The elohal superintendence of the affairs of the "thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers" of the world, is clearly revealed in the book of Daniel. In the fourth chapter of this prophet it is declared that the matter set forth therein was revealed to teach "the living that the Highest One is the ruler in the kingdom of men, and that He giveth it to him whom He shall please, and sets up over it the lowest of men." Besides this it shows, that though the ruler or Lord, He does not administer the government alone, but associates with Himself others, styled irin "watchers," who are, like Himself, kaddishin, "Holy Ones." These Holy Sentinels -- such as kept guard in the Garden of Eden over the tree of the two lives --are the rulers, or "lords" and "kings," alluded to by Paul in 1 Tim. 6:15, and John, in Rev. 17: 14; 19: 16, in the name that no man knows but He whose it is -- "KING of Kings, and LORD of Lords." The temporary dethronement of Nebuchadnezzar, when he was driven from the society of men, and was compelled to dwell with the beasts of the field, to eat grass as oxen, and to be drenched with the dew of heaven, until seven times, or years, had passed over him -- allegorical of the fate that awaits the representative of His image-power in our latter day future -- the dethronement, I say, of this Chaldean potentate was, by the decision of the Sentinels, whose report caused the Holy One to decree the punishment of his pride.
These Holy Ones and Elohal Sentinels associated with the Most High and Holy One -- the Eternal Power Yahweh -- in the government of the world, are aggregately styled shemaiyah, "the heavens," in Dan 4:26, as "thy kingdom shall be continued to thee from (the time) that thou shalt know that shallitin, THE RULERS (are) shemaiyah, THE HEAVENS." This class of watchers and holy ones is the heavens to which David refers in Psalm 50, saying "AIL, ELOHIM, YAHWEH (Power, the Mighties, He who shall be), spake, and made proclamation to the earth, from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of splendour, ELOHIM (the Mighty Ones are) caused to shine forth. Our Elohim shall come and not keep silence; a fire before His (Yahweh's) faces (the Elohim) shall devour; and around Him it is very tempestuous. He will make proclamation to the Heavens (the Holy ones and Sentinels, styled in Matt. 24:31, "His Angels with trumpet of great sound" --compare Deut. 30:3-10) --from above, and to the earth, in vindicating his people, saying, Gather ye to me, my saints, who cut up my meat for eating in a sacrifice.-- (This is the literal rendering of the words of the Spirit of David, chorthai berithai all-zahvach, in the English version expressed by the sentence "those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." The literal expresses what was done in the institution and confirmation of promises. The promises to be fulfilled were stated; animals were then slain and divided, or "cut up", and separated into two parcels, between which the parties concerned passed. The words of the promise were then sworn to, and the parties of the first and second parts, sitting down together, "cut up the meat provided, or eat it in a sacrifice; not as a priestly offering. but as an immolation by private persons, at their own cost." Thus the victim slain and the promise made and confirmed being elements of the same transaction, came each of them to be styled berith, "an eating," or covenant. In illustration of this exposition, see Gen. 15:9-18; 21:22-32; 26:26-30; 31:43-54 --Dr. Thomas.) Thus He showed THE HEAVENS His righteousness; for Elohim (the Spirit-Powers, "born of the Spirit, and, therefore, Spirit" -- the Eternal in many) is Himself the Judge, Selah!" i.e., weigh, or consider!
Among the Elohal Sentinels of the kingdoms are Gabriel and Michael, "lords" and "princes" of the heavens. Gabriel was employed as a messenger of the Eternal Spirit, symbolized in Dan. 10:5-9, to give the prophet skill and understanding (8:15-18: 9:20-23). He communicated to him the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, in which he fixed the time of the covenanting, or "cutting off, of Messiah the Prince"; and it was that same Gabriel (or Man of Power, as his name imports) who appeared to Zachariah, the priest of the course of Abia, and declared to him that his wife Elizabeth, one of the posterity of Aaron, should become the mother of John, who should "go before Yahweh their Elohim," to prepare a people to receive him; and who also afterwards appeared to a virgin of the house of David, and informed her that she should become the mother of Yah Elohim, i.e., "He who shall be Mighty Ones" (Ps. 68:18), or as he is named in Jer. 23:6, Yahweh tzidkainu, "He who shall be our righteousness"; or as the latter occurs in the Greek le-sous, which is a corruption of Yaho-shaia, contracted Yeshua. "He shall be salvation." "Thou, Mary, shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins"; in which Joseph, her husband, acquiesced.
Now when Gabriel appeared to the old people of Aaron's house, he said, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of AIL" -- the Supreme Power of the heavens. Upwards of five hundred and thirty years before, he appeared to Daniel with an answer to his supplication; and on that occasion told him that he had been sent with an answer to his supplications concerning the "desolations" of the Holy Land, and of "the city where Eloah's name was proclaimed"; and that he had come to show (for he was greatly beloved) that he might understand "the word," and comprehend "the vision" set forth before him at Shushan, the palace in Elam, by the river Ulai, as in chapter 8.
This seems to have ended Gabriel's mission to Daniel; for, after delivering to him the prophecy of the restoration of the City and Commonwealth from the Chaldean overthrow; and the subsequent appearance and CUTTING OFF, or covenanting of the guiltless Messiah; and the after-destruction of the City and Commonwealth again by the Romans, which was to be succeeded by a long desolation -- we read no more of Gabriel in the book. But, though he disappears from the theatre of events till the nine months preceeding the birth of YAH ELOHIM, or Jesus, another Revelation appears to Daniel, as described in chapter 10.
