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The Book of Daniel
A Preterist Study in the Book of Daniel
Israel had fallen to the Assyrians, now Judah is falling to the Babylonians. It appears that God is done with these sons of Abraham. The failure of God’s people was so egregious that he cast them out of the promised land into a foreign land of false gods. Had God disinherited his people? Was he done with them? Was there now no hope for Israel?
Through the Book of Daniel, God answers these questions and assures Israel that even now in this foreign land God is with them and will bring his purposes, defined and promised in his covenants, to a conclusion. “The prophecy of Daniel gave God’s people comfort during three great events in the following centuries:
1. The captivity in Babylon
2. The invasion of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes
3. The coming of the Messiah during the occupation by the Roman Empire and the resulting destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.”
Although more points could be identified beyond these three, in fact, these are the critical points in Israel’s coming history.
Daniel is noted for its five visions. The following summary of these by Jay Rogers is most helpful.
“The First Vision is a dream of the king that is interpreted by Daniel. …. The timeline reads as follows:
FIRST VISION — Daniel 2 — 603 B.C. in the second year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Daniel interprets the king’s dream. The dream described four kingdoms that would rule over a vast empire. ….
Babylonian-Chaldean Empire ................................. from 605 to 539 B.C.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ....................................................from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
SECOND VISION — Daniel 7 —555 B.C. in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, the son of Nabonidus and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. This is Daniel’s dream. The interpretation by angels is part of the dream. The four kingdoms are described in more detail and special attention is given by Daniel to the fourth kingdom which has ten kings.
Babylonian-Chaldean Empire ................................. from 605 to 539 B.C.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ................................................... from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
THIRD VISION — Daniel 8 — 553 B.C. in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar.
This vision of Daniel is interpreted by two angels. It describes the Medo-Persian Empire; the conquest of the world by Alexander the Great; the Seleucid and Ptolemaic succession; and the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanies in Syria.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................ from 539 to 330 B.C.
Alexander’s invasions ............................................ from 330 to 323 B.C.
Ptolemies rule Egypt & Seleucids rule Syria .......... from 323 to 167 B.C.
Antiochus Epiphanes .............................................. from 167 to 164 B.C.
FOURTH VISION — Daniel 9 — 539 B.C. in the first year of Darius, king of the Medes. The angel Gabriel appears to Daniel while he was fasting and inquiring of God the meaning of Jeremiah’s “seventy years.” Later the Messiah, the “Son of Man,” appears. The vision describes the 483 year time period from the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, in 457 B.C., when by his commandment Ezra began the work of completing the restoration of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 7) – to the baptism of Jesus Christ in AD 27, when He first began to preach and execute the office of the Messiah.
Medo-Persian Empire ............ from ........................................ 457 B.C.
Roman Empire ....................... to .............................................. AD 27
A Total of ............................................................................... 483 years
FIFTH VISION — Daniel 10,11,12 — 535 B.C. in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia.
In chapter 10, an angel came to Daniel while he was fasting for three weeks. The angel shows Daniel the wars and succession of kings in the Persian, Greek and Roman Empires (Daniel 11) and the time period from the coming of Messiah to the reign of Vespasian and the Great Tribulation from AD 67 to 70 (Daniel 12).
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ................................................... from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
Pompey invades Jerusalem ......................................................... 63 B.C.
Death of Julius Caesar ................................................................. 44 B.C.
The Messiah appears ................................................ from AD 27 to 30
The Time of Trouble ................................................ from AD 67 to 70”
In essence, this book of Daniel “was a prophecy given so that the Jews of the Restoration period, from the time of the Persian kings onward, would know the times and events surrounding the coming of the Messiah.”
“The thrust of the whole prophecy of Daniel is to point to the time of the birth of the Messiah – “in the days of these kings” (Daniel 2:44).” This is a position commonly held by evangelicals, “Daniel predicts the precise year of the appearance of Jesus Christ (cf. Dan. 9:25–26).”
In summary, here we see the coming and work of Jesus:
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness, Daniel 9:24b (NKJV)
And here we learn that “Messiah shall be cut off….”
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; (Daniel 9:26a, NKJV)
This is followed by startling information:
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26b (NKJV)
All this brings us to the Olivet Discourse; it is in the Olivet Discourse that we learn more about the coming destruction of the city and its sanctuary.
“The visions move from general to specific. They point to several key events in the future history of the Jews: the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and its restoration from 167 to 165 B.C.; the exact time of the coming of the Messiah in AD 27; Nero’s persecution from AD 64 to 68; and the Roman-Jewish War from AD 67 to 70.”
Through the Book of Daniel, God answers these questions and assures Israel that even now in this foreign land God is with them and will bring his purposes, defined and promised in his covenants, to a conclusion. “The prophecy of Daniel gave God’s people comfort during three great events in the following centuries:
1. The captivity in Babylon
2. The invasion of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes
3. The coming of the Messiah during the occupation by the Roman Empire and the resulting destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.”
Although more points could be identified beyond these three, in fact, these are the critical points in Israel’s coming history.
Daniel is noted for its five visions. The following summary of these by Jay Rogers is most helpful.
“The First Vision is a dream of the king that is interpreted by Daniel. …. The timeline reads as follows:
FIRST VISION — Daniel 2 — 603 B.C. in the second year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Daniel interprets the king’s dream. The dream described four kingdoms that would rule over a vast empire. ….
Babylonian-Chaldean Empire ................................. from 605 to 539 B.C.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ....................................................from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
SECOND VISION — Daniel 7 —555 B.C. in the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, the son of Nabonidus and successor of Nebuchadnezzar. This is Daniel’s dream. The interpretation by angels is part of the dream. The four kingdoms are described in more detail and special attention is given by Daniel to the fourth kingdom which has ten kings.
Babylonian-Chaldean Empire ................................. from 605 to 539 B.C.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ................................................... from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
THIRD VISION — Daniel 8 — 553 B.C. in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar.
This vision of Daniel is interpreted by two angels. It describes the Medo-Persian Empire; the conquest of the world by Alexander the Great; the Seleucid and Ptolemaic succession; and the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanies in Syria.
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................ from 539 to 330 B.C.
Alexander’s invasions ............................................ from 330 to 323 B.C.
Ptolemies rule Egypt & Seleucids rule Syria .......... from 323 to 167 B.C.
Antiochus Epiphanes .............................................. from 167 to 164 B.C.
FOURTH VISION — Daniel 9 — 539 B.C. in the first year of Darius, king of the Medes. The angel Gabriel appears to Daniel while he was fasting and inquiring of God the meaning of Jeremiah’s “seventy years.” Later the Messiah, the “Son of Man,” appears. The vision describes the 483 year time period from the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, in 457 B.C., when by his commandment Ezra began the work of completing the restoration of the Temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 7) – to the baptism of Jesus Christ in AD 27, when He first began to preach and execute the office of the Messiah.
Medo-Persian Empire ............ from ........................................ 457 B.C.
Roman Empire ....................... to .............................................. AD 27
A Total of ............................................................................... 483 years
FIFTH VISION — Daniel 10,11,12 — 535 B.C. in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia.
In chapter 10, an angel came to Daniel while he was fasting for three weeks. The angel shows Daniel the wars and succession of kings in the Persian, Greek and Roman Empires (Daniel 11) and the time period from the coming of Messiah to the reign of Vespasian and the Great Tribulation from AD 67 to 70 (Daniel 12).
Medo-Persian Empire ............................................. from 539 to 330 B.C.
Macedonia-Greece ................................................... from 330 to 64 B.C.
Roman Empire ...................................................... from 64 B.C. to AD 70
Pompey invades Jerusalem ......................................................... 63 B.C.
Death of Julius Caesar ................................................................. 44 B.C.
The Messiah appears ................................................ from AD 27 to 30
The Time of Trouble ................................................ from AD 67 to 70”
In essence, this book of Daniel “was a prophecy given so that the Jews of the Restoration period, from the time of the Persian kings onward, would know the times and events surrounding the coming of the Messiah.”
“The thrust of the whole prophecy of Daniel is to point to the time of the birth of the Messiah – “in the days of these kings” (Daniel 2:44).” This is a position commonly held by evangelicals, “Daniel predicts the precise year of the appearance of Jesus Christ (cf. Dan. 9:25–26).”
In summary, here we see the coming and work of Jesus:
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness, Daniel 9:24b (NKJV)
And here we learn that “Messiah shall be cut off….”
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; (Daniel 9:26a, NKJV)
This is followed by startling information:
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26b (NKJV)
All this brings us to the Olivet Discourse; it is in the Olivet Discourse that we learn more about the coming destruction of the city and its sanctuary.
“The visions move from general to specific. They point to several key events in the future history of the Jews: the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and its restoration from 167 to 165 B.C.; the exact time of the coming of the Messiah in AD 27; Nero’s persecution from AD 64 to 68; and the Roman-Jewish War from AD 67 to 70.”
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Commentary of Daniel Chapters 1-12
