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Where Do We Find the Gospel in the Book of Daniel?

Borrowed Light
January 16, 2023

“And one of them is reeaaaalllll shiny.” – The guard on Veggie Tales

If you grew up on Veggie Tales, that really shiny guy might be what comes to your mind when asked where we find Jesus in the book of Daniel. There are some books in the Old Testament where it seems difficult to find Jesus. But he’s “real shiny,” not only in the story of the fiery furnace, but really throughout the book of Daniel.

In fact, Jesus himself uses language from Daniel (7:28-29) to identify himself as the Son of Man. There are many places we can find Jesus in the book of Daniel. Read on to discover more.

 

How Do You Find the Gospel in the Old Testament? 

I suppose before understanding how to find the gospel in the OT, it’d be helpful for us to define the gospel. The simplest definition is one given by JI Packer: God saves sinners. If you’d like to put a bit more meat on your gospel presentation, I use two different frameworks with four points each. The first is God—Man—Christ—Response. The second is more of a story: Creation—Fall—Redemption—Glory.

The first presentation centers upon God’s character and how humanity fails to meet God’s holy standard, as such the judgment of God is upon us. But the good news is that Jesus Christ fixes this by fulfilling what is required through his life, death and resurrection. Our only fitting response, then, is to respond to Him in repentance and faith. When this happens, we are united to Christ and his record becomes our record.

The second presentation centers upon the overarching story of the Bible. God lovingly created us to love Him and enjoy Him forever. We were made for rest, rule, and relationship. But we made shipwreck of this, and so rather than having the blessings of obedience we are under the curse of disobedience. Rather than having peace (rest), purpose (ruling), and healthy relationship we often experience the opposite. Ultimately, we are alienated from God. But thankfully God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our curse and to fulfill what God intended for humanity. As such we now experience the blessings of Jesus’ obedience in our place. He restores the rest, rule, and relationship we were created to enjoy. Someday everything will be ultimately restored and we will live in a new heaven and a new earth.

We could write entire books focusing on these various themes of the gospel. But every gospel story follows this basic skeleton. No matter where you find yourself in the Old Testament (or the New Testament) you can find one of these various threads. Every place in Scripture is either telling you something about God, something about our rebellion, something about His rescue, or something about our future restoration. If you can spot this, then you can fill out the rest of the story.

 

How Do We Find the Gospel in Daniel? 

There was a movie that I watched, prior to having a relationship with Jesus, that kind of reminds me of the book of Daniel, because of its propensity to give the reader whiplash. The movie that I’m referencing began as a movie about a kidnapping/hostage situation but ended up a story about vampires. It was incredibly strange because you are pulled into the story of the couple who was kidnapped, and then introduced into an entirely different story. Reading Daniel is similar.

Daniel begins with the narrative of a young man who is exiled in the Babylonian, and later Persian, Empire. We also read of his three friends who were thrown into a fiery furnace but miraculously escaped. The narratives give us a picture of what it means to live as an exile. It’s a model for believers who are living in a world that is ultimately not our home.

But then in chapter 7 the book turns into the apocalyptic visions of Daniel. It tells of their immediate future but also stretches into the end of days. And it is a reminder that the final victory belongs to one who is like a Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, in Daniel 7.

Though it seems as if these two are entirely unrelated, in actuality the second half of the book is what gives fuel to the narrative. We are able to stare into the fiery furnace or to be thrust into a den of lions because we know the end of the story. And it is here that we also see the gospel in Daniel.

We see in Daniel that God is sovereign over history. He is able to intervene in the life of Daniel. He knows the future and is able to direct the hearts of kings. And he is fully able to bring about the events of Daniel 7—riding upon the clouds and rescuing His people.

Daniel also shows us the frailty of humanity. In the story Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the universe ends up eating grass like cattle. He has the power to throw three men into a fiery furnace, but he doesn’t ultimately hold their life in his hands. Even the faithful Daniel and his friends are in the palm of God’s hand. They too are frail. The same is true of each empire outlined in the book of Daniel. Humanity is frail.

Yet, we also see in Daniel that there is a kingdom, and a King, that is unshakeable. This is Christ for us, able to rescue us in our weakness. The people are in exile because of sin—and the narrative here is that God is able to redeem, protect, and ultimately restore sinful people. He also is strong in the places where we are frail. His kingdom is unshakeable.

Our only fitting response then, and the message of Daniel, is to trust in God regardless of what age or era you find yourself in. If you are in exile, it’s a call to be faithful because we serve the Eternal One. And if we rise to the heights of our own empire, we must also humbly acknowledge that every success comes from God’s hand. It is God’s kingdom which matters.

Bryan Chappell says it well. The central message of Daniel is this: God will rescue his people from their sin and misery by the work of a Messiah.

 

Where Is the Gospel in Daniel 5:1-31?

There are a few places, like the fiery furnace and the Son of Man passage, where it is easy to draw a line to Christ. But what do we do with some of the more difficult passages? Remember that story in Acts where the Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah and Philip explains from that very passage the gospel of Jesus? I think it’s good practice to try to do what Philip did from every point in the Old Testament.

If you had only Daniel 5:1-31 and you were called to proclaim the gospel to someone, how would you do it?

You’ve likely heard of Daniel 5:1-31 even if you have never read that passage. Or rather you are familiar with an important phrase from that passage. Here we see the handwriting on the wall. That has become a proverbial phrase to indicate that there are apparent signs that something bad will happen in the future.

In the story in Daniel 5, Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, is drinking wining and praising all of his pagan gods. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing upon the wall. This, as it obviously would anyone, alarms the king. Worse still, he is unable to read the handwriting on the wall. In fact, none of his enchanters or astrologers are able to read it. But Daniel can and does read the handwriting on the wall.

How, then, do we preach the gospel from a passage like this? First, we are attuned to the connection between the handwriting and the idolatry of Belshazzar. He is praising his gods and relying upon his enchanters and such. But their emptiness is quickly shown with this handwriting on the wall. It takes one of God’s prophets to discern the meaning.

Secondly, we see here the sovereignty of God. He is in control. Not Belshazzar. The same is true for us. We are unable to “read the writing on the wall” and yet remain convinced that we are in control of our own destinies. We believe that we are the captain of our own ship, until by God’s grace we come to realize that we are not the ones in control.

Belshazzar was “weighed in the balances and found wanting.” This is what the Bible declares of all of us. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” But there is one who did not fall short. There is one who is even greater than Daniel. One who Himself moves history along. Jesus the Christ.

Jesus was weighted in the balances and NOT found wanting. He has succeeded where every human before has failed. And He graciously invites us into covenant with Himself. When we agree to this, His record becomes our own. His accomplishments are credited to our account. That is the good news of the gospel.

We are like Belshazzar; through our rebellion we’ve “come up short.” But in Christ we can be forgiven and made new.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/where-do-we-find-the-gospel-in-the-book-of-daniel.html

What Are We to Make of Unanswered Prayers?

Dawn Wilson Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Gary Yates, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, tells the story of a chaplain’s prayer. Chaplain Max Helton prayed beside the car of racecar driver Dale Earnhardt prior to the start of the 2001 Daytona 500. Holding hands, “they prayed for wisdom and safety,” Yates said. But Earnhardt lost his life in that race — in a final lap crash. Yates asked why God did not bring wisdom and safety when He promised believers, “Ask and you will receive.”

Puzzled by such “unanswered prayers,” some believers wonder whether Jesus was being totally truthful when He said, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). 

What are “unanswered prayers” and how do we explain them in light of Scripture?

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What Do We Mean When We Say ‘Unanswered’ Prayers?

When we think of the phrase “unanswered prayer,” many questions might come to mind. Does God hear all of our prayers? How does God respond to our requests? Do we believe that He is capable of making mistakes? Do we think we are entitled to what we ask of God? Is there something in us that causes God to withhold or delay an answer? Do we need to learn how to be better pray-ers?

Most people find prayer mysterious. We don’t always understand how it “works,” let alone how it “doesn’t work.” When we believe our prayers aren’t answered, we might wonder whether our faith is small or if there are any one of a hundred reasons why God might turn away from our prayers. 

“Unanswered prayer” is intensely personal. It’s how we view God’s response to our prayers. The more theologically clever usually don’t like the phrase “unanswered prayer.” In reality, they say, there are no unanswered prayers. The sovereign God is also a good Heavenly Father, and He gives His redeemed children what they would have asked for — if they knew everything that He knows!

Does God Hear All of Our Prayers?

God hears every one of His children’s prayers, and He answers them with “good gifts” in His good time and in His way. Scriptures teach us His “ears” are tuned to the cries of the righteous. 

He does not forget or forsake (abandon) His own. In fact, God knows our needs before we even ask in prayer. Satan wants us to believe our Heavenly Father doesn’t care about us, but God is attentive to His children, and He cares about our concerns.

Sometimes Christians, discouraged by seeming unanswered prayers, assume that God has forgotten them. David voiced this in Psalm 13:13, saying, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” He cried out for God to answer him. Likewise, we want to know that God is listening and truly wants to give us the desires of our heart; but sometimes we feel He has shut up the heavens, and the silence unsettles us. Asaph asked, “Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he shut up his compassion?” (Psalm 77:7-9). We are not forgotten by the one who has engraved us on the palms of his hands (Isaiah 49:15-16). 

God “closely attends to the prayers of God-loyal people” (Proverbs 15:29b, Msg). Believers don’t need to fear that they’re not “praying right,” because the Spirit of God helps us in our weakness, interceding for us with “wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). He knows and interprets the cries of our hearts.

Photo credit: Pixabay/Creative Commons

How Might God Respond to Our Prayers?

As we draw close to the throne of grace with confidence, we need to recognize that our Father God is sovereign in His replies. God appears to answer every prayer with either “yes,” “no,” or “wait.” He desires to answer believer’s prayers, and He does not withhold any good thing from those who do what is right — like every good and loving father. He delights in blessing His children and graciously giving them things. 

But sometimes, God may answer believers’ requests with “no” because to answer “yes” is not good for them or is against His good will. Sometimes we get caught up in our frustration or pain, and we accuse God of disappointing us, abandoning us. But God may have something planned for us that is much better than we hoped or imagined.  

God may also delay an answer. His “not yet” is, again, for His children’s good and for His glory. God’s eternal perspective is greater than ours. In His big picture view, He sometimes delays a response until the best possible time. For example, Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless and no doubt prayed for a child, but they were old in years before God gave them a son (Luke 1:5-13). God delayed until it was time for the Messiah, Jesus, to be born, because John the Baptist would be His forerunner. Often, God’s delays are a means of strengthening our spiritual muscles or to teach us to pray continually.

Sometimes things will get worse after we’ve prayed before they get better; but remember: God is never late or early. Because He is God, He is not capable of making mistakes. We must remember the character of God and trust Him — He is wise, good, faithful, trustworthy, etc. In His mysterious ways, He accomplishes “immeasurably more” than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

Can God, who is sovereign and omniscient, ever be persuaded to change His mind or alter His plans? Some Scriptures indicate that prayer can and does make a difference in human events. But other Scriptures show that prayers did nothing to change the course of life in certain situations. God’s answers might seem so random to us. Jesus escaped, but other innocent children were slaughtered (Matthew 2:16). Peter was freed, but James was killed (Acts 12:2, 6-11). Again, we simply cannot understand everything this side of eternity about how God responds to specific prayers.

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What Might Be Some Reasons for Unanswered Prayers?

When our prayers are not answered the way we hoped, does that mean God is ignoring us? Not necessarily. Sometimes it’s a matter of waiting for God’s timing. Perhaps God has something better for us, or there is an opportunity that He might receive greater glory. Perhaps He is protecting us from unseen danger.

Just because Christians’ prayers “aren’t answered,” that does not mean they’re doing something wrong. Christians are often targeted by Satan. What the enemy means for believers’ harm, God redeems for their good and His glory. But Stuart Briscoe wrote in Just Between Us magazine, “We need to learn to search our own hearts as we pray, because problems may lurk in our hearts that hinder our praying.” What are some possible reasons for unanswered prayers?

There may be spiritual issues. Perhaps we are not abiding — living in — close fellowship with God. We don’t have a prayer life or regular time in the Word. We may not be asking according to God’s will and Word or turning away from God’s instructions. We may be a doubter, not asking in faith — or perhaps, because of weak faith, we’re not even asking God for what we need (James 4:2b). 

We may be praying hypocritically to get attention or praying in rebellion. We may be cherishing unconfessed sin. God will not be mocked. He knows us intimately and sees every “hidden” sin. We may be praying with sinful motives or out of pride or selfish desires rather than to the glory of God. Jennifer Heeren wrote, “Our whims aren’t necessarily God’s will.” The truth is — our happiness and so-called “successes” aren’t God’s highest priority. His responses are meant to shape us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). 

There may be relationship issues too. God sees when we show enmity against fellow believers or harbor an unforgiving spirit.  He knows when a husband is not treating is wife well. He notices when we close our ears to the cries of the needy.

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How Should We Respond to Unanswered Prayers?

Should we keep praying about seeming unanswered prayers? Yes, says Jon Bloom at Desiring God. The Lord “wants us to seriously press into the question, ‘What’s the problem?’” Bloom said. God wants us to persevere. He knows we struggle to pray. “We’re distractible, we’re lazy, we’re busy,” Bloom said, “we’ve had poor models, we lack a clear plan for how and when to pray, we’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people and things to pray for, our Adversary opposes our praying, and the list goes on.” 

When Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours, we’re “tempted to respond sardonically, ‘Yeah, whatever,” Bloom said. He continues that Jesus knows this promise presses us “beyond our limits.” “He means it to.” Jesus’s purpose is not to shame us for our little faith. “He’s inviting us to come further up and further in.”

Christians are tempted to become discouraged by what appears to be unanswered prayer; but Jesus tells us we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Persistent prayer reminds us that our hope is in God alone, and even though God may seem silent at times, there are always blessings in the prayers themselves — to build character and faith, and to increase hunger for the Lord.

Unanswered Prayers Are Invitations to God’s Heart

On one occasion, the disciples asked of Jesus, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). They no doubt noticed the relationship Jesus had with His Father in heaven, and craved that kind of connection. “There is much more to prayer than making requests of God,” Stuart Briscoe said. “God created mankind for fellowship and communion, to be ‘friends,’ to delight in each other and to have an ever-deepening relationship. … This relationship, as it deepens, leads to a fuller understanding of God’s purposes, desires, intentions, or what we often call His will.” 

When our prayers appear to go unanswered, God may be drawing us closer; it’s time to step up our prayers in frequency and intensity. God keeps inviting us to His heart so we can learn about His will and ways.

“Prayer is a relational interaction, not merely a service transaction,” Briscoe said. “Faith is not divine currency that we pay God in order to receive whatever we ask in prayer. Faith is a relational response of trust in what God promises us. … And those who are audacious enough to really live by what God says will see mountains move that God wants moved.” Prayerfully abiding in Christ is an act that is “profoundly relational,” Briscoe said.

If “whatever you ask in prayer” has not happened yet, he said, “do not assume it can’t or won’t. Don’t give up. This promise is an invitation to come further up and further in to knowing God. And those who have taken God up on this invitation testify that the audacious promises of God are for those audacious enough to believe them.” We must persevere in prayer.

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Even Jesus Had Unanswered Prayers

Philip Yancey reminds us that even Jesus had “unanswered prayers” while He lived on earth. He spent an entire night in prayer before choosing His disciples, likely asking the Father to point out the best followers — the cream of the crop. Yet He then chose Judas. And impetuous Peter. And the “Sons of Thunder.” Did the Father answer His prayer? Were these the exact men Jesus needed to become disciples? “The Son of God himself could only work with the talent pool available,” Yancey said.

Then, when Jesus struggled in prayer, pleading in the Garden of Gethsemane, He “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death” (Hebrews 5:7). But Jesus was not delivered from death. He prayed for one thing, and got something else. “When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he did not get that salvation; instead, he got the salvation of the world,” Yancey said. 

Jesus prayed another prayer that is yet unanswered. He prayed for all who would believe through the disciples’ message; he prayed they would be one, in unity. Clearly, this prayer is yet unanswered in the church. 

One final prayer remains unanswered. Jesus said, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We still await the Kingdom in its fullness.

God Moves Powerfully, Even in Unanswered Prayers

Gary E. Yates — who wrote about a chaplain’s unanswered prayer for Dale Earnhardt — also wrote, “The greatest demonstrations of God’s power are often found in his answers to our unanswered prayers.” Yates noted that a man named Bob Mitchell prayed for the safety of five young missionaries who went to the jungles of South America in order to share the gospel with the Auca Indians. But Jim Elliott and his four companions were brutally murdered.

“Years later,” Yates wrote, “Mitchell attended a conference in Europe and met an evangelist who was one of the Auca Indians that had murdered Elliott and the other missionaries. Only God could orchestrate that kind of answer to an unanswered prayer.”

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-are-we-to-make-of-unanswered-prayers.html

The Wonderful, Amazing Blessings of the Fear of the Lord

Mark Altrogge Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA

Can I tell you about an incredible blessing in my life?

This wonderful gift from God has brought joy and gladness into my life and has spared me from unimaginable pain and suffering. Yet I have never heard a message preached on it. I don’t hear Christians talking about it. It doesn’t seem to be in the forefront of many people’s minds. It may be, but I don’t hear much about it. What is this wonderful gift from God, this incredible blessing? It is the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is so crucial to our lives that in the very beginning of Proverbs, Solomon tells his son the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowing God and understanding how to live:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Prov 1:7)

So what is the fear of the Lord? In my pre-Christian days, my understanding as a Roman Catholic (at least this is what I grew up believing) was essentially a fear of going to hell. I was taught that if I missed Mass on Sunday that was a mortal sin that needed to be confessed if I were to escape hell. I had no sense that God loved me. I felt like I could never please him, that he was always unhappy with me and waiting to punish me.

I carried that unhealthy fear into my early days as a Christian. Gradually I came to understand the gospel that God so loved me he sent Jesus to die for me, and that when he saved me, he adopted me as his son and that nothing could ever separate me from his love.

I’m so grateful that early on I began reading the Bible, and especially Proverbs, for God taught me through his word that to fear him didn’t mean I was to be scared of God or always expecting him to backhand me for some mistake. And God taught me that a biblical fear of God is a wonderful thing, and a doorway to life and blessing.

I had been afraid of punishment. But Jesus took my punishment on the cross. So I no longer had to fear God’s punishment for my sins:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 JN 4:18)

Does this mean I feel free to sin? That I can do whatever I wish and there won’t be any consequences? No. A healthy fear of God grows from coming to know God is infinitely, unimaginably, gloriously holy. Sin is the opposite of God’s holiness. One of God’s plans for his children, in conforming us to Jesus is to make us more and more holy, as he is holy. So in his perfect, deep love for us, in his holiness he will discipline us. Not punish us. But discipline us as a loving Father when we sin.

So to fear God means to dwell upon his beautiful, glorious holiness which is the very opposite of sin and evil, and to revere God and know that he loves us so much that he desires us to hate and turn away from sin.

I like the way GotQuestions.org puts it:

“Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.”

So to fear God is to worship him in his holiness. Now what I’d like to look at next is another aspect of fearing God I don’t hear many people talking about. And that is the benefits of fearing God. God tells us that to fear him will lead to all kinds of wonderful blessings in our lives. For example, the fear of the Lord leads us to an abundant life.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. PR 14:27

Sin leads to death. God wants us to experience an abundant life – a fountain of life. God doesn’t tell us to fear him to squelch our fun, but to give us overflowing joy.

The fear of the Lord gives us great confidence in life and blessing for our children:

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. PR 14:26

The fear of the Lord causes us to experience God’s friendship and to know his covenant promises to us:

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. PR 25:14

Fearing God unleashes his mercy upon us:

And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. LK 1:50

The fear of the Lord leads to life and blessing:

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. PS 34:9-10

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. PR 19:23

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. PR 22:4

I want to fear the Lord and grow in the fear of the Lord. A healthy fear of God has delivered me from sin and temptation hundreds of times in my life. The fear of the Lord has led me to seek him in my weakness and protected me from so many things that could destroy me. God has been true to his word. In fearing him, and turning away from evil, he has given me joy and peace and life and blessings.

What a wonderful gift from God is the fear of the Lord! If you haven’t read through Proverbs in a while, read through it again and note all the blessings that come from fearing God.

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https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/the-wonderful-amazing-blessings-of-the-fear-of-the-lord.html