JOURNEYS THROUGH THE BIBLE #22. DANIEL 1. Daniel is a prphetic cllectin and bigraphical memir f a yung exile frm Judah. In the year f his captivity (605BC) his name was changed t Belteshazzar, but we knw him best by his Hebrew name Daniel. 2. The authr f the bk is Daniel himself (7:1; 8:15; 9:2; 10:2, 7; 12:5). Christ Himself gave cnfirmatin t Daniel s authrship in Matthew 24:15. Daniel is als mentined by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:14, 29; 28:3). Daniel had been deprted frm Jerusalem as a prmising yung member f nbility in the sciety f Judah. He served the gvernments f Babyln (chapters 1-8) and Persia (chapters 6-12) fr ver 70 years during the reigns f Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. Daniel s name means Gd is my judge. Daniel s life is f particular imprtance fr the fllwing reasns: He remained faithful t Gd and his Hebrew upbringing thugh he suffered great trauma and a cmplete cultural shift. His example f wisdm and steadfastness in facing persecutin, cultural hstility, and persnal enemies is phenmenal. His prphetic insights prvide a grid fr understanding the ultimate restratin f Israel. His revelatins reveal that Gd is nt nly in cntrl f Israel s destiny, but the destinies f all natins. In Daniel 2:24-45, we see the stry f Nebuchadnezzar s dream that represented dminating wrld empires. The head f gld represented the kingdm f Babyln - 606B. until 539BC. The arms and chest f silver represented an inferir kingdm knwn as Med-Persia Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 1
- 539BC until 331BC. The belly and thighs f brnze represented the Grecian Empire - 331BC until 146BC. The legs and feet f irn and clay represented the Rman Empire - 146BC until 476AD. In the days f what many believe will be sme srt f renewed Rman Empire (2:33, 41-43; 7:7, 8, 11, 24, 25; 8:9-12, 23-26; 11:36-45), the Kingdm f Gd will be established n earth and n human empire will remain. Other schlars believe this passage was a prphetic declaratin f the Church utlasting the Rman Empire, which certainly has happened. Thugh we knw Daniel certainly spke the infallible Wrd f Gd in His prphecies, there are many unreslved issues in the minds f sme Christians. Students f the Bible are divided ver the questin f the seven years f judgment (7:21, 22; 11:36-45; 12:1). I agree with many cnservative schlars wh identify this with Jesus predictin f The Great Tribulatin (Matthew 24). There is als a questin f whether 11:21-45 refers nly t Antichus Epiphanes (the prttype f antichrist) r whether there is als a frward lk t the end time antichrist described by Paul (2 Thessalnians 2) and Jhn the Apstle (Revelatin 11, 13, 14, 17, 19 etc.). Thse f us wh believe there is a dual reference see 11:21-35 as dealing with Antichus (175-164BC), while 11:36-45 deals with the Antichrist wh is t cme. There is great difficulty assciated with finding a clear, cncise meaning t the seventy sevens revealed in 9:24-27. Generally, dispensatinalists (and quite a few wh are nt f that persuasin) believe the first 69 weeks are a cuntdwn t Messiah. There is a time-ut f srts and the cuntdwn resumes at the nset f the Great Tribulatin, resulting in the seven years f judgment described in Revelatin. 3. The Date f writing was prbably between 536 (earliest date) and 530BC (latest date). Daniel s accunt cvers significant events that ccurred between 605 and 536BC. 4. Key Chapters Chapters 1-6 are primarily vignettes frm Daniel s persnal life mixed with pwerful prphetic images and themes. Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 2
Chapters 7-12 are a cllectin f visins that gave hpe t the Jewish captives and mtivatin t trust Gd fr a future restratin f all they had lst. The path wuld nt be easy, but it wuld be certain. 5. Key Verses Daniel 2:21, 22 NASB It is He wh changes the times and the epchs; He remves kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdm t wise men and knwledge t men f understanding. 22 It is He wh reveals the prfund and hidden things; He knws what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. Daniel 3:16-18 NASB Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-neg replied t the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we d nt need t give yu an answer cncerning this matter. 17 If it be s, ur Gd whm we serve is able t deliver us frm the furnace f blazing fire; and He will deliver us ut f yur hand, O king. 18 But even if He des nt, let it be knwn t yu, O king, that we are nt ging t serve yur gds r wrship the glden image that yu have set up. Daniel 5:11,12 NASB There is a man in yur kingdm in whm is a spirit f the hly gds; and in the days f yur father, illuminatin, insight and wisdm like the wisdm f the gds were fund in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, yur father, yur father the king, appinted him chief f the magicians, cnjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. 12 This was because an extrardinary spirit, knwledge and insight, interpretatin f dreams, explanatin f enigmas and slving f difficult prblems were fund in this Daniel, whm the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel nw be summned and he will declare the interpretatin. Daniel 6:25-28 NASB Then Darius the king wrte t all the peples, natins and men f every language wh were living in all the land: May yur peace abund! 26 I make a decree that in all the dminin f my kingdm men are t fear and tremble befre the Gd f Daniel; Fr He is the living Gd and enduring frever, and His kingdm is ne which will nt be destryed, And His dminin will be frever. 27 He delivers and rescues and perfrms signs and wnders in heaven and n earth, Wh has als delivered Daniel frm the pwer f the lins. 28 S this Daniel enjyed success in the reign f Darius and in the reign f Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 9:20-23 NASB Nw while I was speaking and praying, and cnfessing my sin and the sin f my peple Israel, and presenting my supplicatin befre the Lrd my Gd in behalf f the hly muntain f my Gd, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whm I had seen in the visin previusly, came t me in my extreme weariness abut the time f the evening ffering. 22 He gave me instructin and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I have nw cme frth t give yu insight with understanding. 23 At the beginning f yur supplicatins the cmmand was issued, and I have cme t tell yu, fr yu are highly esteemed; s give heed t the message and Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 3
gain understanding f the visin. 6. Key Peple Daniel - authr f the bk; a gvernment servant in Babyln and Med-Persia, a prphet with unusual spiritual visins, administrative skills, and interpretive abilities fr thse wh dreamed. Nebuchadnezzar - King f Babyln Belshazzar - final king f Babyln; verthrwn by the Persians Darius - King f Persia wh greatly respected Daniel and like Nebuchadnezzar, acknwledged Jehvah as Lrd f Lrds. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Neg -Daniel s three friends wh were als brught t Babyln as prisners frm Jerusalem. Their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They are famus because f their spiritual stand in chapters 1 and 3. 7. Key Places Babyln was the capitl city f Judah s ppsing frce, Babyln. Scenes f Daniel s stry are played ut in Nebuchadnezzar s palace, the blast furnace, and in the lin s den. 8. Key Themes Svereignty - Gd is always in cntrl. He wrks His will in individuals and natins. Persistence - nthing can break the child f Gd. "Nthing in the wrld can take the place f persistence. Talent will nt; nthing in the wrld is mre cmmn than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will nt; unrewarded genius is a prverb. Educatin will nt; the wrld is full f educated derelicts. Persistence and determinatin alne are mniptent." Calvin Clidge (1872-1933), 30th President f the United States Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 4
Faithfulness - Daniel and his friends remained faithful men f integrity, even when it appeared there was n utward reasn t d s. 9. The Cntents f Daniel The Persnal Backgrund f Daniel and His Friends (1:1-21) The Siege and Cnquest f Jerusalem (1:1, 2) Jewish prisners taken t Babyln (1:3-7) The curage and persistence f the fur Hebrews (1:8-16) The prmtin f Daniel and his friends (1:17-21) Stries and Prphetic Vignettes During Daniel s Life (2:1-7:28) Dreams and judgments invlving Nebuchadnezzar (2:1-4:37) The arrgance and judgment upn Belshazzar (5:1-31) The deliverance f Daniel frm the lins (6:1-28) Daniel s prphetic dream (7:1-28) The Future f Restred Israel (8:1-12:13) The visin f the ram and the male gat - Med-Persia and Greece (8:1-27) The prphecy f the seventy weeks (9:1-27) The prphecy cncerning Israel s humiliatin and eventual restratin (10:1-12:13) Wrth nting Michael the Archangel appears in Daniel. Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 5
He assists anther angel in 10:13, 21. He will defend Israel during the Great Tribulatin (12:1). In Jude 9, he cntended with Satan ver the bdy f Mses. He will fight against Satanic armies in the spiritual realm (Revelatin 12). Daniel is an ancient bk, but it gives mdern insight n serving Gd in a hstile culture. We see that even kings are subject t The Lrd s plan. Thugh David is a slave, he had mre true freedm than any f the kings he served. His writings remind us that Gd is svereign, and all the natins are under His cmplete cntrl. Many have speculated that Daniel was a eunuch. The predictin t Hezekiah that many sns f Israel wuld becme eunuchs in the palace f Babyln makes this a pssibility (2 Kings 20:18; Isaiah 39:7). Many Rabbi s as well as Jsephus described Daniel and his friends in this way. We see n reference t Daniel having a wife, but that is simply an argument frm silence. It may als be generally true that eunuchs were identified as such (Acts 8:36) and n such designatin is attached t Daniel. It is als true that the wrd translated eunuch (saris) is als used t designate a gvernmental administratr. Fr instance, the wrd used t describe Ptiphar culd als be translated eunuch instead f fficial, yet he had a wife. The wrd was used t describe a cuncil f leaders in Judah, but the practice was frbidden in Israel. The bttm line is that we simply d nt knw if Daniel had been mutilated and made int a literal eunuch. It is a pssibility, yet it is equally pssible that such trauma did nt ccur. In fact, it has n bearing n the stry except as it relates t the pssible trauma inflicted n this great Man f Gd. When reading the Bks f Daniel: Remember that the last sectin f Daniel is highly apcalyptic and ties in with the bks f Revelatin and Zechariah. Thugh Daniel is placed in the sectin f the Bible knwn as the Prphets, in the Hebrew Bible he is cnsidered part f the Writings since it differs s much frm typical prphetic racles. It is a unique blend f bigraphy and prphetic ecstasy that makes Daniel a unique additin t the Scriptures. Dr. J. Stephen Chitty 6