ABR#7 Daniel

I have begun to read the Bible alphabetically (see here for my rationale), reading each book at least three times and trying to get into the mind of the original author and readers as well as listen to God’s message for today. Here’s what I’ve discovered from reading Daniel.

Chronological Content:
The book of Daniel deals with three distinct periods

A) DANIEL’S LIFETIME
Daniel and his friends are groomed for service in Babylon under king Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel reveals and interprets a dream of a statue. The three friends survive a fiery furnace. Daniel interprets a second dream regarding the king’s pride, madness and restoration. During the next king’s reign (Belshazzar) Daniel sees two visions and is called upon to read the writing on the wall. During the reign of Darius the Mede, Daniel prays for his people and is rewarded with a prophecy explained by Gabriel. He also survives a night in a den of lions. During the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, another angel appears in a vision and explains in detail what is to come.

B) FUTURE HISTORY
The interpreted dream, the two visions and the two angelic prophecies provide a detailed account of the following centuries. The history is sometimes couched in very symbolic language but is clearly explained as representing four empires and a whole array of kings, ending with one particular ruler who will persecute God’s people. My impression (though I know some scholars will disagree) is that the different dreams and visions are all essentially telling the same story, culminating in a time of terrible persecution.

C) GOD’S ETERNAL KINGDOM
The stone which strikes the feet of the statue; the arrival in the clouds of one like a son of man; the vague reference to the end prepared by God; the language about the dead living again and the end of time – all these suggest that the time of terrible persecution will be followed by God establishing an eternal heavenly kingdom which will supersede earthly empires.

How do these stages compare with ‘real’ history? There are no supporting documents outside the book of Daniel which verify period A and some of the facts (such as the existence of Darius the Mede) are apparently hard to reconcile with historical records. Period B on the other hand fits closely with the known history of the Persian and then the Greek empire and the description of the final cruel king seems to be a clear reference to Antiochus IV Epiphanes who desecrated the temple in Jerusalem during a time of severe Jewish persecution in the second century BC. Period C has not happened yet. Or maybe it is a highly symbolic reference to the coming of Jesus. But there was certainly no ‘eternal heavenly kingdom’ breaking into history during the time of persecution by Antiochus IV.

Date and Purpose:
So when and why and by whom was the book written? The traditional view is that Daniel himself wrote it, but I’m afraid I don’t find that view convincing. And this is NOT because I have problems with the possibility of accurate prophecy. If anything it’s because I have confidence that if God is going to predict the future he is going to get it 100% right. The prophetic element of Daniel is right in every detail up to a certain point (the persecution under Antiochus IV) and then suddenly it diverges from what actually happened – i.e. life carried on as normal, further kings and empires rose and fell, and there was no sign of God dramatically setting up his eternal kingdom. (Unless you count the death and resurrection of Jesus, but that happened two centuries later.)

If you imagine an author writing this book during the time of persecution, the whole thing makes more sense. His knowledge of Babylon would be sketchy. His ‘predictions’ of the future would be increasingly accurate as they approached his own time. His hopes for what would happen next would be more vague and more spiritual. So what was the author’s purpose? His account of Daniel and friends standing up for their God in difficult circumstances would encourage the people of his own day to take heart. The prophecies about the coming kingdom of God would help them realise that the future was not in the hands of a cruel king but of a loving and powerful God. Did the author seriously expect imminent divine intervention to bring an end to the persecution? Or was he just expressing his hopes? Either way it must have been comforting to those under severe pressure to be reassured that all was unfolding according to God’s plan and that in the end it would be God and no earthly ruler who would reign supreme.

Or if you want to adopt the traditional view: Even those who regard this book as written by Daniel can’t help but notice that much of the prophetic detail culminates in one particular king who persecuted the Jewish people. There must be a reason for this. God was not merely demonstrating to future readers (like us) that he is capable of foretelling the future. Surely the people who would have found most value in this book are those who were suffering under Antiochus IV, because they would be reading of events directly relevant to their own situation. Therefore, whenever and by whomever we think the book was written, we need to ask “What was God saying to the readers undergoing that particular persecution two centuries before Christ?”

And the answer is (I think) “Stand firm. Keep the faith. Don’t despair. God has it all under control. Your troubles will soon be over. There’s a wonderful eternal kingdom on the way.”

Linking the episodes:
Although the book can be divided into neat sections – six stories followed by four visions – and although some of the changes are abrupt – such as the sudden switch from Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar – there are a few linking details.

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a statue in which the golden head represented his present Babylonian empire. Next thing you know he has turned the dream into reality by building a huge gold statue which he expected everyone to worship.

The first four stories could be seen as the spiritual journey of Nebuchadnezzar – he is impressed by the wisdom and knowledge of Daniel and co.; he recognises Daniel’s God as the greatest of all gods; he forbids any show of disrespect (on pain of death) to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; he learns humility and praises the King of Heaven.

I am a little baffled by the timing of the first two stories. It took three years training before Daniel and co. were admitted to the court (starting from some time after King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem). Yet in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign Daniel and co. are rewarded by being put in charge of various provinces.

Nebuchadnezzar may have improved in his attitude to God but his cruelty didn’t immediately change. He commanded his advisors to reveal his dream “or I’ll have you torn limb from limb and your houses reduced to rubble!” And later he makes exactly the same threat to anyone who disrespects God.

Early in Belshazzar’s reign Daniel records two visions. After the second he returns (shaken) to his royal duties. But by the time of the feast he has been totally forgotten about and the queen needs to remind the king of his existence. Presumably he had gone into retirement by this stage. Which means that in the ‘den of lions’ episode he must have been quite an old man.

More Questions than Answers:

Within the context of the story, what was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream for? What was the point? What practical difference did it make to him that four kingdoms hence there would be a new heavenly kingdom?

Is ‘prophecy’ a good word to describe Daniel’s writing? Most prophets addressed specific situations in their own day. Daniel records his visions for posterity and doesn’t share God’s word with his contemporaries.

Some parts of the story seem a bit surreal – suddenly Nebuchadnezzar is driven from human society without explanation; Darious is persuaded to issue a bizarre law – for one month you can’t make requests of anybody but the king! How could society function if people kept this rule?

Why does Belshazzar offer the ‘third highest’ position in the kingdom? Who were the other two? Given that the only historical record of Belshazzar is as the son of king Nabonidus (but not as king in his own right), perhaps he was only second in command himself.

What’s all this business about guardian angels of Persia, Greece and Israel? And why do they seem not to be singing from the same hymn sheet? The angel who met Daniel by the Tigris took a while to get through and needed the help of the GA of Israel (Michael) to overcome the GA of Persia.

Daniel is told to keep his book sealed until the end of the world – so who is expected to read it then? And if we can’t understand it until the world has ended what is the point of it?

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

“Try it for ten days and see if you notice the difference” – the same approach to a new diet is still being used today!

Babylon was a dangerous place to live. If you got on the wrong side of the king you were in trouble – mass executions; being torn limb from limb; houses burned to the ground; death by fiery furnace; incarceration in a den of lions. Some of these orders or threats were not actually carried out, or God miraculously saved the victims, but the enemies of Daniel (and their families) were literally thrown to the lions. So these are not just stories about faithfulness in the face of opposition. They are about risking life and limb by standing up to rulers who have the power of life and death, and are ready to use torture and cruelty to express their displeasure.

Daniel picked his battles. He didn’t balk at being given the name of a heathen god (Belteshazzar). He didn’t shy away from the murky world of court politics. He must have had to engage in at least a smidgeon of wheeling and dealing if he was to run Babylonian affairs so successfully for so long. And where was he when his three friends were refusing to worship that gold statue? I find it more encouraging to think of Daniel not as perfect and pure, but as an ordinary man in a difficult situation choosing the moments in which he should take a stand on his principles.

The trio came out of the furnace with their clothing unsinged. Daniel had no mark on him after his encounter with the lions. When God rescues he does so completely without leaving scars or lingering after-effects (or at least on these two occasions he did.)

S, M and A have the right attitude – “our God can save us, but if not....” Maybe this is the message which those persecuted under A.IV needed to hear. They were to take heart that God was able to save them from a tyrant, ‘but if not’ then they were still to remain faithful to God. I believe in miracles. I sometimes hope for them – or at least I hope for a nice clear sign that God is in charge. The real test of faith is if I trust God when he isn’t showing any signs of his presence.

When Gabriel comes with the answer to Daniel’s prayer, he first says “God loves you” (strictly speaking “you are beloved.”) The angel begins the next vision with the same reassurance. This is unusual language for the Old Testament. God is not making a general declaration of love for his people, but personally to one individual. It seems to me there’s no better affirmation than to be told (and by Gabriel of all people!) that God loves you.