https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/SurveyOfTheBibleDaniel.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tSurvey of the Bible – Daniel<\/h1>\n
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Text: Daniel 2:20-23<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Daniel is a contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel<\/p>\n A. Daniel was taken in the first wave of captivity, indicating he was a member of the\nupper class in Israel.\n
B. Daniel means “God is my judge”<\/p>\n C. Daniel is one the few characters in the Bible whom nothing wrong is recorded\nabout him.\n 1. He is mentioned three times in Ezekiel as one of the greats – Ezekiel\n14:14, 20; 28:3\n 2. Jesus verifies the book by quoting Daniel 9:27 and attributing it to Daniel –\nMatthew 24:15\n
II. Background<\/p>\n A. Nebuchadnezzar’s style of conquering nations was to take youths of the ruling\nclass, train them in the Babylonians ways and then use them to govern, with the\nidea that their loyalty would be to Babylon – Daniel 1:4-7\n
B. The city of Babylon was huge<\/p>\n 1. Nebuchadnezzar continually build and improved the city during his 45\nyear reign.\n 2. ”In addition to its size,” wrote Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC,\n“Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world.” Herodotus\nclaimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet\nhigh. Wide enough, he said, to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each\nother. The city also had inner walls which were “not so thick as the first,\nbut hardly less strong.” Inside these double walls were fortresses and\ntemples containing immense statues of solid gold. [The Seven Wonders –\nHanging Gardens of Babylon, http:\/\/www.unmuseum.org\/hangg.htm]\n C. Daniel governed through the 70 years of captivity, during which time the\nBabylonian government fell to the Medes and Persians. Significant is that Daniel\ncontinued to rule under those kings as well – Daniel 1:21\n D. It is because of this forward looking comment that most agree that Daniel was\nwritten at the end of his long service.\n
III. Overview<\/p>\n
A. Daniel 1 and 8-12 are written in Hebrew. Daniel 2-7 are written in Aramaic.<\/p>\n B. Daniel 1-7:1 is written in third person. Daniel 7:2 to the end are written in first\nperson.\n
C. Daniel has been picked on as being a fraudulent book. <\/p>\n 1. People want to place the dating of its writing to the era of the Macabbees\nbecause there are so many prophecies in Daniel that are accurate in minute\ndetail.\n 2. But the argument is backwards because it assumes that no book can be\naccurate in prophecy.\n 3. Another argument is the use of Aramaic that includes Persian and Greek\nwords\n a. Daniel’s Aramaic is an early Imperial Aramaic – what you would\nexpect from some one schooled in Babylon.\n
b. The Persian is expected since Daniel served in the Persian empire<\/p>\n c. The Greek words are the names of some of the musical\ninstruments, which mere show their origin. \n (1) In reality if it was written in the late second century BC,\nyou would expect more Greek words because the Greek\nempire was dominate at that time.\n
(2) It is the lack of Greek words that argues for an earlier date.<\/p>\n
D. Two ways to divide Daniel<\/p>\n
1. By the language, showing who is being addressed<\/p>\n
a. Three parts: Personal, Nations, Israel<\/p>\n
2. By the style, <\/p>\n
a. Daniel 1-6 are the historical stories<\/p>\n
b. Daniel 7-12 are the visions of the future<\/p>\n
IV. Content<\/p>\n
A. Daniel’s Background – Daniel 1 (written in Hebrew)<\/p>\n
1. Note three years of training – Daniel 1:5<\/p>\n
2. Daniel’s loyalty to God is established early on – Daniel 1:8-17<\/p>\n
3. The four Israelite’s intelligence was superior – Daniel 1:19-20<\/p>\n
B. Prophecies to the Nations – Daniel 2-7 (written in Aramaic)<\/p>\n
1. The Dream of the Great Image – Daniel 2<\/p>\n a. This takes place three years after Daniel’s captivity, so he is still\nquite young. He hasn’t finished the official training.\n
b. A prediction of four major empires, with Babylon being the first.<\/p>\n
c. The king is told that he was given his kingdom – Daniel 2:37-38<\/p>\n
d. Nebuchadnezzar is impressed – Daniel 2:47<\/p>\n e. The appointments might have taken place after the three years of\ntraining, or the three years were cut short – Daniel 2:48-49\n
2. Shadrach, Meshak, and Abendigo and the Furnace – Daniel 3<\/p>\n
a. The time is not mentioned.<\/p>\n b. Caused by a resentment that these young men were given such\npowerful positions\n c. A demonstration of great courage and faith. Despite knowing it\nwould cost their lives – Daniel 3:15-18\n d. Nebuchadnezzar destroys Israel, but God tells Nebuchadnezzar that\nHe is ruler – Daniel 3:28-30\n
3. Nebuchadnezzar learns God is in Control – Daniel 4<\/p>\n
a. Unique as it is a copy of Nebuchadnezzar’s record of the event<\/p>\n b. Nebuchadnezzar loses his sanity as prophesied by Daniel for seven\nyears.\n
c. At the end, the king gives testimony – Daniel 4:34-37<\/p>\n
4. Belshazzar and the Writing on the Wall – Daniel 5<\/p>\n a. The fall of Babylon took place near the end of captivity. It is 66\nyears since the captivity. Daniel would now be a very old man,\nperhaps in his late seventies to early eighties.\n
b. We see the moral decadence in which Babylon’s leaders had fallen<\/p>\n (1) All the more when we learn that a party is being held while\nthe Persian army is camped outside the city.\n c. Daniel foretells the downfall of Belshazzar’s kingdom, but the king\nonly rewards Daniel.\n
d. That night he dies.<\/p>\n
5. Daniel and the Lions’ Den – Daniel 6<\/p>\n a. With the Medes in charge, Daniel would be in his late 80’s or early\n90’s\n b. Darius the Mede was king over Babylon, under the emperor Cyrus,\nthe Persian\n
c. Again, the cause of attack was jealousy for Daniel’s position.<\/p>\n d. Darius was already favorable to Daniel, but note his impression of\nGod – Daniel 6:25-28\n
6. Vision of the Four Beasts – Daniel 7<\/p>\n
a. Again a vision of four empires – Daniel 7:15-18. 23-27<\/p>\n b. About 600 years of history is given, showing God remains in\ncontrol\n
C. Prophecies to Israel – Daniel 8-12 (written in Hebrew)<\/p>\n
1. Vision of the Ram and Goat – Daniel 8<\/p>\n
a. A focus on the Persian and Greek empires – Daniel 8:19-22<\/p>\n
b. Persia is a two horned ram (for the Medes and the Persians)<\/p>\n
c. Greece is a one horned goat, but the horn is replaced by four<\/p>\n (1) Conquers under Alexander the Great who dies and his\nkingdom is divided under his four generals.\n (2) A later king, whom most think is Antiochus Epiphanes\n(175-163 BC). He tried to force Greek beliefs throughout\nhis kingdom. He even put up an idol in the temple, forbade\nJews from circumcising their children or worshiping on the\nSabbath.\n (3) The exact time of the desolation is given, a little over six\nyears – Daniel 8:13-14\n
2. Vision of the 70 weeks – Daniel 9<\/p>\n a. The date is the end of the seventy years, as it contains Daniel’s\nprayer for Israel’s return\n
b. A precise dating of when the Messiah would arrive<\/p>\n
3. Visitation of the Angel – Daniel 10<\/p>\n a. Here we are told that angels are behind the nations and at war\nbetween the good and the bad.\n b. It is a warning that all isn’t as it might appear from our earthly\nperspective\n
4. Prophecy of the future – Daniel 11-12<\/p>\n
a. A focus on the Greek empire leading up to the time of Christ<\/p>\n b. Hard to interpret as it covers the years of silence, so there is no\nexplanation of “this is what was meant when Daniel said, …”\n c. It is also a period of history with large upheavals, yet we only\nknow the broad events, not often the fine details.\n d. These verses are often “hijacked” for modern events, but Daniel\nhad asked about what would happen to the Jews and this is the\nanswer. They would be caught between the power struggles of two\nkingdoms.\n
V. Daniel’s book is about God’s sovereignty over the nations<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEzekiel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSurvey of the Bible\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHosea\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Survey of the Bible – Daniel Text: Daniel 2:20-23 I. Daniel is a contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel A. Daniel was taken in the first wave of captivity, indicating he was a member of the upper class in Israel. B. Daniel means “God is my judge” C. Daniel is one the few characters in the Bible whom nothing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":16880,"menu_order":27,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22566","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-book-of-daniel\/","url_meta":{"origin":22566,"position":0},"title":"The Book of Daniel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Book of Daniel by Jefferson David Tant Content Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Bible Studies","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0009-1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":22566,"position":1},"title":"Survey of the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible by Jeffery W. Hamilton Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II Kings I Chronicles II Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60091,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-book-of-daniel\/daniel-chapter-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":22566,"position":2},"title":"Daniel Chapter 6","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Daniel Chapter 6 Daniel 6:1-5 There is some question as to the identity of this Darius the Mede as mentioned in Daniel 5:30 and Daniel 6:1. If he was 62 years old when he came to rule, that means he was born in 601\/600. 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