It begins straightforwardly enough, with daniel and his companions facing pressure to assimilate to the pleasures and vices of the babylonian royal court. The key to the book is revealed in the relationship between the future gentile dominion and the jewish historical context. Spirituality, the second coming of the lord, the return of the messiah, proclamation of the state of israel. At that time, daniel was in mourning, eating meagerly and avoiding meat and wine back to the vegetarian diet again. The book of daniel has much to say to the global church today. Okay, good to have you all back again after another break. Daniel was a jew who lived far from his homeland, about six hundred years before christ.
A study of the book of daniel chapter 10 daniel 10. Daniel, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Sign and view the guest book, leave condolences or send flowers. While still a young man, daniel travelled to babylon with a group of young israelite nobles, men of promise whom the. The message of daniel is that because god is sovereign and his eternal kingdom will reign, his people should and must be faithful to him. Be sure to read the articles in this section to discover gods outline of worldruling empires and a message of hope for the future. The book of daniel recounts events of worldwide proportion in daniels own day that continue to have decisive significance for the global church today. While bible scholars debate issues like when it was written and whether it is historically accurate, the book of daniel consistently calls gods people of every generation to faithfulness. The book of daniel demonstrates the consistency and blessing of a life lived to god, ignoring the heights and depths of circumstances. A major prophet is a book in the major prophets section of the christian old testament in the bible which is the following 5 books.
The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. Unknowingly, nebuchadnezzar was an agent of gods sovereignty. The book of daniel is no exception for it provides a wealth of information to those who would diligently consider it and its teachings. Lawrence farley reveals all the wonders of this unique book to the receptive eye. Seventy weeks of years, or 490 years are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city jerusalem, to finish and put an end to transgression, to seal up and make full the measure of sin, to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation to seal up vision and prophecy and. Jan 02, 2020 daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. Explaining the background to daniel, he sifts through interpretive issues and then offers a faithful exposition of the book s message.
What is the message of daniel book of the bible answers. The big picture of the book of daniel bible commentary. In other words, understand what god was doing with the jews and the world, and youll understand the book of daniel. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. It was originally prepared some years ago by a member of our. His governance over and knowledge of future nations and kingdoms the last half of daniel illustrates the sovereignty of god over all history by showing that god has charted out the course of history before it has even transpired. The book of daniel is an attentiongrabber with its compelling stories and shocking visions of the future. Daniel 2, 7, 9, 12 the coming of messiah the prince. Only daniel could interpret the writing, a message of coming judgment from god. Its message is usually not so fastit belongs to god.
Daniel s friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The four beasts represented the kingdoms of babylon, medopersia, greece, and rome. Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a jewish exile from israel. God is in control, no matter how things look, and his kingdom will one day fill the earth. Daniel also has vivid, symbolic visions about the future of israel, world kingdoms, and the kingdom of godexposing us to some of gods longterm plan for the world. Gabriels prophecy of the seventy weeks 20 while i was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people israel, and presenting my petition before the lord my god concerning his holy mountain 21 while i was still praying, gabriel, the man i had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god.
Atonement is done, prophecy and visions are no longer needed. Sterns new city, ny it is with great sadness that we share the passing of daniel e. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. Daniel is one of the most controversial books of the bible, yet its message is clear and unmistakable. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. The text says that daniel received a message from god during the reign of king cyrus one of the persian kings. The theological theme of the book is summarized in 4. The title chief princes, rightly explained in the margin, shows that the charge of israel had been entrusted by god to the highest of the heavenly powers. Daniel was gifted by god it was the third year of king jehoiakims reign in judah when king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The purpose of the bible is to bring us back into harmony with god. Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of daniel in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. The last words of this chapter, and of the entire book, speak of death and of the believers hope beyond the grave.
In the bible, what is the overall message of the book of daniel. Jan 11, 2018 ralf prepared a number of slideshows on the book of daniel, which i hope to put up soon. The topic of both is the humbling or overthrow of the pagan kingdom. In daniel we see god exercising his sovereign wisdom over all world affairs, even the actions of the most powerful individual rulers of his day. The message of the book of daniel faithlife sermons. Someone called the book of daniel the book of revelation in the old testament. The book of daniel is a realistic survival manual for the saints, still vitally relevant for the church in todays world. The claim in the book is that the author daniel made the prophecies contained therein and therefore must be taken in their plain sense. It is noteworthy the writer at the beginning of the book itself informs us of daniels decision to not to defile himself with the royal food and drink, daniel 1. When the story opens, he is 14 years old, riding on a train and looking at pictures in his photo album.
The book is organized very logically once the context and purpose of the book are known. The book of daniel differs from the majority of hebrew prophecy. Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. As one studies the book of daniel, one sees that ultimately almost everything one encounters functions as an agent of gods sovereignty. It is a message of great conflict and this has been recorded for us in daniel chapters 11 and 12.
It is readable, reliable, and sensitive to what matters in the christian life. He must speak up to difficult bosses, make moral choices, and deal with competitive colleagues. It deals with the core message of the bible, and the book of daniel. Its a book of wonders and extremesmad kings, baffling dreams with gifted interpreters, breathtaking deliverances, astounding prophecies. Wright sets out to strengthen and offer encouragement for those facing hostility and persecution and does so with an eye upon the grace and mercy of god. The final chapter of the book of daniel is occasioned in large measure by daniel s coming death. The book of daniel the book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. The book of daniel in biblical theology new studies in biblical theologypaperback. By studying this book, we can better understand our lords references to it cf. The bible speaks today bst 9780830824380 by dale ralph davis.
In chapter 7, god gave daniel a vision of four beasts. The book of daniel shows the rejection of the messiah by the jews, the future destruction of jerusalem, the reign of antichrist, and the coming triumphant messiah who is given an everlasting kingdom by god. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem. Book of daniel chapter 10 bible study commentary lifting. It is a message of war between nations and coming persecution for the israelites.
The message of the book of daniel is that, just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so he would save all israel in their present. Daniel 11 msg and i, in my turn, have been bible gateway. A noble jewish youth of jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by nebuchadnezzar of babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the persian conqueror cyrus, all the while remaining true. Almost everyone looks at the book of daniel with a.
It definitely serves as a wonderful entry point into the book of daniel. As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon. This is a slideshow discussing the main, and mostly overlooked, message of the book of daniel. God gave jehoiakim into the hand of nebuchadnezzar. Sep 05, 2017 through the bible with les feldick lesson 2 part 3 book 82 the last message to daniel 3 daniel 11. Sustaining faith in todays world is quintessential christopher j.
Taken into slavery after the fall of jerusalem in 605 b. The head of the palace staff, by gods grace, liked daniel, but he warned him, im afraid of what my master the king will do. In the first year of his reign, i, daniel, was meditating on the scriptures that gave, according to the word of god to the prophet jeremiah, the number of years that jerusalem had to lie in ruins, namely, seventy. Daniel, who is now in his mid to late 80s, is given another vision and message. Just as military planners send secret messages in code to keep the enemy from intercepting and understanding them, so god has cloaked prophecy in symbolic language. The book of daniel should be read with the eyes of a child. While the book of daniel recounts the stories of a faithful jewish man during a time of exile and suffering for the jewish people in the 6th century bce, it was far more likely written during a time of occupation in judea during the second century. Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. This is all part of my personal ministry and dedication to jesus. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with this that we have missed its main message.
Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Daniel 1 new international version niv daniels training in babylon. I want to examine carefully his word and be obedient to its message. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. Every king we encounterfrom nebuchadnezzar to antiochus iv epiphanes the little horn. The prophet daniel is one of four major prophets in hebrew scripture, along with isaiah, jeremiah, and ezekiel. Daniel, as many other authors of the antiquity and the bible, writes of himself in the third person throughout the first part of the book. The primary theme of the book of daniel is the revelation of israels future in relation to the gentile kingdoms now that the nation has gone into exile in babylon, and gods exaltation of daniel as a channel of revealing his will. The message of daniel bible speaks today davis, dale ralph on. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, hell have my head. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon.
The last message to daniel 3 lesson 2 part 3 book 82. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. He lived into the reign of darius, being still alive in 536 b. From daniel and his three friends, we will learn the power of faith and commitment b. What is the theological message in the book of daniel. Daniels three friends daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The message of daniel bible speaks todaypaperback the preachers commentary vol. Most of the others delve into history and prophecy, but this one is a bit different. Reviews here is a fine volume on daniel by dale ralph davis, who is simply one of the best writers today on any old testament historical. Daniel, i now command you to keep the message of this book secret until the end of time, even though many people will go everywhere, searching for the knowledge to be found in it. The book of daniel records the actions, prophecies, and visions of the prophet daniel.
Its message to gods people is that following the babylonian captivity, though there is a partial return to the promise land, they will never fully. Isaiah jeremiah lamentations ezekiel daniel also note that the. A survey of the prophetic and apocalyptic books of the old testament kindle edition by hays, j. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. Daniel 4 and daniel 5 are to be read in concert, chapter 4 introducing theme c of the chiasm, and chapter 5 reprising it see the big picture in the book of daniel for an explanation of the themes in and structure of daniel. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A study of the book of daniel gene taylor1preface the study of any of the old testament prophets is a worthwhile endeavor. Daniel s story is a story of death and survival, of desperation and hope, evil and love. It also provides more details and explanation of gods judgment upon all people through the resurrection of the deada concept briefly mentioned by daniel daniel 12.
The book of daniel opens with a major conflict in the middle east. Daniel 1 msg daniel was gifted by god it was the bible gateway. Daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. The most high god is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. Darby and thou, daniel, close the words, and seal the book, till the time of the end. The message of daniel bible speaks today wallace, ronald s. Making godly decisions is a prominent theme in the book of daniel. The global message of daniel daniel in redemptive history.
This message grows out of the book s primary theme. Jan 06, 2020 the book of daniel is a lively story about daniel, who is taken from jerusalem by the conquering babylonians, to be brought up in the court of the king, nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 1 niv daniels training in babylon in the bible. The story is told from daniel s point of view as he experiences the atrocities of the holocaust for jews in central europe. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. Dale ralph davis explores the books background, discusses significant interpretive issues and problems, and offers a lively exposition of daniels message, which may be summed up in the words of jesus. In a world of clashing ideologies and godless worldviews, it is easy to lose hope that truth will prevail. God hasnt just left the planet only to show up again at the end. The book of revelation reveals the steps that will occur prior to christs return to establish the kingdom of god on earth. The book of daniel is about how god shows his everlasting wisdom, power, and faithfulness through one of israels greatest prophets. The book of daniel recounts events of worldwide proportion in daniel s own day that continue to have decisive significance for the global church today israels homelessness.
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