The Apostle Paul had all the advantages of equipment; his intellectual attainments the very best; he was a recognized leader of men, a chosen vessel of the Lord, and full of the Holy Ghost. No man besides the Master was more able to withstand the opposition of the "prince of darkness." Yet Satan actually prevents him from going to Thessalonica to comfort and strengthen the struggling church at that place--literally hedges up the way. A careful examination of the tenth chapter of Daniel gives us a conversation between the prophet and a "voice,"--a "vision"--having an appearance "like the similitude of the sons of men"; evidently an angel of high rank, whose mission was to encourage Daniel, but he also acknowledges that the "prince of Persia" hindered him from coming twenty days. This mighty angel, it seems, was helpless trying to reach Daniel, until Michael came upon the scene. It was Michael who led the triumphant battle against him when he was overthrown in heaven. He alone was able to meet the "prince of Persia," the _Devil_. We can, therefore, understand how successfully Satan can hinder--blockade the progress of righteousness wherever he chooses to concentrate his depraved energies. Volumes would be required to record the worthy enterprises in the Church of God which went down in failure, yet with no tangible explanation. Sudden reverses, turning the whole current of affairs, are daily happenings; revival efforts to reach certain communities, certain individuals, find insurmountable hindrances. It is the work of the "blockade." Such occurrences are generally regarded as "unfortunate coincidents" rather than a resultant of some deep-laid plans--invisible and impersonal. A baby cries at a critical moment, a dog creates an uproar, the fire-bell rings, the engine becomes disabled; landslides, swollen streams, sudden illness, and many others similar, which are never credited to the proper source or cause. The Bible concedes to Satan the dignity of being the god of this world; therefore he must of necessity control, to some extent, the physical phenomena, directing them to an advantage. We do not venture a dogmatic position as to what extent the hindrances in the physical world are due to his power; but the Bible most clearly teaches that he is an obstructionist. There are hundreds of ways and places where moral and religious blockades obtain. It would seem that in the blaze of the last century of civilization war would be impossible. Why could not our Civil War have been averted? In the retrospect, we can see how easily it might have been settled without such horror and bloodshed. The Hague with its millions of endowment is grinding away on international troubles, yet arbitration fails more often than it succeeds. But war continues, and all efforts in that direction generally meet a "stone wall of opposition."