FBC Morning Light – November 8, 2022

Election Day and the Invisible Conflict in Daniel

Well, a good Tuesday morning to you. This is election day here in our country. Maybe some of you already voted in the elections sometime in the past couple of weeks. Maybe you've gone out to the polls today.

I hope you exercise your freedom and opportunity and privilege, I would say duty as a citizen of our country, to vote and to vote well. But that whole subject of the election today brings up an interesting thought in relation to our scripture reading passage for this morning.

And so today we're reading in the book of Daniel, and the first verse of chapter 12, reading in chapters 11 and 12, the first verse of chapter 12, and the first half of the verse, it gives us a little bit of an insight into something going on beyond what we can see.

Here's what I'm saying, here's what I mean. In chapter 12, verse 1, Daniel is being given this interpretation of a vision that he's seen. But he says this, he says this, he says, at that time, Michael shall stand up, Michael is the chief of the angels, the archangel, okay?

He says, at that time, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. Michael, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. What's significant about that?

Well, Michael, this isn't the first time we've heard reference to him in the book of Daniel. We read of him also back in Daniel chapter 11, or chapter 10, in that passage. We read this on Friday, I think it was, last Friday, and I didn't comment on it in the devotional, but I want to mention it now.

Daniel had seen a vision, he wanted an interpretation, he'd been praying for an interpretation of what he'd seen, and so forth, nothing was coming. But then, and so he sees this thing, and he falls down in a deep sleep on his face, verse 9 says, with his face to the ground, and he says, suddenly a hand touched me, in verse 10, which made me tremble on my knees and the palms of my hands.

And he, the person who touched him, said to me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright. For I have now been sent to you. While he was speaking to me, I stood trembling.

Then he said to me, do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words. So this person who has touched Daniel and got him up off the ground is an angelic visitor, and this angelic visitor has come to Daniel in response to Daniel's prayer for understanding of visions that he's had.

But then listen to what this angel says as he continues with Daniel. He says, I've come because of your words, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.

For I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people. You get what's going on here? We are given here just a slight glimpse of something going on behind the curtain, behind the veil, beyond what we can see.

Something is going on in the spirit world, even while life goes on in our physical material world. This angel tells Daniel, expresses to Daniel, that there is some kind of cosmic battle going on here.

Daniel wanted some explanation, this angel had been dispatched to give it, but he was withstood, this angel was withstood, the prince of the kingdom of Persia. That has to be some kind of fallen angel, fallen spirit, an evil spirit that has a great deal of power.

But it's the prince of the kingdom of Persia, which indicates that this evil spirit is allowed to have some measure of control over what's going on in the kingdom of Persia. And it wasn't until Michael, one of the chief princes of the hosts of the Lord, comes and gives aid that this angel is freed from the withstanding of this evil angel.

There's this cosmic conflict going on here, but that fallen angel is not able to overcome Michael's power. And then when you come to chapter 12, this is why I went back to that, because in chapter 12, Michael is brought up again, and in chapter 12, verse 1 says that he is, Michael is, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.

Who are the sons of Daniel's people? Well, it would be God's chosen people. In Old Testament era, that would have been the people of Israel, the chosen people of Israel. But perhaps Michael also has some measure of help and authority and benefit that he provides to all of the sons of Daniel's people.

In other words, to all of the redeemed, to all whose names are written in the book of life. We don't have those kind of details. But what is encouraging and what is reassuring is that today you go to the polls and you elect some representative, maybe a governor, maybe a senator, but you make your voice heard.

And at the end of the day, the polls close and you find out who won the election. But what the commentators on the news channels are not going to tell you as they give you the election results is that there is a conflict far greater that's going on beyond the veil that we can't see.

And in that conflict, ultimately we know God is in control of it all. God is sovereign and He's in control of it all. But that conflict often has, that conflict can have very definite impact on what happens in the physical material world.

What's going on in Iran? What's going on in the United States? What's going on in Russia? What's going on in Ukraine? What's happening in North Korea? Who is in the spirit world, the lesser beings that are given a measure of control and a measure of authority and power to determine what happens in these countries of the world?

It's a to contemplate. But for the believer, the encouraging thing is the chief of the princes who is given authority by our sovereign Almighty God to have charge over the people of God. There is a great deal of power.

There is a host of heaven that cares for and protects the people of God that we don't even see. Isn't that fascinating? I hope that's an encouragement to you today. Well, our Father in Heaven, we thank you for the hope and the confidence we have in your power and your authority and your control over the affairs of this world.

We realize that you, for your purposes, you delegate and allow lesser beings, spirit beings, to have some measure of influence and impact on this world, and certainly you do so because of and as a consequence of the Fall.

But may your people be encouraged by the blessing of knowing that you have their welfare and their well-being completely in your control. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. All right, well have a good Tuesday, and I trust at the end of the day, the person that you vote for will win that election.

All right, have a good day, God bless.