Daniel was a godly man who was used by the Lord to provide foundational prophecies, concerning the advent of Christ. His writings provide insight into his own place in history, his personal background, exemplary character, and consequential commission. He was a Hebrew youth of noble birth who was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. and deported to Babylon, where he became a great statesman under consecutive rulers of the kingdom.
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Prayer is one of the most important tools in the armoury of the righteous man, and the prophet Daniel is a wonderful example of a man of prayer. But if prayer is to be effective, it should come from a heart that is humble before the Lord, dependent upon Him, and ready to recognise that there is an ongoing need to approach the throne of grace in good times as well as in days of difficulty and danger.
Prayer should not only be a read more...
King Nebuchadnezzar had an astonishing dream about a great statue with a head of gold, chest, and arms of silver, a torso of brass, legs of iron, and feet that were made up of iron mixed with miry clay. You can imagine the wave of horror that rippled through the land when the king commanded that unless the wise men of Babylon told him the dream and also interpreted its meaning, they would all be brutally executed!
Daniel and his read more...
What an impossible challenge king Nebuchadnezzar gave his wise men. They were commanded to tell him details of a troubling dream he had had and reveal its meaning. The king could not recall the dream but insisted that any failure to disclose it, and provide an interpretation, would result in the death of all his wise men and soothsayers, which included Daniel and his three Hebrew friends - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
The wise read more...
The redemptive plan of God and His purpose for mankind is the most thrilling tale ever to be told. It is a true story that spans the history of the world. It brings into focus heroic men and godly women. It gives us an understanding of the evil schemes of the satanic realm and their attempts to counter God's plan of redemption. And it helps to identify the wicked characters in the ongoing angelic conflict - a spiritual war between God and Satan, that has been read more...
The Lord caused Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon, to have a prophetic dream which greatly disturbed him. However, he was unable to call it to memory and insisted that unless his wise men and soothsayers told him his dream, together with its interpretation, they would all be killed.
God revealed the king's dream to His faithful servant, Daniel, who was a noble young man who had been captured during the Babylonian read more...
The book of Daniel opens with the fall of Jerusalem, the capture of King Jehoiakim, the exile of the Jews and enforced enslavement. Many good-looking young Israelites of royal descent, were forced to serve in the Babylon court. The faithfulness of Daniel and his three friends is brought to our immediate attention. Their respectful request to abstain from eating Babylonian food identifies them as godly men, who trusted the Lord, and as the story unfolds, we see read more...
In the three earlier chapters, we read how king Nebuchadnezzar was brought into an awareness of the Most High God. In chapter 1, we hear how the king realised that the people of God were filled with wisdom and understanding. Not only did he consult Daniel and his three companions on important state matters, but found them to be ten times better than all the wise magicians and astrologers who lived in all his realm.
In read more...
With the completion of the canon of Scripture, God does not need to use dreams and visions to inform us of what is to take place in the future. However, Daniel was one of a handful of biblical characters to whom the Lord did communicate His intentions in dreams - and the dreams of Daniel, together with the vision of John in Revelation, are perhaps the most comprehensive record of God's future plans and purposes for mankind.
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Daniel realised that the time was fast approaching when God's promise to the children of Israel recorded in Jeremiah, to free them from their 70-year captivity in Babylon and to return them to their homeland in Israel, was fast approaching. Daniel did not simply sit down and wait for Jeremiah's prophecy to be fulfilled, but he was proactive in seeking the Lord in prayer and intercession for his people. Daniel set about the task of pleading with the Lord to forgive read more...
Daniel was a man of prayer who studied the Scriptures and took God at His word. He knew that his people, Israel were in captivity in Babylon.. because of their gross sin, idolatrous apostasy and ongoing unbelief.. but Daniel trusted God, studied His word and maintained a godly prayer-life.
It was one day, as he was reading the book of Jeremiah the prophet.. that Daniel discovered that the Babylonian captivity was only to last 70 read more...
Daniel's 70 'weeks' is considered to be the backbone of Bible prophecy, and was given to this greatly beloved man of prayer following 21 days of godly intercession and deep repentance on behalf of his people, Israel, and their holy city-Jerusalem. And God in His grace laid out a 490-year historical road-map tracing the future destiny of His chosen people, Israel, and their final restoration as 'My people; My inheritance'.
The Law read more...
Daniel was given vital information relating to the advent of Christ as Israel's prophesied Crown-Prince. He was appointed to save His people from their sin, to set up His kingdom of heaven on earth, and to sit on David's throne. The angel Gabriel informed Daniel that the coming Messiah would install God's promised kingdom on earth after a period of 70 'weeks-of-years' (490 years), and the trigger to set this heavenly 'clock' in motion, would be a royal decree to read more...
The 'week' mentioned in this verse, is a 'week'-of-'years'. As Daniel explains, this is the last week in a 70-week period (the final 7-years in a 490-year time span). We read in verse 24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon the people of Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem, to finish transgression, to end sin, to be reconciled with God and to bring in everlasting righteousness."
It unveils, with read more...
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we see multiple, varied, and vicious attacks on the nation of Israel - the Jewish people - the chosen of God, through whom would come the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world.
Satanic attacks in the Old Testament sought to prevent Christ's First Coming... and ongoing, post-Resurrection attacks are designed to prevent His return. If the Jewish nation is eliminated, Christ cannot read more...
Chapter 12 of Daniel has been identified as one of the most important Old Testament passages that relates to the Great Tribulation, which takes place just prior to Christ's Second Advent - when He returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. This passage is dealing with the time when God's promises to Abraham and David will finally be fulfilled. It is the time when all Israel will acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah and King.
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Daniel was given many astonishing visions and prophecies which concerned his people, Israel, and the holy city of Jerusalem. Some of his writings describe Israel's immediate future while others give us a glimpse into the end-times, the coming satanic Antichrist, and the terrible time of Great Tribulation which is to descend on the whole earth as God pours out His wrath on an unbelieving world.
The final chapter of his book gives a read more...