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STUDIES in DANIEL Preface 1 Endeavour Christian Gathering STUDIES IN DANIEL Preface In 2012 I led our Wednesday evening Bible study group at Endeavour Christian Gathering through the book of Daniel. These are my "teacher's notes". For these studies on Daniel I am greatly indebted to the work and writings of many others. Among many other commentaries and books, here is the bibliography on which I heavily relied: References Boice, J. (1989). Daniel. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library. Duguid, I. (2008). Daniel. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub. Eaton, M. (n.d.). The Book of Daniel. 1st ed. Sovereign World. ESV: Study Bible, (2007). Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, pp:Daniel. Storms, S. (2014). Series Articles: Daniel. [online] Sam Storms - Enjoying God Ministries. Available at: http://www.samstorms.com/all-articles/keyword/daniel [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]. Young, E. (1972). A commentary on Daniel. London, Eng.: Banner of Truth Trust. Max Randall Endeavour Christian Gathering, Perth, Western Australia 2 Endeavour Christian Gathering STUDIES IN DANIEL Introduction The Book of Daniel tends to be both familiar and unfamiliar to most Christians. The stories of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lion’s den are among the most well-known Bible stories, even in this present age of widespread biblical illiteracy. These well-known stories display Daniel and his exiled Jewish friends standing firm for the Lord in the face of great adversity and hardship and so the average Christian has been taught to read those stories in a rather moralistic way in order to encourage them to “dare to be a Daniel” and live for Christ in a hostile world. I don’t deny that this is part of their purpose. The first six chapters of Daniel provide very clear models for believers living in an alien world (as we are), showing them how they can live in and serve the culture in which they find themselves and at the same time, live holy lives—lives that are distinctive from the culture around them. But the six chapters in the second half of the book of Daniel (chapters 7-12) tend to be rather daunting to the average believer and, as a result, they are often avoided. To the extent that the first half of Daniel is well-known, the second half of Daniel tends to be unknown. Well, I hope to remedy that problem in these studies! The Background of the Book of Daniel Where does the Book of Daniel fit in to the Bible? It is one of the “major prophets,” a term that has nothing to do with the importance of its message, but just means that it’s one of the longer prophetic books in the Old Testament, which also includes Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations and Ezekiel. When was it written? The book of Daniel, named after and written by Daniel in the sixth century B.C. and records the events of his life and the visions that he saw from the time of his exile in 605 (1:1) until the third year of King Cyrus in 536 B.C. (10:1). What’s going on in the history of God’s people? See Daniel 1:1-2. Because of their sin, in particular, their idolatry, the people of God are facing judgement just as God promised would take place if they rejected Him. Jerusalem has fallen (destroyed in 586 B.C., which 3 was actually the third time that Nebuchadnezzar had attached Judah) Daniel (whose name means “God is my Judge”), and the rest of God’s people, are living in exile in Babylon. It’s interesting to note that there’s a degeneration taking place at this present time in Israel’s history. Here’s how Graeme Goldsworthy puts it: “That which God generated at the beginning degenerated through the fall of mankind. Redemption and salvation are seen as the process of regeneration which affects the whole degenerated creation including mankind. Thus the captivity in Egypt is an historical experience which underlines the reality of the fall into sin and the ejection from the kingdom of God as it was experienced in the garden of Eden. Redemption from Egypt into the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, is a picture of a return to Eden. The kingship of David recalls the rule or dominion which God gave to Adam in Eden.” But what’s happened now in Israel’s history? They’ve rebelled against God. They’ve rejected Him. As a result, they’ve been removed from that wonderful promised land. It’s like a reversal – now there’s been an exodus back into captivity. But things are not always as they seem. The Big Picture in Daniel What’s the book about? What are the key themes? Let me start by saying that again: things are not always as they seem. It would seem that the enemies of God’s people—like the Babylonians—had won. It would seem that they had more power than God. Otherwise, if you’re not familiar with the big picture, why had God’s people lost to them in war? Why were the walls of Jerusalem destroyed? Why was the temple demolished? Why are God’s people now in captivity in Babylon? Why are they suffering? Where are God’s promises? Where is His ability to accomplish all His holy will? But things are not always as they seem. The book of Daniel is full of teaching to remind us that God is the highest King over all. Whatever the circumstances, God will always have the victory. His kingdom will be firmly established and He reigns over all. So there’s great hope. We’re going to see promises of restoration. God’s people did reject Him. His judgement was pronounced on them. Yet, God gives them hope, as He always does, based not on their own works, but based on the unconditional nature of God’s commitment and faithfulness to His covenant. He will keep His promises. 4 So, the central theme of the book of Daniel is God's sovereignty over history and empires, setting up and removing kings as he pleases (2:20-23; 4:34–37). That’s the main idea and as we go through the book of Daniel it’s important that we keep that main idea in mind. We must be careful not to lose the main idea by focussing on the peripheral issues that we’re going to encounter. Here’s how Gleason L. Archer puts it in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary: “The principal theological emphasis in Daniel is the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh, the God of Israel. At a time when it seemed to all the world that his cause was lost and that the gods of the heathen had triumphed, causing his temple to be burned to the ground, it pleased the Lord strikingly and unmistakably to display his omnipotence. The theme running through the whole book is that the fortunes of kings and the affairs of men are subject to God’s decrees, and that he is able to accomplish his will despite the most determined opposition of the mightiest potentates on earth.” Let me develop that theme a little bit: Another way of describing that theme is “the kingdom of God”. What we see in Daniel is God’s kingdom especially in contrast to all the other kingdoms of the world. God sovereignly rules over all the empires of the world throughout history. He sovereignly raises up kings and earthly kingdoms and He sovereignly brings them down to nothing. He rules over these pagan kingdoms with the intention of bringing in his own kingdom. All of the kingdoms of this world will come to an end and will be replaced by the Lord's kingdom, which will never pass away (2:44; 7:27). That’s the big picture. What are some other key themes found in Daniel? (Some of these will overlap.) Although trials and difficulties will continue for God’s people, right up to the very end, those who are faithful will be raised to glory, honour, and everlasting life in this final kingdom (Dan. 12:1–3). We also see that it is possible to live a faithful life in exile, surrounded by pagan influences and propaganda, if one sets one's mind to serving the Lord wholeheartedly (Dan. 1). God can vindicate his faithful servants in front of pagan rulers by giving them unusual wisdom and insight into divine mysteries and by miraculously protecting them against the enmity of their pagan neighbours (Dan. 2; 3; 6). Nevertheless, divine rescue from martyrdom cannot be assumed (Dan. 3:16–18). God humbles the proud and raises up the humble, and as I’ve pointed out, even the hearts of the greatest kings are under his control (Dan. 4; 5). There are a few other things we can say by way of introduction: The book of Daniel is an exciting book! It’s no wonder that children have always enjoyed many of its stories like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel in the lion’s den and the writing on Belshazzar’s wall. 5 The book of Daniel is the key to other parts of Scripture. It helps us to understand Matthew 24, Mark 13, 2 Thessalonians, as well as the Book of Revelation. And unfortunately, Daniel is a book that has divided good, Bible-believing Christians. The book of Daniel must be studied in an atmosphere of love and graciousness towards other bible-believing Christians. Yet unfortunately it has to be said that the Book of Daniel has always been a playground for the kind of person who has extravagant and weird ideas about his ability to decipher the future by using the Scriptures in an eccentric manner.
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