February 17, 2019: Day 78 – Daniel 8

We have Daniel once again seeing a vision and once again this vision is explained to him by someone else rather than him.  Also, once again, it is a vision that will affect the known world and not a personal vision that might give him some insight into what his future might look like.  It is more for what the future of the world might look like.  Starting at vs.19 we have someone, actually not just someone but someone who is called Gabriel, who explains the vision to Daniel.

So, let’s talk a little about Gabriel.  He also finds himself in the New Testament as the one who gives the message to Mary about her being with child.  He also appears to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist.  He also announces himself and says he is Gabriel in vs.19 of Luke 1, quite a declaration.  He came to speak to Zechariah and to bring good news, but then ends up punishing Zechariah because he didn’t really believe the news that he had brought.  

We find Daniel speaking in the first person and he says in vs. 27 that as  result of this vision which he saw,  which had the conquering of lands by the previous beasts that we had mentioned in the previous chapter all with the same significance, it made him sick.  He was dismayed by the visions but he still didn’t understand them completely.  An angel had just explained it to him but they were so terrifying that it might be easier to say that he just didn’t understand and hopefully things would play out a little differently.