TOMS: Daniel 11-12

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Oct. 26, 2006

Here we have another example of prophecy jumping ahead from the near future to the far away future. Most of Daniel 11 is about the defeat of the Persians by the Greeks and the division of the Greek empire after the death of Alexander. The last part of chapter 11 predicts the rise of Antiochus, the Ptolemaic ruler who desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. The end of chapter 11 predicts his fall to the Jews, led by the Maccabees. But then in Chapter 12 we are transported ahead to the Beast who will once again apparently desecrate or destroy the Temple in Jerusalem.

At least that's the way it seems to me. I could be completely wrong. The prophets show us that God views things differently than we do. He takes things that we don't seem to think are a big deal very personally, and things that we view as very important He is seemingly oblivious to. His designs and plans for our world are so perfectly formed that we can't comprehend them. That's the main lesson I learn as I study the prophets. Our place is not to debate over the little details. Our place is to humble ourselves before the great God of the universe who knows all of history, knows everything about us, yet still loves us enough to have a relationship with Him forever.

TOMS: Daniel 9-10

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Oct. 25, 2006

The first part of chapter 9 is one of the most profound prayers found in the Bible. Daniel learns that Jeremiah has prophesied that Israel is to be captive 70 years. He comes before God and begs forgiveness for his people's sin. Here is a sample:

"O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolation, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy." (9:18)

Then Gabriel comes to Daniel and gives him the prophecy of the seventy weeks. I don't pretend to understand all of it, but I have learned from others' work who have researched this passage. It predicts seven weeks, or 49 years, until Jerusalem is rebuilt, and 62 weeks, for a total of 483 years, until "an anointed one shall be cut off." Practically all dispensational and even some covenant Christian scholars point to this as a prophecy of Christ's death, and I believe that as well. The dispensationalist and the covenantalist view diverge on what the last week means.I'm sure it exists, but I would like to see some Jewish scholars' interpretation of this passage. In fact, Jewish perspective on the entire Old Testament is something I would be fascinated to read. 

Anyway, during the last week another prince will deceive the Jews into a peace agreement, but he will turn and persecute the Jews. Then at the end of the week of years, he will be punished for his sin. Dispensationalists, of which I am one, view this as a prophecy concerning the tribulation period, in which the Beast will rule the world and set up a world religion. One of the few groups of people who will not be either be fully deceived or go through the motions of the religion set up by the Beast will be the Jews, which will give the Beast an excuse to try to fulfill Satan's dream of wiping out the Jews.

In chapter 10, Daniel sees a vision of a mighty angel. This is not Gabriel, whom Daniel describes as having the appearance of a man in chapters 8 and 9. The very sight of this angel puts Daniel on his face at his feet and Daniel is unable to speak. Those who were with Daniel did not see the vision, but they knew something was up because "a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled and hid themselves." (10:7, ESV) The angel tells Daniel that he had been trying to get to Daniel to deliver the message for 21 days, but he was deterred by "the prince of the kingdom of Persia." This is not a reference to Cyrus, who was king when Daniel saw the vision. This has to refer to a demonic spirit, whether it is Satan himself or one of his lieutenants. The angel was only able to defeat the prince of Persia with the help of "Michael, one of the chief princes." This has to be a reference to the angelic warrior in Jude who contended with Satan over the body of Moses. We'll get to that later.

A lot of people use this passage to say that Satan has a demon in charge of every nation or every city or whatever. That could be true, and I have no doubts of Satan's and his minions' power. But this could be a reference to Satan himself. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel, when they speak of the fall of Satan, speak of him as either the king of Babylon or the king of Tyrus. I'm certainly not going to make a definitive statement. I hate to even speculate on what actually goes on in the unseen spirit world. I do know that if we were to catch a glimpse of what goes on, it would scare us to death.

TOMS: Daniel 7-8

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Oct. 24, 2006

The book of Daniel is divided into two halves. The first half is a series of episodes in the life of Daniel. That is the part most of us are familiar with. The second half has to do with prophetic visions of the future. Of course the Catholic version adds two chapters at the end of Daniel. They are not recognized by the Protestant churches of today or by the Jews as authentically a part of the Old Testament. But they are interesting, and there is no doubt that some of the historical events described actually did take place pretty much as written. I have a copy of the King James Apocrypha (yes, the original KJV did include it) at my house in Poplar Bluff. I wish I had picked it up when I was down there Saturday. The story in Chapter 14 about Daniel killing the dragon is cool, but I don't know if it actually happened.

Chapters 7-12 are the visions of Daniel. This part is the most controversial part of Daniel. I guess the skeptics don't have a problem with God allowing men to go through a blaze of fire unharmed, but they do have a problem with Him revealing the future to Daniel. Many skeptics will say this portion of Daniel was written much later, as late as 90 B.C. But traditionally Jews and Christians have held that this entire book was indeed written by Daniel in the mid-500s B.C., before any of the events described so accurately happened.

In Chapter 7, Daniel sees a vision of four beasts. They are a progression of four kingdoms, actually quite similar to Nebuchadnezzar's vision of the statue with the five parts. The fourth beast, symbolic of the Roman empire, grows 10 horns, congruous to the ten toes of the vision of Chapter 2, and a little horn that conquers three other horns and defies God. I think most dispensationalists agree that this is prophetic of the Beast who will rise during the Tribulation and set up his kingdom in opposition to God. I am not aware of any other interpretations of the 10 horns, although I am sure there are other explanations.

Chapter 8 is even more specific. Daniel sees a vision of a ram with two mighty horns that runs wild over the earth. Then a goat with one large horn subdues the ram and becomes more powerful. Yet suddenly the large horn is broken and four smaller horns rise in its stead. Then one horn in particular rises to oppress the Jews in the "glorious land."

When Daniel asks the interpretation of the dream, the angel tells him point blank that the ram is Media and Persia, which at the time of the vision were two small kingdoms to the east of Babylon. He then says, "The goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first great king." (8:21, ESV) This prophecy of Alexander the Great's rise 200 years before he was born is one of the most amazing prophecies in scripture. After Alexander died at the age of 33, his kingdom was indeed divided into four kingdoms. One of the kings of Ptolemy, which was the kingdom of which Israel was a part, was Antiochus Epiphanes. He stopped the sacrifices in the second Temple in Jerusalem and then committed a worse injustice by sacrificing a pig in the Temple. The Jewish observance of Hanukah commemmorates the Jews' victory over this evil ruler. This prophecy of events that happened 400 years later is also astounding in its accuracy.

However, there are some who see the little horn in Daniel 8 as another prophecy of the Beast as well as a prophecy of Antiochus. I am not sure. What I am sure of is that God is in control of everything. He knows what is going to happen and our job is to trust that He knows what is best. If God had already laid out the near future for the Middle East, then He is powerful enough for me to entrust my future with Him.

TOMS: Daniel 5-6

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Oct. 23, 2006

These chapters contain two of the most familiar stories of the Bible.

In chapter 5 we have the story of King Belshazzar and the handwriting on the wall. Any scholarly discussion of this story will immediately point out that, according to the best archaeological evidence we have (which we can never be sure of anyway because new things are found all the time), Belshazzar was not a son and not an immediate heir of Nebuchadnezzar. The sources I have read either say he was a grandson or a nephew. There was another king (I cannot remember his name, I'm sure it was a long one with lots of "z's") who was N's son, but apparently he was either leading a war somewhere or did not like politics, so he let B run the capital. The notes in my Bible (these are marginal notes and not study notes- if somebody writes and asks I can explain the difference: I think most of you already know) give an alternate reading of "predecessor" or "successor" for "father" or "son" in this chapter. I would like to know if these notes are based on variances or vague words in the actual text or if they are based on the archaeological background. 

Anyway, the fact that Belshazzar offers the person who interprets the writing third place in the kingdom instead of second clearly indicates either that Belshazzar was first and that someone else was already permanently in place in second or that Belshazzar was second and that first place was not his to give. Obviously the archaeological evidence supports the second option, so that is the one I would hold to. It does not contradict the Biblical text, and it is consistent with what we know from the Scripture. Even though the Bible is not primarily a history book, it has never been proven inaccurate, even though this is one of the passages that was pointed to by critics in the past as a historical error.

I didn't want to spend that much time on that, so let's go on. 

The fact that Daniel was not immediately called to interpret the writing demonstrates how much different Belshazzar was than Nebuchadnezzar. King B (I hate typing those Chaldean names) called for his advisers and wise men, but Daniel was not among them. Apparently, he was a lot like Rehoboam, who rejected the wise counsel of his father Solomon's advisers and instead listened to his buddies. We all need someone wiser than us to point out when we are heading in a wrong direction. Taking time to listen to other people's advice is always time well spent, even if you end up disagreeing with them. If B had kept Daniel around instead of apparently sending him off into early retirement, he might not have ended up "weighed in the balances and found wanting."

Chapter 6 is the childhood favorite of Daniel in the lion's den. Why did Darius have a den of lions? We do not know. He might have had show lions, but there certainly is no evidence that the Persians used lions for public spectacles like the Romans did. Maybe he did it because he could, which is why a lot of those ancient kings did a lot of things. Anyway, it was there. Darius was not a fool like Belshazzar. Even though he conquered Babylon, he knew that there were people in Babylon who could help him rule, and Daniel was one of those people. He did allow himself to be flattered beyond all reason, but that was a weakness of all kings of that era, and sadly, not all that uncommon among people today.

Of course, the main point of this story is Daniel's faithfulness. He did not change his way just because the king made worship illegal. Just remember that the Lord could have just as easily allowed the lions to eat Daniel, and that would not have changed things on Daniel's end. That's what makes this story so amazing. I personally think Darius already planned to throw those other leaders in the den before he went to find Daniel at daybreak. I'm drifting, and this is getting too long; thanks for reading.

TOMS: Daniel 3-4

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Oct. 19, 2006

Wow!!!! Molina just hit a two-run homer to give the Cards a 3-1 lead in the 9th!! Now watch them blow it in the bottom of the 9th.

Chapter 3 is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to bow when everyone else in the whole kingdom was bowing down to the image. There are all sorts of lessons to be derived from this story, but one observation I had was the fact that the king was furious at the refusal of these men to bow. He was "filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against S,M and A. (you know who they are) He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated." Had this man learned nothing? Maybe he wasn't aware of all that had happened, but surely he knew that these men were godly Jews who were not going to be bullied by anyone into disobeying God. I don't know, I just found that interesting.

In chapter 4, we see the king's humiliation before his people and before God. He had a dream, and Daniel interpreted it to mean that the king would be cut down, just like the tree in his dream, because of his pride. Here is another parallel between Daniel and Joseph. I hadn't really thought of that before. Both of them interpreted the king's dreams. Anyway, Daniel warns the king to follow God and not be lifted up in pride. And it stuck for a while, but about a year later, the king began to tell himself what a great king he was and what a great kingdom he had created, and immediately God caused the king to go insane. He roamed the fields and ate grass like an ox for "seven periods of time." That could be seven weeks, months or years, but it was long enough for his hair to grow like eagles' feathers and his nails to grow like birds' claws. At the end of this appointed time, God restored the king to sanity and he said,

"His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;" (4:32, ESV).

The king realized his kingdom was a gift from God, and not something he built by himself. The fact that we have this record, written apparently by the king himself, is proof of the effectiveness of Daniel and his friends as uncompromising in the service of God.

That's it!! They did it!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO! (The Cardinals won the National League pennant. Why they call it a pennant I actually have no idea. Probably has something to do with the old flags that used to hang in old Yankee Stadium.)

TOMS: Daniel 1-2

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Oct. 18, 2006

The first six chapters of Daniel are so familiar that they have become commonplace. I hope I can bring them to you in a different perspective than you have seen before, but then maybe not. Anyway, here goes.

Daniel is one of the lucky ones who gets a promotion after the fall of Jerusalem. Instead of being one of many young nobles in the small country of Judah, he is now a respected member of the court of the greatest empire in the world. Unlike previous empires like the Assyrians, who conquered the Northern kingdom of Israel and with whom Hezekiah had memorable battles, Babylon was a multicultural society. They wanted contributions from the cultures they conquered, instead of assuming that they were superior because they were victorious. But the Babylonians weren't just broad-minded people - they had learned that allowing people to keep some of their traditions made the far-flung provinces easier to control.

But Daniel's life still wasn't easy. Twice in these chapters Daniel finds himself between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. He recognizes the great opportunity he has been given, and is determined to make the best of it. However, he is also determined to remain true to his Jewish culture, and that means he can only eat kosher food. Unfortunately, Babylon did not have kosher delis. Daniel and his colleagues who found favor with the king were to eat food provided by the king. Daniel has a choice to make, and he chooses not to give in like apparently most of his peers did. He acts on faith that God will bless his choice, and God does. God works it out so that the king would provide Daniel and his three friends - Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego - with kosher food.

In the second chapter, the king is suspicious of his "wise men." He gets tired of their vague and generalized answers to his dreams, so he comes up with a challenge. Tell me the dream and the interpretation, and then I will know you are for real. If not, I will kill you. Well naturally the wise men were flabbergasted. They definitely didn't see this one coming. The captain comes to Daniel's house (we don't know if he has already killed some of the other wise men) and gives him the king's pronouncement. Daniel asks for a little bit of time, and that night God gives him the dream and the interpretation.

Daniel's statement to the king is one of the key verses in the book when he says, "But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries."  There is some evidence that thanks to Daniel and his three friends, the king became a believer. Daniel is the ultimate example of making the best of a bad situation.

TOMS: Intro to Daniel

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Oct. 16, 2006

Let me give you a hypothetical story. An American fighter pilot is shot down in Iraq during the first Gulf War. He is captured by the Iraqi army and put in a prisoner camp. At the end of the war, he falls through the cracks in the prisoner exchange and stays in Iraq. But he adapts. He gains the confidence of his captors. Within a few years, he is second in command under Saddam Hussein. You would say that man is a traitor and probably brainwashed. But that is exactly what happened to Daniel, and God was leading him all the way.

Daniel is one of the fascinating characters in the Bible. The only other character even similar to him is Joseph. Both men found themselves taken away from their home, enslaved, and then second in command of the greatest kingdom on earth at the time.

Daniel was forcibly captured by the Babylonians and taken away from all he had ever known. He was one of thousands, but he and his three faithful friends are the only ones we know, because they remained faithful to God in spite of their circumstances.

Now, here's where the rub comes in, and I'm about to veer off in a weird direction. We like the story of Daniel. We like to think about God blessing us with wealth and power because we are faithful to Him. But think about Jeremiah. He was probably a generation older than Daniel, or at least that's what I've always assumed. Daniel, by all accounts, was likely in his teens when he was taken away to Babylon. Jeremiah was probably middle-aged, 40-50. Jeremiah suffered through a miserable existence before and after the fall of Jerusalem, while Daniel probably lived a pretty easy childhood and then became the second in command over all the Chaldean and Persian empires. Yet both were in exactly the places God wanted them to be.

I hate it when well-meaning people promise an easy life when you try to follow the Lord. And I'm not just talking about the health and wealth wackos out there, either. Life is tough, no matter who you are, and it is disingenuous to try to pretend otherwise, whether by self-delusion or by preaching or singing to others that trusting Jesus is an easy answer to all of life's problems. If God wanted us to cruise through life, He would have just taken us all to heaven, because that's where life is easy, at least it seems to be. I kind of have the idea that it may not be as simple as we like to think, but we can discuss that another time.

Our response to the troubles that come our way is the key. We can respond out of faith and trust in the Lord or we can give up, look for a quick fix, or any number of other solutions. If God didn't want us to go through trials He could set it up so that we don't. But that's not God's plan for any of us. Even those people that we think have life so easy have problems and trials we know nothing about. I'm not saying God doesn't help us and we're on our own, but, at least in my life, most of what God teaches me (if He's trying to "teach" anything) is what I pick up while I'm trying to make my way through life.