We do know that, if his job was to keep the Persian Empire in a place of dominance over the nation of Israel, he failed. Whether or not this spiritual prince of Persia’s fate was tied to that of the physical Persian Empire is unknown. It seems that, as events play out on earth, there is corresponding activity in the spiritual realm. As the New Testament reminds us, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). In this passage, three spiritual entities are mentioned in relation to three earthly nations: the prince of Persia, the prince of Greece, and the prince of Israel (Michael). We know from history (and as was prophesied in Daniel) that Greece would be the next world power after Persia, and that Greece would dominate Israel for a time. After that, he will face another spiritual enemy, the prince of Greece (Daniel 10:20). Then the angelic messenger says he will face even more spiritual warfare, returning to fight against the prince of Persia. The angelic messenger finally gets some help from the archangel Michael, who is apparently the prince (or one of the princes) of Israel in the angelic realm (Daniel 10:13, 21). This action would make sense, as the divine answer involves the overthrow of the Persian Empire. A heavenly angel is dispatched with the answer, but a demonic “prince of Persia” obstructs the messenger.

In Daniel 10, the prophet is praying about the future of his people and their exile in Persia. Taking this passage at face value, it seems that the prince of Persia is a fallen angel who in some sense had authority or influence over the physical kingdom of Persia. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince)” (verses 20–21).

Later, the angel speaking to Daniel predicts further fighting: “Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia” (Daniel 10:13). However, the messenger was delayed for those same three weeks, as he explains to Daniel: “But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. In response to Daniel’s prayer, God sent a heavenly messenger to explain the vision. He went into a three-week period of mourning, fasting, and prayer. The prophet Daniel had received a troubling vision concerning a great war (Daniel 10:1). Most likely, the prince of Persia is a reference to an evil spiritual entity that wielded authority over the ancient kingdom of Persia. The prince of Persia is only mentioned in Daniel 10, a highly apocalyptic (and therefore at least partially symbolic) section of the book of Daniel.

Prince of percia comic book