11/11/2024
Let's talk about Daniel
Daniel Chapter 1:
This chapter gives us the background setting for the book of Daniel telling us how the prophet, as a young man, found himself to be an unwilling captive in the great kingdom of Babylon. Even though Daniel’s “little book” is only twelve chapters long, its pages are full of meaning for the believer in spite of it being more than two thousand, six hundred years old! Instead of his prophecies becoming obsolete and outdated, their relevance has increased exponentially with the passage of time. Because of the astounding accuracy of the prophecies found in its pages, scholars have concluded its author lived many years later than the events depicted. They assume that these things must have been recounted from a retrospective viewpoint. But we will not waste time on skeptical questioning, but rather, point out that Daniel’s contemporary, the prophet Ezekiel, classed him with two Bible heroes “Noah . . . and Job” (Ezekiel 14:14, 20) and said that his wisdom was exceeded only by that of a superhuman being called “the prince of Tyrus” (Ezek. 28:2, 3). Jesus Himself referred to the “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Matt.24:15; Mark 13:14), proof that He believed the book of Daniel is genuine.
Therefore, as far as I am concerned, there is absolutely no question that:
1. The book of Daniel is the genuine article.
2. The events and prophecies contained are accurate and truthful.
3. Its sealed portion was complemented some six hundred years later by John in the open book of Revelation.
The SDA Bible Commentary offers other convincing claims of its authenticity including such archeological findings as fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls containing portions of the book of Daniel.
[Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol.4. page 744, paragraph 3, 4]
