Friends,
From ages it is believed that the prince of the Kingdom of Persia mentioned in Dan 10:13 was some 'fallen angel' or demonic force or even the Devil / Satan. The truth is that there is not even a shred of scriptural evidence to prove such claims.
The context: In the 3ʳᵈ year of Cyrus the great, Daniel received a word from God and he was terribly upset. He observed a fast for 3 weeks (21 days) and then an angel of the LORD (presumably, Gabriel) appeared to him. Daniel fell on the floor, asleep. Gabriel touched him and raised him up, spoke words of encouragement to him, among which was:
Dan 10:13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, [there are 'scholars' who claim that the speaker of these words as well as Michael who came to help him are Michael]
The Hebrew word translated as prince is: H8269 in Strong's (שַׂר, sar). It is always translated as prince, captain, keeper, governor, ruler, taskmaster or chief. This word is used 421 times in the Old Testament and it makes absolutely no sense to say that only in this passage it is about some demonic force.
How can a prince withstand an angel?
This is the doubt many theology experts have. They conveniently ignore the fact that Jacob withstood Elohim (God) in a wrestling match, and prevailed.
Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket...
Gen 32:27 And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
Gen 32:28 Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God (Elohim - H430) and with men, and have prevailed."
Hosea clarifies that the Elohim that Jacob fought with was in fact an angel. ( Hos 12:4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; ...)
So, the question "how can a human being prevail against an angel?" arises from scriptural ignorance.
Are all the "world powers" controlled by Satan?
Just before I set out to write this post, I saw someone claiming that Satan is the mastermind behind all the world powers. But, the Bible has a different story to tell us.
Apart from calling Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was a tyrant and the one who destroyed Jerusalem in the 6ᵗʰ Century BC as "my servant" (Jer 25:9; 27:6; 43:10), the LORD God used his madness episode to reveal a great truth.
Dan 5:21 ... He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.
This is not an isolated incident. Even some the most evil kings were appointed by the LORD God.
1Ki 19:15 And the LORD said to him (Elijah), "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1Ki 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
Those who are familiar with the scriptures would know about the evil precipitated by these kings upon the children of Israel.
Do you still want to tell me that world powers are controlled by Satan/Devil?
Cyrus, King of Persia, the anointed (Messiah)
Since Daniel 10:13 is about the prince of Persia, let us see what the LORD God has to tell us about the king of Persia:
Isa 45:1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped...
The Hebrew word translated as "anointed" here is H4899 in Strong's, (מָשִׁיחַ, maw-shee'-akh), the same word translated as Messiah in Daniel 9:25, 26.
If Cyrus was the anointed of God, how his nation would be under the control of Satan? Anyone who has studied the scriptures would know how kind and generous Cyrus was towards the children of Israel.
The identity of the Prince of Persia.
Most of the reputed scholars agree that the prince of Persia mentioned in Daniel 10:13 is Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the great. He was a coregent (joint ruler) with his father, especially while his father, Cyrus, was engaged in his last expedition into the East.
Though his father Cyrus was favorably disposed towards Jews, it appears that some of the enemies of Jews persuaded Cambyses II to revoke the permission given them by Cyrus to return to Israel and to rebuild their city and the the temple. These obstacles should have been the reason why Daniel was upset, persuading him to take up fasting and penance.
It cannot be a coincidence that the number of days that Daniel fasted matches exactly with the number of days the angel was held up with the prince of Persia, anyway, the angel told Daniel:
Dan 10:12 ..."Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.
Dan 10:13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,
Apparently, Gabriel was not able to win over Cambyses II and it took Archangel Michael to accomplish it.
If the Prince of Persia were Satan, who is the Prince of Greece?
Before leaving Daniel, Gabriel told him:
Dan 10:20 ... "But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
Dan 10:21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
For anyone who has studied the scriptures, the prince of Greece is Alexander the Great, who died of a fever. If the Prince of Persia were Satan, God should have done away with him by afflicting him with a fever or even something worse, instead of letting him to cause untold miseries to human race and the most painful death of His only Son to undo all those miseries. It makes no sense to say that one out of two prices mentioned in the same context is Satan and the other is a historical king.
From ages it is believed that the prince of the Kingdom of Persia mentioned in Dan 10:13 was some 'fallen angel' or demonic force or even the Devil / Satan. The truth is that there is not even a shred of scriptural evidence to prove such claims.
The context: In the 3ʳᵈ year of Cyrus the great, Daniel received a word from God and he was terribly upset. He observed a fast for 3 weeks (21 days) and then an angel of the LORD (presumably, Gabriel) appeared to him. Daniel fell on the floor, asleep. Gabriel touched him and raised him up, spoke words of encouragement to him, among which was:
Dan 10:13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, [there are 'scholars' who claim that the speaker of these words as well as Michael who came to help him are Michael]
The Hebrew word translated as prince is: H8269 in Strong's (שַׂר, sar). It is always translated as prince, captain, keeper, governor, ruler, taskmaster or chief. This word is used 421 times in the Old Testament and it makes absolutely no sense to say that only in this passage it is about some demonic force.
How can a prince withstand an angel?
This is the doubt many theology experts have. They conveniently ignore the fact that Jacob withstood Elohim (God) in a wrestling match, and prevailed.
Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket...
Gen 32:27 And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
Gen 32:28 Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God (Elohim - H430) and with men, and have prevailed."
Hosea clarifies that the Elohim that Jacob fought with was in fact an angel. ( Hos 12:4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; ...)
So, the question "how can a human being prevail against an angel?" arises from scriptural ignorance.
Are all the "world powers" controlled by Satan?
Just before I set out to write this post, I saw someone claiming that Satan is the mastermind behind all the world powers. But, the Bible has a different story to tell us.
Apart from calling Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was a tyrant and the one who destroyed Jerusalem in the 6ᵗʰ Century BC as "my servant" (Jer 25:9; 27:6; 43:10), the LORD God used his madness episode to reveal a great truth.
Dan 5:21 ... He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.
This is not an isolated incident. Even some the most evil kings were appointed by the LORD God.
1Ki 19:15 And the LORD said to him (Elijah), "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1Ki 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
Those who are familiar with the scriptures would know about the evil precipitated by these kings upon the children of Israel.
Do you still want to tell me that world powers are controlled by Satan/Devil?
Cyrus, King of Persia, the anointed (Messiah)
Since Daniel 10:13 is about the prince of Persia, let us see what the LORD God has to tell us about the king of Persia:
Isa 45:1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped...
The Hebrew word translated as "anointed" here is H4899 in Strong's, (מָשִׁיחַ, maw-shee'-akh), the same word translated as Messiah in Daniel 9:25, 26.
If Cyrus was the anointed of God, how his nation would be under the control of Satan? Anyone who has studied the scriptures would know how kind and generous Cyrus was towards the children of Israel.
The identity of the Prince of Persia.
Though his father Cyrus was favorably disposed towards Jews, it appears that some of the enemies of Jews persuaded Cambyses II to revoke the permission given them by Cyrus to return to Israel and to rebuild their city and the the temple. These obstacles should have been the reason why Daniel was upset, persuading him to take up fasting and penance.
It cannot be a coincidence that the number of days that Daniel fasted matches exactly with the number of days the angel was held up with the prince of Persia, anyway, the angel told Daniel:
Dan 10:12 ..."Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.
Dan 10:13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,
Apparently, Gabriel was not able to win over Cambyses II and it took Archangel Michael to accomplish it.
If the Prince of Persia were Satan, who is the Prince of Greece?
Before leaving Daniel, Gabriel told him:
Dan 10:20 ... "But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
Dan 10:21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
For anyone who has studied the scriptures, the prince of Greece is Alexander the Great, who died of a fever. If the Prince of Persia were Satan, God should have done away with him by afflicting him with a fever or even something worse, instead of letting him to cause untold miseries to human race and the most painful death of His only Son to undo all those miseries. It makes no sense to say that one out of two prices mentioned in the same context is Satan and the other is a historical king.
In Christ,
Tomsan Kattackal
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