A Deeper Look at Daniel : Spiritual Living in a Secular World [1 ed.] 9780830896882, 9780830831029

Citation preview

D o u gla s Co n n elly

A Deeper Look at

Da n i e l t w e l v e S e ss i o n s f o r g r o u p s a n d i n d i v i d u a l s

S p i r i t ua l L i v i n g in a Secular World

LifeG uide I n D epth B ib l e S t u di e s

®

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douglas connelly

A Deeper Look at

DA N I E L T W ELV E S ES SI O N S F O R G R O U PS A N D I N DI V I D UA L S

S P I R I T UA L L I V I N G IN A SECULAR WORLD

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InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com Email: [email protected] ©2013 by Douglas Connelly All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press. This guide makes use of material originally published as Daniel (LifeGuide® Bible Study) ©1986 Douglas Connelly. Sidebars in part one of each session (“Investigate”) are from John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 729-50, and are used by permission of InterVarsity Press. InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. LifeGuide® is a registered trademark of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Design: Cindy Kiple Images: © rusm/iStockphoto ISBN 978-0-8308-9688-2 (digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-3102-9 (print)

Contents

Introduction: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7    1  Have You Got What It Takes?

Daniel 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

   2  A Disturbing Dream

Daniel 2:1-30. . . . . . . . . . . . 25

   3  Facing the Future

Daniel 2:31-49. . . . . . . . . . . 35

   4  Bow or Burn!

Daniel 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

   5  Our God Reigns!

Daniel 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

   6  The Handwriting on the Wall

Daniel 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

   7  On the Menu at the Lions’ Club

Daniel 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

   8  The Future on a Wide Screen

Daniel 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

   9  Superpowers at War!

Daniel 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

10  Kneeling on God’s Promises

Daniel 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

11  A World Out of Control

Daniel 10:1–11:35 . . . . . . . . . 137

12  Darkness Before Deliverance

Daniel 11:36–12:13. . . . . . . . . 151

Guidelines for Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

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Introduction Spiritual Living in a Secular World

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n the sweep of great world empires, what happens to a few people is usually overlooked. When the city of Jerusalem fell into the hands of the mighty Babylonian army, it probably didn’t make much of a stir in the ancient world. It was an event so insignificant to the Babylonians that they didn’t even mention it in their official chronicles. The conquest of Jerusalem in 605 b.c. was just the first of three defeats the people of Judah would suffer under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This time he simply established Babylonian authority over Judah and left. On the surface not much had changed. But behind the scenes a few Jewish families and some young Jewish men were changed forever. Nebuchadnezzar took a handful of young men from their homeland to Babylon and thrust them into a new lifestyle. Every effort was made to break down their convictions. They had to make a difficult choice. Would they hold to their faith and to a life of obedience to God, or would they flow into the new culture? It was a time of crisis for these young men, including the man we will be studying—Daniel. It is precisely at this point that Daniel’s experience touches us. Regardless of how sheltered our childhood was or how often we were taken to church, there comes a time when we are thrust into an unbelieving world. We are confronted in the university, on the job or in social situations with a lifestyle radically different from what is taught in the Bible. At each turn we have difficult decisions to make. Will we obey God regardless of the consequences or will we become part of the surrounding culture? Daniel gives us practical and personal

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help in our struggle. He rose to a position of great influence and prestige in the world system, but he never compromised essential biblical principles. He shows us how to live a life of spiritual integrity in the crush of a secular world. Anyone who has been tempted to cave in to the world’s pressure can learn a lot from Daniel. Historical Framework Israel’s great king Solomon died in 931 b.c. Solomon’s son Rehoboam foolishly provoked the leaders of the northern part of the nation, and they split from the south. That disastrous division was never healed. The ten northern clans or tribes were now called Israel. The two southern clans were called Judah. The northern kingdom, Israel, existed until 722 b.c., when the Assyrians destroyed it. Judah was spared until 586 b.c., when the Babylonian armies crushed the nation. Nebuchadnezzar came to Judah and Jerusalem three times to put down Jewish rebellion against the authority of the empire. In 605 b.c. the Jews were treated fairly well. A few young men (including Daniel) were taken hostage, but the nation was left relatively undisturbed. The second time Nebuchadnezzar came (597 b.c.) the treatment was harsher. More people were deported to Babylon, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel. Finally, in 586 b.c. Babylonian patience came to an end. The temple of God was burned, the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and all but the poorest people were either killed or deported to Babylon. A summary of these three conquests can be found in 2 Kings 24–25 and 2 Chronicles 36.

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8 If we include Daniel’s deportation, God judged Judah for almost seventy years (605– 538 b.c.)—a period called “the exile” or the Babylonian Captivity. In 538 b.c. Babylon was defeated by a new world power (Persia), and Cyrus (the Persian ruler) allowed the Jews to return to Judah. Daniel’s ministry in Babylon extended through the entire seventy-year captivity and into the reign of the Persians. Daniel lived well into his eighties or nineties! His primary focus as a prophet was on the Gentile (non-Jewish) nations. Even during the period of Judah’s humiliation God’s voice was heard in the courtroom of the emperor. Theological Focus If you read the book of Daniel and only see a den of lions and strange visions, you have missed the main character of the book—the sovereign God! Daniel wrote this book not to glorify himself but to exalt the Lord. In every circumstance, in every crisis, Daniel points us to a God who is at work in human history. To say that God is sovereign simply means that nothing happens that is not planned or permitted by God. That is true of kingdoms and also in our lives. Daniel’s God is not a weak, frustrated deity who sits in heaven, wringing his hands, hoping everything will turn out right. He is a God who orders all events according to his own will. The book of Daniel is written in a literary form known as apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic books speak to us in those times when God seems to be absent. The crushed people of Judah in Daniel’s day were asking, “Where is God?” Daniel answers their questions by showing them that even in a national catastrophe God is working out his purpose and plan. Daniel is able to resist compromise because of his relationship to the sovereign God. His obedience was simply an expression of God’s kingship in his life. Daniel’s courage to proclaim God’s message came from his allegiance to the

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sovereign Lord who reigned as King, even above the kings of Babylon. Be prepared in this study to see God in a new way! It will be a stretching, convicting and life-changing adventure. Daniel and the Future The second part of the book of Daniel is less well known and a lot more difficult to understand than the first part. But it is no less profitable! In Daniel 1–6 the focus is primarily on the life and character of Daniel as the servant of God. In Daniel 7–12 the focus is on Daniel as the spokesperson of God. These chapters consist of a series of visions given to Daniel— visions of the future of the Gentile nations (chap. 7) and of the surviving nation of Judah (chaps. 8–12). The visions of Daniel are a source of controversy among students of the Bible. The first area of controversy centers around the integrity of the visions. Scholars who are critical of the Bible maintain that what is recorded in these chapters is not prophecy at all. Instead these scholars claim that the author wrote these words after the events took place (some time in the second century b.c.). According to this view, these chapters record history (a catalog of events that have already transpired) and not prophecy (a prediction of events in the future). For those who accept the Bible as historically accurate, the claims of the book itself and the defense of those claims by other scholars settle this controversy. Most evangelical scholars believe that an actual person named Daniel lived in Babylon in the sixth century b.c. and wrote this book under God’s direction as predictive prophecy. We also have Jesus’ own confirmation of Daniel’s existence. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus referred to Daniel as a real person and called him a “prophet.” Jesus also quoted from these later chapters of Daniel and took them as authoritative revelation of truth from God (see Matthew 24:30 and Luke 21:27). The second area of controversy centers on

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Spiritual Living in a Secular World the interpretation of the final six chapters of Daniel. Even Christians who agree on the historical integrity of Daniel disagree on how these visions should be interpreted. The objective in this study guide is not to defend one particular prophetic system but rather to try to understand what Daniel says. The emphasis of each study is on what we can learn from this book about God’s program for human history. Not all the answers about the future will be found in one part of God’s Word. If we understand this part, however, we will have a better framework for understanding the rest of God’s truth. We will gain far more from Daniel if we try to learn what is revealed here rather than defending a preconceived idea of what we want Daniel to say. While Daniel 7–12 is not an easy-tounderstand section of Scripture, it is just as much the Word of God as Daniel 1–6 or the Gospel of John or Romans, and as a result it is beneficial for our growth in knowledge and obedience to God. After spending many hours in this book, I can assure you that this study will not only expand your understanding of God’s program for the future of the world, but it will also expand your capacity to trust a sovereign God for your future. God’s eternal plan includes you! How to Use LifeGuide® in Depth The Bible is God’s Word to his people. In it and through it we find life and wisdom for life. Most importantly, the Scriptures point us to Christ, who is the culmination of God’s revelation to us of who he is. The LifeGuide in Depth Bible Study series has been created for those who want to go deeply into the Bible and deeply into Christ. Going deeply will require time and effort. But the reward will be well worth it. If your desire is a richer understanding of God’s Word, if you want to grasp Scripture at a level and in dimensions you’ve not engaged in before, these in-depth studies are for you.

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9 This series emphasizes • taking passages seriously as a whole • seeing how each passage connects to and is built on the rest of Scripture • applying the truth of each passage to individuals and to our Christian communities How do we do this? Each session follows a four-part format: • Part 1. Investigate—Getting an overview of the passage as a whole. • Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture— Seeing how the passage or theme connects to other parts of the Bible. • Part 3. Reflect—Pondering a key theme in the passage through a short reading. • Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together— Tying together as a group the various themes from the first three parts and learning to apply the passage to real life. Though groups and individuals may use LifeGuide in Depth studies in different ways and formats, the most straightforward way to use the guides is for individuals to study the first three sections on their own before each group meeting. Those first three sections are best done over several days rather than in one sitting, as individuals will typically need a total of three to four hours to work through them. Part four then offers a forty-five- to sixty-minute group discussion that guides members in putting together everything they’ve learned. LifeGuide in Depth Bible Studies can be used by people of various ages, from teen­ agers to seniors and everyone in between. Groups can be church-related home small groups and Sunday-school classes, women’s and men’s Bible studies, neighborhood Bible studies, and university campus small groups. And the guides can be used on a weekly or biweekly basis, or could even form the core of a retreat weekend.

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10 An Overview of the Four Parts Part 1. Investigate (On Your Own). Inductive Bible study is at the core of LifeGuide in Depth studies. Allowing for in-depth study of one passage, an inductive approach to Scripture has three main parts: we first carefully observe what is in the text, then interpret what we are to learn from what we observe and finally apply the meaning of the passage to our own lives. This is accomplished through the use of open-ended questions that help people discover the Bible for themselves. The goal is to come to the passage with fresh eyes, not supposing we know all that it means ahead of time, but looking to see what God might have to teach us anew. Inductive study is not meant to be mechanical; Scripture is not data that we manipulate toward a certain output. Nor does it imply that we can master Scripture. Rather we expect the Word to master us. But believing that God uses our understanding to touch our hearts and that he uses our hearts to touch our understanding, inductive study can help us draw near to God. It’s a tool to guide our hearts and minds toward Christ through his Word. For more on inductive study we recommend Transforming Bible Study by Bob Grahmann and The Bible Study Handbook by Lindsay Olesberg. Part one of each session is a revised edition of the original LifeGuide Bible study guide. LifeGuide Bible studies have been the leading series for individuals and groups studying Scripture for almost thirty years. They have given millions of people a solid grasp of the Bible. The LifeGuide in Depth Bible Study series, like the original LifeGuides, honors the context of each book of the Bible and the origi­nal message of each biblical author, and guides readers into application of God’s Word. Relevant excerpts from The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament have been added to these studies to offer helpful historical and cultural information

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about each passage. These excerpts appear as callouts in part one of each guide. Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own). One of the most important ways of understanding any particular passage of Scripture is to uncover how it stands in the pathway of the rest of Scripture. The historical, cultural and literary background of any passage is criti­ cal, and how biblical writers draw on previous Scripture offers a wealth of meaning to readers. The purpose of part two of each session is to draw this out. The original writers and readers of the books of the Bible were thoroughly immersed in the Scripture written beforehand. It was the air they breathed. So when they wrote, earlier Scripture passages and themes were an inseparable part of how they thought and taught. Thus, understanding the New Testament often requires knowing the Old Testament allusions, themes or direct quotations found there. And usually it is not enough to know the one particular Old Testament verse being quoted or referenced. We need to understand the context of that verse in the chapter and book in which it is found. Neglecting this can lead readers astray in their interpretations or applications. For example, in Mark 6:47-50, Jesus walks on the lake during a storm and is “about to pass by [the disciples]” (v. 48), who are struggling for survival in a boat. Does Jesus not see them? Doesn’t he care they are in danger? Why does he intend to “pass by”? What’s going on? The answer is found by going back to the Old Testament. In Exodus 33:19–34:7 and 1 Kings 19:1011, God “passes by” Moses and Elijah to reveal himself in a clear and dramatic way. Mark uses the same phrase (which his readers would recognize) to indicate that Jesus is making a similar dramatic revelation of divine character. In making these connections, it is usually more helpful to go backward than to go forward. That is, we should first investigate Scripture written before the passage being studied was written. For instance, in seeking to under-

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Spiritual Living in a Secular World stand the Psalms, we should first go to the earlier books of the Old Testament rather than to the New Testament. The psalmists knew and perhaps had memorized large portions of Genesis, Exodus and so forth. That was the raw material they were working with; those were their sources. If we don’t understand how and why they built on these, we won’t understand fully what they are saying. Take the “suffering servant” of Isaiah 52–53. Although New Testament writers linked Jesus to the suffering servant, we shouldn’t “read back” into Isaiah the notion that the servant was a divine figure. The text in Isaiah does not indicate that and we would be misreading the text to insist that it does. Nonetheless, it is entirely appropriate to use this image, as Jesus did, to gain a greater understanding of another dimension of who Jesus was and what he came to do. In part two, then, we will mostly, but not exclusively, go back to Scripture that predates the passage we are studying for better understanding. Part 3. Reflect (On Your Own). In part three you will find a reading that expands on one of the themes of the study. It may contain a story or commentary on the passage, or both. And it may be drawn from some other Christian author or source, whether contemporary or ancient. In any case, it is intended to help focus your mind in a single direction after the wide variety of issues raised in parts one and two. A couple of questions at the end of the reading will help you crystallize what you have learned. Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group). This part is, as the name describes, intended for group discussion. You can work through it on your own too, but some questions are repetitive with questions from the first three parts. This is intentional and necessary for group discussion; after individuals in a group have worked through each passage on their own during the week, they

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11 will want to hear from each other what they have learned and thought about. If you decide you do want to go through part four by yourself anyway, you can skip those questions that were found earlier or use those questions as opportunities to think again about key ideas. Reviewing the content is a good way for groups and individuals to lock those ideas into their hearts and minds. Groups should begin the discussion with the “Open” question and then read the passage together. Everyone will have been over the passage several times already, but reading aloud in a group can actually bring new insight. Below are a few suggestions for group members that can facilitate rich discussion and insight: 1. Come to the study prepared. Follow the suggestions for individual study mentioned above. You will find that careful preparation will greatly enrich your time spent in group discussion. 2. Be willing to participate in the discussion. The leader of your group will not be lecturing. Instead, she or he will be asking the questions found in this guide and encouraging the members of the group to discuss what they have learned. 3. Stick to the topic being discussed. These studies focus on a particular passage of Scripture. This allows everyone to participate on equal ground and fosters indepth study. 4. Be sensitive to the other members of the group. Listen attentively when they describe what they have learned. You may be surprised by their insights! Also note that each question assumes a variety of answers; many questions do not have “right” answers, particularly questions that aim at meaning or application. Instead the questions push us to explore the passage more thoroughly.   When possible, link what you say to

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the comments of others. Also, be affirming whenever you can. This will encourage some of the more hesitant members of the group to participate. 5. Be careful not to dominate the discussion. We are sometimes so eager to express our thoughts that we leave too little opportunity for others to respond. By all means participate! But allow others to do so also. 6. Expect God to teach you through the passage being discussed and through the other members of the group. Pray that you will have an enjoyable and profitable time together, but also that as a result of the study you will find ways to take action individually and/or as a group. 7. It will be helpful for groups to follow a few basic guidelines. These guidelines, which you may wish to adapt to your situation, should be read at the beginning of the first session. • Anything said in the group is considered confidential and will not be discussed outside the group unless specific

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permission is given to do so. • We will provide time for each person present to talk if he or she feels comfortable doing so. • We will talk about ourselves and our own situations, avoiding conversation about other people. • We will listen attentively to each other. • We will be very cautious about giving advice. Additional suggestions for the group leader can be found at the back of the guide. Plunging into the depths of God’s wisdom and love is a glorious adventure. Like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10: “As it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’— the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” As you go in depth into Scripture, may the Spirit reveal the deep things of God’s own self to you.

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SESSION ONE

Have You Got What It Takes? Daniel 1 wHere we’re going* Several years ago our daughter decided that a semester of college away from home would be a great step toward maturity . We loaded all her stuff in a van and made the six-hour trip to her new home . After we hauled everything to her dorm room, I kissed her goodbye and headed back . Tears streamed down my face as I left the campus . I was proud of Kim as she stepped into adulthood, but my joy was edged with the pain of letting her go . Daniel was torn from his home and family when he was only a young teenager . He and a few other boys were taken eight hundred miles to Babylon . They were enrolled in an intensive threeyear training program designed to transform them into loyal Babylonian bureaucrats . A crisis of conscience erupted when the first meal was served . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 1 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: A Line in the Sand (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Our Father, we are embarking on a spiritual journey that has the potential to make some incredible changes in our lives. The culture and people around us try by pressure and intimidation and seduction to move us away from a life of obedience to you. Give us the courage and wisdom to be faithful to you, Lord, no matter what the test, no matter how strong the pressure to compromise. Thank you that every test provides us an opportunity to trust you more. In Jesus’ name, amen. *Though these studies can be used in a variety of ways and formats, for maximum benefit we recommend doing parts one, two and three on your own and then working through the questions in part four with a group .

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 1 (On Your Own) 1:1. Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605–562 b.c.) was the second ruler of the Chaldean kingdom centered at Babylon that ruled the ancient Near East for nearly a century. He was the son of Nabopolassar, a Chaldean who declared independence from Assyria in 626 b.c. In his forty-three-year reign, Nebuchadnezzar pacified Egypt (though he was unsuccessful in conquering it) and literally rebuilt Babylon. In fact, most of the city of Babylon that has been uncovered by modern excavators dates from Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Thus the Chaldean kingdom was primarily his creation, and it crumbled only a generation after his death.

1:4-5. The training the young men were scheduled to receive was intended to prepare them for royal service. As courtiers, they might serve as scribes, advisors, sages, diplomats, provincial governors or attendants to members of the royal household. . . . Training foreigners for these positions was expected to result in the assimilation of the best and brightest of the next generation. Their skills would then benefit the Babylonians rather than their enemies.

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Read Daniel 1. 1. Trace Daniel’s emotions through this chapter. How would Daniel feel in verse 3? in verse 8? in verse 15? in verse 20?

2. What other forces were at work when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah (v. 2), and why was that important for Daniel to understand?

3. What specific tactics were used to give Daniel and his friends a new Babylonian orientation (vv. 3-7)?

Which of these tactics would you most expect Daniel to object to?

4. Why were the food regulations of the Old Testament law so important to Daniel (vv. 8-10)?

Do you think he was making a big issue out of a minor problem? Explain.

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Daniel 1 5. What steps did Daniel take to provide a creative alternative to the king’s plan (vv. 11-14)?

6. How did God use Daniel’s “submissive defiance” to bring glory to himself?

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1:5. There were many individuals who were given the right to receive rations from the king’s table. The classification does not suggest enjoying the privilege of cozy, intimate soirees with the king, but simply that they were made dependents of the state.

7. Put yourself in Daniel’s place. What about being in the king’s program was good?

Bad?

8. What combination of factors produced the exceptional ability of Daniel and his friends (vv. 17-20)?

9. What aspect of Daniel’s character or conduct in this chapter impresses you the most?

How can you cultivate that same quality in your own life?

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1:4. The traditional language of Babylon was Akkadian, a complex and ancient language written by means of a cuneiform script (using a stylus to make wedgeshaped characters), in which each symbol represented a syllable. Much of the canonical literature of the Babylonians was written in Akkadian. Scholars therefore had to receive training in that language. . . . The reigning dynasty, however, was not native Babylonian, but ethnically Chaldean. . . . Their language and the diplomatic language of the time was Aramaic. This used an alphabetic script similar to that used by Hebrew. The widespread us of Aramaic in the world of this time makes it possible that Daniel and his friends already had some fluency in it.

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Catastrophe Ahead The book of Daniel opens with two kings and two gods—Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his god, and Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and his God. The main characters, however, are Nebuchadnezzar and the Lord God of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar “came,” “besieged” and “carried off,” but the Lord “delivered” Judah into Babylonian hands. That is a key perspective in the entire book of Daniel. According to the worldview prevalent at the time, it would have been natural for the Judeans in exile to conclude that their God was too weak to protect them or that he had abandoned them. The Hebrew prophets consistently spoke against such a view of reality. They warned the people that a catastrophe would befall Judah and Jerusalem and the temple if the people continued to disobey and ignore their covenant with the Lord. The catastrophe would not come because of his inability to protect them, but he would allow it to happen as judgment on them. The book of Daniel begins with the announcement of catastrophe, but then brings the assurance that God is still in control and that he is with the faithful even in their exile. In the days of Isaiah, one hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah, God spoke a warning through the prophet. Read Isaiah 39:1-8. What did Isaiah say would happen when the Babylonians came against Judah and Hezekiah’s descendants? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What insight does verse 7 give you into what Daniel may have experienced as a trainee in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, spoke about the causes of the coming catastrophe. Read Micah 3:9-12.

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Daniel 1

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Match the groups singled out for rebuke by Micah and their sins against the Lord. Leaders/rulers

Tell people their “fortune” to get money Tell the people that the Lord won’t let anything happen to them Distort what is true and right

Priests

Take bribes Demand money for spiritual ministry Pretend to lean on the Lord

Prophets

Build up their personal interests through violence and evil

For what current crises do you lay the responsibility on political leaders? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ On church leaders? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ On God? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Micah 4:10. What hope does Micah give to the people of Judah who will trust God in the days of exile? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Session One: Have You Got What It Takes?

The prophet Jeremiah was threatened with death for predicting Jerusalem’s destruction. Read Jeremiah 26:10-13. What was required for the Lord to turn back his plan? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Refusing the King’s Food Three suggestions have been made about why Daniel refused the king’s food. Study the passages supporting each and list the pros and cons of each view. 1. The king’s food had first been offered to Babylonian idols and so each person who ate was participating to a degree in idolatry. Read Deuteronomy 5:6-7 and 13:1-4. Pro: I think Daniel refused the food because . . . Con: But on the other hand . . . (Example: The idols and the gods they represented were not real.) 2. Eating certain Babylonian foods violated Jewish food laws. Pork, for example, was a delicacy in Babylon. Read Deuteronomy 14:13-20. Pro: I think Daniel refused the food because . . . Con: But on the other hand . . . (Example: Daniel was unable to keep most of the regulations of the law while in Babylon [sacrifices, temple worship]. Why make food an issue?) 3. Those eating the king’s food were demonstrating their dependence on and loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel and his friends were depending on the Lord and their highest loyalty was to him. Read Deuteronomy 4:32-39; 6:4-5, 13-15. Pro: I think Daniel refused the food because . . . Con: But on the other hand . . .

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Daniel 1

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When to Take a Stand So how did Daniel determine the issues on which he would take a stand? Certainly part of the process was to live as much as possible in obedience to God’s law. God had spoken clearly on that subject. Read Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 5-9 and Proverbs 30:5-6. How would you have explained the importance of keeping God’s law to your fifteen-year-old “Daniel” if you had lived in that day? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Perhaps Daniel remembered the examples of other godly men and women in Israel’s past who had made the choice to stand true to God. Identify examples of courage and wisdom who might inspire you to wholehearted loyalty to the Lord. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why are they significant to you? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Daniel may have also been warned by the examples of others who should have taken a stand for what was right but failed. In their failure they brought disastrous consequences on their people. Read Genesis 3:1-7. What should Eve and Adam, who was beside her, have remembered and relied on? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Session One: Have You Got What It Takes?

Read 1 Samuel 15:7-23. Why was God’s prophet upset over a few animals? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Turning back to our study of Daniel, what might have been the result for God’s people if Daniel had not fully obeyed the Lord? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When have you suffered the consequences of not fully obeying the Lord? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Where might God want you to take a stand for what is right? _____ in a family situation _____ in a relationship I’m in _____ in breaking a habit _____ in my work life or business _____ in the priorities in my life _____ in being open about my faith How will you start? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Daniel 1

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With a Little Help Daniel approached Ashpenaz with a plan. Why was the chief official willing to show favor to Daniel? Pick all that apply or add your own. _____ Daniel was young and far from home. _____ God worked in the official’s heart to be open to Daniel. _____ He really had nothing to lose. _____ He didn’t think it would work but was curious to see what would happen. God had worked in other situations in Israel’s past to get those in power to show favor to one of his servants. Read the account of Joseph’s favor before Pharaoh in Genesis 41:39-43. Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, but none of his predictions had yet happened. What other factors may have moved Pharaoh to treat Joseph so well? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Based on these accounts, how should you pray before approaching a superior with an alternate plan? What specifically should you ask for yourself and for your “boss”? Self Leader ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect A Line in the Sand (On Your Own) I stood in front of a group of graduating high school seniors not long ago. As I looked into their smiling, wide-eyed faces, I realized that I was not going to give them a typical graduation speech about opportunity and success and hard work. But then this wasn’t a typical graduating class. They were graduating from a Christian school in our city, and they all had made a commitment to Jesus as Lord and Savior. My talk was a reminder to them that the world they were stepping into is not a friendly place. They had spent the past eighteen years sheltered by parents and home and church. Now, as they entered college or the workplace, they would have to stand on their own. Daniel’s transition from the protection of a godly home to the challenges of the world was not as well planned and gradual as the transition of these seniors. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army swooped down on tiny Judah as one conquest among many. The Babylonian approach to conquest was to leave people alone. They set up a puppet king, left a garrison of troops to keep the peace and expected a steady flow of taxes and tribute into the Babylonian treasury. Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the brightest young men to Babylon to train in Babylonian ways. Daniel and his three friends joined a handful of other young men who were taken to Babylon and who (as far as we know) never saw their homeland again. Daniel was young, probably about fifteen years old, when he was taken from his parents, his home and his life in Judah. He moved from an isolated, rural, backwater place to the central city of a sophisticated, powerful empire. The pressure was on Daniel to conform to Babylonian culture and belief. It’s exactly what Christians face every day—the pressure to lay

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aside what is portrayed as our narrow, childish faith and to adopt a broader, more enlightened view of the world around us. The King’s Food We don’t know exactly why Daniel refused to eat the king’s food. It seems to me to be the least of the pressures he faced. No protest is recorded when they took him away from his family to Babylon. He didn’t come up with a creative counterplan when they took away his name, which refers to the Lord God of Israel, and gave him a name exalting Bel, a Babylonian deity. Daniel took his stand, he drew a line in the sand, on the issue of food. I’m impressed that Daniel came into this situation with pre-established convictions. He made up his mind ahead of time that he would remain obedient to God (v. 8). There was something about the king’s food that offended God. The law of Moses did not forbid enrollment in a pagan training course or taking a name with a false god’s name embedded in it. But God’s Word was clear about what food a believer in the Lord was to eat or not eat, and that’s where Daniel decided to take a stand. That’s a good principle for us to follow. The time to commit ourselves to obedience is before we move into the college dorm or step onto the military base or show up for the first day of work—and the earlier we make that decision the better. Daniel pulled together all the strands of home instruction and scriptural truth, and then made a commitment to God that he would not be defiled. Good Manners Daniel was a passionate believer, but he didn’t draw a line on every hill. He took a stand when it counted, but he also handled the situ-

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Daniel 1 ation with wisdom, tact and politeness. When Daniel found himself in a situation that would have required him to disobey God’s Word, he didn’t call a student strike or picket the palace. Instead he wisely devised a plan and then graciously presented it to his overseer. Daniel learned to stand for the truth of God with grace. Christians today need some of that same spirit. A Few Good Friends The other principle that grabs me in this passage is that Daniel associated with other godly friends. He didn’t pick his friends from those Hebrew men who ate the king’s food without a thought or from the unbelieving crowd in Babylon. He stuck close to other committed believers. I had lunch recently with a man who was stalled in his spiritual growth—stuck was the term he used. My first question was about his friends. He was quick to tell me that he liked to hang out with a couple of friends from his college days. They played video games, went

23 out for pizza and watched sports. When I asked about their discussions on spiritual issues, he said, “I think I’m the only one in the group committed to spiritual things. My friends never talk about the Bible or anything at church.” Then almost immediately he came to the right conclusion. “Maybe,” he said, “that’s why I never seem to grow.” The pressure to conform to the world’s thinking and acting won’t go away. We either face it in the Lord’s strength or we fall. Daniel decided ahead of time to do it right and his friends stood with him. Taking It Home—Literally What I really can’t escape in this passage as a parent and a grandparent is the godly influence in Daniel’s home that set him on a lifetime course of obedience and faithfulness to God. No university, no career, no test can erase the impact of a godly example at home. Children may choose to reject it and go their own way, but the influence never evaporates.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together (With a Group)

OPEN Think back to when you were first on your own. What new adjustments did you have to make?

READ Daniel 1. Daniel is a hero for twenty-first-century Christians. He found himself in a society that was hostile to his faith and was determined to undermine it by all kinds of public and private attacks. The story of how Daniel survived as a believer is a story we need to hear again in our culture—how to be in the world but not of it. 1. Recount a time when you (or a friend) faced a difficult situation but felt God’s presence sustain you. 2. Is it harder for you to be faithful to the Lord in times of difficulty or times of success? Why? 3. If God allowed economic or political catastrophe to fall on our nation, what might be some of the reasons for it? 4. Do you think God has warned us about the possibility of his judgment? If so, how have we responded to his warning? 5. Do you think our nation is like Judah (access to God’s truth, but disobedient) or like Babylon (ignorant of God’s truth and living like it)? Why? 6. What friends would you call on in a spiritual crisis and why would you choose them? 7. What direction or guidelines can Christians use to determine which activities we will engage in and which we won’t? 8. If you had been in Daniel’s place, how would you have handled the issue of the king’s food? 9. What creative ways have you observed or heard about of Christians responding to challenges from the secular culture? 10. Is there an issue that you are being challenged by at work, in your family or in society at large that is pushing you to adopt an unbiblical attitude or action? Share it with the group and try to come up with a response to that challenge. Does the response demonstrate the wisdom and love of Christ? How? Ask God to give you wisdom to know when and on what issues to take a stand for your commitment to him, and the courage to do it.

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SESSION TWO

A Disturbing Dream Daniel 2:1-30 wHere we’re going Scientists tell us that we dream every night—and most of the time we enjoy it . But some dreams terrorize us . They are the dreams C . S . Lewis called “dreams that make you afraid to sleep again .” Powerful kings in ancient Babylon had dreams too! Mighty King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he couldn’t forget . He knew it came from someone far greater than himself . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 2:1-30 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: A Restless Night (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Father, we are overwhelmed with information. Every fact, opinion or report is just a click or a tap away. We are surrounded, inundated, with knowledge, but we lack wisdom. You, Father, are the source of every good and perfect gift. You stand ready to give wisdom to anyone who asks and who is humble enough to receive it from you. So help us to be seekers after you and recipients of your truth. Give us a new hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with you. May the Spirit give us insight as we study your Word today, for Jesus’ sake, amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 2:1-30 Read Daniel 2:1-30. 1. What is your impression of Nebuchadnezzar as you look through the passage again? What kind of man was he?

2:5-9. If the king had forgotten the dream, he would not want to admit it, because forgetting a dream was a bad omen indicating that his god was angry with him. Furthermore, such forgetfulness would logically result in the request that the gods send the dream again. Important dreams were often repeated two or three times. . . . An alternative is that Nebuchadnezzar felt that the dream was so ominous that it could too easily be used as a mechanism for subversion against the throne. . . . He sought evidence that the interpretation represented the gods’ message rather than human agenda by requiring that the gods reveal the dream to the interpreter.

2. Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar demanded to know the content of his dream from his wise men as well as the dream’s interpretation (vv. 1-3)?

3. Imagine yourself in Daniel’s situation. How would you and your closest friends respond, knowing that you faced certain death if you couldn’t interpret a dream you knew nothing about?

4. From Daniel’s example what can we learn about how we should react to a personal crisis (vv. 14-18)?

5. Verses 20-23 have been called “Daniel’s psalm” because of their exaltation of God. What aspects of God’s character are emphasized in these verses?

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Daniel 2:1-30 6. Summarize the testimony of the astrologers about their gods (vv. 10-11) and Daniel’s testimony about the Lord God (vv. 20-23).

7. How will knowledge of God’s wisdom, authority and power change how you will view your next crisis?

8. What did Daniel want King Nebuchadnezzar to know about the true God (vv. 27-30)?

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2:4. Dream interpretations were usually carried out by experts who had been trained in the available dream literature. . . . Both the Egyptians and the Babylonians compiled what we call dream books. They contained sample dreams along with the key to their interpretation. . . . There was nothing in their resources that would enable them to discern what the dream was. There was no precedent for the gods revealing that sort of information.

2:19. [God of heaven] became a popular title for deity in the sixth century. In Persian documents it was commonly used for Ahura Mazda, the chief deity of Zoroastrianism. . . . The Israelites also found it a usable title for their God, Yahweh.

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Daniel and the Astrologers The pagan astrologers were experts at interpreting what they believed had been revealed by the gods. They dealt with omens and dreams, they looked at the livers of sacrificed sheep, and they scrutinized the alignment of the stars. The wise men of Babylon believed the gods spoke through these channels, and their job was to interpret what the gods were saying. Daniel has spent three years being trained in their methods, but he is able to go far beyond the astrologers, not because of his studies or his abilities but because his God can reveal truth directly to him. The Babylonian gods spoke only indirectly to the astrologers; the true God spoke directly with his prophets. The prophet Isaiah spoke extensively about the inability of false gods and pagan idols to produce any effect in the real world. Read Isaiah 46:5-7. Paraphrase what Isaiah says to speak to the “idols” of our own society. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Knowing the future is a major problem for those who follow false gods. Read Isaiah 47:12-15. How would you communicate this message to someone who relies on a horoscope, Tarot cards or a palm reader for life direction? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Are there other dead-end sources of wisdom you have tried or seen others follow—and what was the outcome? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ In contrast Isaiah points his hearers to the true source of wisdom and knowledge of the future.

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Daniel 2:1-30

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Read Isaiah 46:9-10. How does this knowledge about God give you confidence as you go about your everyday responsibilities? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Wisdom Daniel’s experience reaffirms what Scripture has taught all along—that true wisdom comes from God and not from human speculation or reason. Read the following passages about wisdom and summarize what they teach about the source of wisdom and what is required to gain wisdom. Source What is required? Proverbs 1:20-22

Proverbs 2:1-6

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Job 28:20-28

Based on these passages and on Daniel 2, would you describe wisdom as a concept to be learned or as a relationship to be pursued? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What is the goal of acquiring wisdom? Choose the two best answers and explain why you chose them. ___ head knowledge

___ moral uprightness

___ better relationship with coworkers

___ being smarter than people around me

___ a closer relationship with God

___ a better job

___ change in my behavior

___ a graduate degree

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Session Two: A Disturbing Dream

How would you describe the difference between growing smarter and growing wiser? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Was Daniel doing one or the other—or both? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ God Versus Gods This contest between Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men and the faithful servant of the Lord is not the first (or last) such contest in the Bible. Daniel and his friends may well have had these earlier contests in mind as they prayed for God’s help and intervention. Read the following “contest” accounts and compare the number of “wise men” or false prophets and the outcome of the spiritual battle. Number in opposition to God

Faithful follower(s)

Final outcome

1. In Egypt (Exodus 7:8-13) Question: What surprises you about the Egyptian sorcerers’ power? Where does it come from? 2. On Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16-40) Question: What startling work would you like God to do in your life? 3. In Jerusalem (Jeremiah 28:1-17) Question: How does Jeremiah prove that he is a true prophet of God?

Do you think a spectacular miracle (like fire from heaven) would turn our nation to faith in the Lord? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Dream Catcher In Babylon, dreams were big business. Babylonian magicians made their living interpreting the

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dreams of the rich and famous. Dream manuals were consulted to help bring insight to the meaning of dreams. The Jews held dreams in high regard too. They believed that the Lord at times gave direction and even revealed the future through dreams. The closest parallel to Daniel 2 in the Bible is the story of Joseph’s interpretation of the Phar­ aoh’s dream in Genesis 41. Read Genesis 41:1-39 and come up with at least five common elements between the two accounts. Common Elements Between Genesis 41 and Daniel 2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. As Joseph suggested a plan of action to Pharaoh in verses 33-36, in what area of your life would you like a specific plan of action? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Through what channels does God speak into your life and mind? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Make a list of the most reliable and least reliable channels for knowing God’s will. Most Reliable Least Reliable ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect A Restless Night Things are not good in the Babylonian White House. According to Daniel 2:29, Nebuchadnezzar went to bed one night thinking about the future. He had seen the great Assyrian Empire fall and he had seen the Babylonian Empire rise in its place. It must have made him wonder what would happen to his empire. The king woke up deeply troubled. He had a dream that was too important to pass over lightly. Nebuchadnezzar needed his top counselors in these matters to help him understand the dream—but that was just the problem. How could he be sure that their interpretation of the dream was accurate and that he could rely on what they said? After all, it was his future that was up for discussion. His plan was simple: if the dream came from the gods and if these sorcerers really had contact with the gods, learning the content of the dream shouldn’t be that difficult. He could then trust their interpretation. But if they couldn’t access the content of the dream, what assurance did Nebuchadnezzar have that the interpretation was also accurate? The Babylonian Brain Trust Nebuchadnezzar called in four groups of advisors. • The “magicians” were probably the magi, the same “wise men” we meet every year at Christmas who came to honor Jesus as a baby. They were Persian astrologers who claimed to be able to predict events based on the movement of the stars and planets. • The “enchanters” were mediums, men who claimed to have contact with spirits and on that basis to have access to knowledge about the future. • The “sorcerers” were Harry Potter–style wizards who used potions, charms and

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incantations to coax information from the gods. • The “Chaldeans” or “astrologers” were another class of Babylonian priests. Their specialty was the interpretation of dreams, which is why the king directs his comments and instructions to them. Nebuchadnezzar had a simple request of all these learned men who claimed to speak with spiritual power—tell me the dream and its interpretation and I will lavish you with riches; fail to give me the information and you will die. If you read this account in the King James Version of the Bible, it sounds like the king forgot his dream, but I don’t think that is the case. The dream had made an indelible impression on the king and he couldn’t forget it. Nebuchadnezzar was testing these wise men to see if the gods really communicated to them. In the end they had to face the truth (and admit to the king) that they had no reliable answers at all. Looking for Truth It’s still true that these channels of spiritual wisdom are empty and dry. If you are looking for some kind of guidance from a horoscope or from a reader of Tarot cards, you are tangling with things that are at best a hoax and at worst the activity of spiritual forces of darkness. God has warned his people over and over to have nothing to do with such approaches to spiritual truth. Daniel had no choice but to be trained in the techniques of the Babylonian priests, but he did not trust their methods or accept the underlying beliefs. He knew that the astrologers and wizards had power from the evil one, but their guidance did not lead to the true God. It only led deeper into the darkness. In the crisis that followed, Daniel relied on

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Daniel 2:1-30 the same resources that are available to us. • First, Daniel prayed. He had no assurance that God would reveal the dream to him, but he was not afraid to ask big things from a big God. So many times we don’t even do that. We don’t have from God because we don’t ask (James 4:2). • Second, Daniel went to other believers that he trusted. When you have a pressing burden or need, the best thing to do is pray and the best people to call on are not the whole church but the two or three friends whose hearts are knit to yours. A pastor friend and I met recently with a young believer who was caught in a web of bitterness and resentment toward another Christian. When we got to the meeting place, the bitter man had brought an unbelieving friend with him for support. The unbeliever supported him all right—not toward repentance and forgiveness, but deeper into anger and hostility. Daniel knew the value of a few committed friends. • Third, Daniel was humble. When God revealed the dream and its meaning that night, I would have jumped up and rushed back into the king’s presence to give him the news (and maybe to collect the riches he promised). That’s not the path Daniel took. He stayed in God’s presence and spent some time giving praise and honor to the true source of wisdom, God alone. Daniel

33 was willing in private and in public to give God all the credit. Humility is a common thread among men and women God uses greatly. They are not impressed with their own gifts and insights; they are captured by the greatness and wisdom of God. Life’s Curve Ball Most of our lives and most of the things we care about are out of the realm of our control. I want my children and grandchildren to follow Jesus and to live fulfilled lives, but I can’t make that happen. I want the people in my congregation to love God fervently and to serve him passionately, but I can’t browbeat them into it. They have to choose to follow, and when one turns aside or leaves in a huff, I have to live in the backwash of that decision— and pray. Daniel had already gone through so much trauma and change in his life that we might think this latest curve ball is unfair. But life isn’t like that. God keeps molding us and hammering us into the likeness of Jesus. We grow best not in the ease of blessings but in the pressure of problems. Whether our faith holds up or folds up at that point depends on where we have put our trust. Daniel trusted the sovereign God even when he could not see what the outcome would be. In an out-of-control world, that same God is the one secure anchor we have.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN What current head of state would you like to meet and why?

READ Daniel 2:1-30 Daniel had survived the initial challenges of life in Babylon. His training was almost over and life was finally beginning to make sense again. There was a reason for his sacrifices. He would be God’s man in the king’s court. The future looked good. Then the king had a bad dream. 1. Has God ever spoken to you in a dream? How can we “test” whether one of our dreams (or another person’s dream) is really a message from God? 2. Daniel was given wisdom and Nebuchadnezzar had power. What are the sources in our culture that claim to have wisdom and power? How do their claims compare with God’s wisdom and power? 3. When Daniel returned to his friends, he asked them to plead for God’s mercy and wisdom relating to the dream. What does this tell you about the way Daniel approached challenges? What does it tell you about how you ought to respond to difficult situations? 4. Compare how you normally respond when God answers your prayers with how Daniel responded in verses 19-23. 5. How would you describe your search for wisdom? Making progress? Off-track? Looking in the wrong places? Don’t know where to start? Explain your answer. 6. Why did Daniel choose to show compassion to the wise men who couldn’t interpret the dream (v. 24)? What does this say about how we ought to respond to nonbelieving coworkers who might want to trip us up in some way? 7. Three aspects of Daniel’s spiritual maturity stand out in this chapter: his wisdom in response to a crisis, his prayer in response to a problem and his praise in response to God’s work in his life. Which of those marks of maturity is most well-developed in your life? Can you give an example? Which of them is weakest in your life? 8. Based on Daniel’s example, what specific steps will you take to strengthen your weak area? Using Daniel’s psalm as a model (2:20-23), compose your own psalm or expression of praise to God. Thank him for aspects of his character that he has displayed in his work in your life. Pray or sing the psalm back to God as an expression of adoration. Share the psalm with the group as a testimony of your trust in the Lord.

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SESSION THREE

Facing the Future Daniel 2:31-49 wHere we’re going Every year tabloid headlines in the grocery-store checkout lanes shout the same promises—bold predictions for the new year from the world’s most notable psychics and fortunetellers! Some of the predictions are obvious, some are moronic, most never happen . But every year thousands of people buy copies hoping for some glimpse into the future . Daniel 2 is one of the most amazing predictive chapters in the Bible . It was written around 600 b.c., yet it accurately described the future rise and fall of four great empires! Some of Daniel 2 may seem like so much ancient history to us, but it was all future to Daniel . He peered through future centuries with God’s eyes . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 2:31-49 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Thy Kingdom Come (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Lord, if all we had to rely on was the news, we would live in constant fear and worry. But, thankfully, when we lay the truth of your Word alongside the news reports we discover that, in spite of what we see happening all around us, you are in control. So we rest in you today, our Shield and our Defender. You are the beginning and the end, and we are moving toward the fulfillment of all of your promises in the eternal kingdom of your Son. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 2:31-49 Read Daniel 2:31-49. 1. From your study in Daniel so far, summarize the events that led to Daniel’s appearance before King Nebuchadnezzar. 2:31. The Egyptian pharaoh Merenptah (thirteenth century b.c.) reports seeing a huge image of the god Ptah in a dream. The god gave him permission to go to war against the Libyans. In a dream reported during the reign of Ashurbanipal, an inscription on the base of a statue of the god, Sin, forecast the failure of the rebellion in Babylon.

2:32. Statues of mixed elements were not uncommon. . . . In a mid–second millennium Hittite prayer a promise is made to supply a life-sized statue of the king with head, hands and feet of gold, the rest of silver. . . . The Assyrian king Esarhaddon boasted of a statue that he had made of himself of silver, gold and copper that was to be placed before the gods to present petitions on his behalf.

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2. Nebuchadnezzar had demanded that any interpreter of his dream had to first tell him what happened in the dream. What about Daniel’s description of the dream (vv. 31-35), would have caused Nebuchadnezzar to be troubled (2:1)?

3. In the interpretation of the king’s dream, why do you think God referred to Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold (vv. 3638)?

4. What observations can you make about the relative value and comparative strength of the four metals making up the statue (vv. 31-33)?

5. While Daniel does not identify the future kingdoms, we know them as the Medo-Persian (silver), the Greek (bronze) and the Roman (iron) empires. What does your answer to question 4 and what Daniel says in verses 36-43 tell you about the nature, organization and strength of these successive kingdoms?

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Daniel 2:31-49 6. What can you conclude about the kingdoms represented by the mixture of clay (ceramic) with iron (vv. 41-43)?

7. Verse 44 says, “In the time of those kings [the ones represented by the toes of the statue], the God of heaven will set up a kingdom.” How would you describe the kingdom of God based on verses 44-45?

8. In your opinion, was this prophecy fulfilled when Jesus established the church, or is it referring to a still future kingdom? Explain.

9. Describe the king’s response to Daniel’s interpretation of his dream (vv. 46-49).

10. How does the portrait of God in this chapter encourage you to trust him with your life and circumstances?

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2:36-40. The idea of presenting history in terms of four empires or ages has several parallels in ancient and classical literature. In Akkadian literature the Dynastic Prophecy (Seleucid period, third century b.c.?) refers to four successive kingdoms (Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek) in a very broken text. . . . Perhaps the most significant comparison of ages to metals is found in the early Greek author Hesiod (Works and Days, eighth century b.c.), who identifies five ages, four of which are represented by metals (gold, silver, bronze and iron).

2:47. The role as a “revealer of mysteries” is highlighted here as Daniel has exceeded what could normally be accomplished by the wise men of Babylon. The gods were believed to have revealed themselves when omens (such as dreams) were given, and they were believed to offer revelation of the interpretation of the omens through the interpretive wisdom they provided the sage as he used the resources and literature at his disposal. But Daniel had received the additional revelation of the contents of the dream, enhancing his reputation.

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Banned in Israel One of the aspects of God’s nature is that he is inscrutable, which means that humans are able to know very little about God unless he chooses to reveal himself to us. In ourselves, we don’t have the capacity or resources to scrutinize God. But the good news is that God has willingly revealed himself to us. Therefore, any attempt to manipulate God or to force God to act in a certain way was prohibited in Israel. The practice of magic, sorcery or astrology brought the ultimate penalty under the law of Moses because it reduced God to someone we could control. Read the following passages and explain why God did not want his people to engage in these techniques. Leviticus 19:26, 31 ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Deuteronomy 18:9-13 ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Instead of relying on the magical ways of the nations around them, the people of Israel heard from God in a different way. Read Deuteronomy 18:14-19. How would God speak to his people? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What was their responsibility when God spoke? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Saul, the first king of Israel, sought out a medium, a person who claimed to make contact with the spirits of those who had died, in an attempt to contact Samuel the prophet. Read 1 Samuel 28. Why was the woman terrified to see Samuel? What do you think she expected? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why did Saul turn to this prohibited activity in the first place (vv. 5-6)? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Of all the “techniques” used in the ancient world to try to gain information from the gods or to get the gods to intervene in earthly situations, only dreams and the interpretation of dreams find an acceptable place within the worship of the Lord. Why do you think God found this method of communication acceptable? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ God’s Kingdom Interpreters of Daniel have had long debates about which kingdoms are represented by the various metals that make up the statue, but almost all interpreters agree that the rock in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represents the kingdom of God. According to the dream, when or at what stage of the successive kingdoms does the “rock” kingdom arrive? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How would God’s kingdom begin and what would its effect be on earthly human kingdoms? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Session Three: Facing the Future

Some Christians believe that the kingdom of God arrived in the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus and that, as Christians, we are living now in an invisible, but ever-growing kingdom of God. What support do you find for this view in the dream? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Other Christians believe that the visible kingdom of God will arrive suddenly in the future when Jesus returns as conquering King. What support do you find for this view in the dream? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The picture of God’s kingdom or God’s presence as a rock or mountain is echoed several places in the Old Testament. Read the verses on the left and connect the reference to its significance on the right. Psalm 18:2 Micah 4:2-3 Isaiah 2:2 Isaiah 11:9

God’s kingdom rests on his truth and character and we enter that kingdom by faith in him. The kingdom will be a place of safety. Every nation will be represented in the kingdom. The Lord will be universally worshiped.

Psalm 71:3

The Lord is the solid foundation on which the kingdom is built.

Isaiah 28:16

The “mountain” of the Lord’s presence will fill the earth.

Read Psalm 118:22-23. Jesus and the New Testament writers saw this quotation as predictive of how the Messiah would be treated by his own people and then by God. How is Jesus like this rejected stone? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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God’s Wisdom The Old Testament Scriptures speak of two kinds of wisdom. Both are God-given but they come to us in different ways. The first is “proverbial wisdom” which is insight gained from the careful observation of life and meditation on it. This type of wisdom is usually embodied in proverbs—short, witty, wise sayings. Insight gained from the study of the Scriptures would also be included in this category. It is wisdom we seek after and work hard to understand and implement in our lives. The kind of wisdom spoken of in Daniel 2 comes another way. It is insight given directly by God through revelation. No “learning” is involved; God simply grants us the wisdom. Read how some of the prophets spoke of this wisdom and summarize what you can learn about prophetic insight from each passage. 1 Kings 22:19-23

How did Micaiah know that the other prophets were wrong?

Jeremiah 23:15-18

How does Jeremiah receive God’s message?

Amos 3:7

What methods does God use to communicate with his people?

Habakkuk 2:1-3

Who is in charge of the truth and when it is received?

Have you ever experienced “prophetic wisdom”? If so, explain.  ___________________________________________________________________________  ___________________________________________________________________________ How diligently are you seeking to acquire “proverbial wisdom” from the study of and meditation on God’s written Word?  ___________________________________________________________________________  ___________________________________________________________________________ Light in the Darkness The theological term for the extent of God’s knowledge is omniscience, meaning “all-knowing.” God is omniscient—he has infinite knowledge of all things. Nothing is hidden from him. He is never stumped; he never learns; nothing (past, present or future) is outside the realm of his understanding. He has no trouble with the content of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream or mapping out the four hundred years of history that would follow Nebuchadnezzar’s death.

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Session Three: Facing the Future

Here are a few passages about God’s knowledge. Read each one and explain how it makes you feel to realize that God knows everything about you. Psalm 147:5

This aspect of God’s character makes me feel . . . (restricted? watched? protected? secure?)

Job 34:21-22

This truth makes me feel . . .

Psalm 139:1-6

Because of God’s complete knowledge about me, I feel . . .

Is there a “dark place” in your life? How can it be brought into God’s light?  ___________________________________________________________________________  ___________________________________________________________________________

The Head of Gold Even though Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater and not (at least at this point) of the family of genuine faith, the prophets speak highly of his leadership ability and political power. Some students of biblical history have suggested that the only thing that kept Nebuchadnezzar from conquering a much larger empire was his sinful pride and the humbling process God put him through later in chapter 4. God chose Nebuchadnezzar to chasten God’s people, Israel, but he was no minor political figure. Daniel calls him “the king of kings” (2:37). Only six years before this, Jeremiah had warned the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon that God had granted Nebuchadnezzar extensive authority. Read Jeremiah 27:3-6 and describe the extent of power God had given Nebuchadnezzar. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When Nebuchadnezzar began his third (and final) siege of Jerusalem in 588 b.c., God made another declaration about the irresistible power of Nebuchadnezzar. This king would succeed in whatever mission God had sent him to complete. Read Jeremiah 37:9-10 and write a “memo to the troops” who were guarding Jerusalem that conveys this information.

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Memo to the Israelite Troops: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Where do you think Jeremiah ranked in the job performance polls of his day among his own people? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Where did he stand in God’s opinion? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How do you think the people in Jerusalem received Jeremiah’s message? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Even though God pronounced Nebuchadnezzar to be the head of gold, his glorious kingdom would come to an end—“another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours” (2:39). Jeremiah had already predicted the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. Read Jeremiah 27:7. In a few generations, just as Jeremiah predicted, Nebuchadnezzar’s empire was swallowed up by the new, emerging kingdom of the Medes and the Persians.

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Part 3. Reflect Thy Kingdom Come No wonder Nebuchadnezzar was bothered by this dream—a giant statue, gold and silver, a stone smashing everything to bits. I’d be worried too! He went to bed thinking about the future and this is what invades his mind—and not just once. Daniel 2:1 says Nebuchadnezzar had “dreams.” Maybe the same dream came over and over until he could ignore it no longer. I’m glad God not only gives us the content of the dream but also gives us some direction on how to interpret the dream. It still raises a lot of debate, but the broad outline is pretty clear. Kings and Kingdoms It’s possible from our vantage point to fairly easily identify the kingdoms that followed Babylon. It’s also possible to see the first glimpses of the end-times prophecy that is made clearer in the New Testament—the tribulation, a confederation of kingdoms and the shattering return of Christ to reclaim his world. But think about the dream from Daniel’s perspective. What he saw was a succession of earthly kingdoms, each stronger but also less worthy than the one before. The people of Israel over the next six hundred years would taste the bitterness of those oppressive empires. They would see brutality and injustice increase, and human freedom and compassion smothered under the boots of invading armies. Daniel also saw that at the end of this succession of kingdoms, God would do something so spectacular that the whole world would be transformed. At some point in the future, God’s kingdom would come. The stone hurled at the statue’s feet will crush and remove every remnant of human government, and it will be replaced by the reign of one sovereign King. That must have given great hope

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to Daniel and to believers down through the centuries. As dark as it seems at times, the final word has yet to be written. The impact of Daniel’s message to Nebuchadnezzar was that God would set aside kings and kingdoms and raise up others until the great King comes to rule forever. We may get frustrated with the incompetence and injustice in our governmental leadership, but God is not asleep or away. His plan is right on schedule. Stop Having a Troubled Heart I come away from this dream with the realization that we are rapidly approaching the final climax of human history. Nothing more needs to happen before the final wrap-up begins. The four empires have come and gone; nations and kingdoms rise and fall. If God’s final work of reclaiming his fallen world started today, he would be right on schedule. I realize too from studying this dream that all our investments in earthly kingdoms are temporary. Don’t go out and sell your stocks or municipal bonds and move to a mountaintop somewhere! But face the fact that our only sure hope is in the Lord. Any trust we put in a leader or document or treasury system will disappoint us eventually. Someday the stone rejected by the builders of our world will become the cornerstone of a whole new kingdom of justice and peace. That’s what I want to be part of and ready for! We walk away from this prophetic dream with another realization—we are on the right side. People today may ridicule God and scoff at his truth. They may attack Daniel’s book and think you are a fool to believe it. But the only safe place to be in the dream is in the rock. Human institutions will pass off the scene, but those in the rock, those grounded by faith in the kingdom of God’s Son, will inherit the earth.

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What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

.

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN Make a prediction about the next twelve months of your life. How confident are you that the prediction will come true?

READ Daniel 2:31-49. It must have been quite a scene to watch the mighty king of Babylon listening intently to the words of a young Jewish captive. And it must have been a humbling experience for the king to realize that it was not he who had conquered nations and kingdoms. It was, in fact, God who had enabled him to conquer and who now allowed him to rule such a vast empire. 1. What would you like to know directly from God, and why do you want to know it? 2. Have you ever thought that one of your dreams (or someone else’s dream) might be a message from God? Tell the group about it. 3. What does Nebuchadnezzar’s dream reveal about God’s role in history? about the coming kingdom of God? 4. In the reflection section I wrote: “If God’s final work of reclaiming his fallen world started today, he would be right on schedule.” Do you agree or disagree? Why? 5. What temptations do you think Daniel faced when the king paid him such honor after he interpreted the dream? How is this situation similar to the temptations faced by honored Christian artists or respected church leaders today? 6. Following Daniel’s example in this chapter, how can we remain humble when God uses us to do good things? 7. Where do you see glimpses of God’s kingdom in today’s world? Where do you see the opposite of God’s kingdom on earth today? 8. What could you do individually or as a group to demonstrate the grace and beauty of God’s kingdom to someone in your circle of friends? Pick one of the group’s suggestions and make a plan to carry it out. Begin to pray earnestly the passage in the Lord’s Prayer that asks: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

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SESSION FOUR

Bow or Burn! Daniel 3 wHere we’re going Most of us have never had to face death or persecution for our commitment to Jesus Christ—but that doesn’t mean the pressure is off! The secular culture we live in has other ways of pushing us away from wholehearted obedience to the Lord . If you’ve ever revealed your faith convictions in a university classroom or turned down an invitation to the wrong kind of entertainment on a business trip, you have felt the pressure to compromise in order to be accepted by others . How can we live faithfully for the Lord when we are under pressure to turn away in some crucial area? Three young men will give us some very practical help . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 3 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Faithful Under Pressure (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Lord, you are our Deliverer, a strong fortress of protection and safety! Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we find ourselves in a culture that does not follow or seek you, the only true God. Give us deeper trust in your power and in your faithfulness, especially when we are tempted to compromise our obedience to you. Use the example of these three men to help us live faithful, joyful lives of obedience to you as our sovereign King. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 3 Read Daniel 3. 1. If you were producing a YouTube video of this event, what scenes would you include in the final edit?

3:2. It is likely that the occasion for this gathering was the taking of a loyalty oath. A century earlier it is known that Assyrian king Ashurbanipal gathered his chief officials together in Babylon to take a loyalty oath. A letter has been preserved from one of the officials. . . . The letter specifically mentions that when he took the oath he was surrounded by the images of the gods.

2. What participants would you try to interview and why?

3:6. It is logical to assume that the furnace was in this location serving a purpose (perhaps the manufacture of the image) rather than having been set up to use as an instrument of punishment.

5. What temptations do you imagine Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced when they were brought before the king (vv. 13-15)?

3. Nebuchadnezzar saw a colossal image in a dream in chapter 2. Do you think that dream had anything to do with the image of gold he builds in this chapter (vv. 1-7)?

4. What do you think motivated the astrologers to report the disobedience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (vv. 8-12)?

6. What were these men certain of in their response to Nebuchadnezzar’s challenge (vv. 16-18)?

What were they uncertain of?

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7. How will their example encourage you if you are faced with the possibility of losing your job or being rejected by friends because of your refusal to compromise God’s Word?

8. Some Christians claim that pain, sickness or difficulty are always the result of sin or lack of faith. How would you respond to that claim in light of verses 16-18?

9. What specific actions did God take to assure the three men of his presence and to demonstrate his power to Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 24-30)?

10. Based on his words in verses 28-29, do you think Nebuchadnezzar became a believer in the Lord God, or was he simply acknowledging the great power of Israel’s God? Explain why you came to that conclusion.

3:25. This phrase comes from Nebuchadnezzar’s lips, so we do not expect him to be representing any deep insight or sophisticated theology. The phrase “son of the gods” represents a common Semitic expression for identifying a supernatural being.

11. What commitments can you make to the Lord today that will prepare you to face the pressures of the secular culture around you?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Facing a Culture of Idolatry Images and idol worship were part of every nation’s worship in the ancient Middle East except for the nation of Israel. The Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Assyrians and the Babylonians all used images or idols as representations of their gods. An idol in Babylonian religious thought was not the actual god but a way to make the normally invisible god visible to worshipers. Since the idol represented the god, people believed the image was infused with the god’s power and presence. The idol, therefore, was treated as if it were the god. When the people of Israel lived in slavery in Egypt hundreds of years before the time of Daniel, they saw idolatry all around them. God gave his people some very clear instruction about his own reality just before the final plague came upon Egypt. Read Exodus 12:12-14. God says that this final plague was a “judgment on all the gods of Egypt.” What was the Lord demonstrating to the leaders and the people of Egypt? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What influence was the Passover intended to have on future generations of Israelites? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Israel heard God’s warning, but within a few generations they began to accept the pagan worship of their neighbors. Read Judges 10:6-16. How did God respond to Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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What moved God to deliver his people from outside oppression? Check what you think is the best answer and explain why you chose it. _____ Eighteen years was enough punishment. _____ The Israelites turned back to the Lord in repentance. _____ The people wore God down by their constant prayers. _____ God couldn’t stand to see his people suffer any longer. What God Really Thinks About Idols and Other Gods God had expressed his will on the subject of the worship of false gods and their images when Moses received the Ten Commandments. Read Exodus 20:1-6. Why does God command the Israelites to worship him alone? Check all the statements that apply and explain why you picked the ones you did. _____ The Lord thinks he is superior to all other gods. _____ The Lord knew that no image could ever represent him clearly and accurately. _____ The Lord is a jealous God. _____ This is the Israelites’ payment to the Lord for rescuing them from slavery in Egypt. _____ The Lord loves Israel and wants them to know that he is the only true God. The people of Israel escaped from the slavery of Egypt by God’s powerful hand, and in time they entered the Promised Land. Just before they entered, God instructed them to drive the Canaanites out of the land. Read Deuteronomy 7:1-6. What reason does the Lord give for destroying the corrupt nations of Canaan? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ List the commands that God gives the Israelites in verses 1-5. Circle the commands that make you uncomfortable. Try to briefly explain why you feel this way. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Session Four: Bow or Burn!

What would happen to the people of Israel if they embraced the idolatry of the Canaanites? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The prophet Isaiah speaks with scathing ridicule against those who worship images of wood or stone or gold. Read Isaiah 44:12-20. Which of Isaiah’s mockeries do you find most persuasive? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Isaiah’s sarcasm exposes the foolishness of idolatry—of putting secondary things (even good things and desires) in the place that only God should occupy in our lives. We live in a culture that is obsessed with “image.” People want to project a certain outward appearance or are attracted to a particular “image” far more than to any real substance. Use the spirit of mockery that Isaiah uses to complete these reflections on some of the “gods” of our own culture and to serve as a reminder to yourself and your community of the dangers of idolatry. My desire for money and possessions is an endless trap. The more I get, the more I want. I find it frustrating because . . . ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ I am consumed with pleasing people—my boss, my spouse, my friends. I struggle with feeling accepted because . . . ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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It is ridiculous to be so concerned about my own “image” (on Facebook and off) because . . . ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Your own reflections on other “gods”: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ “When You Walk Through the Fire” The three men in Daniel 3 were not saved from the fire but were kept safe in the fire. The people of God facing any form of exile or trial would identify with the situation of the three Hebrews. They would also identify with God’s promise to be with them in their affliction. Read Isaiah 43:2-3. What does God promise in those verses that would give hope to persecuted believers? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What does God not promise in those verses? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The three men could have drawn courage from several biblical accounts of God’s deliverance of his people. The one rescue story every Israelite child knew by memory was Israel’s deliverance from the armies of Egypt at the Red Sea. Read Exodus 14:21-31.

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Session Four: Bow or Burn!

What parts of the Red Sea escape parallel the account of the escape of these three men from the furnace? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What aspects of the Red Sea story are different than Daniel 3? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would also have remembered the courage of individual believers who stood true to God against overwhelming odds—David versus Goliath, Gideon’s handful against the armies of Midian, or Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. As you read the following accounts, identify God’s part in each deliverance and the person’s part. Ehud overthrows an oppressor Judges 3:12-30

God’s Part

Human Part

Elijah challenges Baal 1 Kings 18:20-39 Sennacherib threatens Jerusalem Isaiah 36:1-2, 18-20; 37:15-20, 36-37

Where do you sense the need for God’s deliverance in your life? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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What might your part be in that deliverance? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Disaster of Disobedience God had warned Israel repeatedly about worshiping false gods. Read the following passages and look for the consequences that came on the leaders and the people when they abandoned the Lord. Context Judges 2:6-15

After the conquest of the land, the people of Israel follow the Lord for a while but then turn to other gods.

1 Kings 14:7-11

A prophet tells King Jeroboam’s wife what will happen to the king’s family.

2 Kings 17:5-20

The northern kingdom of Israel is destroyed by the Assyrian armies.

2 Chronicles 25:14-16

King Amaziah worships the gods of the Edomites.

Consequences

At other times the leaders of Israel and Judah led God’s people to return to the Lord and to destroy the images of false gods. Describe the blessings that flow from their obedience in these passages. Context 2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 9-10

King Jehoshaphat follows the Lord.

2 Chronicles 30:23–31:1

Hezekiah reestablishes the observance of the Passover after years of neglect.

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Blessings

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Session Four: Bow or Burn!

Daniel and his three friends were taken to Babylon in the first wave of exiles. For seventy years part or all of God’s people would live away from the land God had given Abraham. Through the exile God’s chastened the nation for their spiritual unfaithfulness. Read Jeremiah 25:4-11. Why does a God of love and mercy bring such complete devastation on his own people? What did God hope to accomplish? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew they were in exile precisely because their own nation had abandoned the Lord and worshiped the images of false gods. Would that fact strengthen or weaken their resolve before Nebuchadnezzar and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect Faithful Under Pressure The story of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace is not a biblical fairy tale; it’s part of the redemptive history of God’s people. It’s not included in the Bible so we can say, “Wasn’t God great back then.” We face the same pressures these men faced—not the pressure to bow down to an image, perhaps, but the pressure to compromise what is right before God in order to gain something for ourselves. No one has to look very hard to see the same kind of pressure applied today to those who follow the Lord. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a scholarly, quiet teacher and pastor in Germany until the rise of the Nazis changed the landscape of his nation. He stood against Hitler’s attempts to influence the message of the church, which eventually led to a difficult decision. His commitment to Jesus as Lord compelled Bonhoeffer to try to root out the source of Germany’s national evil, not just protest against it. He joined a plot to remove Adolf Hitler from power. His involvement in that assassination plot led to his arrest and then to his execution in April of 1945. But Bonhoeffer’s faith remained steadfast in the face of pressure to compromise. He even preached a sermon to the other prisoners on the day he died. Janani Luwum had the courage to speak out as the Anglican archbishop of Uganda against the tyranny of Idi Amin’s bloody rule. On the morning of February 16, 1977, Archbishop Luwum and other religious leaders were summoned to a meeting where tortured prisoners read confessions implicating the leaders in a plot to overthrow the government. “They are going to kill me,” Pastor Luwum whispered to one of his friends. “I am not afraid.” The official cause of death was a car accident, but most of the surviving testimony says that he was shot twice in the chest, perhaps by Idi Amin himself. Most of us will never have to face that kind

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of direct persecution, but the pressure to compromise our full obedience to Christ can be just as strong and often far more subtle. Being threatened to be fired from a job or passed over for a promotion—or simply being labeled a religious fanatic—can be the world’s way of requiring us to bow and worship. A student in our congregation wanted to follow God’s call to go to seminary, but his unbelieving father threatened to disinherit him if he pursued that path. The young man chose the way of Christ, and his father followed through on his threat. What gives a German pastor or an American student or three Hebrew exiles the courage to stand before the power brokers in their lives and choose to obey God? Where can we find that same strength in a culture that is set on living without God or even in defiance of God? Principled Living Three principles emerge from Daniel 3. First, the three Hebrew friends had thought through their response and had determined to obey God when the crisis came. I don’t think Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went looking for this confrontation. They may have even hoped that no one would notice their noncompliance with the king’s command. But they had made up their minds that when the time came they would not bow. God’s Word was clear and their decision was firm. That’s clearly something we can pursue right now in our lives. God probably won’t give us the courage to take that stand until we are actually faced with the test, but we can determine ahead of time that, in whatever situation we find ourselves, we will obey the Lord. The second mark of faithfulness I find in these men is that they display a confident trust in the Lord. There is no hesitation in their answer to Nebuchadnezzar. They certainly weren’t going to argue with him (“we do not need to

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58 defend ourselves before you in this matter” [v. 16]). Another chance to bow was not going to weaken their resolve. Even turning up the heat in the furnace didn’t move them. The world usually gives us a way out of any confrontation over our obedience to God. Just one small admission or compromise, just the willingness to back off or apologize or concede that we might be mistaken, just the suggestion that we might need more time to study the issue is enough to spring us from facing the fire—or the firing squad. But in that single step back, we deny our trust in the Lord and move farther away from him rather than closer to him. The third principle of faith-filled living these men model for us is that they declare their acceptance of God’s plan regardless of the outcome: “But even if he does not [deliver us from the furnace], we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (v. 18). Think about their courage! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not know how the story would end. We like to think that deliverance will always come, but sometimes Christians die in the furnace. Sometimes we don’t recover. Sometimes Christian marriages fall apart. What do we do then? The sad result is that when events don’t turn out like we think they should, some of us throw away our confidence in the Lord. But genu­ine faith embraces all the possibilities. Some Christians think it’s a lack of faith even to consider the possibility that things won’t come out the way we think they should. But real faith, biblical faith, says, “Whether God delivers me or not, whether he heals me or not, whether I get the job or not, I will still trust him.” These men realized that God’s will may not be pleasant—it may, in fact, be very hard—but they were willing to obey God re-

Session Four: Bow or Burn!

gardless of the outcome. Job said it in the middle of his suffering: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). Don’t say you can’t stand true to the Lord in our pressurized society. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are proof that we can live a life of obedience. Our decisions and choices in life are determined by one of two things—external pressure or internal principle. That’s where the battle is fought and won or lost. Do we act because we have convictions about what is right and pleasing to God or do we act purely in response to pressure from outside? I Will Never Leave You There’s one more lesson to take from this chapter. We as followers of Christ cannot know whether God will rescue us out of a trial or protect us through the trial, but we can have unshakeable confidence that the Lord will never leave us in the trial. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are never mentioned again by name in the Bible, but they do make a cameo appearance in the New Testament book of Hebrews. As the writer records the great heroes of faith, he says that some “quenched the fury of the flames” (11:34). But in the very next verse, he adds that “others . . . were tortured.” Not all the faithful men and women escaped trial unscathed! Some children of God are delivered from danger by God’s great power—and some die. But in both cases, they experience the sustaining presence of the Lord God. I don’t know what circumstances you may be in today. God may be leading you out of a trial or into one. You may feel like you have been in the furnace for weeks or years. Whatever the trial is, take strength from God’s promises. We are not alone. The Son of God walks through the fire with us.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN In what circumstances do you feel most pressured to compromise what is right?

READ Daniel 3. The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace ranks with Daniel in the lion’s den and David and Goliath as one of the best known and most exciting Bible stories. One of the problems with a story that’s so familiar is that we tend to forget that it really happened. It is not a myth. It is history! It is also a very practical chapter for men and women who are trying to live for God in a secular society. We face the same pressure these three faced—the pressure to compromise what is right before God in order to be accepted by others. 1. What excuses or rationalizations might Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego have used to justify bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image? 2. In the image in Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar was only the head of gold. Other kingdoms would eventually replace his, and God’s kingdom would ultimately be supreme. In response (perhaps), Nebuchadnezzar builds an image entirely of gold. Is this a challenge to what God had declared? 3. Why do you think God listed the commands (1) to have no other gods and (2) to make no images of God to worship first in his list of Ten Commandments? 4. At what place on the list would our contemporary culture put these commands? 5. In spite of God’s repeated warnings, the Israelites kept turning to other gods. What do you think was the attraction to idol worship in their culture? 6. Would you have given Israel another chance if you had been God? Why? 7. Do you agree that “some children of God are delivered from danger by God’s great power—and some die” (see “I Will Never Leave You” in the Reflect section)? Why? 8. In what ways do you identify (or not identify) with the people in this passage and why: the self-centered king, the jealous astrologers, the bowing Babylonians, the compliant soldiers, the courageous Hebrews? 9. What are some modern idols that men and women bow before? 10. Nebuchadnezzar gave honor to Israel’s God but doesn’t seem to make a genuine faith commitment to the Lord. Do you see anything similar going on today? Explain why you think that happens. 11. How can you use this passage to encourage a Christian friend who has prayed for healing or deliverance from a hard situation, but who is not seeing much change or improvement? 12. When have you sensed the Lord’s presence or protection in a difficult time? Describe the experience for the group. In a time of quiet reflection, renew your commitment to Jesus as Lord over your life. Ask him to give you the courage and grace to seek to please him first of all. Conclude with prayer for each other in the group to stand true to God in times of pressure to compromise.

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SESSION FIVE

Our God Reigns! Daniel 4 wHere we’re going We are not accustomed to hearing our national leaders name their sins in public . It happens when the deed is exposed publicly or a comment is caught on an open microphone, but usually public leaders trumpet their strengths, not their failures . That’s what makes Daniel 4 such an unusual chapter! Nebuchadnezzar, the great, proud, powerful king of Babylon, writes a letter to the whole world describing how God humbled and then graciously restored him . The king’s experience is a warning to us about harboring pride in our lives . It’s also a window into the boundless mercy of God . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 4 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: God’s Interruptions (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Sovereign Lord, you sit in majesty above all creation and by your power you oversee the events of our world. You can take the heart of a proud king and bring it low before you. Give us minds and lives that are willing to bend to your will and your Word. May we bring every thought captive to Christ who reigns over us as Lord and King. May we yield to you and to your authority today and every day. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 4 Read Daniel 4. 1. Why does Nebuchadnezzar tell us the end of the story here at the beginning (vv. 1-3)?

2. As you read the king’s description of the dream (vv. 9-18), what aspects of it might have caused him to be “terrified” (v. 5)?

4:10-12. The concept of the cosmic tree in the center of the world is a common motif in the ancient Near East. . . . The roots of the tree are fed by the great subterranean ocean, and its top merges with the clouds, thus binding together the heavens, the earth and the netherworld.

3. God’s purpose for giving the dream is repeated three times (vv. 17, 25, 32). Why do you think God was so intent on impressing Nebuchadnezzar with his absolute authority instead of his grace or love?

4. If Nebuchadnezzar had repented of his sins as Daniel advised, do you think God would have withheld his judgment, or was his decision irrevocable at this point (vv. 24-27)? Explain.

5. Why did God wait a full year between the announcement of judgment and its actual fulfillment (v. 29)?

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4:28. Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects in Babylon were magnificent. The Euphrates was channeled into a number of canals that passed through the city. His palace, on the north side of the city near the Ishtar Gate, was luxuriously appointed with all the finest materials. The palace gardens were terraced and gained international reputation, eventually being named one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

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4:33. Interpreters seeking illnesses to which these symptoms might apply have identified conditions such as lycanthropy, a depressive illness in which the patient thinks of himself as a beast. But the characteristics also coincide with the typical description of primitive or primordial man, who lacks good sense (compare niv: “sanity” vv. 34, 36) and has an animal-like nature and habits (v. 16).

Session Five: Our God Reigns!

6. What specific steps did God take to humble Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 31-33)?

7. A new Nebuchadnezzar came out of this experience. Instead of himself, he gives God glory (vv. 34-37). Do you think he was simply forced into humility by God, or was there a genuine change of attitude? Explain.

8. Sometimes we gain fresh insight into God’s character as we wrestle with the truth. What’s the hardest thing about this chapter for you to accept?

9. What does that hard lesson teach you about how God works in our lives to bring us to spiritual maturity and Christlikeness?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Who’s Really in Charge? The truth King Nebuchadnezzar learned through his long ordeal is that the Most High God rules over the affairs of our world. Our God is a sovereign God. To be sovereign means to be the highest being, to be in control, to have total authority and power. In the purest sense only God is sovereign. Human beings may have great power and rule with what seems to be absolute authority over other people, like Nebuchadnezzar did, but above all the rulers of this world a sovereign God reigns. No one and nothing is outside his knowledge and direction. This aspect of God’s character is revealed everywhere we turn in Scripture. Read the following verses and write a brief summary of what each passage teaches about God’s control. Genesis 18:20-25

Deuteronomy 32:39

Job 14:5

Psalm 135:5-6

Isaiah 45:5-7

Isaiah 46:9-11

How would you explain God’s sovereignty to another Christian who wonders whether the world we live in is out of control? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Not even Satan operates outside the sovereign rule of God. God is not the source of evil, of course, but God permits evil to run its course in our fallen world. Satan was sure, for example, that Job would abandon his faith in God if enough evil and disaster fell on him. God allowed Satan to test Job, but he set clear boundaries on how far Satan could go. Read Job 1:6-22 and 2:3-10. If no evil can happen to a person without God’s permission, what problems or questions does that raise in your mind? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How is Job’s test different or similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s trial in the following areas? Job

Nebuchadnezzar

Source of test Attitude before the test Severity of the test Response to the test God’s purpose in the test How do you explain bad things that happen in our world? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Have you experienced God bringing “good” out of a “bad” situation? How can that experience encourage you when things go wrong? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Does God’s sovereignty eliminate human choice or responsibility for our choices? Use Nebuchadnezzar’s example to explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Pushing the Limits with God Daniel 4 does not focus on Daniel’s skill as an interpreter of dreams as much as on the issue of human pride. The dream is a warning to Nebuchadnezzar about the dangers of a proud spirit. Nebuchadnezzar’s attitude mirrors the pride of the world’s population in Genesis 11 when they determined to defy God’s command and build a great city and tower as a monument to their selfsufficiency. Read Genesis 11:1-9. Why was it wrong for the people to build this tower? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What was God’s purpose for scattering the human race? Select what you think is the best answer and explain why you chose it. 1. God scattered the people so the earth would be filled. 2. He did it to restrain the evil that would have come from a unified world. 3. He scattered them to protect the environment around Babel from depletion and pollution. 4. God did it to punish humanity’s disobedience. What parallels do you see between Nebuchadnezzar’s experience and the tower of Genesis 11? Nebuchadnezzar

Tower

Action Attitude Judgment Response

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Session Five: Our God Reigns!

The Bible repeatedly speaks to the issue of human pride and the impulse to defy God that springs from it. Read these two proverbs that Daniel may have had in mind as he faced the difficulty of interpreting the king’s dream. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. (Proverbs 29:1) Where do you see human pride on display most dramatically in our world today? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Do you think Daniel was grieved by the king’s fall—or did he think God’s justice was served? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Proverbs 29:1 suggests that words alone (“rebukes”) may be unable to break a proud spirit. From your observation or experience, what more is needed? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Searching for Success From a purely human perspective, Nebuchadnezzar had plenty of reasons to be proud! He was the most powerful political entity in the world of the Middle East at that time. As king he controlled the lives and destinies of countless human beings. A massive army was under his command. Nebuchadnezzar was an accomplished builder and planner, and he deserves much of the credit for the greatness of Babylon. He lost sight of the fact, however, that he had achieved that great success only because a sovereign God had given him the ability, insight, strength and opportunity. There is something about success and prosperity that tends to promote a spirit of pride and

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self-sufficiency. When the bank account is full, we easily think that we don’t need God. The Bible reminds us often, however, that success comes from God. We may contribute our hard work and ingenuity, but even those qualities are gifts from God’s hand. Read Deuteronomy 8:10. When God’s people were prospering under his care, what did God want them to remember? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What are some specific ways that you can remind yourself that success comes from the Lord? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read the following passages and compose an email or text message to Nebuchadnezzar (or yourself) about the true source of success: What I’d like to say to Nebuchadnezzar (or myself): Psalm 16:2, 5-6

Ecclesiastes 5:18-19

It’s easy for us as faithful believers to look at the prosperity of people around us who have no interest in God and to wonder why they seem to have so much while we seem to just scrape by. A man named Asaph had that problem one day, and he went right to the source for an answer. Read Psalm 73:3-13. Have you ever felt like Asaph felt? When and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Now read Psalm 73:16-28. Name the factors that changed Asaph’s view. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How does Nebuchadnezzar’s experience affirm what Asaph discovered? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How do the experiences of these men affect how you view your own success and the success of others? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ A Sheltering Tree The central image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was a magnificent tree. It pictured the power and care of the king over his kingdom. A similar tree appears in the prophecy of Daniel’s contemporary Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s tree pictures the earlier empire of Assyria. Read Ezekiel 31:3-14. What made the tree in Ezekiel’s vision great? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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What or who brought the tree down? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Plot out the similarities and the differences between the tree in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the one in Ezekiel’s vision. Daniel 4

Ezekiel 31

Who or what the tree represents The tree’s benefit to the world The tree’s downfall The tree’s future The prophet Isaiah speaks of another tree that will be cut down but will have a spark of life left in it—the great line of kings descended from David and his father Jesse. When the people of Judah went into exile, the reign of David’s descendants over God’s people ended. But new life would emerge from the stump. Read Isaiah 11:1-5. Just like in Daniel 4 the tender shoot that emerges from the stump represents a person—in this case God’s promised Deliverer. Based on this passage, describe the coming Redeemer. How would Israel recognize him when he arrived? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Lifting Our Eyes to Heaven Nebuchadnezzar remained under God’s judgment until he was willing to yield to God’s authority. In repentance he lifted his eyes to heaven in silent acknowledgment that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of this world including Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.

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We don’t see repentance from our national leaders very often, but the powerful king David knew what repentance was all about. He wrote several psalms that reflect the brokenness of a repentant heart. Psalm 30 seems to express the sorrow and shame that weigh us down when our sin is exposed to God and to others. It also promises the joy of God’s forgiveness and grace. Read Psalm 30:1-12. What parts of this psalm resonate with your experience? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ When has God turned a time of wailing into a time of dancing for you? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect God’s Interruptions I don’t handle interruptions very well. When I’m in the middle of a project or a home repair, I want uninterrupted time, but I rarely get it. Some interruptions are brief—a package delivery or a phone-call reminder of a doctor’s appointment. Other interruptions are pleasant— an old friend calls or your spouse gets home from work. Most interruptions, however, are irritating. Why does the neighbor wait until I’m on a ladder to return a borrowed tool? Why does the dog decide to chase a squirrel down the street just when I’ve put the hamburgers on the grill? A few interruptions in life are serious—the phone call saying that your dad has been rushed to the hospital, or the summons to the boss’s office to be told that your job has been eliminated. God interrupted Nebuchadnezzar’s life for seven years. It wasn’t because the king didn’t have enough to do. He had an empire to run! The interruption probably came at the worst possible time as far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned. But God had a purpose for this interruption. He wanted this pagan king to grasp some significant truth about who the God of Israel was and how he operated in the world. Getting Our Attention God can just as easily interrupt our lives. Sometimes he breaks in with blessing and prosperity; more often the interruption comes in the form of difficulties and trials. In both situations God is speaking, but in my life, at least, I seem to listen more closely to him when times are tough. In difficult days we cling more closely to him. When things are going my way, I don’t feel much of a compelling need to pray, but when I’m struggling, I breathe prayer like the air around me. When life is good, I tend to let my relationship with

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the Lord cool off. When I’m flat on my back, I hold on to him like at no other time. It’s good to have a friend like Daniel when serious interruptions break in on us. Daniel was willing to tell Nebuchadnezzar the truth, and that is always valuable in a friend. Daniel pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to make a clean break from the things that displeased God and to choose a lifestyle of humility and compassion. It’s too bad the king didn’t listen. Daniel’s intervention with Nebuchadnezzar took incredible courage. The king could have ended Daniel’s life with one word of command. I doubt that anyone had ever spoken so pointedly to Nebuchadnezzar, but Daniel was so concerned about the king that he put aside his own self-interest and moved to help his friend. That’s what love does. It’s possible that Nebuchadnezzar’s behavior changed for a while after Daniel’s admonition, but when God did not act, the king’s unbridled arrogance returned. We tend to take God’s patience with us as his approval or at least his indifference to our sin. God warns us and gives us time to repent, and we think God doesn’t care what we do. He gave Nebuchadnezzar a whole year and then, with a swiftness that staggers our minds, he brought the king down. For seven unimaginable years Nebuchadnezzar lived on the palace grounds like an animal. G. K. Chesterton wrote some perceptive lines about Nebuchadnezzar and about the capacity in all of us to ignore God: We talk of wild animals, but man is the only wild animal. It is man that has broken out. . . . Man is wild because he alone, on this speck of rock called earth, stands up to God, shakes his fist, and

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Session Five: Our God Reigns!

says, “I do what I want to do because I want to do it, and God had better leave me alone.”

confesses with his own lips that the God of Israel is the true and living God.

God will interrupt the rebellious, destructive behavior of those he loves, even if it means hurting them temporarily. God warns us first; he nudges us as the Holy Spirit convicts us. Then he waits patiently for a response of repentance. If we choose to ignore his warning and simply go on in our rebellion, God brings down his heavy hand of chastening love. Giving up on us is not part of God’s nature. He pursues those he loves. Nebuchadnezzar at this point is not seeking God, but God is seeking him. God will go to any length to bless Nebuchadnezzar, including crushing him if that’s what it takes.

Passing the Test So what should Nebuchadnezzar have done when Daniel first confronted him? And what will prepare us to handle the interruptions that God brings into our lives to draw us closer to him? I certainly don’t want to go through anything like Nebuchadnezzar experienced! I want to respond correctly and quickly to God’s direction. What I learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s ordeal is how essential it is to acknowledge God as the true source of any accomplishment. God made the source of Nebuchadnezzar’s prosperity very clear in his dream about the giant tree. The king rose to great power because, in the shadows of his life, the Most High God was at work. Acknowledging God as the source of our prosperity or success is an idea that runs counter to our culture. If you were to ask one hundred successful people what the source of their prosperity is, you would get answers like “hard work” or “clear vision” or “persistence in spite of all the obstacles.” Probably every one of them would in some way place their success squarely on human shoulders. Nebuchadnezzar would have said the same thing before God interrupted his life. I wonder what it will take in our culture to shift our perception from ourselves as the source of success and achievement to God as the true source. Unfortunately, most of us learn God’s lessons the way Nebuchadnezzar did—the hard way. We struggle through until our strength is gone, and only then do we lift our eyes to heaven. Nebuchadnezzar’s failure, however, became the back door to enduring spiritual prosperity. I think Nebuchadnezzar became a true believer at the end of this ordeal. I think we will see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven some day. The

Transformation Some interruptions are transforming in the end. One day, when I was a college student, a young woman interrupted my work in an A&P grocery store. I’ve always been grateful for that interruption because that woman ended up becoming my wife. I’ve also had my time under the tender discipline of God. It’s never an easy experience, but it can be transforming if I respond to him with obedience and surrender. Nebuchadnezzar came out of his ordeal a new man. It’s always interested me that the first words from his lips were not words of complaint or bitterness for the lost years of his life. Instead he was intensely grateful for God’s merciful interruption of his arrogance: “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever” (v. 34). As his first act of sanity, Nebuchadnezzar worshiped God. As he speaks about the greatness and dominion of God, his words are no longer me and my, but he and his. This great king had been impressed before by the power of the God of Israel; now he bows his knee and

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Daniel 4 mighty king of Babylon will kneel along with his trusted friend Daniel in humble adoration before the King over all kings and the Lord who reigns above all lords—the same Ruler

73 who asked, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mk 8:36).

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN Do you rely most on the Lord in times of prosperity or in times of difficulty? Why?

READ Daniel 4. Losing it all can have a shattering effect on people. We can respond in panic or despair, or we can see it as an opportunity to come face to face with our total dependence on God. The great king Nebuchadnezzar lost everything, but then was found by the Lord. 1. This dream doesn’t seem all that hard to interpret. What else might have been behind the wise men’s “inability” to explain the dream to Nebuchadnezzar? 2. Using the dream and its interpretation as a backdrop, explain how the fall of a national leader (the cutting down of a great tree) affects the people in the kingdom and even the nation’s standing in the world. Have you seen that happen in your own nation (or business or family) at some time? Tell the group about it. 3. What might have been the outcome of this story if Nebuchadnezzar had heeded Daniel’s advice in verse 27? 4. How does the fact that the king was given “the mind of an animal” (v. 16) relate to God’s message in verse 17 about power and humility? 5. Does the truth of God’s sovereign authority bring you comfort or make you uncomfortable—or both? Why? 6. How does the king’s testimony at the beginning and ending of this chapter strike you? Sincere? Coached by Daniel? The only sane conclusion? Arm-twisted out of him? Explain your answer. 7. What is it like in your life—do you tend to listen to godly wisdom or learn things the hard way? Give the group an example. 8. How can you appreciate your accomplishments without bragging? 9. Is thinking too little of yourself and your abilities as bad as thinking too highly of yourself? What brings balance? 10. How would this account of Nebuchadnezzar’s fall and restoration be an encouragement to God’s people in exile? 11. How does it encourage you? 12. Make a dream list of the top five ways you would spend a day if money and opportunity were no problem. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Psalm 84:10 says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” How does your dream list compare to the psalmist’s desire? Ask God to reveal areas of your life where pride seems to take over. Rely on the Holy Spirit to cultivate humility in those areas.

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SESSION SIX

The Handwriting on the Wall Daniel 5 wHere we’re going The American author Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everyone sooner or later sits down to a banquet of consequences .” Belshazzar, interim ruler of Babylon, standing in for his vacationing father, learned exactly what that was like—and he learned it at a literal banquet! He thought he knew everyone on the guest list that night, but he didn’t realize that God was going to interrupt the festivities with a message of judgment . Belshazzar’s life had been weighed in the balances of God’s justice and found to be too light . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 5 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Making Choices (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray We stand before you, our God, by your mercy and grace. You do not give us what we deserve; you give us the opposite of what we deserve and then lavish us with even more blessings. We are not afraid that you will toss us aside as we study Daniel 5, but we do want to listen to your Word in seriousness. So give us hearts and minds to understand and surround us with your peace. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 5 Read Daniel 5. 1. If this chapter were being produced as a motion picture, what musical background would be playing in verse 1? verse 5? verse 18? verse 30? 5:1. Belshazzar was the son and coregent of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. Nabonidus spent ten years in Teima while his son was carrying out all the royal duties in Babylon. A number of documents have been found that mention him by name. About thirty years have passed since the last chapter. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562, and the banquet of this chapter takes place in October 539.

5:8. Though some have suggested that the inscription was written in an obscure language (such as Old Persian cuneiform), there is no indication in the text that it is written in anything other than the native Aramaic. Aramaic, like Hebrew, is written without vowels and at times without word divisions. . . . Confusion over where to make the word divisions and which vowels to supply was sufficient to undermine their confidence in reading the words and offering an interpretation.

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2. The events in this chapter take place in 539 b.c., the year (the very night) of the fall of Babylon to the Medo-Persian army led by Cyrus the Great. The Babylonians considered their city impregnable. They had twenty years of food supplies on hand and the fresh water of the Euphrates River flowed through the heart of the city. With that background, what do you think motivated Belshazzar to have this feast?

3. How would you have reacted if you had been at the banquet and saw a hand appear and write on the wall (v. 5)?

4. Three times in his book Daniel has recorded the failure of the “wise men” of Babylon to interpret the message of God. What point is Daniel trying to make?

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Daniel 5 5. What insights into the nature of Belshazzar’s sins can you find in verses 18-23?

6. How can Daniel’s words to Belshazzar help us become more humble and thankful to God (vv. 18-24)?

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5:4. Belshazzar and his administration are well aware that the empire hangs by a thread and that the next several days will be of utmost significance. They are hoping that their gods will bring victory for them as they had in the days of Nebuchadnezzar’s great conquests. To that end they are “toasting the gods” and celebrating their past victories.

7. Why do you think Daniel emphasizes that “that very night” the city of Babylon fell and Belshazzar was killed (v. 30)?

8. How does this chapter demonstrate that seventy years of life under Babylon’s influence had not broken down Daniel’s convictions?

9. What can we learn from Daniel’s example that will help us resist pressures to compromise our convictions?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Here We Go Again Daniel 5 sounds in many ways like some of the earlier episodes in Daniel’s experience in Babylon. Use the grid below to note similarities and differences. Daniel 1

Daniel 2

Daniel 4

Daniel 5

Cast of characters Scenery/setting Props Crisis event Sins Outcome As chapter 5 opens, the Persian army is on its way to Babylon. They have already captured key Babylonian cities—some of them without a fight. Belshazzar, however, decides to have a great feast for a thousand of his leaders. Which of the following responses best summarizes Belshazzar’s purpose for the feast, and why would you choose it? 1. Let’s pump up the leadership before the big battle! 2. A little feasting and a lot of drinking will distract everyone from the coming catastrophe. 3. Eat, drink and be merry—for tomorrow we die! 4. We are safe and sound in our city, and we will prove that by throwing a party. Why I chose this answer: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Spitting in God’s Face Belshazzar decides to use the holy vessels from the temple in Jerusalem that were confiscated by Nebuchadnezzar almost fifty years earlier. The vessels are passed around and used to toast the lifeless idols of the Babylonians. The king insults the living God on two levels: he desecrates the holy vessels by using them in a drunken celebration, and then he deliberately turns from the Creator to a god made of stone or gold. Belshazzar expects the image made by human hands to protect him from the attack that’s about to come.

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There are other examples in Scripture of an insulting (or even casual) use of holy things. The Philistines in battle captured the ark of the covenant and put it in the temple of Dagon, their god, with disastrous results. Read 1 Samuel 5:1-6. What did the Philistines want to communicate by placing the ark in Dagon’s temple? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What was the Lord demonstrating by causing the image of Dagon to fall before the ark and by striking the people with tumors? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Even God’s people at times were guilty of not showing proper reverence for the objects that were set aside for the worship of the Lord. Read the story of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:1-11. Doesn’t it seem a bit extreme of the Lord to strike Uzzah down when he was just trying to keep the ark from falling off the cart? Explain why you think God acted as he did. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Explain what God’s actions reveal to you about God’s character. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Lord exhibits great concern for holiness and purity in his people—particularly in those who handle holy things. The prophet Isaiah, for example, predicts a future visitation of the Lord and expresses God’s concern for the inner purity of the Levites, who lead Israel in worship. Read Isaiah 52:7-12.

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God calls on the Levites (“you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house” [v. 11]) to be pure and to separate themselves from whatever is unclean. Why is it so important to God that those who carry holy things are holy themselves? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How does that speak to your life right now? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Today we do not make such sharp distinctions between sacred and profane or holy and common. It is not that nothing is sacred (as some people like to proclaim) but that everything is holy. Even in the Old Testament David declared in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” If everything is the Lord’s, how does this change your view of your home as compared to church? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How does it affect your view of the earth and our environment? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Rebuking the King Belshazzar makes a rather condescending speech to Daniel, reminding him that he is a foreigner and a captive (Daniel 5:13) and implying that, while he has heard good things about Daniel, he has not had any firsthand experience with the prophet (vv. 14, 16). Daniel responds with typical prophetic courage by issuing a stinging rebuke to the king (vv. 22-23). A major role of God’s

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prophet was to act as the conscience of the king, even if the king was a pagan. Read the following passages and summarize briefly the confrontation between the prophet and the king. 1 Samuel 13:7-14 (Samuel and Saul):

2 Samuel 12:1-14 (Nathan and David):

1 Kings 18:16-19 (Elijah and Ahab):

Jeremiah 36:20-32 (Jeremiah and Jehoiakim):

Where did each king place the blame when confronted with his sin? Saul: David: Ahab: Jehoiakim:

Who speaks with prophetic courage in our culture? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Who speaks with godly conscience in your life—and what is your typical response to their counsel? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Responding to God’s Word Nebuchadnezzar (as Daniel reminds Belshazzar) had responded positively to God’s rebuke and judgment. Belshazzar knew all that had happened to his royal predecessor, but had deliberately refused to believe and had blatantly insulted God. Both kings heard God’s message and each took a different path. This was not the first time, of course, that two people had made different choices

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in the same situation. Read the following passages and analyze each person’s response to God and God’s blessing: Positive

Negative

Genesis 4:1-10 (Cain and Abel) Genesis 25:21-34 (Jacob and Esau) 1 Samuel 15:10-29; 16:6-13 (Saul and David) Why does one person obey the Lord and the other does not? Certainly divine sovereignty plays a part in these accounts. For example, God had determined to bless Jacob and David. But there is also an element of personal choice. Saul, as another example, was given the opportunity to receive God’s blessing, but he chose to disobey and as a result he forfeited the blessing. Read Isaiah 55:6-7. Imagine the end of Belshazzar’s story if he had cried out to God in repentance and faith. According to Isaiah, how would God have responded? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What might have happened that fateful night in Babylon? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Visions of Judgment God had spoken several times in Israel’s history to pagan, unbelieving rulers, and God had also usually provided a wise, godly man to explain exactly what God intended to do. Read the account of the Pharaoh and Abram in Genesis 12:10-20. Who told Pharaoh the truth about Sarai and Abram? ____________________________________________________________________________

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Sarai really was Abram’s half-sister (Genesis 20:12). Does that fact (and his fear) justify his halftruth to Pharaoh? What do you think he should have done? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Complete this statement: When I am backed into a corner or afraid, I . . . ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Another Pharaoh received a warning from God in a dream. Read Genesis 41:15-33. Why did God give Pharaoh this dream? Choose the answer that gives the best explanation and tell why you chose it. 1. God wanted to get Joseph out of jail. 2. God wanted to demonstrate that his power was superior to Egypt’s magicians. 3. God wanted to place Joseph in a position of authority so he could protect his family during the famine. 4. God wanted to spare the Egyptians from the coming disaster. In Numbers 22 a Moabite king summoned the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. God, however, had other ideas. Read Numbers 22:21-35. Why was God angry with Balaam? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why was Balaam angry with the donkey? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How do you respond when God “blocks your way”? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What political leader would you like to speak to today, and what would you say? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Weighed in the Balance The writing on the wall was apparently written with no vowels (normal in ancient Aramaic) and no word divisions. Daniel was given the ability first to read the words, and then to interpret their meaning. The Aramaic word tekel means to be weighed on a scale. Actually, all the words God used are related to weights and measures on a scale. God had measured and weighed Belshazzar’s character and actions against God’s standards of holiness and justice and had found Belshazzar “too light.” The concept of God’s “weighing” our lives was not a new idea to Daniel. He would have come upon it often while reading Scripture. What insights can you gain from each of the following verses about God’s evaluation of our lives? Job 31:6: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Psalm 62:9: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Proverbs 21:2: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Proverbs 24:12 ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Does the fact that God “weighs” our lives make you confident or fearful—and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Does your assurance of God’s love rest on your performance or on God’s grace? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflection Making Choices Several things bother me about Daniel 5. It bothers me that Belshazzar decided to throw a lavish feast when the Persian army was almost on his doorstep. It bothers me that even though Belshazzar knew about Daniel and Daniel’s wisdom, he had to be rebuked by the former queen before he was willing to call Daniel in. What bothers me the most, I think, is that God gave Belshazzar’s predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, a whole year to repent before God’s judgment fell; Belshazzar, on the other hand, doesn’t last one night. God seemed to give Nebuchadnezzar plenty of chances to hear and heed his warning, but Belshazzar only gets one shot. Even when God’s judgment came, it wasn’t the end for Nebuchadnezzar. Yes, he lived like an animal for seven years, but he came out the other side a different man. Belshazzar doesn’t seem any more wicked than Nebuchadnezzar, but his opportunities end abruptly. God’s Mercy Some Christians would see this as a prime example of divine election. Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to receive salvation; Belshazzar was passed over and left in his sin. The fact is these two men stand in a long line of contrasting individuals in Scripture. We are confronted right at the beginning of humanity’s story with those who are blessed by God’s grace and those who seem to be rejected. Along with godly Abel, we have Cain, who had an attitude of rebellion against God and who murdered his brother. Next to Jacob, who had his own share of struggles with God before finally surrendering, we find Esau, who made choices that were carnal and selfish. Egypt’s Pharaoh stands in contrast to faithful Moses; repentant David is chosen over excuse-making Saul. What prompts God to come to one person

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as a merciful friend who seeks and saves, and then approach another person as the judge who condemns? Certainly part of the answer lies in the sovereign authority and wisdom of God. Part of the mystery of salvation is hidden in the unsearchable decision of God to have mercy on whom he wills. But I don’t think that is the whole story. Saying No to God Alongside the sovereign choices of God, we have to lay the personal decision of each person. God certainly was working out his eternal purpose with Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar, but each man received what his response to God deserved. Maybe part of it was also what God saw in each of their hearts as they said no to God. In Daniel 4 God warned Nebuchadnez­ zar in a dream, and Daniel pressed the point home. Daniel wanted the king to turn away immediately from his pride and from his refusal to acknowledge God’s rule over his kingdom and over his life. Nebuchadnezzar seemed to take Daniel’s words seriously, but the impact soon began to wear off. Maybe God saw a glimmer of the desire to obey in Nebuchadnez­ zar’s heart and seized upon it. God always responds to our weakest expressions of repentance and faith. In contrast, God apparently saw no glimpse of genuine repentance in Belshazzar. We look at the outward appearance and try to figure out what is going on inside. God sees into the depths of the human heart, and what he saw in Belshazzar was a hardness and rebellion that no amount of chastening would ever break. Belshazzar knew about Daniel and about the power of Daniel’s God, but instead of seeking Daniel out, he relied on the tired, worn out magicians and priests who had no answers. We sometimes think that the minute a per-

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son steps into eternity without the Lord, they will repent and wish that they had believed the gospel and been saved. But I’m not sure that happens. Those who have hardened their heart to God and have decided to live without the Lord for sixty, seventy or eighty years on earth are not easily turned around. I am an on-call chaplain for a hospice organization, and I regularly talk to people who stand at death’s door. When I ask them about eternity, they give me some of the same responses they have used all through life: “I’ve tried to be a good person”; “I go to church”; “I’m ready to go to heaven.” Then I ask them if they have ever considered Jesus and his offer of eternal life. Over the years I have been doing this, only one or two people show any interest in hearing more of the message. The rest brush it aside in death just like they have in life. One man said to me recently, “If you are going to bring up Jesus and the cross and that stuff, you can leave now.” Belshazzar chose God’s judgment for himself. No one ever remains under God’s judgment unless they choose to do so. In fact, when God judges, he simply gives men and women what they choose with all of its implications and consequences. When we reject God’s grace, we are really saying to God, “I reject you as my sovereign ruler. I refuse to live under your authority.” And in response God gives us what we choose. He withdraws the blessings of his reign and we receive the consequences of rejecting him.

God’s arms are open to receive all who turn to him in faith. But fallen men and women love darkness more than light and they stumble on in despair. The book of Daniel is all about God’s severe mercy. The citizens of Judah had thumbed their noses at God and expected him to keep on blessing them even though their hearts were far from him. God interrupted their destructive direction with an invasion by the Babylonians. Those who did not die by the sword ended up in exile, where slowly they began to search for God again. Nebuchadnezzar, the proud king of Babylon, had his life interrupted by God’s mercy several times. Each encounter drew him closer to God until finally his arrogant heart yielded. God blessed Nebuchadnezzar and the entire empire through Daniel. Babylon reached its golden age while Nebuchadnezzar ruled, but in 562 b.c. the great king died. The gold quickly tarnished under three successive kings until Nabonidus, Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law, seized the throne. Just three years later Nabonidus put his son Belshazzar in charge while he went out in the desert to commune with the gods. Belshazzar knew all about what God had done for his grandfather, but he chose not to learn from the dead king’s example. He chose not to listen to his grandfather’s advisor either, until he had no options left. But even confronted with the stark truth of God’s impending judgment, Belshazzar chose not to run to God but to reject him. That was the evening of October 12, 539 b.c. Neither Babylon nor Belshazzar would see another morning.

Going Our Own Way Those who reject God’s grace are seeking satisfaction for their starving souls. They just don’t want to find that satisfaction in the Lord. They think they know better than God how to calm the craving in their heart. For his part, God waits. He waits for those who reject him to recognize the emptiness of the path they have chosen and turn back to the fullness of a right relationship with their Creator and Redeemer.

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Weighed and Wanting Like it or not, God holds each of us responsible for the choices we make. That is true in salvation, but it is also true in the decisions we make every day as followers of Christ. We are either light and salt in our world, or we are tossed aside as worthless—“too light,” like Belshazzar.

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Daniel 5 If Daniel’s life shows us anything, it’s that even the godliest person cannot guarantee the deliverance of a nation or culture from judgment. But we can all use the weapon of individual proclamation of the truth to call men and women to God and his mercy. We never know when a sovereign God might

87 want to use us as he used Daniel. So we need to be ready, whether we are fifteen or retired, in a place of influence or in a place of obscurity. The choices we make at crucial times mark our lives and the lives of those around us for eternity.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN This study began with a quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson: “Everyone sooner or later sits down to a banquet of consequences.” Would you agree or not? Why?

READ Daniel 5. Never underestimate the influence of one godly life! As chapter 5 opens, Daniel is an old man—more than eighty years old. The successors to Nebuchadnezzar’s throne have ignored him. He has been shuffled off into some obscure office in the Babylonian bureaucracy. But when the king finds himself in trouble, he calls for God’s man. Daniel shows us how to stand for God over the long haul. 1. Daniel said to Belshazzar, “you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven” (v. 23). Think of some present-day examples of people who mock God by their words or actions. Does God seem slow to judge their mockery? How can you explain God’s “slowness”? 2. What might it look like today for a person to set him- or herself up against the God of heaven—and what consequences can that person expect? 3. Belshazzar failed to learn from the experiences of his grandfather. What spiritual truths have you learned (or failed to learn) from your parents or predecessors? 4. Daniel believed that our lives were in God’s hands (v. 23). How does Belshazzar reflect a different worldview? Which worldview is reflected in your actions or attitudes? Give an example to demonstrate whether you tend to follow Daniel’s example or Belshazzar’s. 5. What does Daniel’s rejection of acclaim and rewards (v. 17) say to you about the integrity and authenticity of this man and the message he brings? How might Daniel’s example help you in your workplace or area of ministry? 6. In what ways can the church play a prophetic role in our culture as the “conscience of the king,” speaking God’s truth to our political and business and cultural leaders? What just causes would you embrace? 7. Since Daniel 5 is “prophetic history”—an account that emphasizes enduring principles—what abiding moral or spiritual lessons do you take from this chapter? Do you have a friend or colleague who needs to be made aware of one of these principles? How will you share the truth with that person? 8. Think about your life as God sees it. In what ways might you be “found wanting” (v. 27)? What can you do about it? Pray David’s prayer from Psalm 139:23-24:   Search me, God, and know my heart;   test me and know my anxious thoughts.   See if there is any offensive way in me,   and lead me in the way everlasting.

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SESSION SEVEN

On the Menu at the Lions’ Club Daniel 6 wHere we’re going Daniel in the lions’ den is a story we never get tired of hearing . I’ve always been impressed by this account because Daniel was not thrown into the lions’ den for being bad but for being godly! We expect to be punished when we do wrong, and when we do right we expect to be promoted—but it doesn’t always work out that way . Sometimes those who do wrong are rewarded and those who do right are persecuted . If you’ve ever felt the sting of a false accusation or suffered for doing what was right, Daniel’s experience will give you some new perspective . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 6 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: “He Shut the Mouths of Lions” (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Lord, I sometimes feel like I’m in a lions’ den. Enemies surround me, and that great spiritual enemy roars his challenge. I want this account of Daniel’s courage to build courage in me. Reveal any areas of personal integrity in my life that need correction or strengthening. I promise at the beginning of this study that I will respond obediently to whatever you show me. You are the living God who endures and reigns forever and I pledge my loyalty to you alone. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 6 6:1. There is no known historical character named Darius prior to Darius the Great, who is too late to fit in here. Since Cyrus became ruler when Babylon fell, some have identified Darius the Mede and Cyrus as one and the same (see 6:28). Others suggest that Darius is an alternate name (or a throne name) for Ugbaru, the commander who led the Persian army into Babylon. . . . There is reason to question that anyone but Cyrus could be called the king (v. 6), and he was about sixty-two when Babylon fell. But Cyrus was a Persian, not a Mede. . . . Further information will need to become available before a firm identification can be made.

6:7. Persian kings were not at all inclined toward self-deification. Furthermore, the gods were considered too important to be ignored. . . . [I]t is likely that Darius was persuaded to issue the decree to address some religious/political problem without ever intending to prohibit what Daniel (and most of the population of the empire) was doing.

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Read Daniel 6. 1. Compose a “tweet” (a short, concise statement) to your best friend to describe each of the main characters in this chapter. Darius the king:

Daniel’s accusers:

Daniel:

2. What can we conclude about Daniel’s character from the results of this special investigation by his enemies (vv. 4-5)?

3. If you were being watched as Daniel was, what changes (if any) would you want to make in your present lifestyle?

4. King Darius willingly signed the document prohibiting prayer (vv. 6-9). How does this action resemble the sins of his predecessors?

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Daniel 6 5. What choices did Daniel have in response to the king’s decree? Why do you think Daniel made the choice he did?

6. What words or actions from verses 14-20 illustrate the impact Daniel had already made on Darius the king?

7. In what ways would the miracle Darius witnessed have reinforced Daniel’s personal example (vv. 21-24)?

8. What specific aspects of God’s character can you discover in Darius’ decree praising the “God of Daniel” (vv. 25-27)?

9. What can you learn from Daniel’s experience that will help you trust God even in the face of the threat of punishment for your obedience to God?

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6:8. No concept of “laws of the Medes and Persians that cannot be changed” has been documented outside of the books of Daniel and Esther. . . . Certainly no lower official could countermand the decrees of the Persian king, and the king himself may have thought it humiliating to go back and reconsider something he had already decreed. Royal code of honor would have made it out of the question for the king to rescind an order.

6:19-23. “Ordeal” describes a judicial situation in which the accused is placed in the hand of God using some mechanism, generally one that will put the accused in jeopardy. If the deity intervenes to protect the accused from harm, the verdict is innocent.

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Darius and Nebuchadnezzar The account in Daniel 6 of Daniel and Darius parallels the account in chapter 3 of the three Hebrew men and Nebuchadnezzar as stories of conflict in the Babylonian court. But there are also some important distinctions between the two accounts. Next to the descriptions of events in chapter 3 write what you discover reading chapter 6. Chapter 3 Accusers

Jealous wise men and magicians

Actions of the Hebrews

Did not bow down; enemies happened to notice

King’s decree

Nebuchadnezzar came up with it

Test

The Hebrews refused to do what they were commanded to do

Attitude of the king

Nebuchadnezzar was enraged

Chapter 6

Praying Toward Jerusalem Daniel’s habit was to pray three times a day facing the city of Jerusalem. After Darius made his decree, Daniel was not acting in protest; it was just business as usual. Nothing in the law of Moses required prayer three times a day. The time of prayer in the worship schedule of the temple came twice a day— in the morning and in the evening. Daniel may have drawn his pattern from David’s experience. Read Psalm 55:16-19. How does David’s situation in the psalm compare to Daniel’s situation in Daniel 6? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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What benefits did Daniel’s three-times-a-day discipline of prayer produce in his life? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The law did not require believers to pray facing Jerusalem, but Daniel turned his face toward the ruins of that city eight hundred miles away. What did that signify in Daniel’s mind and to the Jewish exiles in Babylon? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Psalm 5:7 and 1 Kings 8:35-36. Israel was not suffering from a physical lack of rain, but they were in exile and far from the place God had chosen for Israel’s worship and sacrifice. What hope would the exiles draw from Solomon’s promise in 1 Kings? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How would relief from their spiritual drought come about? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Session Seven: On the Menu at the Lions’ Club

God’s Law and Darius’s Law Darius certainly had great authority as a king! His decrees were unalterable and were carried out without question. No one, it seemed, could override or overrule Darius’s authority. But Darius was trapped by the outcome of his own decision. God possesses sovereign authority too. God can do whatever he desires, but he is also limited or bound by his own character and word. God cannot lie. Psalm 19:7-11 describes God’s decrees. As you read the passage, write out the qualities of God’s law and then write a corresponding aspect of the king’s law. God’s Law v. 7—perfect

Darius’s Law imperfect, springs from jealous motives or from the king’s pride

What does this passage reveal about all human law that is not ultimately based on God’s just and righteous character? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ God Sent His Angel Daniel’s testimony is that an angel from God came and shut the lions’ mouths. This was not the first time one of God’s holy angels protected a servant of the Lord or intervened on behalf of God’s people. Read the following passages and briefly summarize the ministry of angels in each situation. Genesis 19:1, 15 Numbers 20:15-16 2 Chronicles 32:20-21 Psalm 34:7 Psalm 91:9-11

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What possibilities do these passages open up about the ministry of angels in our world today? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What aspect of a possible encounter with an angel makes you nervous—and which brings you comfort? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Living God Darius refers to God as “the living God” (v. 26), a description that calls attention to God’s power and ability to work in life’s situations. The title is used only here in Daniel, but it appears on several other occasions in Israel’s history. Read the verses listed and construct a statement of praise or instruction about “the living God” that expresses his acts of power or his ability to rescue. 1 Samuel 17:34-37 When I trust in the living God, he will . . .

Psalm 42:1-2 My desire toward the living God is . . .

Isaiah 37:4-7 The living God is able to . . .

Jeremiah 10:10 The living God rules . . .

Hosea 1:10 The living God can restore . . .

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Part 3. Reflect “He Shut the Mouths of Lions” “Once you decide to follow Jesus as Lord, someone will always show up to challenge that decision.” Those words from a college retreat speaker have stayed in my mind for years—and they have proven true over and over in my experience! Daniel’s night in the lions’ den came about because of the competing demands of the law of God (v. 5) and “the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be repealed” (v. 8). King Darius unwittingly stepped right into a trap set by jealous bureaucrats, and he was forced by his own decree to send Daniel to what his enemies hoped was certain death. A sovereign God stepped in, however, to make Darius’ law ineffective. The God who rules our universe overruled this attempt to silence one of his servants. This isn’t the first time Daniel has had to choose between his allegiance to his king and his allegiance to his God. In chapter 1 the challenge is handled in private between Daniel and the official in charge of his training. In chapter 3 Daniel’s friends had no choice but to make a public stand declaring their ultimate loyalty to God alone. Now in chapter 6 Daniel is somewhere between the two. He certainly could have chosen a more private place to pray—or even given up prayer for a month. But Daniel saw anything less than his normal routine as a compromise. One student of the book writes: “When prayer is fashionable, it is time to pray in secret (Matt. 6:5-6), but when prayer is under pressure, to pray in secret is to give the appearance of fearing the king more than God.”1 God Rather Than Men The account of Daniel’s experience in the lions’ den speaks directly to the absolutist claims made at times by rulers or governments.

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Human governments do have some power over the people of God. Human rulers can make laws that prohibit the worship of the Lord. The question then becomes whether God’s people will obey the law or not. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to obey and accepted the consequences of their decision. Daniel deliberately disobeyed the king’s decree but again was willing to suffer the consequences. In both cases, God did not save them from the worst that could happen but rescued them in it. God kept his people safe in the fire and in the lions’ den. That is not, however, always the case. I receive a magazine every month called The Voice of the Martyrs. I can barely make it through each issue. The magazine recounts how Christians in all parts of the world remain true to God through persecution, famine, oppression and torture. God is always faithful to stay with those believers through whatever they are called to face, but rarely does God intervene to rescue them from the persecution or remove them from it. Most of the time God does not directly insert himself or his power into the situation. The message of Daniel to God’s people oppressed in his day or in our day is not that the faithful believer can always expect God’s deliverance; the message of Daniel is that God will always be with us through the trial and that ultimately his purposes in this world and in our lives will be fulfilled. Daniel’s experience should not lead us to a position of triumphalism—if we do this, God must do that—but to a position of confident trust in God’s sovereign rule. If God intervenes, it is to accomplish what he desires, not what we desire. Trust and Obey Down through the centuries God’s people

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Daniel 6 have drawn spiritual strength from these stories by applying their great truths to their own situations and struggles. The focus is not so much on the miraculous deliverance as on the faithfulness of Daniel and his friends, and their refusal to step away from their faith in God or from their commitment to him. I recently read a history of the Anabaptists in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and I was impressed by how often these persecuted believers referred back to the steadfast faith of Daniel. In more recent years the willingness of Daniel and his friends to face death

97 without protest or compromise has inspired many Christians to nonviolent protest against injustice or inequality. A believer today who experiences opposition in the workplace, in the university or in the political arena for his or her loyalty above all to the Lord can draw comfort and encouragement from Daniel’s bravery and his consistent walk of faith. Even Darius, like Nebuchadnezzar before him, was forced to give praise and adoration to the Lord God of Israel, the living God, the powerful, sovereign King over all kings.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

1

John E. Goldingay, Daniel, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1989), p. 131.

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN Tell the group about a time when you were betrayed or accused unjustly of doing wrong. What do you think motivated the person who attacked you?

READ Daniel 6. Most of us will never see the inside of a lions’ den, but that doesn’t mean we won’t face pressure to compromise what is right. Sometimes you will face attack or opposition as a Christian, and the person standing in your way won’t even know why he or she doesn’t like you. At other times your commitment to Jesus as Lord will spark the worst kind of intolerance and condemnation. Daniel knew what it was to be up and to be down in the poll of coworker opinion, but peer pressure never turned him away from courageous obedience to God. 1. How might you see opposition to a person’s commitment to Jesus as Lord revealed in our culture or in your workplace? What do you learn from Daniel about responding to that opposition or jealousy? 2. Daniel could have approached the king’s decree several ways. • Stop praying for thirty days • Close the window and pray in secret • Pray openly as usual What would each of these approaches have “cost” Daniel? 3. What criteria would you use to determine if you could obey or submit to a civil law (“the king’s decree”) or if you would refuse? 4. What should you be prepared to face if you refuse to obey the civil law’s demands? 5. Daniel is more than eighty years old in chapter 6. For more than sixty years in Babylon’s pagan culture, Daniel has remained true to the Lord. What qualities in Daniel’s life contributed to that walk of faithfulness? Which of those qualities needs strengthening in your life? 6. On a scale of one (very low) to ten (perfect), how would the people who know you best score your ethics and moral honesty: • at work? • in private? • in your relationships? 7. What is your “prayer pattern”? How can you incorporate more of the example of Daniel in your prayer life? 8. What stirs up jealousy in you—the success of others, someone else getting credit for what you have done, when you deserve praise for an accomplishment but don’t get it? Where can that jealousy lead if it’s not controlled or counteracted? 9. What “lion” are you facing in life right now? 10. Tell the group about a time when you (or a friend) were in a “lions’ den” situation and God helped you. What “angel” or help did God send? 11. Think about your own life carefully. What would you have to delete or discard if your pastor or church leaders looked through your home or car or computer files? Determine to clear out whatever compromises your commitment to a pure and God-honoring lifestyle. Ask God to show each of you where your personal integrity needs to be strengthened and for power to follow obediently in whatever he reveals.

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SESSION EIGHT

The Future on a Wide Screen Daniel 7 wHere we’re going Have you ever wondered where human history is going—or how it will end? Nations and empires rise, expand, weaken and fall . Leaders live, rule and die . But where is everything headed? Some people say that history is going nowhere . Others try to sound more optimistic and say that history is going wherever humans take it . Christians who know God’s Word, however, realize that history has a plan . God is not sitting in heaven, wringing his hands in frustration . He has already told us how history will conclude because he has planned it all! In this study we will see how precisely God sees the future and how in the middle of terrifying circumstances we can have the peace of God’s presence . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 7 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Word to Live By (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Eternal God, you see all the ages of human history clearly—past, present and future. Nothing is hidden from you. Telling us what the future holds is not a difficult task for you. As we watch you paint Daniel’s future, and even our future, in broad strokes on the biblical canvas, give us minds to comprehend your truth and hearts to trust your leading hand. We catch glimpses occasionally of what your kingdom is like, but we long for the fullness of that kingdom in our lives and in our world. Your kingdom come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 7 Read Daniel 7. 1. What scene from Daniel’s vision would you most like to see on video?

7:1. This vision takes place before the events of both chapters five and six.

7:7. It was common in Mesopotamia for kings and gods to wear crowns featuring protruding or embossed horns. Sometimes the sets of horns were stacked one upon another in tiers. The winged lion from Ashurnasirpal’s palace has a conical crown on its human head with three pairs of tiered horns embossed on it.

7:13-14. The phrase “son of man” is simply a common Semitic expression to describe someone or something as human or, at least, humanlike. . . . Intertestamental literature such as the book of 1 Enoch as well as New Testament and early Christian literature identifies the son of man with the Messiah.

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2. If you had seen this vision with Daniel, what question would you have asked the one who interpreted the vision for Daniel?

3. The sea is used in many prophecies to represent the nations of the world. If that is the picture here, how would you explain verses 2-3?

4. Daniel sees four beasts that, according to verse 17, represent four kingdoms. The lion-like appearance of the first beast may represent that kingdom’s strength and majesty. What characteristics of the second, third and fourth kingdoms are suggested by the images in verses 5-7?

5. What aspects of God’s nature and power are suggested by Daniel’s description of the Ancient of Days in verses 9-10?

6. The final figure to appear in Daniel’s vision is “one like a son of man” (vv. 13-14), an apparent description of Jesus. What effect does his coming have on the inhabitants and rulers of the world?

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7. After the four kingdoms rise, “the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom” (vv. 17-18). How is their conquest different from that of the four kingdoms?

8. Describe the political and military power of the “other horn” from what you read in verses 19-26.

9. What can you conclude about the moral and spiritual character of the “other horn”?

7:10. Every royal court in the ancient world kept records of day-to-day activities and detailed accounts of the events that transpired. The actions of the beast/king would have been logged, and that record is now brought out to provide evidence as he is brought before the divine court for judgment.

10. Twice the heavenly interpreter says that the last king will be tried and condemned by God (v. 22, 26). Why do you think God goes to the effort of setting up court to judge someone so blatantly sinful?

11. Daniel is told that the saints of the Most High will share in the kingdom with the “one who is like a son of man.” What do you find most appealing about Daniel’s description of God’s kingdom (vv. 13-14, 27) and why?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture A New Direction Chapter 7 holds a pivotal place in the book of Daniel. Chapters 1–6 occur in historical order— Daniel 1 when the prophet was a young man; Daniel 6 when he was in his 80s. While dreams and visions appear in the first six chapters, the emphasis is on the faithfulness of Daniel and his friends to stand true to God in the face of pressure from a secular culture. In chapters 7–12 the focus shifts from stories about Daniel to accounts by Daniel of visions he had. The emphasis changes too. The stories of Daniel in the Babylonian court were positive in their outlook. Faithful followers of God can function and even succeed in the court of the pagan king, in spite of hostility and threats. In the visionary section of the book that we are looking at now, the tone is more negative. World powers appear as wild animals. Followers of the Lord suffer persecution and even martyrdom before God steps in to crush the evil powers and to set up a righteous kingdom of his own. The literary form of chapters 7–12 is called apocalyptic, a style of writing that “unveils” or opens some area of hidden truth. We encounter apocalyptic literature often in Scripture. The New Testament book of Revelation is almost entirely apocalyptic in style. Visions and symbols crowd the pages of apocalyptic literature. One prominent characteristic of this form is the rise and fall of evil powers that oppress God’s people. That oppression is broken only by God’s powerful intervention and redemption. If you were writing the story of the end of humanity’s oppressive rule and the coming of God’s just and peaceful kingdom on earth, what would you want to see happen to evil rulers and those who oppress or exploit other people? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What would your story line be for those who were faithful followers of Christ? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How would you describe a kingdom in which God rules? What would it be like? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Where do you see glimpses of that kingdom today? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Troubled Water The turbulent sea is a common element in biblical visions about future events. Read the following verses and summarize how each one portrays the sea. Isaiah 57:20:

Ezekiel 32:2-4:

Isaiah 17:12-13:

Then read these verses and explain how God relates to the raging sea. Habakkuk 3:14-15:

Nahum 1:2-6:

Isaiah 27:1:

Psalm 74:12-14:

While Daniel received the vision in chapter 7 as a direct revelation from God, he also uses images that will connect with his readers—the captive people of Israel in Babylon and (later) the people of God living under the rule of tyrants or oppressive nations. The sea in the mythology of Babylon was a force set against God and the created order. The image of the sea in turmoil was designed to produce a sense of horror in readers and to heighten their anticipation of the eruption of evil times and, right on cue, evil beasts emerge from the churning waters of Daniel’s vision.

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Session Eight: The Future on a Wide Screen

Wild Beasts Fifty years have passed since Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a four-part image of a man. As chapter 7 unfolds, Nebuchadnezzar has been dead more than ten years and his successors are weak. The Babylonian kingdom is headed for disaster. There are some remarkable similarities between the image in Daniel 2 and the beasts in Daniel 7. Both visions center on a four-plus-one view of the future. Nebuchadnezzar had seen four distinct kingdoms in the four metals of the image. These were followed by the fifth and final kingdom, the stone of the kingdom of God that smashed the entire image. In Daniel 7 we find the same pattern, but in a significantly different form—wild animals instead of well-crafted metals. But the four-plus-one structure still applies. There are four distinct beasts and then the appearance of “one like a son of man” who slays the final beast. In chapter 2 we looked at a mighty monument, the best of human achievement; in chapter 7 we see the same kingdoms but as God sees them—as wild, ravenous beasts. Interpreters of Daniel’s prophecies have tried to identify the four kingdoms represented by the beasts. Some see the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome—all world powers that had an impact on Israel in the centuries after Daniel. Other students of Daniel see these beasts as representatives of a long line of evil kingdoms that will rise up one after another to oppress and persecute God’s people. God will finally bring this succession of kingdoms to an end with his sudden judgment on evil leaders and the establishment of his own righteous kingdom. Parallels to some of the animal imagery can be found in Babylonian or Canaanite mythology, symbols the captive Israelites would have understood. A better case can be made, however, by looking at this imagery in other biblical passages. Read Hosea 13:4-9 and take note of the animals mentioned in verses 7-8. What parallels do you see with Daniel 7? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The bear, lion and leopard in Hosea 13 are images of the Lord, who rises up in judgment on his people. What insight does that give you about who was really behind the kingdoms of Daniel 7? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What similarities can you draw between God’s chastening of Israel and the apparent weakening of our own culture and nation? ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What strikes you as unusual about the animals in Daniel 7? Which would you never see in a zoo? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Genesis 1:21, 24-26 and Deuteronomy 22:9-11. What does this mixing of “kinds” say about the threat the beasts of Daniel 7 raise? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Heavenly Court Daniel’s attention is suddenly drawn away from the sea and the beasts to the place in heaven where God dwells. Daniel sees two human-like beings—the Ancient of Days and “one like a son of man.” But these beings are more than human; they are divine beings. The Ancient of Days is obviously a description of the eternal God. Being “ancient” does not mean God is old-fashioned or out of touch. The title emerges from a culture in which age is respected as giving a person the perspective and experience necessary for wise judgment. The following are some common elements drawn from biblical visions of God. Place each Scripture reference beside the appropriate element of Daniel’s vision and write a one or two word summary of the significance of that element. Exodus 3:2; 19:16; 19:18; 32:32-33; Leviticus 16:2; Psalm 9:7-8; 50:3; 50:5-6; 56:8; 97:3; 104:34; Isaiah 6:2-3; 65:6-7; Ezekiel 1:4-9; Joel 3:1-2 Fire: Clouds: Divine Judge: Books: Angels/Heavenly Beings:

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Session Eight: The Future on a Wide Screen

Ten Horns and the Little Horn A horn in biblical literature often symbolizes power or those who have power. How is that reflected in the following passages and phrases? Deuteronomy 33:17 “horns of a wild ox” Psalm 92:10 “exalted my horn” Psalm 75:4-5 “do not lift up your horns” Psalm 75:10 “cut off the horns” 2 Samuel 22:3 “my God is . . . the horn of my salvation” What do the ten horns (five times the normal number) tell you about the fourth beast in Daniel 7? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The ten horns also represent those who have power—ten kings who arise from the fourth beast. But then an eleventh horn appears, a little one, which uproots three of the horns. What evidence can you glean from verses 25-26 that this eleventh horn represents a person? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Psalm 12:3-4 and describe God’s attitude toward those who speak boastful, deceptive words. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Daniel the Prophet How do you think receiving such a vision about the future of God’s people for four hundred years and beyond would affect you? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The emotional and physical toll this vision placed on Daniel is evident in verse 28. He is not alone in sensing the burden that accompanied prophetic visions. Read Jeremiah’s cry of anguish in Jeremiah 4:19 and 9:1-2; then read Ezekiel’s response to God’s call to be a prophet in Ezekiel 3:15. What encouragement or advice would you give to a prophet who is overwhelmed with his or her spiritual responsibility? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Recording visions or prophetic utterances has a long history in Israel. Read the following passages and connect each passage to the primary purpose for writing it down. Passage Isaiah 8:1-4

Purpose of Writing To call God’s people to action

Jeremiah 30:2-3 Jeremiah 36:2-3 Ezekiel 43:10-11 Isaiah 30:8

To send the message to others To record it so it can be tested by future events

Jeremiah 51:60-64 Habakkuk 2:2-3

To initiate the prophecy’s fulfillment

What was Daniel’s purpose for recording his dream? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect Word to Live By Daniel 7 is written in a style called apocalyptic literature. The word means “revelation” as in a revelation from God, an unveiling of God’s future plans for his people as well as for those who stand in opposition to him. The first six chapters of Daniel made it clear that, in spite our present circumstances, God is in control and we are in his care. Whether it’s the decrees of a king to bow to an image or the plotting of enemies to get us thrown to the lions, God is able to protect his people and even to allow them to prosper in times of adversity. In the second half of the book, that same theme is expanded. We move from the present oppression to the day when God’s plan reaches its fulfillment. A lot of suffering and difficulty stand between those two events, but God’s triumph is guaranteed. We get a glimpse in these chapters of the great cosmic battle raging all around us, and we see how God will bring evil and evil people to an abrupt end. The style changes in Daniel 7 too. We have read the straightforward stories of Daniel and friends in chapters 1–6, but now we encounter a whole new world of symbols, wild beasts and visions of God’s throne in heaven. We wonder what it all means and why God couches his message in such obscure and difficult scenes. Exiled in Babylon It helps to remember that Daniel’s audience was his own people who were under Babylonian oppression. By the time the vision of Daniel 7 comes along, the physical and political entity known as the kingdom of Judah had been destroyed. Jerusalem was a pile of rubble and the majority of the Jews were in Babylon. They had settled in and had built homes, but their hearts still longed for the land God had given their ancestor Abraham. While they

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waited, they wondered: “Has God abandoned us here? Has God cast us aside forever?” God gives Daniel this dream to encourage Daniel and all the people of Israel that they were not forgotten, but the message comes in a very strange form. God doesn’t just announce his message as he usually did through the prophets. Instead he communicates through symbols and metaphors and visions. Apocalyptic literature is a lot like poetry. The message is communicated indirectly, rather than straight up. We still learn what God wants us to know, and he reveals himself accurately, but not precisely. The symbols and visions preserve some of the mystery of God’s message. Some interpreters of Daniel’s vision press the symbolism and imagery too far, and they come up with very detailed predictions about the future. One point to remember as you read Daniel or the book of Revelation is that some caution and humility is required in our interpretation. We can see the broad outlines clearly, but the finer points may be open to other interpretations. God revealed his message to Daniel and to the exiled people of Israel this way for another reason. The enemies of Israel, the oppressors of God’s people, can read too! If a straight­ forward message is declared that Babylon will soon fall and that other evil kings and kingdoms will emerge to take its place but that God will ultimately triumph, even deeper oppression might be the result. So God embedded his message in symbols and images and veiled dialogue. God’s people still get the message, but their enemies only scratch their heads in confusion. I think there’s another reason why God used such indirect and image-laden visions to communicate his message. God wanted his people (and us) to remember these visions, to think carefully about them and to try to unravel their

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Daniel 7 mystery. As Daniel and we lay the biblical vision next to the unfolding of the events of our world, we begin to see the glimmers of fulfillment. These terrifying beasts and cosmic battles will stay with us much longer than any sermon or dry declaration of God’s final victory over evil. They will keep us awake at night, thinking about what they might mean. God’s People Under Pressure So what does Daniel’s vision have to say to us? Most of us in Western democracies have never known oppression or persecution for our faith. We get a little pushback once in a while when we voice a deeply held conviction in a university classroom or in the workplace, but for the most part we are free to worship God and even to seek to persuade others to embrace Jesus by faith. In many parts of the world, however, that is not the case. Our brothers and sisters in parts of India or Burma or Iran or North Korea must meet in secret. Public confession of the faith is met with the crushing opposition of the culture and the oppressive authority of the government. The wild beast rises up in full fury! An attempt to bear witness about Christ to another person can quickly result in imprisonment or martyrdom. Christians in some other nations live under a more subtle persecution, but it is still real. Culture or family may stand in firm opposition to becoming a disciple of Jesus. The government officially acknowledges freedom of religion but the cost of following Jesus is very high. We certainly can’t escape Daniel’s message that evil rulers and reckless governments will follow one another until the heavenly Son of Man arrives to establish an eternal kingdom of peace and justice. In fact, one ruler remains yet

109 to be revealed—the little horn who speaks insults to the God of the universe. We will meet this ruler in later chapters of Daniel. Only God knows when and where that fierce dictator will emerge, the last representative of oppressive power so evil that God intervenes in human affairs with astonishing power. The little horn’s provocation stirs the heavenly Son of Man to sweep down in majesty to shatter the last remnants of human government and to take back what has always belonged to him anyway— sovereign authority over the created world. The message of Daniel 7 for us is simple: God is in control. He will defeat the powers that seem at times to be unconquerable. He will rescue his people and bring righteous judgment on those who dare to touch his redeemed ones. God’s message through Daniel is designed to bring comfort to God’s people— and courage to live boldly in a troubled, troubling world. We are not cowering in a corner, hoping somehow that things will turn out all right. We know the end of the story. God wins! Evil men and women may seem to have the upper hand at times. Governments and political leaders may seem totally ineffective or totally corrupt—or both! But that is only a temporary situation. The eternal God has the future and all of his people in his hands. It’s far better to stay faithful and to endure the present suffering and oppression than to give up in despair. God will reward our faithful commitment to him even if it leads to death. Worse yet would be to turn away from the living God and to fall in with the evil around us. Those who follow the broad path of violence and exploitation and corruption will get something from God too— his justice and ultimate condemnation.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN Is Daniel’s dream divinely given or a human embellishment—and what leads you to your conclusion? How would you respond to someone who says that a dream is only a fantasy with no real “message” at all?

READ Daniel 7. The prophets of the Bible were given amazing glimpses of the future from God’s perspective. The vision Daniel receives in chapter 7 starts as a terrifying dream. 1. Would you want to encounter the beasts Daniel saw? What would you expect if you did? 2. How does it change your perspective to realize that national or cultural decline may be God’s chastening on his own people? 3. What may God be asking his people to do or be in order to change the direction of our culture? What might the results be if God’s people don’t change but continue their present behavior? 4. What reasons does Daniel give in this chapter to put our confident trust in God? 5. How do you react to the “wild beasts” in the world today? What about those in your own life? 6. What does the future possession of the kingdom by God’s holy people mean to you right now? 7. Daniel’s dream reveals that God is not always on the side of the strong and powerful, but he loves to rescue those who are oppressed or weak. How does that make you feel about yourself or the times you feel weak or fearful or burdened by guilt? 8. What are the coming Son of Man and his kingdom like? How does this picture fit with Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man and the bringer of the kingdom of God? Ask God to give you confidence in his power and plan for the future.

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SESSION NINE

Superpowers at War! Daniel 8 wHere we’re going During some difficult days in my own life, I prayed often that God would give me a glimpse of my future . Would I be able to support my family? Would I ever regain the respect and trust I had lost? Would I even survive? I never received those glimpses— and in God’s time the difficult days ended . But there are still times when I find myself wishing I could just get a peek at what’s ahead . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 8 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Peering into the Future (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray In the middle of an unpredictable and turbulent world, we look to you, Lord, as our solid Rock and strong Fortress. The winds of political and economic change may blow across our lives with devastating force at times, but behind the chaos stands our sovereign God—and he reigns over all! Give us hearts to trust you even when we cannot directly see your hand or your plan. We walk today and into the future confident that we are in your care. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 8 Read Daniel 8. 1. As you scan back through this chapter, pick out the main images in Daniel’s vision (vv. 1-14) and then list the matching interpretation of each image from verses 15-27.

8:3. In later literature (first several centuries a.d.), the signs of the zodiac are associated with countries, and the ram is associated with Persia. There is no evidence, however, that such an association was made as early as the book of Daniel. The concept of the zodiac has its origin in the intertestamental period.

2. The two-horned ram that Daniel sees represents the kings of the Medo-Persian empire, which would soon rise up and sweep away the weakened Babylonian empire. From the description of events in verses 3-4, how would you expect this kingdom to come on the world scene?

3. As the Persians expanded their empire westward, they began to drive Greek-speaking people out of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and eventually came into conflict with the city-states in the Greek homeland. Alexander the Great brought Greek revenge on the Persians. From the scene in verses 5-8, how would you describe the clash of the Greek empire (the goat) with the Persian empire (the ram)?

8:9. From 11:16, 41, it is clear that this is a reference to the land of Israel.

4. Based on the knowledge and experience you have gained thus far in the “interpretation of visions” with Daniel as a guide, how would you interpret the symbolism of verses 9-12?

5. The “fierce-looking king” (v. 23) Gabriel describes is probably Antiochus Epiphanes [An-tie-o-kus E-pif-a-nees], a Greek-speaking king who ruled Syria and Palestine from 175 to 164 b.c. He hated the Jews and their God. His most infamous act was desecrating the temple in Jerusalem in 168 b.c.

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Antiochus oppressed the people of Israel relentlessly until finally the Jews rose up, under the leadership of the Maccabees, and drove Antiochus’s army out of the land of Israel. If you had been a Jew living under the tyranny of Antiochus, how would it have made you feel to read Daniel’s prophetic prediction of the very events you were experiencing?

6. When Daniel wrote these words the temple in Jerusalem was in ruins and almost all the Jews were living in Babylon. What encouraging future realities would the people of Israel glean from this prophecy?

7. Because Gabriel says twice (vv. 19, 26) that this vision concerns “the distant future,” some students of Daniel’s book believe that Antiochus Epiphanes was a picture of a final evil ruler who will appear on the world scene in the future. What specific qualities can you see in Antiochus that you might also expect in an evil ruler bent on world domination?

8:14. If 2,300 sacrifices will be missed, and two are offered each day, 1,150 days will pass (roughly three years and two months). Antiochus IV Epiphanes instituted sacrifices to his gods in the temple on the twenty-fifth of Kislev (December) in the year 167 b.c., but he had put a stop to the Jewish rituals some time earlier that year (reported in 1 Macc 1:4451), and the exact date of the proclamation and its enforcement is not known. The rededication of the temple in the aftermath of the Maccabean revolt took place three years to the day after the desecration on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, 164.

8. How does this chapter fit with Daniel’s main theme of God’s sovereign authority over our world?

9. What perspective does this chapter give us in understanding how a good God can permit evil?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Understanding Daniel’s Vision Daniel lived most of his life under the oppressive rule of foreign nations. Now God gives him a look into the future of even more suffering to come for his people. There’s also a change of language at the beginning of chapter 8. Chapters 2–7 were written in Aramaic, the language of Babylon, because the focus of those chapters was on the universal sovereign rule of the God of Israel. Chapters 8–12 are written in Hebrew, the language of the Jews, because they focus more on the future of both Israel and the temple in Jerusalem. Rams and goats are used as symbols in other prophetic Scripture. Read the following Scripture and describe any insight the verses give you on Daniel’s use of the same symbols. Ezekiel 39:17-18

Jeremiah 51:37-40

Based on these verses, who would you consider a “ram” or “goat” in our world today and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Some political leaders burst on the world stage from obscurity and rise quickly to power. What does Daniel’s vision tell us about how they might end? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ No other prophet gives us such a detailed view of the story of Israel and the nations who would dominate Israel in the centuries after the Babylonian exile. This has led some critical scholars to propose that the man called Daniel never really lived in Babylon at all. They claim that the book was written after these events, not before. In their minds “Daniel” was writing history, not prophecy, and he simply put these visions on the lips of a fictional prophet to give his writings the appearance of authority. These scholars believe that no one could have written such an accurate record of events four hundred years before they happened.

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Evangelical scholars, on the other hand, defend the reality of Daniel and the ability of God to reveal future events to his prophets. The objections of the critics have all been vigorously answered. The Small Horn The horn that “started small” but “grew in power” toward the Beautiful Land was Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus the God-like), who descended from one of the four generals (“prominent horns” on the goat) who took over Alexander’s empire after his untimely death. Antiochus’s oppression of God’s people is a notorious chapter in Israel’s long history. Most of the books of 1-2 Maccabees (found among the books of the Apocrypha) chronicle Antiochus’s reign of terror. One family led the rebellion against Antiochus and eventually drove his troops out of Israel. Judas Maccabeus, one of the rebel leaders, ordered the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem in 165 b.c. We also encountered a “little horn” in Daniel 7:8, 11. Reread these verses and then explain how “horns” are similar and different in their origin, character and destiny. Similarities

Differences

Origin Character Destiny Most students of Daniel see a greater power than just an earthly military force behind the cleverness and pride of Antiochus. They see satanic power directed against the people of Israel. Antiochus is very much like the prince of Tyre who thought of himself as a god! Read Ezekiel 28:1-10. What does God think of those who exalt themselves as gods or as godlike? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What will God do to those who are so arrogant? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The small horn also prefigures another evil ruler who will oppress God’s people in “the distant

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future” and at “the time of the end.” What do such multiple fulfillments say about how biblical prophecy is to be understood? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How Long? Daniel hears one holy being speaking to another (Daniel 8:13) and asking, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled?” The cry “how long” is one of the questions raised repeatedly by God’s people when God’s promises do not seem to match what they are experiencing. Read these passages from the Psalms and describe what the writer was going through and then how you might experience the same struggle. The psalmist

In my life

Psalm 6:2-3 Psalm 13:1-2 Psalm 35:15-17 Psalm 74:1, 9-10 Psalm 79:5-6 Psalm 80:4-5 Read Jeremiah’s cry in Jeremiah 12:4. How does his lament parallel the question of the holy one in Daniel 8:13? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2,300 Evenings and Mornings The answer given to the question of how long the sacrifices will be suspended and the holy place trampled is: “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated” (v. 14). Interpreters have understood that phrase, “2,300 evenings and mornings,” in two ways, both with biblical support.

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In Genesis 1, an evening and a morning is one day. Read Genesis 1:13, 19, 23. If that is the use here in Daniel 8, the time is 2,300 days or about six-and-a-third years. On the other hand, the sacrifices were offered in the temple in the morning and again in the evening. The 2,300 evening and morning sacrifices would be 1,150 days or just over three years. Scholars and historians have been able to make both time periods fit into the events of Antiochus’s reign and the desecration and restoration of the temple. Was God trying to give Daniel an exact reference or was he sending a message that the persecution had a definite stopping point—or both? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What would the number have meant to the people of Israel living out the fulfillment of this passage four hundred years later? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Some students of Daniel believe the number is a symbolic one—a statement that in God’s time the desecration of the temple will come to an end. Which of these views seems right to you and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why wasn’t God more definitive about the meaning of the phrase? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Sacrifices and the Temple The Old Testament law laid down clear regulations for the offering of the daily sacrifices. Read Exodus 29:38-41 and Numbers 28:3-8, 10, and compose a memo to all priests in Israel about the timing, significance and procedure for the daily sacrifices. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What insight does Exodus 29:42-46 give you about the importance of the daily offerings to the spiritual health of the people of Israel? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The temple in Jerusalem was more than just a building to the people of Israel. It was the place where God visibly dwelled among his people. It was the one place God had set apart as the place of sacrifice and atonement and reconciliation between a holy God and sinful human beings. What does it imply for Israel that for almost the entire span of Daniel’s life these sacrifices had been suspended because the temple was in ruins? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Host of Heaven The small horn in Daniel’s vision grows until it reaches “the host of the heavens” (Daniel 8:10). Then the horn throws some of the starry host to the earth and tramples on them. Finally the horn sets itself in opposition to “the commander of the army of the Lord” (v. 11). The Bible uses the phrase host of heaven in at least three different ways. Read the following verses supporting each view and decide for yourself what Daniel’s meaning is. The phrase can refer to actual stars in the universe. Read Deuteronomy 17:2-3 (“sky” in the niv is the word heavens in Hebrew) and Deuteronomy 4:19. If Daniel is referring to literal stars in the vision, what does that say about the “small horn” particularly in light of God’s commands not to worship these heavenly objects? ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Host of heaven can also refer to the multitude of holy angels that surround God’s throne. Look at 1 Kings 22:19, Psalm 103:20-26 and Job 38:4-7. How would you explain the small horn’s actions in Daniel’s vision if the “hosts” are understood to be angels? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Still other interpreters see the “host of heaven” in Daniel 8 as a reference to godly Jews who were persecuted by the horn, Antiochus Epiphanes. They are “heavenly” because of their connection to the Lord God. That view is based on the statement that some of the host are thrown down and trampled on—a difficult thing to do if the host refers to stars or even to angels. This is the view adopted by the translators of the niv as seen in Daniel 8:12: “Because of the rebellion, the Lord’s people [host of saints] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it [the horn].” Which view seems most accurate to you and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What do the multiple views of just one element in the vision reveal to you about the approach we should take and the attitude we should have as we interpret biblical prophecy? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect Peering into the Future I’ve always been a little jealous of Daniel. God allowed him to see the future—not just the far-distant, end-of-the-world future, but also the future of his own people for the next four hundred years. The prophecy is couched in symbols and images, but as the events began to unfold it would be pretty clear what would happen next. We have the advantage of looking at Daniel 8 from the vantage point of history. From our perspective the prophecies given to Daniel were amazingly precise. Daniel didn’t just read the prophecies in a book or hear the prophecies spoken; he saw the future unfold in startling images. The progression of kingdoms in this vision was similar to other visions Daniel had seen twice before: the changing metals of the great image in chapter 2 and in the different beasts rising from the sea in chapter 7. But this time the kingdom of Babylon was totally skipped. There’s no ferocious, iron-strong fourth kingdom either—or the surprising kingdom of God sweeping in to destroy the oppression of evil human rulers. The vision in Daniel 8 focuses on only two kingdoms, the Medo-Persian kingdom and the Greek kingdom. This vision is more limited in scope, but we are given far more detail than in the previous visions.

mouth, the ram pushes its way in three directions and no one seems able to stop it. But then a goat comes with lightning speed from the west. The goat represents the Greek kingdom led by the conspicuous horn, Alexander the Great. Sweeping into Asia Minor with 40,000 men in 334 b.c., Alexander conquered the entire Persian empire in an astonishingly short period of time. He defeated the Persians over and over, and conquered as far east as the border of India. Then his troops, exhausted and discontented because they were so far from home, returned to Babylon with Alexander, who fell ill with a fever. Within two days Alexander was dead. He had not yet turned thirty-three-years old. Four Greek generals carved up Alexander’s empire—and from one of these smaller kingdoms Antiochus Epiphanes, the small horn, arose 150 years later. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the eighth king in the dynasty that ruled Syria. He reigned from 175 to 164 b.c. and was one of the greatest persecutors Israel had ever known. The story of his oppression of Israel and the Jews’ courageous revolt against him is told in the books of Maccabees (part of the Apocrypha). Even today, the celebration of Hanukah commemorates Israel’s fight for freedom and God’s blessing on his people.

A Powerful Story The ram represents the empire carved out by the Medes and the stronger Persians (the unbalanced power is seen in the ram’s unbalanced horns). Cyrus, the great founder of the Medo-Persian empire, and the Persian leaders who followed him had major conquests in three directions—against the Medes in the north, the Greek states in Asia Minor (west) and Babylon and Egypt in the south. Just like the bear in chapter 7 had three ribs in its

A Pious Fiction Daniel’s prophecies about the Persians and Greeks and especially about Antiochus Epiphanes are so accurate and so precise that some scholars have concluded that the prophecies were not written by a Jewish captive in Babylon at all, but by a Jew living in Palestine after all these events occurred. The book of Daniel is not (in their minds) a prophecy about the future, but past history written as if it were prophecy. Whoever the writer was, he wrote

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Daniel 8 the story of the Greeks and Alexander and Antiochus in the form of a veiled prophecy and put the words in the mouth of Daniel (or Gabriel), but it was really just (as one critic puts it) “a pious fiction.” Evangelical scholars as a whole have defended Daniel’s writing as legitimate prophecy. They have answered the critics at every point. They support Daniel’s existence as a prophet and a date for the composition of his book in the late years of the Babylonian empire. Those scholars who believe the book was written during or just after the terror of Antiochus Epiphanes doubt that a man named Daniel ever really existed, or they propose that he was a mythic figure whose reality and origins were lost in Israel’s past. The biblical statement that settles the issue for most evangelical readers comes from Jesus himself in Matthew 24:15 when he refers to “the prophet Daniel.” Daniel really existed and wrote these visions long before the actual events occurred. So What? I didn’t say all of that just to prove some obscure theological point; I said it to prove the main point of Daniel’s book and the one great truth we can take from every chapter in it— our God is sovereign. He is in control. He knows the future as if it were the past, including your future and mine. The main problem the critics have with Daniel’s book is that they can’t accept God’s knowledge of future events and his willingness to reveal those events so clearly to his prophets. But God is more than able to reveal what lies ahead, not only because he knows the future but also because he has planned the final outcome.

121 We can trust a God like that! He knows the details of what lies ahead for us. He could reveal it to us if he chose to do so, but (most of the time) he doesn’t. He doesn’t reveal the details of our personal futures because he loves us and wants to spare us the hardships that may be ahead. He also wants us to trust him through whatever may come. What God has given us are magnificent promises that we can cling to as we face each day and each challenge. Promises like • “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). • “[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:39). • “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Daniel may have had glimpses of the future, but he didn’t have promises like those! Each day, each step, every trial, every joy is being used by God to conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus. Sometimes that’s all we have to hold on to—the promise and the God who made the promise— Daniel’s God who already stands in our future and who calls us to follow him confidently. I get jealous of Daniel sometimes. I’d like to see (I think) where our world and my life is headed. But then I see the toll that knowledge took on Daniel. He was exhausted, ill and appalled by what he saw (Daniel 8:27). I’m not sure I’m prepared to pay the price Daniel paid to be a prophet of God. I’ll just keep walking life’s journey—and keep trusting Daniel’s God. When I stumble or get tired or fall down, remind me of God’s promises and help me up.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN If God offered to show you snapshots of your nation’s future over the next two hundred years, would you want to see them? Why or why not?

READ Daniel 8. Daniel’s vision of the future gets very personal beginning in chapter 8. The first seven chapters stressed the destinies of the Gentile (non-Jewish) world powers. In chapters 8–12 the emphasis is on the destiny of Israel, Daniel’s own people. 1. Does Daniel’s vision strike you as prophecy written before the events occurred or as history written after the events? Why is that important? 2. How might a person feel living under the authority of “the ram” (v. 4)? How might a person today experience the same situation? 3. How does the entrance of “the goat” (vv. 5-8) help you see the situation under the ram in a different light? 4. What does this episode say to you about how the circumstances and situations in your life might change? 5. The events of Daniel 8 were all future to Daniel, but most of them are past to us. In what ways would Daniel’s vision of the future encourage those who were living in Daniel’s time? In what ways would it encourage those living under the fulfillment of the prophecy four hundred years later? 6. What would you like to know about the next ten years of your life? Do you think that knowledge would make you more secure or happier? Why? 7. How long can a society or ruler get away with bringing dishonor to God or trampling God’s people under­foot? 8. In what ways would this chapter be an encouragement to Christians living today under political tyranny (or even emotional distress or spiritual attack)? 9. Think about situations in your life that seem impossible to change. Envision how God might bring about a surprise ending—and share that with the group. Begin to pray about difficult situations in a different way by including the possibility of God’s intervention and by expressing your trust in God’s goodness until the issue is resolved.

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SESSION TEN

Kneeling on God’s Promises Daniel 9 wHere we’re going Sometimes reading just one passage of the Bible will change the way we pray . One morning, shortly after the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon and ended Babylonian rule over God’s people, Daniel was reading the book of the prophet Jeremiah . The words seemed to leap off the page! God had promised that after seventy years of captivity he would bring his people back to their own land . Daniel added up the years since he had been deported to Babylon and realized that the captivity was almost over . Then Daniel began to pray—and God’s answer was swift and surprising! Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 9 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Advancing on Our Knees (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Father, Daniel will lead us in this chapter into the great mystery of prayer. How is it that the God who has determined all things after the decisions of his own will would then ask his people to change the world through prayer? Help me to let your Spirit speak directly and personally into my life as I open myself to your powerful Word. Amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 9 Read Daniel 9. 1. Daniel 9 has two parts. Verses 1-19 center on a prayer; verses 20-27 center on a message. Who speaks to whom in verses 4-19?

in verses 20-27?

2. God promised to release his people after seventy years of captivity. Why then did Daniel need to pray?

3. In verses 4-19 which aspects of God’s character did Daniel appeal to as the basis of his requests?

9:17-18. The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 and was little more than a desolate ruin. Fifty years had come and gone since the temple had been dismantled and razed.

4. Daniel also appealed to God on the basis of specific acts of grace and judgment that God had performed for Israel. Which acts does he refer to, and why do you think he chooses these?

5. What failures of the nation are causes for God’s judgment?

6. Daniel consistently uses the plural pronoun we throughout the prayer. Why does Daniel include himself in this confession?

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7. What specific insights about your own prayer life can you glean from Daniel’s prayer?

8. In verse 24 Gabriel lists six things that will be accomplished for Israel and Jerusalem within seventy “sevens” (often interpreted as 490 years). Which of these were accomplished when the people had completed their return from Babylon (after the first 49 years)?

Which were accomplished at the coming of the Anointed One (after 434 additional years)?

Are there any of the six that are not yet fully accomplished? Explain.

9. Verse 26 says that “the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in a.d. 70. How would you describe the course of events during the final period of seven years (vv. 26-27)?

10. Some Christians think the final “seven” was fulfilled in the time of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Romans. Other Christians think the final seven years is still future and that this evil ruler will make his appearance on the world scene at that time. How do you react to the possibility of a wicked world ruler arising in our generation? Is it possible or not—and what cultural trends open that door?

9:25-26. It is important to note that the noun here is indefinite, thus a messiah (an anointed one, as in the niv note), rather than the Messiah. The prophetic literature had not yet adopted this term as a technical term for the ideal, future Davidic king.

9:27. The consistent use of the noun translated “desolation” (shmm, see also 8:13) is quite intentional. The Syrian Baal Shamem (“Lord of Heaven”) was the deity whose worship was instituted in the temple on the altar of sacrifice by the Syrian citizens who were brought into Jerusalem by Antiochus and his military commander, Apollonius. Antiochus worshiped this deity as Olympian Zeus. This desecration perpetrated by Antiochus served as a prototype for all future desecrations.

What does this chapter offer you (if anything) in the face of such a possibility?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Jeremiah’s Prophecy The events of Daniel 9 take place shortly after the fall of Babylon to the armies of the Medes and the Persians recorded in Daniel 5. How would the fall of one empire and the rise of another prompt Daniel to read the Scriptures with new interest and new insight? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read the passage Daniel read that day in Jeremiah 25:1-14. Where did Jeremiah place the responsibility for his nation’s conquest by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians? Why did the exile come on God’s people? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The prophecy in Jeremiah was spoken at the beginning of Israel’s exile in the year Daniel and several other young men were taken to Babylon. What does Jeremiah’s prophecy say to you about God’s sovereign reign over our world? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Does that ability of God to raise empires up and to bring empires down give you peace or bother you? Why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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God uses Babylon to chasten his own people, but then judges that nation for daring to harm those whom God loved. How would you summarize Jeremiah’s vision of the judgment that was to come on Babylon? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The people of Judah would languish seventy years in captivity. Seventy years represented a lifetime for a human being, and there are two ways to calculate the time span: Possibility 1. Calculate from the year of Daniel’s removal to Babylon (605 b.c.; Daniel 1) to the year of Cyrus’s release of the Jews to return to Jerusalem (536 b.c.). Possibility 2. Calculate from the year of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (586 b.c.) to the year the rebuilt temple was completed after the return of the Jews (516 b.c.). Either way Daniel realized that the time of exile had a definite end, and he began to pray that God’s promise to restore the people to the land would be fulfilled. Why Pray? In a situation like Daniel’s it is natural to ask yourself, If God has promised to release the Judahites from captivity at the end of seventy years, why pray? God will do what he has committed himself to do, so why do we need to ask him then to do it? Read Jeremiah 29:10-14. According to these verses what reasons does God have for prompting his people to pray for the fulfillment of God’s promises? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Verse 11 is often quoted as a personal promise to us as Christians, but what is the original context and who are the recipients of that promise? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Do you think we as twenty-first-century Christians can properly apply this verse to our lives today? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Sabbatical Years and the Exile Jeremiah (who lived and wrote just before and during the early years of the exile) saw the responsibility for the exile resting squarely on the sinfulness of the people. The seventy years of exile were God’s chastening of his people. The writer of Chronicles (who lived after the exile) saw another purpose for the seventy years of captivity. Read 2 Chronicles 36:20-21. What was the purpose of the exile according to these verses? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ God instituted the sabbath year as part of his covenant with Israel. Read Leviticus 25:1-7 and explain how the sabbath year worked. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why do you think God commanded such a practice? What did he want it to produce in his people? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Leviticus 26:23-35 and summarize the consequences that would come as the result of ignoring God’s commands. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Israel’s Failure Daniel draws a direct connection between the sins of the people and their present suffering. Select the reasons from the following statements that would echo Daniel’s appeal to God for forgiveness. 1. “What we’ve done isn’t really that bad.” 2. “You are a God of mercy.” 3. “We promise to try harder if you give us another chance.” 4. “Lord, your reputation is at stake in our survival and return.” 5. “You should have told us these consequences would come. We would have been more obedient.” 6. “You, Lord, are faithful to keep the covenant, but we have failed.” 7. “Everything you did, Lord, was right.” 8. “Some people may have disobeyed, but not all of us. It isn’t fair.” 9. “You are a forgiving God.” 10. “You warned us and we just wouldn’t listen.” Rewrite the statements Daniel would not agree with to reflect how he might say it. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ After the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah the prophet kicked through the rubble of the city and wrote the book of “sobbings”—called Lamentations in our Bibles. Read Lamentations 2:2-5. What images does Jeremiah use to picture God in these verses? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Are you comfortable seeing God like that? How will you expand your understanding of God’s character to include these difficult images of who he is and how he acts? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Lord’s Reputation Daniel reminds the Lord that the city, the sanctuary (temple) and the people are “yours” and “bear your name.” King Solomon, when he dedicated the original temple to the Lord, had said the same thing. He had reminded God that he had established the temple as a symbol of his great name and reputation among the nations. Read 1 Kings 8:27-30. Why do you think Daniel deliberately drew upon Solomon’s prayer in composing his own prayer three hundred years later? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Daniel drew a direct line between the reputation God had established when he rescued his people from slavery in Egypt hundreds of years earlier and his promise to restore his people from exile to their homeland (Daniel 9:15). Other prophets saw even further. They looked beyond the exile in Babylon to a future restoration of Israel in a kingdom of peace. Read Isaiah 40:3-5. Why were these words adopted by John the Baptist as he announced the soon appearance of the Messiah? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ In light of Israel’s restoration from exile in the past, what would they expect from the arrival of the promised Deliverer? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Hosea 2:14-20 and describe Hosea’s vision of Israel’s future. ____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Where do we see glimpses of this “kingdom age” today? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Seventy Sevens In response to Daniel’s prayer, God sent the angel Gabriel to give the prophet a message about “your people and your holy city” (Daniel 9:24). Then Gabriel outlined “seventy sevens” that will come upon the people of Israel, usually interpreted as seventy sevens of years, or 490 years. The years are divided into three groups—seven “sevens” (49 years), sixty-two “sevens” (434 years) and one “seven” (7 years). The final “seven” is also divided in half (“in the middle of the ‘seven’” [v. 27]). Dozens of explanations of this prophecy have been proposed over the centuries by Jewish and Christians interpreters. We will explore two views widely held among evangelicals, but no view solves all the interpretive issues. The destruction of the temple view. One of the difficulties we face is determining what decree “to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” Gabriel is referring to in verse 25. Students of Daniel’s book mention three possible decrees most often. 1. The decree of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem issued in 538 b.c. Read Ezra 1:1-14. 2. The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra in 458 b.c. Read Ezra 7:11-20. 3. Another decree of Artaxerxes given to Nehemiah in 445 b.c. Read Nehemiah 2:1-9. Which of these decrees seems to fit best with Gabriel’s description? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Gabriel also tells Daniel that 483 years after the decree the “Anointed One” will arrive. Most interpreters understand that phrase to be a reference to Jesus. If that is the case, the 538 b.c. decree doesn’t fit very well. The end date (483 years later) is more than fifty years before Jesus’ birth. The

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445 b.c. decree seems to be too late since the end date is a.d. 39, a date well after Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. The 458 b.c. decree fits the timeline best. The end date is a.d. 26, almost the exact date of Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of his ministry. (According to the best calculations, Jesus was born in 4 b.c. The monks who devised the Christian calendar around a.d. 500 missed the precise date by a few years.) Gabriel goes on to say in verse 26 that after the 483 years the Anointed One (the Hebrew term is Messiah) will be “put to death,” a violent word pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross. The final “seven,” according to this view, was fulfilled at the time of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Romans in a.d. 70. At that time the armies of Rome desecrated the temple with their imperial images, brought an end to Israel’s sacrifices and destroyed the city and the sanctuary. The future tribulation view. A second widely held view is that the gap in time between the end of the first 483 years and the crucifixion of Jesus (a.d. 26–30) was extended to encompass the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 and the entire present age. The clock will not start on the final seven years until “the ruler who will come” appears on the world scene, a still-future evil ruler called the antichrist. He will make a covenant with Israel for “one ‘seven’” (v. 27), but in the middle of the seven years he will invade Israel and will set up an image of himself in the rebuilt temple (“an abomination that causes desolation”) as the object of the world’s worship. In the end, however, this evil ruler will be defeated and destroyed by the return of Jesus to earth. Which view—or neither view—sounds most consistent with Gabriel’s message and why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How far would you be willing to defend your view? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ If another Christian’s view on this passage was different from yours, would you separate over it? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect Advancing on Our Knees Prayer is hard work. In one sense prayer is the easiest thing we do as Christians. It’s an ongoing conversation with the Lord that pauses and picks up several times through the day and often through the night. But intentional intercession for needs and nations—what the saints of the past called “prevailing prayer”— is hard work. It takes a toll. Sometimes I would rather do anything than pray. For forty years Vincent and Margaret Crossett prayed every day for a small village in China. The Crossetts had labored in that remote village for a few years in the 1940s. They struggled against poverty and pagan worship to tell the people around them about Jesus. One small church was formed, really just a home Bible study, and then the order came that all foreign missionaries had to leave the country. The Crossetts hated to go. Their little flock of believers hardly seemed ready to stand against the coming onslaught of a powerful government dedicated to wiping out all Christian influence. From a purely human perspective there was nothing anyone could do. But Vincent and Margaret had their eyes on someone greater than the ruthless political leaders. The missionaries were closed out of this village but not their prayers. For the next forty years this faithful couple kept the windows of the prayer life open toward China. Finally, as the political barriers began to come down, the Crossetts were able to return to the village where they had left that struggling group of believers. But they didn’t find the tiny church they had left. The little Bible study group had grown to a church of four thousand. The Christians had planted almost a dozen other churches in the surrounding area, and most of those churches had over a thousand in their congregations. All the Cros-

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setts did was pray. It was all they could do— and through their faithful, fervent intercession, God moved. Daniel’s Perspective Daniel certainly understood the importance of prayer. Now we understand why in Daniel 6 he was willing to pray openly even when it meant the lions’ den. Something greater than his own personal agenda was at stake. The restoration of his people to the land God had given them lay in the balance. Daniel knew that no human king, wise advisor or political decision could bring that about. Only a sovereign God could do it. So Daniel prayed and changed his world through prayer. I see some remarkable truths in Daniel’s example that will strengthen the effectiveness of our prayers. For example, Daniel was not asking a reluctant God to do what the prophet wanted; he was asking a generous God to accomplish his revealed purpose for his people. Daniel’s prayer emerged from a deeper understanding of God’s Word. We discover God’s character and God’s objectives in the Bible— his methods, his priorities, his desires, his concerns, his promises. The more we understand God’s truth, the more confidence we will have as we pray. Daniel knew what God’s will was from reading Jeremiah’s prophecy. His prayer sprang from an understanding of what God intended to do. As busy as Daniel was with government affairs, he still carved out time to pray and to expose himself to God’s Word. He was intentional about it. If you are like me, you feel like there’s never enough time to get everything done. It’s only when we recognize how desperately we need God’s guidance and wisdom, and how eager God is to give those good things to us, that we are willing to make time for what’s re-

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134 ally important, rather than just for the things that are urgent. When Martin Luther was asked about his schedule for the next day, he responded, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Prayer and Power Daniel did something amazing when he discovered God’s promise to return the people to the land. He prayed. Even though he believed that God would keep his promise, he prayed. Daniel believes that prayer moves the hand that moves the world. I sometimes hear people talk about “the power of prayer,” but that’s not really correct. There is no power in prayer. Prayer is the admission that we are powerless and that if anything is going to happen, God will have to do it. The power resides in the God who answers prayer. God in his sovereignty has set the course of history, but he has also ordained that the prayers of God’s people will be a factor in bringing those events to pass. Something else I learn from Daniel is that effective prayer requires fervent attention. Great men and women of prayer get wrapped up in their prayers. When Daniel prayed, he was fully engaged and active and alert—looking with eager anticipation for God’s answer to his prayers. Prayer is not for the lazy or the half-hearted. I don’t pray very intentionally when I’m ready to go to sleep at night. I pray then as part of my ongoing conversation with the Lord, but I engage in purposeful prayer when my mind and will and emotions and spirit are alert, ready to focus in on specific needs and specific praise. Keep Seeking, Keep Knocking, Keep Asking God is eager to give good things to his children, but sometimes he makes us wait. God may be preparing us to receive his answer. Maybe our faith needs to be strengthened or our earnest longing in seeking after God needs

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to be intensified. Whatever God’s reason for delay, he tells us not to give up. Delay should intensify our asking. If asking does not bring an answer, send out a search party and eagerly seek the Lord. If seeking does not do it, we start knocking noisily at God’s door until we hear from him. At a Promise Keeper’s rally Pastor Wellington Boone gave the men he spoke to a formula for prayer with perseverance that I’ve remembered ever since: P-U-S-H = Pray Until Something Happens. What have you given up on? Maybe you are quitting just at the moment God is ready to answer. Sometimes in delay, God works in our hearts in such a way that our prayers begin to change. We start praying for what God wants instead of for what we want. God’s Glory As we follow Daniel through this prayer, we find that he is concerned ultimately with God’s glory. Daniel wants his Persian overlords as well as the captive people of Israel to recognize God’s power and God’s greatness. Maybe that is why so many of my prayers are ineffective or seem empty of power. A lot of my prayers center on what people think of me, rather than what they think of God. I’m more concerned about my glory than I am about God’s. In the process of reading  Jeremiah’s prophecy, Daniel would have come upon another passage: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24) We have the privilege of collaborating with God and of playing a vital role in the accomplishment of his eternal purposes when we pray. Reading through Daniel’s prayer makes me wonder if I’ve ever really prayed on the

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Daniel 9 same level. Laid alongside Daniel’s prayer, my prayers seem selfish and petty and, well, lame. What would God do in this nation or in my city or within my cluster of friends if we

135 would pray intentionally, expectantly, persistently for God’s glory and majesty to be revealed? Daniel prayed and changed history for the people of God.

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN Tell the group about a time when you felt compelled to pray more intently than usual. What circumstances prompted you to seek God so earnestly?

READ Daniel 9. The conquest of Babylon by the Medes and the Persians was no surprise to Daniel. God had already revealed that the head of gold would be replaced by the chest and arms of silver (chapter 2) and that the bear would conquer the lion (chapter 7). What arrests Daniel’s attention is a prophecy written seventy years earlier that would be fulfilled in his own lifetime—a promise that demonstrated God had not forgotten his people in exile. 1. Which part of Daniel 9 do you find most intriguing—the prayer in verses 1-19 or the prophecy in verses 20-27? Why? 2. What impression do you get of Daniel’s God as you read this prayer (vv. 1-19)? What impression do you get of Daniel? 3. The prophets warned Israel over and over about the consequences of their disobedience, but they continued in the path of rebellion anyway. Do you think God is warning his own people today? What are the issues and what is our response? Is God warning you about anything? 4. Daniel’s prayer was based on God’s covenant relationship with his people. Which of the following choices best describe that covenant relationship?        

Based on God’s character or based on the people’s performance? Founded on grace or on works? Emphasized justice or emphasized love? A binding commitment or up for negotiation?

What word or phrase in Daniel’s prayer supports each choice? 5. The Jews who had access to Daniel’s prophecy about the seventy “sevens” should have realized at the time of Jesus that the predicted time of the Messiah’s arrival was close. Why do you think most people in Jesus’ day including the religious scholars missed it? How might we miss what God is doing in our world? 6. Based on the content of your prayers alone, what has concerned you most over the past week? 7. Daniel humbled himself before he prayed (v. 3). How do you prepare to meet with God? 8. God took a situation marked by failure and loss and brought blessing to his people out of it. Have you ever seen God bring good out of a bad situation? Share your story with the group. Have you ever fasted for a day—or a meal—as an act of humility and brokenness before the Lord? If it is medically safe for a specific period of time, consider choosing a day or part of a day to fast from food. You can even do this as a group. Focus on prayer. Pray that God’s kingdom may come. Confess on behalf of the church or the nation the ways we have fallen short of God’s call to holiness and right actions before him. Tell the group about the experience the next time you meet.

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SESSION ELEVEN

A World Out of Control Daniel 10:1–11:35 wHere we’re going Wars, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, fiscal cliffs—our world moves from one crisis to another . What happens around us often seems out of control . We find ourselves frustrated and frightened because we can’t do anything to stop the terrible things that flash across the Internet and flood our television screens . God gives Daniel a long look at a war that would come in Israel’s future . But this was no random event; it was part of a greater plan overseen by God himself . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 10:1–11:35 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: The Cosmic Battle (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Our Father, we join our voices and hearts today with the great company of angels in your presence to give you worship and honor and praise. You are worthy of our complete devotion and confident trust. When things look bad on earth or in our lives, we have the assurance that you are in control and that we are in your hands. We ask for wisdom from the Holy Spirit as we study this account of Daniel’s vision. Use it to strengthen us in our battle against spiritual forces of evil. Use it to humble us before the power and majesty of our great God. For Jesus’ sake we pray, amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 10:1–11:35 Four visions are recorded in chapters 7–12 of Daniel. The last and longest of the four begins here in chapter 10. Daniel certainly gains new insight as the vision unfolds. He begins to see God’s sovereign hand at work even in the clash of empires. 10:1. Cyrus of Persia was one of the greatest conquerors in world history. . . . The whole of the Near East (excluding Egypt) was under control of the Persians when Cyrus was killed in battle in 530.

10:3. In extrabiblical Jewish apocalyptic literature, fasting is often essential preparation for receiving a vision. Daniel is not undertaking a total fast but abstaining from pastry, meat and wine—thus returning to a more Spartan diet. It should be noted that while this verse does not use the same terminology as the text at 1:5, it is now clear that Daniel had not made a lifelong commitment to bland food.

Read Daniel 10:1–11:1. 1. If you had gone through this experience, what specific actions or words of the heavenly messenger would have encouraged or helped you? What would have concerned you?

2. Based on Daniel’s personal condition (10:2-3) and his vision of the man (10:4-6), why do you think Daniel reacted the way he did (10:7-11)?

3. What do the man’s words to Daniel tell you about God’s response to those who seek him (10:12-14)?

4. How does Daniel’s experience encourage you to be persistent in prayer? What might you have given up on too quickly?

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Daniel 10:1–11:35 5. The “prince of the Persian kingdom” (10:13) who resisted God’s messenger probably refers to a powerful evil spirit who influenced the affairs of the Persian government. What does this “unveiling” of demonic activity in political affairs teach you about our world?

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10:13. The context demands that this antagonist be considered a supernatural being rather than a royal human individual. The literature from Qumran also uses the title “prince” as a reference to chief angels.

6. If an evil power could hinder an angel in Daniel’s day, what does that indicate about your own need for help against Satan’s forces today?

Read Daniel 11:2-35. 7. The conflict between Persia and Greece is described in 11:2-4. Based on your previous studies in Daniel, what names and events can you match with these predictions?

8. Daniel 11:5-35 is concerned with the conflict between two divisions of the Greek empire: the Syrian Seleucid family (“the king of the North”) and the Egyptian Ptolemy family (“the king of the South”). The focus is on a man we have met before—Antiochus Epiphanes. Daniel 11:21-24 describes his persecution of the people of Israel who had regathered in Palestine after the exile in Babylon. Summarize Antiochus’s character and methods of operation from these verses.

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10:13. As indicated with the name Gabriel [in 8:16], there are no names given for angels in earlier literature. Michael becomes a much more familiar figure in the Qumran literature and in the intertestamental literature, primarily the book of Enoch. He is considered the guardian of the people of Israel.

11:21. [Antiochus’s] goals included converting Jerusalem into a center for Greek culture and helping the Jews to make the transition to becoming Greek citizens with Greek ways. . . . The text calls him contemptible, and indeed he was. His title “Epiphanes” means “god manifest”—but the people preferred “Epimanes”— “madman.”

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11:29-30. In the spring of 168 Antiochus again had to besiege Memphis, and he did so successfully, taking control of lower Egypt. As he again prepared to lay siege against a weakened Alexandria, he actually had himself crowned king of Egypt. But there was a difference this time. Egypt had appealed to Rome for help, and their ships arrived as he approached Alexandria. Roman consul Gaius Popillius Laenas met him by the wall of Alexandria and commanded Antiochus to leave Egypt. When Antiochus replied that he had to consult with his advisors, the Roman consul drew a circle in the dirt around the king and insisted that he give his answer before stepping out of the circle. A humiliated Antiochus conceded to Roman authority and straggled toward home looking for a way to vent his misery.

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9. Antiochus invaded Egypt the first time with relative success (11:25-28). The second time he met some opposition and in his frustration vented his anger on “the holy covenant,” the Jewish people (11:29-31). What do you learn from 11:32-35 about why God allows genuine believers to suffer under the hand of a godless tyrant?

10. All of chapter 11 was future to Daniel. However, 11:2-35 is past to us. Looking back, we can see how precisely God’s plans came true. God really is in control! How can God’s absolute authority and rule over history help you to stand firm when evil seems to triumph?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture Moved to Prayer We aren’t told why Daniel was fasting and praying, but one reason may have been his concern for the nearly fifty thousand Jews who had left Babylon a year before to return to Jerusalem. Read the account of their return in Ezra 1:1-6 and 3:1-3. What are the things that might have burdened Daniel’s heart about the people now living in the ruins of Jerusalem? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why do you think Daniel stayed in Babylon after the Jews had been set free? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How might his continued presence in the leadership of the Persian Empire have been important to the remnant of the people of God in Babylon and now also in Jerusalem? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Heavenly Being Daniel encountered a magnificent being in a vision as he stood on the banks of the Tigris River (Daniel 10). Some students of Daniel believe that this was a theophany—a vision of God. I prefer to see this being as a powerful holy angel. Below are several aspects of the being’s appearance and

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actions. Which seem like descriptions of God and which seem like descriptions of an angel? God

Angel

Body like topaz, face like lightning, eyes like torches (10:6) Daniel’s friends hide in terror; Daniel falls to the ground (10:7-9) The being had been sent to Daniel (10:10-11) He had come in response to Daniel’s prayer (10:12) A powerful evil being, the prince of Persia, had resisted him for twenty-one days (10:13) Michael, a powerful holy angel, came to this first being’s aid (10:13) This being gives Daniel a message about “what will happen to your people in the future” (10:14) Based on your responses, which position seems the best interpretation—was the being an appearance of God himself or was he an angel? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Ezekiel 1:4-14. This is Ezekiel’s description of four living creatures—angel beings—who surround God’s throne. What parallels can you make to the being Daniel saw? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Daniel 10:1–11:35

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What are the differences between the creatures Ezekiel saw and the being Daniel saw? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Prophetic Details God gives Daniel a remarkably detailed prophecy about the 150-year struggle between two branches of Alexander the Great’s empire. After Alexander died, the territory he conquered was divided among four of his generals. Daniel 11:5-20 gives us a series of snapshots of Ptolemy I Soter and his successors in Egypt (the kings of the South) and Seleucus Nicator and his successors in Syria (the kings of the North). The north-south designations are from the perspective of Palestine. The section is a lengthy catalog of the battles and intrigues between these two kingdoms. More than one hundred prophetic details are recorded and all were fulfilled just as God said they would be. The important factor to remember is that all of these events were future to Daniel. They are all ancient history to us in the twenty-first century, but Daniel saw four hundred years of Israel’s future unfolding before him. What would it do to you to have God show you details of the future of your family or nation for several hundred years? Frighten you? Bless you? Explain why. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ While most biblical prophecy is recorded in more general terms, God is certainly capable of giving very precise prophecies. Jacob, one of the patriarchs of Israel, spoke (with God’s help) in precise terms about the future of each of his son’s families. Read Jacob’s words about two of his sons in Genesis 49:22-27. What would you expect to happen to Joseph’s family as the years unfolded? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What about Benjamin’s family? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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God also spoke through an unnamed prophet about the work of godly king Josiah three hundred years in advance. Read 1 Kings 13:1-5; then 2 Kings 23:15-20. What does this incident say about God’s word and about God’s attitude toward what he has declared about the future? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ The Contemptible King In time among the kings of the North, a contemptible king would arise. The angel describes him and his reign of terror in Daniel 11:21-35. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164 b.c.) was a relatively unimportant king in Syria in the ancient world—but he has great importance in Daniel’s prophecy. Antiochus gained his notoriety through his ruthless attacks on the people of God and their religious practices. In his arrogance and cruelty he became the likeness of all rulers who set themselves against God, but especially the ruler who will arise at the end of the age, the antichrist. The following are some phrases from Daniel 11 and some facts about Antiochus and his reign. See if you can match the prophecies with Antiochus’s actions several centuries later. Prophecies in Daniel 11

Events in Antiochus’s Career

“a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty” (11:21)

Antiochus had the Jewish high priest, Onias III, murdered.

“a prince of the covenant will be destroyed” (11:22)

After a successful invasion of Egypt in 169 b.c., Antiochus plundered the temple in Jerusalem.

“the king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant” (11:28) “ships of the western coastlands will oppose him” (11:30) “he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant” (11:30) “[He] . . . will abolish the daily sacrifice” (11:31) “Then [he] will set up the abomination that causes desolation” (11:31) “The people who know their God will firmly resist him” (11:32)

Antiochus seized the Syrian throne illegally from the son of his murdered brother. Antiochus ordered Torah scrolls destroyed, the sabbath and circumcision were forbidden and the altar of the temple was defiled with sacrifices of pigs. When Antiochus invaded Egypt a second time, representatives of Rome met him and forced him to turn back. Returning to Jerusalem, Antiochus took out his anger on the people of Israel, killing as many as eighty thousand Jews. Antiochus and his army were driven from Israel by the Maccabean revolt—a religious uprising of the common people. Antiochus ordered an image of Zeus set up in Israel’s temple.

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Daniel 10:1–11:35

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Cosmic Battles One of the things we learn in Daniel 10 is that a cosmic, spiritual struggle is going on parallel to human events on earth. Specific evil angels seek to influence the rulers and activities of the nations of the world. We get glimpses of this hidden spiritual struggle in other accounts of warfare or battle between God’s people and their enemies. Read the following passages and summarize what we are told about the involvement of spiritual forces in the conflicts God’s people have faced. Exodus 15:1-8 The Egyptian army’s attempted attack on Israel at the Red Sea ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Judges 5:19-21 Deborah and Barak’s battle against the Canaanites and Sisera, their military leader (Note: The image of “stars” in this account is likely a poetic reference to angels.) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2 Kings 6:15-17 The prophet Elisha’s request that his servant’s eyes would be opened ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Isaiah 24:21-22 Isaiah’s prophecy of the Lord’s judgment on a rebellious world ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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How does the involvement of powerful spiritual forces, both good and evil, in the political and military affairs of a nation change how you view world or national events? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How does that knowledge change how you pray for political leaders? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Apparently the hierarchy of powers in the heavenly realm is not the exact duplicate of the relative power of these powers on earth. The people of Judah were weak and relatively powerless in human affairs, but Michael, who defends Israel, is the mightiest of the angel powers. The vision was a message to Persia and Greece that even though God’s people appear weak, and even though they will be buffeted and bruised by the events in chapter 11, they have strong heavenly defenders who will protect them. What would that knowledge produce in the Jewish people over the time of their oppression by these other nations? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What does it produce in your life situation? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect The Cosmic Battle One of the remarkable truths revealed to Daniel is how both angels and human beings are engaged in parallel conflicts. They fight alongside each other against the same enemies. But Daniel realized that there is a spiritual dimension to earthly battles; he also saw that heavenly angels rely on the support of earthly intercessors, and the people of God in conflict on earth have the support and help of the hosts of heaven. It gives new meaning to the phrase “I’ve got your back!” We usually think of angels as quiet, domesticated sprites who stay safely tucked away in heaven, except at Christmas and Easter, when they bring glad tidings of great joy. But Daniel sees (and shows us) a whole different side to these magnificent beings. Along with being messengers for God, the angels are “patrons and guardians of communities and nations and possibly of individuals on earth.”1 The angels, good and evil, are involved deeply in the political affairs of our world. Powerful beings are standing in the shadows and fighting behind the scenes of earthly events. Encounters with Angels This isn’t the first time we’ve met angels in Daniel’s book. The angel Gabriel brought Daniel a crucial message in chapter 9. Daniel’s own testimony in chapter 6 was that an angel had been sent to shut the mouths of the lions. Angelic “watchers” had pronounced judgment on Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 5, and then in his vision of heaven in chapter 7 Daniel saw thousands of angels around God’s throne. An angel also interpreted the vision of the four beasts in chapter 7 for Daniel. Here in chapter 10 we get a glimpse of the dark side of angelic power. The “prince of Persia” and “the prince of Greece” seek to thwart God and his sovereign plans in human history. They stir up

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pagan rulers against God’s people and against God’s Word. What is most startling to me in this account is that the conflicts between earthly human powers and the people of God are mirrored and sometimes won or lost in the realm of the angels. Spiritual warfare is going on in parallel with physical oppression and conflict on earth. Daniel prays for enlightenment and help, and God sends an angel immediately to answer Daniel’s prayer. But the evil “prince of the kingdom of Persia” stands in his way. The emissary of Satan who is responsible for influencing the rulers of Persia against God’s people doesn’t just slow God’s angel down; he delays him from completing his mission for three weeks! The powerful angel of God finally has to call for additional help, and Michael, one of God’s chief angels, comes and helps to overcome the opposition of the evil angel. God’s original messenger makes it to Daniel and delivers his prophecy, but not before he explains his delay. I don’t think Daniel was oblivious to the battle going on. He spent three weeks fasting and in intense agony during the precise times that the struggle in heaven was raging. Since he gives us such precise dates in this chapter, we know that Daniel even wrestled in prayer during the Jewish celebration of Passover. For us, that would be like fasting and praying to the point of exhaustion through Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’m not sure I would do it, but Daniel saw beyond the earthly time of waiting he was experiencing and saw the cosmic struggle behind it. The conflict ended in triumph for Michael, but the implication is that Daniel’s intensity in prayer contributed to the victory and finally brought the answer to his prayer.

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148 The angel strengthens Daniel in his weakness and encourages him to go on praying with the same concern and perseverance because the conflict was not over. Continued struggle with the prince of Persia was ahead, and beyond that more conflict with the prince of Greece is also anticipated (v. 20).2 If We Could See All this makes me wonder if we as Christians haven’t missed the deeper implications of some of our conflicts as individuals, families, churches or even nations. I’m certainly not a person to see a demon behind every toothache or missed opportunity, but at the same time I wonder if some of the struggles we’ve gone through haven’t had a greater significance than we’ve been willing to give them. I wonder if angels were also battling over the outcome of the debate we had as church leaders over restoring an elder who had failed and repented and demonstrated his trustworthiness, but some of the leaders wanted to disqualify him forever from any position of trust. Evil powers would like to see the man cast aside and discouraged. Holy angels may have focused more on God’s grace and forgiveness and the testimony of a restored brother. Or what about the hours we spent in prayer over the life of a tiny baby struggling to survive? Did evil powers know the potential for that little girl to become a powerful witness of Jesus’ love, and did they fight against the holy powers who wanted to see that witness raised up? What did it mean in God’s sovereign plan when the child died? The insights from Daniel 10 also give us new understanding of why we sometimes wait for an answer to prayer—or why national leaders seem to make such poor

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choices at times. What influence does the evil prince of my nation have on national leaders, and how does that prompt me to pray differently and more fervently? God is sovereign not only over the outcome but also over the way that outcome is reached. He ordains an end but also ordains that his people will faithfully pray and work toward that end— and that angels will fight the same battle in the spiritual realm. The Final Victory In the end the spiritual enemies that fight against us will be thrown down and judged. In fact, their doom is already sealed by Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus has “disarmed the powers and authorities” by the triumph of his death and resurrection (Colossians 2:15). Their judgment is certain, but we still fight against them. We wrestle not on a physical level but on a spiritual level “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). God has given us all the resources we need to stand firmly against such powers—the armor of truth and righteousness and faith—but in addition God calls us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). So keep at it. Whatever you are struggling with, keep praying. Pray against the spiritual forces that may be fighting holy angels in the heavenly realm. The outcome of the battle rests on a lot of things—the sovereign purposes of God, the arrival of additional help for the struggle, the perseverance of righteous angels—but the outcome may also rest on your faithfulness to stay at the hard work of prayer.

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Daniel 10:1–11:35

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What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

1

Ronald Wallace, The Lord Is King: The Message of Daniel, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), p. 179. 2 If you want to investigate the ministry of angels further, I have written Angels Around Us (Seattle: CreateSpace, 2011) and a LifeGuide Bible study titled Angels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004).

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN What recent national or international crisis made you feel insecure or frightened? Explain why you felt that way.

READ Daniel 10:1–11:35. While Daniel was praying, an angel came to him, interrupted his prayer and gave him a message. He also explained why Daniel had waited three weeks for God’s response to his prayer. For just a moment, the curtain is removed between our visible world and the invisible world of angels and demons. 1. When you hear of bad things happening in the world or to other people, do you wonder why God doesn’t intervene to stop it? What explanation do you give for God’s apparent silence or inactivity? 2. How do you feel about the involvement of spiritual powers in the affairs of a nation? Have there been political decisions or debates in which you sensed this spiritual conflict behind the human, visible events? Explain your answer in light of Daniel 10. 3. Why is it important for us to understand this spiritual warfare today? 4. Does the accuracy of the prophecies in 11:1-35 give you greater confidence in God as the source of Scripture? Why or why not? 5. The message to Daniel skipped several generations of rulers and large periods of time. The angel focused instead on the people and events that were crucial to the advancement of God’s kingdom. What might the present day in our culture look like from God’s perspective—a time of kingdom advancement or a time easily passed over? Explain why you came to your conclusion. 6. If Jesus or a mighty angel were to appear to you, what do you think your response would be? What would you want to ask your visitor? 7. Think about the things you have been asking God for. How has he already begun to answer, and what are you still waiting for? What might God be developing in you through the time of waiting? 8. The angel touched Daniel three times (10:10, 16, 18) to strengthen him and to give him power to speak. If the Lord were to “touch” you today, what area of your life or what part of your body would you want him to strengthen? 9. Make a list of national, regional and local political leaders. Commit yourself to pray for them regularly. Ask each member of the group to write or email at least one of these leaders to encourage him or her. Before you face your “world” tomorrow, consciously put on the spiritual armor God provides and pray in the Spirit for God’s covering over your life.

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S E S S I O N T W E LV E

Darkness Before Deliverance Daniel 11:36–12:13 wHere we’re going We come to the end of our journey with mixed feelings . We are glad to be at our destination, but we will miss Daniel’s presence . If you’re like me, you’re ending this study with a new appreciation for the majesty and authority of God—a God who can describe the future in detail, raise up kings and kingdoms and bring them to ruin, a God who can protect Daniel in the lions’ den and who is just as concerned about each of us . The second part of Daniel’s final vision projects Daniel into “the time of the end” of world history . The vision focuses on the nation of Israel but also gives us strong encouragement and confident hope during difficult times . Part 1. Investigate: Daniel 11:36–12:13 (On Your Own) Part 2. Connect: Scripture to Scripture (On Your Own) Part 3. Reflect: Facing an Uncertain Future (On Your Own) Part 4. Discuss: Putting It All Together (With a Group) a prayer to pray Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful example and encouragement that Daniel has been in our lives. We’ve gained help and new courage from his experiences and teaching. If he could stand true to you in Babylon, we have no excuse for compromise in our place of work or in our neighborhood. We are a little nervous, however, about the future. The foundations of our culture may be shifting into dangerous territory. We don’t know if the day will come when our faith will be put to the test of persecution. So help us to continue to grow stronger in our confidence in you and in your deliverance of those who are faithful. For Jesus’ sake, amen.

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Part 1. Investigate Daniel 11:36–12:13 Read Daniel 11:36–12:13. 1. If you were reading this passage during a time of persecution, what would be bad news to you? Good news? 11:40-45. There is no known historical sequence corresponding to that which is laid out in these verses. Antiochus IV was killed in battle in Persia in December 164. Many interpreters of Daniel consider this section (perhaps starting as early as v. 36) to contain a reference to a much more distant future.

2. Building from his portrait of Antiochus Epiphanes in 11:2132, the heavenly messenger now focuses on the final oppressor of Israel who will arise at “the time of the end” (11:3640). This “king” (following the example of Antiochus) will exalt himself as a god. How would you describe the “religious” character and actions of this king from 11:36-37?

3. From 11:38-43 describe the military career of this future king.

4. “Reports from the east and the north” (11:44), which alarm the king, are apparently reports of other armies marching toward Israel for a final climactic battle. How would you describe the outcome of this battle from what you are told in this passage (11:44-45) and from what you have already learned about this future evil ruler (such as in 7:11, 25-27)?

5. The king’s defeat and the deliverance of the godly come through the intervention of Michael, “the great prince” (12:1). How do you envision this intervention taking place?

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Daniel 11:36–12:13 6. How can this victory and the messenger’s description of the resurrection (12:1-3) encourage us during times of tribulation?

7. What reward is promised to those who are determined to be wise and who lead many to righteousness, and what will that reward look like in the resurrection?

8. Daniel’s natural question after seeing this vision is “how long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?” (v. 6). How would you paraphrase the answer he received in verse 7?

9. In verses 9-13 do you think the messenger avoided Daniel’s last question (v. 8), or did he answer it? Explain.

10. What qualities will be produced in those who seek to understand Daniel’s prophecies (v. 10)?

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12:1. This appears to be a reference to the book of life. In Exodus 32:32-34 Moses is willing to be blotted out of the book, an action that would result in his death. Yahweh replies that the one who sins is wiped out from the book.

12:4. Already in the eighth century Assyrian texts of an esoteric nature were being preserved. The scribal notations (called colophons) at the ends of such works indicated that they contained secret lore to be shared only with those who were initiates. Scrolls could be sealed either by taping a string around them and sealing the knot with clay, or by placing them in a jar and sealing the cover. The clay or the seal around the lid would be impressed with the owner’s seal. . . . The seals were intended to vouchsafe the integrity of the contents. They warned against tampering and, if intact, attested to the authenticity of the document.

What will be the results in those who continue to live in rebellion against God?

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Part 2. Connect Scripture to Scripture The Willful King The figure of the antichrist appears first in Scripture in the book of Daniel. Of course, he’s not called “the antichrist” until John’s letters at the end of the New Testament, but his character, his actions and his place in end-time events are revealed first in the prophecies of Daniel. He’s not the first arrogant, willful ruler to appear in Scripture, however. Just as the following individuals reveal the evil character of the satanic power they serve, the antichrist will be motivated and energized by Satan himself. Read Isaiah 14:12-15, a description of Babylon’s proud ruler and an echo of Satan’s own rebellion against God. What evil, proud rulers from the last one hundred years of human events come to mind as you read these words? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What end does God promise those who shake their fist at him in rebellious pride? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Isaiah 10:12-19, a description of the arrogance of the earlier Assyrian empire and God’s judgment on that nation. According to Isaiah, how did Assyria express its “willful pride”? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Does God seem more like a guiding light or a consuming fire (v. 17) to you right now? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________

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Daniel 11:36–12:13

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____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Read Ezekiel 28:1-19, a poetic description of the “ruler of Tyre” (v. 2) and perhaps the evil “king” of Tyre (v. 12), the satanic power behind the throne. What words or phrases from this description could also be applied to the willful king in Daniel 11? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ How does the ruler’s end parallel the antichrist’s destruction in Daniel? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Why do you think God hates pride so much? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Who reigns in your life? Has the issue been settled or is there still a power struggle at times? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Now and Not Yet One of the characteristics of biblical prophecy is the “telescoping” of events. In some passages (like here in the last section of Daniel 11), events that will happen in the relatively near future are comingled with events in the far-distant future. The reign of Antiochus in the second century b.c.

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Session Twelve: Darkness Before Deliverance

morphs into a description of the reign of the antichrist that is still to come. It’s only when the nearfuture events occur that we can then sort out the events yet to occur. Isaiah gave a prophetic message about the Messiah that comingles details of the Messiah’s first coming (already past to us) with events yet to happen at his second coming. Isaiah didn’t fully comprehend how that would work, but we have the light of the Messiah’s first coming to use to help us distinguish what is still to come. Read Isaiah 9:6-7. What aspects of this prophecy were fulfilled in Jesus’ first coming, which refer to his present ministry as our High Priest and which describe his future ministry as Conquering King? Past

Present

Future

Perhaps this is what the man in linen meant when he told Daniel that at the time of the end “those who are wise will understand” (12:10). As the events of the end begin to unfold, our understanding of these prophecies will deepen and become clearer. Those Who Sleep Will Awake The angel who speaks to Daniel uses the term “everlasting life” (12:2) to describe the resurrection of the righteous. Not much was revealed to Old Testament believers about life after death. They believed that their spirits or souls would go to a place of rest called Sheol, but it was a shadowy place in their minds. Furthermore, it seemed that both the righteous and the wicked went to Sheol. Very little about the distinctions between the place of blessing and the place of torment had been revealed. There were some hints, however, of a bodily resurrection to usher the righteous into God’s presence forever. Read the following passages and explain what hope for the future each contains. Make it personal (see the example). Job 14:11-14

It seems from our limited perspective that death is the end, but I will wait in faith for my restoration to a new life.

Job 19:25-27

Psalm 16:9-11

Psalm 23:6

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Daniel 11:36–12:13

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Psalm 73:24-26

Isaiah 25:6-8

Isaiah 26:19

Hosea 13:14

Daniel 12:2 is the clearest reference in the Old Testament to a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. What comfort does that promise bring to those who may die in the “time of distress” that is to come? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ What lies ahead for the wicked who are revived back to life? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ Do you get the impression from this passage that the wicked get a “second chance”? Why? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

A Future War The angel doesn’t tell Daniel when this “great war” (10:1) will occur except that it falls in the context of the time of the end and the reign of the king who will do as he pleases. There are other

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references to an “end times” war in the prophets. Read the following passages and reflect on the wars that are described. Does it sound like the war in Daniel 11:40-45? Explain your answers. Joel 3:9-16 Zechariah 12:2-5 Zechariah 14:12-15 Ezekiel 38:14-16 How does the idea that God will ultimately triumph over all evil make you feel? Pick all the answers that apply—and add your own. Confident

Scared

Ecstatic

Unsettled

Sorry for those punished

Relieved

I feel . . . The Book of Life The angel promises Daniel that “everyone whose name is found written in the book” will be delivered in the day of resurrection (12:1). The reference is most likely to the book of life that appears several times in the Old Testament—a record kept by God of those counted as righteous before him on the basis of faith. Read through these passages and add whatever details you can to the following chart. Person involved

Reference to book

The Bible’s teaching about the book

Golden calf incident Exodus 32:30-35 David’s cry against his enemies Psalm 69:18, 27-28 The psalmist’s cry to the Lord Psalm 130:3-4

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Daniel 11:36–12:13

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The angel confirmed to Daniel that he would rise some day and be rewarded (12:13). How would it make you feel to have the assurance that your name was in the book of life and that you would experience the resurrection of the righteous? Swear by Him Who Lives Forever Usually an oath was made with one hand raised. What oath is taken in the following accounts and who swore it? Who guaranteed the oath? Genesis 14:22

Exodus 6:8

Deuteronomy 32:39-41

Ezekiel 20:5-6

What does it signify to you that the man in linen raises both hands (12:7) to swear his oath? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Part 3. Reflect Facing an Uncertain Future Scholars debate almost every section (sometimes every verse) of the book of Daniel. The last part of chapter 11 (from verse 36 on) is one of those interpretive battlegrounds. Who exactly is this king who “will do as he pleases”? Some scholars believe that Daniel is still talking about Antiochus Epiphanes, as he was in verses 21-35. The problem comes when they try to match the military exploits in verses 40-45 with the actual career of Antiochus. It just doesn’t fit! It’s like writing a summary of my astonishing academic career at Yale University. I never went to Yale except to drive through the campus as a tourist. The scholars who hold the position that the angel is describing Antiochus say either that historians never wrote down the events referred to here or (a few say) Daniel made a mistake. Other students of Daniel have sensed a significant change at verse 36. Daniel is allowed to see beyond the character of Antiochus Epiphanes to the person Antiochus foreshadows. The “willful king” is the antichrist, an evil ruler who will emerge at “the time of the end” (11:35). Furthermore, Antiochus was one of the kings of the North, but this man is said to fight against both the “king of the South” and the “king of the North” (11:40). Arrogance and insult to God that were shockingly present in Antiochus will reach their ultimate expression in this final evil king. When it comes to understanding biblical prophecy, a lot of Christians throw up their hands in frustration. There are so many views and so much debate that they can’t keep it all straight. Plus it doesn’t seem to have much to do with their everyday life of dealing with the kids, getting the tires rotated on the car and keeping up with the mortgage payment. But certain points about the future are made clear in this last vision Daniel sees and

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records. At least four elements will mark the final days of human history. The Antichrist First, the antichrist will come on the scene. Daniel has painted his picture for us several times—in the “other horn” of chapter 7, in the “small horn” of chapter 8, in “the ruler who will come” in chapter 9, and now in the willful king in chapter 11. This ruler will be blatantly antiGod—not an atheist but a hater of God—who magnifies himself and does what he desires among the nations he dominates. He will worship the god of military power and will rule with ruthless disregard for the people under his authority. He will pursue his enemies with oppression, terror, violence and death. He will exalt himself above every god as the object of worship and will in turn exalt the one who is the source of his power, Satan himself. The antichrist won’t seem like a bad guy at first. He will make a peace-and-protection covenant with the people of Israel (9:27). He will rise to power in an inconspicuous way. But when his power is consolidated, no one will escape his tyranny. The Time of Distress The second feature of the last days that Daniel emphasizes is “a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” (12:1). There is coming a time of tribulation for the whole world, but especially for Daniel’s own people. It will dwarf any time of trouble that has come before. It’s hard to imagine a time more oppressive for Jews than the Holocaust or the pogroms in Russia, but that’s what the Bible says is yet to come. The antichrist will single out Israel for special protection at first when he establishes his covenant with them, but then he will turn

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Daniel 11:36–12:13 against them in murderous rage (9:27). They will be pursued and executed far more severely than under the Pharaohs in Egypt in the days of Moses or under Antiochus in the second century b.c. It will look very bad for God’s people for a while. The “power of the holy people” has to be broken (12:7). The people of Israel in that future day will cry out to God for deliverance, and finally, according to Daniel, deliverance will come. Separating the Wise and the Wicked The time of tribulation and the persecution of the antichrist will make a clear line of separation between the wise and the wicked. No one will be on the fence. Oppression will purify the genuine believers and confirm them in the faith. But those who are weak or who have never genuinely believed in Jesus will be pushed in the opposite direction. Their basic godlessness will be revealed as they identify themselves with the antichrist and his hatred of God. Those who are wise, however, those who have confident faith in the Lord regardless of how things may seem around them, will gather together for fellowship and teaching and mutual encouragement. But they will be targeted for destruction by the antichrist just like the people of Israel. Ultimate Victory Daniel never wavers on one element of the last days—the ultimate victory of God over human and angelic rebellion. Satan and the antichrist will not succeed! It may seem for a while that they are in control, but what appears at the moment to be true is not the full story. Behind the scenes, invisible to us, stands a sovereign God, and he will not be thwarted or turned aside from what he determines to do. One of the proofs of God’s ultimate victory is the resurrection of the dead that Daniel 12 promises. Some will be raised, the angel told Daniel, “to shame and everlasting contempt,”

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161 but others will be raised “to everlasting life” (v. 2). Those who are raised to life receive rewards and glory as evidence of their faithfulness and perseverance. Those who wait and survive through all the final judgments of God will be blessed. Living in the Light of the Not Yet Daniel never saw the fulfillment of the angel’s prophecies. In fact, he was told to seal up the prophecy for future generations and to go on his way. Daniel did not experience the days of the end, but he lived out his life in confident trust that God would keep his word. Only time would reveal the time of the end. Daniel came to the end of life knowing that some day he would rise again to receive blessing and reward from God’s hand. We know far more than Daniel did—and we even understand Daniel’s words better than he did—but I’m not sure we always live with the same confidence Daniel had. I wonder if we raise our kids and pay our mortgage with the assurance that God is in control in spite of how things seem to be at the moment. To the Jews living in second-century Palestine it looked for a while like Antiochus Epiphanes was in control, but he wasn’t. To those Christians who live today under political and religious oppression it may look like God has forgotten them, but he hasn’t. To those who see the antichrist rise to power in the last days it may seem like he is the one calling the shots, but he isn’t. God is ruling and overruling the affairs of our world, and because of that we can have confidence, a sense of security and even a spirit of joy in our struggles. The book of Daniel ends with this secure hope, and as the rest of the Bible unfolds, that hope only grows stronger. Our hope is not simply based on a pie-in-the-sky, hope-so wish that everything will turn out all right. Our hope is grounded in faith in God who has demonstrated himself worthy of our trust. It rests on the firm foundation of the past victory of

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162 Jesus’ death and resurrection. We may live in a troubled present, but we aren’t afraid. We know that something far better is coming in the future, and so we, like Daniel, can “go our way” and find rest and peace in a troubled world. I’m impressed that the angel’s final words are so personal. God is not concerned only with empires and wars and the time of the end.

Session Twelve: Darkness Before Deliverance

He’s also concerned about each of us. His eternal plan includes Daniel—and me and you. Daniel was at least eighty-five years old when he wrote this. It’s the latest recorded date in Daniel’s career (10:1), but he’s still faithfully following the Lord, still fully obedient, still clinging to God’s promises. A good way to end a book—and a life!

What’s the main idea in this section?

What is one thing you can act on based on this reading?

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Part 4. Discuss Putting It All Together OPEN When you think of the future, how does it usually make you feel?

READ Daniel 11:36–12:13. You can find many stories on the Internet or in the pages of church history about “prophets” who claimed to know when Jesus would return or when the end of the world would come. So far, they have all been wrong! God has revealed enough about the future so that we have confidence in his wisdom, but not every detail is explained. We can study Daniel’s words with enthusiasm, but in the end we put our trust only in the Lord. 1. The overarching message of Daniel’s book is that the power of the Most High God will ultimately triumph over evil, evil angels, evil rulers and all the human kingdoms of the earth. What did that truth produce in Daniel? What do you want it to produce in you? 2. The future human king’s god will be “a god of fortresses”—the ancient god of war and militarism (11:3839). How do you see the influence of this god at work in our world today? 3. Is your name “written in the book” (12:1) of those who will be delivered from the future time of distress? How do you know and on what condition is it written or can it be written there? 4. In today’s world, what groups of people would find Daniel’s book most encouraging? Who might find Daniel’s book terrifying? 5. In the course of your study in Daniel, what aspect of the character and nature of God has stood out to you, and how has it changed or strengthened how you worship and trust God? 6. Daniel was told to go on with his life even though he did not fully understand all that he had been told. Describe a time when you had to trust God even though you didn’t understand what he was doing in your life. 7. How will we know when we are in “the time of the end” described in Daniel? What does this tell us about how we should live our lives today? 8. What example or aspect of Daniel’s character has helped you best survive spiritually in a secular world? 9. Realistically evaluate your own life and character. What strengths do you share with Daniel? What weaknesses are exposed when you compare yourself to him? Ask God to cultivate Daniel-like qualities in your life.

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Guidelines for Leaders My grace is sufficient for you. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I

f leading a small group is something new for you, don’t worry. You don’t need to be an expert on the Bible or a trained teacher. The discussion guides in part four are designed to facilitate a group’s discussion, not a leader’s presentation. Guiding group members to discover together what the Bible has to say and to listen together for God’s guidance will help them remember much more than a lecture would. Furthermore, the discussion guides are designed to flow naturally. You may even find that the discussions seem to lead themselves! They’re also flexible; you can use the discussion guide with a variety of groups—students, professionals, coworkers, friends, neighborhood or church groups. Each discussion takes forty-five to sixty minutes in a group setting. There are some important facts to know about group dynamics and helpful discussion. The suggestions listed below should equip you to effectively and enjoyably fulfill your role as leader. Preparing for the Study 1. Ask God to help you understand and apply the passage in your own life. Unless this happens, you will not be prepared to lead others. Pray too for the various members of the group. Ask God to open your hearts to the message of his Word and motivate you to action. 2. Carefully work through parts one, two and three of each session before your group meets. Spend time in meditation and reflection as you consider how to respond.

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3. Write your thoughts and responses in the space provided in the study guide. This will help you to express your understanding of the passage clearly and more easily remember significant ideas you want to highlight in the group discussion. 4. It may help to have a Bible dictionary handy. Use it to look up any unfamiliar words, names or places. 5. Reflect seriously on how you need to apply the Scripture to your life. Remember that the group members will follow your lead in responding to the studies. They will not go any deeper than you do. Leading the Study 1. At the beginning of your first time together, explain that these studies are meant to be discussions, not lectures. Encourage the members of the group to participate. However, do not put pressure on those who may be hesitant to speak— especially during the first few sessions. 2. Be sure that everyone in your group has a study guide. Encourage the group to prepare beforehand for each discussion by reading the introduction to the guide and by working through the questions in each study. 3. Begin each study on time. Open with prayer, asking God to help the group understand and apply the passage. 4. Discuss the “Open” question before the Bible passage is read. It introduces the

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Guidelines for Leaders theme of the study and helps group members begin to open up. It can also reveal where our thoughts and feelings need to be transformed by Scripture. Encourage as many members as possible to respond to the “Open” question, and be ready to get the discussion going with your own response. 5. Have a group member read aloud the passage to be studied as indicated in the guide. 6. The study questions are designed to be read aloud just as they are written. You may, however, prefer to express them in your own words.   Note also that there may be times when it is appropriate to deviate from the discussion guide. For example, a question may have already been answered. If so, move on to the next question. Or someone may raise an important question not covered in the guide. Take time to discuss it, but try to keep the group from going off on tangents. 7. Avoid answering your own questions. An eager group quickly becomes passive and silent if members think the leader will do most of the talking. If necessary, repeat or re­phrase the question until it is clearly understood, or refer to the commentary woven into the guide to clarify the context or meaning. 8. Don’t be afraid of silence in response to the discussion questions. People may need time to think about the question before

165 formulating their answers. 9. Don’t be content with just one answer. Ask, “What do the rest of you think?” or “Anything else?” until several people have given answers to the question. 10. Try to be affirming whenever possible. Especially affirm participation. Never reject an answer; if it is clearly off-base, ask, “Which verse led you to that conclusion?” or again, “What do the rest of you think?” 11. Don’t expect every answer to be addressed to you, even though this will probably happen at first. As group members become more at ease, they will begin to truly interact with each other. This is one sign of healthy discussion. 12. Don’t be afraid of controversy. It can be very stimulating. If you don’t resolve an issue completely, don’t be frustrated. Explain that the group will move on and God may enlighten all of you in later sessions. 13. Periodically summarize what the group has said about the passage. This helps to draw together the various ideas mentioned and gives continuity to the study. But don’t preach. 14. Conclude your time together with the prayer suggestion at the end of the study, adapting it to your group’s particular needs as appropriate. Ask for God’s help in following through on the applications you’ve identified. 15. End on time.

Many more suggestions and helps for studying a passage or guiding discussion can be found in How to Lead a LifeGuide Bible Study and The Big Book on Small Groups (both from InterVarsity Press/USA).

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Bibliography Baldwin, Joyce. Daniel. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1978. Boda, Mark J., and J. Gordon McConville, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012. Goldingay, John E. Daniel. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, 1989. Longman, Tremper, III. Daniel. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999. McDowell, Josh. Daniel in the Critic’s Den. San Bernardino, CA: Campus Crusade for Christ, 1979. Wallace, Ronald S. The Message of Daniel. Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979. Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Whitcomb, John C. Daniel. Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985. Wood, Leon. A Commentary on Daniel. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.

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