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Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible? Daniel 10 References

Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible
Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible?

Many of you must have seen the movie Prince of Persia and would have wondered if he was an actual person. Does Bible has any reference where it mentions him? Who was the Prince of Persia in the Bible?

The Prince of Persia character has appeared in adventure video games and movies. However, were you aware that he was drawn from the Bible at first? Let’s learn more about him and his place in the Book of Books.

The entertainment sector tells a tale of a young child accepted by the Persian king after being rescued from the streets. His upbringing helps him grow into a good, honorable, and courageous man who protects the empire and the world from evil. This famous story is only found in movies and video games, though. Here is how the Prince of Persia’s story unfolds in the Bible, which has a different ending.

The Prince Of Persia, Who Was He?

The Prince of Persia is first mentioned in the Old Testament book of Daniel, Chapter 10, verse 13. However, he plays the role of a villain there instead of a person with high morals. He is a fallen angel who obstructed the angel Gabriel from bringing Daniel to the fulfillment of his prayer. In response, Daniel enquires about the fate of his fellow countrymen, the Jews.

The Prince of Persia wanted to stop the release of Jewish people from the kingdom’s control of the land. Daniel was unable to receive a response for three weeks due to his actions, but fortunately, the archangel Michael stopped the Prince and his wicked ways.

Daniel was apprehensive about his compatriots and had a troubling vision regarding the war. He continued to fast and pray as a result for several weeks. God then dispatched an angel to clarify the vision to him.

 The Prince of Persia interfered with a messenger because the message was essential to him. Gabriel was assisted by the archangel Michael in conveying the information to Daniel. Following Persia, which would rule Israel, Gabriel eventually informed Daniel that he must battle the Prince of Greece before facing the Prince of Persia.

Also read: How Long Is A Generation In The Bible?

Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible?

Only Daniel 10—a highly apocalyptic (and thus at least partially metaphoric) chapter in the book of Daniel—refers to the Prince of Persia. The Prince of Persia is most probably referring to an evil spiritual force that controlled the ancient empire of Persia.

The preacher Daniel had been given a concerning prophecy regarding a significant conflict (Daniel 10:1). He entered a three-week duration of fasting, prayer, and mourning. God answered Daniel’s prayer by dispatching a heavenly courier to describe the vision. But as he explains to Daniel, the messenger was put off for those same three weeks:

“But the Prince of the Persian empire avoided me for twenty-one days. If we accept this pathway at face value, it would appear that the Prince of Persia was a fallen angel who, at some point, controlled the actual kingdom of Persia. In Daniel 10, the priest pleads for his people as they are exiled to Persia. A divine angel is sent with the solution, but a demonic “prince of Persia blocks the messenger.” 

This course of action is reasonable, given that the divine solution entails the destruction of the Persian Empire. The archangel Michael, allegedly the Prince (or one of the princes) of Israel in the divinity realm, offers the angelic messenger some assistance at last (Daniel 10:13, 21).

The angelic messenger then informs him that he will engage in further spiritual combat when he returns to battle the Prince of Persia. The Prince of Greece will be his next spiritual adversary (Daniel 10:20).

History has shown that Greece would overtake Persia as the next great power and rule Israel for a while, just as Daniel had foretold. The princes of Persia, Greece, and Israel are three spiritual beings mentioned in this passage in connection with three different earthly nations (Michael).

Also see: What Does Raca Mean In The Bible?

What Happened To The Divine Prince In The Realm?

Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible
Who Was The Prince Of Persia In The Bible?

“Our struggle is not with flesh and blood,” the New Testament reassures us, “but against the leaders, against the officials, against the forces of this dark world, and against the divine evil that dwells in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). The conflict is actual.

As events on Earth unfold, there is a related activity in the supernatural realm. It is unknown whether the fate of this divine Prince of Persia was linked to that of the real Persian Empire. We know that if his role was to maintain the Persian Empire’s supremacy over the country of Israel, he failed.

Notably, Iran is a new Persia, and its leaders still want to conquer or obliterate the Jewish state. Iran, as a Shiite Muslim country, also mistreats Christian believers, so the divine Prince of Persia may still be active today. But, like all of Satan’s underlings, his time is restricted, and he is limited in his abilities to accomplish God’s perfect will.

Also see: What Is The Longest Book In The Bible?

Commonly Asked Questions:

Q1: Who is the Prince of Persia in the Bible?

A1: According to most commentaries, the most common interpretation of the “prince” in question is that he stands in for Persia’s protector angel. The fact that the word “prince” in this context is also used to refer to the angel Michael is one of the justifications for this interpretation.

Q2: Where in the Bible does the Prince of Persia appear?

A2: The passage is mentioned in Daniel, an Old Testament book, chapter 10, verse 13. This Prince is an evil angel, not a person.

Q3: What were the intentions of the Prince?

A3: This Persian Prince was in charge of attempting to sway the choice of the empire that had just decided to free numerous Jews taken hostage. He battled God’s angel and postponed the answer to Daniel’s prayer for three weeks. 

Conclusion

So who was the Prince of Persia in the Bible? In short, he was considered Persia’s protector angel. It is still unclear whether the Prince of Persia’s demise preserved the kingdom’s hegemony over Israel. If that were the case, why he challenged Gabriel and attempted to stop him from sharing the message makes sense. We learn this from the Bible. It’s interesting how the bad guy from the Bible became the hero of movies and video games. But now that you understand the two fascinating stories, you can compare and contrast them.

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