The Book of Daniel Survey
Pr Edi Giudetti
24-09-2017
INTRODUCTION
We come now to the fifth and last book of the major prophets, the Book of Daniel Suvey. The book of Daniel is one of the most contested books of the Bible together with the book of Revelation, Why?
Both go into great detail about the time of the end. But Daniel is contended against not for its difficult interpretations of the future, not for being obscure, but for being so incredibly clear and accurate concerning those things that were FUTURE to Daniel, but HISTORY for us.
- The Book of Daniel is Post Exilic.
- Both Isaiah and Jeremiah were Pre Exilic
- Lamentations, IN THE CENTER, was the Heart of God for his people
- Ezekiel and Daniel are Post Exilic, they were written when Jerusalem were already taken into exile.
- Daniel is both Historical and Prophetical.
The first six Chapters are History and narrative, they speak of things that were occurring at the time in a story format.
The Last six chapters are Prophetic, they speak of Future events that will come to all the world.
They speak of the END.
THEY ARE APOCALYPTIC (Unveiling) We do not see the reality behind our reality. The Apocalypse will unveil. Just as Moses veiled his face to hide the bright reflection of God, so too it seems will the veil be removed from that which limits our perception of God.
AND ESCATOLOGICAL (escatos = Last)
Daniel deals very particularly about major events concerning the END
specifically;
- The Coming of the Messiah.
- The day of Trouble, or the Tribulation.
The Scope of Prophesies are from Daniels day to the End
THE VISION OF THE END
2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. 8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. 10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
We see that this was of great concern to the King and he did not want to be played the fool. He knew the dream was significant and believed it was certainly able to be interpreted, but only by those who can.
He was obviously not a fool and would not suffer an error in the interpretation. A+ is the mark for correct interpretation, DEATH for incorrect interpretation.
If you are a magicians, astrologer, or sorcerer, YOU MUST SIT THIS EXAM!
ENTER Daniel.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 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. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 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. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
FOUR WORLD EMPIRES
- THE HEAD OF GOLD (BABYLON One nation)
- THE BREAST AND ARMS OF SILVER (MEDO/PERSIANS Two Nations)
- BELLY AND THIGHS OF BRASS (ROME. One Nation)
- LEGS OF IRON, FEET MIXED. (REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE. EAST AND WEST)
Daniel himself has a vision in the seventh chapter of Daniel that goes into greater detail respecting these four empires. He asks for the interpretation as an angel was with him and the interpretation was given to him.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
(Time scale is clearly from Daniel to the END)
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast (The Last Kingdom, yet future from us), which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall 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. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
KNOWING THE GOD OF THE END
In Chapter three King Nebuchadnezzar builds a great image, one might imagine it replicating that which he had seen in his dream, only this one is of Gold. The image stands more than 60 feet high, or around 20 meters, about the height of a six story building.
He then commands all people in all nations that at a certain time each day when they hear the sounds of music they should all fall down and worship the image. If any person will not worship the image they should be killed. The method was to be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. Listen to the voice of the herald as he makes the pronouncement to the world;
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
But Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (AKA, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego) would not fall down to worship the Image. Nebuchadnezzar contended with them, but they were not full of care in answering the king about the matter, pleased to die rather than worship an image in the place of God.
The oven was heated seven times hotter than needed, for the king’s wrath was great. So hot those who cast them into the fire where themselves killed by the fire.
Turn to Revelation 13:14-15
We have an account of an event yet future to us during a time of great trouble that is yet to come upon the people of the world, where a man indwelt with a devil known as “The beast” rises to power and also comes to build an image that all the world may worship the beast.
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
In Daniels historical event we have a pre vision of that which is yet to come in our history.
History rhymes
Dan 3:24
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, 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.
Modern translation have changed this simple rendering to ‘A son of the gods’, they did this contrary to what the text actually says because their finite minds could not comprehend a pagan King refer to The Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar recognized the God of glory in the deliverance of his children from the burning firey furnace and made a decree that all people should recognize this God and if any speak any thing amiss against the God who delivers like this, they should be killed. Those who fail to recognize that which is plain to see concerning the end for which their lives exist, will be condemned for their error.
Jesus made evident who he is to all who witnessed them
John 5:36 …. the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
In John 10:25 when he was asked by the Pharisees to make it plain to them whether or not he is the Christ
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
There was also anther King who recognised the works of God in the Book of Daniel. Darius the Mede signed a law that would condemn the just Daniel to the den of Lions to be consumed by them.
The night was long and the King did not sleep but fasted for Daniel, he arose and rushed to the den and cried out to Daniel;
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
You could imagine his joy when he heard the voice of Daniel respond
Turn to Daniel 6:25
25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men 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, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Here another world leader recognized that which is plain to see concerning the Lord of Lords. But this ability to recognize God will not always be with us it seems. For the heart of man is becoming ever more wicked and his wisdom is turning to foolishness, the Lord is handing many over to their own sin even now and it will come to pass that no matter how much they recognize God they will begin to actively and consciously rebel against him.
Turn to Revelation 13:4-6
Recall last week I spoke to you of the sealed up Eastern Gate done by the Muslims to prevent the Lord from entering. Recall that there is laid all along the eastern side a graveyard with the believe that a HOLY God will not defile himself by entering through?
What struck us as so amazing is that, not only do they demonstrate their belief in the God of Israel and the Christians, but most incredibly, they fight against him.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
This is the leader of the last empire yet to come. He blasphemes the God he knows about. Why is it that so many of the New Atheists hate the God they don’t believe in…? Turn forward a little more to Chapter 16 of Revelation. Verse 8-11
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Though they see clearly the judgment that is come upon them is of God, yet they hate him all the more and will not repent. They Blaspheme the God of Shadrac, Meshak and Abednego, they speak amiss of him and if they were alive during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar or of Darius, or of Cyrus, or of Artaxerxes, all of whom made decrees concerning the God of the Bible, they would have lost their lives for their Blasphemy against the God of their end.
THE SAVIOUR FOR THE END
Daniel 9. Well this is a survey my brethren so you can understand that I will not be able to do this passage justice is the minutes we have left this morning. But the 70 weeks of Daniel is one of the most famous prophesies of the Bible for it speaks of the exact appearing of the Messiah and it gives to us a hint of a pause in the working of God toward the people of Israel, a pause between the 69th and the 70th week that has lasted almost two thousand years now.
9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I 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. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
You remember in Jeremiah that he said and wrote that the captives will be led away and after 70 years they will be free to return. Daniel demonstrates he is well aware of the promise and, unlike the many who did not believe Jeremiah, Daniel certainly did.
He set himself to pray.
It is one of the most beautiful prayers of repentance and pleading in the Bible and I would encourage you to read it with a heart of humility.
Dan 9:20
20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24 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. 25 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.
What we discover here is a range of time, a time that is the most important time of all to the Jewish nation, it is the time of the coming of none other than the messiah. Please stop and consider this for a moment. We have a specific timing for an event that humanity has been looking forward to since the time of the Fall!
No arbitrary timeline here, no guesswork, no hope for some indefinite time in the future. ISRAEL IS GIVEN THE EXACT TIME TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE COMING OF THE JUST ONE. THE ONE WHO WILL NOT ONLY TAKE AWAY THEIR SIN, BUT RESTORE THE NATION and USHER IN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Do you think this is a big deal?
Do you think that this dating range is VITALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW FOR THE PEOPLE?
At a starting grid to run a race there is something that marks the beginning, what is it? Just before the beginning of the first quarter of football last night, there is something that sounds loud and clear that not only the spectators but the players know exactly when the game begins, what is it?
from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince
A commandment is going to be given. The importance of this commandment is underscored ONLY because of its purposed end and that is unto the Messiah the Prince. The knew new how important this is and set things in motion many years earlier, even giving the name of the individual who would perform the commandment.
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd,
And shall perform all my pleasure:
Even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;
And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
45Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
Whose right hand I have holden,
To subdue nations before him;
And I will loose the loins of kings,
To open before him the two leaved gates;
And the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee,
And make the crooked places straight:
I will break in pieces the gates of brass,
And cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
And hidden riches of secret places,
That thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect,
I have even called thee by thy name:
I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
Who did the Lord say will be the one to give the commandment? Do we have evidence of Cyrus following through?
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
Why did this happen?
“that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled”
The same time that Daniel was looking for. The end of the 70 years of captivity, on the very day, Cyrus the Persian king made the decree, the commandment to restore and to Build Jerusalem, even in troubled times.
The period of time would be 70 weeks. It refers to weeks of years and generally understood as Sabatical periods of years.
Jacob is deceived into marriage with Leah when he worked seven years for Rachel.
26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
But our passage in Daniel breaks it up into 7 + 62 weeks = 69 weeks to the coming of the Messiah from the day the commandment is given.
26 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.
2000+ year gap
27 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.
THE TIME OF THE END
The Lord spoke about The Abominations of Desolations (Mt 24:15, Mrk 13:14) as that which is yet future from him. This has never yet occurred. It is that which is yet future for us. It is spoken on in Daniel 11:31
Chapters 10-12
12 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. 2 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. 3 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.
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