Daniel

Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel and was taken to Babylon when they invaded Jerusalem. Now when the Babylonians invaded, they did it in waves. Daniel was taken in the first wave, about eight years later Ezekiel was taken in the second and the third saw the destruction of the Temple the next year. The book is part history (chapters 1-6) and part prophecy (7-12). 

Daniel was a not a prophet, like Ezekiel, rather he was a government official. He served in government of Babylon for about 70 years, even into the time when the Persians took over from the Babylonians. His influence in government may have been responsible for the tolerant living conditions for the Jews. It’s nice to have friends in high place. The Jews were able to maintain their institutions, prophets and priests (Jer 29:1) and correspond with those back in Judah (Jer 29:25). Not everyone was taken into captivity. If you remember, after World War II, we brought to America the scientists who helped take us to the moon. When an invading nations takes people into captivity, they take those who can help their country, not the sick, elderly, uneducated, etc. Daniel was young, smart and good looking. He was probably responsible for assisting in the Jews return to Jerusalem after their 70 year captivity.

Dan 1:3-5, The book opens with a description of how Daniel was taken to Babylon. He was among the “best and the brightest” who were chosen to receive advanced education; provided with room and board and in return he was to serve the government. This sounds like a young person in the United States who is accepted into one of the military academies. The government provides them with room, board, education, and in return they serve their country in the military upon graduation. Daniel remained in the service of the king until the first year of King Cyrus. Now that means that Daniel was in Babylonia for about 70 years and saw the Jews return to Jerusalem.

Dan 2:36-44, Here we see Daniel interpreting a dream that the king had experienced. In this dream he saw a huge statue made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and finally a clay and iron mix. Each of these represented earthly kingdoms. Following these kingdoms, “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (v 44).

The same message is given in Daniel 7, but using different symbols for the kingdoms and from the perspective of God, rather than man. Man sees these kingdoms as glorious accomplishments in chapter two, but God views them as voracious beasts in chapter 7.

Notice verse 37 where Daniel recognized God as the one in control of history. He said, “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.”

Dan 2:48, The king was so impressed with Daniel that he appointed him to a high government position.

Now, you would think that this promotion would be a real blessing for Daniel. But it made him very visible to others and this prompted jealousy among his peers. This leads to a crisis in chapter 3.

Dan 3, Here we see the King setting up a huge image of gold and assembled all of the top officials in the country for its formal dedication. In Dan 3:6 it says, “Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

This was the type of event that Daniel could not decline to attend. In the military, when the commander invites you to a social gathering, it is considered a “command performance” and lower ranking individuals are expected to attend. It also helps if you laugh at his jokes and agree with what he says. And oh, don’t forget to leave only AFTER the commander leaves, not before. Needless to say he and his companions, who were faithful to God, did not bow down to this image. This was not good for his career.

Dan 3:17 Daniel may have been intimidated, but in spite of his fears, he said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is ABLE to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O King. BUT, even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Do you ever wonder how well you would stand up to such a challenge? Here Daniel’s companions recognize that just because God can do something does not mean that He will. For instance, to say that God can heal us is an expression of faith. But to say that he will heal us is not faith but presumption. They knew that God could save them, but could not presume that He would. But to them it really did not matter. They were going to remain faithful, regardless. They knew that if they died, that would not be the worst thing that could happen to them. The Apostle Paul said that to live is to continue with ministry (a good thing) but to die was a gain or a promotion (Phil 1:21-24). Either way he was a winner. Paul appeared to be indifferent and unafraid concerning death. Daniel’s companions felt the same way.

Dan 4:4, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. I had a dream that made me afraid.”

In chapter four we find the king, Nebuchadnezzar, feeling quite satisfied with himself and a bit proud of his accomplishments. He had a terrifying dream about a large tree in the middle of the land. He then sees a “messenger” from heaven calling for the tree to be cut down (v 13). Daniel is asked to interpret the dream. The tree is identified in (verse 22) as King Nebuchadnezzar. The dream foretells that he would lose his mind and live like an animal.  Nebuchadnezzar was stricken with what some have termed, “boanthropy,” which causes victims to assume the appearance, habits and posture of cattle. So the proud, arrogant king was kept in the back yard of the palace until his sanity was restored (v 34). I wonder who was in charge and how they accounted for the absence of the king. During the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, he suffered a stroke. His wife, some believe, was acting as the first female president. The White House gave out optimistic reports on the President’s condition. Government officials visited him and were given a false impression of the seriousness of his disability.

Dan 5:1, King Belshazzar (descendent of Nebuchadnezzar) gave a great banquet. At this banquet the wine was flowing freely and they were toasting the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone. As you can imagine this didn’t go over very well with God. 

So in the middle of the banquet, a huge hand appears to write a message on the wall of the banquet hall. As you can imagine, it wasn’t a welcomed message. The bottom line of the message is in (verse 28), “Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 

This must have sobered them up a bit.

Dan 5:30, “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.”

This Darius may have been the same person called elsewhere, Cyrus.

Dan 6:4 The jealous administrators and satraps (governors of a region) tried to find something bad to charge Daniel with in the hope that he might be removed from office. They could find no corruption in him, he was trustworthy and competent.

With the change in leadership, many were jockeying for power in the palace. Daniel remained in a top position and became a favorite of the new King. With their conspiracy to ruin Daniels’ career these frustrated officials came up with Plan B.

Dan 6:7 “ . . . all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you O king, shall be thrown into the lion’s den.”

They knew that Daniel would never obey this decree. So Daniel is thrown into the lions’ den.

Dan 6:21 “Daniel says to the king ‘O King . . . My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions’ and Daniel was lifted out of the lions’ den, unharmed.”

Can you imagine the shock and disappointment of the conspirators? How do you think this worked out for them? Not well . . . “the king had them thrown into the Lions’ den” (v 24). I hope others learned from this lesson.

Dan 7:1-7, Here we see Daniel having a dream of four great beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a terrifying beast. The last beast had ten horns. Then a little horn from among the ten boastfully takes control of them.

As mentioned earlier, this carries the same message as seen in chapter two, but from God’s perspective.

Dan 7:9-13, Here we see the first reference to the Messiah as the Son of Man, a title that Jesus applied to himself. We see him ruling the world which was previously misruled by the four kingdoms of (chapters 2 and 7).

Dan 8, Daniel has another vision of a ram and a goat. The ram represents the Medo-Persian Empire and the goat represents Greece. We see Greece shattering the Medo-Persian Empire.

Dan 8:27, Daniel has a vision and doesn’t understand it. “I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.”

Do not feel bad if you do not understand all of the symbolism of prophecy. Daniel found it difficult, also (see 12:8-9).

Dan 9:11,16, Daniel prays to God, acknowledging that his people have sinned and he asks that God turn his anger away from them.

Does this sound like Moses who interceded for the Israelites? 

Dan 9:20-27, The angels explain to Daniel a timeline for future events. It includes the coming of the antichrist (v 27) who will rule during the time of the seven year Tribulation. At that time he will stop the Jewish sacrifices in the rebuilt temple. 

The remaining chapters get rather complicated and I will refer you to one of the books on prophecy that I’ve recommended or the website of Dr. David Reagan at Lamb and Lion Ministries.

Dan 12:4, 8-9 “I heard but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.”

There are some prophecies that we will not understand fully until the very end or after the fact. 

With Daniel we learn that you can serve God in any number of positions, even government, even a corrupt government. God has a plan and even if we don’t know all of the details, we know who is in charge.