The Book Of Ezekiel Supports The Early Date View

In Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20, Daniel is listed with Noah and Job as an example of righteousness. Ezekiel 28:3 says ‘Behold, you are wiser than Daniel.’ The representation of Daniel as righteous and wise fits perfectly with his description in the book of Daniel.

Critics say that Ezekiel was not referring to Daniel but to Dan’el – a famous character from Ugaritic mythology. Does it seem reasonable to believe that a pious Jew would refer to a legendary pagan figure as an example of wisdom and righteousness?

Dan’el was an idol worshipper who offered blood sacrifices to Baal for weeks at a time. He was a vengeful drunkard who convinced his daughter to commit murder.

But Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel. This seems even more natural since then Ezekiel would use ancient and current examples to show the people that God was still at work among them.

One commentator said that Noah, Job, and Daniel are spaced about 1500 years apart. Thus, Ezekiel may have given an example of righteousness from three different eras.

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The Dead Sea Scrolls Support The Early Date View

Seven copies of Daniel dating from the Maccabean period have been found in 3 of the caves at Qumran. This makes it very unlikely that Daniel was written during the Maccabean period.

The late date group are forced to believe that the Essenes at Qumran had near original copies of Daniel to retain their late date theory. A simpler explanation is that Daniel was written much earlier.

One non-Biblical manuscript found in cave 4 refers to ‘Daniel the prophet.’ This fragment has been dated prior to 150 B.C. Another sectarian document from the caves uses the imagery of Daniel to describe the final conflict between good and evil.

An honest scholar would accept the clear evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the modern scholars cannot accept it. They literally are unable to believe their own eyes because to do so would be to accept the supernatural source of the Bible.

This is not just occurring in secular universities. Well known professors in our own Christian colleges are now writing books in which they suggest that the Bible is full of factual errors.

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Daniel's Fourth Empire is the Roman Empire

The visions in chapters 2 and 7 speak of four empires.

The late date theorists hold that the fourth empire is Greece, which means that the third is Persia, the second is Media, and the first is the Chaldean empire. This view is very widely held today, but it falls apart when you read Daniel. One commentator has said that this viewpoint is the weakest part of the late date theory.

There is no evidence that Daniel ever considered the Medes and Persians as separate empires whereas there is evidence that Daniel considered Medo-Persia to be a single empire.

In Daniel 8:20, we find a single ram with two horns representing the kings of Media and Persia. In 8:21, a shaggy male goat (Greece) with a prominent horn (Alexander the Great) tramples the ram.

Also, in chapter 5 when we read about the handwriting on the wall, the last word written is Peres which is derived from the word meaning “to divide” but also is a reference to Persia. That is, Persia was depicted as conquering the Babylonians – making Persia second and not third.

If we can show (and we can) that the fourth empire is Rome then all of the arguments by the liberals to remove prophecy from the book fall apart. Copies of Daniel have been found that predate the Roman empire and Daniel made specific prophecies about Rome.

I submit that any of these liberals would take the fourth kingdom to be Rome if they were given no information about when the book was written. But since they do have such information they must take the fourth kingdom to be Greece.

They will date the book after the prophecies were fulfilled no matter what evidence there may be to the contrary. Their basic premise about naturalism must not be violated!

Finally, Daniel predicts that the Messiah and his kingdom would appear during the fourth empire, which of course it did if we take the fourth empire to be Rome. The liberals say that again Daniel was mistaken because Jesus did not appear until after the Greek empire!

Jesus in Matthew 24 said that some things that Daniel had written had not yet been fulfilled (but would be fulfilled within a generation). If Greece is the fourth empire, then Jesus must have been wrong. One higher critic says that the ‘emptying’ that Paul spoke of in Philippians 2 may have kept the incarnate Jesus from having complete knowledge about certain non-essential things. (The prophecies in Daniel are non-essential??)

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Daniel Is Accurate Regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s Lowly Origin

The description of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision in Daniel 4 ends with the following statement:

“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (4:17)

The lowly origin of Nebuchadnezzar’s family was otherwise unknown until an inscription made by his father Nabopolassar was found in which he was referred to as “the son of a nobody” (of non-royal birth), “insignificant,” “not visible,” “the weak,” and “the feeble.”

This kind of knowledge (the lowly origin of Babylon’s greatest king) would have quickly been forgotten – but the author of Daniel knew about it.

The decrees of the Babylonian kings in Daniel are remarkably similar to those found inscribed on ancient monuments. How would a Jewish writer produce such an accurate record 400 years after the fact?

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Daniel is Accurate Regarding Babylonian History

The historical accuracy regarding Babylonian history makes it difficult to believe that the book was written 400 years after its historical setting.

Daniel 4:30 gives an accurate picture of Nebuchadnezzar’s building activities.

and the king said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

“The East India House inscription, now in London, has six columns of Babylonian writing telling of the stupendous building operations which the king carried on in enlarging and beautifying Babylon.”

How would a late author have known that Babylon’s greatness in the early sixth century was due to Nebuchadnezzar? Modern scholars didn’t find about it until recently. (Keep in mind that whereas they discount the testimony of scripture they trust ancient inscriptions completely!)

Belshazzar is mentioned only in Daniel and in the recently uncovered Babylonian records. How did the author of Daniel know about him if he wrote 400 years after the fact?

Nebuchadnezzar had Daniel’s friends thrown into a furnace yet Darius had Daniel thrown into a lions’ den. Why? Darius the Mede was a fire worshiper. How would someone have known details like this in 168 B.C.?

Women’s participation at royal banquets (Daniel 5:3). The Persians did not permit women to feast in the presence of men but the Babylonians did.

Daniel uses the term Shinar to indicate Babylon in Daniel 1:2. This term was no longer used when the radical critics claim the book was written.

Daniel knew that it was impossible for anyone (even the king) to change a law of the Medes and Persians once it had been promulgated.

Consider the following conclusions by several commentators:

“Whoever is not the slave of preconceived opinions must confess when comparing [the first six chapters of Daniel] with the cuneiform monuments that they are really ancient and written but a short distance from the [time they describe].” (Lenormant)

“No Jew whose people had been living for centuries under Persian and Grecian rule could relate with such unconscious simplicity the actual condition of affairs in Babylon 370 years before his own time.” (J.D. Wilson)

“The author possessed a more accurate knowledge of Neo-Babylonian and early Persian history than any other historian since the sixth century B.C.” (Harrison)

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The Testimony of Jesus Supports the Early Date View

Did Daniel exist? Was he an actual historical figure? Jesus refers to him in Matthew 24:15.

So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).

Was Daniel a prophet? Did he speak from God? Jesus calls him a prophet in Matthew 24:15.

Did Daniel predict specific events that occurred many years from the date in which he lived? Jesus mentions an event in Matthew 24:15 that had not yet occurred but would occur soon (see verse 34).

Isaac Newton (the greatest scientist who ever lived) said that “too reject Daniel is to reject the Christian religion.” I agree with this statement, because if we reject Daniel then we must admit that either Jesus was mistaken about Daniel or the gospel records are hopelessly flawed about what Jesus taught. Either way, Christianity tumbles.

The liberal critics simply discredit Christ as an authority on such matters. One even wrote that “Christ neither would nor could be a critical authority.” On the contrary, Jesus said that he had all authority in heaven and upon earth.

Daniel 7:13 is the main source of the title ‘Son of Man,’ which Jesus applied to himself many times as a Messianic title.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

Jesus said that Daniel was a prophet and Jesus said that part of what Daniel said was fulfilled after the Greek empire. Thus, the clear statements of Christ are in direct opposition to the modern scholars. Who are we to believe?

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Who do so many hold the late view of authorship?

The Dual Tenets of Liberal Theology:

(1) Supernatural explanations of historical events are not acceptable. Any event that requires such an explanation is not historical.

(2) Nothing in a general sense ever happens uniquely in history. All true occurrences must be repetitive in nature so that scientists may properly observe them.

Consider the following comments about the modern approach to Daniel:

“Such amazingly accurate predictions defy the possibility of merely human origin. If these prophecies were composed in the lifetime of the sixth century Daniel, they would compel our acceptance of special revelation from a transcendent, personal God. No anti-supernaturalist position can reasonably be defended if Daniel is a genuine book of prophecy composed in 530 B.C. or in the preceding years.”

“In textbooks which represent the critical or higher critical viewpoint it is regarded as a matter of prime importance to explain the supernatural, which often means to explain it away, and to deal with the Bible in such a way that the supernatural will really cease to be supernatural.”

Liberal theologians approach the Bible with the a priori assumption that the supernatural is impossible. From this assumption it must (and does, logically) follow that Daniel is a fraud.

It is very important to realize that the radical critics are forced to hold the late-date view. (The radical critics are also called higher critics or destructive critics. In the church they are called liberals by others, progressives by themselves – and professors by our children.)

These critics say that they are simply seeking the best theories and when a better theory comes along they will accept it instead. DO NOT BELIEVE THEM! They are seeking the best naturalistic theory – and the problem is that the best naturalistic theory is often not the best theory.

Evolutionists say the same thing. They claim to be seeking the best theory to explain their observations but they aren’t. They are looking for the best naturalistic explanation – and they have found it.

Evolution is the best (in fact, only! - if they had another they would use it!) naturalistic explanation for how we got here - but it is not the true explanation for how we got here.

The true explanation is a supernatural explanation and they aren’t looking for that. They are not seeking the truth.

Carl Sagan has said that evolution is a fact because he’s seen it.

He reminds me of H. L. Mencken (famous Baltimore journalist) who was once asked if he believed in infant baptism. “Believe in it!,” he said, “I’ve seen it done!”

Evolutionists are like that. When asked if they believe we evolved from the slime, they say “Believe it! I’ve seen it!” But have they really? No. They observe small adaptive changes and jump to conclusions that are completely unsupported by the fossil record. They have been searching for conclusive evidence since Darwin and that search has produced nothing. If it had you would have heard about it!

What’s the connection with Daniel?

Atheists are forced to believe in evolution – they have no choice. The radical critics are forced to accept a late date for Daniel – they have no choice.

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When was Daniel Written?

TWO VIEWS REGARDING WHEN DANIEL WAS WRITTEN

The Early Date Position holds that the book of Daniel was written in Babylon in the late sixth century B.C. by the prophet Daniel who had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C. The prophecies in the book are genuine and accurate.

The Late Date Position holds that the book of Daniel was written in Palestine by an unknown Jew around 168 B.C. during the Maccabean period. The prophecies in the book concerning events prior to 168 B.C. were written after the fact and hence are not genuine prophecies. The other prophecies in the book were merely guesses of future events, many of which later proved to be inaccurate.

Although this view has been readily adopted by virtually all modern scholars, it is not a modern view. It was first put forth in the third century A.D. by Porphyrius of Tyre. It was quickly abandoned, however, after Jerome published a refutation. During the so-called enlightenment it was picked up again and popularized.

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What is the historical setting of Daniel?

• The book of Daniel opens with Nebuchadnezzar on the throne in Babylon after the deportation of the Jewish nobles to Babylon.

• After Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562, his sons and grandsons proved worthless. A revolution in 556 placed an outsider (Nabonidus) on the throne.

• Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar were ruling jointly when Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians under Cyrus in 539. Read Jeremiah 25:11–12.

This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.

• After this, the Near East was ruled by a succession of Persian rulers for about 200 years.

• Late in the fourth century, the Persian empire was overthrown by the Greeks under Alexander the Great.

• After Alexander, his kingdom in the Near East was split in two. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt and the Seleucids ruled Syria and Palestine.

• Eventually, the Romans defeated both groups and took control.

• Thus, we move in 600 years from the Babylonians to the Medes and the Persians to the Greeks and finally to the Romans. Daniel talks about all four of these kingdoms. In addition, he talks about a fifth kingdom that would follow and which would never fall. That kingdom is the church.

We will have much more to say about the details of this history when we begin to unravel the prophecies in the book.

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How are Daniel and Revelation Related?

• One commentator has said that “the book of Daniel is to the Old Testament what Revelation is to the New Testament.” I agree, but probably not for the same reasons that that commentator had in mind.

• As we will soon see, Daniel has suffered about as much at the hands of careless commentators as Revelation has.

• We will need to proceed carefully and pay close attention to the historical context of the book and the time frame that is given for the prophecies.

• In at least one way, the two books are different:

• Daniel is NOT a message for those who are suffering in the midst of deadly persecution but rather for those who are living in a settled condition yet within an alien culture.

• In Jeremiah 29:7, God told the exiles to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” This is very different from what God said in Revelation.

• In other ways, however, the books are very similar:

• Many similar symbols are used, and each book helps us understand the symbols in the other.

• Each book has much to say about the early Roman empire and its relation to the church.

• Keep in mind that while the two books say the same thing about this period, Daniel was written 600 years earlier.

Why Was Daniel Written?

DANIEL IS AN UNUSUAL BOOK.

• On one hand, it contains stories about lions’ dens and fiery furnaces that we have known since we were children. On the other hand, it contains visions and prophecies that are some of the most difficult to unravel in all of the Bible.

• On one hand, it contains examples of faith, conviction , and the power of prayer, yet the book has been viscously attacked by most modern scholars who doubt its authenticity.

WHY WAS THE BOOK WRITTEN?

• What did the book mean to its original audience. (The key to unraveling its meaning.)

• Contrary to all of their expectations, God’s chosen people had been uprooted from their promised land and transported to Babylonian captivity.

• Of course, this should not have been unexpected. They had been warned by Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and many other prophets (all the way back to Moses) that because of their flagrant apostasy and immorality, the city and the temple would be destroyed and they would be carried away in captivity. (Yet I imagine it came as a big surprise anyway.)

• 2 Chronicles 36:16 tells us why they were in captivity.

but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, till the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, till there was no remedy.

• Jeremiah 5:15–19 tells us who led them away.

Behold, I am bringing upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, says the Lord. It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open tomb, they are all mighty men. 17 They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall destroy with the sword. 18 But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, `Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, `As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

• How the world saw these events:

• The God of the Hebrews had been completely discredited. The mighty gods of Assyria and Babylon had burned his temple to the ground and led his people away in chains, and he was apparently powerless to stop them.

• Of course, the truth was that those foreign people and their false gods were serving God’s purpose by bringing punishment upon his people. God was still totally in control and in charge even though it may have appeared otherwise.

• In Jeremiah 25:9, God refers to King Nebuchadnezzar as “my servant.”

• The events in Daniel had a dual purpose:

• To convince the faithful Israelites that God had not forgotten them – and that they should not forget him. One day they would be vindicated.

• To show the pagan nations that God was truly sovereign and preeminent, and that any power they had was given to them by God and could be taken away anytime he desired.

• There are at least three great theological principles that run through the book of Daniel.

• THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. The affairs of men and kings are subject to God’s decrees, and he is able to accomplish his purposes despite the determined opposition of the mightiest men.

• This is a message we need to hear today. The clear message of scripture is that the kingdoms of earth are raised up to serve God’s purpose.

• THE POWER OF PRAYER. Throughout the book we see that God acts in response to prayer. Again, this is a message we need to hear today. If we feel powerless it may be because we have become prayerless.

The worst sin is prayerlessness. We usually think of murder, adultery, or theft among the worst, but the root of all sin is self-sufficiency – independence from God. When we fail to wait prayerfully for God’s guidance and strength, we are saying – with our action if not our lips – that we don’t need him. We can go it alone. The opposite of such independence is when we acknowledge our need of God’s instruction and supply. (Charles Hummel)

The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. (Samuel Chadwick)

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops reading the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. (Corrie ten Boom)

• If we get nothing else from the book of Daniel and all of the many things that we are going to look at in this book, I hope we all gain an appreciation of the incredible power and importance of prayer.

You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed. (A. J. Gordon)

• THE LONG RANGE NATURE OF THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION. God has been working to bring about our redemption since the fall. We see in this book just what great a plan it is, and we see the extraordinary lengths that God went to in order to bring Jesus into the world at the perfect time and in the perfect setting. We also see the supreme importance of his kingdom, the church. (It was not just a haphazard decision on God’s part!)