Diving into Daniel: Introduction

We’re off and running on a crucial OT book of history and prophecy!

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Thanks for my readers for making their way with me through the priceless Book of Acts. For my next series, I am studying the challenging Book of Daniel from the Old Testament. My devotionals are a sneaky way for me to learn more about the Bible and I find this method much superior to a “Bible in One Year” plan that usually is not effective for retention and learning. God’s Word should be approached with three objectives:

1. Knowledge/Information

   1. Who, what, where, when

2. Understanding/Interpretation

   1. Why

3. Wisdom/Application

   1. How does this apply to my life? What wisdom can I glean from it? How does this point to Jesus?

This devotional is an introduction to Daniel. In beginning my studies about this book, I found lots of interesting commentary and insights. Some of those commentaries believe that Daniel was written much later than the timeframe it is supposedly centered in (beginning in ~B.C. 600) and was written by someone else. My usual resources and the Lord Jesus Himself refute that allegation, but we’ll look at it briefly.

First, let’s start with this table of the various aspects of the Book of Daniel, as found in Precept Austin in their resources for Daniel. The source of this table is unknown, although other similar visual summaries are credited to Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament:

So we have a book written in Hebrew and Aramaic, looking at both Gentile nations and the Hebrew nation and containing both historical and predictive/apocalyptic vision narratives. The first chapter of Daniel is dated to the year 606 B.C. Enduring Word gives us a short overview of what was going on in the world 6 centuries before Christ:

Setting the time: The prophet Daniel lived in the sixth century before the birth of Jesus. During this approximate period:

• Construction began on the Acropolis in Athens.

• Mayan civilization flourished in Mexico.

• Aesop wrote his fables.

• Confucius and Buddha lived.

• Greek art began to truly excel.

• The Greeks introduced the olive tree to Italy.

• The Phoenicians made the first known sea journey around Africa.

Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

So what do the critics say about the Book of Daniel? I liked this succinct summary of those concerns from Enduring Word:

The Book of Daniel is a target of critics who doubt that the Daniel described in the book actually wrote the book, especially in light of the book’s amazing prophecies.

a. The Book of Daniel claims to be written by Daniel himself, and the fact that it is written mostly in the third person does not contradict that claim.

• i. The author mostly speaks in the third person, except for Daniel 8:1, 9:2, 9:20, and 10:2, where he speaks in the “I, Daniel” form. However, it was customary for ancient writers to speak in the third person even when writing about themselves. The one Old Testament exception to this is the Book of Nehemiah, which is in the form of a personal diary.

• ii. Even God switches between the grammatical first and third person when speaking of Himself. One can compare Exodus 20:2 (I am the LORD your God) and Exodus 20:7 (for the LORD will not hold him guiltless).

• iii. Fortunately, Jesus took away all doubt on the matter. He told us that Daniel wrote the book of Daniel: Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14).

b. The Book of Daniel predicts events of the second century before the coming of Jesus (especially the period 175-164 B.C.) with such precision that doubting critics believe it had to have been written after that period, during the time of the Maccabees (in-between the Old and New Testaments). Supposedly, the purpose for writing Daniel at that time was to inspire God’s people on to victory during the Maccabean wars.

• i. The first recorded suggestion for a Maccabean date for Daniel was by the Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyrius of Tyre (third century A.D.). Porphyrius couldn’t believe the prophecies, so he suggested the later date. An early Christian writer and scholar named Jerome refuted these arguments in his commentary on Daniel.

• ii. Influenced by Enlightenment philosophies, academics began to revive the old Maccabean date theory about the Book of Daniel. There was consensus among many academics that every accurate prediction in Daniel was written after the events took place.

c. The modern argument for late dating Daniel is based on supposed inevitable mistakes that a second century B.C. writer made when writing about a period 400 years before, in the sixth century B.C. In our own day, it would be as if someone wrote a story about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock while mentioning speedboats and computers. We would know that it was a forgery. There are usually said to be five main historical blunders:

· The date for Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Judah.

· Using the word Chaldeans to describe a class of soothsayers.

· The account of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness.

· King Belshazzar and his relationship to Nabonidus.

· The figure of Darius the Mede.

• i. There is also a linguistic argument made against the Book of Daniel, claiming that certain Greek words used in Daniel are words that did not come into the Hebrew vocabulary until the second century B.C.

So as believers, we either believe that Daniel was written when indicated and contains an amazing number of insights into a supernatural God and predictions about the future, including the 2nd century B.C. and the time of Jesus, or we can start following the skepticism bunny trails that usually lead to disengagement from faith altogether. I used to play the critic and skeptic, but I have read and learned too much in recent years to let the opinions of “enlightenment” leaders and modern scholars dissuade me from what Jesus affirmed.

There is one other “watertight” Biblical reference to Daniel that is referred to in Precept Austin:

Another Scriptural support for the authenticity of the book of Daniel is the testimony of Ezekiel (taken to Babylon in 597 BC about 8 years after Daniel, which would have been time for Daniel's "reputation" to filter down to the Jewish exiles, among whom Ezekiel lived) to the godly character of the prophet Daniel (Eze 14:14, 16) As an aside, this simplistic "apologetic" ("defense" of the faith, cp 1Pe 3:15-note), is not given to disparage other legitimate evangelical arguments in support of Daniel, but is emphasized because it is one defense that is easy to recall and is "watertight"!

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So why study a Book of Prophecy (and history) like Daniel? The author of Precept Austin, Bruce Hurt, has some valid reasons for diving into this book (I have done a few excerpts from this long essay):

It seems that many in the modern church have tended to minimize the preaching and teaching of Bible prophecy for reasons I cannot comprehend. Perhaps some think it is a topic which is too divisive. Others may consider prophecy too difficult to understand. Still others may eschew prophecy for fear of being labeled as adherents to a certain system of interpretation. There may be other reasons, but whatever the reason, the paucity of preaching on this subject in the modern "missional minded" church is surely a mistake.

At the very least 2Timothy 3:16-17-note (where "All Scripture" in context refers primarily to the Old Testament) would strongly suggest that preaching "apocalyptic literature" is vital for the training of the man or woman of God, that they may be fully equipped for every good work. At the outset, it should be stated that these notes approach the book of Daniel as inspired by God's Spirit and that He, the Spirit of Truth, desires and is able to lead us into all truth, including the truth about the things to come (Read Jn 14:26, 16:13). While we may argue about the different systems of theology, it seems to me that the safest way to approach this book (and any book of the Bible for that matter) is to read the text prayerfully and Literally, and that is the approach taken by these notes. Remember that Daniel is a book written by a Jewish man to the Jewish people in captivity and a time of despair, a time in which they need to know that Jehovah, the covenant keeping God, was not finished with their nation, Israel.

1) It has been estimated that 20% of Scripture is prophesy and 80% of that prophecy has been fulfilled (estimated). The book of Daniel contains the basic prophecies that form the background for God's Plan for the Ages. In fact, the book of Revelation is difficult to understand and interpret without knowledge of and comparison to parallel passages in the book of Daniel.

2) The cults and false teachers major in the misuse, abuse and perversion of prophecy, especially unfulfilled prophecy which makes it imperative for the believer to know what saith the Lord on this vital subject.

3) Study of prophecy (and all Scripture) increases our faith (Ro 10:17-note). If God has fulfilled prophecy in the past, He will surely fulfill those prophecies that pertain to the future. You can stake your life on this certainty!

4) Daniel demonstrates it is possible to live in Babylon and yet not succumb to the anti-god, worldly Babylonian influence, a truth which should encourage all believers that they can do likewise.

5) Daniel teaches that God is sovereign and able to sustain His children even in adverse circumstances. Years ago when I taught Daniel, one of the couples lost a 22 year old daughter to anorexia nervosa, and the truth they tenaciously clung to in this severe testing time was the truth that the Most High God reigns over all people, all time and all circumstances.

6) As we watch the America (and the world in general) rushing headlong into godless paganism and rank unrighteousness (cp Pr 14:34), we can take heart that the Most High God always preserves His remnant of believers.

7) Daniel teaches like no other book in Scripture, that history truly is "His Story"! In this sense, Daniel is distinct from other Old Testament prophets which call their the people to repent and lead a new life (prophet - used with the sense of "forth telling"). Daniel is a prophet more in the sense of "for telling" or predicting events before they come to pass (as do the other OT prophets who were "forth tellers"). If you want to understand history and what's happening in our world today, you need to understand Daniel.

8) Although God never speaks directly (no "thus saith the Lord's") in Daniel, clearly God's influence permeates the entire book and as we come to know Him better through this book, we will be enabled to stand firm and to take action in the midst of a godless society (see Da 11:32b).

9) Knowledge of the world's future (God's Plan for the Ages) should affect conduct in the present (cp 2Pe 3:11-note). The effect of studying prophecy is not to make us smarter sinners but to make us more like the Savior. The study of prophecy (and all of Scripture for that matter) is to transform our minds so that we conform more and more with the image of God's Son (cp 2Co 3:18, Ro 12:2-note, Ro 8:29-note, 1Pe 2:2-note, 2Pe 3:18-note). Daniel the believer models a life of consistent faithfulness, manifest by unerring obedience, demonstrating that such a godly life is still possible even during times of hardship.

That is superb commentary and stated much better than my limited talents would allow.

So, without further ado, my next devotional will examine Daniel 1:1-2 - Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieges Judea.

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Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - You have guided me through so many books in my devotional studies. I turn to You again to aid me in my understanding of the Book of Daniel and to equip me with wisdom that I can apply to my life. Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.

Precept Austin was accessed on 3/11/2025 to review commentary for Daniel (introduction).