Daniel

Part One: Introduction to Daniel

The Prophet

Daniel, whose name means "God is my judge," was a young man of Judah's royal or noble family, taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of King Jehoiakim, 605 BC (1:1-6), in the first of the Babylonian deportations. This fulfilled Isaiah's word to Hezekiah that some of his descendants would be "eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 39:7). He was given the Babylonian name Belteshazzar (1:7), trained in the learning of the Chaldeans, and rose to high office under Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian (1:21; 6:28). His ministry spanned about seventy years, the whole period of the exile; his last dated vision was in "the third year of Cyrus" (10:1), around 536 BC.

Daniel is one of the few major Bible characters about whom nothing negative is recorded. God called him "greatly beloved" (9:23; 10:11, 19). Ezekiel named him with Noah and Job as an example of righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14, 20) and of wisdom (28:3). Jesus called him "Daniel the prophet" (Matthew 24:15).

Author and Date

The book presents itself as written by Daniel; the visions of chapters 7-12 are in the first person ("I Daniel"). Conservative scholars date it to the sixth century BC. Many modern critics date it to around 165 BC, mainly because its prophecies, especially in chapter 11, are so precise that they assume they must have been written after the events. Against this:

• Jesus called Daniel a prophet and treated his prophecy as still awaiting fulfillment (Matthew 24:15).
• Copies of Daniel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the book was already accepted as Scripture by the second century BC, too soon for a book supposedly written in 165 BC.
• Historical details fit the sixth century: Belshazzar, once unknown outside the Bible, is now known from Babylonian records (the Nabonidus Cylinder) as the son of King Nabonidus and his co-regent in Babylon, which explains why he could only offer Daniel the position of "third ruler in the kingdom" (5:7, 16, 29).
• Daniel's prophecies go beyond 165 BC: the fourth kingdom (Rome), the coming of Messiah the Prince, His being cut off, and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (9:25-26) were all future even on the late date.

The precision of Daniel's prophecies is not a reason to doubt the book, but evidence of the God who "revealeth secrets" (2:28).

Two Languages

Daniel is written in two languages. Chapters 1:1-2:4a and 8-12 are in Hebrew; 2:4b-7:28 are in Aramaic, the international language of the time. The Aramaic section concerns the Gentile kingdoms and God's rule over them; the Hebrew sections concern God's people Israel more directly.

Purpose and Theme

Daniel shows that God rules over all the kingdoms of the world. Though Judah had fallen and God's people were captives, the God of heaven was still sovereign. He raises and removes kings, humbles the proud, protects His faithful servants, and will finally set up His own everlasting kingdom through the Son of man. The book also teaches how to live faithfully in a godless culture.

To the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will

Daniel 4:17

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed

Daniel 2:44

Kings in Daniel

The identity of "Darius the Mede" is debated. Suggestions include Gubaru, the governor Cyrus appointed over Babylon; Cyaxares II; or Cyrus himself, since 6:28 can be translated "in the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian."

The Kingdoms of Daniel's Visions

Outline of Daniel

Part Two: Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Section I: Daniel and His Friends in Babylon (Chapters 1-6)

Chapter 1 — Faithful in Small Things

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God" (1:1-2). The fall was God's doing, not merely Babylon's. Nebuchadnezzar chose young men of royal and noble birth, "Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom," to be trained for three years in the language and learning of the Chaldeans and then serve the king (1:3-5). Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, renamed Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (1:6-7). Their Hebrew names honoured the God of Israel; their new names honoured Babylonian gods. Babylon sought to change their names, their education and their diet, but not their hearts.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank

Daniel 1:8

The king's food probably included meat forbidden by the law of Moses (Leviticus 11) or offered to idols. Daniel made a decision in his heart before the test came. "Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs" (1:9). Daniel respectfully proposed a ten-day test of vegetables ("pulse") and water (1:11-14). At the end, they looked healthier than all the others (1:15). "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" (1:17). The king found them "ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm" (1:20). "And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus" (1:21): he outlasted the Babylonian Empire itself. Faithfulness in small things prepared him for greater tests (Luke 16:10).

Chapter 2 — The Dream of the Great Image

In his second year, Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream (2:1). He demanded that his wise men tell him both the dream and its interpretation, or die (2:2-9). They protested, "There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter... except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh" (2:10-11). The king ordered all the wise men killed, including Daniel and his friends (2:12-13). Daniel calmly asked for time (2:14-16), then gathered his friends to pray "that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret" (2:17-18). That night God revealed it in a vision, and Daniel praised Him:

Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things

Daniel 2:20-22

Before the king, Daniel gave God all the credit: "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days" (2:28). The dream: a great, terrifying image with a head of fine gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet part iron and part clay (2:31-33). "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces... and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (2:34-35).

The interpretation: Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold (2:37-38). After him would come an inferior kingdom (Medo-Persia), then a kingdom of brass ruling over all the earth (Greece), then a fourth kingdom "strong as iron" that breaks everything in pieces (Rome), ending in a divided form, part strong and part brittle, that would not hold together (2:39-43). Then:

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 2:44

The stone "cut out of the mountain without hands" is the kingdom of God brought by Christ, not by human effort (2:45). Jesus referred to Himself as the stone: "whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44). Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and confessed, "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets" (2:47). Daniel was made ruler over the province of Babylon and chief of the wise men, and his friends were promoted (2:48-49).

Chapter 3 — The Fiery Furnace

Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image sixty cubits high and six cubits wide and set it up in the plain of Dura (3:1), perhaps inspired by the dream in which he was the head of gold. All officials were commanded to bow down when the music sounded, on pain of being thrown into a burning fiery furnace (3:2-6). Certain Chaldeans accused the three Jews of refusing (3:8-12). The furious king gave them one more chance: "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (3:15). Their answer is one of the great statements of faith in the Bible:

O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Daniel 3:16-18

They were confident in God's power, but their obedience did not depend on being rescued. The king had the furnace heated seven times hotter; the soldiers who threw them in were killed by the flames (3:19-23). Then Nebuchadnezzar was astonished:

Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Daniel 3:25

Many Bible teachers believe the fourth man was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ; the king later called him God's "angel" (3:28). God did not keep them out of the fire; He met them in it. "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned" (Isaiah 43:2). When they came out, the fire had no power on their bodies: "nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them" (3:27). Only their bonds were burned. The king blessed their God, "who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him," and decreed that no one should speak against Him, "because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (3:28-29). Hebrews honours those who "quenched the violence of fire" by faith (Hebrews 11:34).

Chapter 4 — Nebuchadnezzar Humbled

This chapter is Nebuchadnezzar's own proclamation to the world. "I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me... his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" (4:2-3). He dreamed of a great tree reaching to heaven, sheltering all creatures, which a holy watcher ordered cut down, leaving the stump bound with iron and brass; the man represented by the tree would have a beast's mind for "seven times" (4:10-16).

This matter is by the decree of the watchers... to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Daniel 4:17

Daniel was troubled to tell him, but explained that the tree was the king himself, who would be driven from men and live like an animal until he acknowledged that the Most High rules (4:19-26). He pleaded, "break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity" (4:27).

Twelve months later, walking on his palace roof, the king boasted: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" (4:29-30). "While the word was in the king's mouth," a voice from heaven declared the kingdom departed from him (4:31). He was driven from men, ate grass like oxen, his body wet with dew, "till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws" (4:33). Babylon was famous for its building projects, and inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar boast of them in similar terms.

At the end of the time, he lifted his eyes to heaven, and his understanding returned:

I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion... And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Daniel 4:34-35

He was restored to his kingdom, with more greatness than before (4:36). "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase" (4:37). The most powerful man on earth learned that God resists the proud (James 4:6).

Chapter 5 — The Writing on the Wall

In October 539 BC, while the Medo-Persian army was outside Babylon, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords. Under the influence of wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels taken from God's temple in Jerusalem to be brought, and they drank from them and "praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone" (5:1-4). "In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote... upon the plaister of the wall" (5:5). The king turned pale and his knees knocked together (5:6). No wise man could read it, though he offered purple clothing, a gold chain and the position of "third ruler in the kingdom" (5:7-9). The queen (probably the queen mother) remembered Daniel, in whom was "the spirit of the holy gods" (5:10-12).

Daniel, now an old man, refused the rewards (5:17). He reminded Belshazzar how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar (5:18-21), then delivered the charge:

And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this... and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified

Daniel 5:22-23

The writing was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN (5:25). "MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians" (5:26-28). Belshazzar honoured Daniel as he had promised (5:29).

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Daniel 5:30-31

Babylon fell in one night, as Isaiah and Jeremiah had foretold (Isaiah 21:9; 45:1-2; Jeremiah 51:39, 57). Ancient historians record that the city was taken while the Babylonians were feasting. Every person is weighed in God's balances; only those clothed in Christ's righteousness will not be found wanting (Philippians 3:9).

Chapter 6 — The Lions' Den

Darius appointed 120 princes over the kingdom, with three presidents over them, Daniel being first, "because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm" (6:1-3). His jealous rivals searched for grounds to accuse him, but "they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful" (6:4).

Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

Daniel 6:5

They persuaded Darius to sign a decree that for thirty days no one could pray to any god or man except the king, on pain of the lions' den, and it was sealed as "the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not" (6:6-9).

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Daniel 6:10

Daniel did not change his habit, hide it, or flaunt it. He prayed toward Jerusalem as Solomon had asked (1 Kings 8:48), three times a day like David (Psalm 55:17), and gave thanks even in danger. His enemies reported him (6:11-13). The king, greatly distressed, tried until sunset to save him, but the law could not be changed (6:14-15). As Daniel was thrown into the den, the king said, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee" (6:16). A stone was laid over the mouth of the den and sealed with the king's signet (6:17). The king spent the night fasting and sleepless (6:18).

Very early in the morning he hurried to the den and called, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" (6:19-20). Daniel answered:

My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me

Daniel 6:22

"So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God" (6:23). Hebrews speaks of those who by faith "stopped the mouths of lions" (Hebrews 11:33). The accusers and their families were thrown into the den and destroyed (6:24). Darius decreed that everyone "tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed... He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth" (6:26-27). "So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian" (6:28).

Section II: Daniel's Visions (Chapters 7-12)

Chapter 7 — The Four Beasts and the Son of Man

In the first year of Belshazzar (about 553 BC), Daniel saw the four winds stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts coming up out of it (7:1-3):

• A lion with eagle's wings, whose wings were plucked and which was given a man's heart (7:4): Babylon, and perhaps Nebuchadnezzar's humbling.
• A bear raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth (7:5): Medo-Persia, with Persia the stronger side, devouring three kingdoms (Lydia, Babylon and Egypt).
• A leopard with four wings of a fowl and four heads (7:6): Greece, with the lightning speed of Alexander's conquests and the fourfold division after his death.
• A fourth beast, "dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly," with great iron teeth and ten horns (7:7): Rome, and the final form of world power.

Among the ten horns came up "another little horn," which uprooted three of the others, with "eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things" (7:8).

Then the scene shifts to heaven:

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire... thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Daniel 7:9-10

The beast was slain and destroyed (7:11). Then:

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

This is one of the most important Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. The "Son of man" is a heavenly figure who comes with the clouds (a sign of deity, Psalm 104:3), approaches God, and receives universal and eternal dominion and worship. Jesus called Himself "the Son of man" more than any other title. At His trial, when the high priest asked if He was the Christ, He answered, "I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven," and the high priest tore his clothes, charging Him with blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64). Jesus was claiming to be the divine King of Daniel 7.

An angel explained that the four beasts are four kings (kingdoms), "But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever" (7:17-18). The little horn "made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" until the Ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints (7:21-22). He would "speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time" (7:25), that is, three and a half years. Then his dominion would be taken away, "And the kingdom and dominion... shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom" (7:26-27). Many Bible teachers identify the little horn with the final Antichrist, "the man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) and the beast of Revelation 13, who has "a mouth speaking great things" and makes war with the saints for "forty and two months" (Revelation 13:5-7).

Chapter 8 — The Ram and the He Goat

In the third year of Belshazzar, Daniel saw a vision at Shushan by the river Ulai (8:1-2). A ram with two horns, one higher than the other and the higher coming up last, pushed west, north and south, and no beast could stand before it (8:3-4). Then a he goat came from the west across the whole earth, so fast it "touched not the ground," with a notable horn between its eyes. It struck the ram, broke its two horns, and trampled it (8:5-7). But when the goat was strong, the great horn was broken, and four notable horns came up toward the four winds (8:8).

Out of one of them came a little horn that grew great toward the south, the east and "the pleasant land" (Israel). It magnified itself against "the prince of the host," took away the daily sacrifice and cast down the sanctuary (8:9-12). "How long shall be the vision...? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (8:13-14).

For the first time in Scripture, an angel is named: Gabriel came to explain (8:15-16; compare Luke 1:19, 26). "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king" (8:20-21). This was fulfilled precisely: Persia rose to dominance after Media; Alexander the Great swept east from Greece with astonishing speed (334-331 BC) and conquered the Persian Empire; at the height of his power he died suddenly (323 BC, aged 32); and his empire was divided among four generals (8:22). From one of these divisions, the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, came "a king of fierce countenance" (8:23), Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC). He persecuted the Jews, stopped the temple sacrifices, and in 167 BC set up an altar to Zeus in the temple and offered swine on it. The Maccabees resisted, and the temple was cleansed and rededicated in December 164 BC, remembered in the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah (John 10:22). Antiochus died of illness the same year, "broken without hand" (8:25). The 2,300 "evenings and mornings" are understood either as 2,300 days (about six years) or as 1,150 days of evening and morning sacrifices; both fit the period of his persecution.

Gabriel also said the vision concerned "the time of the end" (8:17, 19). Antiochus, who "shall stand up against the Prince of princes" (8:25), is widely seen as a foreshadowing of the final Antichrist. Daniel "fainted, and was sick certain days" (8:27).

Chapter 9 — Daniel's Prayer and the Seventy Weeks

In the first year of Darius (539 BC), Daniel "understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem" (9:2; Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10). Knowing the time was almost up, he did not sit back; he set his face to seek God "by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes" (9:3). His prayer (9:4-19) is a model of confession:

• Adoration: "O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him" (9:4).
• Confession, including himself: "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled" (9:5). "O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces" (9:7).
• Acknowledging that judgment was just: the curse written in the law of Moses had been poured out (9:11-14).
• Appealing to God's mercy and glory alone:

For we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Daniel 9:18-19

While he was still praying, at the time of the evening sacrifice, Gabriel came: "O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding... for thou art greatly beloved" (9:20-23). He then gave the prophecy of the seventy weeks:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Daniel 9:24-27

See Part Four for a full explanation. In brief: seventy "weeks" (sevens) of years, 490 years, are decreed for Israel and Jerusalem. From the command to rebuild Jerusalem to "Messiah the Prince" would be 69 weeks (483 years). Then Messiah would be "cut off, but not for himself," a prophecy of His atoning death, and afterward the city and sanctuary would be destroyed, as the Romans did in AD 70.

Chapter 10 — The Heavenly Messenger and Spiritual Warfare

"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia" (about 536 BC), after the first exiles had returned, Daniel mourned and fasted for three full weeks (10:1-3). By the river Hiddekel (Tigris) he saw "a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (10:5-6). This description closely matches John's vision of the glorified Christ (Revelation 1:13-15), and many believe it was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ; others think it was a mighty angel. Daniel's companions fled, and he fell into a deep sleep, face to the ground (10:7-9).

A hand touched him (10:10), and a messenger said, "O Daniel, a man greatly beloved... from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words" (10:11-12). The delay had a reason:

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me

Daniel 10:13

This rare glimpse behind the scenes reveals spiritual warfare: evil spiritual powers associated with nations ("the prince of Persia," "the prince of Grecia," 10:20) oppose God's messengers, while Michael, the archangel who stands for Israel (10:21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7), fights on God's side. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers" (Ephesians 6:12). Prayer is heard at once, even when the answer seems delayed. The messenger strengthened Daniel: "O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong" (10:19), and prepared to show him "that which is noted in the scripture of truth" (10:21).

Chapter 11 — Kings of the North and South, and the Willful King

This chapter contains the most detailed prophecy in the Bible, covering about 375 years of history in advance.

• Persia (11:2): three more Persian kings, then a fourth "far richer than they all," who would stir up all against Greece: Xerxes (Ahasuerus of Esther), who invaded Greece in 480 BC.
• Alexander (11:3-4): "a mighty king" whose kingdom would be broken and divided toward the four winds, "and not to his posterity." After Alexander's death, his young son and half-brother were murdered, and his empire was divided among his generals.
• The kings of the south and north (11:5-20): the Ptolemies of Egypt (south) and the Seleucids of Syria (north), who fought over the land of Israel for generations. The details are precise: for example, the daughter of the king of the south would come to the king of the north to make an agreement but would not keep her power (11:6), fulfilled when the Egyptian princess Berenice married the Seleucid king Antiochus II around 250 BC and was later murdered.
• "A vile person" (11:21-35): Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who would obtain the kingdom by flatteries, invade Egypt, be turned back by "the ships of Chittim" (a Roman fleet, which forced him to withdraw from Egypt in 168 BC), then vent his rage on "the holy covenant," pollute the sanctuary, take away the daily sacrifice, and "place the abomination that maketh desolate" (11:30-31). "But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits" (11:32), fulfilled in the Maccabean resistance.
• The willful king (11:36-45): "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods... Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all" (11:36-37). The details of these verses do not fit Antiochus' life and death, and the passage is tied to "the time of the end" (11:40). Many Bible teachers see here a jump to the final Antichrist, whom Antiochus foreshadowed, the one Paul describes "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4). "Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him" (11:45).

The detailed accuracy of 11:2-35 is so striking that critics argue it must have been written after the events. Those who believe in the God who "declares the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10) see it as evidence of divine inspiration.

Chapter 12 — The Time of the End

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Daniel 12:1

Jesus referred to this unparalleled tribulation (Matthew 24:21), also called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7). Then comes the clearest statement of bodily resurrection in the Old Testament:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel 12:2-3

Jesus taught the same: "all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29). "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (12:4). By contrast, John was told, "Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand" (Revelation 22:10). Two angels appeared by the river, and one asked the man clothed in linen, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" He lifted his hands to heaven and swore "by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half" (12:5-7; compare Revelation 10:5-7). Daniel did not understand and asked again; he was told, "Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly... but the wise shall understand" (12:8-10). From the taking away of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomination would be 1,290 days, and "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days" (12:11-12), periods slightly longer than three and a half years (1,260 days; Revelation 11:3; 12:6), perhaps allowing for events following the tribulation. The book ends with a personal promise to the aged prophet:

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Daniel 12:13

Daniel would die ("rest") and rise again to receive his inheritance at the end.

Part Three: Christ in Daniel

Prophecies and Pictures of Christ

Daniel as a Picture of Christ

Part Four: The Seventy Weeks Explained

The Basic Framework

The Starting Point and the Arrival of Messiah

Two decrees are most often proposed:

• Artaxerxes' decree to Ezra (457 BC; Ezra 7). Counting 483 years brings the reckoning to about AD 27, the year many date Jesus' baptism and the beginning of His public ministry as the Messiah, the Anointed One.
• Artaxerxes' decree to Nehemiah (444 BC; Nehemiah 2:1-8), which specifically concerned rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. Using "prophetic years" of 360 days, the 483 years come to about AD 32-33, which Sir Robert Anderson and others connected with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem as King, shortly before He was cut off.

Either way, Daniel's prophecy pointed to the very period when Jesus of Nazareth came, was presented as Messiah, and was crucified, before the temple was destroyed in AD 70. The Messiah had to come before the second temple was destroyed.

The Seventieth Week

Bible-believing Christians understand verse 27 in two main ways:

• A future seven-year period (the view of most Baptist and dispensational interpreters). There is a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks, the present church age. "He" in verse 27 refers to "the prince that shall come" (9:26), a future ruler from the revived Roman world, the Antichrist. He will make a seven-year covenant with Israel, break it in the middle by stopping the sacrifices, and set up "the abomination of desolation" (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). The second half of the week, three and a half years, is the great tribulation (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5), ending with Christ's return.
• Fulfilled in Christ. Others take "he" to be the Messiah, who confirmed the New Covenant with many and, by His death after about three and a half years of ministry, caused the sacrifices to cease in significance (Hebrews 10:8-18), with the destruction of Jerusalem following.

Jesus Himself pointed to Daniel's "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as a future sign (Matthew 24:15), which supports the view that at least part of the prophecy was still future in His day.

The Antichrist in Daniel

Part Five: Fulfilled Prophecies

Prophecies still awaiting complete fulfillment include the final form of the fourth kingdom, the reign of the little horn, the seventieth week (on the future view), the great tribulation, the resurrection, and the everlasting kingdom of the Son of man.

Part Six: Key Passages in Depth

Daniel 1:8 — Purpose in the Heart

Daniel decided in advance what he would and would not do. He was respectful, creative and courteous in his request, but firm in his conviction. God honoured that faithfulness with favour, wisdom and influence. Young believers in particular face the pressures of a culture that wants to rename and reshape them; the answer is a heart purposed toward God (2 Timothy 2:22).

Daniel 2:44 — The Kingdom That Shall Never Be Destroyed

Every human empire, however glorious, is temporary. Gold, silver, brass and iron all crumble at the touch of the stone. God's kingdom, brought by Christ, will outlast and replace them all (Luke 1:33; Revelation 11:15). Believers' ultimate citizenship is in that kingdom (Philippians 3:20).

Daniel 3:16-18 — "But If Not"

True faith trusts God's power ("he is able"), expects His help ("he will deliver us"), and obeys regardless of the outcome ("But if not... we will not serve thy gods"). Faith is not a bargain with God but loyalty to Him. And God was with them in the fire.

Daniel 4:34-37 — The Most High Rules

The proud king learned that God's dominion is everlasting, that all earthly power is His to give and take, that no one can stop His hand, and that He is able to humble the proud. These are truths every ruler and every person must learn (Romans 13:1; James 4:6).

Daniel 5:27 — Weighed and Found Wanting

Belshazzar knew the lesson of Nebuchadnezzar but ignored it, defied God and mocked His holy things. God weighs every life. No one can balance the scales by his own merit; only those clothed in Christ's righteousness will stand (Romans 3:23-24; Philippians 3:9).

Daniel 6:10 — Faithful in Prayer

Daniel's prayer life was regular ("three times a day"), reverent ("kneeled"), directed by Scripture (toward Jerusalem), grateful ("gave thanks"), consistent ("as he did aforetime"), and courageous. When the crisis came, he did not need to start praying; he simply continued. "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

Daniel 7:13-14 — The Son of Man

This vision reveals a divine Person, distinct from the Ancient of days, who receives the eternal kingdom and the worship of all nations. Jesus deliberately identified Himself with this figure, especially at His trial. The Son of man who came in humility will come again "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30).

Daniel 9:3-19 — A Prayer Shaped by Scripture

Daniel read God's promise in Jeremiah and responded with prayer, not passivity. Promises do not make prayer unnecessary; they make it confident. His prayer combined humility, confession, appeal to God's character, and concern for God's glory.

Daniel 12:2-3 — Resurrection and Reward

All the dead will rise, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame. The wise, especially those who turn many to righteousness, will shine like the stars for ever. This gives eternal significance to faithful witness (Proverbs 11:30; 1 Corinthians 15:58).

Part Seven: The Major Teachings of Daniel

1. God's Sovereignty over History and Nations

"The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men" (4:17, 25, 32). He sets up and removes kings (2:21) and has written history in advance (2; 7-12).

2. Faithfulness in a Hostile Culture

Daniel and his friends served a pagan government with excellence while refusing to compromise their worship of God (1; 3; 6).

3. God Protects and Vindicates His Faithful Servants

In the furnace and the lions' den, God delivered (3; 6), and He promises final vindication to all His people (7:22, 27; 12:1-3).

4. Pride Brings Judgment; Humility Brings Restoration

Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and restored; Belshazzar was weighed and destroyed (4-5).

5. The Power of Prayer

Prayer preceded revelation (2:17-19), sustained Daniel in danger (6:10), and was answered immediately even when the answer was delayed (9:20-23; 10:12).

6. God Reveals the Future

"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets" (2:28). The accuracy of Daniel's prophecies demonstrates that God knows and controls the future.

7. The Messiah and His Timetable

Messiah the Prince would come at a set time and be cut off for others (9:24-27).

8. The Son of Man and the Everlasting Kingdom

The final kingdom belongs to the Son of man and His saints (2:44; 7:13-14, 27).

9. The Antichrist and the Great Tribulation

A final evil ruler will persecute God's people for a limited time before being destroyed (7:25-26; 9:27; 11:36-45; 12:1).

10. Angels and Spiritual Warfare

God's angels protect His people (3:28; 6:22), deliver messages (8:16; 9:21), and fight against evil spiritual powers behind nations (10:13, 20-21; 12:1).

11. Resurrection and Judgment

The dead will rise to everlasting life or everlasting contempt, and the books will be opened (7:10; 12:2).

Part Eight: Connections — How Daniel Links to the Rest of the Bible

Daniel in the New Testament

Daniel in the Old Testament

Themes That Run from Daniel Through Scripture

Part Nine: Practical Lessons

• Purpose in your heart to obey God before the test comes (1:8).
• Be respectful and wise in standing for your convictions (1:8-14).
• Excel in your work as a testimony (1:20; 6:3).
• Pray with others in a crisis (2:17-18).
• Give God the glory for every gift (2:20-23, 28).
• Trust God's power, but obey Him whether or not He rescues you (3:17-18).
• God is with you in the fire (3:25).
• Beware of pride in your achievements (4:30).
• Learn from others' mistakes; don't ignore what you know (5:22).
• Live so that enemies can find no fault except your faith (6:4-5).
• Keep a steady habit of prayer and thanksgiving (6:10).
• Serve God continually (6:16, 20).
• Remember that earthly kingdoms pass, but Christ's kingdom stands (2:44; 7:14).
• Let God's promises drive you to prayer (9:2-3).
• Confess sin honestly, pleading God's mercy, not your merit (9:18).
• Your prayers are heard from the first day (10:12).
• Know your God, and be strong (11:32).
• Turn many to righteousness (12:3).
• Go your way and rest; God will raise you up (12:13).

Part Ten: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Daniel is the book of God's sovereignty over the kingdoms of the world. Its first half shows a young exile and his friends living faithfully in Babylon: refusing the king's food, praying for a revelation, walking in the furnace with a fourth Man, watching the proudest king on earth eat grass until he confessed that the Most High rules, reading the writing on the wall the night Babylon fell, and being delivered from the lions because he would not stop praying. Its second half lifts the curtain on history: four great empires rise and fall, a little horn makes war on the saints, the angels fight unseen battles, and Messiah the Prince comes at God's appointed time to be cut off for others. At the end stands the stone that fills the earth and the Son of man who receives an everlasting kingdom, Jesus Christ, before whom every earthly throne will fall. The book closes with the promise of resurrection: the wise will shine like the stars, and Daniel himself will rise to stand in his lot at the end of the days.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed... and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 2:44