Scripture Reading: Dan. 1:1-2
Among the many books of the prophets, four books are mysterious: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah. We thank the Lord that, through the years, He has opened these books to us. In this introductory message to the life-study of Daniel, we will consider the subject, the contents, the central thought, and the sections of the book of Daniel.
The subject of the book of Daniel is the destiny of Israel apportioned out by God, the contents of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9:24-27). The seventy weeks are the destiny apportioned out by God to Israel.
This book not only covers the destiny of Israel but also covers the Gentile government and Christ. The large human image in Daniel 2 signifies all of human government from Genesis 10 to Revelation 19. Our understanding of the history of the Jewish people and of the Gentile government would be inadequate without this book. The book of Daniel shows us that Israel and human government are for Christ. Christ is the centrality and the universality of God's move, and this move is intrinsically involved with Israel and the Gentile government.
The book of Daniel reveals five particular points concerning Christ. The first point is the death of Christ. Daniel 9:25 and 26 say, "From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of Messiah the Prince will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks....And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah will be cut off." This word about Messiah being "cut off" is the clearest word in the Old Testament concerning the crucifixion of Christ. The crucifixion of Christ is the landmark of the ages. It is the landmark where the old creation was terminated for the germination of the new creation in Christ's resurrection.
Christ died an all-inclusive death. When He died, we and the entire old creation died with Him. Therefore, His death was an all-inclusive termination. The terminating death of Christ ushered in the resurrection, and in the resurrection the germination of God's new creation began.
The second point is the upcoming appearing of Christ (2:34-35, 45). He will appear as a stone cut out without hands to strike the great image (vv. 31-45) at its feet of iron and clay. The entire image, which represents all human government, will be crushed, not from the head to the toes but from the toes upward to the head. This smashing of the image from the toes to the head will occur at the coming of Christ, and it is something only God Himself can do. At Christ's coming, all human government, from Nimrod in Genesis 10 to Antichrist, the last Caesar of the Roman Empire, in Revelation 19, will be crushed and become like chaff blown away by the wind (Dan. 2:35). The coming of Christ will also be the opening of the eternal kingdom of God. Hence, Christ's coming will be the landmark which closes human government and brings in the eternal kingdom of God.
The third point is Christ as the Son of Man who comes to the throne of God to receive dominion and a kingdom (7:13-14). In Luke 19 Christ is portrayed as a certain man of noble birth who went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then to return (v. 12). Christ's coming to the throne of God to receive the kingdom from the God of the heavens takes place in Daniel 7. After Christ receives the kingdom, He will come back.
The fourth point is the excellency of Christ in Daniel 10. Before Daniel spoke in chapters ten through twelve about the destiny of Israel, he received a revelation of Christ in His excellency. Every part of Christ is excellent and precious (vv. 5-6). We need to see and know this excellent Christ before we can know the destiny of God's people.
The last point is Christ as the companion of the suffering witnesses of God. In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar had Daniel's three companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace of fire because they would not bow down and worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up (vv. 13-23). Three were thrown into the furnace, but to his astonishment, Nebuchadnezzar saw another person within the furnace. The fourth person was "like a son of the gods" (v. 25). This One is the excellent Christ, who goes through the same kind of blazing fire as His suffering overcomers. Whenever we are witnesses for God, testifying something for God, we may suffer. Yet, in our suffering, Christ as the Son of Man — the One who is qualified and capable of sympathizing with us in everything — comes to be our companion.
The contents of the book of Daniel are the seventy weeks apportioned out by God for Israel (9:24-27). One week equals seven years. We use the word apportioned to indicate that God cuts the ages into portions.
These seventy weeks are divided into three parts. The first part is seven weeks of forty-nine years, from the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the completion of the rebuilding.
The second part is sixty-two weeks of four hundred thirty-four years, from the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the cutting off of Messiah (the crucifixion of Christ).
The third part will be the last week of seven years, the time of Antichrist's covenant with Israel, the last seven years of the present age of grace, divided into two halves. The first half will not be that crucial, but the last half, of three and a half years, will be very important, for that will be the time of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21).
There is an insertion of Israel's history between the first sixty-nine weeks and the last week, in the age of the church. This insertion may be called the age of mystery, the age of grace, or the age of the church. This age includes many mysterious things, such as the resurrection of Christ, regeneration, Christ living in us, and the life-giving Spirit. The history of Israel is physical, with nothing of a mysterious nature, but the church's history is altogether mysterious.
The first part of seven weeks and the second part of sixty-two weeks have already been fulfilled. A decree was given to rebuild Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25), and Jerusalem was rebuilt. The Messiah was cut off sixty-two weeks from the rebuilding of Jerusalem (v. 26). Hence, these two parts of the seventy weeks, which were prophecies, have become history.
The central thought of Daniel is that the ruling of the heavens (4:26) by the God of the heavens (2:37, 44) over all the human government on earth matches God's eternal economy for Christ to terminate the old creation for the germination of the new creation and to smash and crush the aggregate of human government and establish the eternal kingdom of God.
The God of the heavens rules over all human government. Human government began with Nimrod in Genesis 10. Prior to Genesis 10 there were no human nations; instead, there was only mankind as a whole without established nations. Nations began to be established by Nimrod, who built Babel, a prefigure of Babylon (Gen. 10:8-10). Human government will conclude with the coming Antichrist, who will be the last Caesar of the Roman Empire. All human government from Nimrod to Antichrist has been and will continue to be under the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens.
In God's economy, Christ has terminated the old creation for the germination of the new creation in His resurrection through His death. This was achieved in His first coming. In God's economy, Christ, by His upcoming appearing, will also smash and crush the aggregate of human government throughout the history of mankind and will establish the eternal kingdom of God. All of these matters have been and will be intrinsically involved with Israel, either positively or negatively.
The entire world situation is under the rule of the heavens by the God of the heavens, to match His economy for Christ. Today the world situation, especially in Europe and the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, has been balanced and brought into a condition which is ready for Christ's return. He is at the door and the time is near. As we see this situation, we must wake up and realize that the world is not for us. We are for Christ, and every day we must prepare ourselves to meet Him. Then we will receive a reward from Him.
The book of Daniel covers some very important matters. First, this book covers the history of Israel. Without this book, the Jewish people could not have an adequate understanding of their history. Daniel also covers human government from Nimrod to Antichrist. Because Israel and human government are for Christ, the book of Daniel also reveals certain aspects of Christ. Christ is the center and the circumference, the centrality and the universality, of God's move.
The last matter to be covered in this message is the sections of the book of Daniel.
In Daniel 1:1 and 2, an introductory word, we see the issue of the degradation of God's elect — the captivity to Babylon.
Actually, the book of Daniel has just two sections. The first section, comprising chapters one through six, concerns the victory, in their captivity, of the young descendants (including Daniel) of God's degraded elect over Satan's further devices. This victory was over the demonic diet (1:3-21); over the devilish blinding that prevents people from seeing the great human image (the totality of human government throughout human history) in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (ch. 2); over the seduction of idol worship (ch. 3); over the covering that hinders people from seeing the ruling of the heavens by the God of the heavens (ch. 4); over the ignorance concerning the result of the debauchery before God and the insult to His holiness (ch. 5); and over the subtlety that prohibited the faithfulness of the overcomers in the worship of God (ch. 6).
The second section of Daniel covers the visions of the overcoming Daniel (chs. 7—12). Daniel's faithfulness and victory gave him the position and the right angle to receive visions from God.
The first vision concerns the four beasts out of the Mediterranean Sea (ch. 7). These beasts refer to Babylon, Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire, and they correspond to the head, the breast with the arms, the abdomen with the thighs, and the legs with the feet of the great human image in 2:31-33. The second vision concerns a ram and a male goat with its successors (ch. 8). The next vision concerns Israel in the seventy weeks apportioned out to them (ch. 9). The last vision (chs. 10—12) concerns the destiny of Israel. According to chapters ten and eleven, Israel's destiny is related to the king of the south (Egypt) and the king of the north (Syria). According to chapter twelve, Israel's destiny is also related to the archangel Michael's standing for Israel.
