THE REVELATION OF DANIEL

The Revelation of Daniel Chapter 1

AN OVERLAY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL WITH THE BOOK OF REVELATION

INTRODUCTION: Laying the Biblical groundwork before and after the events of the first chapter.

Daniel was a chosen vessel, on a mission from God, to show the World the true God, not just another god alongside their gods. The unknown God, as Paul referred to Him, is portrayed by Daniel as all-knowing and in control of man’s destiny. Daniel, a man greatly loved, so says Gabriel the Angel of God, is given the prophecies of Gentile nations in succession down until the Second Coming of Christ. Those words of Daniel give us a greater and necessary understanding of the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil and the determined will against Him. Coupled with the Words of Christ, we discover the truth behind the deterioration of our present World, our present increasing spiritual battle, and the soon coming events of the last 7 years of this Age.

Two verses of God’s Word help shape our searching hearts as we continue on our study. It should be every Christian’s great quest to set and keep our hearts aright with God and be found in that state expressed by our Lord in the first three chapters of Revelation. This being to be found an Overcomer, being awake, and watching and praying at Jesus Christ’s Return, as seen in the following verses. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” [1 John 3:3] That which we suppose answers to the blessing of Revelation 1:3. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

The Book of Daniel opens with the victorious march of the Babylonian Power, under Nebuchadnezzar, against the Jews, Jerusalem, and the Holy Land.  And then the Book closes with the end-time Babylonian Power under the last Anti-Christ, marching against the same people, city, and land. The battle ends with the Anti-Christ’s eternal destruction and Israel’s triumphant restoration at the Second Coming of Christ.

In much the same way, the entire Bible opens with the victorious campaign of satan over Adam and the fall of the Kingdom of God on the earth. And it closes with satan’s eternal destruction at the Second Adam’s triumphant Second Coming, and in the establishing of the eternal Kingdom of God again upon the earth with its heavens above.

When we look backwards from Daniel through Bible History, we see Nimrod’s  connection to Nebuchadnezzar’s now resurgent Babylon. [Genesis 10:9,10; 11:1-9] And when we look forward through the eyes of Daniel and John to the prophesied end of this Age, we see God’s Hand and purpose in the re-gathering of the Gentile nations, where before “…they left off to build the city.”  He then mercifully calls His people out, from under the banner of the last days’ Nimrod, the great Anti-Christ, and the reconstituted city of Babel. Just as He mercifully did with their forefather Abraham. Then He brings the wicked Nations to final judgment in the land of Israel, where their blood answers to the Noahic Covenant. [Genesis 9:5,6] “…..great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”  [Revelation 16:19b] Finally fulfilling the “times of the Gentiles”, and bringing in the Messiah’s millennial Kingdom of Righteousness to go on and on and be without end in the New Earth and New heavens.

For every Empire that has come and gone since Babel’s confusing, (that of Egypt and Assyria and then after the four Daniel were shown; Babylon, the Medes/Persian, Greece/Macedonian, and Roman) ALL fell for the want of Righteousness.

Divine judgment had destroyed the great City of Jerusalem, the temple vessels, and Nebuchadnezzar (the instrument of God’s hand). The execution of this judgment had carried the people, into Babylon, the very type of the forthcoming in the last week of years. Three times he came as a conqueror and took Jerusalem. The first time was B.C. 606, deporting Daniel and his companions. The second time was B.C. 598, deporting Ezekiel and many others. The third time was B.C. 587, when he burned the city and finished the captivity of Judah. Jeremiah also being a part of that era and resident of Jerusalem near the then plundering and burning of Jerusalem and Temple.

For seventy years the Jews were to be delivered unto the Chaldean power, so says the prophet Jeremiah.  Daniel was appointed by God to give the full course of all Judgment on Israel and foretell the fate of all Gentile ruling empires.

Daniel, at 14 years old, was carried into captivity, where he will remain for his entire near hundred years of life. At 18, he began to chronicle the Word of God as he sought His Face. His life encompassed the last kings of Israel. Ezekiel favorably mentions Daniel in his writings. With the final and complete destruction of the Temple and the last Diaspora, the 70 years of exile is pronounced. After which the prophets Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel are appointed to restore Jerusalem and the Temple. All the while Daniel remains to help against their enemies, both on a political and spiritual level, (as we shall see in a first glimpse of Angelic conflict with one another, which is further seen in the Book of Revelation) those enemies that resist the rebuilding efforts after the edict of Cyrus. [Ezra 1:1] Daniel never returned to his homeland, as we are told his body was laid to rest in historical Shushan, a capital of ancient Persia.

Daniel relates 1 dream and 4 visions wherein is the chronological history of all nations, and their rise and fall. He foretells of many key events and players throughout time. Including the kings, the nations, their alliances, Antiochus Epiphanes, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the Messiah Jesus Christ, His birth and death, the destruction of Jerusalem and Titus, the last one week of 7 years before the establishing of the Kingdom without end, the Nations of that time, the Beast Nation personified in the Anti-Christ, then the Messiah’s Second Coming and the destruction of the Beast and all the wicked nations, the restoration of the Jewish people, the establishing of the preeminence and permanence of that holy nation, the first resurrection out from among the dead, and overall the establishing of the Kingdom of the Messiah without end.

So it is the prophet Daniel lays before us, starting in the 2^nd chapter through the 12^th, the entire Time of the Gentiles the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greece-Macedonian and Roman, with further prophetic declarations about kingdoms that sprang from the third; that being the kingdoms of the Generals of Alexander the Great after his death, and then later the east and west divisions of the fourth/Roman empire… All together covering the time from B.C. 606 all the way to the Second Coming of Christ.

Daniels vision of the future was given to Him by the Angel Gabriel broken down into three periods of 7 year weeks, totaling 70 weeks: 7-62-1…which we will look at in detail. Again we are laying the ground work for our lessons, primarily to be focused on the last 1 week of 7 years, Daniels 70th week, Jeremiah’s “Jacob’s Trouble”…Jesus Christ’s and Johns Great Tribulation and Great Temptation ….Daniel predicts (1) the first coming and death of Christ and (2) the following destruction by Titus during the fourth empire. Then moving past this 2000 year interim period of the  “Fullness of the Gentiles”… but continuing on, even past this present day, unto (3) the forth Beast Empire of the 70^th week…wherein the feet and toes of the dream manifest in those last 10 confederated kings/nations unite with (4) the last Anti-Christ in their consorted effort to destroy materialistic Christendom as well as finally unite with the wicked nations of the World and gather in rage against God and with intent to wipe Israel from the planet….(5) the conversion and restoration of the Jews, (6) the resurrection of the worthy dead, (7) and at which time God sends Christ to destroy all Gentile politics and power, ending the times of the Gentiles and triumphantly establish His Millennial Kingdom.

All these Empires and kingdoms down unto our time and nation are represented in Daniel’s interpretive dream of the image representing the Gentiles. And what they all have in Common is the ever decreasing quality of material reflected in that image, depicting the increasing ferocious and greedy desire to conquer and control militarily for their self advancement and benefit of commerce. This has not, nor will it ever change in spite of Christianity. In fact, Christendom is to be fully amalgamated into the World as reflected in Christ’s parables in the call to the kingdom of heavens. [Matthew 13:31-33]

Now having been compromised and corrupted by the fear and lure of the religious World, devoured by the wolves of the World soon after the last Apostle’s passing, the so-called “Christian” nations then evolved and are evolving still out of Rome. They are no less bound to Mystery Babylon and its anti-Christ systems in securing its own perpetuation, by military might and by greedy practices in commerce than any pagan nation. And really, how could they be any other way? They are the nature of the Beasts that God has represented them to be.

Thus Daniel covers that time between the First and Second Comings of Jesus Christ, summarized in chapter 9:24-27. Wherein having said nothing about the Church of Jesus Christ, the Book of Revelation then reveals the Church’s call and challenge to overcome, before and during that last week of this Age. Chapters 19 & 20 being then the full view of Daniel 9:24-27. Our Lord, in Matthew 24 & 25 & 26:64 and Mark 13:14, 14:62 and Luke 21 & 22:69 references all this. And building on Daniel, Christ enlarges the prophecy to include the grafting in the nation of the new man to her place alongside Abraham’s heirs of promise and breaking off some of the branches of Israel. [Matthew 21:43, Ephesians chapter 2 & Romans 11] The one given the Gospel message to the Gentile nations, the other cut off in unbelief, during the long Interval.

Giving us the full course of this Age, and the destruction of the fourth empire, the rise of the 5^th, wherein the Overcomers of the Church, as the Consort of Christ and the elect of Israel with sure promise survives and finally receives the great and glorious kingdom of promise foretold by Daniel and all the prophets of New and Old Covenants.

Ezekiel describes the Shekinah Glory departing in chapter 10:18-20, 11:22,23, and then later, the last King of Israel, Zedekiah, (a type for the anti-Christ and satan) as profane and wicked, from whose head, symbolically, the Crown of God’s anointing is to be removed from Israel. “…and it shall be no more, until he come, whose right it is: and I will give it him.” [Ezekiel 21:26,27] Here it is then depicted that Nebuchadnezzar came finally and overthrew Israel and Jerusalem, removing the utensils of Temple worship, and burning the Temple. It is then that the Times of the Gentiles began. And has been unto today, and shall not end until Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s shall come again. The Stone, as depicted in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, comes and grinds to chaff upon the threshing floor of Armaggedon, the last wicked and profane Anti-Christ and the Gentile Nations. Where the rightful King and Messiah receives the Crown of Israel, to join His many other Crowns, and grant His Glory to return to Israel in His Millennial Kingdom. [Ezekiel 43:1-7, Revelation 19 & 20, with Luke 1:30-33]