A glimpse from Daniel:
Introduction:Our country is in a battle that goes far beyond politics, laws, or cultural debates—it is a spiritual war between good and evil. Just as Daniel was shown the unseen forces influencing nations, we too face spiritual principalities working to corrupt hearts, divide people, and turn them away from God (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy seeks to spread deception, lawlessness, and moral decay, while God calls His people to stand firm in truth, prayer, and righteousness. This is not just a battle for policies or power—it is a battle for souls, and victory will only come through repentance, faith, and reliance on God’s Word.
Gabriel tells Daniel that he was delayed for 21 days because he was fighting against the “prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:13). This “prince” is not a human king but a demonic power opposing God’s purposes in the Persian Empire. Gabriel was only able to proceed to Daniel after Michael, the archangel, came to help him.
Gabriel does not fight for the Persian king but is instead engaged in a spiritual conflict involving the demonic forces behind the earthly kingdom. This passage reveals the reality of spiritual warfare behind political and historical events. -Elving Ellis
Michael, who was more powerful, had relieved him. The Hebrew word translated “I was left there” ( nôtarti , from yātar ) does not properly signify “to remain behind” but “to remain over, to be superfluous.” Driver renders Daniel 10:13, “I was left over there beside the kings (i.e., I had nothing more to do).” 26 Zöckler refutes Calvin and others who understand the angel’s conflict as being with an earthly king rather than an angelic being. Calvin says, “If we weigh these words too judiciously, we shall readily conclude, that the angel fought rather against the king of the Persians than for him.”
Daniel, John F. Walvoord Revised and Edited by Charles H. Dyer and Philip E. Rawley
© 2012 by JOHN F. WALVOORD
Note: Otto Zöckler (1833, Grünberg, Hesse – 1906) was a German theologian, professor at Greifswald.
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