THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2005

DANIEL 1:1-2

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION ABOUT DANIEL

 

 

Introduction:     The great Bible teacher, M.R. Dehaan, gave three rules that the Bible student should remember when studying the Bible:

 

A.     All Scripture has but ONE PRIMARY INTERPRETATION.

B.     All Scripture may have SEVERAL PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.

C.     Many Scriptures have also A PROPHETIC REVELATION.

 

     -     “To insist upon our PRIMARY INTERPRETATION and reject the PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS results in a cold, dead, lifeless orthodoxy. To take only the PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS of Scripture without regard to the PRIMARY DOCTRINAL INTERPRETATION leads to fanaticism. To ignore the PROPHETIC REVELATION is to close our eyes to the future, but to take only the PROPHETIC in the Word of God without regard to the INTERPRETATION and APPLICATION makes one a top-heavy, one-sided, unbalanced eschatologist.” (Taken from: “Daniel the Prophet, page 21; by M.R. Dehaan)

 

Introduction, (Part 2):     The Book of Daniel has been attacked by unbelievers and critics since the early church age - a fact that most conservative writers on Daniel point out in their works.

 

A.     No Biblical book contains more obviously fulfilled prophecies than Daniel.

 

     1.     The prophecies concerning the nations of Persia, Greece, and Rome all came true.

     2.     The critics have tried to discredit Daniel by saying that the book of Daniel was written AFTER the events rather than BEFORE.

 

B.     If Daniel was a fake then Ezekiel was also mistaken, or a fake, because he places Daniel in the same category as Noah and Job in Ezekiel 14:20.

 

C.     The Lord Jesus also authenticated Daniel by calling him “the prophet” in Matthew 24:15.

 

D.     Therefore, seeing the interwoven links by which the books of the Bible are connected, we must either accept all of the Bible as God’s Word or reject all of the Bible as a work of fiction or legends.

 

Introduction, (Part 3):     M.R. Dehaan gives five rules to guide us in studying Daniel:

 

A.     Daniel is a historic character who actually lived in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (Ezekiel 14:20).

 

B.     Daniel was a prophet who predicted things to happen in the future (Matthew 24:15).

 

C.     Daniel deals with the things which will happen during this present Gentile Age and the Tribulation Period to follow (Daniel 2:28).

 

D.     Daniel, and his godly companions, were a type of the nation of Israel to which they belonged.

 

E.     Dehaan repeats the rules of Bible study:

 

     1.     All Scripture has but one PRIMARY INTERPRETATION.

     2.     All Scripture may have several PRACTICAL APPLICATION.

     3.     Many Scriptures have also a PROPHETIC REVELATION.

 

 

I.     What is the theme of Daniel?

 

     A.     James Montgomery Boice gives the following quote concerning the great theme of Daniel in his book, “Daniel: An Expositional Commentary”:

 

               “The great and most important theme of Daniel is that there is but one God, who is Jehovah, and that he is sovereign over the events of history.” (p. 15)

 

     B.     Daniel, and the three Hebrew children, are forced to face a totally secular, anti-God society.

 

          -    Nebuchadnezzar makes a statement in Daniel 4:30 that exemplifies this secularism: “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as a royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty.”

 

     C.     The secularism of Nebuchadnezzar is seen clearly in our culture today:

 

          1.     The Philosophy of Evolution -     that man is the supreme product of evolution and the center of the universe (as far as human thinkers are concerned).

 

          2.     The Modern Separation of Church and State -     that government should rid itself of God and godly influences.

 

     D.     The book of Daniel, practically speaking, is very relevant to 21st Century America.

 

          1.     Modern Christians can relate to Daniel and the Hebrew children.

          2.     Ancient Babylon has many similarities with modern America.

          3.     As Daniel proves, God will have the ultimate victory over Secularism.

 

II.     The book of Daniel begins with God’s children losing control of their own lives.  (1:1-2)

 

     A.     This is a humiliating time in Jewish history:

 

          1.     Jerusalem is overtaken by  the Babylonians.

          2.     The king is taken captive.

          3.     The sacred vessels are removed from the Temple.

          4.     The sacred vessels are placed in the pagan temple in Babylon.

          5.     The future leadership of Jerusalem is taken to Babylon.

 

     B.     Why did God allow the Babylonians to take Jerusalem?

 

               -     The answer is found in Isaiah 24:1-5 in the form of a prophecy written BEFORE Daniel.