Daniel
Understanding the outline of Daniel is essential to understanding the message of the book. There are three principal themes in the book and it is written during the kingship of three different kings.
Themes
1). Theme of the history of the worlds greatest kingdoms. Chapters 2, 8, and 10-11 all speak prophetically to kingdoms from Babylon to the kingdoms of the end of times. Ch 2 covers Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Divided Rome (till 8th century…donation of Pepin and beginning of the Holy Roman Empire), and later Christendom kingdoms of mixed democracies & autocracies (mentioned in chapter 11). Ch 8 covers the war between Greece and Persia in 331 BC and the 2300 days (years) until the beginning of the decline/desecration in 1970 (see the article on the Abomination of Desolation on this website). Ch 10-11 covers the kingdoms of Persia, Greece, and Rome (ending by 756BC)…and then in the end of years, from 1756 to present and beyond (see detailed discussion in my book or the world history timeline on this website).
2). Theme of status of the Saints and Church. Chapters 1, 3, 5, and 6 all speak of different conditions/situations for believers using Daniel’s examples. Ch 1 is about the faithfulness of a group of men which leads to the worlds respect for their faith. Ch 3 speaks to the test of the faith of this same group of men by showing the worlds hatred of their faith and the lengths to which they will go to eliminate them….and the lengths to which God will go to protect them. Ch 5 speaks to the impact a faithful man can have on culture and the authority that may be achieved by demonstrating God’s wisdom. Ch 6 demonstrates how quickly the world can turn on that same faithful man in an attempt to destroy that witness, truth and faith…and the lengths to which God will go to protect. Excellent studies for living the Christian life.
3). Theme of recognizing end times kingdoms/peoples. Chapters 4, 7, and 9 all speak to recognizing end times or Church age events. Ch 4 is a vision that shows the huge wealth and economic prosperity of Ancient Babylon….cut down and lost for 7 years to a beastly person until Nebucadnezzer recovers his mind. This vision is a prophetic picture also of the future Babylon of Revelation (greatest economic and wealthy kingdom) being destroyed and the 7 years of tribulation under the beast before Christ makes an end of all things. Ch 7 describes four beasts representing future kingdoms (all existing at the same time), which will strive with one another for power…and then these three will be destroyed by the Satanic Kingdom (see detailed discussion in my book or the world history timeline on this website). Ch 9 describes the 70 weeks of Daniel prophecy. It is a description of how to recognize the coming of Christ and the coming of the “prince” anti-Christ (see the article on the Birth of Christ on this website).
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