Daniel's prayer was heard the moment he prayed, and angel was sent to answer his question. The Prince of the kingdom Persia resisted him for 21 days until Michael one of the chief princes came help this angel (Dan 10:13).
When the Prince of Persia resisted, he was not alone. He had a host of spiritual forces with him. When Michael resisted the ange; he was not alone. He would have had a host of angels with him.
Literally, they were "standing in front" of the angel. Michael came and "surrounded" (to protect, help) him.
We think in terms of physical realms. Only about four people can attack one person together. Any more attackers would get in each other's way. The spiritual world is different. Spiritual beings can touch the same place in the physical world from different places in the spiritual realms. It seems like the spiritual realms are curved.
This means that one person can be attacked by a great host of evil spiritual forces, if they are a key player in history. It means that one person might need a host of angels to surround them and protect them.
When his eyes were opened to see into the spiritual realms, Elisha's servant saw the hills full of horses and chariots surrounding Elisha (2 Kings 6:17). These angelic beings were "surrounding" Elisha. They were there for one man. Elisha needed them for protection, even though he had a double portion of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit primarily operates within people who have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. He speaks to them, so they can know Jesus will. He gives followers of Jesus gifts of the Spirit, so they can understand what is happening. He empowers them to speak with authority.
Jesus humbled himself and took the form of a man. The Holy Spirit has also humbled himself to working from within the followers of Jesus, while at the same time sustaining the universe. He teaches us God's will. He flows out of us to touch unbelievers and heal the people we touch.
The Holy Spirit leaves responsibility for wrestling with the spiritual power of evil to the holy angels. Humans speak and remove the authority of the spiritual powers of evil. The angels force them to obey the words spoken in obedience to Jesus.
God is Watching
On earth, spiritual protection looks like a circle of protection, but in the spiritual realms, evil spirits can attack from anywhere in the spiritual world. They can operate like a tag team, swapping in and out of the attack to surprise us. The good news is that God is watching over us.
The Lord will guard you from all evil-
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore (Psalm 121:7-8).
God is watching, but he is not watching powerlessly from a distance. He commands a host of angels and he directs them to guard us.
For he will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways (Psalm 91:11).
God can direct his angels to protect us from the attacks of the spiritual powers of evil. He shifts his angels around to deal with new attacks as they arise.
There is a division of labour between the Holy Spirit and the holy angels.
Who Does What?
The Holy Spirit is the sustainer of life. He does not resist evil spirits, because he has to sustain their life while they are doing their evil, so it would not fair for him to disrupt their power. He is committed to sustaining all life, regardless of whether it has fallen or not.
The angels resist the spiritual powers of evil on the Jesus behalf. They are skilled resisters. Apart from carrying messages, resisting is their main task. Michael resisted the spirit controlling Persia (Dan 10:20).
The Holy Spirit is creative. He does not destroy stuff. The angels destroy the junk that the spiritual powers of evil leave behind when they are pushed out of territory.
When healing cancer, the angels destroy the cancerous cells that the spiritual powers of evil have created. The Holy Spirit creates new cells to replace them.
The Holy Spirit undertakes creative miracles. He can restore limbs and organs. Angels destroy the viruses and bacteria and other junk that the spiritual powers of evil use to create sickness and disease.
God has destroying angels.
A destoying angel killed the people of Jerusalem, when David sinned (2 Sam 14:15; 1 Chron 21:16).
An angel destroyed Sennacherib's army, including his commanders and officers (2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chron 32:21).
An angel of the Lord struck down King Herod (Acts 12:23).
The firstborn of Egypt were struck down by a destroying angel (1 Cor 10:10; Ex 12; 33; Heb 11:28).
The Holy Spirit is loving and good. The angels do the dirty work that the Holy Spirit cannot do, because he has the character of God. He cannot touch evil.
The Holy Spirit cannot deceive, because he is the Spirit of Truth. God used a deceiving angel to draw Ahab to his death (1 Kings 22:22). This was a good spirit from the presence of God, not an evil spirit. It went out and acted as a lying spirit to deceive Ahab. Lying was not its natural character. The angel lied for God's purposes. The Holy Spirit could not have lied in this way.
Angels will be judged (1 Cor 6:3). However, the standard of their behaviour will be different than for us. Followers of Jesus are accountable to his standard as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. Angels can do stuff that we are not allowed to do. They can use force against evil. They do not need to turn the other cheek, but will be judged according to whether they have done God's will.
