Daniel by Ryan Lowery (2017)

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem and demanded the best of the Jewish boys to be trained in Babylonian culture. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the boys to be assimilated. Although they each had a name change, they requested to continue obeying God's Law by not partaking of the king's assigned meals. They obtained permission to follow their dietary laws and ended up healthier than the rest. The boys choose to be a light in another culture by being like the Babylonian culture when they could but choosing to be separate where it counts.

Nebuchadnezzar is a king who desperately wants an answer for a disturbing dream. He demands his wise men should know what his dream is, without him telling it and he wants an interpretation of the meaning of the dream. The wise men don't know what the dream was or what it was about. Daniel asks God for insight and interpretation. God reveals the dream, using Daniel as a witness to show authentic spiritual truth to Nebuchadnezzar. Although the king was a wicked man, God wanted to reach him.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego, three Jewish boys exiled in Babylon, show bravery by demonstrating a willingness to suffer in order to remain loyal to the true God of the Bible. Their worldview is put to the test when King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue is commanded to be worshiped. They took a stand on God's word, refusing to be subservient to the culture that believed in many gods. And God rescued them from death.

God has been pursuing King Nebuchadnezzar for decades. When King Nebuchadnezzar has a period of time that is maddening, he writes about his personal experience of being humbled before God. \r\n\r\nRyan Lowery shares his personal story of how his pride kept him from seeking God, but how Ryan had a humbling experience that lead him to God.

Daniel, now much older, again finds himself facing the ruling authority in Babylon to declare the truth of God. A once unknown historical figure, Belshazzar who was second in command, struggled with many lessons similar to Nebuchadnezzar, seen earlier in Daniel. Archaeological evidence found in 1854 confirms Belshazzar's rule. Previously, Daniel predicted Babylon's rule coming to an end at the hand of the Medes and Persians and now that defeat was underway. In the end, Belshazzar did not humble himself before God's Word but instead rejected evidence and denied God.\r\n

Daniel has been a captive of Babylon for many years, when one day while reading the book of Jeremiah he came across an exciting piece of information: the predicted end time of captivity was only a few years away. Immediately in response to this realization Daniel praised God. While Daniel was praying he received an incredible prophecy for the future messiah. Daniel 9 accurately predicts the coming of the Messiah 500 years before the event took place.

The previous chapters of Daniel culminate to show how the fulfilled prophecy of the past give credit to the prophecy of future end times. Using different passages of the Bible, this teaching gives plausible evidence of the end times. As Christians we can be aware and learn what God predicts for the future from the Bible, while continuing to focus on the importance of loving in the midst of a culture that will be spinning out of control.

Daniel 7 and 8 correlate with one another in order to display an impressive prophecy. Different gentile kingdoms, that Daniel compared to different beasts, are predicted hundreds of years before they come to power. These prophetic visions of Daniel are supported through various historical extra-biblical resources and accounts. The prophecies here give measurable evidence from history that might encourage readers to take a closer look at the areas of the Bible pertaining to faith and salvation that God offers.