Daniel

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Daniel
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Chronology
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• In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of
  Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked
  Jerusalem and surrounded the city. The Lord let
  him capture King Jehoiakim and seize some of the
  Temple treasures. He took some prisoners back
  with him to the temple of his gods in Babylon,
  and put the captured treasures in the temple
  storerooms. The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief
  official, to select from among the Israelite
  exiles some young men of the royal family and of
  the noble families. They had to be handsome,
  intelligent, well-trained, quick to learn, and
  free from physical defects, so that they would be
  qualified to serve in the royal court. Ashpenaz
  was to teach them to read and write the
  Babylonian language. The king also gave orders
  that every day they were to be given the same
  food and wine as the members of the royal court.
  After three years of this training they were to
  appear before the king. Among those chosen were
  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of
  whom were from the tribe of Judah. (Daniel 11-6
  GN)

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• Daniel made up his mind not to let himself
  become ritually unclean by eating the food and
  drinking the wine of the royal court, so he asked
  Ashpenaz to help him, and God made Ashpenaz
  sympathetic to Daniel. Ashpenaz, however, was
  afraid of the king, so he said to Daniel, The
  king has decided what you are to eat and drink,
  and if you dont look as fit as the other young
  men, he may kill me. So Daniel went to the guard
  whom Ashpenaz had placed in charge of him and his
  three friends. Test us for ten days, he said.
  Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.
  Then compare us with the young men who are eating
  the food of the royal court, and base your
  decision on how we look. He agreed to let them
  try it for ten days. When the time was up, they
  looked healthier and stronger than all those who
  had been eating the royal food.

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• So from then on the guard let them continue to
  eat vegetables instead of what the king provided.
  God gave the four young men knowledge and skill
  in literature and philosophy. In addition, he
  gave Daniel skill in interpreting visions and
  dreams. At the end of the three years set by the
  king, Ashpenaz took all the young men to
  Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them all,
  and Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
  impressed him more than any of the others. So
  they became members of the king's court. No
  matter what question the king asked or what
  problem he raised, these four knew ten times more
  than any fortuneteller or magician in his whole
  kingdom. Daniel remained at the royal court until
  Cyrus, the emperor of Persia, conquered
  Babylonia. (Daniel 18-21 GN)

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• So then, about eating the food offered to idols
  we know that an idol stands for something that
  does not really exist we know that there is only
  the one God. Even if there are so-called "gods,"
  whether in heaven or on earth, and even though
  there are many of these "gods" and "lords," yet
  there is for us only one God, the Father, who is
  the Creator of all things and for whom we live
  and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
  whom all things were created and through whom we
  live. But not everyone knows this truth. Some
  people have been so used to idols that to this
  day when they eat such food they still think of
  it as food that belongs to an idol their
  conscience is weak, and they feel they are
  defiled by the food. Food, however, will not
  improve our relation with God we shall not lose
  anything if we do not eat, nor shall we gain
  anything if we do eat. Be careful, however, not
  to let your freedom of action make those who are
  weak in the faith fall into sinSo then, if food
  makes a believer sin, I will never eat meat
  again, so as not to make a believer fall into
  sin. (1 Corinthians 81-13 GN)

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• None of you should be looking out for your own
  interests, but for the interests of others. You
  are free to eat anything sold in the meat market,
  without asking any questions because of your
  conscience. For, as the scripture says, The
  earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.
  If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you
  decide to go, eat what is set before you, without
  asking any questions because of your conscience.
  But if someone tells you, This food was offered
  to idols, then do not eat that food, for the
  sake of the one who told you and for conscience'
  sake--- that is, not your own conscience, but the
  other person's conscience. Well, then, someone
  asks, why should my freedom to act be limited by
  another person's conscience? If I thank God for
  my food, why should anyone criticize me about
  food for which I give thanks? Well, whatever you
  do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for Gods
  glory. Live in such a way as to cause no trouble
  either to Jews or Gentiles or to the church of
  God. Just do as I do I try to please everyone in
  all that I do, not thinking of my own good, but
  of the good of all, so that they might be saved.
  (1 Corinthians 1024-33 GN)

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• But the place the LORD your God will choose to
  put his name may be too far away. He may bless
  you with so much that you cant carry a tenth of
  your income that far. If so, exchange the tenth
  part of your income for silver. Take the silver
  with you, and go to the place the LORD your God
  will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you
  want cattle, sheep, goats, wine, liquor-whatever
  you choose. Then you and your family will eat and
  enjoy yourselves there in the presence of the
  LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 1424-26 GODS
  WORD)

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• In the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king,
  he had a dream. It worried him so much that he
  couldn't sleep, so he sent for his
  fortunetellers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards
  to come and explain the dream to him. When they
  came and stood before the king, he said to them,
  Im worried about a dream Ive had. I want to
  know what it means. They answered the king in
  Aramaic, May Your Majesty live forever! Tell us
  your dream, and we will explain it to you. The
  king said to them, I have made up my mind that
  you must tell me the dream and then tell me what
  it means. If you cant, Ill have you torn limb
  from limb and make your houses a pile of ruins.
  (Daniel 21-5 GN)

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• What Your Majesty is asking for is so difficult
  that no one can do it for you except the gods,
  and they do not live among human beings. (Daniel
  211 GN)

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• The king said to Daniel (who was also called
  Belteshazzar), Can you tell me what I dreamed
  and what it means? Daniel replied, Your
  Majesty, there is no wizard, magician,
  fortuneteller, or astrologer who can tell you
  that. But there is a God in heaven, who reveals
  mysteries. He has informed Your Majesty what will
  happen in the future. Now I will tell you the
  dream, the vision you had while you were asleep.
  While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed
  about the future and God, who reveals mysteries,
  showed you what is going to happen. Now, this
  mystery was revealed to me, not because I am
  wiser than anyone else, but so that Your Majesty
  may learn the meaning of your dream and
  understand the thoughts that have come to you.
  (Daniel 226-30 GN)

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Prophecy

• But the scripture must come true that says, 'The
  man who shared my food turned against me.' I tell
  you this now before it happens, so that when it
  does happen, you will believe that I Am Who I
  Am. (John 1318-19 GN)

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What I am uncertain of This is what I take by
faith
What I know to be true What I have evidence for
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• The ram you saw that had two horns represents
  the kingdoms of Media and Persia. The goat
  represents the kingdom of Greece, and the
  prominent horn between his eyes is the first
  king. (Daniel 820-21 GN)
• The repeated allusions to the desecration of the
  Jerusalem Temple suggest the time of
  persecution175-164 B.C. Good News Bible

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• In the first year that Belshazzar was king of
  Babylonia, I had a dream. (Daniel 71 GN)
• In the third year that Belshazzar was king, I
  saw a second vision. (Daniel 81 GN)
• Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes,
  ruled over the kingdom of Babylonia. In the first
  year of his reign I was studying the sacred books
  and thinking about the seventy years that
  Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what
  the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. (Daniel
  91-2 GN)

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• Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, This is
  what the Almighty LORD says In your arrogance
  you say, Im a god. I sit on Gods throne in the
  sea. But youre only human and not a god,
  although you think you are a god. You think that
  you are wiser than Daniel and that no secret can
  be hidden from you. (Ezekiel 282-3 GODS
  WORD)

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• You will see The Awful Horror of which the
  prophet Daniel spoke. (Matthew 2415 GN)
• Textual analysis

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Isaiah 40-55 Deutero-Isaiah

• The LORD, the king of Israel, has this to say
  You gods of the nations, present your case.
  Bring the best arguments you have! Come here and
  predict what will happen, so that we will know it
  when it takes place. Explain to the court the
  events of the past, and tell us what they mean.
  Tell us what the future holds--- then we will
  know that you are gods! Do something good or
  bring some disaster fill us with fear and awe!
  (Isaiah 4121-23 GN)
• I have chosen a man who lives in the east I
  will bring him to attack from the north. (Isaiah
  4125 GN)
• I say to Cyrus, You are the one who will rule
  for me you will do what I want you to do you
  will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the
  foundations of the Temple be laid. The LORD has
  chosen Cyrus to be king. He has appointed him to
  conquer nations he sends him to strip kings of
  their power the LORD will open the gates of
  cities for him. (Isaiah 4428-451)

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• From the beginning I predicted the outcome long
  ago I foretold what would happen. I said that my
  plans would never fail, that I would do
  everything I intended to do. I am calling a man
  to come from the east he will swoop down like a
  hawk and accomplish what I have planned. I have
  spoken, and it will be done. (Isaiah 4610-11
  GN)

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• Even though he had performed all these miracles
  in their presence, they did not believe in him,
  so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might
  come true Lord, who believed the message we
  told? To whom did the Lord reveal his power?
  (John 1237-38 GN)
• Isaiah 531

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• "This was the dream. Now I will tell Your Majesty
  what it means. Your Majesty, you are the greatest
  of all kingsYou are the head of gold.
• After you there will be another empire, not as
  great as yours,
• and after that a third, an empire of bronze,
  which will rule the whole earth.
• And then there will be a fourth empire, as strong
  as iron, which shatters and breaks everything.
  And just as iron shatters everything, it will
  shatter and crush all the earlier empires.
• You also saw that the feet and the toes were
  partly clay and partly iron.
• You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff
  without anyone touching it and how it struck the
  statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and
  gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what
  will happen in the future. I have told you
  exactly what you dreamed, and have given you its
  true meaning. (Daniel 236-45 GN)

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• Babylon
• Medo-Persia
• Greece
• Rome

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• Your God is the greatest of all gods, the Lord
  over kings, and the one who reveals mysteries. I
  know this because you have been able to explain
  this mystery. Then he gave Daniel a high
  position, presented him with many splendid gifts,
  put him in charge of the province of Babylon, and
  made him the head of all the royal advisors.
  (Daniel 247,48 GN)

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• King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made,
  ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and he had
  it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of
  Babylon. Then the king gave orders for all his
  officials to come together---the princes,
  governors, lieutenant governors, commissioners,
  treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the
  other officials of the provinces. They were to
  attend the dedication of the statue which King
  Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When all these
  officials gathered for the dedication and stood
  in front of the statue, a herald announced in a
  loud voice, People of all nations, races, and
  languages! You will hear the sound of the
  trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes,
  lyres, zithers, and harps and then all the other
  instruments will join in. As soon as the music
  starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold
  statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
  Anyone who does not bow down and worship will
  immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
  (Daniel 31-6 GN)

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• He said to them, Shadrach, Meshach, and
  Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship
  my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have
  set up? Now then, as soon as you hear the sound
  of the trumpets, oboes, lyres, zithers, harps,
  and all the other instruments, bow down and
  worship the statue. If you do not, you will
  immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Do
  you think there is any god who can save you?
  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, Your
  Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If
  the God whom we serve is able to save us from the
  blazing furnace and from your power, then he
  will. But even if he doesnt, Your Majesty may be
  sure that we will not worship your god, and we
  will not bow down to the gold statue that you
  have set up. (Daniel 314-18 GN)

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• Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the
  midst of the fire, and they are not hurt! And the
  form of the fourth is like a son of the gods!
  (Daniel 325 Amplified)
• The king said, Praise the God of Shadrach,
  Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and
  rescued these men who serve and trust him. They
  disobeyed my orders and risked their lives rather
  than bow down and worship any god except their
  own. And now I command that if anyone of any
  nation, race, or language speaks disrespectfully
  of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he
  is to be torn limb from limb, and his house is to
  be made a pile of ruins. There is no other god
  who can rescue like this. (Daniel 328-29 GN)

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• While I was asleep, I had a vision of a huge
  tree in the middle of the earth. It grew bigger
  and bigger until it reached the sky and could be
  seen by everyone in the world. Its leaves were
  beautiful, and it was loaded down with
  fruit---enough for the whole world to eat. Wild
  animals rested in its shade, birds built nests in
  its branches, and every kind of living being ate
  its fruit. While I was thinking about the vision,
  I saw coming down from heaven an angel, alert and
  watchful. He proclaimed in a loud voice, Cut the
  tree down and chop off its branches strip off
  its leaves and scatter its fruit. Drive the
  animals from under it and the birds out of its
  branches. (Daniel 410-14 GN)

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• Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None
  of my royal advisers could tell me, but you can,
  because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.
  At this, Daniel, who is also called Belteshazzar,
  was so alarmed that he could not say anything.
  The king said to him, Belteshazzar, dont let
  the dream and its message alarm you.
  Belteshazzar replied, Your Majesty, I wish that
  the dream and its explanation applied to your
  enemies and not to you. (Daniel 418-19 GN)

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• This, then, is what it means, Your Majesty, and
  this is what the Supreme God has declared will
  happen to you. You will be driven away from human
  society and will live with wild animals. For
  seven years you will eat grass like an ox and
  sleep in the open air, where the dew will fall on
  you. Then you will admit that the Supreme God
  controls all human kingdoms and that he can give
  them to anyone he chooses. The angel ordered the
  stump to be left in the ground. This means that
  you will become king again when you acknowledge
  that God rules all the world. So then, Your
  Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what
  is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you
  will continue to be prosperous. (Daniel 424-27
  GN)

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• Only twelve months later, while he was walking
  around on the roof of his royal palace in
  Babylon, he said, Look how great Babylon is! I
  built it as my capital city to display my power
  and might, my glory and majesty. Before the
  words were out of his mouth, a voice spoke from
  heaven, King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to what I
  say! Your royal power is now taken away from you.
  You will be driven away from human society, live
  with wild animals, and eat grass like an ox for
  seven years The words came true immediately.
  Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human society
  and ate grass like an ox. The dew fell on his
  body, and his hair grew as long as eagle feathers
  and his nails as long as bird claws. When the
  seven years had passed, said the king, I looked
  up at the sky, and my sanity returned. I praised
  the Supreme God and gave honor and glory to the
  one who lives foreverWhen my sanity returned, my
  honor, my majesty, and the glory of my kingdom
  were given back to me. My officials and my
  noblemen welcomed me, and I was given back my
  royal power with even greater honor than before.
  And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and
  glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is
  right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts
  proudly. (Daniel 429-37 GN)

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• In the first year that Belshazzar was king of
  Babylonia, I had a dreamFour huge beasts came up
  out of the ocean, each one different from the
  others.
• The first one looked like a lion, but had wings
  like an eagle. While I was watching, the wings
  were torn off. The beast was lifted up and made
  to stand up straight. And then a human mind was
  given to it.
• The second beast looked like a bear standing on
  its hind legs. It was holding three ribs between
  its teeth, and a voice said to it, Go on, eat as
  much meat as you can!
• While I was watching, another beast appeared. It
  looked like a leopard, but on its back there were
  four wings, like the wings of a bird, and it had
  four heads. It had a look of authority about it.
• As I was watching, a fourth beast appeared. It
  was powerful, horrible, terrifying. With its huge
  iron teeth it crushed its victims, and then it
  trampled on them. Unlike the other beasts, it had
  ten horns. While I was staring at the horns, I
  saw a little horn coming up among the others. It
  tore out three of the horns that were already
  there. This horn had human eyes and a mouth that
  was boasting proudly. (Daniel 71-8 GN)
• This is the explanation I was given The fourth
  beast is a fourth empire that will be on the
  earth and will be different from all other
  empires. It will crush the whole earth and
  trample it down. (Daniel 723 GN)

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• Babylon
• Medo-Persia
• Greece
• Rome