Daniel

By David Maas
{HISTORICAL AND LITERARY}

[Click on the title below to open an article]
  1. Introduction to Daniel - (The book of Daniel is a well-structured literary work, not a collection of folk stories and random visions) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Lord of History - (Daniel demonstrates the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh over the course of history and nations) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Babel, Empire, Hubris - (Daniel traces attempts at global empire to the Tower of Babel Incident) - {PDF Copy}
  4. Land of Shinar - (In Daniel, the arrogant acts of Nebuchadnezzar parallel the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis) - {PDF Copy}

{IN THE IMPERIAL COURT}
  1. In the Imperial Court - (Daniel 1:1-21 - God gave the kingdom of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, but also equipped Daniel for service in the empire) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Food Offered to Idols - (Daniel and his three companions refused to participate in the religious rituals of the Babylonian World-Power) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Dream of the King - (Daniel 2:1-49 - Only Daniel was able to reveal and interpret the troubling dream of King Nebuchadnezzar) - {PDF Copy}
  4. The Great Image of the King - (Daniel 3:1-7 - The golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, a prototype of the number and image of the Beast) - {PDF Copy}
  5. Number of the Beast - (The “number of the beast,” 666, is based on the dimensions of the “great image” erected by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon) - {PDF Copy}
  6. The Fiery Furnace - (Three Jewish exiles are cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to render homage to the “great image set up” by the king) - {PDF Copy}
  7. Downfall and Restoration of a King  -  (Daniel 4:1-37 - Nebuchadnezzar is removed from power for seven "seasons" until restored by God) - {PDF Copy}
  8. The Head of Gold Shattered - (The last Babylonian ruler summoned Daniel to read the “handwriting on the wall” just before the empire’s downfall) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Babylon Then and Now - (The story of ancient Babylon’s demise is reflected in the “sixth trumpet” and the “sixth bowl of wrath” in Revelation) - {PDF Copy}
  10. The Next Imperial Power - (The rescue of Daniel from the ravenous lions demonstrated that Yahweh remained in firm control of history) - {PDF Copy}
  11. Fear the Living God - (The pronouncement by Darius after Daniel’s rescue from the lions is alluded to in the angel’s pronouncement to the “earth dwellers” in Revelation) - {PDF Copy}

{VISIONS OF DANIEL}
  1. Four Beastly Regimes - Vision - (Daniel 7:1-8 - The vision of four beasts ascending from the sea) - {PDF Copy}
  2. The Bear and the Leopard - Identities - (Daniel 7:5-6 - In Daniel’s vision, how do we identify the second and third kingdoms, the “Bear” and the “Leopard”?) - {PDF Copy}
  3. The Fourth Beast - (Daniel 7:7-14 - The fourth beast becomes the main focus of the vision, especially its little horn speaking great things) - {PDF Copy}
  4. Four Beastly Regimes - Interpretation - (Daniel 7:15-27 - The interpretation of the four beasts from the sea and the "little horn" of the fourth beast) - {PDF Copy}
  5. Daniel's Vision in the New Testament - (The application of Daniel's vision of four beasts in the New Testament) - {PDF Copy}
  6. The Transgression that Desolates - (Daniel 8:1-14 - A vision of a ram overthrown by a goat and the desecration of the sanctuary) - {PDF Copy}
  7. King of Fierce Countenance - (Daniel 8:14-27 - The focus of the interpretation is on a malevolent king descended from the Greco-Macedonian empire) - {PDF Copy}
  8. Word of Jeremiah - (Daniel 9:1-2 - Daniel began to inquire into the promised end to the Babylonian Captivity that was recorded in Jeremiah) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Prayer and Visitation - (Daniel 9:3-23 - After praying for the restoration of Israel, the angel Gabriel appears to explain the “vision” to Daniel) - {PDF Copy}
  10. Six Redemptive Goals - (Daniel 9:24 - The angel outlined six redemptive goals to be achieved by the end of the Seventy Weeks) - {PDF Copy}
  11. Seventy Weeks - The Word to Return - (Daniel 9:25 - The “word to return” that marks the start of the prophetic period refers to the original prophecy of the seventy-years captivity by Jeremiah) - {PDF Copy}
  12. The First Sixty-Nine Weeks of Daniel - (Daniel 9:25 - The first 69 weeks of the Seventy Weeks prophecy) - {PDF Copy}
  13. After Sixty-Two Weeks - (Daniel 9:26 - A malevolent “leader” appears who corrupts the city and people, and “desolates” the sanctuary) - {PDF Copy}
  14. Final Week - The Abomination - (Daniel 9:27 - The final “week” of the prophecy includes verbal links to the other visions of Daniel, especially the “abomination of desolation” ) - {PDF Copy}
  15. Final Vision, Introduction - (Daniel chapter 10 introduces the final vision that is detailed in chapter 11, including verbal links to the vision of the ram and goat - Daniel 10:1-21.) - {PDF Copy}
  16. Persia Stirs Greece - (Daniel 11:1-4 - The conflict between Persia and Greece portrayed in the vision of the ram and goat is recapped and expanded in chapter 11) - {PDF Copy}
  17. The Arrogant King of the North - (The war between the kings of the “North” and “South” culminates in the rise of an arrogant ruler who persecutes the saints - Daniel 11:5-45) - {PDF Copy}
  18. Season of Tribulation - (A “tribulation” was coming upon the saints, the “indignation,” such as the people of God had never experienced - Daniel 12:1-13) - {PDF Copy}

{TOPICAL STUDIES}
  1. Two "Little Horns"? - (The little horn appears in two of Daniel’s visions – Is it the same figure in each case or two different individuals?) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Little Horn in Revelation - (Is the little horn from the book of Daniel found in the book of Revelation? - Daniel 7:7-8) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Desolating Abomination - (Literary context is vital for understanding the “Abomination that Desolates” in the book of Daniel - Daniel 9:27) - {PDF Copy}
  4. The Son of Man in the New Testament - (The images of the “Son of Man” figure from Daniel are applied to Jesus and his “saints” in the New Testament – Daniel 7:13-14.) - {PDF Copy}
  5. The Start Date of the 70 Weeks - (Daniel coordinates the start of the Seventy Weeks prophecy with Jeremiah's predicted 70-years captivity in Babylon) - {PDF Copy}
  6. Identity of the "Little Horn" - (The "Little Horn" is a malevolent ruler who came from one of the four Greco-Macedonian kingdoms) - {PDF Copy}
  7. The Missing Seventy Weeks of Daniel - (Despite its frequent use of the book of Daniel, Revelation does not apply Daniel’s “seventy weeks” prophecy to any of its visions) - {PDF Copy}
  8. Season of Fulfillment - {PDF Copy} - (What was Sealed in the book of Daniel is Unsealed and Revealed in Revelation)
  9. Little Horn - Son of Destruction - {PDF Copy} - (The “little horn” in Daniel becomes the model for the “man of lawlessness” described by Paul to the Thessalonians)

Bookshelf Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash
Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

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