Short Study on Daniel

1) The Identification of the Four Kingdoms

      Stephen Miller explains that the four kingdoms in Daniel 7 relate back to image of the statue in Daniel 2. “They are the same empires represented by the statue’s four parts in chap. 2.^[1] ”The four parts of the statue and the four beasts represent Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Scholars agree ^[2] that the first kingdom in both instances is Babylon but disagreement arises when they try to decide what the remaining three kingdoms are. A strong argument for the traditional interpretation, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, is from the book of Daniel itself. In both Daniel 8:20 and 6:8, 15 the author refers to Media and Persia as a single kingdom. I agree with the traditional interpretation not only because it supports a plain reading of Daniel but also because the Maccabean interpretation, Babylon, Media, Persia, and Greece, is rooted in the idea that Daniel was written well after the events took place ^[3] thus making him at best, ignorant, and at worst, a liar. The descriptions of the beasts align with the characteristics of the kingdoms ^[4] themselves and pair this with the previous reasons stated, the traditional interpretation stands up quite well against criticism.

2) The “One like the Son of Man”

            

“and I saw One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.” ^[5] 

The imagery of the "clouds of heaven" in Daniel is used of God alone throughout the Old Testament. Exodus 13.21 & 19.16, Leviticus 16.2, Psalm 68 and in Isaiah and Nahum as well. The imagery is always connected to God. ^[6] The New Testament allows us to connect the dots of Daniel’s prophecy concerning who this may "Son of Man" may be. When we look at the New Testament Jesus refers to Himself many times as the “Son of Man”, 25 times in Matthew alone, and it also coincides with the imagery used in Revelation 1 & 14 referring to Jesus. The only conclusion is that “Jesus himself is the One who rides the cloud chariot into the final battle. Jesus is the divine warrior, who will defeat the beast, the forces of evil at the end of time.” ^[7]

3) The Identification of the Ram and the Goat

            The Ram and the Goat are both identified by Gabriel. The Ram represented the “kings of Media and Persia” and the Goat “represents the king of Greece.” The imagery involved with the Ram and the Goat line up perfectly with the history of both of these kingdoms. The horn that grows larger than the other represents the Persian dominance in the Medo-Persian Empire and the large horn of the goat represents Alexander the Great and the four horns that replaced him represent the four generals that split Greece up after his sudden death. ^[8]

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^[1] Stephen R. Miller, vol. 18, Daniel, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 196.

^[2] Ibid, 94.

^[3] Ibid, 23.

^[4] J. Dwight Pentecost, "Daniel" , in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), Da 7:1–7a.

^[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Da 7:13.

^[6] Tremper Longman, III, Daniel, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 186-87.

^[7] Tremper Longman, III, Daniel, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 198.

^[8] Tremper Longman, III, Daniel, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 206.