Categoria: Daniel

Daniel 11 starts saying that after 3 more Persian kings a further one would arise “far richer than all the others… (Thought to be Alexander the Great) but after his death the kingdom would be divided in 4 directions”. The vision then focuses on conflict between the king of the south (Egypt) and the king of the north (Syria). Then the prophecy culminates denouncing Antiochus IV Epiphanes who will: “desecrate the temple… abolish the daily sacrifice… set up the abomination of desolation… and persecute God’s people though many resisted”. Finally the prophecy goes on to perhaps foresee the antichrist who “will exalt himself above every god… he will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a pagan god… he will extend his power over many countries… but eventually he will come to his end and no-one will help him”. 

Daniel 10 introduces the final vision of the book as laid out in chapters 10 to 12. Initially Daniel mourned, prayed and fasted for 3 weeks. Then he had a vision of a man dressed in linen and wearing a gold belt and his face was like lightning and his eyes like flaming torches and his voice was unbelievably loud. Daniel looked like he had seen a ghost and felt weak, and those with him fled even though they hadn’t seen the vision. An angel touched Daniel and helped him stand, telling him not to fear and that his prayers were heard. However the angelic intervention was delayed by 21 days owing to resistance from the Persian prince. Then he told Daniel that the vision referred to “a time yet to come”. He then touched Daniel and strengthened him, before leaving to fight against the prince of Persia. 

Daniel 9 starts with Daniel’s prayer of repentance and then goes into a very significant prophecy of the seventy weeks. It was during the first year’s reign of King Darius that Daniel was studying the writings of Jeremiah and realized that the 70 years exile was nearing its end so he seeks God in intense prayer and fasting. He remembers God’s keeping of his covenant and confesses “we have sinned… we haven’t listened to the prophets… we are covered with shame and have sinned against you… all Israel has transgressed your law… that’s why you judged us… the Lord brought the disaster upon us rightly… please turn away your anger and wrath from us… give ear O God and hear… forgive!” Then comes the second part of the chapter with the arrival of the angel Gabriel who tells Daniel that “seventy sevens (weeks) are decreed for people and city to finish transgression, end sin, atone, bring everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy to anoint the most holy”. The prophecy divides the 70 weeks as follows: 7 weeks (49 years) when Jerusalem will be rebuilt albeit in times of trouble + 62 weeks (434 years) building up to the coming of “the Anointed One, the ruler (the Messiah)” + 1 final week (7 years) when “he will confirm a covenant and put an end to sacrifice and offering… and he will be cut off (on the cross)”.

Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat points to God’s sovereignty over history. He sees a ram with 2 horns representing Media and Persia. “No animal could resist him… he did as he pleased and became great”. The goat represented Greece and the large horn probably represented Alexander the Great. Then the large horn is broken and replaced by 4 smaller horns representing the 4-way fracture of the kingdom. One of these horns, the “little horn” became arrogant, persecuting God’s people and disrupting daily sacrifices. This oppression and persecution will last “2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated”. Then the angel Gabriel came and explained the vision to Daniel showing that the ram represents Media and Persia and the goat represents Greece, whilst the little horn represents a deceitful ruler who opposes God, but eventually God will destroy him. The chapter ends stating how deeply perturbed was Daniel by the vision and its meaning.

Daniel 7 tells about a dream which Daniel had during the reign of king Belshazzar. Daniel dreamt of “four great beasts, each different from the other, came up out of the sea”. The first was like a lion but had the wings of an eagle, and this beast is often understood to represent Babylon. “I watched until its wings were torn off” thought to be a reference to God humiliating Babylon. The second beast was a bear with 3 ribs in its mouth suggesting conquest. This is thought to represent Medo-Persia. Next came a leopard with 4 wings and 4 heads which “was given authority to rule”. This is usually interpreted as Greece under Alexander the Great and the kingdom’s division into 4 after his death. Finally came a frightening strange beast with 10 horns and iron teeth often associated with Rome. Now the dream switches its focus from earth to heaven where we see “the Ancient of Days (God)” sitting on his throne as the heavenly court was convened, the books were opened and the 4th beast was judged, slain, destroyed and “thrown into the blazing fire”! Then “there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven… he was given authority, glory and power… and all nations worshiped him… and he has an everlasting dominion that will not pass away or ever be destroyed”. The son of man here is clearly Jesus Christ. The 4 beasts clearly represent earthly kingdoms “but the saints of the most high will receive and possess the kingdom forever”. God’s kingdom is eternal. Evil will last for a time, but God will ultimately judge it. 

King Darius was organizing the kingdom and appointed 120 satraps (regional governors) with 3 administrators coordinating them, and the plan was to appoint Daniel as coordinator of all. Daniel’s popularity and success brought jealousy and some sought to damage his image, but they didn’t succeed because Daniel was so upright and honest. So they approved an irrevocable law making it illegal to worship any god  other than Darius for 30 days. Being the spiritual man that he was Daniel ignored the law and continued with his normal daily prayers, and when he was caught they threw him into the Lion’s den as punishment. But God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths and he was untouched. Then they got the jealous trouble makers and threw them to be devoured by the lions! So Darius decreed that Daniel’s God was the living God who endures forever… his dominion will never end… and he performs signs and wonders!”

 Daniel 5 covers a period when Belshazzar was king of Babylon some years after Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. The chapter relates Babylon’s fall under Belshazzar. “King Belshazzar gave a banquet for a thousand nobles and drank wine with them using goblets taken from the temple in Jerusalem… and they praised their gods… suddenly a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall… and the king was scared stiff… but none of his wise men could decipher the meaning”.  So Daniel was called and he told the king the meaning of the words written on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. which meant: “God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end… you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting… your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians”. Belshazzar rewards Daniel making him the third highest ruler in the kingdom and that very night “Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede took over at the age of 62”.

Daniel 4 is an unusual chapter as it is Nebuchadnezzar’s personal testimony of how he was humbled and then restored by God. It is the only chapter in the Bible written by a pagan king. So Nebuchadnezzar tells us that “I had a dream that made me afraid”. He told it to his magicians who couldn’t interpret it so he called Daniel. In the dream he saw a gigantic tree “that reached the sky… and was visible to the ends of the earth… on it was food for all… and it sheltered beasts and birds”. Then came a messenger ordering the felling of the tree and leaving just the stump bound by iron and bronze. Then the tree (Nebuchadnezzar) “is given the mind of an animal till seven times (years) pass by for him”. Then it’s declared that it must be recognized that “the Most High is sovereign and gives the kingdoms of men to whom he wishes”. Daniel interprets the dream and the tree represents Nebuchadnezzar himself and his empire, and God will remove him from his throne. Then the king will “live with the wild animals, eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew. He will stay like this until he acknowledges the sovereignty of God… the remaining stump means that you will be restored when you acknowledge that heaven rules”. Daniel advises repentance and doing what is right. Then the dream comes to pass with Nebuchadnezzar becoming insane living like a wild mad animal, “his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird” until he recognized the supreme sovereignty of God. Then, and only then, does God restore his right mind, and he praises “the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives forever… and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before”. Thus Nebuchadnezzar concludes: “All those who walk in pride God is able to humble!”

This chapter tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar building an enormous gold statue 27 metres high and 2.7 metres wide. He then summoned all the authorities to its inauguration and dedication and a herald announced that whenever people heard the sound of music from horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and pipes they must bow and worship the image. However 3 faithful Jews: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to comply and were threatened with being thrown into a fiery furnace as punishment. They reacted that the Lord was able to rescue them from the furnace and that even if he didn’t they would never bow before the idols. Infuriated Nebuchadnezzar had the fire made 7 times hotter than normal and tied up the men throwing them into the fire. However in a later inspection the king saw the men walking freely in the fire accompanied by a 4th man looking “like a son of the gods”! They eventually emerged from the fire untouched and not even smelling of smoke. So Nebuchadnezzar said: “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants”. He then forbid persecution of the Lord and promoted the 3 men.

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that deeply disturbed him so he summoned all his wise men and challenged them to both tell him what he had dreamt and give him its interpretation too. The wise men couldn’t do it and kept stringing him along hoping that the king would cave in and tell them the dream so that they could then fix him with an interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar came to realize the wise men were playing for time and so he lost his patience and said he would have the men executed. Daniel got to hear about this, sought God, and God revealed the dream and its interpretation to him which he told to the king. In the dream was a great statue. It had a head of gold (Babylon), chest and arms of silver (an inferior kingdom probably the Medo-Persia), Belly and thighs of bronze – probably Greece), legs of iron (probably Rome), feet a mixture of iron and clay. Thus the statue revealed a series of kingdoms starting with Babylon and beyond. Then comes a stone not hewn by humans which smashes the statue representing God’s eternal kingdom above all human kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar is ecstatic with the revelation of his dream and its interpretation and exalts God the author as “the God of gods and Lord of kings”! He promotes Daniel to a high post over Babylon and also appoints Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to places of authority.