A Greatly Beloved Man and a Beautiful Land
Simon Attwood
The identity of Darius the Mede has long been a matter of debate.[1] As it has not been possible to prove his existence from human sources, critics have used this as a reason to cast doubt on or even deny the authenticity of the Book of Daniel. But is it right for man to assess the truth of God’s Word by the extent and quality of his knowledge? There have been similar cases where subsequent research has shown that Scripture was right all along and human information was faulty or incomplete. Faith rests on God’s Word regardless of what man thinks he knows. We suspect that scepticism about Daniel stems from not wanting to bow to his message.
Chapter 5 says that in the night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed and Darius ‘received the kingdom’ (v. 31), and chapter 9 that he ‘was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans’ (v. 1). This terminology suggests that he did not conquer it for himself but someone installed him on the throne — probably Cyrus the Great of Persia. Earlier in the Medo-Persian kingdom, the Medes may have been equal partners but by the time it overcomes the Babylonians the balance of power has shifted to the Persians. Its bestial image in chapter 7 is a bear that ‘raised up itself on one side’ (7:5), and later in the book it is called Persia only. But at this point it seems that it was convenient for Cyrus that Darius took over the Chaldean kingdom.
Darius is around 62 years old (5:31) and retains his position for little more than two years but this is sufficient time for him to get to know Daniel who is older yet — in his 80s or even his 90s — but excellent in his person and in wisdom and still able to stand before kings and declare God’s mind to them. Soon Darius wants to appoint him his ‘prime minister’ as Pharaoh had done with Joseph centuries before in Egypt (Gen. 41:40–41). As we might expect, his other officials are not impressed and trick him into sending Daniel to the den of lions despite his best efforts to avoid this. His anxiety for Daniel and delight when he discovers no harm has come to him show how much he respects and loves him. During this episode God uses angels to protect Daniel and fortify Darius (Dan. 6:22; 11:1). As a result Daniel’s position at court is secure for the remainder of Darius’s reign and afterwards when Cyrus takes full control.
If a heathen king has such a high regard for Daniel, it is not surprising that Gabriel, a ministering spirit ‘sent out for service on account of those who shall inherit salvation’ (Heb. 1:14), calls him ‘one greatly beloved’ (Dan. 9:23). Used in this positive way, the expression denotes precious moral beauty or the appreciation of it (see its use in Psalm 19:10 in regard to the judgments of the law and in Isaiah 53:2 for the sad lack of desire for the Lord Jesus by His earthly people). Here Gabriel uses it to describe Daniel following his beautiful prayer of confession and intercession for Israel, which had risen to heaven like incense (Dan. 9:3–23).
But why does Daniel mourn three full weeks in chapter 10:3?[2] Surely, he should be elated that the Jews in Babylon are returning to Jerusalem following Cyrus’ decree in the first year of his reign (Ezra 1:1–6). After all, it was he who realised from reading the prophecy of Jeremiah that the end of their 70 years of captivity was in sight (Dan. 9:2; Jer. 25:12). But he has learnt from Gabriel’s answer to his prayer in chapter 9 that Messiah will be cut off and that abomination, consumption and desolation will follow. In this light, he knows the Jews’ return to Jerusalem can only be temporary. Like the Apostle John he has the moral character and capacity to hear and see things others less spiritual cannot take in (John 21:20; Rev. 1:9–11). But the content of the revelations and the sad realisation that it will take a long time for Israel to enter its God-ordained primacy among the nations weighs heavily on him. He does not shrug it off but feels and mourns it as a truly pious Israelite who yearns for God’s glory and the nation’s blessing.
The description of the man who appears to Daniel in chapter 10:5 is similar to the vision the Apostle John receives of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:13–16. However, the lack of complete correspondence and the man’s account of the way ‘the prince of the kingdom of Persia’ withstood him (Dan. 10:13) prove that he is an angel. Nonetheless, the impression Daniel gets of spiritual power is palpable: ‘there remained no strength in me; and my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength … and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell into a deep stupor on my face, and my face to the ground’ (Dan. 10:8–9; see also vs. 15–17). What men like Daniel and John suffered to receive such communications and pass them on to us! A hand touches him and sets him on his knees and hands, and the angel addresses him in a most dignified way: ‘O Daniel, man greatly beloved’ (v. 11). He is told to stand upright and made to realise that, while he rightly feels his weakness in the angel’s presence, he is an object of delight to heaven because of his single heart and humility.
It is remarkable that Daniel has been mourning and fasting for three weeks — exactly the 21 days it takes the angel to come to him (10:2–3, 13). His spirituality means that he is in concert with heaven without realising it and therefore ready to receive the angelic communications that will enable him to ‘understand what shall befall thy people at the end of the days’ (v. 14). Evidently, the prince of the kingdom of Persia is an evil spirit who tries to prevent him receiving this revelation because it confirms that Persia will give way to Alexander the Great’s Grecian empire (11:2–3). But now Daniel gets another touch and further encouragement: ‘Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong’ (10:19). Sad as the revelation will be in many ways, he is to have the strength-giving conviction that God will accomplish His purpose. This reminds us of the promises to the overcomers in the letters to the seven churches (Rev. 2–3).
Chapter 11 shows that Alexander’s empire will fly into four parts, only two of which matter in prophecy — the ‘king of the north’ (v. 6) and ‘the king of the south’ (v. 5) — because they contest ‘the land of beauty’ (vs. 16, 41) that lies between them. The passage starting at verse 5 is such an accurate account of events that unbelieving commentators say it is history masquerading as prophecy. But God knows the end of man’s course of sin from its beginning: corruption (v. 17), unashamed self-promotion (v. 18), exploitation (v. 20), evil (v. 21), deception (vs. 23–25), death (v. 26), duplicity (v. 27), outrage (v. 31) and wickedness (v. 32). Verses 33–35 seem to refer to the revolt of the Maccabees against the wicked Antiochus IV Epiphanes who profaned the temple sanctuary in 167 BC, but their success in this period of divine silence between the testaments is all too brief.
The Holy Spirit turns abruptly from this to a sadder story yet, which is still future. Verses 36–39 surely bring antichrist before us.[3] He exceeds Antiochus in every way and reignites the north-south conflict. The king of the north — called the Assyrian by Isaiah and Micah — gains precedence again because he is the rod of God’s anger against His earthly people (Isa. 10:5) for their covenant with the revived Roman Empire (Isa. 28:15; Dan. 9:27). No wonder Daniel calls this ‘a time of distress, such as never was since there was a nation until that time’ (12:1). It is the time of Jacob’s trouble, the great tribulation.
The Holy Spirit enabled believers in the early 19th century to rediscover these truths from Scripture when there was no prospect humanly speaking of Jews ever returning to the land in significant numbers, let alone as a nation. Now in modern-day Israel we can see how unbelief will characterise God’s earthly people in the future so that a remnant will emerge from the mass as foretold in the psalms and the prophets. When Messiah comes to save His own and all is accomplished for His glory and their blessing, the land of beauty, so blotted by man, will really ‘blossom as the rose’ (Isa. 35:1) and Daniel, the man greatly beloved, will view it from his heavenly lot (Dan. 12:13). May the Lord help us to stand for Him in this present evil day as Daniel did in his. To do so, we must put on the whole armour of God ‘because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the universal lords of this darkness, against spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies’ (Eph. 6:11–12).
[1] It is possible that he is the man known to secular history as Astyages, the last king of Media. Two Persian kings called Darius reigned later: Darius 1, also known as Darius the Great, from 521 BC (Ezra 4:5, 24; 5:5–7; 6:1–15; Hag. 1:1, 15; 2:10; Zech. 1:1, 7; 7:1) and Darius 2, also called Ochus or Nothus, from 424 BC (Neh. 12:22).
[2] Verse 1 is the last mention of Daniel’s Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, meaning: ‘lord of the straitened’s treasure’. In giving it to him, the prince of the eunuchs (1:7) seemed to perceive his special ability to open up the meaning of information others received but struggled to understand.
[3] In a chapter that consistently presents conflict between ‘the king of the north’ and ‘the king of the south’, it is significant that this personage is simply called ‘the king’. He is the counterfeit king of the Jews, the second beast of Revelation 13 who honours ‘the god of fortresses’ —the first beast in that chapter and leader of the revived Roman Empire.
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From: Truth and Testimony, 2022