The dream-visions of the Biblical book of Daniel, in which Daniel is given a glimpse into the future, are notoriously hard to understand at many points.

 

What are the four kingdoms of Daniel 2 and 7? Who is the little horn of chapter 7?

What event and what evil king are described in Dan. 8?  How should we understand the 70 weeks and the abomination of desolation of Daniel 9? Who is the king highlighted at the end of chapter 11? And when is meant by the time of the end?

 

These questions and more have often confounded the readers of Daniel, and a multitude of answers have been proposed.

 

This book suggests that the key to answering all of these questions is in the change of Biblical Covenants from the Old Testament era to the new world of life in Jesus. All of these prophecies, properly understood, are different lenses on the same events, the same point in history—the coming of Jesus to establish the new Covenant through His birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and heavenly enthronement, and the formal end of the Old Covenant, resulting from the Jewish revolt against the Romans and the subsequent destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD. Thus, this analysis of Daniel’s prophecies is consistent with and supports a Preterist understanding of other prophetic passages which also focus on this period of Covenant change, such as the Mount of Olives Discourse (Mt. 24 and parallels in Mark and Luke) and most of the book of Revelation.

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Daniel’s Prophecies of Covenant Change

 

Introduction: Structure of the Book of Daniel

 

Before looking at the individual prophecies in the book of Daniel, it is important to appreciate the structure of the book as a whole. Three aspects of the over-all structure are particularly noteworthy.

 

First, the book can be readily divided in half based on the subject matter. Chapters 1 through 6 have been described as “court narratives”, recounting some key events in the life of Daniel and his three Jewish friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, during their captivity in Babylon. Added to them in Chapters 7 through 12 are Daniel’s accounts of the revelations he personally received (beyond the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which was given to Daniel as recorded in Dan. 2).

 

Additionally, Daniel can also be divided based on the language in which the original text was written. Daniel 1:1 to 2:3 was written in Hebrew, while Dan.2:4 through 7:28 was written in Aramaic (the common language of that area of the world at that time). Then Dan. 8:1 through 12:13 was again written in Hebrew.

 

These linguistic changes signal a significant difference in focus for these sections. Thus, the middle section (Daniel chapters 2 through 7) spotlights God’s ultimate sovereignty over the kingdoms of the world and their rulers, with Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar personally being confronted with this truth. The cohesive nature of this section is additionally apparent in the chiastic structure (ABCCBA) which frames chapters 2 through 7. In this analysis, 

 

A = Chapters 2 & 7, which give panoramic views of the present and future kingdoms and of God’s ultimate Kingdom being established;

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B = Chapters 3 & 6, which give parallel demonstrations of God’s sovereign care for His people, in the accounts of the fiery furnace and the lion’s den;

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C = Chapters 4 & 5, which show God’s judgment of arrogant rulers.

 

The passages of Daniel written in Hebrew (Dan.1:1-2:4 and 8:1-12:13), in contrast, focus specifically on God’s covenant people and place (the Temple, Jerusalem, and the Promised Land). Thus, we find that the visions received by Daniel in chapters 8 through 12 are previewing the fall and rise of kingdoms specifically in relation to the Jews, their land, and their Temple in Jerusalem. As we will see, this covenantal focus helps significantly in understanding the details of all of the prophecies as being intended to speak to the change of Covenants brought about in Christ Jesus.

 

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Overview of the Prophecies in Daniel

 

In the book of Daniel, two dreams/visions are given to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel. The dream of chapter 4 is a message specifically directed to Nebuchadnezzar personally, and is fulfilled in his lifetime. The dream of chapter 2, however, is given in response to King Nebuchadnezzar’s pondering of the future, and carries far beyond his lifetime.

 

The thesis of this work is that this latter dream-prophecy of chapter 2 and all those prophecies of the future given to Daniel in chapters 7-12 are inter-connected, revealing various aspects of the end of the Old Covenant era and the establishment of the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God in Jesus. Each prophecy ends with Covenant change events: the establishment of the New Covenant through the Incarnation, Life, Atoning Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Enthronement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the formal end of the Old Covenant with the judgment on rebellious Israel and the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD. 

 

Together, these five prophesies (Dan. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10-12) provide a five-fold lens on the same sequence of events. As the revelations unfold, the future is increasingly revealed to Daniel in greater historical detail, with an increasingly sharper focus on the transitional events involved in the change of Covenants.

 

Thus, in the chapter 2 dream-vision given to Nebuchadnezzar of the four-part statue, the focus is on the Kingdom of God, which would conquer other kingdoms and ultimately be established and endure forever. A main theme of Jesus’ teaching was of this Kingdom of God which was being established in Him.

 

In the parallel dream-vision of the four beasts in chapter 7, the heavenly Court sits in judgment on the four kingdoms, the “son of man” is enthroned as King of all Kings, and the saints inherit the Kingdom.  Jesus’ most common self-identification, of course, was as “Son of Man”, with all this background behind it.

 

The prophecy recorded in chapter 8 begins with a ram and a goat, but ultimately focuses on “the time of the end”. This “time of the end”, as will be shown, refers to the end of the Old Covenant era, comprised of the time from its beginning under Herod the Great to its culmination at the destruction of the Jewish Temple.

 

Dan. 9’s seventy “sevens” regarding Jerusalem reveal the time frame from Daniel’s day to the end of the Old Covenant, highlighting the Messiah’s establishment of the new and better Covenant, and His destruction of the Temple and the ending of the Old Covenant animal sacrifices.

 

The last prophecy, in Dan. 10-12, provides a more detailed description of the events in the time period from Daniel’s time to the end of the Old Covenant age, culminating in the resurrection of the dead and their final judgment.