The Prince of Persia

"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 understanding of what wil happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future." (Daniel 10: 12-14)



The Book of Daniel tells the story of a Jewish man who was deported from the southern kingdom of Judea when it was overthrown by the Babylonian empire in 605 BC, and who then was placed into the court of Nebuchadnezzar, it's powerful king. Daniel is much more than just the story of an individual because almost the entire book is devoted to prophecy that will affect the Jewish nation. If we want to understand and correctly interpret Biblical prophecy that concerns the times leading up to the second coming of Jesus, and there is a lot contained throughout scripture, we must first understand the prophecies in Daniel. And the first key to unlocking the mysteries in Daniel is to realize that everything has a connection to the geographic location which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. The book talks about the countries and empires that would invade and control the Jewish nation from the time frame of Daniel, up to the time of Jesus. And it talks about the forces that will be involved in "the latter days", when a person known as "The Antichrist" will invade the same geographical area in an attempt to oppose the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

The second key that helps us understand the mysteries in Daniel, as well as many other prophecies in scripture, is to realize that there is a struggle, a conflict, affecting that geograpic area, and indeed the whole world, that has been going on unseen for thousands of years. This is a struggle between the angels loyal to God and the angels and evil spirits loyal to the evil one. Scripture does not present us with a clear "This is how everything works" manuel on spirit to spirit warefare. But scripture does give enough puzzle pieces to help us appreciate , at least a little bit, the struggle going on in the spirit world, and that if affects in a major way the politics happening in the physical world. This is true, not just as we look at prophetic scripture in a historical sense, or as an intellectual exercise, but also as we consider what is happening geo-politically in the Middle East region today.

The conflict is much more than just a two way struggle between God and the evil one. All intelligent creatures, whether spirits without physical bodies, or people with a body, soul and spirit, were created by God, and each individual is allowed by God to follow a course of actions that is determined by the individual. Angels do not have physical bodies, but it appears that many exist in such a way to interact with the physical world. At some point an angel, created by God, and having been given both great physical beauty and earthly responsibilities (Ezekiel 28), rebelled from God. Then he convinced other angels to join in his rebellion. He is, in a sense, the leader of all beings, both spiritual and physical, who oppose God. This is not a battle between two equal forces. God allows rebellion, but all rebellion will be dealt with by God. The forces that oppose God are not necessarily united in their opposition. The same selfish will that rebels against God is also competing with others for it's own gain. Just as man competes against man for resources, honor and power, so it seems rebellious angels and evil spirits compete for the same. Man may act counter to the will of God, and in so doing has aligned himself with the desires of the evil one, but that does not mean that he will be doing everything that the evil one wants. And many of the angels that followed the evil one in rebelling against God may also have their own agenda.

With both man and angel there are some who exercise more authority. They have a greater degree of power and influence, controlling the actions of others, and competing for territorial advantage. However, the physical part of man eventually dies, and the struggle for dominion must be left to his descendants or allies. But spiritual beings do not die. They work to influence man and events in a particular geographic area, and they struggle in the atmosphere above the land against other evil angels. Perhaps when they gain an advantage in the heavens they have greater access to man on the earth. And perhaps when certain things happen on earth, they lose out in the heavens.

It seems to me that the person talking to Daniel in the scripture above is Jesus, who for this message has taken on a human form. He is sent by God the Father to provide Daniel with an important prophetic word for the future of the Jewish nation, but was opposed in the heavens (the atmosphere above the earth) by a powerful angel named the Prince of Persia, along with others called the kings of Persia. Daniel was in Babylon, but the Babylonian empire had recently been conquered by the Medes and Persians, as Daniel had earlier prophesied. The Lord was delayed by those spirits for 21 days, but a powerful angel, Michael, who is the chief angelic prince for the Jewish people, comes to help. After the Lord has given Daniel the message, He concludes by telling Daniel that an angel known as the Prince of Greece would one day surplant the Prince of Persia as ruler over that area.

Here is a brief primer about the empires, ultimately influenced by strong angelic spirits, that controlled the land promised by God to Abraham and his desendants. The first was the Egyptian, followed by the Assyrian. Both are prior to Daniel, and are not mentioned in the prophecies of nations leading up to Jesus first coming, but both are involved in the "latter days". Assyria is a nation that began in an area which is now the northern part of Iraq, spilling over into today's Turkey and Iran. The area today is inhabited mainly by the Kurds (although some here still call themselves Assyrians). I mention this because the Antichrist is several times in scripture referred to as "the Assyrian". It will be very interesting if Iraq ends up being divided, with the Kurds becoming a separate nation. The first and greatest empire mentioned in Daniel is Babylon, and it's orgin is in the area of modern day Iraq. The Median and Persian empire is next, existing at the time of the prophecy above to Daniel. Persia is modern day Iran. The Greek empire follows, led by Alexander the Great, and at his death broken up into four smaller empires. The Antichrist will emerge from one of those four. Then came the Roman empire, which controlled the Holy Land in the days of Jesus. Each of these is pictured in Daniel as a particular "beast", perhaps also a reference to the angelic spirit influencing that empire. After the Roman empire the area was ruled by Arabs, Christians, and Turks. It appears that the current strong angel in the Middle East today is Allah, which the Arab people once worshipped as their moon god. Today there is a bloody struggle between different branches of Islam, indicating that there may well be angelic sub princes fighting for control. The chief princes of each of these ancient empires still desire to rule that special area, perhaps to gain greater favor with the evil one.

At some point the evil one will step in to start taking direct control ovr the politics in the Middle East. He will create his empire by deceit and force, and many will submit to his will. Powerful evil spirits and demonic armies that have been bound for thousands of years will be set loose, and the judgment of God will be upon the earth and upon those opposed to Him. As bad as things are today, there is still a Restrainer. People can choose to follow the will of God and through prayer can affect the battles that happen in the heavens. Nations can still overcome the desire of evil princes to influence them. And regions, cities, and even chruches can stil be victorious over the evil spirits sent to corrupt and destroy.