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If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 5
The
Book of Daniel
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.
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Daniel 1:1,2
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.
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Thus begins the book of Daniel.
The action takes place in 606 B.C., as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has just invaded
Jerusalem.
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2 Chronicles 36:5,6
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.
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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.
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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.
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Ezekiel 28:3
«Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you!»
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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.
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Ezekiel 14:19,20
«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.»
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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!
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Outline of the book of Daniel :
Part I: Historical Section (Daniel chapters 1 to 6)
- The education of Daniel and his friends, captives in Babylon (ch. 1)
- King Nebuchadnezzar's first dream, interpreted by Daniel (ch. 2)
- Deliverance of Daniel's friends from the fiery furnace (ch. 3)
- Nebuchadnezzar's second dream, interpreted and fulfilled (ch. 4)
- Belshazzar's banquet, followed by the fall of Babylon (ch. 5)
- Daniel's deliverance from the lions' den (ch. 6)
Part II: Prophetic Section (Daniel chapters 7 to 12)
- Prophecy of the four mythical beasts and the little horn (ch. 7)
- Prophecy of the ram, the goat, and the 2300 days (ch. 8)
- Prophecy of the 70 weeks, following Daniel's prayer (ch. 9)
- Prophecy of the warring kings of North and South (ch. 10 à 12)
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Daniel 3:24,25
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.»
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Hebrews 11:33,34
Through faith, (...) [they] quenched the violence of fire.
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The historical section of Daniel's book relates events which are mentioned in the New Testament, such as the deliverance from the fiery furnace.
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Daniel 6:20-22
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.»
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Hebrews 11:33
Through faith, (...) [they] stopped the mouths of lions.
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The New Testament also refers to the deliverance from the lions' den.
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Daniel 9:26,27
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.
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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).
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And the New Testament also refers to the prophetic section of the book of Daniel, for example concerning the «abomination of desolation».
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Daniel 9:21,22
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.»
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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.»
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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.
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Daniel 11:36
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.
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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.
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Paul also referred to Daniel's words to describe the «man of sin».
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Daniel 2:44,45
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.
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Matthew 21:44
And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.
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The stone, symbol of Jesus, had previously appeared in the book of Daniel.
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Daniel 7:13,14
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.
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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.
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Finally, Jesus described His return using Daniel's exact expressions.
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Daniel 8:1
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.
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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.
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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)
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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)
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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)
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Daniel 2:45
The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.
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Daniel 8:26
And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true.
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Daniel 11:2
And now I will tell you the truth.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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!