The detailed and accurate prophecies contained in that book have motivated many, skeptic and professed believer alike, to subscribe to the theory of a late date of composition for daniel in the time of the maccabees. Learn how accurately nebuchadnezzars dream in daniel 2 represented. Ezekiel links this daniel with ancestors who were noted for their righteousness ezekiel 14. Because of the great accuracy of this prophecy, some claim the book was not written by daniel, but by someone many hundreds of years later at the time of the fulfillment of chapter eleven. The book of daniel is actually one of the most authenticated books of the old testament, historically and archaeologically, but this is a convenient shortcut for our purposes here. The details provided speak greatly of an author who knew the times and these historical events welldetails that would have been much more difficult for an alleged secondcentury author to accurately recount. Daniel as an example of boldness and faithfulness to god in the most difficult circumstances had eternal impact on the people and the kings that he. The mythology of the hawaiian islands therefore must be taken with a grain of salt in the area of historical accuracy.
And one of the basic premises for their proof is that it would be impossible to describe with such accuracy events that had not yet taken place. First, you assume that the only categories for the genre of daniel is prophecy as we know it today, or fiction, which you describe as a te. Why did the book of daniel get all the history wrong from verse 11. Most modern radical critics hold that the book was completed in its final form at that time, but some allow for parts of daniel mainly chapters 16 to have an earlier date prior to 168165. Because it was compiled in the second century bce, the book of daniel is quite inaccurate regarding the events of the distant past, following. The first important book is the coming prince, authored by sir robert anderson. This principle is often applied to the book of daniel and it is argued that whilst daniel 11. The book of ezekiel was written in the sixth century b. Generally, the maccabeean theory holds that the book of daniel was written around 168165 bc. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. And the book of daniel has come under this cloak of what they call higher criticism, as there have been many who have tried to prove that the book of daniel was not really written by daniel. To the critics, it is impossible that such incredibly accurate prophecies could have been made in advance.
The book of daniel dramatizes the biblical record of the same name, and does so very well. The skeptic cannot reconcile daniels precision in any other way short of the obvious acceptance of gods inspiration, an apparently unacceptable choice. The prophecies of daniel are accurate down to the career of antiochus iv epiphanes, king of syria and oppressor of the jews, but not in its. Bible, like other historical documents, is considered suspect until proven accurate. An interesting point regarding this prophecy is that it appears to have been delivered orally. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Even if these three mennoah, daniel, and jobwere within it, they would be able to save only themselves. It is critical to realize that the book of daniel existed in documented form almost three centuries before christ was born. The skeptic cannot reconcile daniel s precision in any other way short of the obvious acceptance of gods inspiration, an apparently unacceptable choice. Fourth the predictions given by daniel in the form of the interpretation of dreams and visions are remarkably accurate up to a point. They argue that there never was a darius the mede, since there is no. If it thus can be established that the book of daniel actually dates significantly before the midsecond century b. The book of daniel opens with the backstory of his capture by the babylonians. Jerusalem was conquered by the babylonnians and many of their best young men were taken into captivity, including daniel.
Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. The detail of this history is so minute and accurate so confirmed by history, that unbelieving critics have, without evidence, insisted that it was actually written 400 years later than daniel, after it had happened which would have made the prophet a deceiver. Evangelical scholars alan millard and edwin yamauchi have both written on the issues. We are committed to providing the bible in accurate, contemporary. Compelling evidence of the authenticity of the bible. The seventh chapter of the book of daniel records an unusual vision that he received in the first year of the babylonian king belshazzar 555556 b. Unlike the preceding dreams and visions in the book of daniel, which contained images that needed to be interpreted, this vision simply gave daniel the words regarding what would happen to the jewish people from this time forward daniel 10. Its historical trustworthiness and prophetic character, the evangelical quarterly 2. How farreaching is gods ability to reveal the future. The detailed and accurate prophecies contained in that book have motivated many, skeptic and professed believer alike, to subscribe to the theory of a late date of.
The accuracy of daniel s prophecies as you will see, the prophecies of daniel alone are enough to prove the bible. Dever, save us from postmodern malarkey, bar, marchapril 2000, 28. For daniel kikawa to base an entire book on trying to syncretize various unsubstantiated myths, legends, fables and stories from hawaii with factual biblical accounts is really oxymoronic. These can readily be identified as the babylonian, the persian, the greek and the divided greek empire after the death of alexander the great. The biblical version of the book of daniel movie will give you a much greater understanding on how committed and immovable he was. The prophecy actually looks ahead from daniel to the final antichrist. The book of daniel has many critics because it contains prophetic passages which were accurately fulfilled centuries after his death. Can the book of daniel be a fiction written in 167bc but.
Daniels parents chose a hebrew name for their son meaning god is my judge. What you are teaching and preaching is incorrect, and this exposition will show you how to teach and preach the book of daniel correctly, rightly dividing the word. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with this that we have missed its main message. Daniel predicted five empires, four of which all came into being, with a fifth to come. It is necessary to subject these alleged misstatements to a careful examination. Can we trust that the bible book of daniel is really. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. However, modern scholars have rejected the historical accuracy of the book of daniel.
The vision predicts major world empires and events from the time of daniel to the second coming of christ. This is puzzling to me because people claim the book of daniel was not written in daniel s time but much later at around 165 b. The failure of daniel s prophecies 2007 chris sandoval. Daniel eleven contains by some counts more than one hundred specific prophecies of historical events and people that came true. My family has watched it three times already and passing it around to other family members. The book of daniel archaeological evidence confirms. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. Why did daniel get all of the historical facts wrong in. This paper examines and refutes the claims of historical. Outside of the pentateuch, no book of the ot has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the book of daniel. Arguments for earlylate date of authorship of daniel.
The book of daniel its historical trustworthiness and. Book of daniel full movie watch for free christian kncb. Mainstream biblical scholars further attest that 1 the accuracy of the book s historical information, 2 the form and style of its hebrew and aramaic passages, and 3 the unanimous testimony of ancient tradition all confirm that the book was written, as it claims, by daniel while living in the court of king nebuchadnezzar nelson study bible. The validity of daniel s authorship and prophecies is at stake. Two notable books have been published on daniel s prophecy of 70 weeks and the death of the messiah predicted in daniel 9. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. The book of daniel is written in hebrewexcept for most of chapter 2 and. Daniel as an example of boldness and faithfulness to god in. The deportation of daniel and his friends during the reign of king jehoiakim. Compelling evidence of the authenticity of the bible by peter pilt on may 24, 2012 88 many in our society today hate the biblethey hate the whole concept of absolute truth and absolute authoritythe cry of a post modern generation as they reject the supernatural is that the bible was written by man and is therefore to be dismissed. The first chapter of daniels book stands strong as accurate historical narrative finding archaeological support of nonbiblical origin. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so. You have made yourself wealthy by your wisdom and your discernment.
With robert miano, andrew bongiorno, lance henriksen, kevin mccorkle. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. Throughout history the bible has proven its accuracy in predicting the future. The book of daniel is often written off as nothing more than a poor historical. What is the correct calculation of daniels 69 weeks. This study is an outline of world history from daniel s time to our time today. Even when he was a young prophet under king nebuchadnezzar of babylon, daniel did not waiver. Using artefacts on display in the british museum, jay shows.
Before we turn to the book of daniel, lets discover a few things about bible prophecy. Modern higher critical methods claim that the book of daniel was not written when it purports to be, in the 6th century bc, but in the 2nd century bc, after the events that daniel prophesies. This is a comprehensive but rapid overview of the history from the time of the assyrian empire up until the return of christ. In this series, im going through chapter by chapter to see what daniel s history got right and if he got anything wrong. Our day in the light of bible prophecy it is written home.
The precise accuracy of the prophecy written by daniel three hundred years before it happened has occasioned the attack of the critics, but actually its accuracy is a support for the accuracy of scriptural prophecy as a whole. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history. Youre assuming a lot of things in your question, but it is a good question worth considering seriously. Here are a few excerpts from the book of daniel confirmed by the dead sea scrolls, by gerhard hasel arguing for an earlier date of authorship for the book of daniel than what is commonly accepted by modern biblical scholars who advocate a date between 16764 bc. Conservative evangelical scholars have often defended a sixthcentury b. For example, in the book of mormon, proper names of places and people have no substantiation from outside sources. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. I thought it would look low budget, but boy was i wrong. The reason they do this is that the accuracy of the detailed prophecies in daniel 8 and daniel 11. Book of daniel is very well made and the acting is awesome, not at all what i expected. The book of daniel has been the subject of vigorous debate regarding its historicity, accuracy, and dating. Built primarily around the story of the hebrew peoples captivity in babylon and under several different kings, the movie uses the narrative of its title character to portray how even when all seems lost, god is still with his own. Jerusalem was conquered by the babylonians and many of their best young men were taken into captivity, including daniel.
The accuracy of daniels prophecies is one of the reasons so many skeptics advance the theory that the book of daniel was written around 162 b. We are making available a free copy of my book, daniel unsealed, in a special pdf format for distribution to religion professionals. The first chapter of daniel s book stands strong as accurate historical narrative finding archaeological support of nonbiblical origin. The second notable book is the chronological aspects of the life of christ, authored by harold hoehner. What do you think about the accuracy of daniels prophecies in the. The accuracy of daniel s prophecies is one of the reasons so many skeptics advance the theory that the book of daniel was written around 162 b. The accuracy of his account of the seleucids and the ptolemies in daniel 11 demonstrates that he could recount accurate history when he wanted to.