We can say that it is a book in a framework of faith and prophecies with great power and presence of God. Surprise yourself with the experiences that this prophet lived described in the book of daniel in the Bible, and how God supported him at all times during his captivity in Babylon.
Book of Daniel
El Book of Daniel It is a biblical book where the existence of the prophet Daniel is recounted, as well as his prophecies. It is even part of the Hebrew Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament.
It is an outstanding book, because of the great and profound influence of God in the life of Daniel. Also where faith and prophecies have a wide coverage of the figure and power of God.
Daniel was a very special man full of virtues; he was intelligent, deep, kind, with a good figure, applied, had excellent behavior, mysticism and piety.
He was very young when he was banished to Babylon. There he lived for more than sixty years. He belonged to a lineage of the upper class of Jerusalem. Daniel initially served as an instructor in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar. He quickly became the adviser to foreign sovereigns. Just as this biblical book is very interesting, we invite you to read Book of genesis: chapters, verses, and interpretation.
Likewise, the origin of its etymological name is as follows:
Male name of Hebrew origin, which comes exactly from the Hebrew Dan-El. The ending "El" refers to God and the beginning "Dan" means "judge or justice", therefore the meaning of Daniel would be "God is my judge or justice of God".
Purpose of the Book of Daniel
The purpose of Book of Daniel it is to express that the only powerful God, the God of Israel, holds in his hands the destiny of all nations.
Daniel was called to serve in the castle of the monarch Nebuchadnezzar, his mission at court was to obtain the obedience of his will to that of God so that the divine designs would be fulfilled.
How many verses does the book of Daniel have?
The book "Daniel" in the Old Testament contains 12 chapters for a total of 424 verses. The average number of verses per chapter of this book of the Holy Scriptures is 35.33.
in captivity
Daniel along with many captives from Judah who were taken to Babylon between 605 BC and 582 BC, additionally the fortunes of Solomon's palace and sanctuary were transported. The Babylonians managed to subdue all the provinces that were controlled by Assyria and thus consolidated their rule in a large area that encompassed most of the Middle East.
Of course, ruling such an incomparable empire, in such a vast space, required the performance of an efficient administrative bureaucracy. Those slaves who turned out to be educated and had the requested skills soon managed to become the right hand of the ruler.
Now, as a result of their focus, judgment, and good looks, four young men were chosen for the training program at that time.
Daniel, because of his character, was the most outstanding. Nevertheless he secured places in the king's palace for Ananias, Misael, and Azariah; and it was then Daniel who distinguished himself above all those wise men of the vast empire.
Anyway, Daniel was a prophet who lived in the sixth century BC (Daniel 1:1). He was one of many Jewish youths who was captured and taken to Babylon to serve in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:3-4:6). His situation was very similar to that of Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 41:40), because he was gifted to direct the affairs of a Gentile kingdom (Dan. 6: 2,3) and helped foster hope among the Gentiles. Jews who were in captivity.
Apocalyptic VS classical prophecies
The prophetic views recognized in the book of daniel they are totally different from most of the prophetic messages proposed by other Old Testament prophets.
The prophecies of Daniel correspond to the class of apocalyptic prediction, and the classical prophecies belong to the rest of those present in the Old Testament.
For the perfect understanding of biblical prophecy it is necessary to understand the basic differences between these prophetic genres.
The apocalyptic prophecies expose certain essential characteristics that mark a great difference with respect to the classic ones, they are described below:
The visions and dreams
When we refer to apocalyptic prophecy, Our Father God especially uses dreams and visions to give his message to the visionary. Unlike the classic, the prophet receives "the word of the Lord" a statement that presents small variations about XNUMX times in the classic prophets.
Composite Symbolism
In relation to the apocalyptic prophecy, God shows us images and symbols far superior to human reality, for example monsters with wings and horns or combined animals, and the classic one presents a limited set of symbolisms that are totally real in life.
Divine Sovereignty and Unconditionality
Apocalyptic prophecies are unconditional, Our Lord reveals to us the rise and fall of empires in the world from the beginning of Daniel to the end of time.
In this kind of prophecy it is based on the sovereignty and presence of God, therefore it will be absolutely consummated from human decisions.
In disparity with the apocalyptic prophecies, the classic obeys without a doubt the human response.
Daniel's prophecies
The prophecies outlined in the book of Daniel end with the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and it is led by the Son of Man. There were seven occasions that Our God visited Daniel and gave them the revelations, in such a way that in these seven visions his ministry is carried out, he also received all the prophetic part that corresponded to him, Mentioned below:
1.- The image with a golden head
In the first prophecy, It is the dream where the statue with the golden head refers, it includes four empires and the eternal kingdom. The rock stands out in this vision, (Christ) the one who will destroy the fourth and last empire of men; The kingdom of God will definitely defeat civilization or "the kingdom of men".
Daniel 2
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep departed from him.
2.- The big tree cut down
Here the meaning of the cut tree is outlined, it indicates that the Lord of heaven rules over the human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wants. The pride of man is highlighted and the message is: Heaven always rules over the earth, so finally Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself and said: “He praised the Lord, the King of heaven. He shames proud people. Now I know that Jehovah is the Ruler and he can give a kingdom to whomever he wants.”
Daniel 4
4 King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you.
3.- The writing on the wall
What does the writing on the wall refer to? It tells us about the pride or arrogance of man. The kings who are on earth are weighed, judged and sentenced by God. The sentence of the collapse of the Babylonian empire occurs and on that same night the power is taken by the Medo-Persian government. Even as Daniel spoke, the Medes and Persians begin to attack Babylon. They enter the city and kill Belshazzar. The writing on the wall is done that same night.
Daniel 5
5 King Belshazzar made a great banquet for a thousand of his princes, and in the presence of the thousand he drank wine.
4.- The four beasts and the kingdom of the saints
Here he returns to the four governments and the immortal kingdom, but now he emphasizes the fourth beast, the details of his provocation and his failure before the kingdom of God. The details are increasing, the time of the end is indicated, “time, times and half” (3 1/2 years).
The final battle of the kingdom of evil against the kingdom of God will take place, there is talk of a monarch who will lead the offensive against the saints of the exalted, and in the end he will be defeated, later took over the kingdom “the people of the saints of the most high”, it will be eternal, and all kingdoms will be subject to it.
Daniel 7
7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream, and visions of his head while he was on his bed; he then he wrote down the dream, and related the main thing of the matter.
5.- The ram and the male goat
He tells us about the confrontation that occurs between the Medo-Persian empire and the Greek empire and its victory. In addition, several references are given, in principle it is manifested about Alexander the Great and his four generals.
It is also said that a haughty ruler would rise up who would wage war against the holy people and even more so "against the prince of hosts" and "suppress the continual sacrifice, and profane the truth."
Daniel 8
8 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me before.
6.- The seventy weeks for the town and the city
The prediction of the "seventy weeks" or "seventy sevens" is one of the most detailed and of great importance in the Old Testament.
It begins with Daniel, who prays for Israel, recognizes the sins committed in the nation and, of course, asks for his mercy. As Daniel was praying, the angel appeared and gave him a vision of the future of Israel.
The prophecy comes to divide the 490 years into three smaller units: one of 49 years, one of 434 years, and one of seven years. The last "week" of seven years is subdivided in half.
Verse 25 says: Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the order is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler comes, the Anointed One. Seven "sevens" is 49 years, sixty-two "sevens" is another 434 years: 49 years + 434 years = 483 years.
7.- The time of the end and the final destiny of Israel
Now, chapters 10 to 12 constitute a unit in relation to its message. In the first, Daniel was trained to receive a forecast that would come to him through a heavenly messenger.
The remaining chapters are related to the content of that prophecy because they announced the anguish through which the people of God would have to pass throughout the coming centuries.
Likewise, it can be seen that as a result of the persistent clashes between the monarchs of the north and the south, the people of Israel would suffer constant incursions from both, because it was in the middle of the two empires.
Especially it was a very difficult situation during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, monarch of Syria, because in addition to invading the country and taking its riches, he undertook a program of Hellenization of the nation.
But Antiochus IV was such an arrogant king that in the last verses of chapter 1 we find him founding his headquarters in the land of Israel.
In chapter 12, various reasons for comfort and hope for the Jewish state are shown.
Daniel 10
10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was called Beltshazzar; and the word was true, and the conflict great; but he understood the word, and had understanding in the vision.
Daniel 11
11 And I myself, in the first year of Darius the Mede, was there to encourage and strengthen him.
Daniel 12
12 At that time Miguel will rise up, the great prince who is on the side of the sons of your people; and it will be a time of trouble, such as never was since there were people until then; but at that time your people will be delivered, all those who are found written in the book.
To finish, I invite you to see this audiovisual material, which is very useful to complement the reading.