WEDNESDAY, 6 January, 2021 “Cosmic War”

Scroll down to see and play Audio.

Good Wednesday morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Of course I’m writing and recording this edition of “Walking with Jesus” prior to this Wednesday, so as I write, I do not have the advantage of knowing what actually occurred in the Georgia runoff election yesterday, nor what Congress in America will do today. What I do know is the battles raging these days are part of a great war which has been going on since the days of the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve turned away from God and invited Satan into their utopia! That’s right my friends, while the names of the warriors battling, and the battlefields where the battles are raging, and the tactics change from generation to generation, the war between good and evil, right and wrong, Jesus and Satan, continues in every generation. I wonder what it has looked like where you live in our world?

Yesterday we watched as Mr. Zerubbabel, the leader of 50,000 Jewish exiles who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, stood his ground and said ‘NO’ to growing opposition and intimidation from the squatters who had moved in and settled in the ruins of Jerusalem. This showdown is recorded for us in Ezra 4:1-5. If we read the Bible chronologically, something very significant happened between verses 5 & 6 of Ezra 4, which sheds light on what is going on in our world today in January 2021! Believe it or not I had not planned to land on this Scripture in our “Walking with Jesus” journey today, but by God’s Sovereignty, here we are, and it fits so well with January 2021!

Daniel chapter 10, 11 and 12 are a powerful vision which Daniel received from God in the month of April of 536bc and the vision fits chronologically right here, in the timeline of Scripture, between Ezra chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. Daniel was still back in Babylon, as an advisor to the emperor. You may remember he’d been taken there as a boy from Jerusalem way back in 605bc by king Nebuchadnezzar’s army, when they invaded Jerusalem the first time. For 70 years, Daniel has been a captive spiritual advisor to Nebuchadnezzar and the various emperors who succeeded him. Daniel had not returned to Jerusalem with the 50,000 exiles. God had important messages He wanted king Cyrus and succeeding emperors to know about the short and long term future, and God spoke them to Daniel through the visions recorded in Daniel 10, 11,12.

Today let’s just focus on Daniel 10. Let’s join Daniel, as he is standing on the bank of the great Tigris River near modern day Baghdad, Iraq. He has been fasting and praying for 21 days. In prayer Daniel seeks an answer from God. Suddenly a vision appears to Daniel. Daniel records it this way: “…there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude! Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. Those who were with me did not see it but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled, so I was left alone gazing at this great vision…” (Daniel 10:1-9) Now does that sound like something out of a Hollywood movie? But it was real my friends!

We’ve just come through the Christmas season and messengers from God, angels, play a significant role in the Christmas miracle, don’t they? All through Biblical history we have stories of people, just like you and me, who have encounters with angelic beings. So while rare and unusual, we should not have difficulty accepting Daniel’s vision as reality, factual, historical, life changing truth.

Daniel recorded this angelic conversation very carefully. The angel said “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, for I have now been sent to you… Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard; and I have come in response to them.“ (Daniel 10:11,12) My friends, do you remember the Christmas story opens with the angel Gabriel promising the old priest Zechariah that his prayer had been heard, and that he and Elizabeth would have a son in their old age? Do you see here, this angel, appearing to Daniel, says the same thing? Daniel’s 3 weeks of prayer and fasting had not gone unnoticed by God, and this angel had been sent with God’s response to Daniel’s prayers!

Be encouraged my friends. God hears our prayers, He knows the concerns of our hearts, and He responds!

Listen carefully to what the heavenly messenger said next to Daniel: “The Prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I was detained there by the prince of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Daniel 10:13,14) This is a very important Scripture for it gives us insight into the war in the angelic world, a world we don’t often consider, but a world of beings very involved with all that is happening here on planet earth… and the war which has rages with intensity, even now in January 2021! May I explain this important Biblical reality?

The unnamed angel, who had been sent by God to Daniel with the answer he was praying for, was detained by an opposing angel of greater power, until Michael, one of archangels, came and battled with this opposing angel. Then the opposing angel released this angel to come to Daniel and deliver the message from God.

There are three angels named in the Bible, all of equal, very high rank. . . Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer (Satan). The unnamed angel who came to Daniel referred to the angel Michael as a ‘chief prince’. Michael’s ability to victoriously battle the opposing angel, who was referred to as the “prince of the Persian kingdom”, suggests two very important things. First, that these three angels had different power or authority. The one which came to Daniel was of lesser power or lower rank than the one who opposed him. But Michael was of greater power than that opposing angel. This shows us that the angelic world is one of ranks or positions of various authority and power.

Many Bible scholars believe these words of Paul in Ephesians 6:12 identify some of those ranks: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The words ‘rulers’, ‘authorities’, ‘powers’, ‘spiritual forces’ may be titles or ranks of authority, and we presume those ranks are equally applicable to holy angels who reside in God’s presence, and the evil, fallen angels, who are the demons and evil spirits who followed Satan in his rebellion against God. (Ezekiel 28:12-17) These evil, rebellious angels or demons function under Satan’s authority.

Secondly, please note that the angel who came from God to Daniel was a messenger with one specific mission and message for Daniel. The opposing angel, however, was a demonic power which resided here on earth with great evil influence over an earthly geographical area called the Persian kingdom. If you’ll notice in vs. 20 the angelic messenger tells Daniel he will soon re-engage the battle with the ‘prince of Persia’ and later another high ranking demon will get involved, called the ‘prince of Greece’. Now think about this my friends, as you consider the widespread evil in our world.

Are there high ranking, very powerful “prince” demons who have evil authority over the geographical area where you live? How are those demons affecting the politics or media or entertainment or business or education or healthcare or even religious groups in your area? Now add this Scripture my friends: 1 John 5:19 “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one (Satan).” And here’s one more: 1 Peter 5:8 “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Do you see these Scriptures describe a global war taking place? Jesus is attempting to bring His salvation and rescue from sin bondage to every and any person, but Satan is strongly opposing Jesus, God’s Word and God’s people, everywhere in the world. I wonder how you see this war affecting you and your family in your part of the world?

The explanation given to Daniel by the angel sent from God is complex and we won’t spend time today digging into it. Let me simply say it flows from predictions of global leaders, wars and events which took place within a few years of this event with the angel and Daniel, to some events occurring centuries later, to some predictions of yet future things which may be unfolding presently, in our lifetime. Often Biblical prophecy can be fulfilled in multiple time periods. From our vantage point in 2021 we can look back over several thousand years of recorded history to see how God’s warnings and promises have come true over and over. These chapters in Daniel, especially chapter 12, warn us that days of persecution are coming as leaders and governments reject God, refuse God’s truth and God’s standards of right and wrong. This persecution will be most felt by those people, in every place in the world, who seek God, want to honor God with their lives and families, who align their values with God’s truth and His values, and who will not yield to the pressure to renounce Jesus and turn away from God.

So in closing my friends, what will 2021 hold for you and me, our families, our communities, our nations? While we cannot predict exact details, we can predict this war between holy and wicked, good and evil, moral and immoral will continue to escalate and God’s people will find themselves in persecution. As we close, here’s a song that is centuries old, and calls us to lift our heads high, because “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” For centuries, saints living in corrupt times have sung this with confidence that God is standing with them as OPPOSITION and PERSECUTION rise against them.

Today’s Scripture is Daniel 10.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).

Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.