Purpose and message
Purpose & Occasion
The book of Daniel is Daniel’s first-hand account of his time in exile in Babylon. The context is therefore God’s discipline on his people. The purpose of the book concerns God’s plans for his kingdom that relates to both worldly powers and his own people. Following the end of the exile and the last prophets, there would be nearly 500 years before God spoke again and inaugurated the kingdom of his Messiah. During this time, God wanted his people to realise that the Gentile rule over them and their discipline would extend beyond the exile, and yet he was and would remain in control and all kingdoms would ultimately be subordinated to his. This kingdom would be inaugurated by the ‘Son of Man’ and be made up of his people. In God’s grace and faithfulness, this kingdom would be given to them, despite their exile and tribulation. In light of this, God’s people are to be resolutely encouraged by his sovereignty, being humbled and faithfully dependent under his unseen rule.
Message & Key Themes
Daniel teaches us that the living God is to be known as the true ruler of the world and encourages us to live for him when this doesn’t match with our present experience. Of course, we come to Daniel with the benefit of the amazing knowledge that the kingdom has been established in the Lord Jesus, who is the Son of Man of chapter 7, whether recognised by the world or not. The similarity we share with original readers is that the kingdoms around us don’t acknowledge God’s rule.
Daniel then directs our attention to “the Most High God” (4:24; 4:25; 4:35; 5:18; 5:21; 7:18; 7:27), sovereign over all kingdoms on earth. Ultimately, this reality is to be acknowledged by all people. In living for him and under his rule, a key theme is humility and steadfastness, relying on God and the ultimate deliverance of his people into an everlasting kingdom. This is how God will be acknowledged and vindicate his name (2:28; 4:18; 6:26; 9:19; 12:3)
A striking feature of chapters 7-12 is the imagery. These visions are presented in the apocalyptic genre. This is vivid imagery that shows us what we do not see – yet not in a literal way. Apocalyptic writing reveals reality in surreal ways. The intention of this is to intensify our understanding of the truths revealed. Kingdoms and rulers are depicted as beastly and monstrous; specific numbers show God’s plan as being purposeful and precise; animal horns suggest power in forceful and arrogant individuals. In contrast, God’s kingdom will be established and given to the ‘Son of Man’, “an everlasting dominion that will not pass away” (7:14). God’s people will be vindicated – and given the kingdom and resurrection life (7:18; 12:2).
Structure:
The book of Daniel falls into two clear halves. Chapters 1-6 recount court narratives of Daniel’s time in exile. Chapters 7-12 present four prophetic visions given to Daniel. The halves are connected by their concern for the kingdoms of mankind under God’s sovereignty. However, an equally clear division reveals itself when we consider the original language. Unusually, chapters 2-7 are written in Aramaic, with the remaining chapters being in Hebrew. Given that chapter 1 presents a historical introduction to the book, we are left with two halves: 2-7 (Aramaic) and 8-12 (Hebrew). It’s likely that the use of Aramaic signals an appeal to a wider audience (being the common language of the day) and publicly proclaims the truth of God’s rule above the rule and pride of worldly powers. The Hebrew section lays out a precise future for God’s people. A closer look shows these two divisions reveal an interlocking structure. This reveals the complexity and purposeful unity of the book, as well as suggesting chapter 7 as the centre or hinge:
The unity of the Aramaic section can be seen in the correspondence of chapter content. (i.e. you don’t need to know Aramaic to spot the structure – thankfully!) The connection of these chapters works from the outside of the section into the centre:
Chapter 7 then, looks back to 2-6 in presenting the ultimate humbling of worldly kingdoms under God’s kingdom. Following on from that, chapters 8-12 include three further visions that expand on chapter 7. They present the future of God’s people under the rule of consecutive kingdoms, until God establishes the kingdom of his Messiah and concludes history at the day of resurrection. This will only happen after a period of tribulation – both for the Messiah in the inauguration of the kingdom (“the appointed one” 9:26), and then within his kingdom before its final vindication (12:1).
Significance
The structure above emphasises both humility under, and confidence in God’s rule – both underpinned by the sovereign power given to the Son of Man of chapter 7. Although Christ has established his kingdom, the language of Daniel speaks of an ultimate end, with imagery of judgement and the book of life (7:10; 7:22; 7:27; 12:1). In this sense, life now is one in which Christ’s kingdom is here, with those who submit to the king, and yet the final destruction of wicked human rule is yet to come. Although we don’t endure these times as discipline for covenant disobedience, we do experience discipline as God’s children (Heb 12:7) through tribulation as we await the final consummation of the kingdom.
There are parallels to our own ‘exile’ as aliens and strangers in the world (1 Peter 2:11), and in the fact that we too live in “Babylon” (Rev. 18). During this time, we likewise experience the pressure to assimilate to the world, and the temptation to depend on its rule and doubt God’s sovereignty. How are we to deal with this? In 1-6, Daniel and his friends are model believers, yet their success is due to God’s sovereignty and faithfulness. That God’s people are the ones receiving the kingdom is striking (7:18; 7:22: 7:27). Such blessing comes from the close identification between God’s people and the Son of Man (cf: 7:14; 7:27). The reality of the world and how we should live in it are rooted in his supreme rule. There are only two responses possible: humble dependence or proud opposition. As we seek to live for God, our own strength will come from Christ, superseding Daniel in living the exilic life: refusing to worship another, dependent on his heavenly Father in the face of death, vindicating him as the living God whose kingdom will not be destroyed. In him, we are to resist opposition, to be faithful in tribulation, and live in dependence on the ‘Most High’, confident that we will receive his kingdom. In short, God Rules, OK!
Daniel and the Academy
Recognising the world in opposition to God as ‘Babylon’ helps to place the world of Daniel within our own experience, yet this resonance is able to stretch beyond generality, speaking pertinently into the world and experience of those in academia.
Daniel and his friends are identified as “showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.” In today’s terms, they were from ‘good stock’ and ‘well heeled.’ They benefited from the best education money could buy, they were bright, sharp, well informed and intentionally bred to lead, to be comfortable in any social situation. They were primed and qualified for entrance into red brick universities, to undertake PhDs and to graduate to highly paid jobs to be suitable for government, or for cutting edge research in their field. They were the best of the best, and no doubt were told as much by those who trained them. Consequently, there’s a lot to learn from God about his action in the world these men found themselves in.
Perhaps more significantly than the wealth of gifting these men had, is the fact that they were first and foremost men of God. The book of Daniel providues us with a window into the real lives of faithful belieivers, seeking to live for God within the upper echelons of the idolatrous kingdom of Babylon. The engagement that Daniel and his friends have with Babylon is clearly one of great depth and yet many of the key episodes in their lives come not from either secular achievement or private faith, but rather from the intersection between the two. It is in the lively and public faith within the secular world that both their decisions and God’s action teach, challenge and encourage us.
Beyond the court narratives of Daniel and his friends, God’s sovereignty over history and the eschatology of his kingdom powerfully interrupt our private concerns and reframe our own place in the world, helping us to reshape how we think about our daily work in whatever academic fields we find ourselves in. As we serve in academia, we need to be keenly aware of God’s trajectory for his world, his kingdom and how he sees the future of the world. As we are brought face to face with God’s kingdom and the actions through which he establishes it, we are challenged to have him reshape our understanding of the shape of history and the way we are to serve in the academy. In the following studies, we’ll take these wonderful truths for all people and try to meditate on them further to see how they might speak specifically into the world of the academy.
Matt Peckham is the Pastor at Bradley Stoke Evangelical church in North Bristol. After working as an Art Director in London’s advertising industry for 10 years, he re-trained at Oak Hill Theological College, which included an MA thesis on aesthetics and epistemology. He has previously written on apologetics for the FIEC Primer magazine and contributes to the work of The Foundations Trust, Cambridge.