Daniel
Holy Writer
Unlike many of the other prophetical books, the opening verses of the book do not state who the holy writer of the book is. Yet there is quite a bit of evidence which points to Daniel as the one whom the Holy Spirit used to record the words of this book. In the beginning of the book, Daniel refers to himself in the third person, much like Moses did in the Pentateuch. In the later part of the book though, Daniel also refers to himself in the first person, saying, “In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel” (8:1). We are also told, “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts” (7:1). Christ Himself quoted from this book, and referred to the speaker as, “the prophet Daniel” (Matthew 24:15).
We know quite a bit about the life of the prophet Daniel – more than we do about most of the other Old Testament prophets. The opening verses of the book give us the background: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it... Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the kings descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, and quick to understand, who had ability to serve the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans... Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel...” (1:1-6).
Daniel was brought to Babylon in 605 B.C. There he was educated for three years to make him fit to serve the king. In addition, Daniel, whose name means, “God is my judge,” received a new name, Belteshazzar, which meant, “Bel [Baal] protect his life.” (cf. 1:7; Jeremiah 51:44). In spite of carrying the name of a false god, Daniel determined to remain undefiled (1:8), and faithful to the LORD God of Israel (6:10-15).
Daniel was brought into favor with King Nebuchadnezzar when the king interviewed these young men and found no one like Daniel and his three friends, known best to us as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Daniel was brought into extra-special favor when he interpreted the dream of the king, a dream of four kingdoms, which none of the king’s wise men were able to interpret. To the glory of the true God Daniel interpreted the dream and brought Nebuchadnezzar to confess that Daniel’s God is the true God (2:47).
Daniel continued to serve as an official of the state under Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Belshazzar (chapter 5), and was also very highly regarded by the new government of the Medes and Persians, who conquered the Babylonians in 539 B.C. (chapter 6).
While Daniel was very likely responsible for Cyrus’ decree for the people to Judah to return from captivity, Daniel remained in Persia. The last prophetic utterance of Daniel is dated in 534 BC, the third year of Cyrus (1:21; 6:28). It appears that his ministry extended over a period of at least seventy-three years. If Daniel was sixteen or seventeen years old when he came to Babylon, he reached an age of more than ninety years, and died a prophet highly honored and respected because of his justice and wisdom. The prophet Ezekiel compared the righteousness of Daniel with that of Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14:14-20).
Concerning the end of his life, we know nothing other than that he died assured by his LORD of the resurrection unto eternal life, “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (12:13).
Division
The Book of Daniel is divided into two major parts of about equal length. The first part is historical, covering Daniel’s personal history; the faithfulness of Daniel’s friends; the second dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its fulfillment; Belshazzar’s feast and destruction; Daniel in the lion’s den (1-6). The second part is prophetic and comprises the visions of the coming monarchies and of the eternal kingdom of Christ which Daniel had seen and which were explained to him by angels (7-12). These two parts are very different in style and content, and yet there is a connection between these two parts. Chapter 1:1-2:3 and chapters 8-12 were written in Hebrew, but the section in between (2:4-7:28) was written in Aramaic which was the language of commerce in that day. This change in language joins these two sections together.
Purpose
Unlike the majority of other Old Testament prophets, Daniel’s ministry was directed chiefly toward Gentile nations, though there is much in Daniel’s message of comfort to his own people as well.
The purpose of the book is to help God’s people understand that even though they are oppressed by heathen nations, the LORD can, and will, protect them. Through these visions, the prophet shows believers that the enemies of God’s people will prosper for a time, but, according to God’s justice they will finally perish, while God’s kingdom triumphs. An angel told Daniel, “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever” (7:18). Daniel is reminded that things will be difficult for the people of God and oppression may come, but the LORD will be with them and He will bring about the victory for them through the coming of the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days (7:13-14). Throughout this book we are reminded that the LORD is the God of History - History is truly HIS-story!
Christ in Daniel
Christ abounds in the book of Daniel. He is the great Stone who will crush the kingdoms of this world (2:34f, 44), the Son of Man who is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom” by the Ancient of Days (7:13f), and the coming Messiah who will be “cut off” (9:25f). Most notably, the LORD, through Daniel, foretells the exact date of the coming of the Savior in the vision of the 70 weeks (9:24-27).
One other prophecy of importance, particularly for Lutherans, is the prophecy concerning the Antichrist given in 7:8, 25 and 11:36f.
Authenticity
The book itself testifies to the sole authorship of Daniel. Because of the visions, which contain definite predictions of things taking place in the future, the book has been challenged by Bible critics. They have unanimously rejected Daniel as the sole writer. But once again, the believer has no problem with the fact that the LORD can, and does, foretell the future in His Word and we can take comfort from such knowledge.
Historically the book is accurate, and is supported by ancient Babylonian inscriptions, as well as other books in the Old and New Testaments. The book of Daniel is accepted by the Old and New Testament church as canonical (compare: Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 with Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11; Matthew 24:21 and Mark 13:19 with Daniel 12:1; and Matthew 10:23, 16:27f, 19:28, 24:30, 25:31, and 26:64 with Daniel 7:13f).
Outline
I. The Setting
A. Daniel and his friends taken captive (1)
II. The Nations of the World and the Kingdom of God
A. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue (2)
B. The three men in the fiery furnace (3)
C. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great tree (4)
D. Belshazzar’s downfall (5)
E. Daniel thrown in the lion’s den (6)
F. Daniel’s dream of four beasts (7)
III. Daniel’s visions of the future
A. Vision of the ram and the goat (8)
B. Vision of the 70 weeks (9)
C. Visions of God’s direction of the future (10-12)
Note: This study was prepared for the Bible Class at Zion Lutheran Church, Lawrenceville, GA by Pastor Nathanael Mayhew.