
(READ VERSES 15-17)
Are you getting the point?
That is the difficulty of God’s revelation.
Man can’t obtain it on his own, and even when God chooses to give it,
Sinful man can’t handle it!
This is no minor thing!
There is a third barrier to us receiving the revelation of God.
3) THE OPPOSITION OF SATAN TO HINDER IT (10-14)
Here we are given the answer to the 3 week delay.
• God was willing to speak in instant regard to Daniel’s request, but there was a spiritual war occurring that would could not see.
• And when the angel finally calmed Daniel down enough to get him back on his feet he explained to him about the delay.
(12-14) “Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”
We will talk about this more as we get into the book of Revelation, and because time is short, I don’t want to dwell here forever, but here is what you should know.
“the prince of the kingdom of Persia” is not Cyrus.
It is a demonic presence who has been assigned to Cyrus.
Satan has assigned a demon to him
To seek to sway him against the working of God’s people.
• Remember Cyrus is the one who sent them back.
• If you’ll read Ezra 4 you’ll discern that Satan is seeking to stop the rebuilding of the temple.
• There is also a demon working on Cyrus.
That does not mean he is possessed (though some world rulers are),
It means there is a continual evil influence seeking to direct him.
This helps us understand why Paul was so adamant in 1 Timothy 2
That we pray for our leaders and for those in authority.
Satan is at constant work seeking to influence the leaders of this world.
After all, Ephesians 6 reminds us that he is the prince of the power of the air and our battle is not against flesh and blood but instead is against him.
Here we find that God has dispatched His angel
To war against that demonic presence.
This is the spiritual warfare in the heavenlies.
And this angel was dispatched by God to come and reveal the truth to Daniel, but that demonic presence was fighting against him.
Why?
Because Satan hates the truth!
• He tries to block the truth
• He tries to distort the truth
• He tries to dilute the truth
• During the time of the reformation men like William Tyndale were killed simply for trying to translate the Bible into the English language.
• He also sends false prophets to distort the truth and malign the Scriptures saying it means what it does not mean.
• And even in our day he floods the air waves with countless false prophecies and spiritual words to dilute the truth and take the focus of man off of Scripture.
This is one of the things that made receiving God’s word so difficult.
Satan is fighting against it.
A passage that sheds great insight on this reality is:
1 Thessalonians 2:13-18 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while — in person, not in spirit — were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. For we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, more than once — and yet Satan hindered us.”
That passage reminds us of the infinite value of the word of God
Which accomplishes its work in people’s lives.
But Paul said Satan was hindering them from preaching it.
Did he mean Satan put up an invisible force field or something?
No, it was the Jews whom Paul said in verse 16 were “hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved;”
Satan was using the Jews to hinder Paul
From spreading the revelation of God.
Do you understand how privileged you are to have the Scripture?
• It came to you when you could not obtain it on your own.
• It came to you who were not worthy to receive it.
• It came to you in spite of demonic efforts to stop it.
And there is a 4th barrier.
4) THE WEAKNESS OF MAN TO PROCLAIM IT (15-17)
Even if a man is so fortunate to actually receive the word of God,
It is extremely difficult for that man to spread it to anyone else
For who is he that he should be entrusted with the revelation of God?
That is what Daniel said.
In verse 14 the angel tried to give him the revelation again and once again Daniel fell on his face and became speechless.
The angel started touching Daniel’s lips trying to get Daniel to speak
And Daniel said, “I can’t!”
(16-17) “O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. “For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”
We aren’t talking about insignificant words here,
We are talking about the weighted words of God.
Daniel said, “Who am I to speak such things?”
Exodus 3:11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
And that is another thing that makes God’s word so precious.
Even when a man receives it,
It is a tremendous weight that he should go and proclaim it.
Indeed, on his own he can’t!
And this is what makes chapters 11 & 12 so remarkable.
WE HAVE THERE RECORDED THE TRUTH OF GOD.
• It came to a man who could not obtain it.
• It came to a man who was not worthy to receive it.
• It came to a man despite the devil’s attempt to block it.
• And that man was able to proclaim it despite his inability to do so.
And that’s just two chapters in the Bible!
DO YOU SEE HOW VALUABLE THE SCRIPTURE IS?
AND HOW REMARKABLE IT IS THAT YOU EVEN HAVE IT?
Think about that next time you are tempted to disregard the word of God.
• Think about that next time someone tries to give you a new word as though this one is insufficient.
• Think about that next time you seek to offer up some advice or counsel that does not include God’s word.
If you have God’s word you are blessed
Because getting it from God to you is a very difficult thing.
The Difficulty of Obtaining God’s Revelation
#2 THE DUTY OF HAVING OBTAINED GOD’S REVELATION
Daniel 10:18-11:1
This won’t take long, I know we’re out of time,
But the point here is so true and powerful we can’t miss it.
First the angel strengthens Daniel.
He gives him the ability to speak.
Liken this to Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
It is supernatural power which is enabling Daniel
To do what he was not strong enough to do on his own.
And after giving Daniel strength notice what the angel says:
(20) “Do you understand why I came to you?”
That is to say, “Do you understand why you are being given this revelation?”
The angel then says, “I’m leaving”
I have to go back and fight “the prince of Persia”,
That’s my job, no one else does it with me.
In chapter 11:1 he says that has been job since Darius the Mede took over.
My job is to fight spiritual battles in the heavenly places.
“Do you understand why I came to you?”
Because your job is to proclaim the vision!
Do you see that?
Angels aren’t the evangelists, we are.
Angels are fulfilling their own mission from God.
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
They are fighting spiritual battles.
Our job is to faithful declare
That remarkable revelation which has been entrusted to us.
Romans 1:14-16 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”
What a reminder: YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES!
God did not go through the trouble of
Getting His perfect revelation to you
So that you could ignore it, disregard it, add to it, or bury it away.
God went through the trouble of getting His perfect revelation to you so that you would treasure it and proclaim it everywhere!
That is what the angel wants Daniel to understand.
(1) “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.”
• God has chosen to reveal His truth to weak and unworthy men,
• He has accomplished that purpose despite the efforts of the enemy.
• God has strengthened those weak men that they might go and proclaim that truth to all creation.
That is what is behind the scenes
Of every revelation from God contained in Scripture.
Next time we’ll look at what Daniel’s specific revelation was.
