Daniel — Servant of the Most High God

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  1. A Look at the Book

    1. Authorship - Daniel, a prophet of God. Daniel was taken captive in the first great carrying away of 606 B.C.

    2. Written in the 6th century B.C. (@ 533 B.C.)

    3. Theme: God is sovereign in the affairs of men and nations - 2:21

  2. Each chapter stands alone with events or visions, except for chapters 10-12, which deal with 3 segments of one vision.

    1. Chapter 1 — Daniel, Hananiah Mishael, & Azariah refuse to eat the king’s meat.

    2. Chapter 2 — Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the interpretation

      1. The four great earthly kingdoms of human history:

        1. head of gold = the Babylonian (v 38)

        2. breast & arms of silver = the Medo-Persian (Cyrus)

        3. the belly & thighs of brass = the Greek (Alex the Great)

          1. "It shall bear rule over all the earth." This distinguished it from Persia, for Persia never conquered the Greece.

          2. It is commonly known that Alexander the Great sat down and wept when there were no nations left to conquer.

          3. when Alexander died, his empire was divided among his four generals, but eventually the four became only two - Egypt and Syria (two thighs of brass?)

        4. the legs of iron = the Roman (the Caesars)

          1. history records Rome’s dominion as like an iron rod breaking the world into submission

          2. the iron and clay note the failure of Rome to unify the people under their rule — constant rebellions.

      2. The stone cut without hands that became a great mountain and filled the earth = the church, the kingdom of God.

        1. the stone cut without hands = Matthew 16:18; 21:42

        2. became a great mountain = Isaiah 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2

        3. filled the earth = Romans 10:18; Colossians 1:6, 23

    3. Chapter 3 — the Hebrew children refuse to worship the golden image and are delivered from the fiery furnace

    4. Chapter 4 — Nebuchadnezzar "put out to pasture"

    5. Chapter 5 — "the writing on the wall"

    6. Chapter 6 — Daniel in the lion’s den

    7. Chapter 7 — visions of the beasts, the Son of Man and His everlasting and indestructible kingdom

    8. Chapter 8 — vision of the ram and the goat

    9. Chapter 9 — the seventy weeks and the coming of the Messiah

    10. Chapters 10 — vision of a man

    11. Chapter 11 — vision of the kings

    12. Chapter 12 — prophecies of the resurrection & Judgment

 

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