Someone in a recent conversation brought up “that movie about Daniel.” I immediately responded, “They made a movie about the Book of Daniel?” “No,” came the reply, “It’s about Elton John.” Too bad – the biblical book of the same name is fascinating and filled with special effects – though the episodic nature of the work might be hard to follow. If you learned Bible stories as a child, as did I, you’re probably familiar with one, maybe two, incidents related by this Old Testament book. You may not know that Daniel is also the source of a very familiar expression, “the handwriting on the wall,” that it contains the clearest reference to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead in the OT, and introduces us to the angels Gabriel and Michael.

Daniel is portrayed as a Jewish exile in Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Christians consider it a prophetic book and we place it in the Old Testament between Ezekiel and Hosea. The Jewish canon places it among the writings, between Esther and Ezra. The book contains a bit of history and a bit of prophecy. It’s rather neatly divided in two, the first section telling stories of the Jewish struggle for survival in the Babylonian Empire, the second revealing dreams and visions of Daniel in the midst of his time in exile. The book’s genre is properly apocalyptic. As such, it joins Revelation in the New Testament as one of two books falling into that category in our sacred scripture (note that there are other ancient apocryphal books out there, but only these two made it into the biblical canon).

Despite Daniel’s seeming to date to the 6th century B.C., most scholars believe that the book came into its current form in the 2nd century B.C. The stories in chapters 1 through 6 may have originated and circulated in the 3rd or 4th centuries, but they were likely not combined with the visions of chapters 7-12 until the 2nd century rule of the Selucid (Greek) ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his desecration of the Jerusalem temple in 167 B.C. The traditional stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the Lions’ den recall an earlier time of Jewish persecution and encourage those facing later persecution to hold fast to the faith of their ancestors.

Just as God preserved the faithful through the trials of the Babylonian exile, so will God save his people from the attacks of the evil Antiochus. Despite the temporal power of earthly rulers, such as Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, the God of Israel is far more powerful. Both of these ancient kings are brought to their knees because of their pride (it is the writing on the wall that spells the ignominious end of Belshazzar). Daniel has been gifted by God both to dream prophetic dreams and to interpret the dreams of others. As the patriarch Joseph rose to power in the Egyptian court thanks to this same gift, so Daniel becomes influential among the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians. The second half of the book invite the reader to share the allegorical dreams and visions of the seer, to know that oppression is temporary and God’s reign is eternal.

If you’d like to learn more about this fascinating book and would be interested in hearing both Jewish and Christian perspectives on it, please join us for Prime Timers on Wednesday, June 5, at 11:00 a.m., when Rabbi Randy Mark and I will share our reflections upon Daniel.

In Jesus’ name,

Pastor Robert M. Mountenay