Daniel: Introduction

Now we're happy to see you everyone here today and all the assemblies represented. Please make the meetings known. You probably know about them already but we're delighted to see you.

There will be five sessions and the subject is deep and it's large so I'm going to give you the overview on each of these occasions. Daniel, the prophet. So we're going to start off with first of all and then we're going to talk about his prophetic ministry.

Now this chart is behind me so if I stand here you can't see it so I'm going to just stand aside here in a minute or two and show you what it's all about. Now let me just tell you one or two things before we start. None of us know as we ought to know and I'm first in that.

And the more you study these things you find out how little you know. Now if you don't agree with what's been said well we'll agree to differ and if you don't understand what we're talking about talk to me every night at the end of the meeting. Now we're going to do the building block concept so we're going to start the base today and we'll build on that as the Lord helps us each session.

Now when we get into the prophetic lane, brethren, differ. Well I haven't fought any yet that I know of so it's nice to see somebody else's point of view but really Daniel has a line of things that nobody else in the Bible has. So if you have your Bible with you now please the book of Daniel chapter one and before we commence to read I'm just going to go through some of these basic things with you this evening.

Now I try to put myself sitting where you are and you've never seen this chart before and you've never read the book of Daniel or if you have you don't understand it well we're going to try and help you on that point. All right. Now if you can't hear me let me know.

My voice is pretty baritone and my wife always says don't shout. That's it. Now we'll start up here.

The outline of the book of Daniel the prophet and the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 15 calls him a prophet. He's the major prophet of maybe four major prophets in the New Testament the Old Testament. So we have Isaiah and we have Jeremiah and we have Ezekiel and we have Daniel and when we get to this point here he in chapter seven of the book of chapter nine of the book of Daniel he is the key to all prophecy and if you don't understand what I'm pointing to now you'll never understand prophecy.

So we'll be looking at that and we'll have a night dedicated to that in the will of the All right 12 chapters in Daniel. So from chapter one from where I'm pointing to now to chapter six that's the historical part. Next thing from chapter seven where I'm pointing to now right through to the end here that's pre-written history that there's a prophetic view to all of that future for Daniel and much of a future for us.

Next point whenever we look at this chart here right across the top section in general terms that's historic. When we come down here to where I'm pointing now all the way through that's prophetic. He look at these ends here in the time of the end in the time of the end in the time of the end and so on all the way across right.

So whenever we're looking at this chart this is historic and this is prophetic. Now we're given the overview so as we know where we are in the big picture. So somebody says what's this here all about where I'm pointing to now.

Now the best way I can explain it to you is this it was often being suggested that Daniel stood here where I'm pointing to now and he was on a mountain peak and he's looking forward and he saw another mountain peak on this particular part here but he couldn't see what was going on in the valley between and so the chart is divided that way historic and prophetic and in between Daniel with all his knowledge knew nothing about the age of grace or from the cross or Pentecost to the rapture and that's why it says that here it's a dateless parenthesis in God's great plan and people ask parenthesis what is happening well I know you're more intelligent than I am there's a pause and there's a digression from the thing when it's late. So where we are in the big picture today if we look at our generation we're right here and we're nearer the rapture of the church the coming again of Christ than ever before. Now God has a plan for the nation of Israel and it starts with the times of the Gentiles as far as this chart is concerned and that second chronicles 36 when Nebuchadnezzar came and took away the Jews from Palestine from Israel Judah and Benjamin administration of the globe was taken from the nation of Israel see and today on right through the centuries the superpowers of the world are in charge now that's God's prophetic program he's allowed that but then Israel is not set aside forever they're going to come in here and at the end of the great tribulation and the millennium reign of Christ the times of the Gentiles will finish at the end of the tribulation and the nation of Israel will be there as the head of the nations again now if you want to know where that is in scripture I'll be happy to show you if you have a minute that's the next point all right let me talk a little more somebody right away says what's the difference between Daniel and the book of Revelation now very very quickly high level big picture Daniel speaks about the times of the Gentiles and this great image here are the four great empires that have come and gone and this here is the prophetic side that we'll talk about later so Daniel writes from the perspective of the times of the Gentiles administration in the world on the nation of Israel on their future John is in the book of Revelation and here's a link they're both in their 90s both in their 90s and John is interested in the future of the church the mystical body of Christ every believer in this age from Pentecost to the rapture saved by the grace of God whatever the circumstances and he wants to know what's the future and what the local expression of that is and the assembly and that's revelation two and three the golden lamp stands and all the rest of now they don't know as we'll see but they're different perspectives and let me just say publicly that Israel and the church are separate entities oh we have brethren today teaching us that they're the same thing they're not there's something unique about the church that Israel knows nothing about they are the earthly saved we are the heavenly saved right that's enough for that and let me get back to the chart here the map the chart is on the order of scripture you know chapter 1 all the way through chapter 12 now chronological and people say what does that mean order of events as they took place in history are as follows and if you don't believe me i'll be happy to show you from the bible i'm not talking here off the top of my head i have looked at it carefully and if you don't agree with it i'll be happy to listen to you okay i said that more than once right chapter one two three four they are sequential they follow each other but you see whenever you come here to chapter four in the order of events we move to chapter 7 and chapter 8 we move back to chapter 5 then we move forward to chapter 9 and back to chapter 6 and then 10 11 and 12 now people say to me man i've never seen that before well you read the bible carefully and you'll come to the same conclusion next thing i want to talk about great picture you see this part of the chart here right to the end of chapter 7 chapter 2 through chapter 7 written in the chaldean language are made did we all hear hebrew and greek in the bible there's three languages anybody that studies it will see it right away in the church now what's the point the point is this god is telling these heathen monarchs he has a plan and they are going to learn in their own language what it's all about god is so kind they could never turn around and say we didn't know we didn't know the language now daniel's a very intelligent man and he knew the armenic language the chaldean language he was a brilliant man that was saved you see here from chapter 8 onward that's in the hebrew language what's that all about god wants to talk to the nation of israel and it's in their own language i like that god was never left himself without a witness and nobody can excuse and say they didn't know it's right there for them if they want to read it now i could spend the rest of the time in the church but i'm not gonna tell you all the basic and overview things i've set it up to start so we're going to read a verse or two in chapter one of daniel and then a verse or two at the end of chapter six of daniel and then a few simple ideas and that will start us so what i'm going to do is talk about the prophet and then i'm going to talk about the prophetic program of god so you have your bible now daniel please chapter one and i won't read all the verses but i'll read some of it notice verse one please in the third year of the reign of jehoiakim king of judah came nebuchadnezzar king of babylon onto jerusalem and besieged it we should read the next verse the lord gave jehoiakim king of judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the house of god which he carried into the land of shiner babylon to the house of his god and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god i should read part of the next verse you see verse number three that he should bring certain of the children of israel and of the king's seed so that means his royalty and of the princes children in whom are no blemish but well-favored and skillful in all wisdom and cunning in knowledge and understanding science and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the chaldeans now you see the chaldeans one of the top people now you all know the story so i'll read verse eight but daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself but the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself notice the next verse now god had brought daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs end of the chapter notice verse 21 and daniel continued and daniel continued even onto the first year of king cyrus chapter six now please as we move on chapter six notice in verse number one of daniel six we're now in the reign of darius the maid notice verse verse number three then this daniel was preferred above all the presidents and princes because of an excellent spirit was in him and the king thought to set him over the whole realm then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against daniel concerning the kingdom but they could find no none occasion nor fault for as much as he was faithful neither was there any error or fault found in him now the end of the story even the children know about this he's going to the den of lions notice verse 18 then the king went to his palace and fast the night fasting neither were instruments of music brought before him and his sleep went from him then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste onto the den of lions and when he came to the den of the den he cried with a lamentable voice onto daniel the king spake and said to daniel oh daniel servant of the living god is thy god whom thy servant continue who serveth continually able to deliver thee from the lions then said daniel unto the king oh king live forever my god has sent his angel notice that and has shut the lion's mouth that they may not that they have not hurt me and so on now you know the rest of the story that will do for reading as the time is flying now i'll leave all the other incidentals out and get down to business i have read you the start of the historical part of daniel and the end and so that you can take some of the information away with you i want to just have six basic simple things about daniel the prophet i want to think of daniel the priestly man we have read about that in chapter one and then i want to talk about daniel the praying man i didn't read the verses everybody knows about that then daniel the preferred man then daniel the persecuted man then daniel the prophetic man and then daniel the preserved man his book covers 73 years approximately of life in this world and he was approximately 17 when he left the land of israel and came to the land of babylon so at the end of his life he's in his early 90s just the same way as john the son of zebedee was at the end of his life now unless you've forgotten that already i want to go word again i want to build the base in your mind this afternoon so that you can understand what we're talking about daniel the priestly man and i want to think of his way of his way of life then i want to think about daniel the praying man and how he waited on his god very practical teaching from there then i want to talk about daniel the preferred man and his worth to other realms kingdoms kings and the nation of israel i tell you he was an outstanding servant now that brought him into another realm daniel the persecuted man and the wicked enemies that tried to bring his demise and he got into the den of lions and they thought that was a finish according to other plans then we'll just go quickly over daniel the prophetic man and the words that he gave as we'll see and then to finish on daniel the preserved man you ever asked yourself why he was he preserved through four kingdoms it's amazing his wisdom his knowledge his honoring god his waiting before him and all the rest of it what a man remember what we've said already i hope you can sing it dare to be a daniel dare to stand alone dare to have a purpose dare to make it known right daniel the princely man very quickly here's the background you better know your bible whenever you're in isaiah chapter 39 there's a man called hezekiah and in the 15 years of his extended life he showed the princes of babylon the house of god and all the grandeur and the vassals and all the rest of it what god said through isaiah you made a mistake hezekiah you should have been a prince of babylon you know what's going to happen your seed will move in a foreign land and you will be taken away captives and it happened in daniel's day so his place in scripture is daniel the princely man he's of the royal seed he has royal blood as the chronicles passage isaiah chapter 39 and daniel 1 shows he had a great part to play in the nation of israel and the times of the gentiles and god had his eye upon him and he had a great future for him and he arrived in a foreign country he didn't know anybody he didn't know the language he didn't know the culture he didn't know the country he didn't know a person there he is you see he could have turned to just the pleasure loving babylon but the fear of god was in his heart what a person let me just mention some of the things the bible says about him he was well favored he was skillful in wisdom and all knowledge he had understanding of of science that man was around 17 years of age and he was brilliant god had him as a chosen vessel and he was going to do an outstanding work and on his part he was a princely man i want to suggest to you that he lived a disciplined life he had purpose of heart he didn't want to be involved in the babylon that he was living in listen to it he refused bablon's friends bablon's fun bablon's funds and bablon's folly you go over those f's and i'll tell you that describes bablon you know what bablon speaks about the scripture the ecclesiastical world another name for it in 2010 the christendom where you and i are found we're not here to criticize anybody but we're here to show you the big picture and where we're found today in assembly life and we're in christendom now we're not part of it we're outside the camp of christendom hebrews chapter 13 and we are where the lord wants us to be we thank god for the position that he has brought to us you see i want to tell you today that our young people we're delighted to see you here married couples with families and unmarried people do you see that world out there they want to change our values they want to change our name they want to change our identity they want to change everything associated with us menus friends and all the rest of it now we have to live in it we're in it but we're not authored young people tell me all the time stan if you just knew what we were up against you would go along with what we're doing i always refer them to daniel and they say ah he's just one how about joseph how about nehemiah how about all the worthies of the old and new testament let's prove god in their own experience as this princely man did and i have to leave that somebody says well now why was he so successful well one thing i'm going to suggest there's others but one is this he was a man that could pray he was a man that kept out the prey his persistence and prayer not what we sing with the children daniel was a man of prayer daily he prayed three times even when them had him cast in the den of lions there are 12 direct references to praying in the 12 chapters we have just suggested the overview of the whole thing you've got to come to this conclusion he was a praying man here's a simple thought people say all the time hey we are living such a busy life and we're so tired when we get home at night we have no time to pray man we have to get into bed and we're so tired we can't get up in the morning and all the rest of it i want to say to you that this man was the top of the presidents in the realms and the kingdoms wherever he was busy man fantastic but he took time to pray and so i was telling them at a conference in another location recently people say well did you pray today man i'm so busy there's no time to pray and people are saying well what are you standing up there doing and somebody else says you read the word there's no time to read the word now i was trying to make a point and i want to make it here today you'll never get time to pray and you'll never get time to read the word you'll have to take it now that's exactly what daniel did it's a very simple we thought but it's laying right there chapter two as we'll see a united prayer meeting it's a day of crisis he's going to lose his life i'm telling you he prayed chapter eight six when those evil wicked men his peers were against him and the one that put him in the den of lions and he knew what was happening and the decree was given and all the rest of it what did he do he opened his drapes and he prayed as at other times three times a day toward the place of the name jerusalem now he just didn't pray in a crisis he prayed all the time that was his mode of life i'll give you an example the brother that was preaching with brother harold paisley 53 years ago when i was saved a man called brother mr tom campbell princely man man harold was 33 and he was 83 harold today is 86 so that shows you how long ago it is and the first week that i was saved this beloved brother he invited me to his home sat down there and chatted he says then we'll have a word of prayer whose early days were very impressive whenever that man was finished you would have felt that the lord jesus was sitting right beside us on the city a little talk with jesus how it smooths the rugged road how it seems to help me onward when i faint beneath my load dear brethren when all else fails read the instructions get the god about it people say to me we're very intelligent you know in this generation really we have electronics we can put people on the moon we have got satellites that can do anything on and on and on and on and on and we're more intelligent than anybody that ever came before us now i want to say this that an older generation had a godliness about them and i want to tell you they weren't dumb they were very intelligent that we seem to have missing god help us to be prayer one thing about daniel he had power in his prayer you see as well see nebuchadnezzar he didn't even know what he dreamt or so he said and he's saying wise men magicians astrologers you tell me what i what i dreamt and then tell me the meaning of it they say don't be ridiculous how could we tell you what we don't know you see that's where daniel come in he learned the dream and he knew its interpretation and he gave it god help us now the time's flying here let me get to the next one you see daniel was a preferred man okay they ungodly watched him and they looked at him every day and they came to the conclusion this is the man that has god with him and just to take an example of the chapter that we read in chapter six of daniel into the second kingdom there is the maid he could see that daniel had something that the others didn't have and there were three presidents in the realms of his mighty kingdom stretched for thousands of miles and daniel was the chief what a choice now god was behind him just stop a minute for another line of ministry for a minute whatever you compare him with the lord jesus now remember daniel wasn't sinless but he was blameless there's not a fault raised in the bible against him the word we use is irreproachable that's what a shepherd should be first timothy chapter three i remember what john the baptist said in john's gospel chapter one see this one here the lord jesus he is preferred before me and he cometh before me he said himself before abraham was i am john's gospel no wonder the heavens are open to declare this is the preferred one the lord jesus christ three times at least this is my beloved son and whom are all my delights we sang here this morning and how true no mortal can with him compare among the sons of man fair is he than all the fair that fill the heavenly train daniel is a faint picture of the lord jesus christ all right i want to talk now about another realm that's very important that we need to learn the principle now you got the message here you see daniel he's a princely man daniel he's a praying man daniel is a preferred man but i want to tell you today that that brought him to another realm daniel is a persecuted man his peers watched him did we pick up on this i want to tell the brethren here as i tell my own heart we've been watched and nobody says anything they'll watch you at work they watch you at home they'll watch you in the assembly they'll watch you in the district and on and on it goes now they're watching this man and they can see that there was no flaws in him but we'll get him and we'll get him in his own religion as they called it and pray into the god of heaven and then they made the decree and the darius he signed it he didn't even know what was happening they weren't allowed to pray to anybody only to darius and the strange gods and the thought they had daniel those are wicked men and you know the story and they said right this is the finish of daniel he's going to the den of lions must have been many a time i wonder how daniel felt by the way he was around 90 years of age three other men in the bible are linked with lions directly they were all younger men imagine a person 90 years of age in a den of lions i read you the verse god sent his angel closed their mouths they couldn't touch him but the wicked man thought that's unfinished now let's just learn a simple principle here younger man listen to me it shouldn't be like this but it is let's take the secular world so a younger person male or female comes into any given situation whatever the product they have to offer to others whatever the business may be and they say well hey here's somebody who's got tremendous potential you know what we are going to encourage them we are going to make sure that they get a fair shake and all the rest see so the person develops and matures and before they know where they are the pupil passes the teacher under more skillful unhelpful and have a better understanding than the ones that taught them what happens and they turn the opposite way and they say right we can't have that individual here so we'll make them the sacrificial lamb for any small excuse and out they go my sadly brethren what's out there today comes in here tomorrow now i hope i can handle this delicately it's a very delicate thing there's a balance here i was at a conference last weekend and i heard mature brethren telling this young man he had ability above others and that god has a future for him and they would like to see him in full-time service and all the rest of it now i have lived long enough 53 years on the road and i found this out that the brethren that laud you today will trump you tomorrow i know it shouldn't be understand that what is happening now every one of us need to be encouraged and it's a tremendous day when the master stands back and says yeah that beloved brother is younger than i am and he has passed me in spiritual experience give an example there's a day in deuteronomy chapter 32 where a man 120 years of age stands in front of a nation of 12 tribes and beside him is a younger man joshua 40 years younger and god told him tell the nation and tell everybody in front of joshua he's the one raised to take the nation across the jordan and that was the burning ambition of moses life and he had to bow to divine will and the pupil passed the master and moses had the right spirit what's your spirit that's one of the big things about daniel he had an excellent spirit now we need to encourage one another and we need to encourage younger men and younger couples and all the rest of it but remember everybody's not fitted for leadership because once we get into leadership any weakness that a person has is exposed daniel had weaknesses but they're not recorded he was human and so we need to help one another i used to tell my own sons they're both in their 40s middle 40s and i'm saying boys if you pass me in spiritual things or secular things i'll sit at your feet how about it fathers would you do it now i understand to have to be fitted for it a word to the ways is sufficient we don't want to persecute one another we want to help one another i gotta leave that see this man daniel a prophetic man he knew more about the prophetic program of god for the nation than anybody else in the papal and all others build on it now i won't go into the details until the night they arrive at it here's it here look prophecy of 70 weeks and all the different things about it see this man god give him an insight into the future for the nation of israel that nobody else ever had and somebody asked today how do you know that the bible is true it's inspired by god you know why one word will tell us the nation of israel israel and everything that god has said about the nation of israel to this point has taken place and everything that he has said about them in the future will take place as well i'll just spend a minute through what i'm talking about see the nation of israel their history is compared to three trees in the past isaiah 5 they were a vein they were to bring forth fruit but they failed presently they're the fig tree no leaves no fruit the blame is on them second corinthians chapter three the veil is on their heart nationally speaking but i want to tell you something brethren there's another tree it's the olive tree romans chapter 11 blameless is in part happened onto israel until the fullness of the gentiles become in where did they all get that the raiders all the new testament they got it from daniel he's a prophetic man he lived near to the lord and the lord give him understanding and skill above all others recently i have met a number of people i have no doubt they're born again they have devotion to the person of christ that would put me to shame but they're wrong in teaching they don't gather to the lord's name and they have never found out that god has a future for the nation of israel i quoted these dear people one verse romans 11 about verse 25 blindness is in part happened onto israel until the fullness of the gentiles they come in now if these people were right it would say as far as the nation is concerned blindness hasn't has happened to the israelites happened to israel totally but it hasn't see all these people believe there's thousands of them that because the nation of israel crucified the lord that that's them finished they fulfill scripture but they will go through the great tribulation and at the other end of a tremendous future and that's what isaiah 53 and all the other scriptures are about fantastic see this man daniel it all started with him as we'll see thank god now i won't go into the different things about it because the time is almost gone i just put together what i have said to you to this point and we want to think about daniel the preserved man he had wisdom he had skill he had understanding and the deep things of god that others didn't have he had a secret he was preserved through all the ups and downs of life as we'll see nobody else was preserved in the den of lions and his peers none of them were ever preserved in the heat of the furnace and all that daniel chapter three so it's a good question to ask ourselves why with all the opposition and all the difficulties that the men went through why was he preserved i would like to write one verse over him them that honor me i will honor many of us stop there they that despise me shall be lately esteemed example in the chapter we read in daniel chapter six daniel honored god had the fear of god in his heart he did what was right and god preserved them in crises what happened to his peers doing the same job in the same kingdom their life was terminated the lions gobbled them up with their families and wives and the red eternity make the simple application am i prepared to honor the lord in my life at every department of it well take the promise personally on board today god says i'll honor you if you honor me seek ye first the kingdom of god and all these things shall be added unto you they that despise me shall be lately esteemed take another example out of scripture before we leave it here's abraham he honored god and everything he was human see his associate his fellow his nephew lot everything that he wanted to hold he lost burned out of sodom he despised the god of heaven he's in heaven tonight a soul saved a life lost peter tells us he was a righteous man vexed with a filthy conversation of the wicked and you know the story so i asked myself as i asked you just before we rise and go away fellow believer whatever age group you're in right now what world are you living for you daniel rose right to the top and he stayed there because he honored god and his peers went the opposite way and he continued winds of change across our nation on this north american continent are blowing stronger than ever and we have dear men that would sell us out dear brethren will you listen to the bible paul said to timothy continue thou and the things that thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them dear brethren i want to tell you today in some little experience behind me it pays to put into practice the principles of the holy bible married life assembly life business life or whatever life you want was daniel successful absolutely i'm back to my wee verse right now i like it dare to be a daniel dare to stand alone dare to have a purpose dare to make it known so we make the application as we stop how are we getting on in 2010 have you any purpose in life let me ask you brother sister i asked myself the same question we're now into the last quarter of 2010 do you see your mode of living right now in mind if the lord doesn't come where do you see yourself five years down the road i said that to a brother recently and he was honest you know what he said if i continue the way i'm going i'll be outside the assembly and set aside he has made changes in his life i've come to appeal to you today god help us to see from daniel what god desires i want to tell you something you need to live a disciplined life you need to have spiritual priorities if you're going to make it if you're going to stay the course the lord says me first other second and self last the world doesn't believe that out there and so i've come to appeal to you whatever little time we have left oh dear brethren let us put our priorities right yeah we have family responsibilities i understand it and we have responsibilities in the secular world and all the rest of it i understand all of that but the lord is saying in 2010 to me and to you what world are you living for i have one minute to tell you this our correspondent in the assembly he's the man that wrote the letter that i hold in my possession when i went to the lord's work he was a very successful brother likely he would you would never know likely a multi-millionaire he's lying dying just a few weeks ago he took his funeral and my wife and i went to his bedside and we read and prayed with him and he said stan i want to tell you something god has been very kind to me i've had more of this goods world's goods than most but he says i'm dying and i likely won't see you again i'll meet you in heaven he says the only thing that counts is that i have washed in the blood of christ and whenever you stand at my funeral and preach to the gathered audience tell them i've gone to heaven because the lord jesus christ died in my place for me and my sins are forgiven i tell you that went in with me i was happy to tell it at the funeral dear brethren the lord stirred our hearts best thing i can say is only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for christ will last three o'clock shall we pray our father we just commend our ways to thee as we part what a man was this man daniel only one daniel god is my judge we thank thee for the record on holy scripture the lord jesus christ even recognized him daniel the prophet we thank thee that his peers recognized him we remember that jeremiah is linked with him and ezekiel is linked with him and we thank thee today for the record help us all to listen and learn as we move forward commend the audience to thee thank you for our younger friends raising families around their feet and other younger ones not married and older ones too and all of us father what can we say preserve and keep us until the lord returns so we thank thee for the privilege of being together and anticipate the gospel tonight that sinners will be in and souls will be saved for the glory of christ we commit our ways to thee as we part and give thanks in his worthy name amen