God’s Word for You

Daniel 10:4-7 a man clothed in linen

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, December 28, 2025

4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I looked up, and there was a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like burning torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude. 7 It was I, Daniel, alone, who saw the vision; the people who were with me did not see the vision, though a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.

This is the only time in the Scriptures that we find ourselves at the Tigris River, the eastern river of Mesopotamia (it is mentioned by Moses in his description of the rivers of Eden, Genesis 2:14). I am not convinced that we should put a special significance on the appearance of the Tigris here on account of the Genesis passage since we do not actually know whether Moses is clearly naming the present Tigris or using present names for lost rivers, or whether a part of the channel of the antediluvian Tigris might be occupied by a section of the present Tigris.

Naturally we want to identify this angelic being. Is he perhaps an angel? Is he perhaps Christ? There are similarities between his appearance and other appearances of the Son of God.

1, In Ezekiel 1:26-28, he is a figure that looked like a man. The man’s waist was “like the gleam of glowing metal with fire in it and all around it… and a bright light surrounded him. The bright light looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the Glory of the LORD.”

2, In Revelation 1:13-15, he is “one like a son of man. He was clothed with a robe that reached to his feet, like white wool or like snow. His eyes were like burning flames. He feet were like polished bronze being refined in a furnace. His voice was like the roar of many waters.”

Ezekiel and John both identify the one they saw as the Son of God. The one Daniel sees by the Tigris has a very similar appearance: “clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz (a beautiful stone like a golden-yellow diamond), his face like lightning, his eyes like burning torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude.” Burnished means polished to a very bright shine.

The marks of Jesus Christ as the great high priest are these, that (1) He is directly called the priest and high priest (Psalm 110:4; Zechariah 6:13; Hebrews 2:17, 3:1, 4:14-15, 5:5,10, 6:20, 7:1-28, 8:1-4, 9:11, 10:21). (2) Scripture speaks of him in terms that refer to the priesthood, such as taking the sins of the people on himself (John 1:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13-14); Offering himself to God as a sacrifice (1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10, 10:12,14); ascribing priestly functions to him (reconciling God through sacrifice, Ephesians 5:2; 1 Peter 2:24), making intercession with God (Hebrews 5:7, 7:25; Isaiah 53:12; Romans 8:34), and blessing the people (Luke 24:50-51; John 20:19,21). And Christ is also shown with priestly clothing to identify him as the high priest: Ezekiel 9:2; Zechariah 3:5-6; Isaiah 61:10; Psalm 45:8 and Revelation 1:13. To these we must see that Daniel 10:5-6 fall into the same group.

Could there be any objection to identifying this angelic one as Christ the Lord? Someone might ask whether the Son of God would need to be helped or supported by an angel, or any other one of his creatures, as he is in the last verse of this chapter. If we follow this objection through to its conclusion, wouldn’t we question whether the Lord God needs the angels at all? Don’t we see him using them for many purposes on many occasions throughout the Bible? Isn’t this not only to give him support, but (1) to show Satan that he is overmatched in every way by God and all of God’s creation, (2) to teach mankind that we have a useful role in creation, loved by God and given work to do, by illustrating this with the useful work of the good angels, (3) to strengthen and encourage the angels for the spiritual battles that they continue to fight until the last day, and (4) to give the good angels the spiritual and moral advantage of having waged war against Satan and his fallen demons to prepare them for their ultimate role in punishing Satan and his demons in eternity (Psalm 78:49; 2 Peter 2:4).

Here Daniel tells us that he was with other people, and the scene is similar to the appearance of Jesus to Paul and his companions on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:9). They trembled and they fled. This is a proclamation of the law. How so? The appearance of the Lord is bright, glorious, glowing, and the very image of holiness. His voice, “like the roar of a multitude,” illustrates the power of the Word of God. Both his word and he himself are holy. He is unapproachable by sinful people. We are unworthy of him, unworthy on account of our sins. This fills us with dread and fear. Living as we do under the power of Satan, death and the grave, we are unacquainted with the pure and perfect holiness of God’s dwelling place, and when we are given even a glimpse of it, we become overwhelmed with our sense and certainty of not belonging. We, too, want to tremble and flee and hide ourselves (Genesis 3:10).

This is why we need the gospel. And this is the work of the Christian Church. The Holy Spirit guides us to proclaim the Gospel to one another, so that for every “I was wrong” there is “God loves you.” For every “I have sinned” there is “Jesus died for that sin.” For every “I’m not worth anything” there is “Jesus has given his worthiness to you.” We proclaim this in worship, and to one another in private. This is the high point of our preaching, even if critics and outsiders think we should be teaching nothing but morality and holy living. Those things have their place, but only as a response to the Gospel, not as if by themselves they are worth anything without faith. But the Holy Spirit teaches us: “As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, that is how far he removes our rebellious sins from us” (Psalm 103:11-12). He sent our sins flying over the horizon, forever left behind where they belong, for the blood of our Jesus, our linen-wearing, golden- and topaz-looking Savior with a voice like the roar of a crowd and the gentle touch of a loving brother has reached out and rescued us. He is the one we worship and thank with our lives.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

Browse Devotion Archive