Daniel

1
Daniel
2
Nature of the Book

• Prophecy
• Proclaims the need for faithfulness to God, but
  without the normal denunciation of sin,
  injustice, and unrighteousness.
• Apocalyptic
• Visions, symbolic numbers, interpreting angels,
  mystical imagery, and eschatological focus.
• The focus is on the endwhere God wins.
• The process of getting there is tied up in image
  and symbol, making it difficult to interpret.

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Nature of the Book

• Two parts
• StoriesDaniel 1-6
• VisionsDaniel 7-12
• Two languages
• Aramaic24b-728

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Date of the Book

• 605-522 BC
• Nebuchadnezzar's capture (3rd year of Jehoiakim)
  to 1st year of Darius.
• Confusion between Darius and Cyrus (531)
• That very night Belshazzar, king of the
  Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took
  over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two (Dan.
  531).

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Date of the Book
Nabopolassar c.630 605 25
Nebuchadrezzar II(Nebuchadnezzar) 605 561 44
Awil-Marduk (Evil-Merodach) 561 560 1
Nergal-shar-usur (Neriglissar) 559 555 4
Nabonidus 555 539 16
Belshazzar 550 539 11
Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great) 559 529 30
Cambyses II 529 522 7
Darius I 522 486 36
Xerxes I 486 465 21
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Date of the Book

• Many of the visions fit the context of 2nd
  century BC (Dan. 9, 11, 12).

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Message of the Book

• Faithfulness to God
• God vindicated Daniel and his friends because of
  their faithfulness. But, ...
• What if He had not?

10
Message of the Book

• The Kingdom of God
• God is at work in the world.
• God's kingdom will prevail in the end.
• Beast in Dan. 2
• "Weeks of Years" in Dan. 9