S -“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia

Daniel 10:12–13 CSB

O – Commentary:

God has arranged the angelic realm in differing ranks referred to as “rule, authority, power, and dominion” (Eph. 1:21). Gabriel and Michael have been assigned authority over angels who administer God’s affairs for the nation Israel (cf. Michael in Dan. 10:21; 12:1; Jude 9). In imitation Satan has also apparently assigned high-ranking demons to positions of authority over each kingdom. The prince of the Persian kingdom was a satanic representative assigned to Persia. To seek to prevent Gabriel’s message from getting to Daniel, the demonic prince attacked Gabriel as he embarked on his mission. This gives insight into the nature of the warfare fought in the heavenlies between God’s angels and Satan’s demons to which Paul referred (Eph. 6:12): “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.”

The battle between Gabriel and the prince (demon) of Persia continued for three weeks until Michael, one of the chief princes of the angelic realm (cf. Dan. 10:21; 12:1), came to Gabriel’s assistance. Such angelic-demonic conflict indicates something of Satan’s power. While the king of Persia was fighting Michael, Gabriel was able to bring a message to Daniel concerning the future of Israel, Daniel’s people (cf. “your people,” 9:24). It was to be a revelation of the warfare (10:1) between Israel and her neighbors until Israel is given peace by the coming Prince of peace. This vision contains the most detailed prophetic revelation in the Book of Daniel.

 J. Dwight Pentecost, “Daniel,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1366.

A – “We wrestle not against flesh and blood…”  The spiritual realm is real and it isn’t as depicted by movies or shows.  There is a war going on between God and Satan.  The good news is that we know that God already holds the victory.  We can defeat the attack of the enemy by the blood of Jesus, the word of God and our testimony of our relationship with God.  The key is to be on God’s side.

R – Heavenly Father, you are victorious.  Thank you for fighting for us in our daily walk.  We recognize there is a war going on in the spirit realm.  We will walk in a place of victory today.