"Seal the Book" -- Daniel 12:1-13

The Twenty-First and Final in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

The prophet Daniel was given a vision of Judah’s future by a mysterious visitor–the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus.  In Daniel 11:2-35, Daniel’s visitor foretells in amazing detail how the people and the land of Judah will fare from the time the Jews began to return home after their captivity in Babylon ends in 538 BC, until the rise of a persecuting tyrant–Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the man who will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem in 167 BC.  After predicting the precise events associated with Antiochus IV’s rise to power, Daniel’s divine visitor begins to speak about the time of the end–moving from events in 167 BC to those which will occur in the distant future at the end of time.  Daniel learns that a figure much like Antiochus IV will arise and “do as he wills.  He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.  He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done” (Daniel 11:36).  But Daniel’s vision is not yet over.  The divine visitor tells Daniel that human history will come to a final end on that day when all the dead are raised, and God will judge all the earth’s inhabitants according to what they have done–whether good or evil.  Some of those raised from the dead will live in everlasting righteousness, while others in everlasting shame and contempt.  But instead of giving him precise details–as he had done in verses 2-35–Daniel’s visitor tells now him, “the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.”

With this sermon we wrap-up our series on the Book of Daniel.  We are in the concluding section of Daniel’s prophecy–chapters 10-12, which includes the third and final vision given to Daniel, a portion of which we considered in chapter 11:2-45.  We will consider the closing scene in this vision (verses 1-4 of chapter 12), before looking at epilogue to the book (vv. 5-13), where Daniel recounts his divine visitor conversing with two other beings (presumably angels), speaking about the time of the end, discussing how those things just revealed to Daniel must remain “sealed,” or closed off to Daniel and all of God’s people until the dawn of the messianic age.  

Those of us with New Testament hindsight know that the last book in the New Testament canon (the Book of Revelation) centers around the opening of a scroll–the same one which is ordered to be sealed in the concluding verses of Daniel.  The scroll’s contents are “revealed” (hence the name the Book of “Revelation” i.e., the “apocalypse”) by the Lamb (the Lord Jesus), who alone is worthy of doing so, and who, before his incarnation, revealed all of these things to Daniel in this third and final vision.  This is why the mysteries of which we will read must be sealed until the coming of Jesus, because many of the prophecies in the Book of Daniel (especially those dealing with the time of the end) make little sense until the coming of Jesus and the messianic age.

We will do two things.  First, we will consider the concluding portion of the vision of the end, which begins in verse 36 of chapter 11, and which continues into Daniel 12 (vv. 1-4).  Second, we will then look verses 5-13 which function as the epilogue to both the vision as well as the entire prophecy (i.e., the Book of Daniel).

In the first section of chapter 11 (vv. 2-35), the vision dealt with the future of Judah after the exiles began return home from Babylon.  This is the historical period known as “second temple Judaism.”  The Jews will be back in the land, not as an independent nation, but as a vassal state of first the Persians, and then the Greeks.  Judah will then be caught between two empires which will arise from the remains of the Greek empire of Alexander the Great which was divided into four smaller kingdoms–the two most prominent in Judah’s future are the Seleucids to the north and the Ptolemies to the south.  Daniel has been told how various kings from these empires will wage almost continual war upon each other, with Judah caught in the middle.  This portion of vision concludes with Daniel’s visitor foretelling of the most evil figure in the series of rulers, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who will seek to Hellenize the Jews, and turn the temple of YHWH into a temple dedicated to Zeus–thereby desecrating it and stopping all sacrifice for sin.  It will be a terrible time for Judah, and for the people of Jerusalem, but they will prevail.

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"At the Time of the End" -- Daniel 11:36-45

The Twentieth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

It was April 23rd, 536 BC.  The prophet Daniel was standing on the bank of the Tigris River when a mysterious visitor appeared to him and revealed that Daniel was about to receive the next in a series of visions which YHWH had given him throughout his time as an exile in Babylon.  The appearance of this mysterious visitor–the pre-incarnate Jesus–caused Daniel great fear.  The very presence of the holy visitor exposes Daniel’s sinfulness, causing him to fall on his face.  Reassured of God’s favor by the visitor, the vision now given Daniel will foretell the future of those Jewish exiles who had recently departed from Babylon, when Cyrus, the Persian king, released them in 538 BC to return to Judah, rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple of YHWH.  Jeremiah’s prophecy that Israel’s time of exile was limited to seventy years was now fulfilled.  But Daniel learns that although the time of exile is over and the Jews have returned to the promised land, the glory days for Israel are over.  Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt, but Judah will be trapped between two empires bent on waging war upon each other–the Seleucids (to the North) and the Ptolemies (to the south).  As the vision comes to an end, Daniel will be given a glimpse into the distant future, a time when a mighty blasphemer will arise, boasting about himself and making threats to the people of God (an Antichrist), who, at the time of the end, will be destroyed by YHWH’s kingdom which triumphs over all on the day of resurrection and final judgment.

The vision recounted in Daniel 11:2-35 is utterly remarkable in that Judah’s future is foretold hundreds of year in advance with an amazing level of accuracy and detail.  The vision reads like history written in advance, which is why critical scholars argue that this “vision” must have been written after the fact.  We will turn our attention to the details of the passage shortly, but we must not miss the forest for the trees as we proceed.  YHWH has ordained Israel’s future (seventy weeks have been decreed) and is directing all things to their appointed ends.  Israel’s time in exile has now come to an end.  The Jews have returned to Judah and begun to rebuild.  But their troubles are not over.

As for their immediate future, the Jews will again possess the land, rebuild Jerusalem, its walls, as well as the temple of YHWH.  But in the period which follows (so-called Second Temple Judaism), Judah will function as a vassal state, first of the Persians, and then the Greeks, before finding themselves caught in the middle of a prolonged struggle between two kingdoms (one to the north and one to the south).  Despite the troubles to come, YHWH is still fulfilling his purposes, which include the coming of a messianic age and the rise of a future Antichrist at the time of the end.  

Daniel’s divine visitor informs the prophet that these historical clashes and political intrigue are the visible manifestation of unseen combat between powerful spiritual forces–the angelic forces of YHWH (including the angels Gabriel and Michael) warring against demonic forces (called “princes”) which manipulate world empires to wage war upon and persecute the people of God.  Yet, YHWH will protect his people and his Messiah will come.  In fact, Daniel has learned that a coming Messiah will finish the transgression, put an end to sin, atone for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal both vision and prophet, and anoint a most holy place, before the time decreed by YHWH is completed (9:24).

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"Fear Not" -- Daniel 10:1-11:1

The Nineteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

Throughout our time studying the Book of Daniel, we have read of YHWH using dreams and visions to reveal to his prophet information about the future of the land of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple of YHWH.  The purpose of this prophetic revelation is to encourage those Jews then living as exiles in Babylon–the former capital of the Babylonian empire, now occupied by the Persians.  The exiles find themselves under YHWH’s covenant curse because of Israel’s past idolatry and unbelief.  The good news is that this exile is about to end.  The bad news is that their struggles will not.  Daniel now learns that there is an invisible and spiritual war behind the day to day struggles of God’s people, a war which will be won by a coming of the Messiah.

During his remarkable life in exile, Daniel was called and equipped by YHWH to serve two of the greatest kings of that age: Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) and Cyrus (the Persian empire).  YHWH has also revealed to Daniel that four great middle eastern empires will successively rise and fall–the Babylonian, the Persian, the Greek, and then finally, Rome.  Through the prophetic revelation given to Daniel, the exiles learn that they are about to return home and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  But YHWH will also reveal that the glory days for Israel are past, and they will not return until the mighty fourth empire of these visions, Rome, is finally subdued after its direct opposition to YHWH and his kingdom.  YHWH’s final conquest will take the form of a messianic kingdom which conquers all of God’s enemies apart from the use of armies and political power, a victory won by a suffering Messiah who breaks the power of sin and undoes the curse.  

As recounted in chapter nine, Daniel was well aware that Judah’s seventy years of exile foretold by the prophet Jeremiah was coming an end.  Worried about his people, Daniel fervently prays for Judah (vv. 1-19 of Daniel 9).  YHWH answered him by sending the angel Gabriel who revealed to Daniel that a time of seventy weeks has been decreed for God’s people, a period which begins to unfold with the Persian king Cyrus’ decree in 538 BC, to allow the Jews to return to Babylon and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.  Furthermore, Gabriel explains that the seventy weeks will be fulfilled when a coming Messiah will finish the transgression, put an end to sin, atone for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal both vision and prophet, and anoint a most holy place (v. 24).  Gabriel also reveals that in the process of the Messiah redeeming his people, both Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed, and then Jews will be dispersed into the ends of the earth.  But the Messiah will complete his redemptive work and usher in the final jubilee and the eternal Sabbath at the end of the age.

So far in the dreams and visions of chapters 2, 7, 8 and 9, the focus has been on YHWH’s sovereign purposes for his people Israel, specifically how YHWH will keep his covenant promise to Israel, deliver his people from exile, and allow them to return to the land of promise.  Although there will be the rise and fall of nations and empires throughout Israel’s immediate future, these dreams and visions reveal that any future warfare and political intrigue reflect the unfolding of YHWH’s greater purposes.  Even times of trouble and turmoil are to be seen by God’s people as God working all things after the counsel of his will, and bringing all things into subjection to Jesus.  

Yet one more vision remains for Daniel to receive and recount in the final chapters of his prophecy (10-12).  A mysterious figure reveals to Daniel that an invisible war is taking place behind the history we observe and recount.  The vision which runs from Daniel 11:2-45 is the most comprehensive vision in the Book of Daniel.  Once again, it is intended to comfort the people of God, so that despite the difficulties they will continue to face when they return to Judah from their time in exile, God’s people understand that YHWH’s purposes will be accomplished–despite their troubles

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"A Strong Covenant" (The Seventieth Week of Daniel) -- Daniel 9:24-27

The Eighteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

As famed philosopher-catcher Yogi Berra once quipped, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it!”  When we come to Daniel 9:27 and read of one who makes a strong covenant with the many for one week, we have come to such an interpretive fork in the road.  Is Daniel speaking about a future Antichrist making a seven-year peace treaty with Israel which marks the beginning of the tribulation?  Or is Daniel instead speaking of the coming of the Messiah, who makes a strong covenant on behalf of those whom he is about to redeem at the climax of his messianic mission?  The choice is fundamental as to how we understand this prophecy.  Christ or the Antichrist?

We have spent the last several sermons working our way though Daniel 9, a passage which includes the famous prophecy of the “seventy weeks” (vv. 24-27).  As we noted throughout our time in this chapter, this is one of the most disputed and difficult prophecies in all the Old Testament.  But everyone does agree that it is also one of the most important of Old Testament prophecies.  Although those influenced by dispensationalism see this prophecy as predicting a future seven-year tribulation period and a peace treaty between Antichrist and Israel, the prophecy makes much better sense when seen as a messianic prophecy, predicting the coming of Jesus (Israel’s Messiah) with great accuracy and specificity–the so-called “messianic interpretation.”

Based upon our time spent in this chapter previously, it should be clear that understanding the context and keeping the Old Testament background in mind are absolutely essential, if we are to interpret the “seventy weeks” correctly.  We begin by reminding ourselves that the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 is a direct answer from YHWH to the prophet Daniel’s petitions offered in his prayer for the exiles in Babylon (the first 19 verses of chapter 9).  Daniel is well aware that the prophet Jeremiah foretold of seventy years of exile for the Jews now living in Babylon–Daniel among them.  Daniel is also aware that the seventy years are about up.  He knows that Jeremiah prophesied that YHWH promised that his people will be allowed to return to Judah to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple.  Knowing the day of release from exile is at hand, Daniel is greatly worried about his people.  Will they remember YHWH’s covenant promises?  Will they repent of their sin and unbelief?  

In his prayer, Daniel is deeply moved to repent of his own sins, as well as pray on behalf of his struggling people–Judah.  It is as a direct answer to Daniel’s fervent prayer for Israel on the eve of their possible return to Judah, that YHWH sends Gabriel to reveal to Daniel what the future holds for Judah, Jerusalem, and the temple–the purpose for the “seventy weeks” prophecy of verses 24-27.  The good news Gabriel reveals to Daniel is that the exiles will return to Judah, and they will rebuild the city, and the temple.  The bad news is that at some point in the future, Jerusalem will be left desolate once again.  But this is not a prophecy of despair.  Rather, it is a prophecy which foretells of the coming of Israel’s Messiah who will usher in the ultimate jubilee year, as well as the eternal Sabbath for the people of God.  The exiles will return home and rebuild.  But Jerusalem and the temple will experience desolation yet again, because a greater exile remains–separation from God’s presence due to human sin.  Desolation is not the final word, however, YHWH will send someone (a Messiah) to deal with the root of our exile from YHWH–the guilt of our sin.  This will be accomplished as the seventy weeks run their course.

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"Seventy Weeks" -- Daniel 9:20-27

The Seventeenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks is one of the most intriguing passages in all the Bible.  It is often described by commentators as among the most difficult passages to interpret in all the Old Testament.  Many of our contemporaries understand this passage as a map to the end times.  But I think the passage makes much more sense when understood as a messianic prophecy foretelling the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.  Yes, the passage does tell us much about the end times (in a big picture kind of way), but it does so through the lens of Jesus’ work in fulfilling the six conditions set forth in the prophecy–finishing transgression, putting an end to sin, atoning for iniquity, ushering in everlasting righteousness, sealing both vision and prophet, and anointing a most holy place.  As we will see in the weeks to come, these things were, in fact, accomplished by Jesus through the strong covenant which Jesus makes with the many (i.e., the people of God whom the Father chooses to save).  If Gabriel’s revelation to Daniel does speak to the end times, it does so in the form of a messianic prophecy, foretelling with an uncanny accuracy the suffering and obedience of the one who fulfills it–the Lord Jesus.

Many of us grew up in churches influenced by dispensationalism.  We learned this passage well because it was thought to serve as a guide to the end times.  The prophet Daniel supposedly foresees a time (the 70th and final week of the seventy weeks) when Israel is back in the land at or about the time the Gentile church is removed from the earth (the Rapture).  The Rapture also marks the dawn of the so-called seven year tribulation period, during which the Antichrist (on this scheme, the one who makes a covenant with Israel) turns upon the Jews in their rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, leading to a final battle (Armageddon) which culminates in the return of Jesus.  Although this is the view which dominates much of American evangelicalism, this interpretation is wide of the mark for several reasons we will address in this sermon.

Despite the difficulty and intrigue associated with Daniel’s “seventy weeks,” the passage can be properly interpreted if we spend the time to understand the context in which it is given, as well as developing the biblical theology which underlies the prophecy itself.  The first matter we must tackle is the meaning and chronology of the “seventy weeks” to which Daniel refers.  What are these weeks?  When do the weeks begin, and when do they end?  Are we to take the seventy weeks as a literal period of time, or are the seventy weeks better understood symbolically in light of the previous visions recorded earlier in Daniel?  

I’m thinking here of the visions of four great empires found in Daniel 2 (Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a metallic statue interpreted by Daniel), and Daniel 7 (a vision given to Daniel of four great and mysterious beasts).  The four metals in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue and the four beasts in Daniel’s vision predict the rise of the four great empires of the ancient near-eastern world: the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman empires.  As will see shortly (as represented in the chart provided), these prior visions provide the context for the vision of the seventy weeks–a context often overlooked by those who see the prophecy as focusing on the time of the end, instead of upon the dawn of the messianic age.

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"To the Lord Our God Belong Mercy and Forgiveness" -- Daniel 9:1-17

The Sixteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

The ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel contains one of the most debated and difficult passages in all the Bible–the famous vision of the seventy weeks found in verses 24-27.  This vision, given to Daniel through the Angel Gabriel, is often taken to be a prophetic revelation focusing exclusively on the end times.  While the vision does extend to the time of the end, the focus is explaining how is it–if, as Israel’s prophets have foretold, the seventy years of exile in Babylon are about to come to an end–that God will extend this time of exile for seventy more weeks.  The news of an extension of Israel’s exile (a form of covenant curse) takes a surprising turn, as Gabriel now reveals to Daniel.  As promised, God’s people will return to Jerusalem and rebuild both the city and the temple.  How then can the people still be said to be in exile?  In Daniel 9, the root cause of this extended time of exile is revealed to be human sinfulness.  Because God is holy, human sin must be dealt with once and for all before the time of exile finally and ultimately comes to an end.  As Gabriel now reveals to Daniel, this is the work of the coming Messiah, who will truly restore Jerusalem, the temple, and the sacrifices, but will also put an end to sin, atone for wickedness and bring in an everlasting righteousness.  Although many take the prophecy of the seventy weeks to predict specific events at the time of the end, rather, Daniel 9 is better understood as one of the most important messianic prophecies in all the Bible.  It foretells of a coming Messiah, who will overcome all his enemies and ours, and who will once and for all put an end to the guilt and the power of human sin.  It is this covenant-making Messiah–not a future Antichrist–who is the key figure of the seventy weeks.

If such an understanding of Daniel 9 is correct, why do so many believe the passage to be a map to the end times?  The very nature of this passage–with its mysterious numbers of weeks, the important themes it addresses, and the historical and doctrinal questions it raises–has provided fertile soil for all kinds of bizarre interpretations and problematic doctrines.  What are the “weeks” and how long do they last?  When do the seventy-weeks begin and when do they end?  How do we calculate such things?  Because of such factors this is admittedly a difficult passage to interpret.  Much of the difficulty goes away, however, if we interpret the passage in the light of Daniel’s previous visions (especially those in chapters 2 and 7), and in light of Israel’s own history and covenantal dealings with YHWH.                  

For some of us, it will be hard to unlearn what we’ve been taught as orthodoxy.  Many of us are very well familiar with widely-held view in American evangelicalism that this passage teaches us to expect a future seven-year tribulation period and an end-times Antichrist, who makes a peace treaty with Israel before suddenly turning on God’s people, setting the stage for the final battle of Armageddon.  Sadly, this interpretation is based upon a serious misreading and misunderstanding of Gabriel’s message relayed through Daniel the prophet.  As I hope will become clear, this amazing prophecy is best interpreted in light of Daniel’s prayer (the first 19 verses of the chapter, our text this morning) as well as in the light of the two previous visionary dreams; Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a metallic statue Daniel 2, and Daniel’s vision of four mysterious beasts (chapter 7).  Both of these visions foretell of the rise of four great empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome), and, as we will see, these visions define the time and the nature of the seventy sevens of exile decreed for God’s people, now revealed by Gabriel to Daniel.Once we realize that Gabriel is not speaking exclusively of events at the end of time–although the vision of the seventy weeks does extend to the end times, even to eternity–it quickly becomes clear that Gabriel’s revelation to Daniel is best understood as a messianic prophecy which predicts a glorious messianic age yet to come, an age which centers around the coming Messiah (especially his person and his work), who is also the same figure who was lead into the presence of the Ancient of Days in the vision recounted in Daniel 7.  In effect, the prophecy is given in response to Daniel’s prayer of repentance which opens the chapter and which will serve as our text.  The ninth chapter of Daniel is unique in that it opens with Daniel taking the initiative in offering a heart-felt prayer of repentance to YHWH on behalf of Israel (vv. 1-19).  This prayer, in turn, leads to one of the most important prophetic revelations in all the Bible (certainly in all the Old Testament)–a vision of “seventy weeks” decreed for the people of God (vv. 20-27).

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"A Little Horn" -- Daniel 8:1-27

The Fifteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

Who is Antiochus IV Epiphanes and why should we care?  If we were Jews we would know the answer to this question immediately–Antiochus Epiphanes and the Macabbean Wars are the historical background of the Jewish holiday “Hanukkah” (which means “dedication,” or more specifically, “re-dedication”).  The reason why we as Christians should care about Antiochus is because the prophet Daniel had a vision (a second, which is recounted in chapter 8), this time of a ram and a goat.  But the “little horn” also reappears and his role is central in this vision, pointing us ahead to a future Antichrist.  In this visionary dream, YHWH gives Daniel a prediction of yet another terrible time for the people of God then exiled in Babylon.  This vision informs them that at some point before the dawn of the messianic age, yet after the exiles have indeed returned from Babylon to Judah to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and YHWH’s temple, the rebuilt temple will be desecrated by a “Little Horn,” who, in this vision, is none other than Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  The temple will be cleansed and the altar rebuilt by Judas Maccabaeus, the famed Jewish rebel leader who recaptured Jerusalem from Antiochus’ forces and then restored the temple.  This event, celebrated by Jews ever since (“Hanukkuh”), was foretold with uncanny accuracy by Daniel, and recounted for us in the 27 verses of the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel.

This vision is important to us for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the accuracy of Daniel’s prediction of yet another terrible desecration of YHWH’s temple in Jerusalem.  This desolation will occur long after the Jewish exiles then held in Babylon (at the time Daniel is given this vision), have, in the future, returned to Judah and are once again established in the land of promise.  Daniel’s vision predicts the coming of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (some 350 years yet future to Daniel), but it also depicts him as a type (or a foreshadowing) of series of antichrist figures yet to come.  As we saw in the vision recorded in Daniel 7, this series of antichrists includes the self-deifying emperors of Rome (the “Little Horn” of the fourth beast of the visions in Daniel 2 and 7), and which culminates in a final end times Antichrist foretold by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, our New Testament lesson.  

As I have mentioned throughout our time in Daniel, critical scholars will simply not accept miraculous predictive prophecy, so they argue, a unnamed Jew living in Judah, writing as the “prophet” Daniel composed this book and at some point shortly after the Maccabean Wars (after 167 BC), because, critical scholars say, Daniel’s prophecy is far too accurate to have been given three and a half centuries prior to the events foretold.  Yet Jesus, John, and Paul see Daniel’s visions as predictive prophecy with Jesus applying to himself the title “Son of Man” in the Olivet Discourse, John seeing Daniel’s fourth beast and its “Little Horn” as the Roman empire (Nero in particular), while Paul sees the “Little Horn” as a foreshadowing of an end-times Antichrist (the “man of sin”) and a final apostasy.    

In order to fully appreciate the significance of Daniel’s vision in chapter 8, we begin with the historical events which Daniel predicted, before we take up the details of the prophecy.  We do this to better understand the accuracy of the events foretold in Daniel’s vision.  We begin with a brief history of Jewish temple from Daniel’s time until the days of the Maccabees.  Then we will consider the career of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean wars of 168-160 BC, before turning to Daniel’s vision (vv. 1-27 of chapter 8), which, as we will see, predicts these events in remarkable detail and accuracy.

As for the Jerusalem temple, as we saw throughout our study of Ezra-Nehemiah, the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC.  Many of the Jewish inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem were taken into exile in Babylon.  Daniel had been take captive in 605 BC, so he was present when these exiles arrived in Babylon.  No doubt, he heard first hand accounts of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  Daniel also knew the prophecy of Jeremiah (specifically Jer. 25:11-12) in which the prophet foretold that the Jews would remain in exile in Babylon for 70 years.  We have seen in the first half of Daniel’s prophecy (chapters 1-6), that Daniel lived until the Jews were released to return home by Cyrus (Darius the Mede) in 538 BC.  We also know from Ezra and Nehemiah that work on rebuilding the temple begun under Zerubbabel and was finally completed in 516 BC–the so-called “second” temple.  During the days of Nehemiah, Jerusalem’s walls were rebuilt and dedicated to YHWH in 444 BC.

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"And the Time Came" -- Daniel 7:15-28

The Fourteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

Daniel’s vision in chapter 7 of the prophecy which bears his name, maps out the future of the four great ancient middle-eastern empires with uncanny accuracy.  Daniel’s vision dates from 550 BC–the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon–but covers historical developments until the rise of the Roman empire four centuries later.  In this amazing vision, Daniel sees four fierce and frightening beasts which represent the same successive empires which Nebuchadnezzar had seen in the vision of the metallic statue which YHWH had given to him (and recounted in Daniel 2): the Babylonian empire, the Persian empire, the Greek empire (under Alexander the Great and his successors), and then finally the fourth and most powerful and frightening beast of all, the Roman empire.  What makes Daniel’s vision so much more than a mere lesson in ancient near-eastern history is that this vision is given five centuries before these events actually occur.  But Daniel is also given a vision of the heaven court in session.  He sees one whom he describes as “the Ancient of Days” presiding, with one “like a Son of Man” being led into his presence, possessing a glory beyond all human comprehension, with thousands and tens of thousand attendants.  Daniel sees what so many of God’s people across the ages have desired to see–a glimpse of what heaven is like and what transpires in God’s presence.

What readers of the New Testament know, which Daniel did not, is that this one like “a Son of Man” whom Daniel sees is none other than Jesus Christ.  When interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the metallic statue, Daniel describes what he sees (Daniel 2:44–45).  “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people.  It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Coming a generation later, Daniel’s dream recounted in chapter 7 reveals the missing element of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream–who or what is the stone which crushes the metallic statue, specially the fourth empire?  Daniel reveals that it is YHWH who directs all of human history to the ends to which he has determined through the person and work of the Son of Man (Jesus)–the mysterious stone seen by Nebuchadnezzar.  No human empire, no matter how great it may appear to human eyes, will escape YHWH’s verdict which will be meted out in the heaven court on judgment day, when Jesus returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.  God will crush all the kingdoms of this world which rise to challenge his divine authority.  Daniel, certainly, did not comprehend the full meaning of what he sees in his vision, but with the 20/20 vision of New Testament hindsight, we know that what Daniel saw was none other than the heavenly glory of the Lord Jesus–that “one like a Son of Man.”  

In both visions (Nebuchadnezzar’s in chapter 2, and Daniel’s in chapter 7), the fourth empire (Rome) plays the critical role as a future oppressor of God’s people.  The fourth beast (empire) of Daniel’s vision is the most frightening of all and does terrible harm to the people of God.  Yet YHWH will inevitably bring each of these empires to ruin (including Rome).  The reassurance that God controls and judges these empires is of great comfort to Daniel and the Jewish exiles then in Babylon who have been under the oppressive heel of a pagan empire (Babylon–the first beast) which forcibly took many of them from their homes in Judah 70 years or so previously.

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"One Like a Son of Man" -- Daniel 7:1-18

The Thirteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

The second half of the Book of Daniel is much different from the first half.  The first six chapters of Daniel recount the career of the Hebrew prophet including a number of events associated with Daniel and his three Hebrew comrades (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), two Babylonian kings (Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar) and one Persian king (Darius the Mede–also known as Cyrus).  The second half of the Book of Daniel (chapters 7 through 12) opens with a dramatic vision given by YHWH to Daniel which maps out the next six centuries of ancient near-eastern history.  Yet in the following chapters, Daniel continues to recount some of the most fantastic and difficult visions in all the Bible.  But the literary hinge between the two halves of Daniel is chapter 7.  As one writer puts it, the nature of Daniel’s dramatic vision makes this “the single most important chapter of the Book of Daniel.”  Chapter 7 includes what yet another writer describes as the “the key to history.”  These are grandiose comments, but after we have spent some time in this chapter, I think you will see why these opinions are appropriate.  The vision given Daniel in chapter 7 points us to a mysterious figure–“One like a Son of Man”–who is indeed the key to understanding all of human history.

Daniel’s vision of four strange beasts as recorded in chapter 7, covers the same time frame in human history (the 5th century BC-the 1st century AD) as the vision which YHWH gave previously to Nebuchadnezzar, recounted in Daniel 2.  But this vision is YHWH’s revelation of the all-conquering king (Jesus) around whom all of human history ultimately centers.  The subsequent visions given Daniel in chapters 8-12 speak of the great empires which arise after Babylon falls (the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires), while also foretelling of the rebuilding of Jerusalem (after the Jewish exiles return home from Babylon), the rise of an Antichrist figure (described as a blaspheming “little horn” who is the arch-enemy of God’s people), before the visions take us forward to the end of the age and the general resurrection when all the dead (believing and unbelieving) are raised bodily on the day of final judgment.

As we return to our series on the Book of Daniel, this week and next, we will explore in some detail the amazing vision given Daniel by YHWH while Belshazzar was in the first year of his reign as king of Babylon–specifically, the year 550 BC, which also happened to be the very same year that a relatively unknown Persian king (Darius) rose to became leader of the Medo-Persian empire (taking the royal name Cyrus), which will conquer Babylon in 539 BC (as we saw in chapters 5-6 of Daniel).  

The first half of the Book of Daniel tells the story of Daniel’s life in exile and his service in the royal court, from the time he was kidnaped from his home in Judah (605 BC) until late in his life (539 BC), when he served as a trusted advisor, first to Nebuchadnezzar and then Cyrus.  Daniel served the latter toward the end of Daniel’s life, when the Persian king was wrestling with the question, “what to do with the sizable population of Jews living as exiles in Babylon, but who anxious to return to their homeland, rebuild the capital city (Jerusalem) and the temple of YHWH?”  The central message throughout the first half of Daniel, is that YHWH is sovereign over all kings and empires, seen in the fact that he gave his prophet Daniel great gifts of the Spirit to protect from harm while in exile, and to interpret the dreams which YHWH gave to the leaders of that very same nation (Babylon) YHWH used to punish his disobedient people (Israel), before bringing down the Babylonian empire because of its on-going persecution of the people of God, along with Babylon’s zeal in worshiping false gods.  The first half of Daniel ends with Daniel returning to the royal court near the end of his life, this time serving a Persian king in the period immediately before Cyrus issues his famous decree to allow the Jews to return home. 

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"He Is the Living God" -- Daniel 6:1-28

The Twelfth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Daniel

The sign on the door of the royal palace read “under new management.”  The Persians (Medes) have displaced the Babylonians (Chaldeans) as the occupiers and rulers of Babylon.  The Babylonian king, Belshazzar, is dead.  Darius the Mede (Cyrus) is now in charge, ruling as Persian king over the former Babylonian empire.  The Hebrew prophet, Daniel, now an old man, is immediately recognized by Darius as a wise and gifted man and an effective supervisor.  Daniel is given great authority as one of three “presidents” (counselors) to supervise the satraps (or regional governors), who handled the day to day affairs of local government.  It is a position of great honor, respect, and influence.  But Daniel’s appointment to such high office creates much jealousy among the Persians, and even perhaps among former Babylonian officials who were passed over for the prestigious job which instead went to a despised Hebrew.  A plot is soon hatched to remove Daniel from his new office, and it will not be long before Daniel finds himself forced to deny his faith in YHWH, or face being thrown to lions.  But God preserves his people in such a way as to unmistakably reveal himself to be the sovereign Lord of all–even to the Persian king Darius.

The story of “Daniel in the lion’s den” is one of the best known and most loved of all the so-called “Bible stories.”  This is a great story in its own right.  But to make full sense as to why this incident is included in Daniel’s prophecy, it must be considered in light of the larger redemptive-historical context, which is the victory of YHWH, his prophets, and his exiled people over the false “gods” of Babylon, and now Persia.  YHWH is sovereign over all kings and nations and is directing the events of which we have read throughout Daniel’s prophecy to his own ends.  Daniel’s trial and ordeal in the lion’s den in chapter 6 are part of YHWH’s larger sovereign plan to ensure that the Jewish exiles in Babylon will be allowed to return home to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and YHWH’s temple.  This comes about because YHWH moves Darius (Cyrus) to issue a decree to bring this to pass (recounted in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah).  But the one incident which seems to truly motivate Darius to release the exile Jews is when the Persian king sees first hand the power of God in rescuing his prophet Daniel from a pride of hungry lions.

There are obvious similarities between this chapter and Daniel 3, when Daniel’s three Hebrew friends (exiles just as he was, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were cast into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, only to be delivered by a mysterious fourth man–the angel of the Lord.  God’s exile people often find themselves being persecuted by pagan officials because of their faith in YHWH.  Faith in YHWH is seen as an offence against the pagan deities and those who worship them.  In Daniel 3, it was the demand to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue, while in chapter 6 is it a demand to stop worshiping YHWH according to his word–and instead devote all prayers to the emperor Darius.  Throughout most of church history these are pressures God’s people have faced–sometimes these pressures are subtle and easily avoided, while other times they are acute and a direct threat liberty and even life.  The latter is the case in both Daniel 3 and 6.  Once again, there are loud echoes from the Joseph story who was likewise thrown into a pit, rescued in an unexpected way, and yet prospered under the hand of God (Gen. 37:24; 39:23; 41:40).

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