Book 27 The Book Of Daniel
Who wrote the Book of Daniel: Daniel
When was the Book of Daniel written: The book was written somewhere in the 5th century B.C. after Cyrus (Persian Empire) had toppled the Babylonian Empire.
Why was the Book of Daniel written: Daniel is a history of the early years of Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem and the exile that follows—all the way through part of the Persian Empire’s rule over Judah. The message Daniel conveys throughout the book is that there is only one God and we are to worship only him.
But the book of Daniel also contains miraculous and historical accounts of his life and the lives of his three fellow
Hebrews while in the service of the kings of Babylon and the Persian Empire.
Simply put, the book of Daniel is ‘famous’ for five things among Christians (and even non-Christians).
- Daniel surviving the night in a den of lions
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego survive the fiery furnace
- Daniel interpreting the handwriting on the wall
- Prophecies of the end times
- The “Daniel Fast”
One God And One God Only
The account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being tossed into a furnace hotter than we can imagine and that of Daniel being thrown into a den of lions, are both the result of their refusal to bow down or pray to anyone other than God.
Both times the young men were ordered by the authorities that had taken their people captive to worship the reigning king— once while in Babylonian captivity and once under the rule of the Persian Empire.
Both times they refused; saying they would pray to and worship no one but the one true God. Both times God honored their faithfulness and used their lives as a testimony of his love and protection.
Interpretations, Visions, And Dreams
Daniel receives his messages from God in the form of dreams and visions. We read throughout the book about Daniel having dreams or visions and then angels interpreting them for him; revealing the meaning of what he has seen.
One of Daniel’s visions foretold the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persian Empire, followed by its fall and the rise and fall of Alexander the Great the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire.
Each of these things happened just as Daniel said they would.
Daniel’s other dreams and visions are about the end times—the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment of man. These, of course, have not occurred yet, but we can be sure they will.
The Daniel Fast
In chapters one and ten we read that Daniel fasted from rich foods (fatty, sweet, and cream/gravy-laden), wine, meat, and anything else that was not naturally produced. In chapter one his purpose was to prove that our bodies operate best when we eat according to the plan God designed for us when he created man.
In chapter ten he did so as an act of submission and complete dependency on God for clarity and sustenance while he was receiving a vision and its meaning.
Daniel is by no means the first person in the Old Testament to fast his fasting experiences are the only ones that specifically state what he did and did not eat. It is for this reason that over the past few years, the Daniel Fast has become popular among churches—almost ‘faddish’.
Many see it as the Christian’s diet. But that isn’t what Daniel’s fast was about. It wasn’t about losing weight or even getting healthy. Daniel’s periods of fasting were to recognize God’s power in his life and to submit his body, soul, and mind to God.
Daniel…A Man Who Made A Difference
You cannot read the book of Daniel without being both challenged and encouraged. In reading Daniel’s prophecies, his commitment to the LORD, and his faith that God would do what was best for him no matter when and no matter what, we see a man and his contemporaries who weren’t afraid to put their faith to the test.
They knew (and we should, too) that faith without works truly is dead.