Daniel 10:1-10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true… In accepting the testimony of others, with respect to matters beyond the reach of our own senses and experience, we must be satisfied on three points. (1) Is the subject-matter of the testimony opposed to reason? (2) Was the witness himself deceived? (3) Is the witness truthful? Now, on all these points the record of Daniel is thoroughly reliable. The matter of this vision is most reasonable in itself. We have an accumulation of proof that Daniel was not deceived. It was not a subjective hallucination, but an objective reality. As evidence of Daniel's thorough truthfulness, he places on record the minutest circumstances of time and place. If there had been any inaccuracy here it would have been detected in the age while Daniel's contemporaries were yet alive. In many parts of the narrative we have the confirmations of secular historians; and best evidence of all have we that this was a real visit of an angel, viz. that his predictions of events have been verified in history. I. THERE WAS PERSONAL PREPARATION TO RECEIVE THIS HEAVENLY VISION. The habit which Daniel formed in youth was of inestimable service to him in old age. Incidentally we may observe how self-consistent are the several parts of this prophetical book. The flesh has always been, more or less, hostile to the spirit. Daniel had wisely repressed and held in control his bodily appetites in the days of his youth; and by reason of this the finer feelings and loftier faculties of his soul had been gradually developed. The practice of abstinence and self-denial had become easy. Yet he did not abstain from food because the act possessed in itself any meritorious excellence. He abstained because his soul was so absorbed in nobler occupation that appetite had lost its edge and food its charm. We are not told the particular reason of this long mourning, yet we can easily infer that his grief was excited by the depressed condition of his people Israel. Self had long since been sacrificed on the altar of his God. He rejoiced in Israel's joy; he mourned in Israel's sorrow. Such tears clear the eye of the soul for the perception of heavenly things. II. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE VISION. It was the vision of a celestial being, in the form and raiment of a man. To what extent this august person, as he appeared to Daniel, appeared in his native essence, or accommodated himself to human eyes, no living man can say. Whether the unfallen angels have any definite form apprehensible to human eyes, is a question more curious than important. But certain it is that in many vital respects men resemble angels. They have understanding of God's works. They can appreciate truth. Both angels and regenerate men love righteousness and hate wickedness. Both are gifted with benevolence. Both have conscience, affection, choice, will. Here are ample grounds for intercourse and friendship - a joint occupation of heaven. In this resplendent vision we may see what ransomed man shall be. Precious stones, fire, electric flame, burnished brass, - these are the emblems of our transfigured nature. Earthly dulness and deformity shall give place to the refinements of celestial splendour. What we call, in our ignorance, supernatural, is but Nature in her higher forms and essences. Whether communication of thought among the angels is by means of outward signs - something akin to words - we cannot tell. On this occasion there was not only the form of a glorious man, there was also the language of a man and the sympathy of a man. To accommodate themselves to the necessities of men is a delight to angelic natures as it is to God. III. THE STRANGE EFFECTS OF THIS VISION UPON MEN. One might have supposed that this visit of a heavenly stranger would be to Daniel, if not to his attendants, an occasion of unmixed delight. It was, without doubt, a special mark of God's favour. When we wish to show a distinguishing mark of respect to a friend we send our messages, not by a menial servant, but by a person of distinction. And that God should have sent a special despatch to Daniel - not a mere voice, not a human messenger, not an ordinary angel - but Gabriel himself, this ought to have been welcomed as a high mark of Divine kindness. To be assured that God has other orders of servants beside ourselves, this is a pleasure. To be assured that these nobler and more loyal natures regard us, not as dangerous rivals of their privileges, but as fellow-heirs of their home, this ought to be rich delight. On what ground, then, does this pious man shrink from contact with this glorious servant of Jehovah? We can conceive of no other ground than this, viz. the sense of personal sin. Notwithstanding Daniel's penitence for sin, and his faith in God's mercy, there yet remained the consciousness of great unworthiness. Hence a messenger from God may be an instrument to visit just recompense. Still, we must note that the effect o, Daniel was very different from the effect on his companions. At the sound of the angel's overpowering voice the attendants on this aged statesman fled. Regardful chiefly of their own safety, they fled to hide themselves. Like the Gravelling companions of St. Paul, they heard a voice but saw no person. There is such a thing, even in our present life, as a refinement of the bodily senses - a development and quickening of the sensitive capacity - to discern immaterial things. On the eve of the Saviour's crucifixion the Father's voice pierced the blue welkin. Bystanders, with dull and stolid souls, said that it thundered. Others, having a finer perception of things, caught an articulate sound, and averred that an angel spake. Yet One at least detected the very words, and recognized them as the response of the eternal God. Daniel's senses were overpowered by the splendour of this distinguished visitor. Strength failed him. He was prostrate with awe, yet his mind was awake and active, so that he heard the words which this glorious spirit spake. IV. THE PROOFS THAT THIS VISION HAD AN OBJECTIVE REALITY. The votaries of science make a demand for facts. Theologians respond to the demand, and supply them with facts in abundance - facts which cannot be gainsaid. Here was the fact that Daniel's companions heard a voice so novel and so startling that they ran to hide themselves - a type this of what guilty men do in every age of the world. Here was the fact of which Daniel's eye was witness, the fact to which Daniel's ear testified, the fact to which Daniel's sense of touch responded. Here is an accumulation of evidence - one faculty corroborated the testimony of another faculty. Here were facts attested by the organs of his body, and confirmed by all the powers of his mind. Here were facts which entered into the inmost experiences of the man - clear answers to prayer, which satisfied his wish, and expanded his knowledge, and invigorated his hope. Here were facts predicted which, in due time, were verified in the actual history of the nations. If anything in history or in science is credible, this is certain - that Daniel's vision was no subjective illusion, no hallucination of the brain, but an objective reality. He obtained positive information, which has served ever since for the instruction of mankind. He received from his distinguished visitor strength - a positive communication of blessing. Here are solid facts, which refuse to evaporate before the breath of honest inquiry. - D. Parallel Verses KJV: In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. |
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