1. Insights from Daniel

2. Daniel … Loved and Ignored
Chapters 1-6
easy to follow narrative,
relegated to sermons directed at/for “young people”
Chapters 7-12
apocalyptic style and language,
“a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”

3. Daniel waning years of the Kingdom of Judah
hostage taken from Judah (Daniel 1:3-4)
from either the royal family itself or from a noble family
prevent rebellion, but also to produce loyal servants of the Babylonian king
contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel
should note here that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are taken at the same time, and are found in two of the stories that are found in the first half o Daniel (the test of food, and then the Golden Image / Fiery Furnace)

4. Great Prophetic Activity
Daniel
Ezekiel
Jeremiah

5. Daniel not eternally a youth! 605 – 534 B.C. (Daniel 1:1; 10:1)
70 years of activity:
probably one of the longest of any prophet
begins as a young man, ends a man who is well-advanced in years
survives even the change of empires

6. Daniel So what is the book all about?
three major themes interweave throughout the entire book:
God rules the kingdom of men
God’s faithful servants
the Messiah’s Kingdom

7. God Rules the Kingdom of Men
this fact is stated throughout the book:
2:21; 4:17, 25, 32, 34-35; 5:21-23
seen in how God brings the changeover from Babylon to Persian (chapter 5)
seen in how God gives detailed prophecies concerning Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (chapters 2, 7-12)
FOUNDATIONAL THEME

8. God’s Faithful Servants
seen primarily in the narrative portion
the test of food (Daniel 1:8)
the golden image (Daniel 3:13-18)
the lion’s den (Daniel 6:4-11)
Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:1-19)
SUB-THEME … their spiritual courage is motivated by an understanding of the fact that GOD RULES THE KINGDOM OF MEN
DANIEL 9: READ VERSES 16-19

9. The Messiah’s Kingdom Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2)
one statue of four parts, then a stone
four kingdoms, then a fifth (vss )
Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7)
four beasts from the sea
dominion given to “one like the son of man” (vss , 27)
Because GOD RULES THE KINGDOM OF MEN, it is within his PLAN and POWER to establish his own ETERNAL KINGDOM

10. Insights from Daniel