A Literal Interpretation of the Messages Delivered to Daniel

A Book Written during One of Israel's Greatest Crises

Dr. Albert Heaney

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781098098803
• Print ISBN:
  9781098098797

After completing a detailed study of the Book of Revelation and then writing the book entitled The Revelations and Warnings of Jesus to His Church, I was challenged by claims of modern-day scholars that additional revelations and modifications of some of the material found in the Book of Revelation could be found in the Book of Daniel. After my study of the Book of Revelation, I came to the conclusion that the Book of Revelation, which deals primarily with end-time events, is a complete book as it stands. All the major events that will occur in the end-times is listed, and the Book of Revelation as written is complete; no modifications or additions are needed. The book itself contains a warning that "if anyone adds to" or "takes away from the words of this prophecy, " God will "take away his part from the tree of life" (Rev. 22: 18, 19).

A study of the Book of Daniel was necessary so as to discover the true messages found in the book and dispel the false messages some have claimed can be found in the book. The Book of Revelation clearly deals with end-time events whereas the Book of Daniel deals primarily with the events of God's people in Daniel's day. Although there are some general references to end-time events, the primary focus of the Book of Daniel deals with events of Daniel's day. The book shows the intimate relationship God has with His people as they go through the tragic times of their day. He first warns His people, then redeems them in the time of their deepest needs.

2

Daniel 1–6: The Life of Daniel and His Three Friends Living as Captives in Babylon

The book begins with reference to the first siege of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, against Jerusalem in the year 606 BC. Jehoiakim was the king of Judah at the time. It is said that “the Lord gave Jehoiakim into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar” (Dan. 1:2). This act of God was a fulfillment of His warnings against Israel that if they “do not listen to the commandments of the Lord [their] God,” they would be the recipients of God’s curse (Deut. 11:27). The book records Daniel’s experience as a captor in the Babylonian Empire and later in the Persian Empire. During his entire captivity, in which he endured a number of trials that threatened his life, Daniel remained faithful to the Lord.

His first trial was to “not…defile himself with the king’s choice food,” which, no doubt, was sacrificed to false gods. The king accepted Daniel’s defiant position when Daniel proved that his health would be good if he lived on vegetables and water (Dan. 1:12).

His next trial occurred when the king had a dream that left him with a “troubled mind” (Dan. 2:1). God gave Nebuchadnezzar the dream so that the future of the Babylonian Empire could be revealed together with forecasting future kingdoms that only Almighty God could forecast. Although Nebuchadnezzar was a conqueror and the king of an almighty empire, God, in a number of ways, revealed to him that it was God who was in control of the affairs of men. The king called upon “the magicians, conjurers, and sorcerers” (Dan. 2:2) to reveal and interpret his dream, or they would lose their lives. When Daniel was informed that his life and the lives of his friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were at stake, they went to God for His revelation concerning the dream. That revelation was given “to Daniel in a night vision” (Dan. 2:19).

In the dream, the king was shown “a single great statue” whose head “was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay” (Dan. 2:32–33). Daniel pointed out that the body parts of the statue were symbols that represented Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the countries that devolved from Rome. In the end, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed” (Dan. 2:44). Upon hearing Daniel’s interpretation, the king acknowledged that “[his] God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings” (Dan. 2:47). Daniel was rewarded with the position of “ruler over the whole province of Babylon.” Daniel, in turn, appointed his three friends “over the administration of the province of Babylon” (Dan. 2:48–49). At this point, Daniel and his three friends were no longer simply captives in Babylon but were powerful administrators of an entire empire.

In spite of Nebuchadnezzar’s realization that “God is a God of gods,” he nevertheless thought of himself as a god such that he could make “an image of gold” (Dan. 3:1) and require his subjects “to fall down and worship the golden image” (Dan. 3:5) at the peril of being “cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire” (Dan. 3:6). When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not “fall down and worship the golden image, certain Chaldeans” (Dan. 3:8) who were envious of them being “appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon” reported to the king that “they do not serve [his] gods or worship the golden image.” When the three were threatened to be “cast into the midst of a furnace,” they responded by saying, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace.” The king responded “by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated” (Dan. 3:19). They were then “cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire” (Dan. 3:21). The furnace was so hot that “the flame of the fire slew those men” (Dan. 3:22) who cast the three into the furnace.

As Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he said, “I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of gods” (Dan. 3:25). He ordered that they come out, and when they did, he noted “that the fire had no effect on their bodies. The hair of their head was not singed, nor had the smell of the fire come upon them” (Dan. 3:27). The king concluded that the God of the three “sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him” (Dan. 3:28). The king ordered that his subjects were to honor the three and “caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon” (Dan. 3:30).

The faithfulness of those three under the threat of severe penalty demonstrates that not all the Jews who were exiled to Babylon were guilty of rejecting the laws of God and worshipping false gods while still in Jerusalem. God, no doubt, spoke to Israel through these spiritual giants before the captivity of Jerusalem but to no avail. Apparently, as Jesus said, “Allow both [the good seed and the tares] to grow together until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30).

In chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that God was “the Most High God” and that it is His kingdom that “is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation” (Dan. 4:2–3). We can wonder why after he recognized God to be “Most High God” that he himself did not become one of His subjects. Our common sense and intelligence can cause us to recognize the truth about God and His Word, but it is our pride that can keep us from humbly submitting to that truth. In chapter 4, we read how God brought Nebuchadnezzar to his knees until he would “recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes” (Dan. 4:25). At the end of his unique experience, he confessed that God “is able to humble those who walk in pride” (Dan. 4:37).

Once again, in chapter 4, God gave Nebuchadnezzar another dream that alarmed him (Dan. 4:5). This time, Nebuchadnezzar remembered the dream, which he related to Daniel and asked for its interpretation. Daniel first repeated the dream the king saw and then told the king that the dream did not apply to his adversaries but to him. The dream had to do with a very large and glorious tree. The king in his dream saw “an angelic watcher” descend “from heaven” who said to “chop down the tree and cut off its branches” but “leave the stump with its roots in the ground” (Dan. 4:14–15).

Daniel told the king that the great tree was a symbol that represented the king in all his greatness “to the end of the earth” (Dan. 4:22). It was he who was to be chopped down, and it was he who was to “be driven away from mankind, and [his] dwelling place be with the beasts of the field,” and it was he who was to “be given grass to eat like cattle.” And “seven periods of time [seven years] will pass over [him], until [he recognizes] that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind” (Dan. 4:25). The kingdom was to be returned to Nebuchadnezzar after he would “recognize that it is Heaven that rules” (Dan. 4:26).

After Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and lived seven years as a beast and his “reason returned,” he acknowledged that God’s “dominion is an everlasting dominion” and that “His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride” (Dan. 4:37).

Several kings followed Nebuchadnezzar, and around ten years later, Belshazzar became king. In chapter 5 is the account of Belshazzar giving a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. As they were drinking wine, suddenly, “the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing” on “the wall of the king’s palace.” The king called for the conjurers (enchanters) and diviners to interpret the writing on the wall, but none could “read the inscription or make known its interpretation” (Dan. 5:8). Finally, they summoned Daniel, who had a reputation for interpreting dreams “and solving difficult problems” (Dan. 5:12).

The king offered Daniel great rewards if he would read the inscription on the wall. Daniel refused the rewards. Daniel reminded the king that Nebuchadnezzar had been humbled by the “Most High” God until he acknowledged that “God is ruler over the realm of mankind” (Dan. 5:21). He then pointed out that he, Belshazzar, “[has] not humbled [his] heart, even though [he] knew all this” (Dan. 5:22). The inscription “was sent from Him.” Daniel then gave the interpretation to the king, in which he was told that his kingdom had come to an end and that it would be “divided and given over to the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 5:28). That very night, “Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain,” and “Darius the Mede received the kingdom” (Dan. 5:30–31).

It is a difficult thing for a king, who is answerable to no one in his kingdom, to acknowledge that he is answerable to God, who is above all the affairs of mankind for all time. Both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar had this problem. God dealt severely with both of these kings. They, as we, must learn the lesson that, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). As we shall see, apparently Darius and Cyrus had learned this lesson, given that it was these kings who released the Israelites to return to their homeland to rebuild.

Chapter 6 begins with Darius organizing the administration of his new kingdom. He appointed 120 satraps (officers of the court) who were answerable to three commissioners, one of which was Daniel. No doubt Daniel’s previous reputation under the previous empire carried over into this new kingdom. Darius noted that Daniel had “an extraordinary spirit and [he] planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom” (Dan. 6:3). As a result, the other nobles in the kingdom became jealous of Daniel and sought to fault him before the king. They convinced the king to “establish a statue and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides [him] for thirty days, shall be cast into the lion’s den” (Dan. 6:7).

Even when Daniel knew that the document was signed, “he continued his practice of kneeling on his knees three times a day” with his “windows open toward Jerusalem praying and giving thanks before his God” (Dan. 6:10). When the other nobles witnessed Daniel praying to his God, they reported him to the king and reminded him of the injunction he had signed. When the king heard this, “he was deeply distressed” and sought for ways of “delivering Daniel” (Dan.6:14). However, “it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction which the king establishes may be changed” (Dan. 6:15).

When Daniel was about to be “cast into the lion’s den,” the king said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you” (Dan. 6:16). After casting Daniel into the lion’s den, “the king went off to his palace” and spent the night troubled and without sleep. The king arose “at the break of day, and went in haste to the lion’s den.” The king cried out, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lion’s den?” (Dan. 6:20). Daniel responded and said, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mo...

Table of contents

• Daniel 1–6: The Life of Daniel and His Three Friends Living as Captives in Babylon
• Daniel 7: Daniel’s Vision of Future World Powers, Including the Eternal Kingdom
• Daniel 8: Future Kingdoms and the Future Persecution and Victory of the Jews
• Daniel 9: Return from Exile, Restoration of Israel, Future Destruction of Jerusalem
• Alternative Views of Daniel 9
• Daniel 10: A Vision Concerning Future Atrocities against the Jews
• Daniel 11: Further Details of Daniel’s Future and the Persecution of the Jews
• Daniel 12: Suspension of and Resumption of the Regular Sacrifices, the Desecration of the Altar, and Final Victory