DANIEL - Great Commission Illustrated Biblical Archaeology

252 Pages·2002·3.25 MB·English

DANIEL

DANIEL

PROPHET TO THE

NATIONS
DANIEL

PROPHET TO THE NATIONS

John M. Oakes, Ph.D.

Great Commission Illustrated Books
Highlands Ranch, CO

http://greatcommission.com
Email: [email protected]
DANIEL

Prophet to the Nations

Copyright © 2000 by John M. Oakes, Ph.D.

All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be duplicated,
copied, translated, reproduced or stored mechanically or electronically
without specific, written permission of the author and publisher.

Published by Great Commission Illustrated Books

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, April 2000

ISBN 0-9653469-3-5

Cover graphics and layout by William To and Rex Geissler

The front cover photo of the lion relief is an inverted view
of a street wall in Babylon near the Ishtar Gate.

The back cover photo is a coin depiction of Alexander the Great.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy
Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the
International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible
Publishers. Scripture references marked NAS are from the New
American Standard Bible, copyright The Lockman Foundation 1977.
Used by permission.
Dedication

To
Jan
Benjamin
Elizabeth
Kathryn
and Ruth Oakes, my mother.
Acknowledgments

Thanks go to my wife Jan who has always supported my efforts
to study and to write.
I owe a debt to those who have given input into the text and
editing including my mother Ruth Oakes, Andrew Lamb, and Brian
Craig.
I would also thank my publisher Rex Geissler whose tireless
efforts in producing this work have been invaluable.
In addition, much deserved thanks to Gordon Ferguson and
Douglas Jacoby both of whom, as Christian writers, have been a
model and an inspiration.
Contents
Introduction...............................................................................11
I - Historical Background to the Book of Daniel....................17
II - Daniel, Prophet to the Nations ..........................................39
Part I - Daniel: A Righteous Man in an Unbelieving World
III - Conviction or Compromise?.............................................51
IV - The Fires of Persecution...................................................60
V - Party Animal Meets Man of God......................................74
VI - Thrown to the Lions ..........................................................87
Part II - Daniel: A Righteous Man in an Unbelieving World
VII - A Dream in the Night....................................................101
VIII - A King Eats Grass.......................................................115
IX - A Beastly Encounter.......................................................129
X - Sheep vs. Goat..................................................................147
XI - The King Comes to Jerusalem.......................................162
XII - North vs. South..............................................................179
XIII - End Times.....................................................................203
Appendix A - Maps and Timelines........................................215
Appendix B - Daniel and the Premillenial Doctrine..............222
Appendix C - Daniel and Angels............................................234
Appendix D - Daniel and the Apocrypha...............................239
Foreword

It is a privilege to write this Foreword for John Oakes’ new
book on Daniel. I have known John for many years and respect him
so much as a disciple of Jesus Christ. John and Jan were on the San
Diego ministry staff for a period when Gregg Marutzky and I were
leading the church there. John was a very competent minister and a
very supportive, encouraging friend. For all of his intellectual capacity
and academic training (with a Ph.D. in Chemistry Physics), he is a
very down-to-earth practical man and a very humble one. Therefore,
my first thoughts about commending the book to you come through the
avenue of being able to commend the writer as a great brother in
Christ. He is not just good at writing – he is good at living what he
writes about and he personally sets the example that he calls others to
follow.
But now to the book I am commending. Several things stand out
in reading the book, which will make it a very valuable addition to any
library. One, John writes in a very practical and challenging way. As
Daniel and his friends faced the spiritual battles of their day, the
readers find plenty of direction to examine our hearts and lives as we
face similar temptations in our day. For example, as John wrote about
the temptation of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to bow down to
the king’s idol in order to save their lives, he posed some probing
questions by which to evaluate our level of idolatry in a number of
areas. Then he added this little story from his own life.

I can vividly remember the day when, as a graduate
student, my advisor called me into his office to share a
concern. He said it was really obvious that pursuing a Ph.D.
and a career as a professional scientist was not my first
priority. He said in all sincerity that if I did not intend to
make the pursuit of science my life, I might need to consider
doing something else. What could I say in response to this?
In my heart I was saying, “Yes! It is working! My boss has
noticed that my commitment to God is far more important to
me that getting a Ph.D.” I hope that my colleagues would
make the same sort of comment about me today. If not, I must
ask myself if I have not begun to be at least a part-time
worshiper in the church of academia.
Those convictions coming from a college professor definitely gain
my respect for him and force me to take a closer look at my own
temptations to compromise in perhaps subtle ways to avoid having
others think badly about me. This book will have that kind of effect on
you.
Another outstanding part of the book is in how John’s knowledge
about the history, culture, language and political situations of Daniel’s
day enable him to blend together these elements to set the stage well
for us readers. Even if we are quite uninformed in these areas, we will
end up really understanding what before was a mystery, as these
things are brought to life in a manner that grabs our attention. John
knows these subjects well, and without such knowledge being passed
on to us, our intellectual grasp and appreciation of Daniel would be
lessened considerably.
Yet another area that I think is outstanding is John’s willingness
to address the symbolism in the book in a straightforward, thorough
manner. Writers are sometimes tempted to skim over the harder
issues of interpretation and focus mainly on the easier ones, especially
those that are more practically applicable. John covers the practical
applications well in the narrative sections of the book, but wades right
in to identify the meaning of the signs and symbols that occupy a fair
segment of Daniel. You will not put this exposition down without
knowing what the “beast with three ribs in its mouth between its
teeth” (Daniel 7:5) symbolizes or what the other key symbols
represent. As the meaning of all of these symbols is unfolded for you,
your faith in the Bible and in the present Kingdom of which we are a
part will increase dramatically.
To this end I commend this new book and its author(cid:190) to increase
our knowledge, our faith and our commitment to live our lives as sold-
out disciples of Jesus. May God add his blessings to accomplish these
things for all who read the book, and may it find a wide base of
readership. Its potential impact on individuals and the kingdom
deserves that exposure. And to God be the glory!

Gordon Ferguson
Boston, Massachusetts
April 10, 2000