DANIEL 8
18 And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the goatis the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” 27 And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.
– Daniel 8:18-27
DANIEL 8 GOD’S CHARACTER AND ATTRIBUTE MANIFESTED
In this account we see God’s sovereignty over history and events. He has the sole control over what is to come. Another attribute of God manifested in this account is his omniscience which is all-knowing. Only God knows all things, He knows what is to come and how people think and what is in their hearts.
Another characteristic that God showed here is his compassion and provision to Daniel. He knew that Daniel was struggling to understand the vision and so he provided answers to him through an angel. He also comforted him that these events won’t happen until much later so he shouldn’t be so concerned regarding them and must keep these dream interpretations to himself. Isn’t it reassuring to know that God is the only one in control and his plan will come to pass whether we like it or not? Because Daniel was faithful to God, he was given such honor to know future events that will come.
REFLECTION
- What are some attributes and character of God that he has clearly shown you?
