Daniel

By David Maas
{HISTORICAL AND LITERARY}

[Click on the title below to open an article]
  1. Introduction to Daniel - (An introduction to the book of Daniel with a brief overview of how the book of Revelation applies passages from it) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Empires Rise and Fall - (Imperial hubris is the legacy of the Tower of Babel, humanity’s first but certainly not attempt to establish the World Empire) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Land of Shinar - (In Daniel, the arrogant acts of Nebuchadnezzar parallel the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis) - {PDF Copy}

{INSIDE THE EMPIRE}
  1. God Grants Sovereignty - (God gave the kingdom of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, but He also equipped Daniel and his companions for service in the court of Babylon) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Food Offered to Idols - (Daniel and his three companions refused to participate in the religious rituals of the Babylonian Empire – Daniel 1:14) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Dream of the King - (Only Daniel is able to reveal the troubling dream of the Babylonian King, unveiling the future of kings and empires – Daniel 2:1-49) - {PDF Copy}
  4. The Great Image of the King - (Nebuchadnezzar implemented his dream by setting up the great golden image as he imagined it to glorify his majesty and realm - Daniel 3:1-7) - {PDF Copy}
  5. Beastly Number - (The number of the beast, 666, is based on the dimensions of the great image erected by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon) - {PDF Copy}
  6. The Fiery Furnace - (Three Jewish exiles are cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to render homage to the “great image set up” by the king) - {PDF Copy}
  7. Downfall and Restoration  -  (The King had another troubling dream that led to his downfall but only after his display of imperial hubris - Daniel 4:1-34) - {PDF Copy}
  8. The Head of Gold Shattered - (The last Babylonian ruler summoned Daniel to read the handwriting on the wall just before the empire’s downfall) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Babylon Then and Now - (The story of ancient Babylon’s demise is reflected in the “sixth trumpet” and the “sixth bowl of wrath” in Revelation) - {PDF Copy}
  10. The Next Imperial Power - (The rescue of Daniel from the ravenous lions demonstrated that Yahweh remained in firm control of history) - {PDF Copy}
  11. Fear the Living God - (The pronouncement by Darius after Daniel’s rescue from the lions is alluded to in the angel’s pronouncement to the “earth dwellers” in Revelation) - {PDF Copy}

{VISIONS OF DANIEL}
  1. First Three Beasts - (Daniel saw four creatures with animalistic features ascending from a wind-tossed sea, representing four successive kingdoms) - {PDF Copy}
  2. Bear and the Leopard - Identities - (In Daniel’s vision, how do we identify the second and third kingdoms, the “Bear” and the “Leopard”?) - {PDF Copy}
  3. The Fourth Beast - (The fourth beast is the focus of the vision, especially its little horn with a mouth speaking great things) - {PDF Copy}
  4. Four Beasts - Interpretation - (The vision of the fourth beast, its little horn, and the war it wages on the saints is interpreted for Daniel by an angel) - {PDF Copy}
  5. On the Clouds of Heaven - (Portions of Daniel’s vision of the four beasts from the sea and the Little Horn are applied to Jesus and his saints in the New Testament) - {PDF Copy}
  6. Little Horn - Interpretation - (The second half of the seventh chapter interprets the vision that concluded in a judgment and with a declaration) - {PDF Copy}
  7. Ram, Goat, Little Horn - (Daniel receives a vision of a “ram” and a “goat.” The ram represents the kingdom of the “Medes and Persians,” and the goat the kingdom of Greece) - {PDF Copy}
  8. King of Fierce Countenance - (The focus of the interpretation is on a malevolent king descended from the Greco-Macedonian empire) - {PDF Copy}
  9. Word of Jeremiah - (Daniel began to inquire into the promised end to the Babylonian Captivity that was recorded in Jeremiah) - {PDF Copy}
  10. Prayer and Visitation - (Daniel 9:3-23 - After praying for the restoration of Israel, the angel Gabriel appears to explain the “vision” to Daniel) - {PDF Copy}
  11. Seventy-Sevens Divided - (The interpreting angel outlines six redemptive goals to Daniel that must be completed by the end of the Seventy Weeks – Daniel 9:24) - {PDF Copy}
  12. The Word to Return - (The word to return marking the start of the seventy-sevens is the prophecy of the captivity recorded in Jeremiah – Daniel 9:25) - {PDF Copy}
  13. The First Sixty-Nine Weeks - (The first sixty-nine weeks set the stage for the tumultuous events of the final or seventieth week – Daniel 9:25) - {PDF Copy}
  14. After Sixty-Two Weeks - (After the first sixty-nine weeks, a malevolent leader appears who corrupts the city and desolates the sanctuary – Daniel 9:26) - {PDF Copy}
  15. Final Week - Abomination - (The final week of the prophecy includes verbal links to the other visions of Daniel, especially the Abomination of Desolation – Daniel 9:27) - {PDF Copy}
  16. In Plain Sight - (The word to return and restore Jerusalem is identified clearly at the start of the seventy weeks prophecy in Daniel chapter 9) - {PDF Copy}
  17. Final Vision, Introduction - (Daniel chapter 10 introduces the final vision that is detailed in chapter 11, including verbal links to the vision of the Ram and the Goat - Daniel 10:1-21) - {PDF Copy}
  18. Persia Stirs Greece - (Daniel 11:1-4 - The conflict between Persia and Greece portrayed in the vision of the ram and goat is recapped and expanded in chapter 11) - {PDF Copy}
  19. Arrogant King of the North - (The war between North and South culminates in the rise of the contemptible ruler and the abomination that desolates) - {PDF Copy}
  20. Time of Tribulation - (An angel pronounces a coming time of indignation upon the people of God such as they have never experienced - Daniel 12:1-13) - {PDF Copy}
  21. The End of the Indignation - (The war against the saints will terminate after the period of a time, times, and part of a time – after the tribulation - Daniel 7:25) - {PDF Copy}

{TOPICAL STUDIES}
  1. Two Little Horns? - (The little horn appears in two of Daniel’s visions – Is it the same figure in each case or two different individuals?) - {PDF Copy}
  2. The Boastful Mouth - (The mouth speaking great things in Daniel appears in Revelation in the description of the Beast from the sea and its war against the saints) - {PDF Copy}
  3. Desolating Abomination - (Literary context is vital for understanding the “Abomination that Desolates” in the book of Daniel - Daniel 9:27) - {PDF Copy}
  4. The Son of Man in the New Testament - (The images of the “Son of Man” figure from Daniel are applied to Jesus and his “saints” in the New Testament – Daniel 7:13-14.) - {PDF Copy}
  5. The Start Date of the 70 Weeks - (Daniel coordinates the start of the Seventy Weeks prophecy with Jeremiah's predicted 70-year captivity in Babylon) - {PDF Copy}
  6. Little Horn - Identity - (The description of the little horn fits the known history of the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes) - {PDF Copy}
  7. The Missing Seventy Weeks - (Despite its frequent use of the book of Daniel, Revelation does not apply Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy to any of its visions) - {PDF Copy}
  8. Little Horn - Son of Destruction - {PDF Copy} - (The “little horn” in Daniel becomes the model for the “man of lawlessness” described by Paul to the Thessalonians)
  9. The Season of Fulfillment - {PDF Copy} - (In Revelation, the period known as the last days began following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth)
  10. Seated in the Sanctuary - {PDF Copy} - (Prior to the return of Jesus, the man of lawlessness will be revealed while sitting in the sanctuary of God)
  11. Son of Destruction - {PDF Copy} - (Many Christians will apostatize when the Lawless One, the “Son of Destruction,” seats himself in the sanctuary)
  12. The Unsealed Scroll - (Daniel was commanded to seal the scroll, but John is told NOT to do so since the season is at hand) - {PDF Copy}

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