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The Prophet from Babylon: Why Study the Book of Daniel




PART 01

Introduction

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams Daniel 1:17

A multi-metalled statue, a fiery furnace, a king goes mad and eats grass like an animal, a night in the lion’s den, these are some of the images that come to mind when we consider the Book of Daniel. Yet, it has value beyond memorable, faith-building Sunday school stories. For the Book of Daniel is a handbook for end-time prophecy, detailing the end of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’ and the ‘kingdoms of men,’ and the transition to the ‘Time of Messiah’ and of the ‘Kingdom of God.' Though the book is written in Hebrew for the sake of Israel and its future, Chapters 2-7 are in Aramaic, so that the Gentiles can also learn of God’s purpose for them, too. Daniel is considered the Old Testament twin of the Book of Revelation. For the sake of understanding God and His end-time plan, the Book of Daniel is indispensable.

Hebrew Name of Daniel

Dani’el means that God ‘el’ is ‘my judge’ ‘Dani.’

Author of Daniel

Daniel, from the royal seed of Judah, was deported to Babylon as a teenager. Apparently, he lived through the entire 70 year captivity of the Judean to Babylon. The book is replete with dreams, including animals, images, and trees. The interpretation of these dreams impact Israel and the nations. In the Hebrew Bible, Daniel is listed among the ‘writings’ rather than the ‘prophets.’ The rationale is that he does not prophesy, but merely interprets dreams. However, in the Christian Bible Daniel is not just among the prophets, but among the ‘major prophets.’ The reason: Jesus Christ Himself refers to him as ‘Daniel the prophet’ (Matthew 24:15).

There have been questions, even doubts, about Daniel of the 6th Century BC being the author. The two main objections include:

1.       Prophetic accuracy: There are so many fulfilled prophecies that the highly rational scholar cannot believe God would give that much detail in advance. So there is the hypothesis of a ‘late Daniel’ of the 2nd Century BC, the time of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabean revolt. If Daniel was written at the later time, then it really is no prophecy at all, but history masquerading as foretelling. This would render the account as a fraud. Is the God of the Bible incapable of foretelling events way in advance? Consider the prophecies about the first coming of Jesus, which were uttered centuries before their fulfilment in the first century AD.

2.       Linguistic: Some scholars believe Daniel was written later than the 6th century BC because chapters 2-7 uses late Aramaic and that Greek and Persian words are utilised, too. Daniel apparently used old Imperial Aramaic. He lived and died in the time of the Persian Empire and there was some cross-pollination between the Greeks and Persians during Daniel’s time.

Portrait of Christ in Daniel

There are several potent portraits of Christ in the Book of Daniel. These include:

1.       2:34: The stone cut out of the mountains without hands. The stone destroys all earthly empires and replaces it with God’s kingdom that fills the earth and lasts forever. ‘Without hands’ implies the divine origin or personality of this stone, namely Christ the Son of God. ‘Human hands’ did not chisel this eternal stone;

2.       3:25: Jesus is the ‘fourth man in the fiery furnace.’ Because of Him, the other three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were saved from destruction;

3.       9:25; John 4:25: Messiah. Only in Daniel 9 is the word ‘Messiah’ used in the Old Testament. It means ‘the anointed one,’ namely the Son of David, heir to the throne, who will rule Israel and the nations forever (Luke 1:32-33). Though the actual word is used only in Daniel, the concept of ‘Messiah,’ ‘Son of David,’ ‘Redeemer,’ etc. is replete throughout the Old Testament. That’s one of the compelling reasons it is a major and valued part of the Christian Bible.

To be continued.

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