So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
I will not repeat what I have already explained. I will proceed with what I had commenced, namely, the Prophet’s need of instruction, because he could not understand the vision without an interpreter; wherefore the angel was ordered to explain his revelation of God more fully. But, before he narrates this, he says, he was frightened at the approach of the angel.
Daniel sought understanding and did not seek in vain. Those who truly know God's things must desire to know more of them. When Gabriel approached, Daniel fell in fear and then into deep sleep, not from carelessness but from the weight of such abundance of revelations.
AI summary
Commenting on Daniel 8:15-27
So he came near where I stood,.... The angel immediately obeyed the divine Person in human form, and came near the prophet, in order to instruct him, and carry on a familiar conversation with him: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; not being able to bear the glory that attended him; and especially when he considered him as the...