Daniel 10:10-11:4

10:12-14 | The first day that Daniel sought an answer from the Lord, God heard in heaven and dispatched an angel, which was accosted and delayed by an evil angel. After twenty-one days, the angel finally prevailed with the help of the chief angel, Michael, and arrived on earth – all because Daniel never quit praying. Michael is the warring angel, the one who battles on behalf of God’s people (10:21; 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev. 12:7).

10:12 | Daniel’s prayer was effective in that it was offered humbly and involved both his emotion and his intellect (he desperately desired to understand and was determined to get an answer). The term set his heart is the same phrase that is used of the Lord Jesus: “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” and the cross (Luke 9:51).

10:13 | The prince of Persia was obviously not a man, for no human could have resisted a messenger of God for 21 days. So he must have been one of Satan’s emissaries. Satan and his forces constantly oppose God and His forces, and this conflict is reflected on earth as the enemy attempts to draw God’s people away from the things of God (Eph. 6:21). The prayers of God’s people are incredibly important. Prayer is the tool that ensures Satan’s defeat.

10:14-20 | Daniel’s reaction here is a common response to visions in apocalyptic writings (Isa. 6:5; Rev. 1:17).

10:21 | The Scripture of Truth is more accurately the “Book of Truth” – a book that contained God’s plan for history. It would be similar to the book or scroll that John saw in his vision in Revelation 5.

11:1-4 | Daniel predicts a long conflict between the kings of the North and the kings of the South. The southern kingdom was known as the Ptolemies (Egypt), and the northern kingdom of the Seleucids (Syria). Because Israel was located between the two kingdoms geographically, it was often caught in struggles between the two powers, with their battles taking place on Israel’s soil.