|
|
|
| Welcome to this lesson on the organization of prophecies. Let's pray: |
| Our Father, Your Word has taught us the importance of prophecy, and we desire to invest our time in studying it, in order to better understand it. Today we will more specifically probe the book of the prophet Daniel, its structure, its author, its message. May Your Holy Spirit guide us as we open Your Book. In Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. |
 |
Lesson 5 |
Screen 2 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 1:1,2 |
Comments |
| In the third year of the reign
of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged
it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. |
Thus begins the book of Daniel. The action takes place in 606 B.C., as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has just invaded Jerusalem. |
 |
Lesson 5 |
Screen 3 |
The Book of Daniel |
2 Chronicles 36:5,6 |
Comments |
| Jehoiakim was twenty-five years
old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the
sight of the Lord his God. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. |
Why did Jerusalem fall into the hands of Babylon? Simply because, after many warnings and calls to repent, always ignored by the Hebrew people and its rebellious kings, God finally decided to forsake them to their sad fate. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 4 |
The Book of Daniel |
| Daniel 1:3-6 : Daniel's entrance on the stage |
| Then
the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of
Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there
was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to
understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the
language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 5 |
The Book of Daniel |
Ezekiel 28:3 |
Comments |
| «Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you!» | Among the Hebrew captives was young Daniel, who was
then about 18 years old. In spite of the difficult trials which he faced, Daniel remained faithful to his convictions. By his loyalty to God, by his character and his deeds, Daniel left an indelible mark behind, even in the eyes of other Bible authors like Ezekiel, who was referring to him as an example of wisdom. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 6 |
The Book of Daniel |
Ezekiel 14:19,20 |
Comments |
| «Or if I send a pestilence into
that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even
though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,» says the Lord God, «they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.» |
God Himself, when He sought to enumerate examples of men who obtained righteousness through their close relationship with Him, did not hesitate to place the name of Daniel among those of Noah and Job! |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 7 |
The Book of Daniel |
| Outline of the book of Daniel : |
Part I: Historical Section
(Daniel chapters 1 to 6)
Part II: Prophetic Section (Daniel chapters 7 to 12)
|
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 8 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 3:24,25 |
Comments |
| Then King Nebuchadnezzar was
astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, «Did we not cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire?» They answered and said to the king: «True, O king.» «Look!» he answered, «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 the Son of God.» |
The historical section of Daniel's book relates events which are mentioned in the New Testament, such as the deliverance from the fiery furnace. |
Hebrews 11:33,34 |
|
| Through faith, (...) [they] quenched the violence of fire. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 9 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 6:20-22 |
Comments |
| The king spoke, saying to Daniel,
«Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able
to deliver you from the lions?» Then Daniel said to the king, «O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him.» |
The New Testament also refers to the deliverance from the lions' den. |
Hebrews 11:33 |
|
| Through faith, (...) [they] stopped the mouths of lions. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 10 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 9:26,27 |
Comments |
| The people of the prince who is
to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. (...) And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate. |
And the New Testament also refers to the prophetic section of the book of Daniel, for example concerning the «abomination of desolation». |
Matthew 24:15 |
|
| When you see the «abomination of desolation», spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 11 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 9:21,22 |
Comments |
| Yes, while I was speaking in
prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to
fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, «O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.» |
The book of Daniel reports that some
prophetic informations were passed on by Gabriel, an angel sent by God. This same angel also appears in the Gospel according to Luke. |
Luke 1:19 |
|
| The angel answered and said to him, «I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.» |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 12 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 11:36 |
Comments |
| The king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods. | Paul also referred to Daniel's words to describe the «man of sin». |
2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 |
|
| For that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 13 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 2:44,45 |
Comments |
| The God of heaven will set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people;
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. |
The stone, symbol of Jesus, had previously appeared in the book of Daniel. |
Matthew 21:44 |
|
| And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 14 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 7:13,14 |
Comments |
| I was watching in the night
visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to
the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. |
Finally, Jesus described His return using Daniel's exact expressions. |
Matthew 26:64 |
|
| Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 15 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 8:1 |
Comments |
| In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me - to me, Daniel - after the one that appeared to me the first time. | Although the historical section of the book of Daniel
is certainly worth reading and meditating upon, we will instead linger on the prophetic
part in this set of lessons. A careful study of this section reveals close links between the prophecies of this book. In fact, the obvious parallels which can be drawn from one symbol to another clearly show that these prophecies often describe the very same events. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 16 |
The Book of Daniel |
| Let's note the similar symbolism in these three prophecies of Daniel: |
| «After
this I looked, and there was another [beast], like a leopard, which had on its back four
wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.» (DANIEL
7:6) «And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.» (DANIEL 8:21,22) «Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.» (DANIEL 11:3,4) |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 17 |
The Book of Daniel |
| Another example of symbolism repeated in three prophecies: |
| «He
shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most
High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his
hand for a time and times and half a time.» (DANIEL 7:25) «A king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.» (DANIEL 8:23,24) «And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purge them, and make them white (...). Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.» (DANIEL 11:35,36) |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 18 |
The Book of Daniel |
| A last example of parallel symbolism between three prophecies: |
| «I
was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against
them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of
the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.» (DANIEL 7:21,22) «Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human hand.» (DANIEL 8:25) «He shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.» (DANIEL 11:44,45) |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 19 |
The Book of Daniel |
Daniel 2:45 |
Comments |
| The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure. | We will study each one of Daniel's
prophecies, their symbolism, their interpretation, taken from the Bible itself. This is all the more important since we are often told that this book is a trustworthy source of truth. |
Daniel 8:26 |
|
| And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true. | |
Daniel 11:2 |
|
| And now I will tell you the truth. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 20 |
The Book of Daniel |
Matthew 24:15 |
Comments |
| When you see the «abomination of desolation», spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). | As we have already seen, Jesus Himself referred to the
book of Daniel and recommended that we probe it. May this Bible prophecy study guide help us to reach this goal. |
|
Lesson 5 |
Screen 21 |
The Book of Daniel |
| Let's thank God: |
| Almighty Father, We want to express our gratitude for the gift of Your prophetic word which contains, among others, the book of Daniel. Your Son Himself invites us to probe its content, and this is exactly what we wish to do by using this study guide. May Your Spirit guide us, so that this quest may produce in each one of us good fruits that we will bear into eternity. In Jesus Christ and for His glory we pray. Amen. |
|
The test of Lesson 5 is waiting for you!
Click here to send us your
questions or comments about our Web site and products.
|
The Book of Daniel