Through the Bible - Daniel

When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) ... then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world. (Matthew 24:15, 21)

God told the end from the beginning—so let the one who reads understand how to live with integrity in the last days.

A Small Book That Says a Great Deal

The book of Daniel is one of the major prophets, yet it has only twelve chapters—small compared to Isaiah's sixty-six, Jeremiah's fifty-two, and Ezekiel's forty-some. But it has a great deal crammed into those twelve chapters.

In Matthew 24, Jesus' disciples asked Him a striking question. Just after He had pronounced "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites" in the temple, His disciples pointed out the great buildings, and Jesus told them not one stone would be left upon another. It would be as if you and I were walking through New York City and the Lord said, "All these buildings are going to come crashing down." Naturally they wanted to know when.

Just over forty years later, in August of A.D. 70, the Roman armies under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and Jesus' words were literally fulfilled. But on the Mount of Olives the disciples equated the temple's destruction with the end of the world, and they asked for the sign of His coming and of the end of the age.

Whoso Readeth, Let Him Understand

Jesus answered by listing things people often call signs—wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes in diverse places. But notice He calls these "the beginning of sorrows" and says "the end is not yet." Then in verse 14 He says:

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Then He gives the sign of the very end: "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand)." Highlight that parenthesis. Daniel is not a book you casually skim like a novel; Jesus commands study. We are to be workmen who rightly divide the word of truth.

This is one of the most powerful prophetic books in Scripture. Its predictions are so specific that many modern critics—better called Bible scoffers—insist Daniel could not have been written in the sixth century B.C. during Nebuchadnezzar's reign, dating it instead to the second century. But the evidence supports the earlier date, and that precision is a testimony to the power of God.

Prophecy is God's divine thumbprint on Scripture, showing it was authored by Someone outside of time. Daniel penned these things, but the Holy Ghost was the true author. Daniel himself didn't fully understand what he wrote; he asked what it meant, and God told him to seal up the book, for it would not be understood until the end of days "when knowledge increases and men go to and fro." I would say we are living in that day.

Purposing Not to Defile Himself

The predictive prophecy doesn't begin until chapter 7. The first six chapters are intensely practical for our lives, just as they were for Daniel's. They open with Daniel taken captive from Jerusalem as a young man, probably a teenager, and brought into the palace in Babylon.

This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy. Back in Isaiah 39, after Hezekiah was healed and given fifteen more years, a Babylonian delegation came with a get-well gift, and Hezekiah foolishly showed them everything—the armory, the treasure, the temple gold and silver. Isaiah rebuked him: Babylon would one day carry it all away, along with his own descendants. In 605 B.C. that began to be fulfilled when Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon; about twenty years later, in 586 B.C., Jerusalem was destroyed.

Babylon wanted to make these bright young men into perfect Babylonian citizens—new names, new wisdom, the king's choice food and wine. But Daniel chapter 1 says:

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.

The world, driven by the prince of the power of the air, wants to squeeze all mankind into its mold. Paul says in Romans 12, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Daniel refused to be conformed into the image of Babylon. He asked the prince of the eunuchs to test him and his three friends for ten days on vegetables and water.

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.

God gave Daniel and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—knowledge, skill, wisdom, and understanding in all visions and dreams. As with Joshua, who was told to meditate in God's law day and night and would then make his way prosperous, Daniel prospered in captivity because he refused to be conformed to the world. He wanted his walk to be right before the King of kings, not before King Nebuchadnezzar—and God blessed him. That is a great example for us, living in a day when the enemy has diminished the church's witness by making so much of the church look just like the world.

The King's Dream and the Statue

Chapter 2 reveals Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the world. Like us, he had a troubling dream and then forgot it. He summoned his magicians, sorcerers, and astrologers and demanded they tell him both the dream and its interpretation, on pain of death. They protested—rightly—that no one on earth could do such a thing.

But Daniel knew Someone who was not of this earth. He asked for time, sought the Lord, and God revealed both the dream and its meaning. The statue had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay.

Daniel told the king: "You are that golden head." After him would come the dual Medo-Persian Empire (the two silver arms), then the Greek (brass), then Rome (iron), and finally a Roman mixture of iron and clay. Then a stone "cut out without hands" struck the image's feet, ground it to dust, and the wind blew it away, while the stone became a great mountain that filled the whole earth—the eternal kingdom of God that will destroy all the kingdoms of this world. Nebuchadnezzar didn't care for the vision, but he loved that Daniel could reveal it, and he made Daniel number two in the kingdom.

The Fiery Furnace

In chapter 3 we see Nebuchadnezzar's arrogance. He built a ninety-foot statue—of gold, head to foot. His dream had said his kingdom would pass away, but he declared he would stand forever. He gathered everyone into the valley and commanded that whenever the music played, all must bow to his golden image—or be cast into a fiery furnace.

When the band struck up, everyone bowed except three: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar, in fury, gave them one more chance and sneered, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" They answered without hesitation:

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They knew God was able to deliver them; but even if He didn't deliver them from the furnace, He would deliver them out of the king's hands. Furious, Nebuchadnezzar heated the furnace seven times hotter—so hot the flames killed the mighty men who threw them in. Then he was astonished:

Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Only the ropes that bound them burned. Their hair was not singed, their coats not charred, the smell of fire not on them. They had to be called out of the fire—they were enjoying the company of the One in the form of the Son of God, surely Jesus walking with them.

The testimony of these men going through the fire transformed the king's heart. He blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, "for there is no other God that can deliver after this sort," and promoted them. So too, when you and I weather fiery trials with the King of kings at our side, the Lord uses that testimony to transform hardened hearts. He allows trials for a purpose.

The Humbling of Nebuchadnezzar

In chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree giving shelter and food to birds and beasts, until an axe cuts it down to a stump. Daniel interprets: the king is that tree, and because of his pride he will be cut down, with seven times passing over him. Then Daniel gives the application:

Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor.

Twelve months later, walking in his palace, the king boasted, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built... by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" While the word was still in his mouth, a voice from heaven drove him from men. He ate grass like an ox, his body wet with dew, his hair grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws—until he knew that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.

At the end of the days, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven, his reason returned, and he praised the Most High whose dominion is everlasting, who "doeth according to his will in the army of heaven," and who is able to abase those who walk in pride. Reading such a confession, I sometimes wonder whether we'll see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven someday, so great was the transformation.

In these first chapters we see a pattern: Daniel purposed not to defile himself and was raised up; God used his gift so Nebuchadnezzar raised him up; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's testimony moved the king to promote them; and God brought the proudest man of his age down to nothing so that He could raise him up.

The Writing on the Wall

Chapter 5 tells of Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar, another proud and arrogant ruler. At a great feast he called for the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem, and they drank wine from them. At that same hour a man's hand appeared and wrote on the plaster wall.

Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

His astrologers could not read it, but the queen mother remembered Daniel. He came in and gave the interpretation of MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN: God had weighed the king's kingdom and found it wanting, and it would be given to another. What Belshazzar didn't know was that the Medo-Persian army had already diverted the Euphrates and entered beneath the wall. That night the city fell, Belshazzar died, and the chest and arms of silver took over the world—again a proud man who hardened his heart, removed from power by God.

Daniel in the Lions' Den

Chapter 6 gives the last story for application. Under the new Medo-Persian king, Darius, jealous advisors set Daniel up. Knowing he served the God of the Hebrews, they tricked the king into a decree—unchangeable in the Medo-Persian Empire—that for thirty days no one could petition any god but the king. When Daniel kept praying, they had him cast into the lions' den.

Darius loved Daniel and fasted and prayed all night to Daniel's God. At dawn he ran to the den and cried out, "Daniel, has your God delivered you?" Daniel answered that an angel had stood with him all night and shut the lions' mouths. The king then cast Daniel's accusers and their families into the den, and the lions destroyed them before they hit the ground—proof the lions were hungry, but an angel had held them back. Once again God delivered His servant through tribulation because of his faithful witness.

Kingdoms, Beasts, and the Abomination of Desolation

These first six chapters establish a vital truth: those who seek the Lord and stand in righteousness will be preserved through trial, tribulation, and distress. That matters because the rest of Daniel deals with the trial, tribulation, and distress coming upon Gentiles and Jews in the latter days.

God showed Daniel the succession of Gentile kingdoms—Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Greece. In chapter 7's visions, a ram with two horns (Medo-Persia) is knocked down by a goat with one horn (Alexander the Great). When Alexander died at thirty-three, that horn broke and four came up in its place—the four kings who divided the Greek empire.

From one of those four arose a little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes, in the second century B.C. He took Jerusalem, set up his own image in the Holy of Holies, and sacrificed pig's blood on the altar. The Jews of Jesus' day believed that fulfilled Daniel's abomination of desolation. But Jesus, in Matthew 24, reveals it is still yet to come.

Daniel chapter 8 describes another beast with ten horns, from which a small horn rises and uproots three. This points to a future kingdom with ten rulers, one of whom subdues three others, exalts himself, and sets up an image in the Holy of Holies in the last days—the abomination of desolation. Daniel 9, 11, and 12 tell us that when this occurs, the end can be calculated: 1,290 days, three and a half years on the Jewish 360-day calendar, until the end of the age.

This is clarified by Revelation, which describes the Antichrist making a seven-year covenant with Israel, then in the middle of it exalting himself as God and placing his image in the Holy of Holies. Jesus warns: when you see it, flee Jerusalem—from the rooftop, from the field, pray it not be in winter—because then comes great tribulation such as the world has never seen.

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

None of this fully makes sense without Daniel 9 and the seventy weeks. Daniel, by the river, receives a vision: the angel Gabriel speaks on one side, the angel Michael stands with a sword on the other, and a figure stands upon the waters in the middle—appearing again in Revelation 11 as Jesus.

God tells Daniel that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem there would be sixty-nine "weeks"—sixty-nine seven-year periods—until Messiah the Prince comes. We know historically when that decree came under the Persians. In his book The Coming Prince, Sir Robert Anderson calculates the sixty-nine periods—483 years—and arrives right around A.D. 29, specifically the Sunday before Passover.

What happened that Sunday? Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the crowds cried, "Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Overlooking the city in Luke, He wept that they "knew not the time of their visitation"—they should have known, because Daniel told them the very day. Before time began, God had appointed it.

But one week remains—the seventieth week of Daniel. Combining the apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation, we see one final seven-year period yet to come. At its start the Antichrist makes a seven-year treaty with Israel; in the middle he exalts himself in the Holy of Holies and sets up the abomination of desolation. From that point, the end is only three and a half years away—so Jesus says, when you see it, flee.

Three Views and the Times and Seasons

There is much discussion within evangelical churches about the timing of the church's rapture (harpazo, 1 Thessalonians 4). One view holds the church is caught up before the seven-year tribulation. A second holds God removes His people before His wrath is poured out in the final three and a half years. A third holds He removes them right at the end. Most of us love the idea of being taken out before tribulation comes—who doesn't?

Whatever the case, God has told us the end from the beginning. He does not want us ignorant. We won't know the day or the hour, but we should know the times and seasons—and I believe we are living in them.

Why? For there to be an abomination of desolation there must be a Holy of Holies; for that, a temple; for that, Jews in the land and in Jerusalem. Before May 14, 1948, that was not the case. That night in Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion declared the State of Israel's independence. After the world saw the atrocities of the Holocaust, the nations gave the Jewish people a homeland, and Israel became a nation in a day—just as Ezekiel 36 foretold with the dry bones coming together. Today it is a flourishing nation; buy fruit in Europe and you'll often see "Made in Israel."

Then in June 1967, in the Six-Day War, Israel took the city of Jerusalem again. They later gave portions back—Golda Meir and others trading land for peace—but every time land has been traded for peace, peace has not come. Yet a day is coming when a temple will be built. It has not yet been built, so we can be certain we are living in the last days, with Jewish people once more in the land.

How Then Shall We Live

As Jesus says in Luke, we should look up, for our redemption draws near. We don't know the day or hour, nor do I claim certainty about whether the Lord takes us out before, during, or at the end of the tribulation—though I have a hard time with the "rebound rapture" at the very end. What we must understand is that God has not appointed us to wrath, and wrath and tribulation are different.

The first six chapters of Daniel show God's people going through tribulation—and being delivered through it, kept in the midst of it. God will likewise care for us in the midst of tribulation. Even now He allows us trials. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." He walks with us through it, and He is glorified in it.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that all these Old Testament things were written for our instruction and admonition, "upon whom the ends of the world are come." That is why we study Daniel and Ezekiel and Lamentations—they teach us how then to live. Daniel, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are examples of integrity and righteousness; they believed God and God delivered them, and He will do the same for us.

This book shows clearly that God knows what He is doing and is in control. Nebuchadnezzar, king of the world, learned it: God raises up one and puts down another. Though trials and tribulations come, God is still on the throne, and there is coming a kingdom "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Those of us who know Him say, "Come, Lord Jesus. Maranatha. Come quickly."

Closing Prayer

God, we thank You for Your word. We praise You that You have told us the end from the beginning. We don't have to be ignorant of the things going on in our day. While all the world wonders, and even those who don't know You sense that things are winding down and going crazy, we know, because You have told us exactly what is happening.

Lord, help us to be looking to You, waiting for You, and shining brightly in these last dark days. Jesus, when You came to Your own people—even though You had told them the exact day You would come through Daniel's prophecy—they were not looking for You. You have told us the signs of the times. Help us to be ready, with our wicks trimmed and oil in our lamps for the time that You come, for there will be many who are not ready. Let us not be numbered among them. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.