The Book of
Daniel
Jesus the Smiting Stone, to crush our Antichrist...
the lost of Jesus in the Eucharist is the Abomination of Desolation,
the beginning of the fury of the Antichrist.
The Book of Daniel Scheme of the Book
The Abomination of Desolation Duration of the Reign of the Antichrist
Loose a Pound a Day... by
taking Daniel's ten-day Test!, chapter 1
The Dream of the Statue- Prayer
of thanksgiving of Daniel, chapter 2
The Golden Statue - The 3 Children in the
Furnace, chapter 3
Prayer of Azariah... Of the Three Children...
Of Nebuchadnezzar
The Dream of the Mighty Tree... Letter and Prayer
of King Nebuchadnezzar, chapter 4
Belshazzar's profane banquet... the Writing on the Wall...
the Sacrilege, chapter 5
Daniel in the Lion's Den... Decree of King Darius on the
Living God of Daniel, chapter 6
First Vision of the Four Beasts
, chapter 7
The Antichrist... God the Father, Christ, the Kingdom
Second Vision of the Ram and the he-Goat, chapter 8
First description of the Abomination of Desolation
Third Vision of the 70 Weeks, chapter
9
The killing of the Messiah (the exact date!)... the Abomination of Desolation
The Fourth Vision, chapters 10-12
A Vision of Christ... the Antichrist... the Abominable Desolation (twice)...
Triumph of the People of God
The Story of
Susanna, chapter 13
The Destruction of Bel and the Dragon, chapter 14
Daniel in the Lion's Den for the second time, chapter 14
The Jerome Bible
Commentary
Jesus Christ and His Church in each book of
the Bible
Expanded commentary
1,093 prophecies and types of the Old
Testament fulfilled in Jesus
The Book of Daniel:
Daniel is the book of the end times of the world and of your life and mine... the Apocalypse of the Old Testament.... the Antichrist... the Abomination of Desolation... the Messiah... a Book of comfort... with the ten day trial Diet, try it!.
Daniel is a jewel of the Bible, with many well known treasures, the stories of deliverance from the lions' den and fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, visions of the end times, the so many devout prayers...
... But the greatest treasure for us now is the one quoted by Jesus Himself, the Abomination of Desolation, marking the beginning of the seven years reign of the Antichrist described by Daniel:
This is what Jesus says: When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, he that reads let him understand... (Mat.24:15)... Jesus even challenges us, he that reads let him understand!... and Daniel mentions it in 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, and 8:10-14.
Jesus, in Daniel:
- Is the "stone" that brakes all empires, But the stone
that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth... And in the
days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces
all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; just as you saw
that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand (2:34, 44-45)...
- One like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven... He was
given authority, glory and sovereign power; all people, nations and men of every language
worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting one that will not pass away, and His kingdom
is one that will never be destroyed." (7:13-14, 5:13).
- The "living God" who cares, liberates of the fire and
lions, and judges, rewards and punishes (6:26).
- The Anointed One killed in the vision of the 70 weeks (9:26).
Daniel means "judgment of God"
or "God is my judge"... and his name was changed in Babylon into Belteshazzar,
that is, "a prince favored by Bel" (Dan.1:7)... he was of the tribe of Judah,
with royal blood, one of the first brought into captivity to Babylon (586 BC).
He was so renowned for wisdom that it became a proverb, "as wise
as Daniel" (Ez.28:3), and very holy, joined with Noah and Job as three persons most
eminent for virtue and sanctity (Ez.14:14).
King Nebuchadnezzar made him ruler over the entire province of
Babylon (2:48)... he served under 4 kings: The Babylonians Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar,
and the Persians Darius and Cyrus.
Ezekiel was also in Babylon with the people, and Daniel with the
government... the Book of Ezekiel is about the Church of Christ, and the one of Daniel
about the end times.
Daniel lived eighty-four years, died and was buried at Shushan. His
advanced age did not allow him to be among those who returned to Palestine.
The Book:
The Book of Daniel is the Apocalypse or Revelation of the Old Testament... but it was written primarily to console and encourage the People of God in captivity under a great crisis, as Revelation was written to console the Christians persecuted by the Romans... and both of them, end up being a primary source of prophecies of the end times... one can not understand the meaning of the signs of Revelation without looking at Daniel.
The "crisis" in the time of Daniel was the bitter persecution carried on by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (167-164 BC), a symbol of the Antichrist, well portrayed in the Books of Maccabees, and the work was written at this time to strengthen and comfort the Jewish people in their ordeal... the Jews are to be comforted by the assured prospect both of the fate that awaits their oppressor and of the setting up of God's universal and eternal kingdom... the bottom line is that men of faith can conquer adversity and resist temptation.
In each trial, the generous and constant servants of the true God -- Daniel and his fellow captives -- triumph in the end, while their oppressors, however mighty or numerous, are ultimately punished or made to acknowledge and promote the glory of the God of Israel.
For these reasons, Daniel is listed with the Major Prophets by Christians, but the Jews place it not among "the Prophets" but among "the Writings" (Ketuvim).
The book was written during the Maccabean wars (167-164 BC).
It is in the Bible, the Word of God: For Catholics and Orthodox, all of it, including the beautiful prayers of Azariah and the Three Children in chapter 3, and the last two chapters 13 and 14... the Protestant Bibles do not include these prayers and chapters.
Scheme of the Book:
1- Introduction:
- Chapter 1: Daniel and his 3
friends in captivity in Babylon. Written in Hebrew:
- The surrendered life: Daniel and his friends
are taken to the Babylonian court, where they remain faithful to the Law.
- The success of
the 10 day trial diet... do you want to loose weight?.
First Part: Chapters 2-6: For
the nations. Written in Chaldee, Babylonian :
- Chapter 2: The Dream of the Statue, of Nebuchadnezzar,
revealed by Daniel... named governor of Babylon.
- Prayer of thanksgiving of Daniel (2:19-23).
- Chapter 3: The Golden Statue to be adored... the Three
Children refuse and are thrown into the fiery furnace, but the Angel of the Lord saved
them from all harm, whereas the flame consumed the Chaldeans above the furnace.
- Triumph though trial (3:17-25).
- The prayer of Azariah, of confession
and petition... and the answer of God (3:24-50).
- The prayer of praise of the Three
Children... and the answer of God (3:51-90).
- The Prayer and Order of Nebuchadnezzar (3:95-100):
- Chapter 4: The dream of the Tree: King Nebuchadnezzar would
go insane for seven years and eat "grass like the cows," after which his kingdom
would be restored.
- The prayer of praise of King Nebuchadnezzar (4:31-34).
- Chapter 5: Belshazzar's profane banquet, the mysterious
handwriting on the wall, Daniel's interpretation of that writing, and King Belshazzar
slain that very night, as foretold by Daniel.
- Chapter 6: Daniel in the lion's den, in the reign of
Darius.
.
- Prayer and Decree of King Darius to the living God of Daniel
(6:23-27).
Second Part: Chapters 7-12: For
the future of he People of God, the end times. Again, written in Hebrew :
In these chapters, the
Abomination of Desolation is mentioned four times, and the 7 years of the Antichrist.
- Chapter 7: First Vision of the Four Beasts. The Antichrist... God the Father,
Christ, the Kingdom
- Chapter 8: Second Vision of the Ram and the he-Goat. First
description of the Abomination of Desolation
- Chapter 9: Third Vision of the 70 Weeks... to the killing of the Messiah...
the exact date!, the Abomination of Desolation
- Prayer of confession of sins and
petition of Daniel (9:3-19).
- Chapters 10-12: Forth Vision: The man clothed in linen, Christ!... the Antichrist... the Abominable Desolation (twice)... Triumph of the
People of God
- Recompense of winning souls (12:3).
Third Part: Chapters 13-14: Beautiful
stories of faith and comfort.
- The Story of Susanna,
with Daniel as a young man (13).
- Prayer of Susanna
(13:42-43).
- The Destruction of Bel
and the Dragon, with Daniel as an adult (14:1-30).
- Daniel again in the
lion's den, now in the reign of Cyrus (14:31-40).
- Prayer of King Cyrus to the Great God
of Daniel (14:40-42)... end of the Book.
The Abomination of Desolation:
It is translated in different Bibles also as "the abomination that causes desolation", "the desolating sacrilege", "the desolating abomination", "the horrible abomination", "the abominable desolation", "the abomination that makes desolate", "the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place", "the appalling sacrilege (the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate)", "people would put something very bad in the temple", "the idol of the invader set up in the Temple", "the abominable Idol of the devastator", "the abominable and destructive thing standing on holy ground", "the appalling abomination"...
The Abomination of Desolation is the Time of Coming of the Antichrist!... and his very first work!.
This is how Jesus puts it:
When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, he that reads let him understand... (Mat.24:15)... Jesus even challenges us, he that reads let him understand!...
When you go to "Daniel", he mentions it in 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, and 8:10-14., and describes the horrors of this "Abomination" in 4 places: Daniel 8:11-17, 9:26-27, 11:31-32, 12:11.
This Abomination refers to the abolition of the Eternal Sacrifice and the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem... but Daniel states that "the vision refers to the time of the End" (8:17), and Jesus himself refers us to it in Matt.24:15, and it will be the very first thing the Antichrist will do, as reported here by Jesus.
Paul told us that the Antichrist would sit in the temple as God (2.Thes.2:3-4).
The concept of the abomination of desolation is often spiritualized with explaining it as idolatrous worship established in the hearts of God’s people (His "temple"). But the simplest and more real explanation of all these passages is to see the abomination as the suppression of the eternal sacrifice, now a days only present in Christianity in the Holy Mass.
This "Abomination" in Daniel consists of 5 facts:
1- "Abolished the perpetual sacrifice" (Dan.8:11): And as a logical consequence, if there is no "sacrifice", there will be no "altar", and no "priests" to offer it... this is the main and most important feature, described by Daniel in his four descriptions of the Abomination in the Holy Place.
God established the "eternal sacrifice", which was offered daily as told by the Lord: "every day, two unblemished yearling lambs as a perpetual burning offering" (Num.28:3, Ex.29:42).
If it is "eternal", "perpetual",
is got to be present now, and even in Heaven, because it is "eternal":
a- "In Heaven" it is present,
as described by John in Rev.5:6: "a Lamb standing as it had been
slaughtered"… he is Jesus in the center of the Throne of Heaven, the reason
for all the joys and songs of Heaven!.
b- "On Earth", is got to be
present also "now", because it is "eternal"… and it is!, as the
Lamb of God offered daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
2- "Threw down his sanctuary" (Dan.8:11).
3- "Shall destroy the city" (Dan.9:26).
4- "He magnified himself even to the prince of the host" (Dan.8:11).
5- By his deceit he shall make some who were disloyal to the covenant apostatize (Dan.11:26).
The reign of the Antichrist will last for 7 years, as described in Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 13:5: The "Abomination" will last for 3½ years, and the "Great Tribulation" for another 3½ years, or 42 months, or 1,260 days (Rev.13:5, 11:2-3, 12:5, Dan.12:11-12). See Duration of the Reign of the Antichrist
John tells us that the Antichrist is already with us (1Jn.4:3), and Paul says that the Antichrist is already at work (1Thes.2:6-8).
The Jews already have this Abomination: They have no sacrifice, no altar, no priests, no temple... as it was prophesied it will happen after the coming of the Messiah! (Daniel 8:11-17, 9:26-27, 11:31-32, 12:11). See Judaism after Christ
For many Protestants this "Abomination" means very little, because they already do not have the "perpetual sacrifice", nor "sanctuary", nor "altar", nor "priests"...
The Orthodox already do not have the "prince of hosts", nor "the city".
Many Catholics may wonder how come the Holy Mass and priests could be abolished... but this already happened partially at the coming of Muhammad when there were 800 Christian bishops in Africa, among them St. Augustine, and in a few years there were reduced to just 5!... the "remnant" always mentioned by Isaiah. And when Martin Luther came, in a few years millions of Christians were left without sacrifice, altar, and priests... So, this is what it will happened at the coming of the Antichrist during the Abomination of Desolation, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be abolished, and consequently there will be no need for altars nor priests to celebrate it... and, of course, a "remnant" will be left!.
The
reign of the Antichrist, again, will last for 7 years, as described in Daniel 8:14 and
Revelation 13:5:
1- The "Abomination" will last for 3½
years,
2- And the "Great Tribulation" for another
3½ years, or 42 months, or 1,260 days (Rev.13:5, 11:2-3, 12:5,
Dan.12:11-12)... the same 3½ years of the duration of the ministry of Jesus Christ on
earth. See Duration of the Reign of the Antichrist
For the Adventists, the 42 months or 1,260 days are 1,260 years... and right now, for them, all who celebrate Sunday as the Day of the Lord are of the Antichrist, all 2 billion Christians, except them!... but really, nobody adores Luther nor the Pope, not even the Protestants nor the Catholics... and no Protestant nor Pope has ever had the economic authority of the Antichrist of Rev.13:17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he is branded with the name of the Beast... and no one has ever had the political authority of the Antichrist of Rev.13... and honestly, never a Catholic or a Protestant denied the Christ!.
There is no way to translate this 1260 days into 1260 years, as some scholars do invoking Ezekiel 4:6.
As Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, Daniel spoke of the "last days":
- Gabriel (an angel from heaven) told Daniel, "...the vision concerns the time of the end." (Daniel 8:16-17)
- "...Then Michael, one of the chief princes of the heavenly army, came to help me... to explain... the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." (Daniel 10:13-14)
- "At that time Michael...will arise...everyone whose name is found written in the Book -- will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:1-2)
- "...until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge." (Daniel 12:4)
Duration of the Reign of the Antichrist:
The total time of the
reign of the Antichrist will be 2,300 evenings and mornings (Dan.8:14).
1- The Great Tribulation will last 1,290 days, and blessed the one who
waits and reaches 1,335 days, adds in the next verse (Dan.12:12-13).
2- The Abomination of Desolation consequently will last 1,010 days
according to Daniel.
In the Book of Revelation the Antichrist will do his work of the Great Tribulation for 42 months, or 1,260 days, counting 30 days per month (Rev.13:5, 11:2, 12:6)... there is a slight difference in Daniel, 1,290 days, because he considers the months of having either 30 or 31 days, in a similar way as we have them now.
The 1260 days of the reign of the Antichrist:
- The Woman (the Church) was in the wilderness 1260 days, and the Two Witnesses prophesied 1260 days (Rev.12:6, 11:3).- The Beast reign for 42 months, and the Holy City was trodden down 42 months (Rev.13:5, 11:2).
Rev.11 makes the translation of the 42 months into 1260 days in two consecutive verses: 2 and 3.
- The expression of "a time, two times, and a half a time" is used both in Daniel and Revelation (Dan.7:25, 12:7, Rev.12:14). In Rev.12:14 is used as identical of the 1260 days of Rev.12:6, which are the same 42 months of Rev. 11:2 and 13:5... There are 3½ years, or 1260 days, or exactly 42 months of 30 days per month.
- These 3½ years are also the duration of the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth, another good counterfit of Satan!
Here is a rundown of these figures
in Revelation and Daniel:
Total Duration of the work of the Antichrist:
2,300 days, 7 years (Dan.8:14)
He will impose his law on a great part of the people for a week (7 years)
(Dan.9:27):
| First 3.5 Years (First half week) | Second 3.5 Years (Second half week) |
| Rev.11:2 holy city trampled on by Gentiles for 42 months | Rev.13:5 Beast exercises his authority for forty-two months. |
| Rev.11:3 Two witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days. Rev.12:6 woman taken care of by God for 1,260 days. |
Rev.11:9 Two witnesses lie dead in the street of the great city for three and a half days. |
| Rev.13:5 First Beast, for 42 months | Rev.12:14 woman taken care of for a time, times and half a time. |
| Dan.12:11,12 1,290 or 1,335 days | Dan.7:25 for a time, times and half a time. |
| Dan.9:27 for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease | Dan.12:7 It will be for a time, times and half a time |
Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." (3:29)
(King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon)
- How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders; his kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures through all generations (3:100)
(King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon)
The king cried aloud, "You are great, O Lord, the God
of Daniel, and there is no other besides you! (14:41).
(King Cyrus of Persia)
Quotations from the New International Version, in The Bible Gateway - Last two quotations from the New American Bible
Bible Text:
New International Version, in The Bible Gateway
New
American Bible
Douay
Rheims Bible
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/prazar.htm
Prayers of Azariah and of the Three Children
Commentaries:
Commentary of
Daniel in the Catholic Encyclopedia
http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC27000.HTM
http://www.bartleby.com/65/da/Daniel-book.html
Columbia Encyclopedia
Bible
Tutor.com/... Daniel
http://www.biblenotes.net/daniel.html
http://bible.christiansunite.com/jfb/jfb27.shtml
http://members.tripod.com/~faithibmfaith/index-7.html
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txs/daniel.htm
http://www.concentric.net/~Mullerb/danrv.shtml
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