In my last blog, I outlined the character traits and convictions that enabled Daniel and his three Hebrew friends to withstand the trials, temptations, and persecutions of Babylon, an extremely pagan and ungodly place.
Daniel was an “as usual” man when he started his long captivity in Babylon and remained that way until the end. When the hits and threats came, he stayed pure as usual, prayed as usual, and stayed faithful and loyal to his God, as usual.
I desire to emulate this kind of as-usual life, no matter what comes my way in our modern-day Babylon. I often miss the mark, but this is my aspiration. What about you?
Today, I want to share thoughts about the second half of Daniel’s book, where Daniel records extraordinary dreams, visions, visitations, and revelations about the past, present, and future of Israel and the nations.
As understanding apocalyptic writings has never been my strong suit, I am grateful to Beth Moore, whose Bible study on Daniel assisted me enormously. With her wholehearted, scholarly help, the second half of Daniel has become a tad more accessible to me.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive review, but a look at the revelations I found most meaningful and relevant to a Christian outlook on the world and the future.
1. The Ancient of Days
As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat…thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him…The court was seated, and the books were opened. (7:9-10)
Daniel 7 describes this magisterial courtroom scene and the King at its center as utterly glorious, with rivers of fire coming from him and his throne. He is seated and ready to administer justice related to the actions recorded in the books opened before him.
It is beyond comforting to be reminded that this Ancient judge has always been and will always be, and nothing has ever or will ever escape his eternal judgment.
This means that all of the evil-doing that seems to go unjudged in this world, the lies, murders, exploitations and injuries done to the innocent is known to him. One day, he will administer perfect justice. Victims will be avenged, tortured children and saints will live eternally in perfect joyous communion with Christ, and perpetrators will be punished for their evil deeds.
However it may seem with our limited spiritual perspective, no one gets away with anything in the long run. God will reward good deeds and punish bad deeds, past, present, and future. Praise God.
2. Satan manifests throughout human history
…Another horn, which started small but grew in power…grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them…because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
Satan, the serpent who seized power in Genesis 3, uses the same tactics he used with Adam and Eve in Eden. He doesn’t have to come up with new ways to subvert the will of God; the same ones work just fine—pride, self-sufficiency, lust, greed, etc. These are the unwanted consequences of eating from the wrong tree.
Unbelievers would mock the sentences I just wrote. But honest observers of biblical and world history will nod in recognition. Satan is the father of lies, the accuser of the saints, the desecrator of the sacred, and the hater of God. It’s all he knows, and he’s very good at it.
When we observe people who are full of murderous hatred for God’s people—especially Jews and Christians—we are seeing Satan’s controlling authority at work in them. They will lie, accuse, desecrate, and hate just like their father (see John 8:42-47).
What I learned from Daniel is that Satan has set up “anti-Christs” throughout history.
Daniel prophecies the coming of a little horn, who would exemplify all Satan’s archetypal characteristics, and would foreshadow the coming of the final anti-Christ, who will take charge at the end of the Church age. His name was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a true monster who ruled a huge portion of the known world in the second century B.C.
Daniel 8 describes the horrors of this emperor, this master of intrigue, who will cause astounding devastation…He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior…he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes (8:23-25).
When the anti-Christ comes, as supported by passages in Revelation, he will appear much like this, and do many terrifying things before he is defeated by the King of kings.
I’ve spent this year studying Nazi Germany; Hitler was not the anti-Christ, but he personified the demonic archetype in his generation very well. His evil and destructiveness knew no bounds. Others may rise up who fit the model before the actual anti-Christ comes.
The good news in all this is that God has a plan to defeat the devil and all of his representatives, including the anti-Christ, and put an end to every bit of his power against the people of God. Praise God.
3. Seeking glory for ourselves leads to destruction
The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off…(8:8)
Our study of Daniel led us to examine Alexander the Great, one of the emperors who appears to fit into Daniel’s prophecy.
Alexander, a student in the school of Aristotle, was brilliant, handsome, and profoundly gifted as a warrior and commander, taking the throne at only twenty years old. He ruled over 1.5 million square miles of territory. But he died young, probably of malaria, at the height of his power.
Beth Moore writes, “Before he died, he let success go to his head. You might say he believed his own press…Whether out of pride or for political reasons or both, Alexander required the provinces to worship him as a god…Alexander the Great would have been greater had he seen himself smaller.”
This was a good reminder that it applies to us as well. We are not hear to promote ourselves, but to simply seek and do the will of God, for his glory. When we obey God, we should say, “I’ve only done my duty.” (see Luke 17:7-10)
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6).
4. God still loves and has a great purpose for the Jewish people
At that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered…Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens… (Dan 12:1,3)
We saw in our study that while Satan despises and tries to wear out the faith of Christians, he’s had the Jews in his crosshairs a lot longer.
Daniel’s prophecies indicate that Jehovah will allow unbelieving Jews to suffer through terrible tribulation, and that some will put their faith in Jesus as Messiah. God will fulfill his covenant to them and restore them to the Promised Land along with faith-filled Gentiles who have been grafted in to his tree of life (See Romans 9-11).
Those who utter ugly, antisemitic insults or bring harm to God’s people, including the Jews, do so at their eternal peril. God still loves his covenant people and has a wonderful, irrevocable plan for them. Praise God.
5. God responds to prayer and battles for his people in the spirit realm
Daniel was much beloved and esteemed by God. His humility and faithfulness were treasured in heaven, and he proved himself trustworthy enough for God to use him to deliver essential messages that still resound today.
An angelic being appeared to Daniel to inform him that as soon as he had started praying and fasting for Israel, his words were heard, and I have come in response to them (10:12).
The angelic being answers the unasked question of why there had been a three-week delay of his visit to Daniel. Resistance by dark spiritual principalities and powers was so strong that the archangel Michael was sent to fight for Israel. (I learned in this study that Michael is the archangel that fights for Israel in the invisible realm).
Isn’t that amazing? Sometimes we don’t see that our most desperate prayers are being answered, but that is not the case. It might be that God is dispatching his angels to battle the demonic realm and clear the way for the deliverance for which we are praying.
God answers in his own time and in his own way, but he does answer. Praise God.
There are many other treasures in Daniel. I hope that these few aspects of this remarkable book are a blessing for you to consider.
Praise God!
