Today’s passage: Daniel 9:20-27

Helpful thoughts:

• Daniel was praying for an end of the exile and a return of Israel to worship God in Jerusalem.  God reveals to him the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the future of Israel, the end of sin, and the atonement for iniquity.
• “Weeks” are units of seven.  The phrase “seventy weeks” could also be translated, “seventy sevens”.
• The seventy sevens (490 years) are broken into three sections:
  • Seven sevens (49 years) – From the time of the decree to go rebuild to the completion of the work under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.
  • Sixty-two sevens (434 years) – From the time of Ezra-Nehemiah to the time of Jesus Christ (The “Anointed One” who shall be cut off).
    • Events are given after this time… Including the destruction of Jerusalem by the hands of the “people of the prince who is to come”.
      • Those people are the Romans (See Daniel 7) and the prince is the Anti-Christ.
      • The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70
  • The final week (7 years) – The Tribulation period
• There are many views as to when the seventy weeks start, stop and carry on.  It seems this view above makes the most sense as the years given line up with the events in history as prophesied.

Questions to consider:

1. Beyond the timing of certain events, what is God promising in this passage? (Don’t think about when, but what. See verse 24.)
2. Why does God fulfill His promises?  Should we trust God because these first two prophecies have already been fulfilled or because God is who He is?  In other words, does God’s record of fulfilling promises make Him trustworthy, OR does God’s perfect nature make him trustworthy, which is why He always fulfills His promises?

Today’s passage: Daniel 9:1-19

Helpful thoughts:

• The passage in Daniel read that declares a seventy year length for the exile is in Jeremiah 25:8-14.
• For an example of what Daniel referred to as being written in the Law of Moses, check out Leviticus 26.
• In Daniel’s confession he repeatedly acknowledges that God has remained faithful, steadfast, kept His covenant, and is righteous.  Israel was the party who had failed and sinned.
  • Daniel was not asking for God to bail Israel out of a tight spot.  He was confessing sin and pleading for mercy.  Those are two very different approaches, and only one of them was appropriate.

Questions to consider:

1. Why had Israel (and Judah) suffered as it had?  Why did God allow “bad things” to happen to them?
2. What was the purpose of the discipline of God?  How should Israel have responded?  How should we respond when discipline comes our way?
3. What was the basis of Daniel’s request for mercy?  Was he simply asking for a better life?  Whose name was on the line?
4. Why do we ask God for things?  Who stands to benefit the most from your prayers?

Today’s passage: Daniel 8:15-27

Helpful thoughts:

• It seems in this passage that God instructs Gabriel the angel to give Daniel the interpretation.
• The ram and its horns are for the Medes and Persians.
• The goat is Greece.
  • The first horn was Alexander the Great.
  • The four that came up after were for the four divisions of Greece which came to be after Alexander’s death.
• Many believe the horn that grew out of one of the four horns is the Greek leader Antiochus IV, who set up a statue of Zeus in the Temple in 167 B.C.
  • This leader became great:
    • “Not by his own power.” (Vs. 24)
    • “in his own mind.” (Vs. 25)
  • And, the leader was “broken – by no human hand.” (Vs. 25)
    • Antiochus died without being touched by any aggressor.  He was told of losing a battle to the Jews while he was in Persia, and supposedly died of grief.

Questions to consider:

1. How should the fact that each of these prophecies has already been fulfilled give us confidence in the Bible?
2. Is there anything that God does not know?  Did the Greeks, the Romans, or anyone else ever accomplish anything without God knowing about it and sovereignly orchestrating it?
3. Does the Bible’s accuracy and God’s sovereignty mean that we will never have to endure anything hard?  What can we be sure of when we are suffering?  What is the longest our suffering could possibly last?  How long will eternity with Christ be?

Today’s passage: Daniel 8:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• This vision now follows the previous from two years prior.
• The animals in this vision:
  • A ram with two horns (One higher than the other)
    • It charged every direction but north.
    • It seemed as though no one could stop it.
  • A goat with a conspicuous horn
    • He destroys the ram.
    • In his strength, the single horn was broken and four new horns grew in its place.
    • One of those horns grew a horn of its own.
      • The new horn considered himself to be as great as God Himself.
      • This new horn would stop the Temple from functioning as it should and desecrate it (More to come on that in the next passage tomorrow).
      • This desecration/transgression/desolation would last 2,300 days.

Questions to consider:

1. Knowing that Daniel had seen these visions before the the hand appeared which wrote on the wall, how do you think these visions and their meaning helped him to know the bigger picture when he spoke to King Belshazzar?
2. In what ways can the word of God give us perspective that helps us through the ups and downs in every day life?

Today’s passage: Daniel 7:15-28

Helpful thoughts:

• “The saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.”  That’s us!
• The eleventh horn that becomes great is the Anti-Christ.
  • He makes war with the saints (See note above…)
  • The judgment of the Ancient of Days (God the Father) will put an end to the work of the Anti-Christ.
• A time, times and half a time = a year, two years and a half year =  3.5 years.
  • The second half of the Anti-Christ’s time in power (The seven year Tribulation) will be a time of great persecution for the saints.

Questions to consider:

1. Why was Daniel right to be so alarmed by everything he had just seen?  What time did God reveal to him?
2. Who is going to make everything right?  Who is going to judge righteously and usher in the kingdom that lasts forever?
3. How do God’s promises of victory and the kingdom give you confidence and rest even in the midst of trial…or even persecution?

Today’s passage: Daniel 7:1-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Daniel’s dream occurred before the events of Daniel 5 and 6.  The first 6 chapters of Daniel are more historical and biographical (though they do contain some prophecy from Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams).  The final 6 chapters are more prophetic in nature.  The book is outlined first by style of content, then in chronological order.
• The four beasts:
  • A lion with eagles wings.  The wings were plucked off. It was lifted off of the ground and stood on two feet, receiving the mind of a man.
    • Perhaps this made you think of King Nebuchadnezzar after his time of beastly insanity…
    • Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar were depicted even in those days by a lion with eagle’s wings.
  • A bear with three ribs in his mouth.
    • Some believe the bear being raised up on one side is symbolic of the Persian superiority over the Medes in their jointly held empire.
  • A leopard with four wings and four heads.
    • Greece, led by Alexander the Great, swept across the Middle East in conquest.  After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., the empire was divided into four parts.
  • A terrifying beast with iron teeth.  It did not look like anything closely enough for Daniel to say!
    • Rome was exceedingly strong, trampling under their feet every enemy.  There were no other empires like it.
    • Horns are typically symbolic of kings in biblical prophecy.  The number ten could be specific (Ten literal kingdoms/nations), or it could be symbolic (Holistic/total rule).
    • The eleventh horn will speak “great things”, meaning that he will boast of himself.
• The Ancient of Days is God the Father.
• The Son of Man is Jesus Christ.

Questions to consider:

1. How does this dream compare to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2?  Why does it make sense that the other parts of the statue remained and the previous beasts didn’t cease to exist but simply dropped out of view/prominence?  How does that allow for this fourth beast to still have parts of this prophecy left to be fulfilled?
2. How does a passage like this give you confidence in the accuracy of the Bible?  If everything the Bible has prophesied so far has come to pass, what can we be confident of moving forward?
3. Is God going to be worried about the events of the end times?  How is all of this going to end?  How should these truths change the way we live?

Today’s passage: Daniel 6:16-28

Helpful thoughts:

• The fact that the king knew to declare his hope to Daniel implies they were well aware that Daniel was not killed immediately after being cast into the den.  He survived the initial drop.  (Remember that for later…)
• Darius knew he had done wrong:
  • The request for Daniel’s survival through God’s intervention was a normal request.  They believed that the innocent could be vindicated through divine intervention (“I was found blameless before Him.”).
  • He did not want to eat.
  • He could not sleep.
  • He rushed back to see if Daniel survived and cried out in anguish.
• Daniel attributed the praise to God and made sure Darius knew that he meant him no harm.  Daniel intended to continue to obey God and faithfully serve the king.
•  In case you thought the Lions were not hungry…
• Just like Nebuchadnezzar, Darius makes a royal decree to acknowledge the power and sovereignty of God.  These Gentile pagan kings of the empires where the Jewish people were exiled after the fall of Judah seemed to have more respect for God than many of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Questions to consider:

1. What did the greed of the other officials and satraps result in?  Did it only affect them (The families of criminals such as this were punishable by Persian custom. This was not unusual or unexpected)?  Do we get to choose the consequences of our sin?
2. How could Daniel have responded to Darius differently?  Why was his response so wise?
3. If Daniel had been eaten by the Lions, what would have happened to him?  Where would he have gone?  Was it only good that Daniel prayed to God because he lived, or simply because God is worthy of our obedience, regardless of the consequences?

Today’s passage: Daniel 6:1-15

Helpful thoughts:

• In the eyes of the other officials and satraps, Daniel did nothing wrong…except for being honest, protecting the king’s interest, and succeeding.
  • The officials were set to watch over the satraps so that the king would “suffer no loss”.  Perhaps Daniel was actually doing his job and the others were hoping the king could suffer some loss (Tax money) to their advantage.
• The officials and satraps wouldn’t do anything (Even going to see if Daniel was praying) unless they were in agreement.  Their desire for the praise of man made them fearful.
• Daniel prayed with his windows open toward Jerusalem.  Solomon (In a prophetic prayer) encouraged this when the Temple was dedicated (1 King 8:33-53).  You really should read this passage…please don’t skip over it.

Questions to consider:

1. What would it have been like if the entire empire, for thirty days, was not allowed to pray to any god (even their own) or ask for help from any man, except for the king?  How busy would the king have been for that month?  What could have been the motivation to sign such an idea into law?
2. What might the king have learned happens when we act selfishly?  Was it truly to his benefit?  How had the officials and satraps manipulated him?
3. What was Daniel’s response to man telling him he was not allowed to obey God?  Who is really in charge?  Who should we obey first?

Today’s passage: Daniel 5:13-31

Helpful thoughts:

• Daniel gives Belshazzar a little history lesson on humility and the sovereignty of the Most High God.
• Belshazzar was responsible to be humble before God.  It didn’t matter whether he believed in God or not.  God exists and is on the throne whether people want to acknowledge that or not.  (Acts 17:30, Romans 1:18-20)
• The great empire of Babylon parties to glory in their riches and power, and is then destroyed and taken over by another in one night.
  • Historians have found that the Persians invaded that night precisely because of the festival they knew was taking place.
  • They marched into the city and were warmly received by many people of the city (Belshazzar was regarded as a wicked king even in his own empire).

Questions to consider:

1. What is different in the way Daniel initially responds to Belshazzar compared to how he spoke to Nebuchadnezzar?  What might have made Daniel so quick to disregard the king’s offer for gifts and rewards (Besides the fact that the kingdom was about to be conquered)?  What was his motive to answer the king’s request?  How was Daniel’s disinterest in reward and power different than the king?
2. To which God is Belshazzar responsible?  Was he ever going to have to stand before the judgment of the gods of gold, wood, etc.?
3. What does pride and the desire for praise do to our relationships?  Our ability to lead?