What is a summary of the book of Daniel?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Daniel was written after Judah’s seventy-year captivity (Daniel 9:2), shortly after Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Israel as prophesied (Isaiah 44:28; Daniel 1:21; 6:28). Daniel was likely in his mid-to-late 80s, with most of his audience born in captivity, though some had been brought in with Daniel (cf. Ezra 3:12). Daniel reveals God’s sovereignty over all kingdoms by dividing the book in half. The first half (Daniel 1–6) shows God’s sovereignty over the kingdoms Daniel lived through, while the second half (Daniel 8–12) shows future kingdoms under the same control. The middle, Daniel 7, introduces the final righteous kingdom, eternally ruled by “one like a son of man” (Jesus; cf. Matthew 26:64), which crushes and reigns above all worldly kingdoms.

As also a “son of man” (Daniel 8:17), Daniel’s life illustrates Jesus’ righteous reign. While kings and kingdoms rose and fell, he remained righteous (Daniel 6:4) and in power (Daniel 6:28). Nebuchadnezzar serves as Daniel’s “foil,” aspiring to be like God. He prefigured the Antichrist (1 John 2:18), the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4) who grows to the sky (Daniel 8:10). Yet even he only exists because God grants and removes power at will (Daniel 2:21). The book of Daniel reminds us that God is sovereign over all nations that rise and fall and that one day Jesus will return to institute the final, and eternally righteous kingdom. Until then we live righteously, in faithful obedience to God, under whatever earthly kingdom we are placed in.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The historical background for the book of Daniel is Judah’s captivity. After increasing rebellion and after the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been captured by Assyria (2 Kings 17:6), God allowed Judah to be captured by Babylon (2 Kings 25:1–2; Daniel 1:1). Before the capture, God told Jeremiah that exile would last for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11–12). Daniel is written at some point just after those seventy years ended (Daniel 9:2). While most of his audience had never seen Israel and would have been particularly concerned about God’s abilities given the lengthy captivity, there were still some alive from the original captivity (cf. Ezra 3:12).
• Daniel divides his book into three sections to illustrate God’s sovereignty over all kingdoms. In the first half, Daniel 1–6, Daniel gives examples of God’s sovereign work over kingdoms through which he lived (Daniel 1:2) and book-ended with mentions of Cyrus (Daniel 1:21; 6:28), the man God had promised nearly two hundred years earlier to use to release them from captivity (Isaiah 44:28).
• The second half of Daniel, Daniel 8–12, covers four future kingdoms, future from Daniel’s perspective. It becomes increasingly detailed as it moves to the final, evil kingdom. That kingdom is described as a horn that reaches to the sky (Daniel 8:10) and who will directly attack God’s people (Daniel 7:25) and His Messiah (Daniel 9:26). However, the purpose of the book is to show that “[God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21a). That final enemy of God is no different than the rest, coming into power at God’s command and being removed from it just as easily.
• The middle of the book, Daniel 7, is about a kingdom unlike any other. It will be one ruled by “one like a son of man” (Daniel 7:13), who will rule righteously and eternally (Daniel 7:14) and who will destroy all the kingdoms that come before (Daniel 7:27). Of this kingdom, we learn that it is a kingdom made without hands (Daniel 2:34–35), meaning it is entirely done by the work of God.
• There are three key figures in Daniel. The first, central figure is the “one like a son of man.” The second, Daniel, prefigures Him. We learn that he is also called a “son of man” (Daniel 8:17). In the first half of the book, Daniel illustrates how the final Son of Man will both live and reign righteously. Throughout that entire half, Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are faced with opportunities to be unrighteous (Daniel 1:8; Daniel 3:16–18), yet they persist in remaining righteous (e.g., Daniel 6:4). The result is that they, and primarily Daniel, rise in rank and remain in power even through several kings and kingdoms.
• The third figure is Nebuchadnezzar, who has four of the first half’s six chapters dedicated to him and his kingdom. He is Daniel’s foil. A “foil” is a character in a story who negatively illustrates how one should not be. Nebuchadnezzar illustrates what the heart of wicked kings is like, desiring to be worshiped (Daniel 3:4–6) and believing himself the author of his success (Daniel 4:30). Through him we also learn that God is sovereign over people and kingdoms rising and falling—God allows Nebuchadnezzar to come to power, makes him like an animal when he becomes overly prideful, and also restores him to power (Daniel 4:33–34).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jesus is the “one like a son of man” (see Daniel 7:13—14 and 8:17). Jesus regularly called Himself the Son of Man (Matthew 8:20, 24:30). Right before His death, Jesus clearly referenced Daniel 7 after the high priest asked Him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). He said, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).
• In the New Testament, we also gain more insight into the enemy, or little horn, described in the book of Daniel (see Daniel 7:8, 20—21, 24—26; 8:9—12, 23—25). Paul referred to him as “the man of lawlessness …, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). John is the one who gave us the name Antichrist, saying, “you have heard that antichrist is coming … This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:18, 22b). In the book of Revelation, we also know this figure as the beast who demands worship (Revelation 13:4) and allegiance (Revelation 13:16–17) and who destroys all who do not (Revelation 13:15).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

It’s easy for us to forget that everything that is happening in our world governments today is under God’s control. When we forget that, we become fearful, despondent, or even sinfully angry as we try to solve the problems.

When we look at the book of Daniel, where Babylon was a superpower with a fierce, dictator-like king who served many false gods and required its people to do the same on pain of death, we can find hope, knowing that God is in control and that we can still live faithfully even when the world around us feels increasingly opposed to God and His ways. Daniel did not wait for a more favorable culture before he obeyed. He lived faithfully in the midst of exile, under systems that were openly hostile to his convictions. That same call rests on us: be steady in prayer when it is inconvenient, remain honest when compromise is rewarded, and refuse worship of anything other than the one true God.

Like Daniel, we do not need to panic when we see ungodliness rise. Instead, we can be faithful where God has placed us, trusting that every authority is still under His rule and will answer to Him. This allows us to engage our world with courage rather than fear, conviction rather than compromise, and hope rather than despair. And as we do, we fix our eyes not on the shifting kingdoms of this world but on the unshakable kingdom of the “Son of Man,” who will reign forever.

UNDERSTAND

• The book of Daniel was written to Jews, largely born in captivity, to show God's sovereignty over all kingdoms.
• The book of Daniel shows us that kingdoms will rise and fall, but God is sovereign over all.
• The book of Daniel centers around "one like a son of man," Jesus, who will one day rule and reign for all eternity.

REFLECT

• How does Daniel's consistent righteousness under multiple pagan kings and kingdoms challenge the way you think about maintaining faithfulness in a culture increasingly hostile to biblical values?
• How does the book of Daniel's central message (every kingdom exists and falls at God's will) change the way you think about political powers and ungodly rulers?
• How does knowing that the "one like a son of man" Daniel saw receiving an eternal kingdom is Jesus change the way you read the Old Testament and appreciate the unity of Scripture's redemptive story?

ENGAGE

• What does the book of Daniel reveal about how God intended His people in exile to understand their circumstances and their hope?
• How does the book of Daniel challenge or encourage us today as well as in what it shares about the future?
• How can we read and apply the book of Daniel in a way that conveys its intended message?