Monday, January 04, 2016

A "certain man" in Daniel 10:5

CAN WE BE CERTAIN DANIEL'S VISION OF
A "CERTAIN MAN" DEPICTS ANTICHRIST?


Daniel 10:5, 6 --
 
"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
 
"His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."
 
I must warn you right up front that my understanding of this vision of Daniel chapter 10 differs extremely from what is often taught by others who comment on the vision. For instance, the following are just a few of the notables who teach that the vision depicts Christ:
 
Clarence Larkin: "Lord of Glory" (Commentary on Daniel, page 220.
 
John Gill: "Son of God" (Commentary)
 
John MacArthur: "He is described almost identically to Christ (Rev. 1:13, 14)" (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1245).

Scofield Reference Bible: "The vision of the glory of God" (Daniel 10, chapter heading.
 
Could you believe these notable men and others who hold this interpretation are mistaken and that the "certain man" vision actually depicts the ANTICHRIST?
 
I do believe for certain that they are wrong.
 
In the early 1980's when I began to study Daniel as never before, I noticed that so many writers were simply "going along" with previous sources, just repeating the same ideas. You could almost wrap up all the comments on Daniel 10 in one package and toss it aside, they were so similar in interpretation.
 
I could never accept the foregoing interpretation, and I became certain that the "certain man" vision represented the Antichrist. And here is why:
 
1. All of the symbols adorning and embellishing the "certain man" are impressive, but they fall far short of the superior symbols pertaining to Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:13-16.
 
In my "Little Horn" book in chapter 7 I discuss the contrasting symbolism item-by-item. I urge you to do the same, and I think you will see that the symbolisms are not "almost identically." The symbols associated with Christ are far superior to those of the "certain man."
 
Notice:
 
The "gold of UPHAZ" is associated with idolatry in
Jeremiah 10:3-9

The "beryl" is associated with Satan in Ezekiel 28:13.

The face of the "certain man" was "as the appearance of lightning" (10:6), whereas the countenance of Christ was "as the sun shineth in its strength" (Rev. 1:16). You can look at lightning all day and all night, but you can't look at the sun but for an instant!

The eyes of the certain man "as lamps" but not equal to the eyes of Christ which are "as a flame of fire" (Rev. l:14).
 
His arms and feet "like in colour to polished brass" -- which does not match the superior symbolism of Christ's feet which were as "fine brass as if they burned in a furnace" (1:15).
 
The voice of a "multitude" is not comparative to Christ's voice as the "sound of many waters" such as an ocean (1:15).
 
2. The effect on Daniel was a degenerating effect -- See 10:8. He was corrupted.
 
3. The angel Gabriel, who was sent to interpret the vision, goes on to do so in chapter 11 (Daniel 10:14, 21; 11:1-45). After the historical summary presented in 11:1-20, from 11:21 thru 11:45 Gabriel describes the "vile person" who becomes the wilful "king" (11:36), the end-time Antichrist.
 
4. This same person depicted by the "certain man" in Daniel 10:5 is the same certain man who is responsible for the "abomination of desolation" in Daniel 11:31 -- the future Antichrist (Matthew 24:15).5.
 
The angel Gabriel's interpretation tales the interpretation of the "certain man" to the end-time events just prior to the return of Jesus Christ (11:15-12:1).
 
-- Bob L. Ross
(713) 477-2329
Read my previous articles on prophecy at
http://calvinistflyswatter.blogspot.com/

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