Daniel; The king who thinks he's God (Index thread)

The book of Daniel can be divided into two halves, in slightly different ways.

It is well-known that the book is written in two different languages.
The six chapters beginning with the second are in Aramaic, a language which spread over the whole region from Babylon westwards, becoming the normal speech of the Jews of the time of Jesus.
The first chapter, and the rest of the book from the eighth chapter onwards, are in Hebrew. One significant difference is that God speaks mainly through dreams in the Aramaic portion, and through visions in the Hebrew portion.

The other line of division almost coincides.
The first six chapters are about the general problem of kingship setting itself against God, as illustrated by the kings ruling in Babylon.
The remaining six chapters are pointing towards the notorious king Antiochus Epiphanes, and also towards a more distant future king of the same type.

My threads on Daniel have been a very “occasional” series, inspiration permitting. However, I’ve now filled all the gaps that are likely to be filled, so the series can be considered complete.

They fall into three groups.

The first group are looking at the chapters in the first half of Daniel, which illustrate the progression of the confrontation between the Biblical God and dominating kings in general.
This confrontation resembles the proverbial meeting between the irresistible force and the immovable object, in that one of them is necessarily exposed as a fraud.

Chapter One

Let them eat bean-cake
This chapter introduces the choice between obedience to God’s will and obedience to human authority. The occasion is that Daniel is offered a diet compromised by idolatry.

Chapter Two

Daniel the dream-reader
Showing that only the Creator God, and those taught by him, can have true knowledge of the future. This prepares the way for the prophecies of the rest of the book.

The stone and the statue
The first of two visions anticipating a “fourth kingdom” after the historic empires known to the writer, and looking forward to the ultimate overthrow of human authority.


Chapter Three
The burning, fiery furnace
The conflict between the obedience due to God and the obedience demanded by idolatrous human authority.

Chapter Four

The madness of kings
How kingship needs to be in submission to God’s authority, and what happens otherwise.

Chapter Five

Writing on the wall
God’s judgement is carried out on idolatrous human authority.

Chapter Six

The lions' den
In this chapter, the real trouble is coming from the remorseless impersonality of human authority, in the form of the faceless “law of the Medes and the Persians”.
Nevertheless, it is possible for human leadership to see sense and accept the authority of God.


The second group are looking at those chapters in the second half of Daniel which offer a coded version of the period in history between Alexander the Great and Antiochus Epiphanes (and perhaps further)

Chapter Seven

Daniel’s fourth kingdom; History and Prophecy
The second of the two visions anticipating a “fourth kingdom” after the historic empires known to the writer, and looking forward to the ultimate overthrow of human authority.
They appear to be projecting the future evil kingship without reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, which confuses the interpretations of those scholars who don’t distinguish between the two.

Chapter Eight

Daniel’s Greece and Persia
Allegories describing the war between Alexander the Great and the Persian empire and what happens afterwards, preparing the way for introducing Antiochus Epiphanes onto the scene.

Chapter Nine

A long prayer of penitence (which I haven’t examined) leads into;
The unsolved puzzle of the Seventy Weeks

Chapter Ten

I wrote no thread on the visionary figure of this chapter, but he should be compared with the “Son of Man” vision in Revelation ch1.
Fear not
At some point I may do a more general thread on the Old Testament “angels of the Lord”.

Chapter Eleven

Kings of the north and south
Allegorically describing the wars between the northern and southern neighbours of Judah in the period leading up to the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes. Thus preparing the way for introducing him onto the scene.

The king at the time appointed
A description of Antiochus Epiphanes overlapping with a description of the similar future king.

Finally, some occasional threads on details of the “end-times” in Daniel.

He makes covenant with many ch9 v27

What is an abomination of desolation? ch11 v31

Many shall run to and fro ch12 v4

Daniel’s “week” and Revelation’s “hour” Relating to ch9 v27, and also the “time, two times, and half a time” of ch12 v7.

However, I’m still not expecting to get any insights on the 1290 days or 1335 days (ch12 vv11-12).
Other gaps may be found, but I think the essential features have been covered.

so he thinks he is god, and his descendents are gods too, hence the excuse they can rule the world?

i dislike the old test, i like the message of the new test, where everyone is equal.

the old test stories are all to scare you into submission.
jc came around and was like, nah, ignore that nonsense.

so if daniel thinks he is god, well that helps explain present day politiks.

originally posted by: dantanna
so he thinks he is god, and his descendents are gods too, hence the excuse they can rule the world?

i dislike the old test, i like the message of the new test, where everyone is equal.

the old test stories are all to scare you into submission.
jc came around and was like, nah, ignore that nonsense.

so if daniel thinks he is god, well that helps explain present day politiks.

You misunderstand the title. Daniel is not a king- that's just the name of the book, used as a series heading. The kings mentioned in the book think they're God, from Nebuchadnezzar to Antiochus Epiphanes (and on to Nero, Hitler, and so on).
We need to use the Old and New Testaments together. As Jesus said, we must be like the householder who keeps both old things and new things in his treasure chest.