Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies

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Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies

By: Matt J. Ahearn

 Author’s Note

Daniel is an amazing book of the Bible. So often our Old Testament prophets are overlooked and called “outdated.” If they are looked at it is usually for something like “Daniel and the lions den.” Those are great stories, but so often we do not take a deeper look at a truly eye opening and amazing book. Daniel is ignored often and we focus one or two chapters. This book is written to inform the reader of all that is really in the book of Daniel. It is truly amazing. It contains prophecies that will affect us in a short time. It also has great messages that we should apply in our lives today. I hope you enjoy Daniel: Beyond the Prophecies and learn what is truly beyond the prophecies and popular stories of Daniel. (And hopefully there are not too many grammar mistakes.) J

Matt Ahearn

Chapter 1

Ask and It Shall Be Given

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"1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. 6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine, which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."

This is the account of Daniel being taken captive after Jerusalem is “besieged” (Verse 1) and the instructions given as to how to prepare the captives to serve the king in the palace. Daniel is one of those men that the Bible describes as “…good looking…,” “…possessing knowledge…,” “…gifted in all wisdom…,” “quick to understand…,” (Verse 4 for all four) and he could interpret dreams and visions. He has the looks and the brains to serve under the king in his palace. In today’s terms, he is both a nerd and physically fit. He is one of the select, one of the chosen young men who goes through the training to eventually serve “in the king’s palace.” (Verse 4) As illustrated, King Nebuchadnezzar has orders that all these young men be served “delacies” and “of the wine” (Verse 5) of King Nebachadnezzar; these are things that are normally served in the palace. Daniel, however, has a problem with this. Most likely the way these delicacies are forbidden by God's law and have most likely have been sacrificed to pagan idols. This was a common practice in Babylon. Daniel, as the passage illustrates in verse eight, “…purposed in his heart that we would not defile himself…” (Verse 8) He has made up his mind not to break God's law. He is not alone in his quest, his friends, Hannaniah, Azariah, and Mischael, have also decided not to eat of the food given by the king. (His friends are also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.) However, remember that the king has specifically ordered that they be served this food while they were in training. If one disobeys the king or makes him mad, he could be killed. In fact in Verse 10 the chief eunuch is afraid that Daniel is going to “…endanger…” his “…head before the king….” This food is required and Daniel and his friends will need a few things to go in their favor. Then in verse nine we see exactly that. Verse nine through fourteen reads:

"9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.” 11 So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” 14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. "

God knew that Daniel did not want to defile himself, so He causes Daniel to be in the favor of the chief eunuchs. The chief eunuchs favor Daniel so much that they went beside the king's orders and actually agree to serve them food that would not defile himself. The chief eunuch favors Daniel so much that he decides to “endanger” his “head before the king” (Verse 10) to help Daniel. Daniel needs God to help him stay clean and God gives Him that help.

This passage can really be looked at as the way God wants to give things to those who are faithful to Him. Daniel needs a way to keep from defiling himself and God brings Daniel “…into the goodwill and favor of the chief of the eunuchs…” so that this could be accomplished. Throughout the Bible God gave His servants things to help them in their spiritual life. God never just disappeared and made them sin because they had no other direction to turn. Instead God makes a way where there is no way. So does this mean that all I have to do is ask for anything and God will give it to me? Not necessarily. We take Luke 11:9-13 to mean that God will give us all that we want. It says:

"9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” "

We see the first sentence and assume that God will give us all we want-physical or spiritual if we have enough faith. We completely ignore the last verse where it states that it is really talking about the giving of “…the Holy Spirit…” or God giving his Spirit when we need it. We take this verse to mean that we can ask God for a new car or boat, or plane and immediately receive it. God is not a soda machine, just because we put a dollar in (a prayer) does not mean a soda will pop out. In praying terms that means that we will not always get the plane or boat just because we ask for it. There is a colossal difference between spiritual needs and physical wants. The only thing we shall always receive is spiritual assistance, as illustrated by Luke 11:9-13. If we ask for salvation and forgiveness, we shall receive them. It is not a deal where we fill out an application and "hope" we are accepted. If we ask for wisdom, guidance, strength, and protection from the enemy, we shall receive it. If Satan is attacking, God does not leave if we call on His name. Instead, if we call on the name of the Lord, we are saved. (Proverbs 18:10) Solomon asks for wisdom and receives it, Daniel needed help not to sin and it was given, Paul needs strength and it is given. When we need spiritual help, it will be given, all we have to do is ask. This assistance will be given to us; like it was given to Solomon, Daniel, and Paul. Hallelujah!

Chapter 2

The Faith of Daniel

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When we think of great demonstrations of faith, we usually think about Abraham, Sarah, Paul, someone who was martyred for the faith, or someone mentioned in Hebrews 11. The faith of Daniel, however, is as great as the names I mentioned above. If we ever do think of Daniel's faith, we usually think of the lion's den. While the lion's den is an awesome demonstration of faith, we often overlook an equally courageous demonstration of faith. Before I jump into the message of Daniel’s faith, let's get a little overview from Daniel 2 on what is happening. It reads:

1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

The passage ends with all of the king's “…wise men…” (Verse 12) receiving a death sentence, because they could not tell the king what his dream means and what it contains. After hearing about all of the death sentences, most of us would have not even thought about trying to interpret the dream. Most of us, even if we had that gift of interpretation, would think, "Why risk it?" Not Daniel. In the midst of all these death sentences, he simply goes to the king and says:  (Daniel 2:16)

16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.

Remember, at this time, Daniel has no idea what this dream is about. He simply tells the king that he will “…tell the king the interpretation…” Remember, if he cannot interpret this dream, he will be sentenced to death with all the king's wise men. Daniel, though, unlike the King's worldly wise men has the all-knowing God on his side. He does not depend on his wisdom knowledge, but instead, has faith in God. The Bible says that he went to his home and told his companions to, "seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." If God does not reveal this to Daniel, then Daniel will be killed. Daniel, however, has faith that God, the Revealer of secrets, will reveal this secret to him. Sure enough, God does. That night in a vision God shows Daniel exactly what the king has seen and God gives Daniel the interpretation and Daniel gives that interpretation to the king. Daniel 2:49-49 says:

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate^[e] of the king.

As a result of Daniel’s faith in the One True God, he received an admirable promotion. Trusting in God will always eventually lead to God’s reward, as it did for Daniel.

I want to make it clear, that interpreting the dream was an easy task for Daniel, because he had the gift of interpretation. What made it so hard was the fact that the king was making anyone who wanted to interpret it, also tell him what he had dreamed about. This was a test to make sure that his wise men were not telling him a lie about the interpretation. He reasoned that if they could interpret the dream, they must also know what the dream says. This is what made this, such a great exhibition of faith.

It should be everyone's prayer to not only have the faith like Abraham, Paul, Sarah, and the martyrs, but also to have faith like Daniel.

Chapter 3

The Metal Man

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We now move into the second part of Daniel 2. This is part where we see the first prophecy in the book of Daniel. Daniel has already been amazing, but it is about to get better and it will show how accurate the Bible is in predicting what will happen in the future.

Daniel 2: 31:35:

31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

This is very strange sounding isn't it? In this passage Daniel is telling King Nebachadnezzar what his dream is. God, the revealer of secrets, has given Daniel knowledge of and the interpretation of this strange dream. It is a very good thing that the account does not end here or it would be very hard to make any sense of this, but Daniel continues and says:

36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

We are informed that the head “…of fine gold…” (Verse 32) is Nebachadnezzar's Babylonian empire.(v.38) The passage then goes on to describe a “…chest and arms of silver…” (Verse 32) and it makes clear that this shall be a kingdom that will arise after the fall of Nebachadnezzar's Babylonian empire. Most Bible scholars agree that this kingdom is Medo-Persia because after the Babylonian empires fall it successes the Babylonian empire in the succession of major world empires. More can be read about the Medo-Persian takeover of Babylon in Daniel 5. Following that is a description of the bronze “…belly and thighs…” (Verse 32) This is yet another kingdom rising, that is inferior to Babylon. This is most likely Greece as it follows the Medo-Persian empire in the succession. That is not all, however, the passage then describes the “…legs of iron…” (Verse 32) This is most likely the Roman Empire as it follows the Greek empire in the empire succession. All of Nebachadnezzar's dream has already been fulfilled at this time today. The Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires have already come and gone. But in verse 43, we start to see things, which most likely will happen in the future. The next description is the feet. The feet are partly iron and partly ceramic clay. Some suggest that the fact that there is iron in the mix, represents a revived Roman empire. I disagree, mainly because of verse 41 where it says that the strength of the iron shall be in this empire. Most likely, the iron only represents the strength of this empire. The empire is fragile, however, and it is probably the same empire described in Daniel 7:24. This passage talks about kings within the empire warring with each other. That would cause the fragility. I believe that this kingdom described is the Anti-Christ's kingdom that will at one time rule the earth. This would seem likely because no other empire really matches the description. The toes are partly iron and partly ceramic clay. Each foot contains five toes which totals to ten. Ten is the same number of horns that the “little horn” of Daniel 7 rises out of. This little horn is considered to be the anti-christ and the similarity in the number leads to the conclusion that the feet and toes are the anti-christ. The toes most likely represent ten countries. Most likely, since a number of these previously discussed empires are in Europe, this one may also rise out of Europe. It is possible this empire could arise out of the European Union or out of the United Nations. The UN Security Council has ten members that could represent the ten “toes.” (Verse 42) Out of these ten, a “little horn” (Daniel 7) would arise and later become the anti-christ. See chapters eight and 13 of this book for more on this subject.

Aside from all the prophecy and symbolism, do you notice a pattern? This passage shows the succession of worldly kingdoms, with worldly goals, with worldly rulers, and worldly possessions. The kingdoms of the world are slowly passing away. All of their material riches in ruins and they are gone. All the treasure stored up on earth is gone. Then in verse 44 a heavenly kingdom is set up, one that will never be destroyed. It will crush all kingdoms, and they will blow away like chaff. This is God's everlasting heavenly kingdom. All of God's saints will be part of this kingdom. There will be no crying, pain, or emotional hurt. Eventually Jesus will come to set up His everlasting kingdom and we will sing praises and honor Him forever. We will be out of this world. When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be. We will be in His presence forever and ever. Hallelujah! Even so come Lord Jesus!

Chapter 4

To Die Is Gain

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In Daniel three we see the ultimate human example of faithfulness and persecution. The events of Daniel 3 and the courage and faith shown by Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego are absolutely amazing and lead to the question: Would I die for Jesus Christ?

Daniel, chapter three, begins with an account of King Nebachadnezzar preparing a huge gold image. He gave the command that when all the people of the empire heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery they were to stop what they were doing, bow down, and worship this image. It is amazing that after acknowledging that Daniel's God was the God of gods, Nebachadnezzar would go and set up a false god for the people to worship. Nebachanezzar has made it so everyone is required bow to this gold image, this is not voluntary, it is mandatory. Doing this is mandatory for all of the people and if this decree is not obeyed, death will shortly follow to the offender. Once again, God fearing men like Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were in trouble because God's law prohibits bowing down to a god other than Himself and that they should not have any idols. Exodus 20: 3-4 says:

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

The three men are in a bind and once again, the king's orders will make them violate the Lord's law. Once again, they chose to obey God rather than man. They are obedient to God's commands. Because of that King Nebachadnezzar is mad! He is angry that they will not do what he commanded. He gives them a second chance by saying:

Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego then answered and their truly shows obedience and faith. Daniel 3:16-records their answer:

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed Nego have faith that God could save them. They know He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The passage goes on to show that God does indeed save them from the fiery furnace. God rewards their faith and obedience by saving them and allowing them to receive a huge promotion in verse thirty. They obey God even though it is not the popular thing to do. We, as they did, should obey God, even if doing so is against the norm of the world. We are to be Jesus to the world. We are to be different, like aliens and strangers in a foreign land. Being obedient may make us different, and that is what we are commanded to do. All throughout the Bible people are rewarded for their obedience. God will support an obedient decision one hundred percent. The right choice is what God will want us to do. Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were willing to be obedient to God, even if it meant death. They made the right choice because that is what God wanted them to do. Just because God supports does not mean we will be protected from persecution. If we are killed for being obedient, then we are martyrs for Jesus. In fact Paul said in Philipians 1:21:

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

If we are killed for the faith, then we have the assurance of the place we will go when we die. We will be in heaven, in the presence of the One who died for our sins so that we may go to that place. If we are persecuted for the faith then we certainly know that we are doing the right thing.

Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-Nego were willing to die for their obedience to God's law. Everyone, myself included, needs to think about the question of, "Would I die for the faith? Or would I disobey God and live?" We need to be willing to die for the faith and for the glory of God.

Chapter 5

The Proud Man

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King Nebachadnezzar is as proud as a peacock, there is no doubt about that.

His humongous kingdom is flourishing and life is good. He has done an admiral job building his empire and he is proud of it. The Lord on the other hand, is not too pleased with Nebachadnezzar. Nebachadnezzar is continually denying the Lord by building false images, breaking His commandments,and glorifying himself. The Lord is tired of this and decides that it is time to humble Nebachadnezzar. Daniel 4:4-27 tells of a dream that Nebachadnezzar has and of course Daniel is the only person in all of Babylon who can interpret this dream. This passage tells of a great tree, its limbs stretch out across the earth. It is a great tree that reaches clear up to heaven. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Then in verse 14 things change for the worse and the order comes to “…chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit…” (Verse 14) The passage, in verse 16, changes and begins to talk about a man. It says of this man: “…let his heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast….” (Verse 16) It is rather easy to see by now that this tree is Nebachadnezzar's Babylonian empire because at the time of this empire, the only thing the dream could have represented is the Babylonian empire. Based on what happens later, we also know that this is the Babylonian empire. Nebadnezzar has dreamed his own fate. When asked by Nebachadnezzar asks Daniel what this tree is Daniel replies:

It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth. 23 “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25 They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.(Daniel 4:22-25)

Then it happens. One day while walking around his palace Nebachanezzar gets a little proud and begins to boast by saying:

“Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)

Following his boasting in Daniel 4:31:

While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

The amazing part is that it really happens and not in a year long process either. Instead the prophecy is fulfilled the very hour the voice from heaven speaks. Verse 33 says:

33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Nebachadnezzar’s situation is certainly humbling and King Nebachadnezzar is the ultimate example of, "Pride comes before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18) It is important not to get caught up in our earthly items and become proud. As we see with Nebachadnezzar, pride truly does come before a fall.

 We know that pride comes before a fall, but what encompasses the pride that will make someone fall? I like what the Nelson Study Bible has to say about this. It says:

"The word pride does not refer to self-esteem or a positive mental attitude, but to arrogance and a refusal to glorify God."

This description sums pride up very well. Nothing is wrong with being pleased with the things you have accomplished, it is not giving God the glory where problems begin. In all we do we must honor Him and give Him glory and give Him praise forever and ever. Nebachadnezzar would have been fine if he would have given honor to God, the glory to God, and the power to God forever and ever.

The king directs the glory to himself, not to God. If we are taking credit for something without glorifying and praising Him for it then we are truly displaying the wrong type of pride. It is important that we give God the glory in everything we do lest we become prideful and begin to think that we are responsible for great things. If we are being prideful and leaving God out, we will be humbled. It may not be as dramatic as the king's humbling, but we will be humbled. The Bible says that God “…resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble…” (James 4:6) If we feel like nothing is going our way then we should look at ourselves and see if we are being proud and not glorifying God in all we do.

Another example of pride is this: I am participating in an extremely physical sport and grow very thirsty. Looking towards the bench I see a buddy of mine holding a water bottle. I ask my buddy for some water and immediately he comes and gives me some. I take a long drag and when I am finished, I proudly proclaim, “Isn’t it great how I got that water all by myself?” That is sinful pride. I am forgetting that my friend is the source and that God is the Ultimate Source of my friend and that water. That is sinful pride and that is the pride that God will resist.

Having a good self-esteem is fine. The Lord even said of Jesus, " This is My Son in whom I am well pleased." The Lord did not mean for us to walk around saying “I’m no good…I’ll never do anything right.” Instead he created us to fellowship with Him and to glorify Him. The Lord is pleased with His Son and it is fine for us to be pleased with our work, as long as we give glory to God for all of our accomplishments.

The Lord deserves our praises. We are nothing without Him.

Chapter 6

His Perfect Word

___________________________________________________One of the most fascinating things about studying Bible prophecy is taking a look at prophecy that has already been fulfilled. It is amazing to see how accurate the Bible prophets are in predicting the things that will happen in the future based on what the Lord tells them.

Throughout the first five chapters of Daniel we see prophecy that is fullfilled shortly after it was predicted and it is amazing how specific and exact these prophecies are. Daniel 5 shows an awesome display of the incredible accuracy of Bible prophecy and God’s Holy Word.

Daniel 5 begins with with a new ruler named Belshazzar. Within three verses of this chapter, Belshazzar has already broken the commandments of the Lord. Daniel 5:3 reads:

Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.’

Belshazzar has taken the golden vessels from the house of God is using them to worldly celebrate with his concubines. This is a slap in the face to God and obviously arouses His anger against Belshazzar.

 In verse 5, while he is making merry, fingers appear on the wall and write. This is too amazing to simply describe so I will let the Scripture speak:

In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. (Daniel 5:5, NKJV)

Because of this, Belshazzar's “…countenance…” is changed (Verse 6) and like Nebachadnezzar, he wants to know the meaning of this hadwriting on the wall. Once again he applys to the astrologers and wise men and once again they cannot tell him and once again Daniel is called to tell the king what all this means and once again pride is a factor in this prophecy. Verse 22 says:

22 "But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
Daniel then finally informs us of what the writing is. Verses 25-28 give the description:
25 "And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEK: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."

Before I proceed I would like to take each one of these and talk about them a little bit.

MENE, MENE: The Bible says that Mene means “God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.” (Verse 26)  This means what it says it means. It is time for Belshazzar to go. He is proud and the Lord resists the proud and now he will be finished. Belshazzar is defiling the temple and it’s contents and now the Lord will chasten him for this.

TEKEL: The Bible says of TEKEL “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting” (Verse 27) The "weighed" (Verse 27) part means that God has weighed Belshazzar’s good and his bad on the “…balances…” (Verse 27) and has found him wanting. Wanting is not talking about wanting something, it means that one cannot please God with works alone. Works are all the Belshazzar has and he cannot please God with them, therefore, his supposed righteousness is not good enough and is found wanting.This is classic example of how we cannot be saved by our own works. Belshazzar had been "weighed" and he did not measure to the Lord's standards, therefore, this is what he is guilty of.

UPHARSIN: UPHARSIN is also known as PERES is defined as “Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Verse 28) The prophecy is that this kingdom and Belshazzar, because they have been weighed and not found righteous, will be divided and given the the Medes and to the Persians. Once again, we cannot please God through works. PERES is the main prophetic word in this passage as it shows what will happen to Belshazzar’s kingdom.

Now comes the amazing part and the fulfillment of the prophecy. Verse 30 reads:

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.

Imediately following Daniel's interpretation the kingdom is divided and Belshazzar is slain in accordance with the handwriting on the wall. It is as the interpretation has said.

The Lord's Word is perfect. Nothing in it has ever been proven wrong. Throughout the Bible there are countless examples like this one. The amazing accuracy shows how powerful and mighty our God is. He is so perfect that He can give us sixty-six books of the Bible and not one contradicts another. They are perfect, but of course they are! The Word is God and God is perfect, therefore the Word of God is perfect and without fault.

Chapter 7

In Daniel 6 we find the amazing story of Daniel in the lion's den. The purpose of this book to to go beyond the popular stories and have a deeper look at this amazing book so I will not have a chapter that is completely devoted to Daniel’s time in the lions den. As a result, I will be concentrating on some Scripture before the lion's den account and look at some other often ignored Scripture that is truly amazing.

Chapter six begins by showing how powerful Daniel is in the kingdom. The new king Darius has given Daniel a very high postion in the empire. Daniel 6:1-3 gives the description of Daniel’s rise to power:

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

 The other governors are not pleased with this and aspire to find something against Daniel that will cause him to loose his high positon. In Daniel 6:4-5 we see that they are having a hard time doing so. Verses 4 and 5 read:

"4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

Verse 4 is rather intriguing . The verse does not mean that Daniel is perfect, it means that he obeys the laws of the land perfectly and is blameless as far as laws went and how he lives his life. He is blameless both lawfully and morally. As we say today, he definetly walked the walk. He did it so well that Verse 5 says:

Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

Daniel is so blameless that they knew that they could not find anything against him. Ever since he was taken captive and purposed not to defile himself until now he has walked righteously and uprightly in the way of the Lord. These evil men realize that the only way they can attempt to trip him up is to create a law that will make Daniel choose between God and the government. They know Daniel will choose God and this, the hope, will be his downfall.

Daniel is a wonderful example of how we should live our lives. Christ is perfect and we are called to be imitators of Christ. Christ is blameless and we should strive to be blameless also. We should strive to be “like Christ.” Philippians 2:15 reads:

"15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"

We are to try to become blameless and truly walk the walk, to imitate Christ and His example. For many, Christianity is only "talk the talk.” They are not striving to become "like Christ".

 If the people who know us best are asked if we are Christians and truly walked the walk, what would they say? Would they say that we were an upright, blameless, a true Christian? Or would they laugh and say, "Him? A Christian?"

Daniel's conduct is so perfect that those trying can not find fault in the way he lives his life. Daniel is not perfect, but he follows the Lord and makles sure that his conduct follows God’s will and follow’s God’s law. The fruit that he produces is good fruit. The type of fruit that we produce is a testament of what kind of person we are. What type of fruit are we producing today? If one set out to find something against us, could they? Are we living “like Christ?”