April 2023

Biblically speaking the holy Prophet Daniel, who’s name means “God is my judge,” is placed fourth in line among the five major prophets. Tradition informs us that Daniel was of the royal tribe of Judah, and thus stemmed from the house of king David. In his youth Daniel was taken captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon in 597 BC during the first wave of deportations in what would be known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Captivity. Along with Daniel, three of his fellow young Jewish friends were also taken to Babylon. These pious youths would be chosen to appear before the royal court of the king of Babylon, due to their intellect and handsome features. The Hebrew names of Daniel’s friends were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; but they would all be given new names according to the tongue of the Chaldeans. For as it is written, “to them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abed-Nego” (Daniel 1:7).

Being trained to serve in the palace of the king, the Jewish youths were given food which was not prepared according to God’s law, and was even offered to idols. Daniel and his companions refused to eat this food, and asked instead for only fresh vegetables and water. After ten days the countenance of the Jewish youths appeared better and fatter than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. When Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon interviewed them in all matters of wisdom and understanding, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. These spiritual gifts which Daniel possessed would be utilized to help king Nebuchadnezzar interpret a strange dream the king had which greatly troubled him. Nebuchadnezzar first made inquiry among all of his wise men demanding that they not only interpret the dream, but also tell him the contents of the dream without the king telling them. The Babylonian magicians were unable to do this, but God revealed the dream to Daniel along with the meaning of the dream.

The dream was simply a statue of a man which had a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet and toes mixed of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the dream and also prophesied that the differing metals of the statue represented future world empires, with the head of gold symbolizing the Babylonian empire. Daniel’s ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream brought the prophet great honor, with the king bestowing upon Daniel a very important and prestigious position within his kingdom. Daniel also managed that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego be given authority over the affairs of the province of Babylon. However, the graces between the three pious Jewish youths and Nebuchadnezzar would be short-lived due to the king’s demand that all his subjects bow down before an idol of the king. The three young men would not worship the statue, so the king ordered that they be thrown into a fiery furnace to be burned alive, but miraculously the fire did not hurt them. Nebuchadnezzar was astonished by this, and even saw a fourth person in the fire, who he said looked like the Son of God. The king then ordered them out of the furnace and when he saw that not even the hairs of their head were singed, neither their cloths burnt, nor the smell of the fire was upon them, that the king spoke blessing the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, Who sent His angel to deliver His servants (Daniel 3:28).

Soon after these events Nebuchadnezzar would again be troubled by yet another dream. This time when he called his soothsayers and magicians he told them the dream, but none of them could interpret it. Then at last Daniel came forward and the king made known to him the dream. In the dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a tree which stood in the midst of the earth, and it grew unto a great height. The leaves of the tree where beautiful and its branches were full of fruit and the beasts of the earth took refuge beneath it for shade and the birds of the air nestled in it’s branches and all creation fed from it. Then behold, a watcher and a holy one from heaven came down and cried out saying, “hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: but leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field. Let his heart be changed from that of a man to that of a beast, and let seven times pass over him.”

Daniel went on to tell the king that the tree represented him and his kingdom, and that he would be driven away from men and his dwellings would be among the beasts of the field and that he would eat grass as oxen, and that his body would be wet with the dew of heaven. And all this came upon king, for at the end of twelve months as he walked in his palace and boasted of his greatness and power, a voice came from heaven telling Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom had departed from him and that he would live like an animal for a period of seven years, just as Daniel had explained to him before. But at the end of his affliction Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes unto heaven and his understanding returned to him and he blessed the most High and praised and honored Him who lives for ever, whose dominion is everlasting, and whose kingdom is from generation to generation. Thus his reason returned to him, and Nebuchadnezzar was established in his kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto him.

Now at this time Belshazzar ruled over Babylon, and one night while he was drinking wine he commanded that the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be used for him and his princes, his wives and his concubines, that they might drink therein. Then as they drank wine, and praised the gods of silver and gold, came forth fingers of a man’s hand and wrote on the wall of the king’s palace. The king was suddenly troubled, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees knocked. The king’s wise men were brought in, but they could not interpret the writing. Then was the prophet Daniel brought in. He was able to read the writing on the wall and give the interpretation. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Thus it happened that the Persian army marched into the city on a dry riverbed that night and took Babylon without a fight.

Now the prophet Daniel worked very hard for the new king and soon arose to a high position in the Persian empire. But many in the new kingdom eyed Daniel with jealousy and tried to get him in trouble with the king, but none could find any error or fault in him. So the princes of the kingdoms conspired to make king Darius sign a decree which stated that if any man should make a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save the king, he shall be cast into a den of lions. Daniel knowing of this decree continued to pray towards Jerusalem anyway. The princes then assembled and found Daniel praying to his God and brought him before the king along with the accusation. The king then ordered Daniel to be cast to the lions, but was later troubled by his decision. The next day the king arose very early in the morning and made haste to the den of lions. When the king saw that Daniel was alive he was very happy and commanded Daniel to be taken out of the lion’s den and then commanded all those who had conspired against Daniel to be cast to the lions along with their wives and their children. King Darius then made a decree that all those in his kingdom should give glory to the God of Daniel.

Daniel was a great prophet who was shown visions of the future. Some of those visions were fulfilled during Daniel’s lifetime, some happened after him, and some are still yet to be fulfilled. These visions of future events written in the Book of Daniel in many ways mirror the visions recorded in the Book of Revelation. Both Daniel and Revelation speak of past, present, and future events which span the entire history of the creation of the world, from the very beginning unto the very end.

References:

Holy Apostles Convent. The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).

Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).

Regal Books. What The Bible Is All About. (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light Publications, 1989).

Tarazi, P.N. The Old Testament: Introduction Vol. 2: Prophetic Traditions. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1994).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).