December 17, 2005

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Hosea 2:1-6:11; Revelation 3:1-22

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

The book of Daniel was written at a critical time in Israel's history.  They had turned away from God for so long that God finally was fed up with them and sent them into Babylonian captivity.  You can read more on this in Kings.  God gave Israel many chances to turn from their wickedness and from their idols, but they insisted on having other gods before Him.  It is rather interesting that after the Babylonian captivity, idols were not mentioned as a dominate problem with the Jews again. 

Daniel was a prophet in more than the sense of the word as one who tells the future.  He was also a prophet in the sense of the word that he called right, right and wrong, wrong.  He was not afraid to stand up to the powers that were and tell them blatantly that they were wrong.  Daniel was also not afraid to suffer the consequences for his actions and on several occasions was sent to his death, only to be delivered by God.  In that way Daniel is a practical example to all of us to live the holy life, and to stand by righteousness regardless of the costs.  How much are we willing to abide in the vine of Jesus?  Too often we will abide in Jesus until the going gets tough, and then we disconnect from the vine and try it on our own for a while.

The book of Daniel goes hand in hand with the Book of Revelation in regard to end time prophecy.  But it also ties in with Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jesus' prophecies in the New Testament, (which we have already studied), and expounds on the concepts that God revealed there.  As we dig through this book, I will be taking my time, and hopefully be able to glean some understanding from it that is both useful in our practical every day life and that is useful in understanding end time prophecy. 

Daniel is rather interesting because of several factors, it is a book of prophecy, but it is also a book of history.  It was written in two different languages, Hebrew and Aramaic.  It has also been under attack for centuries as to whether or not it is an authentic work of Daniel.  No one really understands why this was done; some speculation says that it was because Daniel was writing to the Jews specifically in parts and to the world as a whole in other parts. 

I think that Daniel wrote it at different times and wrote in the language that he was comfortable using at that time.  It also demonstrates that God sought to keep His word in the common language of the people because toward the end of the Babylonian captivity, most of the Jewish people were speaking Aramaic instead of Hebrew.  If we move forward to the New Testament times, God had the Bible written in the common Greek language, not the high Greek or low Greek.  That was so that the common man could understand and read God's word.  Fast forward to today, if you can't find a Bible written in a language you can understand today, you must not want to read it.  The Bible has been translated into almost every language, and into almost every level of English that we have.  I could be wrong on this, but speculation is speculation, one guess is as good as another.  I think that God moved more in the practical arena than in the mysterious.

One solid proof that Daniel was a prophet and was a legitimate book was when Jesus referred to him as a great prophet.  If Jesus referred to him as a prophet, He should know.  He also quoted Daniel when He spoke about His second coming:

Matthew 24:15

15     “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Matthew 26:64

64     Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14:62

62     And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Daniel 7:13-14

13     “I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with the clouds of heaven

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And was presented before Him.

     14     “And to Him was given dominion,

Glory and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations and men of every language

Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not pass away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed. NASB95^[1]

Outside of that, there are references to the end times, Christ rising from the dead, the rapture of believers and many more concepts that validate the doctrines of the New Testament.  As we explore this book I think that we will have an enjoyable journey.  I am going to close here, all comments are welcomed.

Father, as we start a new book, inspire us and speak to each of our hearts regarding the message that You have for us.

In Him,

Joe Turner.