The angel Gabriel did not interrupt Daniel’s prayer, but when Daniel had finished, Gabriel made him aware of his presence. Daniel looked to see who had touched him and recognized Gabriel as the one who had spoken to him in the previous vision of Chapter 8. In one sense, Chapters 8 and 9 are together—with Part A being the vision and Part B being Daniel’s long prayer.

Gabriel was “caused to fly swiftly” so that he touched Daniel “about the time of the evening oblation,” or 3 p.m. The “evening oblation” is sometimes called the “time of incense” or the “hour of prayer,” an example being when Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was praying in the Temple and Gabriel appeared to him (Luke 1:8-11).

He is only a prophet of doom, because they wouldn’t listen, had they listened in the first place to Isaiah (who they cut in half), Jeremiah wouldn’t have to have spoken the words he did. But Zedekiah didn’t want to hear it and put him in prison.

The object lesson is to listen and obey.

In the spiritual application, the “destroying wind” is a figurative “storm” from the north coming down on mystic Babylon. We immediately think of Gog from the land of Magog, and “north” pictures God’s vengeance. In the type, God was behind Nebuchadnezzar to visit punishment on Israel, but now we have a completely different picture with Babylon being the focal point. Against the enemies of the truth in the near future will come God’s judgment.

The call to come out of Babylon is an individual call. For the truth’s sake, one may have to leave his father, mother, sister, brother, friend, or anyone else who stays behind and obey as an individual. Christians get rooted in spiritual Babylon; they are comfortable there with their social friendships that are enjoyable, good, and wholesome for the most part. For one to come out of Babylon means to leave friendships and thus to suffer a loss. Taking a stand and leaving mystic Babylon is very searching. The call is to come out so “that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4). To spiritually come out of Babylon is to move from one condition to another. Sometimes very tender ties have to be broken. Then comes the Christian walk, the journeying to “Jerusalem which is above” (Gal. 4:26).

“We [Jeremiah and Obadiah] have heard a rumour [confidential information] from the LORD.” God originated this information, and He let certain individuals know what He intended to do. Then the trusted individuals, such as Obadiah, transmitted the information to the public. Such confidential information should make us bestir ourselves to righteousness.

The Book of Obadiah is fourth in the listing of the 12 minor prophets. Generally speaking, the listing is in chronological order with the exception of Obadiah, which stands out like a sore thumb as not fitting the sequence. Although no specific king’s reign is mentioned to pinpoint the time setting and Obadiah’s relationship to the chronology of the kings, internal evidence in the book helps us to know when Obadiah gave his message, as will be seen.

We think the reason Ezra, who superintended the compilers of the Old Testament, inserted Obadiah after Amos, rather than much further on, is that this book concerns only Edom (or Esau) from beginning to end. Moreover, it seems to be a sequel to the prophecy of Amos, part of which pertains to Edom, and provides more details with regard to that message of rebuke.

The point is that three overturnings had to be fulfilled before Jesus could assume the rulership at his Second Advent. At that time God would “give it [the Kingdom to] him [Jesus].” Jesus secured the right to rule at his First Advent, but the exercising of this right pertains to the Second Advent—to sometime after the end of Gentiles Times, hence 1914 or thereafter. The long period of void from AD 135 “until he come whose right it is” is likened to Gentile Times. It is also likened to the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in which the rich man wanted a little water to cool his tongue, and to the Parable of the Pounds, in which Jesus said a nobleman went away “into a far country [heaven] to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (Luke 16:19–31; 19:12–27).

The first eagle, described as “great,” with great, long wings that were full of diverse-colored feathers, pictured King Nebuchadnezzar, the head of gold in the “great” Babylonian Empire (Dan. 2:38). Wings are used for flight, speed, power, and coverage. The variety of color in the feathers represented the diverse peoples in the empire with a diversity of talent.

Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel, referred to the speed of the Babylonian army, saying it was “swifter than eagles” (Jer. 4:13). He also likened this enemy of Israel, which came from the north, to a lion and a “destroyer of the Gentiles.” Through Jeremiah, God told Israel that the judgment was coming and the enemy would be victorious. “I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant” (Jer. 4:6,7). The lion and the eagle symbolize ferocity and swiftness, respectively. In Daniel 7:1–4, the kingdom of Babylon is likened to a lion (king of the beasts) with the wings of an eagle (king of the birds). An eagle spreads its wings to paralyze its prey; a lion roars.

The Prophet Ezekiel enacts a prophecy while cooking choice bones. He is also told that his wife would die that night, but he was not allowed to mourn. He continues his prophesying without emotion and then explains to Judah that they are the bones in the pot and there is trouble coming, retribution for what they have done and there will be lots of deaths, but no one will mourn. Just has this literally happened when Nebuchadnezzar came, this has an antitypical significance to the Christian and even the Holy Remnant of Israel down at the end of this age.

The time setting was now about 611 BC, the sixth year of Zedekiah, or the sixth year of Jehoiachin’s (Jeconiah’s/Coniah’s) captivity. As the elders of Judah were seated before Ezekiel in his own house, honoring him and wanting his counsel, a trance seized the prophet. This chapter, recorded later, is the record of what he saw.

The vision began with a representation of God, the One seated on the throne. It was like the earlier vision by the river Chebar (Ezek. 1:1).

A hand lifted up Ezekiel by a lock of his hair to a position between heaven and earth and took him to Jerusalem. Ezekiel was about to see things and hear God speaking to him, yet he would be unobserved by those in the Temple. He would get an insight into the abominations committed by God’s nominal or professed people.