Commentary - Daniel 10:1-9

Bird's-eye view

This tenth chapter of Daniel opens the final and most detailed of his prophecies, which runs through the end of the book. But before the content of the prophecy is delivered, Daniel is prepared for it by a staggering, terrifying encounter with a divine being. This is no mere angel; the description is a clear parallel to the vision of the risen Christ that the apostle John would have centuries later on Patmos. This is a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God. The passage sets the stage by showing us Daniel in a state of deep mourning and fasting, earnestly seeking God. The vision he receives is one of overwhelming glory, and the effect it has on him is utter collapse. This is the proper and universal reaction of sinful man when confronted with the unveiled holiness of God. The passage teaches us that the spiritual warfare which shapes the course of nations is real, that our God is a God of terrifying majesty, and that a true encounter with Him leaves no room for human pride or strength.

The vision itself is not a private hallucination. While only Daniel sees the glorious man, the men with him are paralyzed by a supernatural terror and flee, proving the objective reality of the event. Daniel's response is paradigmatic: his strength drains, his face turns deathly pale, and upon hearing the voice, he falls unconscious to the ground. This is not about getting a warm, fuzzy feeling. This is about being undone in the presence of uncreated glory, a necessary prerequisite to being remade and strengthened by that same glory for the task ahead.

Outline

Context In Daniel

Daniel 10 serves as the introduction to the final prophetic revelation of the book, which spans chapters 10, 11, and 12. The previous section, chapter 9, contained the prophecy of the seventy weeks, which pinpointed the time of Messiah's first coming. Now, in the third year of Cyrus, after the initial decree allowing the Jews to return to their land, Daniel is given a vision that details the conflicts of the intertestamental period and culminates in the events surrounding the time of the end. This vision is explicitly about what will happen to Daniel's people in the "latter days" (10:14). The glorious and terrifying appearance of the Son of God in this chapter serves to authenticate the message that follows and to fortify Daniel to receive it. It is a commissioning vision, demonstrating that the intricate and violent history of empires is under the sovereign control of this glorious King.

Key Issues

The Man Who Is God

We must be absolutely clear about the identity of the "certain man" Daniel sees. Many commentators want to soften this into an appearance of a high-ranking angel, perhaps Gabriel. But the text will not bear this weight. The description given here is far too glorious for any created being. A man in linen, girded with gold, with a body like beryl, a face like lightning, eyes like fire, limbs like burnished bronze, and a voice like a multitude. This is a direct parallel to the vision the Apostle John has of the risen and glorified Christ in Revelation 1. John saw one "like a son of man," clothed in a robe, with a golden sash, eyes like a flame of fire, feet like burnished bronze, and a voice like the roar of many waters (Rev. 1:13-15). The similarities are too striking to be coincidental. Daniel is seeing the pre-incarnate Word, the Son of God, in His royal and priestly majesty.

This is crucial because it frames everything that follows. The prophecy about the kings of the North and South, about Antiochus Epiphanes, and about the time of the end is not delivered by a mere messenger. It is delivered by the King of all kings Himself. The history of the world, with all its political machinations and military conflicts, is His story. He is the one who stands above it, directing it, and bringing it to its appointed conclusion. When we encounter God, we do not encounter a tame God. We encounter a glorious, terrifying, and sovereign Lord. Daniel's reaction is not one of over-excitement; it is one of utter prostration, which is the only sane response.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the word was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the word and had an understanding of what had appeared.

The vision is grounded in history. This is 536 B.C., two years after Cyrus's decree that let the Jews begin returning home. Daniel, now a very old man, is still serving in the Persian court. The revelation is described as true and concerning a great conflict. The Hebrew is tsaba gadol, which means a great warfare or hardship. This is not a prophecy of tranquil ease; it is about a long, grinding war. The spiritual battle in the heavenlies, which is revealed later in the chapter, manifests on earth as political and military conflict. And yet, despite the difficulty of the content, Daniel was given supernatural grace to understand it. This is a key principle: God does not reveal His truth to confuse His people, but to enlighten them.

2-3 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were fulfilled.

Daniel prepares himself, or rather is prepared by God, through a period of intense spiritual discipline. For twenty-one days, he mourns. This was likely prompted by the difficult reports coming back from Jerusalem about the opposition the returning exiles were facing (see Ezra 4:1-5). His fast was not a total abstinence from food, but a partial one. He denied himself "tasty food" (literally, "bread of desires"), meat, and wine. He also forsook the normal comforts of anointing himself with oil. This was not a hunger strike to twist God's arm. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. It is a way of humbling ourselves, stripping away distractions, and expressing the earnestness of our heart's petition before Him. Daniel was all in. He wanted to hear from God, and he postured his entire life to that end.

4 And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,

Again, the specifics ground the supernatural in the natural. The date is significant. The first month is Nisan. This means Daniel's fast covered the time of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. While his countrymen were meant to be feasting and celebrating God's deliverance from Egypt, Daniel was mourning over the present troubles of his people. He was by the Tigris river, one of the great rivers of the Mesopotamian plain, a center of gentile world power. It is here, in the heart of the world's empire, that the King of heaven appears.

5-6 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose loins were girded with a belt of pure fine gold of Uphaz. 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 burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.

Here is the centerpiece of the encounter. Daniel looks up and sees the glorious man. Every detail is significant. The linen is the garment of a priest, signifying purity and holiness. The belt of pure gold signifies royalty and divine worth. This is a Priest-King. His body like beryl, a translucent, sea-green gemstone, speaks of heavenly, otherworldly glory. His face like lightning indicates sudden, terrifying power and revelation. His eyes like flaming torches see all things; they are piercing and full of judgment. His arms and feet like burnished bronze suggest immense strength and stability, tested in the fires of judgment. And his voice, like the sound of a multitude, carries an authority that drowns out all other voices. This is not a being to be trifled with. This is the Lord of glory.

7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision that appeared, but the men who were with me did not see the vision that appeared; nevertheless, a great terror fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.

This verse is crucial for establishing the objective reality of the event. Daniel's companions did not see the man, but they felt his presence. A supernatural dread, a "great terror," fell on them, and they scattered. This is similar to what happened to Saul's companions on the road to Damascus; they heard the sound but did not see the one speaking to Saul (Acts 9:7). The vision was for Daniel, but its power was real and had tangible effects on those nearby. This was no dream or product of Daniel's imagination. God was breaking into history in a real, physical location.

8 So I alone remained and saw this great vision that appeared; yet no might remained in me, for my outward splendor turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no might.

Left alone, Daniel describes the devastating effect the vision had on him. All his strength, his "might," vanished. His "outward splendor," his healthy complexion and dignified appearance, turned to a "deathly pallor." The Hebrew word is for corruption or ruin. He was completely undone. This is the consistent testimony of Scripture when a sinful man comes face to face with the holy God. Isaiah cried, "Woe is me! For I am lost" (Isa 6:5). John on Patmos "fell at his feet as though dead" (Rev 1:17). There is no room for self-confidence or pride in the presence of God. All human glory withers and turns to dust before the fire of His glory.

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.

The final blow is the voice. Just hearing the sound of the words of this glorious being is too much for Daniel's mortal frame to handle. He collapses into a "deep sleep," a state of unconsciousness, falling flat on his face. This is an act of involuntary worship, of complete submission and prostration. The sight of God's glory weakened him, but the sound of God's word finished the job. He had to be brought to a point of absolute zero, of total helplessness, before he could be raised up and given the message God had for him.

Application

The church in the modern West is in desperate need of the truth contained in this chapter. We have domesticated God. We have made Jesus into our manageable buddy, our therapist, our life coach. We approach worship with a casual, consumeristic mindset, looking for what we can get out of it. But Daniel 10 reminds us who we are dealing with. Our God is the one whose face is like lightning and whose voice can knock a man unconscious. A true vision of God's holiness will always lead to a true vision of our own sinfulness and weakness.

This passage calls us to recover a sense of awe and holy fear. It also calls us to the kind of spiritual earnestness we see in Daniel. He was mourning and fasting because he cared deeply about the state of God's people and the glory of God's name. We are too often content with shallow piety because we are not burdened by the things that burden the heart of God. We seek comfort and entertainment, while Daniel sought God Himself. The great conflict is still raging. Spiritual warfare is not a metaphor for our personal struggles; it is a cosmic reality that shapes the events of our world. If we are to be of any use in that conflict, we must first be undone by the glory of our King, and then be raised up by His hand, finding our strength not in ourselves, but in Him alone.