Gabriel Flew In With An Answer… Swiftly!!!
2/28/23 By Tim Buck
Fotet.org
“Then Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me at the time of the evening offering saying, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.”
Daniel 9:20-23
Now A Word From An Angel
Daniel was praying for answers while interceding on behalf of his people, pleading with the Lord to restore His Temple and restore the children of God.
Daniel’s prayers were passionate. He was standing in the gap between judgment and restoration and baring his soul before the Lord. And then it happened without warning… Gabriel appeared.
I love Daniel’s response: Daniel said, “While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel…BEING CAUSED TO FLY SWIFTLY, reached me about the time of the evening offering.” In today’s world, this experience would be so thrilling, I can see someone telling it on every Christian TV show worldwide! But not Daniel. Daniel spoke of this so nonchalantly…”Oh, by the way, while I was in prayer, Gabriel flew in with an answer!”
But, my goodness…Gabriel DID fly in with an answer! SWIFTLY!!
Gabriel’s message was profound. He said, “When you began to plead with God, the Lord answered you and now I have come to give you an answer.” The Message translation reads like this, “You had no sooner started your prayer when the answer was given. And now I’m here to deliver the answer to you. You are much loved!”
A Word About Gabriel
As you study the book of Daniel, please recognize one incredible fact. For six chapters (Chs. 7-12) the text is mostly a direct quote from the angel Gabriel!!! Gabriel is either directly telling Daniel about the latter days or he is appearing to him in a vision.
In all of Scripture Gabriel spoke to only two other human beings: Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and both of those were short conversations by comparison!
Let’s review this point. Gabriel only ever spoke to John the Baptist’s father, the father of the one whom Jesus declared was the greatest human ever born (Mt. 11:11). And the only other person he spoke to was the mother of Jesus, the woman who gave birth to the great I AM! Would you agree that’s a pretty exclusive club? The mighty angel Gabriel was sent to no one else… except Daniel… multiple times. Gabriel could have used an apartment in Daniel’s house because of how much personal time he spent with Daniel!
Gabriel repeatably visited and spoke to Daniel time and again addressing him with deep respect and even pointing out how much the Lord loved him (“greatly loved”) and how much the Lord appreciated Daniel’s testimony and prayer life!
Since this has happened to no one else in the Bible, it elevates the priority God placed on the uniqueness and importance of Daniel’s prophecy. The list of exclusive end-time topics and insights covered in the last six chapters of Daniel is a gold mine and God took great care in dispatching His mighty angel so we could get this right.
In Daniel 10:21, Gabriel tells Daniel that he’s going to explain the events of the last days to him by reading out of God’s “Book of Truth.” This remarkable encounter reveals that in heaven there is an additional “writing of truth” from the Bible. The book or library of books contains details of the last days not included in Scripture and is apparently written for the Lord’s spirit servants to effectively help the Lord carry out His end time plans. It’s unavailable and unrevealed to us except for the few verses Gabriel shares with Daniel in chapter 10.
Gabriel knows all about God’s unrevealed future plans because he “stands in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19), a unique position not said of any other being. That place of privilege gives him direct access to the Lord and access to read the “Book of Truth” so that when Gabriel flies in, he comes in loaded with answers… six chapters of answers!
Chapter 11 alone is the single longest prophecy in Scripture containing some 150 prophecies including the longest running passage in the Bible outlining the exploits of Antichrist.
Gabriel proceeds to give Daniel details about Israel’s Calendar with the date of Messiah’s first coming, future kingdoms and world rulers that will arise that we should be watching for and so on, 100’s, even 1000’s of years before it will ever happen.
But here’s the thing, Gabriel flies in, not just to give Daniel answers but to give us answers to understand what’s going on in our day from God’s perspective.
Like Daniel, Jesus challenged the people of His day to, “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES” (John 5:39). This is so needed. Are you a scripture searcher like Daniel… studying God’s Word and meditating and praying for wisdom and answers?
It’s encouraging to remember that Gabriel showed up because Daniel had read Jeremiah and was searching for answers about the length of Israel’s exile in Babylon (Daniel 9:2). While searching he was crying out to the Lord in prayer, reading the Word and seeking real answers. If you want answers… pray!
I don’t think you should anticipate Gabriel flying in with answers to your prayers while having morning devotions. Instead, God’s Spirit is already in us and can speak to our hearts and gives us answers through His Word.
Friend, God hears us when we call out to Him.
Isaiah 65:24 says, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking I will hear.”
Jeremiah 33:3 reads, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
The Father delights in responding to earnest, urgent prayers (James 5:16), those filled with humility and honesty. He is drawn to the brokenness of His people.
God loved Daniel a great deal.
His love for YOU is immeasurable.
Know that when you bow before the throne of grace, baring your soul before your Lord, KNOW that He hears you and will respond… with answers!
But just in case… if Gabriel does come flying in swiftly into your prayer closet, I’d like to be the first to know!