This morning I sat down with my Bible and notebook. But I wasn’t sure “where” I wanted to go. I’m not in a current study right now, so I asked the Lord to guide me. I asked Him to show me something that He wanted me to know.
I opened to Daniel 8, and several verses jumped off the page.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel to help him understand a vision that he had.
Gabriel told him, “Listen, and I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath... the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media (modern day Tehran) and Persia (modern day Iran). The male goat is the king of Greece.” (Daniel 8:19-21)
These are key players in the tribulations from which an evil one shall arise. “He shall grow strong in power, shall cause fearful destruction, and shall succeed in what he does... by his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand... without warning he shall destroy many and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes.” (Daniel 8:24-25)
The Lord then led me to an important section in Daniel chapter 10. Gabriel returned to Daniel again, to explain more about his visions.
“Daniel, from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia, and have come to help you understand what is to happen to your people at the end of days.” (Daniel 10:12-14)
This is huge. God gave Daniel prophetic visions that concern, among others, the kingdom of Persia. Then, the “prince” of the kingdom of Persia fought Gabriel to prevent him from explaining the vision to Daniel.
This is not a human “prince” because he calls St. Michael the archangel one of the chief “princes.” These “princes” are spiritual beings.
The “prince” of Persia referenced in Daniel, though, is a dark angel of Satan. We know this because he opposed Gabriel, an angel of light sent by God.
Understand the importance here.
These spiritual beings are eternal. Persia may have changed its name to Iran, but that dark “prince” is still working to foil God’s plans. He is still working for the rise of the evil one that Daniel wrote about.
What does that mean for us, today?
The answer is found later in Daniel. After Gabriel explained everything to Daniel, he said, “Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince.” (Daniel 10:20-21)
After I meditated on these scriptures, a news story popped up in my feed titled “Iran is Starting to Want the Bomb.” Coincidence? No.
The Lord led me to those scriptures this morning to remind me that we need to call upon St. Michael — now more than ever. He is a chief prince in the battle for world peace.
Pope Leo XIII knew this. That’s why he composed the St. Michael Prayer in 1886. During Mass, the Pope had a terrifying vision of demonic spirits (“princes”) that gathered on what he called “the Eternal City” (Rome).
It’s important to remember that it was the Roman Empire that took control of Greece after Daniel’s vision.
After the Pope’s vision, the newly composed St. Michael Prayer was prayed in unison by the congregation after every single Mass.
Somewhere along the lines, though, the church stopped doing this. But perhaps we need to start again.
Perhaps that’s why the Lord led me to those scriptures. Perhaps the unseen battle between princes is intensifying more than we know, and our chief needs our prayers.
Please join me in praying...
"Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen."
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