Daniel Prophet and Man of God

VI. More Archaelological evidence

1. 
   An interesting discovery in Babylon has revealed the ruins of a college, a library, and ciriculem in the training of young princes in the art of interpreting dreams and visions. One record states: impiety ot their gods results in being cast into the fiery furnace; disobedience to the king, results in being thrown into the den of lions.
   
2. 
   Records show Nubuchadnezzars custom of constucting huge images to be worshipped not only in Babylon, but also in Ur of the Chaldees, and the tradition of casting men into the fiery furnace who would not worship.
   
3. 
   Excavators at Babylon found this furnace, with an inscription: “This is the place of burning where men who blaspheme the gods of Chaldea die by fire.”
   
4. 
   Daniel chpt. 5 - the handwritting on the wall and Belshazzars doom, as he would be killed by the Medes and the Persians when they conquerred Babylon. Daniel states he was the last king of Babylon. A clay tablet was discovered which stated Nabonidus was the last King of Babylon, and that he was allowed to live by the Persians outside the Babylonian empire. This was the first real evidence to indicate Daniel was a fraud - until they found hundred of clay tablets that stated, “Belshazzar, regent of Babylon ruled in King Nabonidus sted as he resigned to a palace remote from Babylon. This clearly supported the fact as Daniel recorded it - Belshazzar was king when Babylon fell! This also supports the reason Belshazzer told Daniel he would make him third ruler of the Kingdom! Nabonidus, Belshazzer, and 3^rd, Daniel!
   
5. 
   Ch. 6 - the lions den. The lions den in Babylon was uncovered with an inscription, “the place of execution where men who angered the king die, torn by wild beasts.”
   
6. 
   The greek words in Daniel has been used against him, but an abbundance of documents tell of greek mercenaries who fought with Nebuchadnezzar and against him, and 6^th century language included these words.
   
7. 
   The decree of Cyrus setting Israel free has been found , and is now in the British Museum in London. I tells how Babylon surrendered to Cyrus without a fight and how Darius, who was Cyrus’ vice regent, took Babylon in the name of Cyrus, where he released the captives to return to their original cities and practice their own beliefs. (on the Behistun Rock of King Darius)
   
8. 
   From the Greek and Roman historians, we learn that from Persian times Susa, or Shushan, was the capital of the province of Susiana; and Elam was restricted to the territory east of the Eulaeus River. Nevertheless we now know from cuneiform records that Shushan was part of the territory of Elam back in Chaldean times and before. It is very striking that Daniel 8:2 refers to "Susa in the province of Elam"--an item of information scarcely accessible to a second-century B.C. author.
   

9. The Babylonian chronicles are a collection of tablets discovered as early as 1887, and are held in the British Museum. In them, Nebuchadnezzar's 605 BC presence in Judah is documented and clarified



10. When the Babylonian chroniciles where finally published in 1956, they gave us detailed political and military information of the first magnitude for the first ten years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. These tablets were prepared by L./w. King in 1919; he then died, and they were neglected for four decades.



11. The victory of Nebuchadnezzar over the Egyptians at Carchamish in May or June of 605 is also documented by excavations. They found evidences of battle, vast quantities of arrowheads, layers of ash, and a shield of a Greek mercenary fighting for the Egyptians.



12. This campaign was interrupted suddenly when Nebuchadnezzar heard of his father's death and had to race back to Babylon to secure his succession to the throne. He travelled about 500 miles in two weeks - remarkable speed.

Session 3

We will use the following outline:

I. OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL

 I. The Selection and Preparation of God's Special Servants (1:1-21)

1. The First Hostages of the Babylonian Captivity (1:1-2)

2. Nebuchadnezzar's Training Program (1:3-7)

3. The First Demonstration of Faith (1:8-16)

4. The Excellence of God's Special Servants (1:17-21)

II. Nebuchadnezzar's First Dream: God's Plan for the Ages (2:1-49)

1. The Babylonian Wise Men's Impotence (2:1-13)

2. Daniel's Intercession and Offer (2:14-23)

3. Daniel's Recitation of the King's Dream (2:24-35)

4. Daniel's Interpretation of the King's Dream (2:36-47)

5. The Promotion of Daniel and His Comrades (2:48-49)

III. The Golden Image and the Fiery Furnace (3:1-30)

1. The Erection of the Image (3:1-3)

2. The Institution of State Religion (3:4-7)

3. The Accusation and Trial of God's Faithful Witnesses (3:8-18)

4. The Sentence Imposed and Executed (3:19-23)

5. The Deliverance and the Fourth Man (3:24-27)

6. Nebuchadnezzar's Second Submission to God (3:28-30)

IV. Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream and Humiliation (4:1-37)

1. The Circumstances of the Second Dream (4:1-7)

2. The Description of the Dream (4:8-18)

3. Daniel's Interpretation and Warning (4:19-27)

4. The King's Punishment (4:28-33)

5. The King's Repentance (4:34-37)

V. Belshazzars Feast (5:1-31)

1. The Profanation of the Holy Vessels (5:1-4)

2. The Handwriting on the Wall (5:5-9)

3. The Queen Mothers Recommendation (5:10-16)

4. Daniel's Interpretation (5:17-28)

5. Daniel's Honor and Belshazzar's Demise (5:29-31)

VI. Daniel and the Lions Den (6:1-28)

1. The Conspiracy Against Daniel (6:1-9)

2. Daniel's Detection, Trial, and Sentence (6:10-17)

3. Daniel's Deliverance and His Foes' Punishment (6:18-24)

4. Darius's Testimony to God's Sovereignty (6:25-28)

VII. The Triumph of the Son of Man (7:1-28)

1. The Four Beasts and the Succession of Empires (7:1-8)

2. The Kingdom of God and the Enthroned Messiah (7:9-14)

3. The Vision Interpreted by the Angel (7:15-28)

VIII. The Grecian Conquest of Persia and the Tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes (8:1-27)

1. The Vision of the Ram, the He-Goat, and the Little Horn (8:1-12)

2. Gabriel's Interpretation of the Vision (8:13-27)

IX. The Vision of the Seventy Weeks (9:1-27)

1. Daniel's Great Prayer (9:1-19)

2. The Divine Answer: Seventy Heptads of Years (9:20-27)

X. The Triumph of Persistent Prayer (10:1-21)

1. Daniel's Disturbing Vision and Prayerful Concern (10:1-3)

2. God's Delayed Messenger (10:4-14)

3. The Angel's Encouragement (10:15-21)

XI. Tribulation Under Antiochus and Under Antichrist (11:1-45)

1. From the Persian Empire to the Death of Alexander (11:1-4)

2. The Wars Between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids (11:5-20)

3. The Great Persecution Under Antiochus Epiphanes (11:21-35)

4. The Latter-Day Counterpart Persecution (11:36-39)

5. The Triumph and Fall of Antichrist (11:40-45)

XII. The Great Tribulation and the Final Triumph of God's People (12:1-13)

1. The Great Tribulation (12:1)

2. The Resurrection and Judgment (12:2-3)

3. The Sealed Prophecies (12:4)

4. The Prediction of the Three and One-Half Years (12:5-7)

5. The Final Commission to Daniel (12:8-13)

We know that the Book of Daniel comes highly recommended in the Scriptures, if not by some scholars of a later time. Several contributions offered in a unique or special way will be considered in two categories: (1) the contribution of the Book of Daniel to the Scriptures; and, (2) the contribution of the Book of Daniel to us personally.