Daniel 10:1-9
Daniel 10:1-9
Vision of the Glorious Man
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
4 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.
My Thoughts:
So, we are in the 3rd year of Cyrus’ rein and Daniel was given his last recorded vision. The vision continues through chapters 11 and 12.
At this point Daniel may have not lived much longer according to Humphrey Prideaux a Doctor of Divinity and scholar that lived (1648–1724), he says that Daniel was no less than 90 years old.
But why after all these years was Daniel searching for further explanation? In verse 2 we see that Daniel had been “mourning three full weeks.” And he says that he ate no pleasant food, no meat or drank no wine, nor did he anoint himself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
The answer lies in verse 12 where the angel says “from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard.” Daniel’s heart filled with the desire to understand, just as Daniel was filled with this desire so are we to be filled.
There must have been something in chapter 8 that chapter 9 did not explain but he felt that there was still more that he wanted to know. And as a result of his efforts once again he was given further clearly on the issue.
The general Idea for where the location of the vision took place is somewhere near the Persian Gulf where the Euphrates and the Tigris meet. This time we see that a most majestic being visited Daniel. from the description given of him it is almost a parallel to the description given in Revelation 1:14-16, and the effects on Daniel were similar to the ones Paul and his companions experienced in (Acts 93-7; 9:17; 22:6-9), so we see that it may have very well be Christ Himself that appeared to Daniel.
Ellen White Statements:
“Read the book of Daniel. Call up, point by point, the history of the kingdoms there represented. Behold statesmen, councils, powerful armies, and see how God wrought to abase the pride of men, and lay human glory in the dust. God alone is represented as great. In the vision of the prophet He is seen casting down one mighty ruler, and setting up another. He is revealed as the monarch of the universe, about to set up His everlasting kingdom—the Ancient of days, the living God, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the present, the Revealer of the future. Read, and understand how poor, how frail, how short-lived, how erring, how guilty is man in lifting up his soul unto vanity…. {4BC 1166.4}
The light that Daniel received direct from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon have come to pass (Letter 57, 1896)
Last thoughts:
Daniel was a true man of God and we are all to learn from his example, if we too live our lives as he did we too will be blessed with the understanding and love that Daniel was blessed with.
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Glad you are back. I had to go back and catch up. It is interesting that Daniel once again fell into prayer. God had always been faithful to Daniel and answered his prayers. How wonderful. Daniel fasted in a sense for three weeks and our great God was there to answer his prayers once again.
I agree, I love the book of Daniel and Revelation which we will start next. Good to see you back as well and I pray that everyone has a blessed year.
As God was faithful in answering Daniel prayers, He is faithful in answering ours. Though sometimes we fall short of going to the Lord in prayer until we are in the circumstance, usually difficulty, He still ask us to ask and He is faithful and answers.
Interesting, it starts by stating in vrs 1 that Daniel understood the message and vision yet in vrs 11 and 14 states that the angel came to not streghten him, but to make him understand. Did he really understand or just not enough? Maybe he understood the technical parts but not the long term blessing and grand purpose. We know (or take by faith) that all things work out for good. It seems the only thing the angel clearified was that this was all part of God’s will and once God wills nothing could overcome Him or change the course foretold.