SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/17/2013
10:30 AM
My Worship Time Focus: An Awesome Vision
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Dan. 10:4-9,
14
Message of the
verses: “4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,
while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold,
there was a certain man
dressed in linen, whose
waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was
like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning; his eyes were like flaming torches, his
arms and feet like the
gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. 7
Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see
the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide
themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me,
for my natural color turned
to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words;
and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my
face, with my face to the ground. 14 "Now I have come to give you an
understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the
days yet future."
I want at this time to look at some of the opening verses
in the book of Revelations so we can compare them some of the verses in this
section of Daniel. “12 Then I turned to
see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden
lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the
lampstands I saw one like
a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with
a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like
snow; and His eyes were
like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to
glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His
right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged
sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His
feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying,
"Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and
behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades (Rev.
1:12-18).” There are similar things seen
in these two passages leading many to believe that the person that Daniel saw
and the Person that John saw were the same Person, Jesus Christ. We know that the preincarnate Christ was seen
at different times in the Old Testament, and perhaps this was one of them. I am convinced that this was who was speaking
to Daniel.
It is not clear as to why Daniel was at the Tigris River,
but one thing for sure it was in God’s plan for him to be there so that He
could give to Daniel one of the greatest prophecies ever given to man.
The time in which all of this happened was during the
time when Israel would celebrate the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
and also the Feast of Firstfruits, as they all happened during the firt month
of the Hebrew year. Daniel could not participate
in these because he lived in Babylon, but we can be sure that he was thinking
about them. One of the things that the
people of Israel had to do before celebrating the Passover was to get rid of
all the leaven from their houses, which pictured confessing all of their sins
to the Lord so that they would have a clean heart in order to celebrate the
Passover. We know from our study of
Daniel that he kept himself free from sin and that he prayed three times a day,
and as mentioned there is no sin mentioned that Daniel committed, although we
know that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, including Daniel.
As Daniel was at the Tigris River he suddenly saw a vision,
he alone saw it, not the men who were with him as they sensed something was
going on and hide themselves, and this reminds us of the men who were with Saul
of Tarsus when the Lord spoke to Saul at his conversion. We have already gone over the description of
the One who met with Daniel so we won’t go over that again. Dr. Wiersbe points out in his commentary that
we cannot be dogmatic as to who this person was, as some scholars believe it
was Christ, some believe it was a glorious angel like described in Revelations
10 and some think it was Gabriel, the same angel that Daniel already saw. John MacArthur in his study Bible notes
writes “The messenger whom Daniel sees in a vision (vv. 1, 7) was distinct from
the angel Michael, from whom he needed assistance (v.13). The description of such glory has led some to
see him as Christ in a pre-incarnate appearance (such as Joshua 5:13-15; 6:2;
Judges 6:11-23). He is described almost
identically to Christ (Rev. 1:13-14) and Daniel’s reaction is similar to Johns
(Rev. 1:7).”
I think that it is important to quote a rather long
paragraph from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary at this time: “Frequently in the biblical account of
salvation history, you find the Lord Jesus Christ appearing to His servants at
special times, either to deliver a special message or to prepare them for a
special ministry. He usually appeared in
a fashion compatible with their circumstances or their calling. To Abraham the pilgrim, Jesus came as a
traveler (Gen. 18), bot to Jacob the schemer, He came as a wrestler (Gen.
32). Before Joshua attacked Jericho,
Jesus came as a Captain of the Lord’s armies (Josh. 5:13-15), and to Isaiah, He
revealed Himself as the King on the throne (Isa. 6; John 12:37-41). But to the two Jewish exiles—Daniel in
Babylon and the Apostle John on Patmos—Jesus appeared as the glorified King-Priest. After seeing the Son of God, both men were
given visions of future events that involved the people of God, events that
would be difficult to accept and understand.
“At the beginning of Daniel’s prophetic ministry, he
interpreted the meaning of the awesome image that King Nebuchadnezzar had seen
in his dream (Dan. 2), and now at the end of his ministry, Daniel saw an even
greater sight—the glorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords! When we know that Jesus is standing with us
and fighting for us, we can accept any circumstance and accomplish any task He
gives us.”
As he concludes his commentary on this section Dr.
Wiersbe writes, “The angel had come to give Daniel a special revelation
concerning the Jewish people and what would happen to them in the latter days
(Dan. 10:14). As we study this complex
prophecy, we must focus on Israel and not on the church, even though all
Scripture is profitable for all believers at all times. Parts of this prophecy have already been
fulfilled, but much of it remains to be fulfilled in ‘the end times,’ that is,
during the seventieth week of the ‘prophetic calendar’ given in verses 24-27 of
Daniel chapter nine.”
As I began to study this chapter of Daniel I seemed to
remember that chapter ten was kind of a prelude to what is given in chapter
eleven, where we will actually see the prophecy unfold, however there is much
we can learn from chapter ten as we study it, and then look forward to the
study of chapter eleven next month.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: “When we know that
Jesus is standing with us and fighting for us, we can accept any circumstance
and accomplish any task He gives us.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: Believe the statement above is true in my
life.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “Forty years” (1Kings 11:42).
Today’s Bible
Question: “In the book of Titus, what
four things did Paul instruct us to avoid?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/17/2013 12:02 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment