The Anointed One

 Daniel 9:1-26

Welcome! Today we continue our study of the Book of Daniel, focusing on Chapter 9. First, I want to briefly remind you of the big picture, of the context of the Book of Daniel in the history, the true story of God and His interaction of people, in the Old Testament.

At the time of Moses, the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt and promised the land of Israel, but the promise was a conditional promise; it depended on the people continuing to follow after God, obeying His commands and remembering Him in worship and in day-to-day living. Well, the people forgot God, ignored His commands, and even sought to do the very things He had forbidden, such as worshiping false gods. And through Israel’s history, God raised up prophets who spoke warnings that unless the people repented and turned back to God and followed His ways, they would lose the land, Jerusalem and especially the Temple built by Solomon, the place where God’s Spirit dwelled, would become desecrated and destroyed.

Prince of the Host

Daniel 8

Welcome! Today we continue our series in the Book of Daniel, looking in depth at Chapter 8. There is a lot of fascinating stuff to get into today, so I am going to get started with the chapter right away.

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. – Daniel 8:1-2

Son of Man

Daniel 7

 Welcome! Today we continue our series in the Book of Daniel, beginning the second half of the book and focusing in on Chapter 7. In the first six chapters we saw primarily a historical account of the events surrounding the life of Daniel, with a little prophecy thrown in. In these second six chapters, we see the reverse: primary a series of prophecies, with a little historical account thrown in.

I believe it is helpful to start with a very brief review of the highlights of the first 6 chapters. Daniel was captured with his friends from Jerusalem at the time of the fall of Israel, the culmination of centuries of warnings from God’s prophets and the fruit of centuries of disobedience, ignoring God’s laws and increasingly forsaking God altogether. And so Daniel, likely a teenager at the time, was made to serve in a foreign nation, the nation of Babylon.