Daniel Unlocked #5

Daniel Unlocked #5. Understand!

Understand is a key word in Daniel’s 12-chapter book. It occurs (with synonyms) 25 times. Twice the angel said to Daniel that his prophecies are sealed until the time of the end when knowledge of them will increase. (Daniel 12:4 and 8:26). His book also identifies that we are now living in that “time of the end,” and have been doing so for well over 200 years. (Daniel 7 will reveal this.) The Bible deals in long periods. What is important for us to consider is that we are not down at the beginning of this period but somewhere up the other end!

Daniel is an apocalyptic book that unveils the future using visionary symbols with angels as interpreters. Most of his prophecies have been fulfilled and have had 2,600 years to stand the test of time. This should give us confidence in that small part which is still before us.

The key lies at the door. The beginning and the end are virtually connected.

In Chapter one the King of the north (historical Babylon) invades the promised land and takes the people of God captive. Babylon came from the north because the Babylonian armies could not cross the desert but had to travel around the fertile crescent to the north. In Daniel 11 you have a similar scenario with the King of the north (spiritual Babylon) engaging in 3 major conflicts with the King of the South over spiritual Israel. Not the “Israel of the flesh”, as Paul calls those who rejected their Messiah (1 Cor 10:18), but Israel of the Spirit (Gal 2:26-29). What we are seeing in Gaza at present is “Israel of the Flesh.” We will discuss this more when we get to Chapter 11. However, we should note that the current display of “Israel of the flesh” is producing a seething hatred for Israel, only restrained by the presence of NATO’s ships in the mediteranean. This will feed into the final conflict of Daniel 11.

Chapters 1-6 are mostly narratives and they become keys to unlocking and understanding the prophecies. The heathen kings are clues to the nature of antichrist. The faithful Hebrews represent the Christian church down through the ages. All through the ages we see conflict between spiritual Babylon and Jerusalem, between false worship and true, between the kingdom of satan and the Kingdom of God. It is the tale of two cities. A major theme of the book involves the conflict of worship. Earth’s first battle was over worship (See Genesis 4 and 1 John 3:12.) So too, earth’s last battle is over worship, (16:13-14, the word worship occurs 7 times in Revelation 13 and 14.) Compare the decree in Daniel 3 – the command to worship an idol, with that same decree mirrored in Rev. 13:15 in the end times. As we begin our study, we should keep the following points in mind:

Firstly, we should always remember that Christ is the center of Daniel, as He is of the entire Bible. See Tomorrow’s reflection on this.

Secondly, Daniel is organized in a way that shows literary beauty and helps us to understand its major focus. Then, we need to understand the difference between classical and apocalyptic prophecies. This will help us distinguish between the prophecies of Daniel and those of others such as Isaiah, Amos, and Jeremiah. As we study the time prophecies of Daniel, we should understand that the prophetic outlines of Daniel span long periods of time and are measured according to the year for a day principle. Finally, the book of Daniel not only conveys prophetic information but is profoundly relevant to our personal lives today.