Daniel

God’s Kingdom Will Not Be Destroyed, and His Dominion Will Never End

We all love the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. What courage and faith he had! What strong convictions he had! Likewise, we are moved by the powerful story about his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are protected by God even though the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar angrily tries to kill them by throwing them into a fiery furnace. What a miraculous deliverance that was! This exciting book, however, is not really about the man Daniel, even though he was quite a remarkable individual. This book is about God. This book proclaims that no matter how bad things may appear on the surface, God is still sovereign and in control, carefully moving history forward to the culmination that he has planned and decreed.

Who Is Daniel?

Daniel is quite a bit different from the others who proclaimed and wrote the prophetic books, for he is neither a priest nor a professional prophet. Daniel is an administrator, and he has a long career as a successful administrator working in the Babylonian government.

While he was still a young man, Daniel was among the first group of exiles that the conquering Babylonians carried back to Babylonia. He was part of a smaller group of young men from Jerusalem and Judah that the Babylonians brought back to train in preparation for service in their rapidly growing empire.

What Is the Setting for Daniel?

Daniel 1:1 dates the beginning of his story to the third year of Jehoiakim (605 BC). The final date given in the book is tied to the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia (537 BC). Thus Daniel is a contemporary with Ezekiel and overlaps with the older Jeremiah by several years. Like Ezekiel, Daniel’s prophetic ministry takes place in Babylon. He lives through the devastating and tumultuous times when the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and carry off most of the surviving Israelites into captivity.

The ruins of Persepolis, one of the capitals of Persia.

What Is at the Heart of the Book of Daniel?

The book of Daniel is composed of two major units. Chapters 1–6 contain stories about Daniel and his friends standing strong for their faith. The major theme in this unit, however, focuses on God, demonstrating that God is more powerful than the kings of Babylon and Persia. The second half of the book, Daniel 7–12, broadens the view to encompass God’s great plan for the future, especially in regard to humanity’s world empires in contrast to the establishment of God’s world empire. The message of the book is that even in difficult times when it appears that forces hostile to God are dominating, God wants his people to live faithfully, trusting in him and in his promise that he alone controls world history and that he will bring about his glorious kingdom, all in due time.

Thus the book of Daniel can be broken down into the following sections:

• God Is More Powerful than the Monarchs of Babylon and Persia (1:1–6:28)
  • Daniel and his friends in the Babylonian university (1:1–21)
  • King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about four world empires (2:1–49)
  • Can Nebuchadnezzar kill God’s servants? The fiery furnace (3:1–30)
  • Nebuchadnezzar humbled by God (4:1–37)
  • Handwriting on the wall—Babylon falls to the Persians (5:1–31)
  • Daniel in the lions’ den (6:1–28)
• World Kingdoms and God’s Plan for the Future (7:1–12:13)
  • The Ancient of Days and the beast with ten horns (7:1–28)
  • Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat (8:1–27)
  • Daniel’s prayer and the seventy “sevens” (9:1–27)
  • Daniel’s final vision (10:1–12:13)

What Makes the Book of Daniel Interesting and Unique?

• This book contains several riveting stories (the fiery furnace, the lions’ den) about how Daniel and his three friends remain faithful to God and thus are protected by God (Daniel 1–6).
• King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) and Daniel (Daniel 7) both have startling and symbolic visions portraying four world empires.
• Daniel sees a vision of the “Ancient of Days” (God) seated on his throne, holding court (7:9–10).
• Daniel sees a vision of “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven,” an image that the New Testament connects to Christ (Matt. 24:30–31; Mark 13:26–27; Luke 21:27–28; Rev. 1:7, 12–18).
• Daniel’s visions pertain to the near future (events that happen prior to Christ) as well as to the far future (events that apparently are yet to come).
• The book of Daniel is written in two languages. Daniel 1:1–2:4a is in Hebrew; 2:4b–7:28 is in Aramaic (the language of the Babylonians); and 8:1–12:13 is in Hebrew again.

Daniel 3 mentions the sound of “the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music” several times (3:5, 7, 10, 15). The Assyrian wall relief above shows several different instruments.

What Is Daniel’s Message?

God Is More Powerful than the Monarchs of Babylon and Persia (1:1–6:28)

Daniel and his friends in the Babylonian university (1:1–21)

Daniel and his three friends are taken from Judah to Babylonia, given new Babylonian names, and placed in a Babylonian educational institution to be trained for service in the Babylonian government. Although they are away from home and under strong pressure to abandon their religious identity, all four of these young men remain faithful to God, and even refuse to eat unclean foods (probably food that had been offered to idols). God honors their faith and gives them extraordinary knowledge and skill, thus allowing them to excel and prosper in Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about four world empires (2:1–49)

Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, has a troubling dream that no one but Daniel is able to interpret. The dream is of a large statue comprising several different materials. The statue, Daniel explains, represents four world empires, starting with the current Babylonian Empire. In chapter 7 Daniel also has a vision representing four world empires (see the discussion below). The main point is that the powerful Babylonian Empire, overwhelming as it appears, will not last, but will be replaced with successive empires that diminish in glory, finally to be destroyed by God and replaced with his kingdom.

Can Nebuchadnezzar kill God’s servants? The fiery furnace (3:1–30)

Many of us are familiar with this story, but perhaps we haven’t stopped to ask what it really means within the context of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar builds a huge new golden statue (compare this to the vision in chapter 2) and then orders everyone to bow down and worship the statue. Daniel’s three friends refuse to obey. Infuriated by their obstinacy, the king throws them into a burning furnace (probably a kiln for manufacturing ceramic glazed bricks, for which Babylon was famous). Yet the fire does not kill the young men, and when the king looks into the fire he sees not three but four men walking around in the fire (the fourth is apparently either an angel or the Lord himself). This is not only a story about how God honors the faith of these young men, but it is also a statement to the Hebrew exiles. Nebuchadnezzar, the king who destroyed Jerusalem and who killed thousands of her inhabitants, is unable to kill these three Hebrew men, even though they are in Babylon, his own backyard! God is more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, even though Jerusalem lies in ruins.

The Four Kingdoms of Daniel

In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar has a troubling dream about a large statue composed of different materials. Daniel describes and interprets the dream for him, explaining that the statue represents four kingdoms. In Daniel 7, Daniel himself is given a vision in a dream that involves four beasts. An angel explains to Daniel that “the four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth” (7:17). Most scholars conclude that the two visions (Nebuchadnezzar’s and Daniel’s) describe the same four kingdoms. But which kingdoms are these? The first one is easy to identify because Daniel tells us it is the Babylonian kingdom. After that, things are trickier, and three different views of these kingdoms are possible. The following chart represents a comparison of the two most popular views.

A Comparison of the Two Major Traditional Views of Daniel 2 and 7

Man in Daniel 2	Beasts in Daniel 7	Traditional Evangelical View	Alternate View
Gold head	Lion	Babylon	Babylon/Assyria
Silver chest, arms	Bear	Medo-Persia	Media
Bronze belly, thighs	Leopard with four heads	Greece (Alexander the Great)	Persia
Clay and iron feet	Fourth beast	Rome/revived Roman Empire	Greece

A third option for understanding the statue and the beasts is to view all four kingdoms as symbolic, representing kingdoms of the world in general. In this view “four” represents north, south, east, and west, or all the kingdoms of the world. The point would be that evil human kingdoms will succeed one another throughout history until God intervenes at the climax of history to establish his ultimate kingdom.

In addition, there are numerous similarities between the “boastful horn” of Daniel’s fourth beast in Daniel 7 and the beast/antichrist in Revelation 13, thus connecting the vision of Daniel 7 to the future events in Revelation 13. At the end of the twentieth century, some writers speculated that the European Union fulfilled the “ten-horned beast” prophecy as a revival of the Roman Empire, but since membership in the EU has swelled beyond ten members to include twenty-seven members, the likelihood that it represents a “ten-horned beast” seems remote. Likewise, attempts to connect the United Nations with Daniel’s prophecy have not been convincing.

Nebuchadnezzar humbled by God (4:1–37)

Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about a “tree” that is cut down. Daniel reluctantly informs the king that the vision refers to the king himself, who will be driven away from people and will live like an animal until he humbles himself and recognizes the power and sovereignty of God. The dream comes true, and Nebuchadnezzar lives like an animal until he humbly acknowledges the power of God, who then restores him to his throne.

Handwriting on the wall—Babylon falls to the Persians (5:1–31)

Time has passed. Nebuchadnezzar has died, and Daniel is an old man. The current Babylonian king, Nabonidus, has moved to Arabia, and his son and coregent, Belshazzar, now reigns over Babylon. During a banquet, while the king and the people are drinking wine from cups the Babylonians had looted from the temple in Jerusalem, a hand appears and writes on the wall. Once again, only Daniel is able to interpret this sign and decipher the writing, which announces the end of the Babylonian Empire. In fact, the Medes and the Persians capture Babylon that very night.

This Babylonian clay tablet mentions Belshazzar, “son of the king.”

Daniel in the lions’ den (6:1–28)

In Daniel 5, the Medes and the Persians overrun the Babylonians, and Daniel 6 then takes place during the time of Persian/Median rule. The king in this chapter is called Darius (a very common name among the Persians), and many scholars think that this is the same king as Cyrus the Great (or perhaps a general appointed by Cyrus). Once again, Daniel is pressured to compromise his faith in God, and because he refuses to cease praying to God, Daniel is sentenced to death and thrown into a den of lions. God, however, protects Daniel and keeps the lions from killing him. Just as the Babylonian kings had been forced to recognize the power of Daniel’s God, so now the Persian king is forced to make the same acknowledgment. Indeed, the Persian king himself summarizes the point of Daniel 1–6 when he declares, “For he (the God of Daniel) is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end” (Dan. 6:26).

Apocalyptic Literature

A literary style closely connected to Old Testament prophetic literature is called apocalyptic. While Old Testament prophecy typically uses colorful figures of speech and vivid imagery, apocalyptic uses highly symbolic, sometimes bizarre imagery (at least from our perspective) that goes beyond the normal figurative language of the prophets. For example, normal Old Testament prophecy compares God to a dangerous lion. That analogy is fairly easy to comprehend, for we are familiar with lions. Daniel, however, has a vision of a leopard with four heads and four wings, a creature we are not familiar with. Everything in this vision is highly symbolic (e.g., the four heads probably represent the four generals who split up Alexander the Great’s empire). Other typical characteristics of apocalyptic literature include: (1) usually an angel gives an explanation of the vision; (2) the vision is often related to the unfolding of world history; and (3) the ultimate victory of God over his enemies in the future is stressed (i.e., final deliverance for God’s people). This apocalyptic style occurs in the Old Testament books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, as well as in the New Testament book of revelation. This style is also used in several nonbiblical ancient Jewish religious books (1–2 Enoch, 4 Ezra, 2–3 Baruch).

Mesopotamian courts often kept lions in cages so that the king could hunt them. The lions of Daniel 6 are probably lions kept for that purpose. Below is an Assyrian wall relief depicting the release of a lion for the hunt.

World Kingdoms and God’s Plan for the Future (7:1–12:13)

The Ancient of Days and the beast with ten horns (7:1–28)

Back in chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a statue made of different materials, which, as Daniel explained, represented four world kingdoms. Here in 7:1–8, Daniel, now a much older man, has a vision of “four great beasts,” which also represent four world kingdoms (apparently the same four kingdoms). Daniel sees a lion with the wings of an eagle, a bear with three ribs in his mouth, a leopard with four heads and four wings, and then a terrible fourth beast, which Daniel describes as being very different from the others, having iron teeth and ten horns, three of which are uprooted and replaced with a new little horn, characterized by boastfulness.

Next Daniel sees a vision of God himself coming to judge the terrible fourth beast (7:1–14). He describes God as the “Ancient of Days,” clothed in white, seated on a fiery throne, attended by an uncountable multitude of attendants. The boastful horn is destroyed, and then “one like a son of man” comes with the clouds, and the “Ancient of Days” establishes his kingdom as an everlasting kingdom. In Daniel’s vision the Son of Man is given “authority, glory and sovereign power,” and “all peoples, nations and men of every language” worship him.

Daniel is then given an explanation of his vision (7:15–27). The four beasts represent kingdoms, with the fourth kingdom (the ten-horned beast) described as a very different kind of kingdom. The ten horns are ten kings, and the little horn is also a king (who replaces three of the ten). He will speak against God and oppress God’s people, but God will judge him and then establish God’s kingdom.

When Alexander dies, one of his generals establishes himself as king over Egypt and takes the name Ptolemy I Soter. In this wall relief, Ptolemy (on the left) is giving offerings to a god.

Daniel’s vision of a ram and a goat (8:1–27)

Daniel sees a vision of a powerful ram that is then defeated by a goat. One of the horns of the goat breaks off and is replaced with four horns. Then the angel Gabriel explains the vision to Daniel, clearly identifying the ram as the Medes and the Persians, who ruled during the latter years of Daniel’s life. The goat, Gabriel explains, represents Greece. Historically it is Alexander the Great who fulfills this prophecy by overrunning the Medo-Persian Empire and attempting to install Greek culture in every place he conquers. Alexander, however, dies while still young, and his four generals divide his empire, thus fulfilling the “four horns” prophecy in Daniel 8.

Daniel’s prayer and the seventy “sevens” (9:1–27)

Daniel recalls that the prophet Jeremiah had predicted that the “desolation of Jerusalem” would last seventy years. Daniel realizes the seventy-year period will end soon, and he prays to God about the restoration of Jerusalem, while also confessing Israel’s sin and rebellion. Gabriel then comes to Daniel and gives him a complicated “apocalyptic” expansion on the seventy years mentioned by Jeremiah. Gabriel refers to seventy “sevens” (9:24), which probably is a reference to 490 years, or perhaps a reference to a long, but complete period of time. Scholars are divided on how to understand 9:25–27. Some connect this prophecy to the terrible activities carried out by a king named Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who desecrated the temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC. Other scholars believe that Daniel 9:25–27 refers to the activities of the future antichrist described in the New Testament. Another possibility is that Antiochus Epiphanes fulfills the prophecy in a limited sense, with the antichrist fulfilling the prophecy in a final, ultimate sense.

Pictured above is a drinking vessel (called a rhyton) from the Persian era. The ram in the vision of Daniel 8 represented the Medes and the Persians.

Daniel’s final vision (10:1–12:13)

Chapter 10 opens with Daniel mourning over a vision he saw about a terrible, great war. An angelic figure appears to Daniel and explains that he had attempted to come earlier, but was delayed by opposition from the “prince of the Persian kingdom” until Michael, “one of the chief princes” (i.e., an archangel), helped him. This interesting passage implies that there may be powerful territorial spiritual powers that oppose God and his people, a reality implied as well in other passages (Deut. 32:8; Psalm 82; Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12:7).

Throughout Daniel 11 the angel continues to explain to him about numerous wars and conflicts. Most of what the angel describes actually takes place in Palestine a few hundred years later, during the third and second centuries BC. However, some of the verses in Daniel 11, such as 11:31, seem to refer both to the desecration of the temple carried out by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (167 BC) as well as to a desecration carried out by a future antagonist (the antichrist of the New Testament), an identification made clear by Matthew 24:15. Some scholars also note that Luke 21 appears to connect Daniel 11 to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.

In the concluding chapter of the book, the angel who is explaining things to Daniel makes an amazing prediction—“everyone whose name is found written in the book will be delivered” (12:1). This climactic deliverance, however, is no mere restoration to the land, but involves resurrection from the dead, a resurrection to eternal life.

Alexander the Great fulfills the prophecy of Daniel 8.

So What? Applying Daniel to Our Lives Today

The courage and faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace and the steadfast faithfulness of Daniel in the lions’ den still stand as models for us today. All these men refused to waver in their commitment to God. They remained totally obedient to God, in spite of the unpleasant and seemingly overpowering circumstances that engulfed them. These stories encourage us to stand firm for our Lord regardless of the pressure exerted on us by our culture or by unfortunate circumstances. These men did not compromise their faith, even at the risk of losing their lives. They challenge us to do likewise.

Daniel’s overall message has special relevance to us today as well. Daniel reminds us that God is sovereign and that his kingdom will ultimately triumph over all hostile world powers, a triumph that includes our resurrection from the dead.

Our Favorite Verse in Daniel

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (12:2)

Antiochus IV on a silver coin.

Silver coin with the head of Alexander the Great.