Read through the visions in the second half of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7-12). Is there anything here that seems key to the survival of the Jewish people? How would having the book of Daniel have helped the Jewish people go through difficult times, e.g., the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel (extra credit)
Read through the visions in the second half of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7-12). Is there anything here that seems key to the survival of the Jewish people? How would having the book of Daniel have helped the Jewish people go through difficult times, e.g., the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?
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Broc Kilber- In this last section of Daniel it talks about the future of Israel and the region of the Middle East. I describes the collapse of the Persian Empire to the conquest of Alexander to the splitting of his Empire. For the Jewish people to survive the coming chaos and wars they must not stumble but follow God. In chapter 11:32-35 it describes how those who "know their God shall stand firm" to goes on to state that many will stumble but not all. This is the key to survival, following and knowing God. The Book of Daniel and especially these last chapter would have been of a help and consolation to the people of Israel. They hear about the eternal kingdom and how even in death they will be able to take part. At the same time if they follow God they will be able to fight back against the tide coming against them. In death they have consolation and in troubled times they do aswell.
ReplyDeleteThe visions all maintain the core theme that there will be a a long period of time before the deliverance of the people. During this long period of time, there will be plenty of trials and tribulations that will test them, attempting to sway them away from the path of God.
ReplyDeleteDespite these temptations, they should all attempt to be firm with their footsteps, aiming to walk in the path of God and remaining strong against sin. This is only further pronounced when it is mentioned that the period of exile/punishment was extended due to the continued sinning, so it would truly be in their best interest to be good and follow the path of God now rather than later, even if it seems a bit pointless.
This would help the Jewish people because they know that there will be a day that they will be delivered from their pain and suffering, that their anguish will be rewarded as long as they remain loyal and refrain from having a wandering eye. It is the light at the end of the tunnel, which can be a comfort regardless of how far away it is.
Walker Larson:
ReplyDeleteDaniel is a very interesting book. It really is one of those books that, the more you look at it, the more it makes you want to read it again. It feels a lot like Job and Genesis to me. But the second half of the book, seemingly out of nowhere, takes a weird turn. Daniel has these strange visions one after another that are extremely weird and troubling. Even Daniel is spooked by them, stating, "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me." One of the prophecies I can kind of understand is chapter 8:1-14. This prophecy would be extremely disturbing to the Jews, who were subjects and enthusiastic citizens of the Persian empire. The Persian empire had treated them very kindly and let them return to Jerusalem. This prophecy tells of the Persian empire's fall and collapse and the rise of Greece. To many Jews, this would be deeply disturbing, to see an empire you are very fond of fall so suddenly and be replaced by a culture that is extremely diverse and different than yours. It would help to read this and know that God has a plan and that this has all been thought through. In my life, it is easier to go through very hard parts when there is a plan and a clear structure as to what steps are necessary to take. When you are stumbling around in the dark, it is much harder to keep calm. Even under someone as horrible as Antiochus, it would be a comfort to know that his days and reign are finitely numbered. This vision is a little light in the great dark and chaos of the changing power dynamics of the ancient world.
Daniel is a very interesting book. It really is one of those books that, the more you look at it, the more it makes you want to read it again. It feels a lot like Job and Genesis to me. But the second half of the book seemingly out of nowhere takes a weird turn. Daniel has these strange visions one after another that are extremely weird and troubling, even Daniel is spooked by them stating, "As for me Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me." One of the prophecies I can kind of understand is chapter 8:1-14. This prophecy would be extremely disturbing to the Jews, who were subjects and enthusiastic citizens of the Persian empire, the Persian empire had treated them very kindly and let them return to Jerusalem. This prophecy tells of the Persian empire's fall and collapse and the rise of Greece. To many Jews this would be deeply disturbing to see a empire you are very fond of fall so suddenly and be replaced by a culture that's extremely diverse and different than yours. It would help to read this and know that God has a plan and that this has all been thought through. In my life, it's easier to go through very hard parts when there is a plan and a clear structure as to what steps are necessary to take. When you are stumbling around in the dark it is much harder to keep calm. Even under someone as horrible as Antiochus it would be a comfort to know that his days and reign are finitely numbered. This vision is a little light in the great dark and chaos of the changing power dynamics of the ancient world.
The bottom one is that with Grammatical corrections. I did not mean to publish this twice.
ReplyDelete