Seminar on Prophet Daniel

Good morning dear sisters, today I am here to speak about Daniel the great
prophet.

Early Life:
The prophet Daniel is born in Jerusalem around 620 B.C. during the reign of
Josiah.
According to the Hebrew bible Daniel was a Nobel Jewish youth of Jerusalem,
taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. There Daniel was serving the
king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of Persian conqueror
Cyrus. His father was David, the second King of Israel. Daniel wrote the book of
Daniel during the sixth century B.C.
Daniel was considered as major prophets along with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
He was not a priest like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, but he was like Isaiah descended
from the time of Judah, and a probably a royal blood.

Daniel life in Babylon.

The Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar conquered the Land of Judea in 3319 (442
BCE) and destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. According to the standard
practice of invading rulers, Nebuchadnezzar deported the Jewish intelligentsia and
forced them to relocate to Babylon.
Daniel was in his Jewish youth when Nebuchadnezzar the Great, Emperor of Neo-
Babylonian Empire, struck the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He nabbed certain treasures
that belonged to the temple of God to carry back to his kingdom and even stole
several bright future young men to hold captive in the Babylonian Court. Among
them Daniel and his friends also were selected.

All the captives need to be able to pass a three-year course in Babylonian language
and literature, but Daniel and his friends are found to be 10 times wiser than all the
experienced magicians and enchanters in the whole kingdom (Da 1:20).

In his youth, Daniel had been blessed with the ability to interpret dreams. He could
explain the meaning behind a person's dream and defog the true meaning hidden in
the message that the person was unable to interpret. The Royal Court of Babylon
recognized this rare quality that Daniel possessed. He was 18 years old at the time
of his captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He spent the rest of his life
being groomed according to the laws of Babylon.
The name Daniel means God has judged. The palace master gave them the another
(new) names like, Belteshazzar. This new name means “Bel protect him,” with Bel
being the name of a Babylonian god (4:8).But the Bible uses his Hebrew name,
Daniel. His friends’ names were changed to

Hananiah-Shadrach
Mishael-Meshach
Azariah-Abednego

The reason Daniel and his friend’s names were changed was likely to encourage
them to forget their fast and to adopt Babylonians customs. But Daniel and his
three friends determined to remain faithful to God.

What was remarkable about this was, that Daniel and his friends did not agree to
taste meat or wine that was provided by the king (some of it was probably unclean
food that the Lord had commanded us not to eat, as explained in the book of
Leviticus chapter 11)
Daniel asked the kings servant to provide them only with vegetables and water for
10 days and check them. The servant agrees and gives them only vegetable and
water.
At the end of 10th day Daniel and his friends look better and healthier than those
who eat king’s food. God blessed these four young men and gave them knowledge
and wisdom and they were selected to work in king’s palace.

Nebuchadnezzar dream.
During the second year of king Nebuchadnezzar he gets a dream and he calls all
the wise men from his kingdom to interpret the dream. King asks them to tell both
the dream and the interpretation or else they will be put to death. The wise man
replies to the king that there is no one on earth can reveal what the king demands
unless it is given by the power of god. That time Daniel and his friends seek the
mercy of God and the lord reveals both the dream and the interpretation to them.
The name of our God was glorified through Daniel by interpreting the king’s dream
and they were promoted to the higher position in king’s palace.

Although he and his three friends held prominent positions in the government, they
were not immune from persecution. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego got thrown
into a fiery furnace for not worshipping a golden image of the king.
Important events and people in the life of Daniel include Babylon conquering Judah
and Jerusalem. The total destruction of Jerusalem's temple and the pillaging of all
her treasures occur. Daniel interprets the prophetic dreams given to King
Nebuchadnezzar and his three friends miraculously survive being thrown into a
fiery furnace for not worshipping an idol.

The Lion’s Den

Persian king Darius the successor to the throne of Babylon, was most fond of
Daniel and his extraordinary spirit because of which the king appointed him over
the whole kingdom, that did not go well with other people in the kingdom and they
were trying to plot against Daniel.

The counsellors and the governors agreed that the king should establish an
ordinance and enforce an interdict that whoever prays anyone human or divine for
thirty days except to you o king shall be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel had
never given up his faith in his Lord and he prayed three times a day with his
windows open. Those who were not fond of him, those responsible for the decree
caught him doing this and immediately reported him to the throne. King Darius was
not at all pleased about having to give Daniel over, but he knew that he could not
ignore the broken law. Daniel was put into the lion’s den for not worshiping the
king, but the Lord had sent on help for Daniel that the young man remained
unharmed by the lions. By the help of God he was able to sit among the lions and
the lions did not touch him and the name of our god was glorified. He was around
70 years old when he was thrown into the lion's den.

Daniel is a government official under

four kings:
Daniel is made an officer in Babylon by four kings:
1. Nebuchadnezzar, after Daniel interprets his dream (2:48)
2. Belshazzar, after Daniel reads the original “handwriting on the wall” (5:29)
3. Darius the Mede, because Daniel had an “extraordinary spirit” (Da 6:1–3)
4. Cyrus the Persian, for reasons unknown … but the guy had a great résumé by
then (Da 1:21; 6:28)

Daniel introduces both Gabriel and Michael

You may have heard that there are two good angels who are clearly named in the
Bible: Gabriel and Michael. These two angels show up in both the Old and New
Testaments doing cool things like announcing the coming birth of Christ or fighting
Satan.
But guess where we meet them first? Yes: the book of Daniel.
Daniel meets Gabriel during one of Daniel’s troubling visions (it involves a ram, a
goat, and a crazy talking horn). Gabriel is told to tell Daniel what’s going on
 (8:15–19). Gabriel shows up later to tell Daniel that God has plans to make an end
to Israel’s sins (9:21–27).
We don’t see any conversations between Daniel and Michael, but he is working
behind the scenes in the later chapters of Daniel. Michael is a warrior angel who
combats opposing forces from Persia and Greece (10:13, 21). Daniel is told that at
the time of the end, Michael will arise on behalf of Israel again (12:1).

Qualities of Daniel
The Book of Daniel, in the Old Testament, mentions quite a few qualities about
Daniel that has remained matchless.

Daniel's steadfast faith in God is a quality that is highlighted throughout the tale of
his life. Life in Babylon was deviating from Jewish tradition; it was not easy for the
Jews held slaved to adjust to several customs and habits that went against their
beliefs. Daniel, though, was unbreakable throughout his period in Babylon; there
was not a moment where he lost faith in God as a response to his captivity. He did
not stop praying to the Lord even during the decree that deemed all acts of worship
not dedicated to the Persian King sinful and punishable.
Another majestic quality that this righteous man of incomparable wisdom possessed
was the ability to interpret dreams that belonged to others. He had the power to
explain the meaning of the message that the tiniest spec of an individual's dream
was trying to convey. Daniel continued interpreting dreams for about half a century
before Christ. As a prophet, as Christianity regards him, he was also capable of
having visions that allowed him to look into what the future held for the kingdom.
One of the visions he had was of four beasts representing the four successive
kingdoms of Rome, Greece, Babylon, and Persia that were to rise in the future.
Daniel's wisdom and intelligence were of an extremely rare kind, for there was only
one of them. Every person that came across this righteous man was left astonished
at his wonders. Daniel affected the people of Babylon in every kind of way, some
favored him, some deeply disliked him, but it was all because of his undying faith
and supreme intelligence that excited men to interpret him in a way that comforted
them best.

Concluding:
Many church leaders in countries where there is real persecution of Christians
have commented that persecution, whilst painful, has led to a far stronger church
full of Christians who know the cost of obedience and yet who, because of the riches
that are ours in Christ, are prepared to stand firm and trust the glorious promises
of God. As Christians we are called to be a holy people, dedicated to God. Like
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we can enjoy the music and clothes and
language of our culture and learn what we can from it, but we must not be moved
from a full and total obedience to God.
Friends, there is no other God like our God because all other gods are worthless.
And no other God can save like our God because all other gods are powerless.
That’s why Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were willing to give up their lives
rather than bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s idols, and that’s why we should be willing
to stand firm against the idols of our age also.
So let’s get to know our God better and give him his rightful place in our lives. And
being confident in his promises and his ability to rescue us, either from death or
through death, let us stand firmly in the face of whatever trials or temptations come
our way.