The Prophecy of Daniel

Introduction

      Anyone writing a commentary on the book of Daniel could use copious footnotes and many references.  Many writers go to great lengths doing so.  Many such books also are available that quote other sources but explain nothing new.  The present study uses an approach that is the exact opposite to these practices.

      Many may regard any comment on the prophecy of Daniel as dull, dry and unprofitable   reading.  For that reason excessive wordiness has been avoided in the present study because brevity and conciseness of explanation have seemed, to the present writer, of paramount importance.  The clear, brief and logical explanation of the total prophecy in an intellectually satisfying manner, consistent with biblical and historical references bearing on the subject, has been a primary objective.

      The present study could easily have extended to double its present size.  For that reason, the present writer has been very selective in the material used.  The number of references has been kept to the barest minimum consistent with the need for historical proof.  The explanation of the prophecy in this study is written for the layman.  Thus this study has been edited several  times to simplify the language and curtail its length. 

Prophecy Never Fully Understood

      The prophecy of the book of Daniel has never been completely  explained in a satisfactory  manner by any commentary written to date.  The book seems to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle.  The prophecy appears to be utterly impossible to fully understand.  This situation has obtained from the beginning. There are several reasons that have contributed to this situation. 

     The first reason seems to be the "sealing" or concealing of the meaning of the vision  of 8:1-14 and, indeed, the total book.  (See 8:26b and 12:4 & 9).

.                 The second reason the prophecy is not better understood has been the failure of scholars to find the correct historical meaning of the "indignation" as well as the historical identity of the "willful king" of the 4 verses of 11:36-39. 

       The third reason, a most important one, is the failure of most

writers to realize the existence of, and  explain, the two

separate "times of the end" in the prophecy.  See 8:17-11:35-11:40, 12:4 & 9.

      A fourth reason has been the apparent inability of many writes  

to recognize the dividing line between past and future prophecy in

the book. 

.                 The fifth reason is the centuries long "gap" between