God’s Word for You
Daniel 10:20-21 Demon-Princes of Babylon and Greece
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, January 3, 2026
20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia. But when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one who supports me against these enemies except Michael, your prince.
The first sentence must be a statement of gospel and not law. It follows what has just transpired; the encouragements to the prophet in his terrible sickly weakness. His words are simple and to the point: “Now do you understand why I came in person? You couldn’t bear to listen to the message you were asking for, but I came to give you the strength to hear the message and to see the vision that is on its way. This is why I came.” If anyone wants to understand this sentence another way, I think he is bound to make a fool out of Daniel or a tyrant out of Christ, but we will take the words in the kindest possible way.
With the word “Now” the mighty Angel changes the subject, to return to speaking about the hidden warfare in the world, always beyond the perception of mankind.
These princes that the Angel of the Lord speaks about, who are they? They are not human princes. They are demons, fallen angels that have seized spiritual authority to try to pervert the dominion of God over human governments, which is entirely within God’s providence and authority over mankind.
The Prince of Persia during Daniel’s time was attempting to give trouble to God’s people in their exile. For even though Cyrus had given the Jews permission to return home two years before this, many had not yet gone, and those who did faced trouble from their neighbors in the Trans-Euphrates (Ezra 5:3) and others. But as soon as Persia would be overrun by Alexander, that demon would have different duties, and he would be replaced by another demon, the Prince of Greece.
The mischief of the Prince of Greece will be described somewhat in chapter 11. For now, there was in Daniel’s time so much wickedness in the world in other places—Scythia (northwestern Russia, Colossians 3:11), China (Isaiah 49:12), India (Esther 1:1), the Americas, everywhere people were bowing down to the stars, the sky, or demons of every kind—that here in Persia where God’s own people needed protection, there was only one angel to spare; Michael the great Prince, who is called an archangel and who once disputed with Satan about the body of Moses when the great prophet died on Mount Nebo (Jude 1:9; Deuteronomy 32:49-50).
It’s curious to see that not one demon in the Bible is given a time, but only a title or nickname. Even Satan only means “accuser,” and “devil” means “liar.” Here the demons are called “Prince of this” and “Prince of that.” One demon in the New Testament says only that his name is “Legion,” for, he says, “We are many” (Mark 5:9). I take this as a blessing, so that the foolish and the perverse do not find new ways to worship what is not God. It’s bad enough that there are so many paths of idolatry. And it’s bad enough that pagan gods were given names. Perhaps the demons themselves are afraid to use the names they had before they fell; being godly names, those names would probably only drive them mad. Perhaps that will be a part of their torture forever in hell. Imagine demons seeing their former names, something like Cocavimalak, “Star-Messenger,” or Leyagabbor, “Hero for the LORD,” (I’m just making these up on the spot from Hebrew terms) or Calmael “Everything is from God,” on iron nameplates above their cell doors (doors with no hinges, no handles, and no way through); names which the good angels who guard them would call them by every day, reminding them of what they lost for all eternity. But that’s only speculation. I’m sure it will be much worse than that for them.
The coming message, chapter 11, “is inscribed in the book of truth.” This means that it is God’s holy plan. It might not refer to an actual book, but rather the Lord’s own mind; the perfect record of what was, what is, and what is to come (Revelation 1:4). As David says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).
Many commentators, including the careful Leupold, do not think that there is enough material here in chapter 10 to fill up a sermon. I hope that we have seen otherwise. Luther writes (about the verses before us here) “It is as if he were to say, ‘Where we parry one misfortune the devil produces another; if you get liberated from Babylon, then the Greeks will bedevil you.’” And we have seen in particular that everyone, even a great prophet like Daniel, needs encouragement from Christ. Therefore we should be all the more ready and willing to encourage one another in any circumstance, for we often stand in for Christ in the lives of the people we love without realizing it. But he gives us many tasks by simply placing them in our path.
They leave their place on high,
They leave their place on high,
They leave the everlasting hymn
Where cherubim and seraphim
All ceaselessly do cry,
All ceaselessly do cry.
They come to us by day,
They come to us by day,
While, great and small, through joy and woe,
Along our earthly course we go,
To guard us on our way,
To guard us on our way.
John M. Neale (1818-1866)
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.