We tend to think of the tangible things we can see and feel as the world we live in. Although Christians are well aware that a spiritual dimension exists, it seems far away and removed from the "real" world that affects us throughout the events of our lives.

We get promoted, our spirits soar. We lose our jobs and sink into deep concern and fear, forgetting that God really is in control. Babies are born and we rejoice. People we love get hurt, sick, or are taken from this world and we grieve. It often seems that these things happen to us merely because of things we do or other people do to us. Yet the Bible tells us that the real issues of life don't take place at all on the levels we can physically experience. Scripture says that the real battle is not one of flesh and blood but of spiritual warfare.

During the reign of king Hezekiah, the Assyrian king Sennacherib taunted the God of the Jews, saying that He was powerless against the Assyrians. Sennacherib called for the Jews to find even 2,000 soldiers and he would equip them with horses to ride, a taunt designed to show his numerical superiority. Read about it in 2Kings 19:9-36. That night a single angel put to death 185,000 Assyrian warriors. Sennacherib retreated to Nineveh in shame.

Another example from 2Kings 6 shows how God is on our side in huge numbers, though we are usually unaware of it. The king of Aram sent troops to find and arrest the prophet Elisha after learning that he was telling Hezekiah his most secret plans. When Elisha's servant opened the door of the house and cried in dismay upon seeing the Aramean army covering the hillsides, Elisha prayed that his eyes might be opened to see the spiritual dimension. Suddenly the servant saw vast numbers of spiritual warriors scattered throughout those same hills.

And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
-- 2Kings 6:17

In his book "God's Secret Agents" Billy Graham tells a similar story about missionary John Paton and his wife in the New Hebrides. One night they were surrounded by hostile natives. Sensing that the natives wanted to kill them, Paton and his wife prayed through the night. Years later the chief of the tribe was asked about the event. He explained that they never attacked because there were a great number of men with drawn swords protecting the missionary couple.

Ephesians tells us that we are at a constant state of war with spiritual forces attacking us from the heavenly realms. This is the true source of the events, human interactions and physical things that affect our lives.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
-- Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)

Romans 8:38 suggests that these evil forces are highly organized into "principalities." Daniel makes it clear that they have a structure associated directly with power structures on the earth, including demonic forces in charge of specific empires and countries.

We often have an attitude that is much too cavalier about the spiritual world, as if we don't fully believe this state of war exists. Even some hymns make light of the powers wielded by the side of evil. The apostle Jude made it clear that we must show a great deal of respect even to the forces of evil. The example he uses is remarkable:

Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
-- Jude 8-9 (NASB)

Jude refers to an incident in which Michael the great warrior angel refused to speak in a negative tone to Satan. Instead, he recognized that only God has the authority to rebuke spiritual beings. After this, he goes on to identify other sins related to speaking against the spiritual forces.

Angels can reveal themselves with physical bodies. They can eat with us and be entertained by us, looking like ordinary people. Abraham met three angels (one of them was the Lord Jesus) and he entertained them for the evening. The writer of Hebrews seems to indicate that this is a common occurrence!

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
-- Hebrews 13:2

Angels were present when God created the world, and shouted for joy (Job 38:4-7). They were present at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:8-14), during His temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), during the transfiguration, during the night of agony in Gethsemene (Luke 22:43), near the tomb at the resurrection (Luke 24:1-7), at the ascension (Acts 1:10-11), and will accompany Jesus' return (Matthew 13:39; 24:31).

Yet despite all the references to angels throughout the Scripture, Daniel's account that introduces his final vision is perhaps the most graphic description of how angels are constantly at war in the heavenly realms.

Daniel 10:1

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, (who was called Belteshazzar). And the message was true, but the time appointed was long and filled with strife. He understood the message through a vision.

This vision was given to Daniel in the third year of the reign of Cyrus, which was the fourth year after he officially took the throne and released the Jews from captivity. This was about five years after the fall of Babylon as described in Daniel chapter 5.

Daniel 10:2-4

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,

at that time I, Daniel, was in mourning for three full weeks.

I ate no pleasant bread, nor allowed meat or wine in my mouth. I used no lotions on my body at all, until the whole three weeks were completed.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, the Tigris [also called Hiddekel],

Daniel has been in mourning for three weeks. It was now the 24th day of the first month.

Which month is the "first month"?

The Jewish year was changed by God at the time of the Exodus to begin in the month Nisan. He had said that the seventh month (at that time Nisan) would become the first month. This created an interesting challenge, as the Jews now celebrated a calendar that was vastly different from that of the surrounding nations. Imagine if the USA suddenly changed its calendar so that July became the first month of the year!

The secular calendar remained unchanged with Tishri as the first month. This applied to the calendars of all the surrounding cultures and even the Jewish secular calendar. In order to maintain commerce and some sense of order, business and many non-religious affairs were still conducted according to the secular calendar. That's why the Jews even today celebrate their new year on the first two days of Tishri. One could say the "first" month and still be correct whether he meant Nisan or Tishri. In fact, at the time of this prophecy the Jews had lived for 56 years in a pagan culture in which the first month would consistently be Tishri.

We are not certain whether Daniel meant Nisan or Tishri. It's not critically important either way. But we can draw some inferences to help us reach an intelligent conclusion.

First, it would seem odd that he began his fast on the third day of the month. Daniel was very organized and punctual, an excellent administrator. A thorough planner, he was extremely specific about the three weeks. So why begin on the third day of the month? If he meant Tishri it would make perfect sense because Rosh HaShana (the New Year celebration) took place on 1-2 Tishri, making the third day a wonderful time to begin a fast as his first act of the new year.

Second, such a long fast during the month of Nisan would mean fasting right through Passover, the holiest celebration in Judaism. Knowing Daniel's character and reverence for God, why would he wish to fast through this extremely important once-a-year event when the eating of the Passover Lamb held such religious significance and he had so many other opportunities to avoid missing it? Again it would seem completely out of character for Daniel.

Third, he ends his fast on the evening of the 23rd day. What an odd day to end a fast, wouldn't you say? This would make perfect sense if the fast ended on the evening of Simhat Torah (the Feast of Rejoicing), in which case he could feast with everyone else and start a new day as that celebration of God's law came to a close.

The Jewish Feast of Rejoicing (now called Simhat Torah) takes place on 23 Tishri. This is a celebration of the completion of the annual reading of the Torah, or Law of God.

It appears most likely that Daniel's three-week fasting period had begun right after Rosh HaShana and had just concluded on the Feast of Rejoicing when he had this vision.

This was not a complete fast. We tend to think that only complete fasts are "holy" but any fast is acceptable to God, as it represents a sacrifice on our part of something that we enjoy. Daniel was avoiding wine, meat, delicacies and lotions commonly used for hygiene.

next: An Angel Appears

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