Daniel

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“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision” (Daniel 8:16 NKJV).

December 1, 2017

It is interesting to see the angel Gabriel mentioned in our Old Testament reading on this first day of December. For he will also be of great interest to us as we read the gospel accounts of Christ’s birth during this Christmas season. There are only two angels named in the Bible (excluding the fallen one, Lucifer). They are Michael, the archangel of God and Gabriel, who acts as God’s messenger. The name “Gabriel” means “Strong Man of God.” He described himself to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, like this: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19). Gabriel is recorded as bearing God’s messages to Daniel (Dan. 8:16, 9:21), to Zechariah (Luke 1:19), to Mary (Luke 1:26), and although his name is not given, to Joseph (Matt. 1:20).

There was something about Gabriel’s presence that struck fear in each human encounter. Perhaps it was the lingering presence of God that still clung to his person as it once did to Moses after he came down from Mt. Sinai. His purpose was specific each time. Give the addressee the message and make sure they “understand” it.

“But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” (Daniel 12:13 ESV)

December 4, 2016

God gave Daniel great insight into the future, yet his understanding was only partial. No matter how much he studied these future prophecies, much was left cloudy for him. So, the Lord gave Daniel three insights on how to respond to His end times prophecies:
1) “Go your way.” In other words, get busy doing what I’ve called you to do in the present. 
2) “You shall rest.” Physical death would come for Daniel long before the end. Death for the believer is not the end, but merely rest from physical labor. Daniel would not see all that God had revealed. He would rest (“sabbath”).
3) “You shall stand at the end.” God told Daniel that he would rise again at the end of days. This speaks of the bodily resurrection of the saints.
This instruction is good for today’s reader of prophecy too. We may not know all that the future holds, but we can know the One who holds the future.

“Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece” (Daniel 11:2 ESV)

December 3, 2016

One of the most amazing prophesies concerning the future of human kingdoms was given to Daniel. Written around 530 BC, God revealed the rise and fall of kingdoms from the time of Daniel to the end times. The three kings predicted to “arise” in Persia was fulfilled by the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius. The 4th and final king of Persia, the one “richer than all” before him, was fulfilled by Xerxes. As Daniel’s prophecy predicted over 200 years before it happened, Xerxes “stirred up” the Greeks which led to Persia being conquered by the “mighty king” (Dan. 11:3), Alexander the Great. The rest of the chapter goes on to describe kingdoms that have come and gone in the following centuries all the way up to the present and beyond. The Lord pulled back the veil of time to show Daniel the kingdoms to come before Christ would establish His everlasting kingdom. The future is in the Lord’s hands.

“When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man” (Daniel 8:15 ESV)

December 1, 2016

After Daniel’s vision, an angel named “Gabriel” appeared to him, charged with explaining the vision. The Old Testament recorded many other angelic visitations, but Daniel is unique in that he is the only one to whom their names are revealed (“Gabriel” in 8:16; 9:21 and “Michael” in 10:13, 21; 12:1). Yet, even with Gabriel’s help, the vision is beyond his understanding. While the vision most likely contains “already/not yet” dual fulfillment material, the identification of the “Medes and Persians,” and of the kingdom of Greece points to the time leading up to the birth of Christ. The fact that Gabriel is the angel explaining this to Daniel and then later announcing it to Joseph and Mary in the gospels is not to be overlooked. Daniel saw a vision that has partially been fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. But there is still part that is yet unfulfilled, that must point to the time leading up to His return.

“I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end” (Daniel 6:26 ESV)

November 29, 2016

A new administration comes into power, jealous co-workers, and a governmental prohibition against prayer… Sounds like something from today’s headlines, doesn’t it? Well, actually this is what the Hebrew exile Daniel faced after Darius the Mede conquered Babylon. Even though Daniel had been an advisor to the Babylonians, Darius was so impressed with him that he made him one of his top three administrators and even planned to put him over all of his 120 “satraps” (Persian governors). Many of the Persian leaders became jealous of Daniel, so they schemed to get rid of him. They couldn’t find anything wrong with his work or character, so they focused on persecuting him for his faith. They persuaded Darius to pass a law against prayer and waited for Daniel to break it. They didn’t have to wait long. That very day, Daniel went “to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem,” and prayed. Daniel had broken Persian law, so Darius had no choice but to throw him in the lion’s den. Yet, God rescued Daniel, thus revealing His glory to Darius. In response, Darius executed Daniel’s detractors, elevated Daniel and made a “decree” instructing his whole kingdom to worship the “God of Daniel.” God used Daniel’s faithfulness to turn a prayer prohibition into a nationwide prayer meeting!

“Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” (Daniel 4:27 ESV)

November 27, 2016

After Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream, he boldly added advice that the king repent of sin and heed God’s warning. What a special relationship God had given Daniel with the king, that he could be so bold without the king’s reprisal! Yet, Nebuchadnezzer didn’t repent, and after a year went by, his nightmare became a reality. God humbled the prideful king. I wonder why God chose to give this pagan Babylonian king such revelations? And why did God provide not only dreams, but also a faithful interpreter in Daniel? It reminds me of how God gave the Egyptian Pharaoh a dream, and then sent him Joseph to interpret it. What was God’s overarching purpose in giving such revelations to pagan kings and providing godly men to interpret them? Perhaps it was at least twofold: 1) God revealed Himself to them that they might repent and believe. 2) God provided godly prophets to find favor with the pagan kings, so that God’s people might prosper even while exiled in a foreign land. How might Daniel’s relationship with Nebuchadnezzar be applied to how we relate to worldly kings, presidents, governors and employers today?

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18 ESV)

November 26, 2016

Standing firm for your faith against an idolatrous culture often leads to persecution. Yet, the three Hebrew exiles, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, chose to remain faithful to God in spite of the threat of execution. They expressed their sincere belief that God was able to rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace if He so willed. But they also proclaimed their firm determination that they would rather burn than bow to false gods. They recognized that their true fate was not in a worldly king’s hands, but in God’s hands.

“And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus” (Daniel 1:21 ESV)

November 25, 2016

Daniel, along with several other young Hebrew youths (probably young teens) was taken captive by the Babylonians to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. His story is a study in how to live as a believer exiled in a foreign land. God gave Daniel great wisdom and success, as he served under many kings and even kept his post after Babylon fell to the Persians. He served under several Babylonian kings beginning with Nebuchadnezzer and ending with Belshazzar, who was king at the time of the fall of Babylon to Persia (Daniel 5:29-31). He then continued under Darius the Mede and finally under Cyrus of Persia (Daniel 6:28). His service seems to have occupied around seventy years. Regardless of the king or kingdom of man, Daniel served God and the Lord gave him wisdom on how to live in this world, but not of it.

“And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end'” (Daniel 12:9 NKJV)

December 4, 2015

God revealed many details about Israel’s future to Daniel. Some of what was revealed pointed to Christ’s first coming and has already been fulfilled. But there is much that remains in Daniel’s prophecy that still awaits the “time of the end.” Daniel, like many of the other prophets, wrote of things that he himself didn’t fully understand. We can study these “end times” prophecies, but must admit, as Daniel did (Dan. 12:8), our lack of comprehension. Yet, as the “time of the end” draws closer, the opaqueness of these prophecies will grow steadily more clear to those who have the wisdom to understand (Dan. 12:10). In the meantime, Daniel was to “go his own way.” In other words, he wouldn’t see the fulfillment of this prophecy in his lifetime, so he should get back to living for today.

‘“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end”‘ (Daniel 8:16b-17 NKJV)

December 1, 2015

In Daniel’s vision, an angel named “Gabriel” (Hebrew: “God is my strength”) is charged with explaining the vision, so that Daniel might understand it. The Old Testament recorded many other angelic visitations, but Daniel is unique in that he is the only one to whom their names are revealed (“Gabriel” in 8:16; 9:21 and “Michael” in 10:13, 21; 12:1). Yet, even with Gabriel’s help, the vision is beyond his understanding (8:27). While the vision most likely contains “already/not yet” dual fulfillment material, the identification of the “Medes and Persians,” and of the kingdom of Greece points to the time leading up to the birth of Christ. The fact that Gabriel is the angel explaining this to Daniel and then later announcing it to Joseph and Mary in the gospels is not to be overlooked. Daniel saw a vision that has partially been fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. But there is still part that is yet unfulfilled, that must point to His return.