2:32,33 Brass and iron- See article "David and Goliath" in 1 Sam. 17 for similarities between the image and Goliath.

Daniel 3:28 shows Nebuchadnezzar recognizing that an Angel had been physically sent to Daniel and his friends in the fiery furnace. It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10

4:13,17- see on Dan. 9:14

Both the Angels and the Lord Jesus are called God’s “Holy One” (Dan. 4:13,17; Acts 2:27). This isn’t to say that Jesus is an Angel; rather are we showing the solidarity between Himself and the Angels. The closeness of the Angels to Jesus is shown by the fact that they literally bore Him up whenever He tripped against a stone. No wonder therefore that He had such temptation to misuse this great protection; His conquering of the temptation to make use of such Angelic interest in Him at His arrest and crucifixion appears an even greater victory once this is appreciated.

A link between Angels and the spirit of prophecy is to be found in the way Nebuchadnezzar perceived that his dream had been given him by the Angelic “holy ones” (Dan. 4:13,17), and therefore he asks the prophet Daniel to interpret it for him because he knew that “the spirit of the holy gods (Angels?) is in thee” (Dan. 4:18). See on 2 Sam. 23:1-3

Nebuchadnezzar was told that the destruction of his power was a “matter by the decree of the watchers [i.e. Angels, the eyes of the Lord], and the demand by the word of the holy ones” (Dan. 4:17). The Chaldee words translated “matter, “decree” and “demand” are all legal terms, implying a legal answer / response, “a judicial decision” as Strong defines “the demand”. Something came before the court of Heaven- presumably the matter in question was Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and his position on the Jews (Daniel’s advice in 4:27 to shew mercy to the poor may be a reference to what the King should’ve been doing to the Jews- perhaps by enabling their return to their land?). And a ‘judicial decision’ was made and “a watcher and a Holy One came down from Heaven” to operationalize it (Dan. 4:13). If this is the extent of Angelic attention to the heart of a Gentile king- how much more earnestly are they debating the states of our hearts and our actions, and issuing decrees for action accordingly?

Dan. 4:17 speaks of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation as being “by the demand of the word of the holy ones”. Was it that the Angels had noticed this man’s awful pride, reported it to God Himself in the court of Heaven, and then been empowered to carry out his demise? The same context reminds us that God does according to His will in the army of Heaven (Dan. 4:35). And yet His purpose is to some extent moulded by them. And we are led to ask, how much influence do we His beloved children have upon His actual purpose? In the context of Daniel, one observes that a “herald” cried aloud to peoples of all nations and languages, and bid them worship the Babylonian image, on pain of being cast into a fiery furnace (Dan. 3:4 ff.). And yet in Rev. 14:6, an Angel cries to all nations and languages, warning them that if they do worship the image, they will be cast into the lake of fire. The Angels had observed Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance and defiance, and many centuries later they will work out their way of parodying it in their future proclamation. The point is, they have the power to work out their way of operation in accordance with their perceptions and understandings; in this we see the “freedom of the spirit” which is now and shall be ever accorded to Yahweh’s elohim.

4:23- see on Jer. 23:18,22

Nebuchadnezzar realized after his humbling that one of his reasons for pride had been due to him not realizing the extent to which the "great Babylon which (he) had built" (Dan. 4:30) and the Kingdom he had gained were  in fact the total result of the work of the Angels; "He doeth according to His will in the army of Heaven (the Angels), and among the inhabitants of the earth" (v. 35).

4:31- see on 2 Pet. 2:10

Angels being "Spirits" it is reasonable to suggest that they have particular control  over  the  spirit/breath  of life and character (the spirit can also refer to the mind) which is within each of their charges. The intensity of their interest in us is demonstrated by the fact that they personally, consciously keep us alive every moment- "the God, in whose hand thy breath (spirit) is" (Dan. 5:23) is our Angel. They are the source of Spirit, they are made spirits to sustain men (Ps. 104:3,4); and  “the hand of God” is Angelic language. When "the spirit returns to God" (Ecc. 12:7) is this a reference to our Angel physically returning to Heaven, having been with us on earth for much of our lives? Heb. 12:22,23 is a passage that seems to defy convincing exposition: "Ye are come unto. . an innumerable company of Angels. . to the spirits of just men made perfect". This would equate the spirits with the Angels who had been their guardians. Two other references in Hebrews to "spirits" are to Angels (Heb. 1:7,14). Other passages which seem to imply some consciousness after death  would therefore refer to our guardian-Angel spirit; e. g. the souls under the altar crying to God after their death (Rev. 6:9,10). The implication could well be that we should ourselves endure, because we are now associated with the Angels who were the guardians of faithful men of the past who endured. The thought is obviously intended by the writer to encourage us to hold on, knowing that as the guardian Angels stood by and perfected through trial the lives of the faithful in the past, so they will with us.

7:4,5 Lion and bear- See article "David and Goliath" in 1 Sam. 17.

Angels can represent political powers before God. This has interesting implications in Dan. 8:8-12: "four notable ones toward the four winds of Heaven (the number four and "winds" we have seen to both have Angelic connections). And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which. . . waxed great, even to the host of Heaven (the Angels controlling the Jewish people); and it cast down some of the host and of the stars (both "host" and "stars" are Angelic words), and stamped upon them; Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host (the "Most High" Angel, the Angel of Jesus, who was the real prince of the Angel hosts), and by him. . . the place of His sanctuary (i. e. the temple, where the "Most High" Angel dwelt) was cast down. And an host (of Angels controlling the Romans and perhaps the Papacy too) was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the Truth to the ground. " "The Truth" here does not necessarily refer to a set of doctrines or people holding them which comprises the true Gospel. This can never be thrown down, and in any case "the Truth" in this sense was not thrown down after the destruction of the temple in AD70. "The truth"  being thrown down may parallel the host and stars being cast to the ground in v. 10- in which case "the truth" represents the Jews- or it may hint at the Mosaic Law being "thrown down" by the Angelic destruction of the temple and the Mosaic system. "Thy Law (of Moses) is the Truth" (Ps. 119:142). This all lays the basis for Rev. 12 describing the conflicting groups of Angels in Heaven at the time of the final abolition of the Mosaic system.

Dan. 8:11 speaks of "the prince of the Host" living in the temple, a phrase recalling the Angel captain of the Lord's host in Josh. 5:15. See on Ps. 78:60

The tribulations which come upon God's people are described in Daniel 8:13 as being under the control of "Palmoni" (A. V. mg. ), or the 'wonderful numberer' as that can be translated, implying that there is one powerful Angel who co-ordinates the timing of all things, and other Angels ask this Angel for information concerning the time periods worked out for the saints in their charge, as here in Daniel's case. Job seemed to have sensed very keenly the "appointed time" for his trials to end and for his "change" of nature to occur. We have seen that the phrase "appointed time" is the same word as "host" used regarding the Angels. But like Job, because we can't see the Angel physically it's easy to get bitter about the trials brought upon us by them, as Balaam got bitter with the ass until he physically saw the Angel causing the trial (Num. 22:23). See on Job 14:5; Dan. 12:1

Dan. 8:15 records Daniel seeking to understand the meaning of a vision; but two verses earlier, an Angel had asked another Angel for understanding of the same vision. Here surely we have the practical meaning, in Angelic terms, of God knowing our prayers and arranging the answers before we even ask them. Perhaps it was Daniel’s guardian Angel who asked a more senior Angel for the interpretation of the vision, knowing Daniel was going to be asking for it. Yet it was the second Angel who actually gave the answer to Daniel (Dan. 8:14). Verse 16 describes the one Angel standing at the Ulai river calling out: “Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision”. Yet at this time, Daniel himself was in vision at the Ulai river (:2). His guardian Angel was there, right in front of him. And He had foreknown Daniel’s feelings and arranged for another Angel to respond to them...and so the second Angel (Gabriel) also comes near where Daniel was standing (:17). His guardian Angel had literally called Gabriel to come over to Daniel... And all this is going on for you and me hourly in the court of Heaven! There’s another example of this in Dan. 12. There are two Angels with Daniel by the river (:2). One of them asks the other: “How long shall it be to the end...?” (:6; cp. 8:13). Yet this was exactly the spirit of Daniel! And then the other Angel gives Daniel the answer. His guardian Angel knew his unexpressed questions and desires, and passed them on to another Angel to answer. See on Zech. 1:12

If our Angel has not the strength or authority to give us a blessing which He sees we need, He can ask another Angel to bring this about- thus Daniel's guardian Angel had to ask Gabriel to help Daniel understand the vision which He knew Daniel so desperately wanted to have interpreted (Dan. 8:16). It may be that this request by the guardian Angel was not for the best for Daniel, because it seems to have been denied by God- v. 27 says that at the end of the interpretation or "understanding" being given by Gabriel, "I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding" (v. 27 N.I.V.). In that case, it would seem that when Gabriel said "Understand, O son of man. . " (v. 17), Gabriel Himself either did not appreciate that giving Daniel the understanding would not help him, or He obeyed the request from the guardian Angel unquestioningly. Or alternatively, was Gabriel saying in v. 17 that Daniel was to understand that the vision would not be fully understood till the last days, as in Dan. 12:4? This would mean that it is in the hands of the Angels as to at what time, both individually and as the body of God's people generally,  we gain spiritual understanding of certain parts of the word, in the same way as the Angels debated "Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do?. . ". This may  be  very  relevant  to the various interpretations of Revelation held by God's true people down through the years, each interpretation giving great encouragement to a certain group of saints, despite  their details varying considerably. This process would then be seen to be under the direct control of the Angels.

8:18- see on 9:21

8:24- see on Rev. 21:12

It seems not unreasonable to suggest that the Angels, who were used to inspire men with the word of God in the first place and who now watch over it's fulfillment in the world today, will especially look on us to see if that word is going to achieve it's main purpose of making us spiritual people, and that conversely they punish us if we disobey that word. Thus Daniel, who was relatively attune to the Angelic ways of working, said (Dan. 9:14) "Therefore hath the LORD (the Angel?) watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us. . for we obeyed not His voice", alluding back to God's command concerning the Angel which was to look after Israel "If thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak. . " (Ex. 23:22). Dan. 4:13,17 describe the Angels as watchers -i. e. watching over the execution of the word, and in order to fulfil it they (the watcher Angels) drove Nebuchadnezzar from men (v. 25) and they "commanded to leave the stumps of the tree" (v. 26). See on Jer. 1:11,12

Gabriel being caused to "fly with weariness" (Dan. 9:21 AVmg. ) is an example of the Bible’s ‘language of limitation’ which may refer to the Angels rather than God personally.

Dan. 9:21 "I am now come forth to give thee (Daniel) skill and understanding" said  Gabriel, implying He had been sent forth from Heaven to earth by God to explain the vision to Daniel. It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10

One of the ways the Angels spiritually strengthen us is by revealing the understanding of God's word to us, as they initially inspired it. Thus "Gabriel. . being caused to fly swiftly. . . informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding" in the word of God He had previously revealed to him (Dan. 9:21,22). The Angel flying swiftly should be compared with the passages which talk about running swiftly in order to understand and obey God's word (Hab. 2:2; Amos 8:11,12; Ps. 147:15; Dan. 12:4; 2 Thess. 3:1). Dan. 8:18 also describes how the Angel gave Daniel spiritual revelation.

9:23- see on 10:12

10:1 According to Ezra 3:12, some old men returned. Why not Daniel? Admittedly he was very old at this time. Is this one of the few indications of spiritual weakness in Daniel? Others would be in Dan. 3, where the obvious question is ‘Where was Daniel’? Another would be the consideration from 10:4 cp. Ex. 12:18 that Daniel didn’t keep Passover- he kept the eating of unleavened bread but if he didn’t eat any meat, he didn’t eat the Passover lamb. Was his faith in God’s deliverance of His people fading? Or was he spiritually so on another plane that it was OK for him not to keep the Passover, even though the person who didn’t keep it was to be cut off from amongst God’s people? The third year of Cyrus- 72 years after the captivity. Daniel therefore was wondering why no successful restoration- he'd been over 70 years in Babylon. He may also have been distressed that the majority of Jews in Babylon had chosen not to return to Judah; and he would’ve heard that those who had returned had faced huge opposition, indeed the rebuilding of the temple was halted until the second year of Darius (Ezra 4:24).

The fact the Angels are limited in wisdom and power explains the delay in answer to some of our prayers. Daniel 10 is a clear example of this. Daniel 10:2 records that Daniel prayed for  three weeks, presumably for understanding of the vision. In v. 12 Daniel is told by the Angel that "from the first day... thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words". So because of his prayer ("words"- perhaps put like that to emphasize the power of the 'mere' words uttered in prayer),  an  Angel  was  sent  from  God  to  give  him the  understanding he had asked for. His very first prayer for this was answered- but the actual answer came three weeks later. The reason for this was that the Angel had been withstood by the prince of Persia for 21 days (v. 13). Three weeks is 21 days. So Daniel's first prayer was answered, but it took the Angel three weeks to work out the answer in practice; but during this time Daniel kept on praying, although at the time it must have seemed to him that no answer was forthcoming. So let us be prepared to persevere in prayer, as those saints in Rev. 8 did and were rewarded by the incense finally being offered by the Angel to Christ, and then to God. It may just be possible that there is a mighty Angel of answered prayer (Gabriel?), in the same way as there is a 'wonderful numberer' co-ordinating the timing of God's purpose, and an Angel specifically representing Jesus and Israel (do these four make up the four forms of Angel manifestation in the cherubim and four living creatures?). This Angel would co-ordinate the presentation and answering of prayers. The Angel then describes  how he confirmed and strengthened Darius (11:1) to the same end to enable the prayer to be answered- as if when our Angel sees someone set in a course of action which will lead to the answer of our prayer, they are confirmed and strengthened in it. The same idea is found in Dan. 9:23; a command being given from  God to answer a prayer as soon as it's prayed, but there being a delay to the answer due to the Angels effecting the answer. "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment (from God to answer your prayer) came forth, and I (the Angel) am come to show thee". The wonder of all this needs some reflection. Our words, the thoughts within human braincells, call forth the Angels from the court of Heaven. “When we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel [from the myriads standing on the right and left hands of His throne] and brought us forth out of Egypt” (Num. 20:16). Yet the voice that Angel responded to was the voice not so much of specific prayers but of the situation of the people. And the same is with us... See on Zech. 3:1; Zech. 6:8; Hag. 1:2

10:5- see on Rev. 1:13

10:8 Retained no power- as in 11:6. Often in Daniel we read of “power” coming from God and being given to and taken from men. Daniel learnt in his own personal experience what this felt like, to enable him to better understand the prophecies he was giving. His mortality and weakness, and ours, is the whole world’s mortality and weakness. The Hebrew word for “power” is that used in 1:4- Daniel had ability [power] to stand before the earthly King; now he is unable to stand and has no power, before the Heavenly King. All his human strength was being shown to be nothing. Not by [human] power but by God’s Spirit would the restoration be achieved (Zech. 4:6).

Daniel 10:9-11 describes in parabolic form the judgement, with Daniel representing the saints, rising from the grave (as he rose from "deep sleep" on the ground) in great fear and sense of unworthiness, but being comforted by the Angel with news of how pleasing we have been to them ("O Daniel, a man greatly beloved"). This again indicates that the Angels will have a large part to play in the judgement.

10:11 NOW sent- i.e. after the 3 weeks delay

10:11 understand- but ch. 12 he didn't understand all details. No need to understand all details to "understand" .

10:12 Daniel's prayer for Israel’s restoration was above all a desire to "understand".

10:13 In the record, Cyrus seems willing to restore Israel- but he resisted 3 weeks. Things aren't what they seem- people may appear to act or believe one way, when they've greatly resisted it. 10:20 Angel fought with him; he remained fighting with the rulers of Persia- hence 11:1. This means that Cyrus didn’t simply wake up one morning and decree that the Jews could return to their land; he resisted it, and the Angel had an ongoing battle with him over it. Those who appear ‘on our side’ in life may have actually battled against Angels not to be like that to us.

10:13 withstood [‘to stand before / in front of’]- the same two Hebrew words here translated “withstood” recur in 10:16, where Daniel ‘stood before’ the Angel. As Daniel stood before the Angel, so the Prince of Persia had also stood before the Angel. It could be understood that Daniel likewise withstood the Angel [see 10:1 note re. Daniel’s possible weakness]. But more likely are we to perceive that the Angel had both Daniel and the Prince of Persia standing before Him- and had had this situation for the past three weeks in which Daniel had been in prayer. Our prayers are therefore a coming before God in a judgment scenario; we stand before Him, as our adversaries do; and He will hear us.

10:13 help- a common word in the restoration prophecies, promising God’s “help” for Judah’s restoration (Is. 41:10,13,14; Is. 44:2; Is. 49:8). Those promises of “help” were fulfilled in the Angels being sent to help.

10:13 Both Angels and human rulers are called "princes"- to show each human ruler has an Angel representing them. Dt. 32:8 LXX suggests each nation has a representative Angel

10:13 Michael one of the chief- implies a hierarchy amongst Angels; Jude 9 Michael the Archangel

10:13 remained- implies the physical presence of the Angels is significant. We are invited to see them as leaving the court of Heaven in response to our prayers and needs (as in 1 Kings 22:19-22), and moving around the earth to operationalize God’s answers to our prayers- as 10:20; 9:21,22; Gen. 18:10. One word of prayer can result in Angels being sent all that ‘distance’ from Heaven to earth to assist us, as in Num. 20:16 “when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt”.

When Michael came to help the other Angel overcome the prince of Persia, that Angel “was not needed there with the kings of Persia” (Dan. 10:13 RVmg.). It seems that once the job was done, the Angel wasn’t physically required there any more. It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on Gen. 18:10

The Angel Gabriel explained to Daniel in 10:20 that he had to battle with both the rulers of Persia and Greece in order to bring about the fulfilment of Daniel’s prayer and Jeremiah’s prophecy- in the command for the Jews to return to Judah. By appreciating the local politics which the Angel brought about between Persia and Greece, we can better understand why Gabriel had to manipulate Greece in order for the Persians to allow the Jews to return, and even to encourage them to do so: “From the point of view of the Persian king a strong pro-Persian Judea was a major threat to the Greek coastal lifeline, and as long as the Greeks dominated the coast and Egypt he supported a strong Judean province headed by a Judean-Persian official and peopled by a pro-Persian population, most of whose families were hostages in Babylon and Persia”^- Othniel Margalith.

The references to the Angel princes of Greece, Persia and Israel in Dan. 10:20,21 could suggest that each nation or people has an Angel representative in Heaven. Indeed Dt. 32:8 appears to say so: "[God] laid down the boundaries of every people according to the number of the sons of God", i.e. the Angels. It could even be possible that the strange reference in Eph. 6:12 to wicked spiritual beings in the Heavens refers to the Angelic representatives of the evil nations and powers here on earth. Those righteous Angels represent those powers in the court of Heaven- without themselves personally being the least bit wicked or sinful.

The word ‘strengthened’ occurs several times in Dan. 10. An Angel ‘strengthens’ Daniel, and then comments that “Michael your prince”, another Angel, had also helped him- he had “strengthened himself with me” (Dan. 10:21 RVmg.). But then the Angel comments that “As for me…I stood up to confirm and strengthen him”, i.e. Michael (Dan. 11:1 RV). The Angel who strengthened Daniel was helped by another Angel, Michael, strengthening him; and then that Angel strengthened Michael. This is possibly a window into the nature of our existence and relationship with each other in the future age!

The great Angel Michael is described as "your (Daniel's) prince"- i. e. his personal guardian Angel (Dan. 10:21)?

It may be that the Bible or  the "whole counsel of God" existed in written form in Heaven before it was revealed to men. The fact that there is a literal book of life with writing in it indicates that the Angels do use their capacity to read; and will we too in some form in the Kingdom? Daniel 10:21 is the key passage on this: "I (the Angel) will shew thee that which is noted in the Scripture of Truth: and there is none that holdeth with Me in these things but Michael your prince". In passing, does this imply that the only other Angel apart from Gabriel who had successfully "earnestly desired to look into" these things and understood was Michael, the Angel for Israel? This passage would seem to necessitate some written record in Heaven capable of interpretation by the Angels, the meaning of which was being given to Daniel- hence our great privilege, along with him, in being granted at least a partial  understanding of these things. Gabriel goes on to say "now will I shew you the truth" (11:2). "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17); does this again indicate that the actual Bible was in written form in Heaven before revelation to men? So the Angels hear God's word in Heaven, and sometimes inspire men to write some of these words down. In Rev. 1:1 it says that the Revelation came from Jesus originally (and from God before that), but was sent to us and signified by the Angel. Does it follow that the Angel was responsible for working out the symbology, the signifying (putting into sign language) of the book, under the infallible guidance of God and Jesus? If so, we can better understand how the Angels eagerly watch over our attempts to understand the word, and are in a position, as Gabriel with Daniel, to step in and assist us in our understanding of it- not least through the trials of life which they bring opening our eyes to it (cp. Job 36:15). However, we know that not all the Angels have this ability, but rather earnestly look into the things contained in the word; or alternatively, they are used by God to work out the symbology which they themselves do not fully understand.

10:21 cp 11:1 "As also I"- as if as Michael strengthened this Angel, so this Angel had strengthened Michael in the struggle with Darius

10:21 your prince- cp. 10:20 the prince of Greece. We have a personal Angel just as much as entire Gentile nations do.

11:1- see on 10:12

11:2- see on 10:21

Both the prototype in Hezekiah's time and the descriptions in Dan. 11:40 and Ez. 38 require there to be a personal leader of the northern invasion. Rabshakeh and latter day Sennacherib equate with Daniel's "King (not 'power') of the north", and Ezekiel 38's specific reference to a "rosh" [might one, chief prince] and use of the personal pronoun "thee": "turn thee back. . . thy jaws. . thine army. . be thou prepared. . thy company" etc. All this emphasis needs some explanation. If the prototype of latter day Sennacherib Rabshakeh is to be closely followed, this individual need not be a nation, but a young, headstrong, powerful army commander that mirrors Rabshakeh. To make the clues more exciting, remember that Rabshakeh was probably an apostate Jew (note his references to the covenant name, and evident knowledge of conditions inside Jerusalem).  "The man of sin" that is to sit in the temple of God in the last days would seem to have reference back to the "abomination that maketh desolate" and to  the  planting  of  the  king  of the north's tabernacles "between the seas in the glorious holy mountain"- i. e. in the temple area of Jerusalem (Dan. 11:45). This "man of sin" points to an individual.

11:45 "Between the seas"- Relevant to David's victory over Goliath. See article "David and Goliath" in 1 Sam. 17.

It would appear from Michael being described as "the prince which standeth for the children of thy (Daniel's) people" (Dan. 12:1) and because 'Michael' elsewhere in Daniel refers to an Angel, that Michael is the Angel especially responsible for Israel, and therefore one of the most powerful Angels- "Michael one of the chief princes" (Dan. 8:13), "the great prince" (Dan. 12:1). The LXX renders Dan. 12:1 as “the great Angel” (AV “great prince”).

The closeness of association between the Angel Michael and His people Israel is shown by the fact that when He 'stands up' in the last days many of the people of Israel ("thy-Daniel's-people") also 'stand up' in resurrection (Dan. 12:1-3).