Study – Grow – Know

Book of Daniel: Introduction

September 18, 2023 at 2:11 PM Leave a comment

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This serves as our brief introduction to our new series on the book of Daniel. It’s a fascinating book that all Christians must read, study and know, mainly because while much of its contents has been fulfilled in past history, some of it has yet to be fulfilled even from our current modern perspective.

The first thing we note about Daniel is that it is not in chronological order. The actual order of chapters goes like this (refer to chart for more information):

• 1, 2, 3, 4
• 7, 8
• 5, 6
• 9, 10, 11, 12

Of course, so-called higher critics do not see things this way nor do they acknowledge the actual Daniel of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures as the human author. They are more apt to claim that a person from the second century who claimed to be Daniel, looked backward and simply wrote down what had already occurred in history. This is how those higher critics or “liberal” scholars deal with the fact that the book of Daniel is so highly exact and accurate. Of course, they fail to deal with the fact that numerous areas of Daniel have not been fulfilled yet at any point in human history.

The timing of Daniel or when it was written or compiled occurred from roughly 605BC to 536BC. Daniel himself was a public servant until around 538BC and continued as a prophet until 536BC. He lived through the reign of several different kings and empires and what was revealed to Daniel is astonishing and extremely informative, especially for students of biblical prophecy.

Author/Date:
As noted, the actual prophet Daniel is generally accepted as the human author, with the aforementioned exception where so-called higher critics are concerned. The book of Daniel covers a period from 605 BC to 536 BC. –Daniel was probably a teenager at the time he first arrived to Babylon after his deportation. –He continued in office as a public servant until 538 and prophet until 536 BC.

Background:
–In 605 B.C., Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his father Nabopolassar against the allied forces of Assyria and Egypt. His victory over them provided Babylon with supremacy in the ancient Near East. Judah then also came under Babylonian control.

–That same year (605 BC), Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar became king and he invaded Judah same year. –During his initial siege of Judah and Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar took some royal and noble captives to Babylon (Daniel 1:1-3), including Daniel, plus some of the vessels from Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 36:7).

The first of three deportations to Babylon occurred when Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1-4), was king of Judah. The second deportation took place around 597 BC. The third deportation happened eleven years later; Mattaniah, whose name Nebuchadnezzar had changed to Zedekiah, was then Judah’s puppet king. –He rebelled against Babylon’s sovereignty by secretly making a treaty with Pharaoh Hophra under pressure from Jewish nationalists (Jeremiah 37—38).

–After an 18-month siege, Jerusalem fell. Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem, burned the temple, broke down the city walls, and took all but the poorest of the Jews captive to Babylon. –He also took Zedekiah prisoner to Babylon, after he executed his sons, and put out the king’s eyes, at Riblah in Aram (modern Syria; 2 Kings 24:18—25:24).

–The length of Daniel’s ministry was 70 years, the entire duration of Babylonian captivity. –The internal/external evidence favors Daniel’s authorship. –This is from both within the book and by others including Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:14; 28:3). Jesus Himself also credits Daniel to be the author of the book (Matthew 24:15;  Mark 13:14). –Jews and early church fathers believed Daniel wrote the book named after him as well.

–The Aramaic portions in Daniel deal with matters pertaining to all people of the Babylonian and Persian empires regardless of culture. The Hebrew sections essentially deal with mainly Jewish concerns as well as God’s plans for Israel. –Daniel wrote the Aramaic sections for the benefit of his Gentile neighbors, and wrote the whole book for the Jews, who could read both languages.

Purpose:
–One of the main purposes of Daniel is to give hope to Israel. Because of their constant rebellion and backslidden condition, many devout Jews were tempted to think God had abandoned them. –Daniel’s purpose in writing blended the two themes of prophecy and right living from the heart. Daniel wrote first to show God’s future program for the nation of Israel (in light of her rebellious nature), during and after what is known as “the times of the Gentiles.”

Daniel also wrote to show what Jewish believers‘ present response should be as they await the coming kingdom of God. This also applies to Christians today. What should our response be during these growing difficult times? –Though the Church is NOT included in any portion of Daniel, there is certainly application to us. This is the first book written to Gentiles and Jews.

Overall Purpose:
–To demonstrate that God’s sovereignty over all nations. This is especially true since God chose to use certain nations as an arm of His discipline for Israel. It will be like this until He physically returns to this earth and will usher in Messiah’s kingdom. At that time, Israel will ultimately be restored and blessed in this kingdom after she has first undergone tribulation and sufferings (final discipline), imposed by Antichrist and his ungodly system.

Theology:
Several areas of theology are represented throughout the book of Daniel.

• –The absolute sovereignty and transcendence of God above all is evidenced through Daniel.
• –The affairs of kings and all people are subject to God’s decrees.
• The book of Daniel clearly details that the Lord God is and remains in complete control over all human events.

–The prophecies seen throughout –Daniel also highlight God’s plan of redemption from beginning to end.

–There is also a strong theological emphasis on the power of prayer. –Chapters 1-6 and 9 emphasize this. It becomes clear that –God works in response to the prayers of the righteous; in this case, Daniel and others throughout the book. –Finally, the unstoppable grace of God is shown repeatedly throughout the book.

Theme:
–Daniel highlights Israel’s future in relation to the Gentile kingdoms and how God exalted faithful Daniel as a channel through whom He reveals the details of His will especially as it related to future events.

Genre:
–Daniel is considered historical narrative with prophecy. Because of the prophecy and it’s dealing with the end of the world, it is also considered apocalyptic in nature.

Next time, we will begin our study of Daniel with Chapter 1.

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– Historical and additional information from Dr. Thomas Constable’s Notes on Daniel for this article and study: https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/daniel/daniel.htm

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