7-9-10, DANIEL 8

DANIEL 8

At first glance, or after my first read, I must admit that the “SO WHAT?” was tough to come by in some obvious fashion. I suggest reading the chapter, re-reading it, and looking for or noting attributes of Daniel, angels, God, prophecy, and try to compare the situation then with present day. Let’s give it a whirl.

First, let’s take care of the prophecies and what most agree upon as to their meanings. Like the previous chapter, this one comes before Chapter 5, so if you are following along chronologically, it would look like chapter1,2,3,4,7,8,5,6. Make sense? No matter, just good to know.

Another dream by Daniel, and like the previous one, it disturbs him, and again, he has help in interpretation. The ram in his dream is representative of the Medo-Persian empire, and one horn longer than the other indicates the stronger of the two being Persia. The goat that destroys the Ram is Greece, and the conspicuous horn is Alexander the Great. History shows he conquered the world in 10 years, and died at around age 32. He was eventually succeeded by 4 rulers (“horns) of city-states. From one of these comes a small or little horn, representative of Antiochus (IV) Ephiphanes, who desecrated the Jewish temple, eventually causing a revolt by Israel against Greece (which actually succeeded). His actions are very much a typology of the anti-Christ of the end times, yet Daniel’s prophecy by way of this dream here is pretty much in the context of the next few centuries from his time.

OK, now, along the way, we learn some interesting tidbits, and the “SO WHAT?” will become more clear as these are developed.

From verse 12, we see an enemy of God trying to destroy God’s truth. It should always be clear that anyone who does so is eventually destroyed.

Given that Gabriel is in this chapter, the first time in Scripture that an angel is named personally, we see that angels are deeply concerned about the affairs of humans. We know from Scripture elsewhere that we are born again, angels are not, and we have a special place with God that they do not. Yet, they are not all-knowing, and at this time here in Daniel, the angels do not know God’s redemptive plan, and they must be curious as to why God is so involved with these people.

Daniel’s reaction to the voice that is present along with Gabriel gives credence to the thought that God was present here, dealing directly with Daniel. The fear on display by Daniel is characteristic of those who have found themselves in the presence of God. We saw in the last chapter that he is not seemingly afraid of angels, so his reaction here was most likely due to God’s presence.

Later, Daniel again gets a glimpse of God’s wrath, which is literally from the Hebrew root “to be indignant”, and it fits perfectly with God being indignant (offended, angry) about sin. And here, that wrath is directed not only against Antiochus, but also against the people of God, due to their being lulled into a false sense of security; they have before and will again, according to this dream, taken God for granted.

Revelation, God’s Word, given to God’s people, was always given in order to prompt faithfulness. Gabriel further asserts that the predictions seen here are true, and Daniel is instructed to “keep it a secret”. What is really meant is to keep this dream and its meaning preserved and alive for all to hear and understand, available to generations in the distant future. Customarily, ancient documents were sealed for protection and preservation.

Last, this prophecy could not be “true” unless it was delivered to Daniel and written many years before the events occurred. Put it all together, and we trust that this was indeed written long before these events took place. Thankfully, we have the words available to us to read and learn from.

SO WHAT…?

So, I respect Daniel’s reaction to being in God’s presence. I pray that I, that we, never lose sight of that when we come to Him in worship, when we remember and celebrate His presence in our lives. Daniel does not run up to God, or even Gabriel, and give Him (or him) a big hug. He bows deeply, showing his true heart.

So, while I detest our national and world leaders trying to take God out of everything, God will deal with them for trying to destroy His truth. They cannot win. His wrath is sufficient. I pray I am strong to continue speaking His truth.

So I look forward to being in the literal presence of God, with his angels, worshiping Him alongside messengers like Gabriel.