Daniel 3:1-18 - Audio

What a remarkable feat of timing! God has orchestrated the end of the Book of Daniel with the week just before what many would argue is the most important election in our nation’s history. This election even has the attention of the whole world! Daniel 12 is the “end” of the writings of Daniel, and it discusses the “end” of the prophetic time for Israel and the world. He even learns about those whose lives have come to an “end” under deadly oppression from the likes of Antiochus Epiphanes and Adolf Hitler. What happens at the end? What becomes of Israel? What about me, personally? How do I fit into the big picture? What about planet earth? How troubling will it be? What will knowing all of this do for me? How do I respond? Should we run around crazy looking for solutions? Should we build a wall around ourselves and wait for the end to come? Should we allow ourselves to be enveloped by fear? Will more knowledge and more science and more data save the human race? Listen in as we look at Daniel’s final message and try and understand God’s direction for our personal lives with this knowledge.

As we finish up Daniel chapter 11 I hope to encourage you that the historical focus will be much narrower. That means fewer names to deal with! I also find much more application in this second half of chapter eleven. If you look out into the distance, things that are farther away can be seen in less detail, while things that are closer can be seen more clearly and more detailed. Well, “close” and “far” are not relative to Daniel as he writes, but to where God’s focus is: on the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Let me explain. The angel revealed to Daniel almost no detail at all about the succession of Persian kings or about Alexander the Great. Some detail is given about the various kings and struggles between Syria (Seleucid Dynasty) and Egypt (Ptolameic Dynasty). The closer we get the focal point, the more detail we are provided. Now we have come to the focus: the nasty and wicked anti-semite king Antiochus Epiphanes. Why is he the focus and wny is so much detail given about him? Because he will act as a close (but not exact) example of what the final world ruler—Antichrist—will be like. In this section you will discover the origin of the saying, “draw a line in the sand.” Want the details? Listen in and find out!

How do you feel about history class? Do you remember “social studies” in school? Not your favorite class? It was not mine either. Memorize dates and events for the test and then forget it all after the test. Yuck! And then I got saved and became a follower of Jesus and started reading the Bible. History began to be much more interesting because it was related to a big, worldwide story that connected all the dots and gave me a context to plug all the facts into. Daniel chapters 10-12 are a single unit. Daniel 11 is the longest and most detailed prophecy in the Bible. It is so specific and so accurate that many have questioned if it could really have been written before the events happened. The person writing it must have already known what was going to happen because it is so precise! God is sovereign (has complete authority and freedom to act), and He is omniscient (knows everything). The Bible is clear that God “declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). This chapter is astounding and historical as you see the hand of God working through human history. At the center of all history is the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. We will talk about things past, things present, and the prophecy will take us into the future as well!

We are closing in on the end of our study in Daniel. Although there are three chapters left, they all connect around one grand and detailed vision that Daniel has. It is so precise in its historical accuracy that many believe it could not have been written by Daniel! The scope reaches into and even past our own time. For this study time we’ll look into chapter 10 and get the introduction to the vision. We get descriptive detail about the physical impact this event had on Daniel. His angelic experience might not climb the charts of the bestseller list if it was published today! Daniel is not the picture of people having strength and courage in the presence of angels. Daniel’s desire to understand was heard immediately and God responded immediately. But, for some reason Daniel sees no answer to this prayer for three weeks! Have you ever wondered why prayers don’t always receive an answer immediately? Have you ever felt like God was acting too slowly on your behalf? Have you been tempted to think that maybe He doesn’t care or didn’t listen? Hopefully Daniel 10 will change the way you think about prayer and what happens in the “heavenly realm” when you pray on earth. The reality may even surprise you!

Given the state of our world in 2020 and current events in America, I know many of you are paying close attention to prophecy—what does God’s word say about future things! Many are curious as to how the events taking place and what we see in America fit into God’s picture of the future of planet Earth. We have talked about much of this over the last number of weeks in previous chapters of Daniel. Well, Daniel 9:20-27 may just be the most important—and most debated—prophecy in the entire Bible. It is comprehensive, concise, and cryptic. It is God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer and it is known as Daniel’s “70 Weeks Prophecy”. The interesting thing to note is that if you want to be a really astute student of current events and the big picture of Bible prophecy, then get your eyes off of America and onto Israel! Despite our sentiments of America’s importance on the world stage, all of human history revolves around the past, present, and future of Israel—and her king, Jesus! What is that “big picture”? Where do you and I fit? What comes next? Good questions! You won’t want to miss this study of Daniels “70 weeks prophecy”. It’s the key to “understanding” everything.

If you are like me, I assume you are trying to make good decisions in a complex and complicated time. To make good decisions about life, we need information, and we are certainly inundated with information, right? There are “authoritative” voices on both sides of the election and on both sides of pandemic management, to name a few! The confusing thing is that both voices speak with authority and suggest a clear—although opposing—direction. Who should we believe? This may be more complicated than meets the eye. Spiritual life is no different. There are authoritative voices that can say opposing things about God’s plan and purposes. If you were hopeful spiritual things would be more clear, I’m sorry to disappoint you! There are prophets and there are false prophets. There are teachers and there are false teachers. There are sheep and there are also wolves dressed up as sheep. There are spiritual experiences and dreams and visions, and, well..let’s turn our attention to Daniel 9. Daniel chapter 9 opens a window for us to sit and listen and watch a man of God pray. This is the content of our passage today. But how does Daniel know what to pray for? How does he know how to pray and to what end? What informs his prayers? What if your prayer is motivated by the wrong information? What if the sermon you heard was exciting—but wrong? God’s will does not always fit neatly into our own plans or opinions. Listen in as we learn via a godly man’s prayer via Daniel chapter 9. If you haven’t already, read a companion passage that we refer to: Jeremiah chapters 25-29. Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles will give some additional background to what we look at in our message from Daniel 9. Listen in and see!

I am not sure if I feel more like a sports commentator or a Bible preacher! Why? Daniel has another vivid and descriptive vision. This time it’s the Bucks against the Rams with a surprise ending! This chapter, like Daniel chapter 7, is full of action. The ram seems unstoppable, but wait—out of nowhere comes a male goat (otherwise known as a “buck”)! He is moving at lightning speed and charging right at the unstoppable ram. The tension is high as the raging buck attacks the stronger ram! Who will survive the colossal collision? Who will be victorious? Now that you are on the edge of your seat, I can ask the more important questions. Who do the ram and the goat represent? What is the vision about? Why is this chapter so important, and why should you care? If you listen in, you will learn why so many doubt that Daniel was really written in the 6th century BC. I’ll give you a hint. The information in chapter 8 is so detailed and accurate that it is hard to believe he wrote it; and maybe more importantly: that he wrote it over 200 years before it happened. You will also learn the identity of the Bucks’ MVP (most vicious prince). Listen in and learn why you should have hope in dark times!

If you could know the future, would you want to? Before you answer, think about it. Maybe you would want to clarify your answer based on whether it’s a good or bad future! “Yes, if such and such is true…“—or “no, unless…” You get the idea. Now hash that out in your mind! If you could know the future of America, would you want to? What would you do with the information? Would it be comforting or would it be troubling? Would you tell people what you knew? Coming back to our context in the book of Daniel, our Jewish friend has just such a dilemma, and after tomorrow so will you. After we walk through Daniel chapter seven, you too will know what Daniel knew in the 6th century BC! This chapter outlines an overview of world power using very visually dramatic and descriptive language. You’ll notice as we move through the chapter that is basically parallels Daniel chapter 2. How does this information effect Daniel? What is the emotional response to the information God gives him? Listen in and find out! You can bet that Daniel’s vision is as relevant today as it was when God first opened his mind to see it.

If you play a little “word association” and say the word “Daniel“, the immediate response for many would be “lion’s den“. Chapter 6 is that well known Bible chapter that holds this famous story. People have heard of the story but many of them don’t really know the details. They don’t know about the new transitional government of the Medes and Persians or the new leadership structure. They don’t know about Daniel’s promotion or the political enemies he is making. Hey, so why did he get thrown in that lion’s den anyway? Why didn’t the lion’s eat him alive? For me, one of the coolest aspects was the real fondness the king had for Daniel. You know, if you have integrity, are trustworthy, and really seem to care about people, you find God’s blessing in your work and relationships. When you live a Spirit filled life of loyalty to God, mouths get miraculously shut! Listen in and see this miraculous story of God’s protection over His faithful servant Daniel!

Daniel 4 closed with Nebuchadnezzar recovering his mental health, being restored to his throne, and the reality of the Most High God who is sovereign over every earthly empire. Daniel 5 opens with a king named Belshazzar reigning over Babylon. What we know is that the saying, “The handwriting on the wall, has made its way into our modern culture as an idiom for “impending and unavoidable doom.” Maybe you didn’t know that saying comes directly from Daniel 5! In the midst of a Babylonian government drinking party and feast, Belshazzar expressed his pride and defiance toward the God who humbled Nebuchadnezzar. When a hand appeared and wrote a cryptic message on the wall, the party came to screeching halt! The DJ stopped the music and everyone froze in fear and astonishment. Is this really happening? What does it mean? Daniel, whose wisdom seems to have been forgotten or ignored, is called from the dugout to help. Here are some things to consider: If, according to history, the last King of Babylon is a guy named Nabonidus, then who is Belshazzar? Is the Bible wrong? What was the message on the wall? What did it mean? For answers to these questions and more, listen in to this study of Daniel chapter five. By the end of the chapter, the impenetrable Babylonian Empire, that head of Gold (ref: chapter 2), will have been replaced by the Medo-Persian Empire without even the smallest battle! Wow. Are you curious? I hope so!