(Garner)
Daniel, the writer of this book, is known exclusively as "The prophet of Gentile Times."
He wrote and spoke to the Gentiles only, not to his nation Israel, though he prophesied concerning, them. He served most of his life as Statesman-Prophet in official capacity of court service; both to kings of Babylon and MedoPersia. His prophecies concerned Gentile nations, from their beginning 606 B.C., until their end, at the second coming of Christ in glory, Luke 21:24, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be
led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (KJV)
He was of noble birth, carried with three other boys of noble birth, from Jerusalem to Babylon, as possible descendants of king Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20:17, 18, 17 Behold, the
days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in
store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the
LORD. 18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall
they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (KJV); Isaiah 39:7, And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall
they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (KJV); Daniel 1:3, 4, 3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he
should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the
princes; 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all
wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had
ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning
and the tongue of the Chaldeans. (KJV) King Nebuchadnezzar chose these four young men to be trained for his personal services; He changed their residences, names, occupations, food, and language. But he could not change or defile their character, as recounted Daniel Chapter 1.
Like John, "the beloved" to our Lord, Daniel is three times said to be "greatly beloved," a strong character trait, Daniel 9:23; 10:11, 19.
He had a long and useful life as a contemporary of both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, (Ezekiel 14:20, Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they
shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their
righteousness) as well as of Joshua, the restoration High priest, Ezra, and Zerubbabel.
In character he was:
1) strong in purpose, {Daniel 1:8 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:
therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
(KJV)}
7
2) Wise, tactful, and courteous under pressure, {Daniel 1:11-13 11 Then said Daniel to
Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, 12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to
eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and
the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou
seest, deal with thy servants. (KJV)}
3) Loveable, {Daniel 1:9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with
the prince of the eunuchs. (KJV)}
4) Intelligent and spiritual, {Daniel 1:17, 20 17 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…20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that
the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and
astrologers that were in all his realm. (KJV); 9:11-13 11 Yea, all Israel have
transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore
the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant
of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words,
which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us
a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon
Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet
made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our
iniquities, and understand thy truth. (KJV)}
5) Brave, {Daniel 4:19-26 19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied
for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar,
let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered
and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to
thine enemies. 20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height
reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21 Whose leaves were
fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of
the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:
22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown,
and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23 And whereas
the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew
the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even
with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the
dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass
over him; 24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High,
which is come upon my lord the king: 25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy
dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as
oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over
thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever he will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree
roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the
heavens do rule. (KJV); chapters 5 and 6}
8
6) Modest and humble, {Daniel 2:28-30 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. (KJV)} and, 7) Given to Faith and Prayer {Daniel 2:13-28 13 And the decree went forth that the
wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 14 Then
Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard,
which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: 15 He answered and said to
Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch
made the thing known to Daniel. 16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that
he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. 17 Then
Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, his companions: 18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven
concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of
the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night
vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed
be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 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: 22 He
revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light
dwelleth with him. 23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who
hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired
of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter. 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; (KJV); 6:10 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. (KJV)}
9
DANIEL -- The Book Outlined
The Book of Daniel has two major parts:
1. Chapters 1-6 are historical in nature, predominantly dealing with facts.
2. Chapters 7-12 are primarily prophetic accounts and interpretations of visions Daniel saw of Gentile nations and their relation to Israel, the chosen of God, who would ultimately triumph over all Gentile powers.
Let it be further understood that the book of Daniel is a companion to the book of Revelation, as it concerns the future triumph of the Kingdom of God over Gentile powers. This triumph is effected through two "glory bodies", chosen as witnesses of God in the Old Covenant and New Covenant eras. They are: 1) Israel restored, and 2) The Church, the Bride of our Lord, each triumphantly coming either out of or through the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy.
Daniel 9:26,27 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. 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. (KJV); chapter 12;
Revelation 19:5-10 5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye
his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad
and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he
saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the
Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his
feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant,
and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of
Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (KJV);
2 Thessalonians 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be
admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in
that day. (KJV).
DANIEL -- The Book
(two major divisions)
10
Historical
Chapter 1. The man Daniel.
Chapter 2. The forgotten dream interpreted.
Chapter 3. The three of the fiery furnace.
Chapter 4. Nebuchadnezzar's derangement and recovery.
Chapter 5. Belshazzar's feast--Handwriting on the wall.
Chapter 6. Daniel in the den of lions.
Prophetic
Chapter 7. The four beast Empires.
Chapter 8. The ram and the he-goat,
Chapter 9. The seventy weeks.
Chapter 10. Angels of nations in conflict.
Chapter 11. Kings of the North and South.
Chapter 12. Time of the Tribulation the Great
DANIEL -- CONTENTS