Daniel, theology of daniel is one of the most controversial books of. Best daniel commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. The church fathers interpreted the beast in revelation as the empire of rome. Historicist interpretations of the book of daniel wikipedia. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse. Cyruss reign over babylon, the scene of the later chapters of daniel began in 539 b. Generally speaking i am a big fan of the series and i expect anyone involved in preaching, teaching, bible study or christian education will find many valuable pearls of practical wisdom in this book. The angel gabriel specifically told daniel to seal up these prophecies until the time of the end. Does the book of daniel have any significance for us today. Four beasts come out of the sea, an angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the holy ones of god, but he will be destroyed and the holy ones will be given eternal dominion. The prophetic book of daniel was written for our time. Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a. And in fact the book of revelation is largely a christian interpretation of the.
Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. This introduction is quite extensiveall of chapter 10. The prophecies in the book of daniel are so detailed and accurate that. The introduction to the prophecy of daniel 11 is given in the preceding chapter.
The book of daniel is a composite text of dubious historicity from various genres, and daniel himself is a legendary figure. Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word book of daniel. Worldchanging inventions like penicillin, the atomic bomb, heart transplants, travel to the moon, and the internet have seemingly arrived almost together. The interpretation of the book can be determined only by understanding its historical background. Daniel 4 niv nebuchadnezzars dream of a tree bible. Christian interpreters typically read the book of daniel along with the new testament s book of revelation. Historicism, a method of interpretation in christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings. The seventh chapter of the book of daniel tells of daniels vision of four worldkingdoms replaced by the kingdom of god. Daniel interpretation is part of the interpretation commentary series, and i have now read more than a dozen selections in this volume. The book of daniel speaks of things that can be interpreted in many ways, and many scholars, who do not have any concept of an inner meaning, interpret them literally.
Daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. Daniels parents chose a hebrew name for their son meaning god is my judge, testifying of their faith in the one, true god. Unsealing daniels mysteries lesson 1 prophetic symbols. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. There are several indications that support this interpretation. Daniels three friends daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The great theme of the book of daniel are the four world empires which rule and will rule the worlds history from after jerusalems destruction up to christs appearing before the millennium. Nebuchadnezzars dream of a tree king nebuchadnezzar, to the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. The four empires are the same as nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream in daniel 2, although in that dream they are pictured as various metals in a statue. This is proved by daniel s personal experiences and by the prophecy, which runs through the book, of the establishment of the kingdom of god, a universal, eternal kingdom, a kingdom of peace and justice for all who prove faithful to him. The chapter is called the book of truth, which highlights empires controlling the middle east, from daniels time until armageddon. The book of daniel is the apocalyptic book of the hebrew bible.
Unlike other old testament prophecies, this book does not call its readers to repent and lead a new life. The second main part of the book in the hebrew bible viixii is taken up with four visions which daniel describes in the first person. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in babylon. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. The majority of modern scholarly commentators understand the city on seven hills in revelation as a reference to rome. Early in the book of daniel the subject of the promised kingdom of god is introduced. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a and daniel b. The handwriting on the wall book is obviously the explanation of an interpretation by daniel in the bible of the dream, of that image that king nebuchadnezzar.
And the lord gave jehoiakim king of judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of god. Doctorow this novel references the biblical daniel, but its actually a fictional version of the story of the two spiesjulius and ethel rosenberg though the characters have different nameswho gave the secret of the abomb to the soviet union. This period is called the times of the gentiles in the nt luke 21. The sending of the hand is another element of the imperial rule of god theme in this chapter. Interpretation of the dream daniel 2 john macarthur. Daniel tells belshazzar that the hand was sent out by god it was not gods hand. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem. The book of daniel records the actions, prophecies, and visions of the prophet daniel. The teenaged daniel found himself in the midst of a strongly polytheistic religious culture, meaning he had ample opportunities to fall into error. Daniel 12 brings us to the crowning revelation of the book of daniel, the doctrine on which the christian hope rests. So now the meaning of the book of daniel is becoming clearer to us. The book of daniel serves as the major apocalyptic book of the old testament, as chapters 712 foretell the end times. The modern interpretation views antiochus iv reigned 175164 bc as the small horn that uproots three others antiochus.
Its prophecies speak with increased meaning to this generation. Study guide for daniel by chuck smith blue letter bible. The aim of the book is to show that the god of israel, the one true god, is greater than the pagan gods. It is usual with the prophets, when they foretel the troubles of the church, to furnish it, at the same time, with proper supports and consolations. In the third year of cyrus king of persia a message was revealed to daniel, whose name was called belteshazzar. First of all, daniel 11 makes a complete timeline of its own. The three ribs that are devoured represent three empires conquered by persias first great king, cyrus the great, and his son, cambyses ii. It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the most high god has performed for me. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book. You will also find options for commentaries on daniel that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. The book of daniel in the third year of the reign of jehoiakim king of judah came nebuchadnezzar king of babylon unto jerusalem, and besieged it.
Daniel is told by the angel gabriel that the ram represents the kings of media and persia daniel 8. This interpretation was first suggested in 1886 by clermontganneau cited by driver, daniel, 69 and is accepted by many scholars. The book of which he is the hero divides into two parts, a set of tales in chapters 16 from no earlier than the hellenistic period 32330 bce, and the series of visions in chapters 712 from the maccabean era. Once you understand the meaning of the symbol, bible prophecy becomes plain. The book of daniel the book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible.
Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The hero of the book of daniel in the ketuvim section of the bible is one of the jews exiled in babylonia, a soothsayer at the babylonian court under nebuchadnezzar who died in 562 b. As such, daniel is similar to the book of revelation in the new testament. Daniel, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. His visions offer hope that god will bring all nations under his rule. In a stunning display of gods power, daniel told the king the details and meaning of his dream daniel 2. The result is a forcing of the word to fit into preconceived notions, and this in turn, unfortunately leads into misunderstanding.
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