7 Important Things to Know before Reading Daniel

Daniel lived during a time when Israel lost everything. He’d seen great crisis and tragedy, death and destruction of God’s promised land and temple. Babylon destroyed God’s city, Jerusalem, and carried God’s people into captivity, all due to Judah’s sin. From a human point of view, it looked like God had abandoned them, or they had lost the covenant. But Daniel continually reveals how history wasn’t moving to Babylon or Persia’s victory or dominance. God directed – and still directs – history toward the establishment of his eternal Kingdom.

This hope appears right away, in Daniel 2, with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream we already mentioned, where the Kingdom of God turns the empires of the world to dust. This Kingdom also has a King. Later, Daniel sees the “Son of Man,” a divine human figure, both God and man. This Son of Man received eternal and everlasting dominion over the Kingdom from the Ancient of Days, God (Daniel 7:13-14). This prophecy points to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose Kingdom reigns over every nation and will never end.

No Old Testament book shapes the theology of the New Testament more than Daniel. Its themes and context echo through the Gospels, the Epistles, and Revelation. Daniel gives the theological framework for the New Testament’s important teachings regarding the Kingdom of God, the Messiah, discipleship, and the return of Jesus. 

As we’ve already covered, Daniel emphasizes the Kingdom of God, and God as King. While other prophets mention and describe the Kingdom, Daniel places its coming and nature within history and eternity. Jesus builds on this when he announces his Gospel, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus taught two messages almost exclusively: God as Father and the Kingdom of God. Daniel had already prepared readers to expect this. 

Daniel also develops the idea of the “holy ones” or “saints.” In most of the Old Testament, “holy ones” are angelic beings. Daniel clearly defines the “saints” as God’s people, and they inherit the Kingdom of God. The New Testament continues with this promise, describing the new creation believers as God’s holy people and heirs of the Kingdom. 

Further, with this in mind, Daniel reveals how to live this Kingdom while under oppressive rulers and governments. The New Testament does the same, now under Rome, revealing how God’s people can remain faithful under hostile and violent governments. This reality continues to be instructive today. 

Finally, Daniel introduces the “Son of Man,” a title Jesus used for himself far more than any other. By doing so, Christ identified himself with Daniel’s heavenly ruler who establishes and reigns over God’s Kingdom.

The apocalyptic visions of Daniel give the foundation for the book of Revelation. Revelation builds on the imagery, themes, and symbols first introduced in Daniel. 

Daniel plays a major role in developing the very genre of apocalyptic literature, a genre that uses symbolic visions to show God’s perspective on history and predict the future. Daniel sees terrifying beasts rising from the sea to represent worldly kingdoms. 

He also describes angels, heavenly courts, cosmic conflicts, and coming kingdoms. He shows us books being opened, a tribulation, and God’s final victory over evil. These images describe spiritual realities behind earthly events. Later Jewish apocalyptic writings expanded this style. Revelation specifically draws from this imagery. 

The book of Daniel also introduces the conflict between God’s Kingdom and the kingdoms of this world. Revelation carries this theme and message to the ultimate, showing Christ’s final triumph over every earthly and unseen enemy. The message remains consistent from the Old to New Testaments. Evil may appear for a season, but God controls history and will judge every kingdom. Daniel’s vision of God’s everlasting Kingdom finds the fulfillment in Revelation’s picture of a new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem, all under God’s eternal reign. 

Understanding Daniel helps us engage better with Revelation. Instead of seeing Revelation as something new, we can recognize it as the culmination of themes found throughout Scripture. 

Daniel didn’t serve God while living in a godly nation. He was a captive under pagan kings who demanded absolute loyalty and even worship, a land of idols. These kings even punished anyone seen as disloyal with death. However, Daniel never compromised his devotion to the Lord. 

Beginning in the opening chapter, Daniel doesn’t defile himself with the king’s food. The Jews had strict laws regarding what they could eat, and Daniel didn’t want to live in luxury when so many of his people starved. Refusing to eat what was provided, however, might have put him in mortal danger. Daniel obeyed God without being rebellious, and God blessed him and his friends. 

His three Jewish friends also showed this courage. When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow to a golden statue, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wouldn’t comply. They knew God could rescue them from the fiery furnace, but even if he didn’t, they would remain faithful, looking ahead to an eternal reward. 

Later, King Darius of Persia signed a law forbidding prayer to anyone except himself. Daniel continued to pray to God, openly refusing to hide his faith. When the king had to send Daniel to the lions’ den for execution, God shut the mouths of the lions and saved him. 

Every earthly government has corruption and issues, and they may even be truly tyrannical. Daniel shows us today how to live for the Kingdom and King Jesus instead of bowing to the ways of this world. 

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Britt Mooney lives and tells great stories. As an author of fiction and non-fiction, he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth. Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.