There is much that can be said about Daniel the prophet and the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, a good deal of which I have already begun to say (see here and here).

In my recent studies concerning kings of the Bible, where I have reflected on the kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, as well as the two biggies – the Antichrist and (the most important of all the kings) the Christ, I have found myself delving deep into Daniel. Moreover, as part of my Watchman on the Wall activities, in which I try to relate current events to what the Bible teaches us, I have been drawn to Daniel as much as I have done so to its New Testament counterpart – the Book of Revelation. One sometimes overlooked consideration when studying the New Testament is the need to study the Old, including the prophecies of the Book of Daniel.

As part of my “in my dotage party piece”, I have been drawn to sharing my thoughts on the Book of Daniel, mindful that despite reading and pondering the text many times there is much I do not fully understand by way of interpretation (but then neither did Daniel). Daniel offers rich pickings for cultish and liberal types alike, as well as some folk from my own church stable that rather obsessed over end time events, and even those solid Bible believing types disagree widely on its meaning. All this stirs me up to give, not so much a correct, not to be questioned, exegesis, but rather open up a not well understood book to help earnest Bible students who want to have a rounded view on what the Bible actually teaches. I want to consider the more challenging, indeed controversial, sections and will therefore focus on considering Daniel’s four visions (which also incorporates dreams and angelic visitations). I offer this by way of introduction and follow it by four installments covering each vision.

• Vision 1: (Daniel 7) Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts
• Vision 2: (Daniel 8) Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat
• Vision 3: (Daniel 9) The Seventy “Sevens” Vision
• Vision 4: (Daniel 10-12) Daniel’s Vision of a Man – The Kings of the South and the North – The End Times

The Book of Daniel is good example of the footballing game of two halves metaphor. The first six chapter, except for chapters 1 to 2:4, is written in the lingua franca of the day – Aramaic, in the third person, and is so easy to understand that it offers rich pickings for those teaching children in Sunday School or Bible Class. This contrasts with the last six chapters (Daniel comprises twelve chapters in total), which is written in the first person, except for chapter 7, which is the language of most of the Old Testament – Hebrew, and is not so easy (some may say, either impossible or attracting a plethora of dubious interpretations) to figure out. It is the content and meaning of these visions (or sets of visions) that are going to be the focus of the four installments that are to follow.

While I have given a lot of thought about the character of Daniel, along with his fascinating story (refer to the two articles we have linked to in the first paragraph), this is not going to be a major focus of this five-part series. Even so, it is worth giving a brief overview of Daniel’s life as it relates to what I argue are his four visions. The first thing to point out is that concerning character, this was exemplary. Those who study characters in the Bible to any depth will have likely noted that the Bible pulls no punches when it comes to pointing out the faults of even the best of them, but one would be hard pressed to find fault with Daniel, bearing in mind his life is touched on, most likely, from the time he was a young man in his teens to when he was an old man in his 80’s or even 90’s, living that whole period as an exile (one of the earliest) in Babylon, never to return home.

When it comes to the supernatural, we find as a young man him interpreting the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar (chapters 2 and 4) and, then as a lot older man, interpreting the Writing on the Wall on the walls of King Belshazzar’s palace (chapter 5). His four visions experiences (two and maybe all were a culmination of his prayer and him being close to God) all came when he was an old man. If we were to tot up the elapsed time of these supernatural encounters, it would only take up a tiny fraction of Daniels life – the rest of it was taken up with his religious devotions, especially his prayer life and faithfulness to God, and carrying out his day to day duties as a high ranking, valued officer, given the excellent way in which he went about his duties. He was a civil servant in the administrations of firstly two Babylonian kings and then one Persian (Median) king.

Before we finish this introduction, let us consider how to approach the prophetic element of the Book of Daniel, especially in the light of many differing interpretations. This can be seen when, as I have done in order to give my presentation my best shot, one checks out the Internet, notably YouTube, and come across a very wide array of different opinions “experts” have had to say on the subject (back in the day one would have checked out learned commentaries and Daniel related sermons). Some I found helpful and some a lot less so and usually there has been a tendency to spiritualise and apply lessons learnt, when what I really wanted was sound exegesis to help my understanding. Often, one needed to work out what were the preacher’s eschatological and other theological perspectives and what they made out of the detailed predictions in what Daniel wrote.

A number of commentators, wishing to play down the miraculous and incredulous that so many of Daniel’s prophecies had been so accurately fulfilled, have argued that the Book was written long after Daniel died. A number have taken the view that many of the prophecies without an obvious literal fulfillment will not be literally fulfilled in an undefined future. Two of the axioms I have adopted (with good reason) are, firstly, that the Book of Daniel are his writings and experiences written in his lifetime and, secondly, if a prophecy has not yet been clearly fulfilled, it is yet to happen.

If folk want to know my approach to understanding Daniel and the other Hebrew prophets, I suggest that they check out my books “Prophets of the Bible” and “Priests of the Bible”. But let me re-iterate, I write as one who loves the Bible and the God of the Bible and wishes to relate its contents to today’s world events. Despite my extensive studies and efforts to come to a right view, I do not claim to fully comprehend all of Daniel and neither should those who are reading this, but doing a deep dive into the Book of Daniel will prove to be a worthwhile exercise that will help us in our spiritual journey and understanding and prepare us for living in these last days.

Daniel, like many of the Hebrew prophets, looked forward to Israel’s coming Messiah. What the prophets were unable to see (because it hadn’t been revealed to them, along with many of the details of how prophecy will be fulfilled) was that the Messiah, which Christians identify as Jesus, will come and He will come again. Daniel’s four visions, along with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2, were about things that would happen right up to the time of the coming of Jesus, and things still to happen 2000 years on. There is a third plausible interpretation that applies to those of Daniel’s prophecies that have been partly fulfilled but still await a complete fulfillment.

One of the thrilling revelations in what God revealed to Daniel in his visions is what would shortly come to pass under a succession of kingdoms, and looking into a far distant future, that of a yet to be revealed Antichrist, as well as a final kingdom under the rule of Israel’s Messiah. One of the incredible aspects of the Book of Daniel are the number fulfilled prophecies (down to a fine detail) and is reason why those, who question the predictive veracity of many of the prophetic sections of the Bible, put forward the notion of a late date when it comes to authorship (i.e. being wise after the event).

Concerning which visions, we will get to – watch this space …   

Update 20/11/24

After sharing the above, I had some helpful feedback, some offering an alternative perspective to the one I shared. I reproduce below my response:

Thank you for your helpful feedback. I was wondering whether or not to respond especially in the light of two thought provoking articles (shared) that need further careful consideration.

“seal up” (Daniel) and “don’t seal up” (Revelation) points are interesting and may need my responding to.

I am presently working on Daniel’s four beasts vision in chapter 7 and there is lots to ponder, noting even doctrinally sound commentators see things differently.

My current position is:

1. Matthew 24 has an AD 70 fulfillment (with the destruction of Herod’s Temple) and also a future one, e.g. verses 30,31 relates. Revelation is reckoned to have been written 28 years later and Jesus hadn’t come again as He said he would and that remains the case in 2024.

2. My understanding of Revelation 6 onwards is futurist (not preterist) and that goes for a lot of OT prophecy that does not yet have a literal fulfillment.

3. While a lot of Daniel’s prophecies have been fulfilled in the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, a lot hasn’t (as I intend to point out) and Revelation remarkably complements it e.g. c.f. Daniel 7 (fourth beast) and the beast in Revelation 13.

4. I am no fan of Schofield and I neither fully endorse Covenant theology nor Dispensational theology. While adopting the pre-millennialist line and see Daniel’s seventieth week (especially the final 42 months) as being played out in Revelation 6-19, I am not convinced the Church with a capital “C” will be raptured before Jesus returns in glory.

5. In looking into the future, Daniel talks about the saints and his people – which he would see as the Jewish people. While we may want to view the saints as being the Church, the relationship between Jewish and Gentile saints is an intriguing one that does not support the notion that somehow the Church will have replaced Israel. The turning of Israel to her Messiah is one of the future happenings we can anticipate.

Shalom