THE STUDY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS THE STUDY OF PROPHECY, AND AS SUCH
DEALS WITH THE FUTURE. IN STUDYING THESE, WE AS CHRISTIANS, CAN GAIN A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE AND OF GOD. THROUGH THIS STUDY AN
UNDERSTANDING IS OBTAINED OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE FORCES OF GOOD AND
EVIL, AND THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF JESUS.
THE PROPHETIC SYMBOLS OF DANIEL MUST BE INTERPRETED BY THE BIBLE
ITSELF. MAN-MADE INTERPRETATIONS HAVE NO VALIDITY AT ALL. THE
COMPREHENSION OF THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL GIVE US A CLEARER
DANIEL, ALTHOUGH WRITING IN THE THIRD PERSON, GAVE A PERSONAL HISTORY,
AS HE LIVED IT, IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL. JESUS ATTESTED TO DANIEL'S
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WORDS FOUND IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL, AS HIS THIRD
POINT, WHEN HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS TO UNDERSTAND THE PROPHECIES OF
DANIEL, THE FIRST TWO BEING: TO STUDY THE PROPHECIES, AND THEY CAN BE
DANIEL IS SET DURING THE REIGN OF KING NEBUCHDREZZAR OF BABYLON, WHICH
BEGAN IN 605 B.C., AND EXTENDS INTO THE MEDO-PERSIAN REIGN, WHICH BEGAN IN
538 B.C. WE CAN DETERMINE, THEN, THAT THE BOOK OF DANIEL WAS WRITTEN
BECAUSE OF THEIR DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD, THE NATIONS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
FOUND THEMSELVES CONQUERED BY NEBUCHADREZZAR AND THEIR PEOPLE TAKEN
CAPTIVE TO A HEATHEN COUNTRY. ALTHOUGH, THE BOOK OF DANIEL WAS WRITTEN
WHILE GOD'S PEOPLE WERE CAPTIVE IN BABYLON BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS, THE
FOCUS OF THE BOOK IS NOT ABOUT THE CAPTIVITY, BUT ABOUT THE END TIME. THIS
DISCOVERY ABOUT THE BOOK, GIVES DANIEL RELEVANCE FOR US TODAY.
THERE ARE TWO DISTINCT PERSPECTIVES IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL: THE
HISTORICAL, WHERE WE SEE STORIES ABOUT DANIEL'S TIME; AND THE PROPHETIC,
WHERE WE SEE PROPHECIES POINTING TO THE END TIME. THE STORIES OF DANIEL
ARE NOT JUST GIVEN AS SIMPLE STORIES, THEY ARE GIVEN TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT
THE PROPHECIES PREDICT. REMEMBER, THE POINT OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS THE
END TIME...THE ERA OF THE ENDING OF TH...