9. Daniel and the Glorious Angel (Daniel 10)
The prophet was fasting in the first month. There
is some ambiguity about this, for; reckoning Nisan (Passover) as the first
month, the civil year came in in the seventh month—Rosh Hashanah, in
modern Jewish observance.
This latter is probably the correct
identification, for it began with the Feast of Trumpets, it included the fast of
the Day of Atonement (the 10th), and also there was the great annual holiday,
the Feast of Tabernacles. Thus, it seems likely that Daniel’s fast began
immediately after the Feast of Trumpets and included the entire Tabernacles
celebration. Whilst his fellow-Jews in captivity were, no doubt, enjoying the
holiday, Daniel afflicted his soul. Evidently a vision had already been made
known to him, and the details of it written down (“the scripture of
truth”), and in his eagerness to learn the meaning of it all, he bombarded
heaven with his prayers and reinforced his pleas with this rigorous
fasting.
It is commonly assumed that the mysterious vision
elucidated for him was the long detailed complexity of chapter 11. This is an
unlikely conclusion for the angelic appearance was “to make thee
understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days” (v.14). Put
chapter 11 is mostly about Egypt and Syria and the squabbles of the fragments of
the Greek empire, and very little about the well-being of Daniel’s people.
Nor is chapter 11 about “the latter days” (except, possibly its last
few verses). Nor is there anything in ch. 11, 12 to indicate, “the time
was long” (10:1).
The angel was almost certainly Gabriel, for as in
ch. 9:23 Gabriel was sent as soon as Daniel
began
his prayer, so
here also: “from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to
understand...thy words were heard (this was his prayer for fuller
comprehension), and I am come for thy words” (v.12). Also, in v.16-19
there is such emphatic repetition as to make the Gabriel identification
virtually certain: “I retained no strength...no strength...he strengthened
me...be strong, yea, be strong...I was strengthened...thou hast strengthened
me.” Does not this language tell the reader that the angel was Gabriel,
the Strong One of God?
There follows an elaborate explanation as to why
it took this angel of glory three weeks to achieve manifestation to this man
“greatly beloved”. Paraphrased, the message intimated that behind
the scenes a great tussle had been going on because of the conflicting
activities of various angels charged with the responsibility of shaping the
affairs of the nations involved.
The princes of Persia and Greece, that is, the
angels controlling these international affairs had apparently made things
difficult for Gabriel to work out the most suitable answer to Daniel’s
prayer. It had needed the “reinforcement” of Michael, the
“chief prince”, i.e. archangel, who had special charge of the
heavenly ministry of Israelitish affairs, before ever Gabriel could achieve a
proper response.
In the awe-inspiring description of these
behind-the-scenes activities there is no doubt a certain
“accommodation” of language to the limitations of human
comprehension, but even so certain essential, if bewildering, ideas stand out in
this remarkable chapter:
- Michael is the “watcher” over Israel. This is his
special work (12:1; 10:21).
- The angels, although
immortal sinless servants of God, are limited in their physical and intellectual
powers. A great number of Scriptures state or imply these truths: Mt. 24:36; 1
Peter 1:12; Ex. 23:20ff; 31:17; Lk. 19:38; Gen. 32:24, 26; 22:12;
18:21.
When incredulity has given way to believing the
truth of this Bible witness, it becomes the more impressive, and bewildering, to
read the detailed description of Gabriel; “girt with fine gold, his body
as a beryl, his countenance like lightning, his limbs like burnished brass, his
voice as the voice of a multitude” (v.5, 6).
That last characteristic especially seems to have
exercised a fatal fascination over many readers. The voice, like the voice of a
multitude, has imparted to this phrase the dogmatic notion that here is a
symbolic representation of a multitudinous Christ. However, in this instance,
vox populi vox non dei. For otherwise there is the decidedly awkward concept of
a Christ-multitude somehow dispensing wisdom to a prophet of the Lord some five
centuries or more before there ever was a Christ. Ezekiel 1:24 have been
accorded the same slovenly treatment. Yet the identical imagery in Rev. 1:15
describes the glorious Being who walks in the midst of the candlesticks. Does
the multitudinous Christ do that? The rainbowed angel of Revelation 10:1-3 has
suffered from similar uncritical treatment. He — an angel, and certainly
not a multitude — “cries with a loud voice, as when a lion
roareth”. The Greek word for “roareth” means literally
“he mooed or lowed like a cow.” Are not all these variant phrases
different ways of conveying the idea of a loud impressive voice? (so also in
Rev. 19:6).
Daniel’s “deep sleep” before
the angel of the Lord is rightly seen as suggesting the appropriate fate of
mortal man when in the presence of Immortal Power. Put again there has to be
caution against pressing the symbolism of death and resurrection too far. Death
and resurrection — yes! (See the passages cited on Dan. 8:18). Put is one
at liberty to infer from v.9-11 that in the great Day when the dead hear the
voice of the Son of God the saints will pass by stages from death to Life? The
idea needs reinforcement from plainer Scriptures than this.
