Daniel 8:15-17

Throughout the Old and New Testament God used angels to convey messages and to explain their meaning to humans. Now we can be enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit who resides in us. Jesus promised that He would never leave us alone and unprotected. In times of trouble we have an advocate and we need to be able to hear that small still voice that directs us.

This is the first mention of the messenger Gabriel in the Bible. The angel is mentioned three other times in Scripture. The time of the end is a reference to a time that may already be underway  in some respects, but will not find its fulfillment until the Second Coming of Christ.

vision (Heb. chazon) (8:1; Is. 1:1; Prov. 29:18) Strong’s #2377: The Hebrew word for a dream or a vision is derived from a common Hebrew verb meaning “to see.” Dreams and visions were often recognized by the ancients as revelations from the gods, or from God Himself in the case of the Hebrews (Is. 1:1). Daniel received a visionary message from God that spoke about the future of the kingdoms of Persia and Greece. His dream was encoded in symbols which required the interpretive assistance of the angel Gabriel (8:15–27). The author of Proverbs insists that revelation from God is essential to the well-being of a society. Without God’s law revealed in Scripture, the foundation of a society crumbles (see Prov. 29:18).

Daniel 8:15-17

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”