Daniel | Overview – Scripture Supply

Daniel, “Jesus, the Ancient of Days “

Ch. 1: The authors background

Ch. 2-7 The future of foreigners

Ch. 8-12 Hope for the Hebrews

Intro

Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel and close to the same age; the difference was that according to Daniel 1:3–4, Nebuchadnezzar brought Daniel and his three friends upon his initial conquest of Jerusalem, while Ezekiel came eight years later. This means that Daniel was of noble lineage and would become part of the king’s reidentification process, where they would be given a new name, special food, and three years of specialized education.

This book breaks down into three sections:

Chapter 1: The first chapter is where we are introduced to the author and more specifically his character, his preparation, and his testing to be a prophet. In a book that is so heavy and laden with prophetic text, it is important to understand that Daniel didn’t view God’s prophetic view of the future apart from its present transforming work. The all-knowing God’s interest in showing us the future isn’t to satisfy our curiosity; it is rather to instruct us in the present. God gives us books like Daniel so that we will know how to live today with tomorrow in mind!

It is for this reason that this book doesn’t start with the prophetic section first, and in fact, it is the testing and transformation of Daniel and his three friends that enable the reader to understand the meaning of the futuristic texts. Consider Jesus words in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:15, where Jesus implies that in His warning, He says, “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)”. That to see these events is one thing to flee the mountains will require the reader to go further and act, not just know about it.

Chapters 2-7: Along with two other stories of testing and character development (the three in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the Lions Din), centers around Daniel’s dreams and interpretations with regard to the gentile ruling world empires. God does not reveal the specific detail of an individual’s future but instead chooses to show His program and plan through the end of the ages of those nations that He will rise up and set down. As you read through Daniel’s dream and interpretation, you will see that what Daniel dreamed was in symbolic language and what God gave Daniel as the interpretation was not, which suggests that God wanted Daniel to not try to figure this out but rather seek the giver of the dreams for the answer.

Chapters 8–12: These final chapters deal with God’s final plan for His beloved children Israel. It traces Israel’s history from the Greeks Alexander the Great to the “little horn” of Antiochus Epiphanes, which leads to Daniel’s confession, to which God responds by revealing the coming of God’s Messiah and the restoration of the nation.

Chapter 1: The authors background

This first section was written in Daniel’s native language, Hebrew, and as such was meant for the nation. According to 1:3-4 Daniel was deported along with “Some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had the ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.” Though it would be the king who tested him to see if he was worthy to serve in his court, it was in reality the King of Kings who tested him to see if he would be fit to serve in His court. Dear ones, never forget that such testing is necessary. The world may say that “character does not matter,” but that is not so. They may say that what a person does in private between consenting adults is no matter, but it matters to God. Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy was to strip away these 15- to 16-year-old identities to take away their sufficiency.

He did this by three things:

Gave him a new name: changed his name from “God is my judge” to that of a Babylonian deity, “Bel Protect My Life.” His Hebrew name acknowledged Daniel’s need for an ever-present eye upon his own character, as he would have to give account to God for how he conducted his life. Ah, but his new worldly name put no such accountability upon him and only saw the god of this world as subservient to Daniel.

Changed his diet: Daniel had always only eaten that which was kosher, and now he was being required to eat from the portion of the worldly kings table. He ate that which was holy and good, and now before him were what was paraded before him and the world as being the best and more than that necessary to feast upon if one is to develop healthily. Paul spoke of such a thing in 1 Cor. 6:12, where he said, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Dear one, better is a day in the King of Kings courts than 1,000 years elsewhere. It is better for me to live off the so-called scraps from my master than what the prince of the world calls delicacies. And so it has been from the beginning that the prince of this world has always sought to change man’s diet, telling us over and over how inadequate God’s provisions are for us and how such “slim pickings” are to a restrictive God that is afraid that we will be equal to Him.

Changed what he learned: The three-year education program was to reprogram Daniel from the things he had learned from God’s word to the so-called “higher education.” Lenin once said, “Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” This has long been the goal of the prince of this world to reeducate, to indoctrinate, and to change the way the world views truth. And soon enough, what Isaiah spoke of in 5:20 will be the norm, as they will “call evil good, and good evil.”

But Daniel and his three friends, who have none of that, were willing to put to test God’s provisions and were better prepared to face the world with God than facing the world without God with the provision that the world offers. We are told in 1:20-21 that “in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.” Such testing was not just once my friend but remained for the entire 70 years in captivity. Saints, do you know that right now we dwell in the land of captivity and are being tested by the temptations of the delicacies of this world? Oh, I pray that we may pass the test and press on to the upward call in Christ!

Ch. 2-7 The future of foreigners

We now move to the 2nd part of the book, which deals with Daniel’s interpretation of dreams and his further testing of character. This section was written in Aramaic, the native language of the Babylonians, and was meant for the gentile nations to read. In the 2nd chapter, God raises up Daniel, as he is the only one that can give the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, as all of his so-called wise men and sorcerers want the dream first before they will give the interpretation, and he knows that they will just lie to him. And in 2:10–13 we are told that they answered the king, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.

It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” “So the king was angry and very furious and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.” And when “they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.” So Daniel and his three friends received time to seek the Lord, and God blessed them and gave Daniel the dream with the answer. It is interesting that even today, critics of the word of God use Daniel’s understanding of the dream as it relates to the gentile world ruling powers as a reason to doubt Daniel’s authorship, saying that he could not be the author as it is 100% correct in knowing the order of world powers.

First, Daniel saw the Babylonian empire ruling, then he saw the Medes and Persians, then the Greeks, even to the splintering of the Grecian empire to four generals. Then he saw Rome’s world dominance, and finally, just before the return of the Messiah, he sees a 10-nation confederacy. And in 2:44–45, Daniel declares that “in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” So impressed by this interpretation is Nebuchadnezzar that he elevates Daniel to his 2nd in command. And says in 2:47, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”

The third chapter opens to Nebuchadnezzar letting this image of him being a head of gold, “go to his head” by erecting an image in gold around 90 feet high, and a command is ordered that at the play of music all are to bow down and worship the image. To this decree, the three friends of Daniel refuse, and the furnace is stocked so hot that it killed the men that were to throw the three in. Listen to what they say in 3:16-18, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” And when the king peered into the furnace, he saw, according to 3:25, “four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that “they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”

In the 4th chapter, Nebuchadnezzar speaks of another dream that he had in which he was taken down and lives like a beast for his pride until he was humbled and speaks of God’s greatness not his own in 4:34–35, saying, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; he does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” In the 5th chapter, we skip many years to when Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson is now reigning, asking and failing to see the “hand witting on the wall.” The 6th chapter brings us into the reign of the Medes and the Persians, starting with Darius and his leaders, who can find nothing wrong with Daniel accepting “unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

A law is fashioned that makes it illegal to worship any god except Darius for 30 days, punishable by death by lion! Daniel does not seek to alter his worship and is caught and thrown in. So distraught was the king that he could not be comforted and went to see if Daniel was still alive by asking in 6:20, “Has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” To which Daniel replies in 6:22, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Darius, like Nebuchadnezzar before, writes a decree in 26-27. “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one that shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

The 7th chapter takes us back to the time when the Babylonians reigned, as Daniel sees four beasts, which correspond with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2. The Head of Gold in verse 4: a lion with eagles wings. And this is the Babylonian kingdom. The shoulders of silver in verse 5, the bear raised up on one side with three ribs in its mouth. This speaks of the Medes and the Persian kingdom. The body or trunk of bronze speaks of the Grecian reign, which in verse 6, and the leopard, which had four heads. The last one was the two legs of Iron of the Roman Empire, where the feet were mingled with clay. There was the Roman empire, and there will yet be a revised Roman empire made up of 10 nations in Europe. This is what he sees in verse 8, and during this time Daniel sees the antichrist “speaking pompous words.” It is during this scene that Daniel writes in 7:9 that he “watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire.” And then in 7:11-14 Daniel says, “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

Ch. 8-12 Hope for the Hebrews

Here the focus of Daniel’s vision is the prophetic plan for Israel, which starts with a vision in chapter 8 of the Ram and the Goat, which depicts Israel’s existence under the Ram of the Medo-Persian Empire (verse 20) and then the Goat of the Grecian Empire (verse 21). So specific is the vision God gave Daniel that he sees that Greece will have, according to verse 21b, a “large horn that is between its eyes is the first king,” which would have been Alexander the Great. He further saw that after Alexander the Great’s death, in verse 22, “four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.” And so it was as the Greeks divided the nation between Alexander the Great’s four generals:

Ptolemy in the South
Lysimachus in the North
Casander in the West
Seleucus in the East

The little horn of 8:9 is the same one Daniel saw in 7:8, also known as the “Beast” or antichrist in Revelation. In the last days he will do something that Antiochus Epiphanes (one of the Syrian kings established by Seleucus) did, and that is, set himself as the object of worship in the temple. Daniel in verse 11 describes part of what the antichrist will do by saying, “He even exalted himself as high as the prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.” Much of the rest of chapter 8 deals with what Gabriel told Daniel in 8:17, “refers to the time of the end.” We get further insight into whom this person is referring to in 8:10, as we are told that he “grew up to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them,” an obvious reference to Satan, which would make this world leader demonically possessed.

So while the antichrist demands worship, those that are worshiping him will be in effect worshiping Satan (Rev. 13:4). The key thing that the antichrist will do is in verse 11: “By him the daily sacrifices were taken away,” which is further mentioned by Daniel in 9:27, where he says, “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” (Also mentioned in 11:31) Jesus also mentions it when He answers the disciples question with regards to the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:15, saying, “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand).

Gabriel in Daniel 8:23–26 gives Daniel the understanding of the vision, saying, “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understand sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully and prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule, and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means. And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.” Such a vision we are told in verse 27 causes Daniel to become “faint and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.”

In the 9th chapter, Daniel, by this time quite old, as he realizes the prophecies of Jeremiah with regards to their captivity were nearing the 70 years of completion, makes prayer and confession on behalf of the nation. After this prayer and confession (verses 1–19), God gives Daniel the revelation of the 70 weeks, including the Messiah’s atoning sacrifice. The word “week” in verse 24 is actually “seven” and, in context, refers to a 7-year period. Daniel had been thinking of God’s promise that the captivity would last 70 years, but Gabriel brought the message that not just 70 years were determined upon God’s people but rather 490 years. The key section of this chapter centers on Gabriel’s words to Daniel in verses 24-27. Here is what we see:

Based on Vs. 24 and the words “to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins,” much of this prophecy awaits the 2nd coming of Christ. As we have not yet made “reconciliation for iniquity,” which will “bring in everlasting righteousness,”.

Based upon Vs. 25 and the words “That from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince,” this 490-year period of time begins with the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem, which Cyrus decreed in 536 B.C. and recorded by Ezra. This division of 490 years is divided into “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks,” and then in verse we are told of yet another “week” or seven. So the 490 years are divided into 49 years (seven sevens or weeks), 434 years (sixty-two sevens or weeks), and then a seven-year period of time. It seems as though the 49-year period of time was completed during the rebuilding of the city described in the words “The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times,” which happened in the books of Nehemiah and Malachi.

After which, based upon verse 26, there would be another 434 years before the Messiah would come as Prince of Israel. And during these 434 years, many of Daniel’s other prophecies were fulfilled, such as the fall of Persia and the rise and fall of Greece. Then the rise of the Roman Empire. And in Israel, the conflicts with Egypt and Syria and the uprising of Judas Maccabee.

Taking in the fact that the combining 49-year period of time with the 434-year period of time being 483 years and applying the fact that the Hebrew prophetic calendar was 360 days, not 365 ¼. Then factoring in that Jesus’ birth was between 4-6 B.C., would make the time when the “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself” A.D. 30 the year when Jesus was between 33 and 34 years old, which was the year of His crucifixion. Daniel was given these words over 500 years before they happened, which can only be accounted for by factoring in divine inspiration from God, who is out of time, space, and matter.

“The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This happened in 70 A.D. at the hands of the Roman General Titus, which would be an indication that the coming evil prince of this world would be coming out of the revised Roman empire. The “flood” mentioned here most likely is a reference to the great dispersion enforced by the Romans in A.D. 135. The “end of the war desolations are determined”, is another remarkable phrase, as Jesus affirmed this in Matt. 24:6, speaking of the fact that in almost 2000 years there would be “wars and rumors of wars.” Since the time that the world killed the Prince of Peace, the world has never known a time of peace.

In verse 27 we are told “he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week,” the “he” being a reference to the antichrist who will kick off the “70th” week, where the antichrist will broker a peace treaty with Israel that will include the building of the temple and the reestablishment of the sacrifices on the Holy Mount. All will seem well in the world until we are told that “in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

At the 3 ½ year mark of the final seven-year period of human history as we now know it, Satan will demand worship in the rebuilt temple. And according to Matt. 24:15-21, Daniel 8:9-12, and 2 Thess. 2:3-4, he will set up his image as the sole object of worship and tie it to all commerce and trade.

The 10th and 11th chapters give further amazing details of Israel’s future history:

In the 10th chapter, Daniel has a vision in verses 5-6 describing, “a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.” Revelation 1:13 tells us who Daniel saw, as He is “like the Son of Man,” thus he saw a pre-incarnate Jesus who sent an answer to Daniel’s persistent prayer (10:12). This chapter also provides great insight into the invisible realm that Paul described in Ephesians 2:2 as the “prince of the power of the air.”

The 100’s of years from the time of Daniel’s captivity to the Roman conquests:

11:2 “Three Kings in Persia” These were the three kings and their reigns that came after Cyrus, which were: Cambyses, also known as Ahasuerus; Smerdis, also known as Artaxerxes; and Darius Hystapses.
11:2 The 4th king was Xerxes, whose army and navy fought against the Greeks only to lose. He was most likely the king during the time of Esther.
11:3-4 The “mighty king” was Alexander the Great, who after more than 100 years of Persian power destroyed the Persians and swiftly defeated other nations. His kingdom rose quickly but was divided into his four generals after his death.
11:5 “The King of the South” begins a detailed prophecy of the conflicts between two of the generals of Alexander Ptolemy in Egypt (South) and Seleucus in Syria (North); these are mentioned because of how this impacted Israel.
11:6-7 “The kings’ daughter” is a reference to Bernice Ptolemy, the 2nd daughter who married Antiochus Theos, the 3rd king of Syria. The brother of Bernice invaded and sacked Syria in revenge for her assassination.
11:16 “the glorious land” is a reference to Israel, which was caught between these warring nations.
11:17 “The daughter of women” is Cleopatra, still a young woman under the care of a nurse.
11:29–32 is all referring to Antiochus Epiphanes, who is a type of the final antichrist.
11:44-45 The kings of the East and of the North represent a future development whereby Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, along with India and China, will converge in war. And the antichrist will then break his treaty with Israel.

The 12th chapter describes how God’s people will be saved and preserved through the tribulation. This time, also called the “time of Jacob’s trouble” and the “great tribulation,” will start at the 3 ½ year mark of the 70th week. Yet Daniel is told in verse 1 that “at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.” Revelation 12:6-14 tells them they will be protected in the wilderness and will receive their Messiah upon His return at the end of the tribulation period as they will look upon Him whom they pierced, Zech. 12:10. In Daniel 12:2, there is a specific promise that “those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Verse 3 tells us that they will live forever without diminishing. Daniel learns that knowledge will race forth and will be at a breakneck speed just before His coming. Based upon verse 11, there are 1260 days from the setting of the image in the temple until the beast is destroyed at Jesus’ 2nd coming.