Daniel Notes - Introduction

Our purpose for these notes is primarily to aid in our own understanding of Daniel. The message of Daniel is particularly compelling to us because it is so rich with fulfilled prophecy. These make a great case for the validity of the Bible. Also, we see Daniel and other Old Testament prophets as keys to Revelation. In our interest of better understanding the last book of God’s word, we feel it necessary to lay important ground work in these prophets. To that end we have delved into Daniel.

In these notes you will see we have used Josephus and other historical references. We are not letting history interpret prophecy for us. Some of the references to Josephus are simply for the sake of interest, to see what early Jewish thought was on Daniel’s book. We also used Josephus and other histories to document what took place in history.

We believe we must approach the context of the prophecy first to understand what it is teaching. Having done this, we appeal to secular history to verify that the events our interpretation anticipates have actually happened. See notes on Dan. 9:1-2 regarding the use of secular history. Also consider these references where the Bible writers used non-religious history to verify events. See Josh. 10:13, II Sam. 1:18, I Kings 11:41 and II Chron. 20:34. In Dan. 9:2 Daniel reached his conclusion regarding Jeremiah’s prophecy "by books." He consulted historical records to understand the meaning of the seventy year captivity. This could not have been all sacred history as the portions of scripture that related the end of the captivity had not yet been widely disseminated among the Jews. So he must have used some secular history to reach his conclusion regarding the seventy year captivity. In this same spirit, we have consulted history to ensure our conclusions are correct. We hope the documentation is helpful.

We have cited Barnes’ Notes On Daniel in a few cases. More often than not, it is to note the historical references he uses which we do not have at our disposal. We also reference his comments and a few others for the sake of offering greater detail to some idea we are expressing, whether we agree with that particular idea or not. We have made great effort to reach our conclusions independent of commentaries. Though we consulted several commentaries, we tried to think for ourselves and reach conclusions we believe to be consistent with the scriptures.

We present this work in outline format for a couple of reasons. First, we think this may be easier for people to follow and easier for those who want to go to a certain section of the book. Second, it will be easier for us to use these notes as sermon material with them arranged in outline format.

Along with the scripture and history references, we have also placed references to maps and charts. We felt it would be better to place them at the end of the book rather than in the body of the outline. The charts are generally important to understanding what is being presented. We highly suggest you consult them as you read. The maps are designed to give you a geographic feel for what is happening. While they may not be as crucial as the charts, we recommend you give them a quick look as you read. The charts and maps are located at the end of the book.

We have not given much detail to the authenticity of Daniel or the dating of the book. These are matters of great controversy for Bible critics and important considerations for a detailed study of Daniel. We did not explore these questions much at all because we felt they were beyond the scope of what we wanted to accomplish. Our notes are written for those who believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. If you are wanting to look at the critical arguments made on Daniel we suggest you look at larger, more detailed commentaries on this great book.

With these few preliminary remarks we offer you these notes. Our prayer is they will help you reach a better understanding of God’s wonderful book.