Let's Wrap This Up

It's been quite a journey through the book of Daniel. Lots of writers have tried to make the book something sensational about oil, Russia, and the Middle East. Others added enough intrigue about the European Union, the United States, and other players to make a first-rate political thriller.

Unfortunately for these authors, God wasn't telling Daniel about politics. Yes, there are political parts, but those are there to give us landmarks in God’s war with Satan. Most of that war is invisible to us in heavenly places, but a little peeked out in chapter 10. And that reminds us that the real issue is the covenant.

Jeremiah warned the Jews that if they didn't live according to the covenant, they'd be slaves in Babylon. Ezekiel told them their apostasy would be punished when God's glory left the Temple. They didn't listen, and Jerusalem became desolate. Solomon's Temple was destroyed.

Fortunately, God had a few faithful witnesses in Babylon. When they were told to eat food offered to idols, they found an option that let them show Nebuchadnezzar the power of God. He saw something extraordinary shining through them and allowed them to continue to serve God. But God wasn't done with the king.

Next, Yahweh gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream that the Chaldeans couldn’t reveal or interpret. He revealed the dream and interpretation through Daniel, showing His power. At the same time, He commissioned Nebuchadnezzar to protect the Jews so they would be able to return home as He had promise. The king saw the Lord's power in Daniel, and promoted him over the Babylonian wise men.

After a revolt in his own army, Nebuchadnezzar set up a loyalty test. Daniel’s friends got caught in Satan’s web, but he couldn’t destroy them. Instead, they stood firm for the God of the covenant, and He saved them through the fire. This moved the king one step closer to recognizing Yahweh as The Most High God, but he wasn’t quite ready. But he did admit that the God of the Hebrews was a real god with very real powers and should be respected.

Finally, Nebuchadnezzar was brought into the fold. Like most of us, he had to be brought down first. God gave him a dream about himself. Daniel saw the danger to Nebuchadnezzar, and urged the king to follow God. But a year later Nebuchadnezzar boasted about his accomplishments, and God made him insane. After seven years, God brought him back. Nebuchadnezzar wrote the story, and it’s the longest part of the Old Testament written by a non-Hebrew.

God didn’t do things according to our timetables. He did it with infinite patience, knowing that he’d be able to save one more fallen human at the right time. You don’t have to be part of a chosen group. God cares about everyone.

Nebuchadnezzar’s example was forgotten. After he died, the usual royal treachery allowed his son-in-law Nabonidus to become king. But it wasn’t long before he left the kingdom to his son Belshazzar. Belshazzar was a typical pagan, and threw a drunken bash for a thousand of his closest friends. His great-uncle had been rewarded for coming to the God of the covenant, but Belshazzar died because he rejected the covenant.

The last bit of history in the book comes only a short while later. After the Persians took over, the Babylonians tried one last time to get rid of their Hebrew nemesis. Daniel had been pulled out of retirement to be one of the chief governors, and they didn’t like it one bit. Ever since Nebuchadnezzar promoted him seventy years earlier, they had had to answer to a foreigner. But God turned their schemes upside down, and all the plotters were killed. Daniel was delivered from the lions.

God put the historical chapters first for a reason. He wanted us to learn that His covenant is the center of His dealings with man. This is the context of the book and the framework for the revelations in it. If we lose track of the covenant when we read about the beasts and the odd time periods, we’ll forget about the God who controls history. We’ll also forget about the reasons for prophecy.

History is about the war between God and Satan. It moves forward to the end of that war. Yes, the war is fought on earth, but it’s fought over our hearts, not over lands and power. That’s what the covenant is all about.
The physical wars and powers that appear in the prophecies give us landmarks we can understand in the realm we can see. So when a prophecy is fulfilled we can see that God really is in control and will win in the end. It gives us faith that the other things He said would happen will happen.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream uses Babylonian imagery and political landmarks to teach one lesson. At the end of time, the God of Heaven will, in one cataclysmic moment, sweep away everything man has made. His kingdom will last forever. Along the way, there will be four world empires, starting with Babylon. The last empire will fragment, and nothing man does will ever put Humpty Dumpty together again. The world will be covered with many nations, but there won’t be any sort of “one-world government.”

I’m emphasizing this because it’s the most important pattern in the prophecies. There are four prophecies about history in the book. This one is the simplest, and it’s the pattern for all the others. The other three are just expansions of this one.

The next pattern is almost as important.

Every prophecy starts political and ends spiritual. No matter where it starts, it finishes with the covenant.
There’s one more important pattern. Every prophecy starts at the beginning and goes straight to the end, with no side trips or recaps. Those come only during explanations.

The vision of the four beasts follows all these patterns. It emphasizes the little horn, an opponent of the covenant. After its long and terrible career, God will throw it in the fire, where it will be completely destroyed.

Next, the ram and the goat use Temple imagery to tell the story of future history. They give way to the little horn again. But this time the little horn comes from one of the four winds of the heavens. God controls the winds, so this emphasizes that God is always in control, even in times of evil.

Daniel didn’t understand God’s explanation of the little horn’s career, so Gabriel came back to make him understand. This time he told when the Messiah would come. But unfortunately, the Jews would fail to follow the covenant. Their probation would end and their guilty verdict would lead to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. The birthright blessing that had been given to the Jews would be taken away and given to a nation producing the fruit of the kingdom — the church.

The last prophecy is the longest. It has lots of political details, but it’s just like the others. It drives relentlessly toward God’s final victory where He rescues the saints. Along the way it moves from politics to covenant, even using covenant language. And it tells us the players at the end of the drama. The only real question is: “Will you be one of those that Michael stands to defend?”

This brings me to my conclusion. It’s fun to figure out the puzzle in the prophecy. But that’s not why God gave it. Amos 3:7 clearly says that “God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants, the prophets.” The prophecies aren’t about wars and kingdoms. They’re about us. They teach us that the point of history is the redemption of God’s creation from sin. God could simply end it now. But that would keep some from coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. God does not want any to perish, but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). Will you be on His side at the end?