Introduction to Daniel, Part 2

Introduction, Part 2 (The Importance and Significance of Daniel)

I. A key book of Prophecy; foundational to the study of Eschatology.

A. What is “Eschatology?”

Eschatology: The Study of Last (Final) Things, including end-time prophecy.

o   Eschatology has different emphases, including individual (personal), and general, corporate, universal, and cosmic aspects.

o   Personal: What happens to the individual after death?

o   General, or cosmic: What is the future destiny and fate of all of Creation?

o   Corporate: What is the destiny of the various branches of Humankind?

B.   In our day, deeper studies in prophecy are sometimes viewed with contempt.

1. End-time Prophecy is often embarrassingly mishandled.

o   e.g., Date setters, false teachers, sensationalists, etc.

2. The rise of the post-WWII Neo-evangelical mindset.

o   This is the idea that doctrine & truth should be minimized down to a very basic level in order to promote “love” and preserve outward unity. This often leads to disinterest in the finer details of eschatology, where there is a diversity of opinion.

3. Response to the above.

a. ALL doctrine—the entire counsel of God—is important (Matt. 28:20; Acts 20:27)!

b. ALL Scripture is inspired and thus important (2 Tim. 3:16-17)!

Every Christian is illumined (1 John 2:20); ALL Christians are charged with understanding the Scriptures; ALL are called to be Bereans (Acts 17:10-11).

c. Love & truth should not be at odds. 1 Cor. 13:6b: Love “rejoices with the truth.”

d. Note the good example of Daniel!  

Daniel was richly rewarded for his keen and desperate desire to understand the outworking of God’s plan and prophetic program! (Dan. 9:2-3).

o   How many of us have that sort of desperation for Divine Truth?

o   This desperation was rewarded with greater understanding (9:20-23).

C. Daniel’s place in prophetic revelation.

o   Daniel is part of a greater whole—i.e., it is to be understood within the total context of Scripture, allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.

o   One of the last of the Old Testament prophetic books to be written, based upon the foundations of the earlier prophets; at the very summit of OT revelation.

o   Much of the New Testament prophecy presupposes that we have already read Daniel… and mastered it! For example, consider the words of Jesus:

Matt. 24:15: "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)…”

Horrible and hard to understand things will happen at Jerusalem’s Temple one day—and if you want to understand what’s going on, you need to go to Daniel!

A basic instruction: We are to READ and UNDERSTAND the Book of Daniel—a Foundational Pillar of the NT prophecies. If you don’t know or believe what Daniel has written, it will be hard to understand later revelation!

o   The later light of the NT allows us to understand much of Daniel’s prophecy even better than Daniel did (i.e., progressive revelation)! Many NT references expand upon that which was either discussed or introduced by Daniel…

o   “The Kingdom of Heaven:” Dan. 2:444Matt. 5:3

o   The “Son of Man:” Dan. 7:13-144Matt. 26:64

o   The “Great Tribulation:” Dan. 12:14Matt. 24:21

o   The “Abomination of Desolation:” Dan. 9:27; 12:114.Matt. 34:15

o   The Antichrist; a “Man of Lawlessness:” Dan. 7:25; 11:36-3942 Thess. 2:3-4.

o   The Saints judging the world: Dan. 7:18, 22, 2741 Cor. 6:2.

o    The chronological system & symbolism of Rev.6-19: Dan. 7:3-27, 9:27, 12:1-74Rev. 13:1-2, 17:3, 12

III. Daniel bolsters the idea of Premillennialism (cf., chapters 2, 7).

One of Daniel’s main themes: the Kingdom; The Lord Jesus is going to bring the Kingdom—not anyone else! All history is moving towards this great and central goal!

IV. Daniel also bolsters the idea that Israel and the Church are distinct entities.

Much confusion in this area: the Church is a NT mystery (Eph. 3:3-6) and parenthesis; Daniel is not about the Church, as such; this distinction helps us to understand Israel’s unique place in the world.

V. A book emphasizing Divine sovereignty.

o   Daniel had a true perspective as to who God is and what He is doing in the world at this particular time, the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).

o   God orders events—thus, only His true and authorized messengers can reveal truth; occultism is repeatedly unmasked as ineffective (Dan. 2:1-12, 4:7, 5:7-8).

o   God freely raises up rulers and freely deposes the mighty at will (Dan. 4).

VI. A book of enormous devotional importance.

A. A great encouragement for God’s people in a time of suffering & persecution.

Deals with the trials of the Hebrew people during the Babylonian Captivity, the Maccabean Period, and the Great Tribulation.

B. Daniel’s personal example: Holiness, Discipline, Humility, and Separation.

o   Daniel was offered the rich provisions of the King (1:8)—but would not partake contaminated food, no matter what the cost.

o   As with Joseph, no evil is spoken of Daniel. Both served God in heathen, foreign courts, suffering great agonies and afflictions—but kept clean their testimonies.

o   Daniel was a model Jew in exile, maintaining a proper balance: he displayed proper respect for those in authority (Jer. 29:5-7; Rom. 13), while at the same time refusing to submit to the commandment of secular rulers if it compromised his obedience unto God (6:10; Acts 5:29; Psalm 137:5-6).

o   A man of deep humility. His wisdom was proverbial—but like Joseph (41:16), he was meek and lowly, and did not take credit (2:30). Daniel also identifies himself with the sins of his nation in his great prayer of chapter 9.