A. Daniel was a forerunner in his generation, but he also serves as a prototype for an end of the age “forerunner company” that the Lord is commissioning to prepare the nations to receive Christ at His second coming. And while some believers continue to remain heroes only in their daydreams and vain imagination, Daniel, the Hebrew prophet in exile, gives us a portrait of a real, weak human being who, when confronted with the difficult options, time and time again purposed in his heart to give himself to the Lord in secret (Dan. 1:8), as well as before the eyes of men (Dan. 6:10). Because of this, he was rewarded with divine revelation not just for his generation (i.e. to pray for the end of Babylonian exile and prepare Israel for continuing discipline and ultimate deliverance), but he was also given some of the most detailed eschatological revelation most relevant to this ultimate generation. In many ways, there should be some sense of gratitude that Daniel did not waver in his devotion to Yahweh as his “long obedience in the same direction” became the landing strip for revelation that is now a blueprint for us to study and use to prepare us for the coming storm that is about to assault our planet.

B. Beyond giving us detailed divine information of what is to come, the life of Daniel has also given to this generation a roadmap of the tenor of men and women we must be to not only confront the greatest foe of Christ and His Bride ever to walk the earth (Dan. 11:32-36), but also to escort in the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit the earth has yet to witness (Joel 2:28-32). Thus, Daniel is not meant to be viewed merely as a historical anomaly; rather, he is a prototype of the forerunner that the Lord is raising up at the end of the age who will confront darkness, bind kings with chains, nobles with fetters of iron, and execute the written judgment of God (Psalm 149:8-9). Thus, the life of Daniel should not be viewed as an exception of a time long gone, unattainable in the 21^st century; instead, his life of faithfulness should be viewed as an invitation to anyone, and everyone, that will heeds its call.

C. I believe that the content of the Book of Daniel, including the visions and dreams, along with the lifestyle portrayed by Daniel himself, is actually more relevant to this generation than it was even to Daniel in his day and the generations that followed him soon thereafter. Thus, I think it is imperative that we give ourselves to understanding not only the dreams and vision of Daniel, but the lifestyle of Daniel as well.

D. There are 5 prophetic phases that seem to repeat throughout the Book of Daniel:

1. Transition

2. Separation

3. Promotion

4. Revelation

5. Domination

E. For this session, we will only focus on the “Transition” and “Separation” phases.

 

A. Daniel was prepared for the hour of transition.

1. Daniel was prepared for the greatest tragedy and attack that Judah had ever experienced. The prophetic words of impending judgment from Isaiah and Jeremiah were now upon Daniel and his friends as the Babylonian army surrounded Jerusalem. Then, as a young teenager or twenty-something, Daniel and his friends were violently removed from the comfort and familiarity of their homeland that had just been destroyed and they were taken into a foreign land to be enlisted into the service of a wicked foreign king and forced to learn a foreign language and assimilate into its foreign system. Despite it all, Daniel understood the times and seasons of the Lord and was already prepared for that tragic hour as he not only survived Babylon’s spiritual onslaught, but quickly came to the place of dominance over it (Dan. 1:20; 2:48). This kind of preparation is never accidental or something left to chance, but it is intentional through living the fasted lifestyle (Dan. 6:10).

 

2. To give us further context of his day, Daniel was born in one of the most glorious hours of Judah’s history immediately followed by one of its darkest hours. Under King Josiah, Judah experienced a national revival initiated by Josiah’s reforms after Hilkiah, the high priest, rediscovered the Book of the Law. During this time, Jeremiah had begun his prophetic ministry in full swing warning the nation of impending judgment at the hands of Babylon despite the fact that the nation was experiencing full-blown spiritual revival (2 Ki. 23:19-27; Jer. 25:1-14). What the Book of Daniel shows us in this is that we must not be delusional in our ideas about ourselves and assume that because we are involved with good and godly service and people that we are, in truth, prepared for persecutions, trials, and tribulation.

 

a. It can be rightly assumed that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were not the only “sons of Judah” to be taken captive to Babylon (Isaiah 39:7). However, the Scriptures only mention these four young men as the only ones who ended up “useful” to the Lord and were the only ones who did not bow down to the gold image of Nebuchadnezzar.

b. The greatest fruit of Josiah’s revival was one consecrated vessel: Daniel.

3. It is important to reiterate that Daniel was not caught unawares by the Babylonian exile as his choices that followed plainly showed. To be clear, only what is already in a man comes out in the day of trouble and cannot be produced spontaneously in that hour.

a. Misty Edwards – “When the rain starts falling, it’s too late.”

b. MB’s dream re: Rev. 12:7-9

4. There has been teaching going on throughout the Body of Christ for hundreds of years that subtly attempts to distract us from preparing for the end of the age despite the strong emphasis of teaching Christ’s second coming in the First Church. However, this sort of teaching that eschatology is unimportant is dangerous as the Lord Jesus himself repeatedly tells us to “watch” (i.e. give ourselves to looking for and hastening the day of the Lord’s return) and “pray” (i.e. for revelation and preparedness) to prepare for the greatest transition of human history (Rev. 11:15).[1]

5. Daniel knew the hour he was living in because by giving himself to prayer and fasting, he had “living understanding” of the Scriptures and the prophetic word (Jer. 25:1-14; Dan. 9:2).

B. Daniel was prepared for the transition because he had a high, lofty view of God and understood the sovereignty of God over human affairs, even the affairs of kings and empires.

1. Despite the harrowing nature of the Babylonian captivity, Daniel, even as a young teenager, was clear that this transition was orchestrated by God, and God alone. In times of transition, both personal and global, when all seems to be crashing down around us, it is critical that we understand that the Lord is sovereign over all the affairs of mankind. Without this understanding, we will stand as confused as the unbelieving when “sudden destruction” comes upon the earth.

 

2. The Scriptures are clear that the end of the age will be marked with fear and confusion (Lk 21:25-26). However, we know that there will be many in the Body of Christ who will have deep understanding (Jer. 23:20; Dan. 11:32-33) even as the Lord has his way in the whirlwind of the “eschatological revolution.” Daniel gives us a picture of a young man who had deep understanding of the sovereignty of the Most High God and thus, knew how to discern the times and seasons in order to know what to do.

 

 

3. Daniel understood that while God is marvelously kind, compassionate, and longsuffering, He is also the just Judge and cannot leave sin unchecked and free to run rampant without consequence. Daniel knew God even in His judgments and stood in faith and agreement with God in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation that misinterpreted the hour and accused God of abandonment. Daniel’s high view of God’s sovereignty was certainly part of his preparedness in strongly and effectively resisting the assault against his faith during this transition.

4. We cannot minimize the importance of understanding the sovereignty of God in His judgments. Though many in Judah may have been confused and bewildered by how God could allow the loss of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile to Babylon, Daniel burned his bridge to apologizing for who God, in fact, is and what He is like. Even Daniel’s name, which means “God is my judge,” points us to the reality of God’s justice in judging the nations and to the reality that it is ultimately the Lord who has a controversy with the nations (Jer. 25:31). Daniel understood this reality and thus, was not moved from his place of devotion to the Lord by the circumstances surrounding him.

 

 

 

 

A. In the hour of great trial, Daniel was not concerned with “upward mobility” or the praise of men (Dan. 5:17). Instead, Daniel was focused on living a separated, consecrated life worthy of the high calling of God. It is clear that even before he was taken captive to Babylon that Daniel was raised in a godly environment of prayer and fasting that became the groundwork for his resisting of the spirit of Babylon and put steel in his spirit to refuse the seductions of the world. We must ask the obvious question that is oft-neglected, “Who were Daniel’s father and mother?” or “What was the environment in which he was raised?” as it is very clear that Daniel was prepared beforehand for the hour of trouble.

B. Daniel and his three friends were under extraordinary pressure to give in to the spirit of Babylon. Evidently, many of the other “sons of Judah” that were taken captive alongside Daniel and his three friends were unprepared for the pressure and quickly gave in even after living under the national revival initiated by King Josiah’s reforms. Only these four, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, remained useful to the Lord by separating themselves from the spirit of Babylon throughout their palace years and only these four refused to give in to the spirit of the age and compromise in any of their values.

C. Daniel 1:8 tells us that Daniel “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” Clearly, Daniel settled the issue once and for all of whether or not he would betray God. This does not mean that Daniel did not face temptations or struggle through his decisions, but it shows us the power and strength of a purposed heart to refuse compromise in worldliness and to live holy. Many of us are left to our own devices to resist sin because we do not submit to the grace of God in operation through the Holy Spirit to actually purpose our hearts to not defile ourselves. This submission to the grace of God is not passive, but very active as we purpose in our hearts to live unstained by the world.

D. How does the spirit of the age operate and how do we respond?

1. Disruption

a. Daniel and his friends were utterly disrupted from their normal routine and peaceful lives when they were taken captive into Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar attempted to enlist his captives into his service by dramatically trying to confuse them by changing their names and possibly even making them physical eunuchs and thereby give their allegiance to him and his kingdom.

b. Day after day, there must have been a powerful effect on these four young men as they consistently heard their Babylonian names called in an attempt to make their Hebrew identities more and more distant as the Babylonian captors changed their names that once glorified Yahweh into names that referred to Babylonian deities.

c. Clearly the way that we think about God and ourselves shapes the way we live. Why else would we dress the way we dress or spend money the way that we do and give value to things that otherwise adds zero or little value to living holy? We quickly forget how confused we have become by our culture in what glorifies God and edifies our spirits. However, Daniel and his friends refused to allow the disruption to cause them to compromise.

2. Isolation

a. Far removed from his parents and the familiarity of Judah, including temple worship, the reading of the Law, the teaching of the priests, etc., Daniel was certainly tempted to believe that Yahweh had abandoned the people of God and thus, tempted to believe that he was free to live like the Babylonians. As Sinclair Ferguson puts it, “Separated from the furnace of godliness, the king anticipated that the last dying embers of true faithfulness to the Lord would die out.”[2]

b. However, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah formed a praying community where, even in the midst of adversity, they were given to godly fellowship and prayer. This praying community certainly added steel to their resistance of the spirit of the age.

 

 

3. Indoctrination

a. Nebuchadnezzar, in order to ensure his complete victory over the region, took some of the young nobles of Judah, including Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, back to Babylon knowing that his long-term dominance could only be kept if he could indoctrinate some of the sons of Judah in order to help him rule over his empire, including Jerusalem. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar instructed his master of servants, Ashpenaz, to teach them “the language and literature of the Chaldeans” (Dan. 1:4).

b. This indoctrination was not merely meant to give them a decent education, but it was intended to loosen their allegiance to the God of Israel by teaching them occultism, astrology, divination, etc. However, Daniel and his friends refused acculturation into Babylon, the wealthiest, most powerful city in its day, and remained loyal to Yahweh at the risk of looking provincial and foolish.

c. Today, we are consistently being tempted by the propaganda of our culture that we need to be more “open-minded” and not so dogmatic as to what is truth. Giving in to such indoctrination, inevitably leads to compromise and licentiousness.

4. Temptation

a. The final area that Nebuchadnezzar attempted to seduce Daniel to give in to the spirit of Babylon was the area of food. We should not underestimate the importance of the temptation of food and the issue of fasting as it was a key issue in Daniel’s day and it will be a key issue in the final days of this present evil age.

b. Instead of arguing about the validity of the philosophies and religion of Babylon, Daniel chose food as the battleground in which to wage his war against the spirit of Babylon. Why would Daniel choose to attack food and not the ideologies and false teachings of Babylon?

c. First, Daniel was very aware of the dietary laws of the Torah that forbade Jews from eating certain foods and foods sacrificed to idols. Without a doubt, the food offered at the king’s table was food that was forbidden to eat according to the Law of God.

d. More importantly to us though, Daniel understood, as even the Babylonians understood, that food and natural comforts and pleasures has the ability to seduce even the strongest. Gluttony and self-indulgence does more to blunt zeal and abandonment than most of us recognize. We are the most overfed, but undernourished nation in the entire world similar to Babylon in Daniel’s day. Daniel, however, recognized that “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord”(Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4).

e. We must not underestimate the importance of fasting in resisting the spirit of the age. Fasting is one of the greatest weapons in the arsenal of heaven that is given to the believer and is a clear declaration that our souls are knit to the Bridegroom and not to the fleeting pleasures of this world (Mt. 9:15).

f. Moreover, fasting is one of the divine escorts that produces in us a longing for Jesus. As John Piper puts it in his book, Hunger for God, “The birthplace of Christian fasting is homesickness for God.”[3] In fasting, we deny ourselves to the legitimate pleasures of this age for the superior pleasures of knowing and encountering God. Fasting does not “buy” us anything except to gloriously position our hearts to receive revelation and wisdom (Matt. 6:18). Daniel and his friends bore the indignation of the fasted lifestyle because they knew something else much bigger was at stake than feasting on food: their devotion and loyalty to God.

E. By separating themselves from the pleasures of this world, Daniel and his friends were rewarded for their consecration with divine revelation and wisdom. This gift of revelation proved to be more valuable to Daniel and his friends than all the riches and pleasures of Babylon as the Lord rewarded their faithfulness with fruitfulness. We must learn time and time again that it is only faithfulness to God that produces fruitfulness in our lives.

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