Daniel stands in God’s word as
the man who dared to keep a clean heart and body (Daniel 1:8), and the man therefore whom God chose as a channel for
his message to the Gentile nations of the world. Daniel was in the palace at
Babylon the same time Ezekiel was toiling in a slave gang.
Daniel has been called the
prophet of dreams. God revealed to him his secrets. “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision” (Daniel 2:19). Daniel, like Ezekiel,
looks far into the future. He is quoted most in Revelation. One cannot
understand the great signs of Revelation without looking at their meaning in
Daniel. Although Daniel was a captive, he rose to be prime minister of Babylon.
The wonderful thing is that he always remained true to Jehovah God.
Daniel was the companion of
Kings. He was, like Joseph, God’s candle shining in pagan darkness. He was chief
statesman in the first empire of the world, chief adviser of a great monarch
and a great protector of his own people. God gave him favour and love in the
sight of the court official, Ashpenaz. Even proud Nebuchadnezzar seemed to have
had real affection for Daniel. Book of Daniel reveals the power of God and his
universal sovereignty. God’s power is contrasted with world power.
In Daniel 1, we see God’s power
in keeping Daniel and his companions. They were given understanding and wisdom
above all the wise men of Babylon.
In Daniel 2, we see the power of
God in revealing the dream of Nebuchadnezzar to Daniel. None of the wise men of
Babylon could do this.
In Daniel 3, we see the power of
God in delivering Daniels three companions from the fiery furnace. This occurred
after they had been in Babylon about 20 years, and God was demonstrating in
this most dramatic way his power over all the gods of this country.
God’s power is revealed in the deliverance
of Daniel from the lion’s den in Chapter 6.
Unlike other prophets, Daniel
deals more fully with the Gentile nations than with his own Jewish nation. The other
prophets only mention the gentiles as incidental to something concerning
Israel. But Daniel gives us the history of the Gentile powers from Babylon to
the end.
The prophetic revelations are
from Chapter 7 to 12. We see a glimpse
of the last days in chapter 11. Description about the great tribulations is
also mentioned in Chapter 12.
As we are experiencing lots of
signs of the last days which are mentioned in the Bible, it is important to
study this book along with the last book in the Bible, Revelation. May the
Spirit of God lead and guide you to live a holy life as of Daniel and be
prepared to see Christ coming to take his Church.
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