The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azariah and Misail. 600 years BC Jerusalem was conquered by the king of Babylon; the temple erected by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the people of Israel were taken into captivity.
Among the captives were noble young men Daniel, Ananias, Azariah and Misail. The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, ordered that they be taught Chaldean wisdom and raised in luxury at his court. But they, keeping the commandments of their faith, refused excesses and led a strict lifestyle; They ate only vegetables and water. The Lord gave them wisdom, and Saint Daniel the gift of insight and interpretation of dreams.
The Holy Prophet Daniel, sacredly preserving faith in the One God and trusting in His all-powerful help, surpassed all the Chaldean astrologers and magi with his wisdom and was brought closer to King Nebuchadnezzar. One day Nebuchadnezzar saw a strange dream that amazed him, but when he woke up, he forgot what he had seen. The Babylonian sages were powerless to find out what the king dreamed. Then the holy prophet Daniel glorified before everyone the power of the true God, who revealed to him not only the content of the dream, but also its prophetic meaning. After this, Daniel was elevated by the king to the rank of commander of Babylon.
Soon, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the erection of his image - a huge statue to which divine honors were to be given. For refusing to do this, three youths - Ananias, Azariah and Misail - were thrown into a flaming furnace. The flame rose 49 cubits above the furnace, scorching the Chaldeans standing nearby, and the holy youths walked in the midst of the flames, offering prayer to the Lord and chanting Him (). The Angel of the Lord, appearing, cooled the flame, and the youths remained unharmed. The king, seeing this, ordered them to go out and turned to the true God.
Under King Belshazzar, Saint Daniel interpreted the mysterious inscription (“Mene, Takel, Peres”) that appeared on the wall of the palace during a feast, foreshadowing the fall of the Babylonian kingdom.
Under the Persian king Darius, Saint Daniel, at the slander of his enemies, was thrown into a den with hungry lions, but they did not touch him, and he remained unharmed. King Darius rejoiced over Daniel and commanded throughout his kingdom to worship the God of Daniel, “because He is the Living and Ever-Bearing God, and His kingdom is indestructible, and His dominion is endless.”
The Holy Prophet Daniel deeply grieved for his people, who were suffering just punishment for many sins and iniquities, for the transgression of God’s commandments - the heavy captivity of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem: “Incline, O my God, Thy ear and hear, open Thy eyes and look at our desolations and to the city upon which Thy Name is named; for we present our supplications before Thee, trusting not in our righteousness, but in Thy great mercy" (). The fate of the people of Israel and the fate of the whole world was revealed to the holy prophet, who atoned for the iniquities of his people with righteous life and prayer.
When interpreting the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Daniel announced successive kingdoms and the greatness of the last Kingdom - the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (). The prophetic vision of seventy weeks () told the world the signs of the First and Second Comings of the Lord Jesus Christ and related events (). Saint Daniel interceded for his people before Darius' successor, King Cyrus, who highly valued him, and declared freedom to the captives.
Daniel himself and his friends Ananias, Azariah and Misail lived to a ripe old age and died in captivity. According to testimony (June 9), Saints Ananias, Azariah and Misail were beheaded by order of the Persian king Cambyses.
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Rus. 1502.Prophet Daniel (fragment of an icon of the prophetic series). 1502 62 x 101.5. From the prophetic series of the Ferapontov Monastery. Kirillo-Belozersky Museum (KBIAHMZ). |
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Kirillov. 1497.Prophet Daniel (fragment of an icon of the prophetic series). 1497 67 x 179. From the prophetic series of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Tretyakov Gallery Moscow. |
Byzantium. 1300 - 1320.Prophet Daniel. Icon. Byzantium. 1300 - 1320 years. 41 x 19. Vatopedi Monastery (Athos). |
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Athos. XIV.Prophet Daniel. Manuel Panselin. Fresco of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Protata. Athos. Beginning of the 14th century |
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Athos. XV.Prophet Daniel and the three youths. Miniature. Athos (Iversky monastery). End of the 15th century Since 1913 in the Russian Public (now National) Library in St. Petersburg. |
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Athos. 1546.Prophet Daniel. Theophanes of Crete and Simeon. Fresco of the Church of St. Nicholas. Stavronikita Monastery. Athos. 1546 |
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The biblical prophet Doniel came from a royal family. As a child, he and his fellow Jews were taken captive by the soldiers of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. But Daniel’s fate in captivity was quite successful. Together with other captive boys, who came from noble families, he was brought up in the royal palace. Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be taught various sciences, including the Chaldean language, and fed from the royal table. But Daniel ate only bread and vegetables, and did not eat anything that was prohibited by the law of Moses. God was merciful to Daniel and rewarded him with the ability to solve dreams.
The king of the New Babylonian kingdom Nebuchadnezzar II (630-562 BC) was a warlike commander; from his youth he commanded troops, led them on campaigns, captured new lands, and enslaved peoples. Judea, which resisted all violence, one day refused to pay him tribute. And then Nebuchadnezzar sent his troops to the land of Judah. Around 597 BC. e. he reached Jerusalem.
King Jehoiakim of Judah realized that he did not have enough strength to resist the invasion, and he went to Nebuchadnezzar with gifts, hoping to appease the conqueror. But I was wrong. The treacherous Nebuchadnezzar ordered Joachim to be captured and killed. He offered to take the throne of Judah to Jeconiah, the son of Joachim, but demanded that he strictly pay tribute. He promised. Then Nebuchadnezzar took over three thousand families of noble Jews as collateral and took them into captivity. Among them was the youth Daniel.
Life in captivity
In captivity he lived a comfortable life, he studied with pleasure, learned various sciences, studied the Chaldean language, tried to the best of his ability to protect his relatives, to somehow improve their life in captivity. In addition, he made attempts to explain to the simple Babylonians, pagans by faith, the difference between the Jewish one God and their idols, meaningless and useless. He talked about the customs of the Jews, their family ties, their readiness to support each other in difficult moments, explained why the Jewish God is invisible, but in his actions he is similar to a person.
Prophet Daniel. Painter Michelangelo
One day Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream that left him with an uneasy feeling. The king was scared. He called the sages, Chaldeans, fortune-tellers and magicians and told them his dream. But the pundits did not understand anything and said that this task was impossible for people. The angry king ordered all the sages to be executed on the spot.
Daniel understood that this execution could have a bad effect on the attitude of the angry king towards the captive Jews, as well as towards him and his close friends Ananias, Azariah and Mishael. Daniel asked the bodyguards to allow him to meet with Nebuchadnezzar. He would unravel his dream. The king agreed to receive Daniel, and the bodyguards brought the young man to Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel listened to the king’s dream, but also did not understand anything. He asked to give him one night to think and went home. He did not sleep all night, prayed, asked God for help. Not only the sages, fortune-tellers and magicians were in danger, but also the entire Jewish people. The king had an unusual dream, and he himself was afraid of its solution.
How was the mystery of the dream revealed?
God took pity on Daniel and revealed to him the secret of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and interpreted the king’s vision. Having thanked God for the revelation, early in the morning Daniel went to Nebuchadnezzar. This is how the famous historian and writer of the Ancient World Josephus Flavius writes about this visit in his multi-volume work Jewish Antiquities.
In his biblical book, the prophet Daniel W devoted a lot of space to the reign of the king of Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar, and his role in the state. This V. is no coincidence. The educated Daniel, who studied the Chaldean language close to the palace, could not help but see the efforts of the king of Babylonia to make his capital Babylon, like the whole country, prosperous. The king collected abundant tribute from the enslaved peoples, he was brought various gifts, he had no shortage of free workers, his army was the strongest, and he was not afraid of enemy attacks. Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt his city as he wanted, erected luxurious palaces, laid out streets and dug canals, slaves irrigated the land in every possible way, planted fruit trees, and on his orders they built the famous Hanging Gardens, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
To protect against dust storms and enemies, the king ordered the construction of a high stone wall around Babylon. The main gate was striking in its beauty - it was lined with bright blue and yellow tiles depicting various animals. There were always guards near the gate - warriors collected tribute from visiting traders.
During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the famous Tower of Babel, a ziggurat, rising 90 m above the ground, was built near the city. It was called Etemenanki, which meant the house where heaven meets earth. At the top there was supposed to be a temple for religious rites.
Various enslaved peoples, including captive Jews, took part in the construction of the tower. The biblical history of this tower is known. God opposed the plan of people to raise it to the very sky. With his own strength - wind, sun and rain - he destroyed the unfinished structure, and rewarded people with different languages. They stopped understanding each other and moved to different countries.
Daniel predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would acquire a strange disease at the end of his life - he would look like a beast. Whether his prophecy came true or not is unknown.
Construction of the Tower of Babel. Artist P. Bruegel the Elder
How Daniel Unraveled King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
Presenting himself before the king, Daniel asked Nebuchadnezzar not to consider him wiser than the court wise men, Chaldeans, fortune-tellers and magicians. And he also told him that all night he prayed to his God to unravel the king’s dream, since he feared the death of the wise men, his friends and his people. The Lord was merciful and sent a warning in a dream - he introduced future rulers. And Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream this way: It seemed to you as if you were seeing a huge statue, whose head was made of gold, its shoulders and arms of silver, its stomach and thighs of copper, and its knees and legs of iron. Then you saw how a stone fell from the mountain and fell on the statue, overturned it, broke it and did not leave a single part of it intact, so that the gold, silver, iron and copper became finer than sand and they were scattered by a terrible whirlwind that suddenly rose everywhere, while the block of stone began to grow, and so much so that the whole earth seemed filled with it. This is the dream you had.
Interpretation of sleep
Nebuchadnezzar was surprised at this explanation and bowed his head in agreement. Daniel continued: ...the golden head (of the statue) signifies you and your two predecessors on the Babylonian throne, while both arms and shoulders indicate that your power will be undermined by the two kings. The power of the latter will be crushed by some other ruler who will come from the west, dressed in copper weapons, and his power, in turn, will be broken by the fourth in iron and will rule here forever, thanks to the very essence of iron, which is harder than gold, silver and copper.
Daniel also explained the appearance of a stone that smashed a giant statue (also, according to the Bible, an idol representing pagan kingdoms and beliefs) into small particles, turning it, in fact, into nothing, into dust. The statue-idol meant the kingdom, the head - the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, followed by the silver kingdom, which was lower in value, then came the copper kingdom, the third. The final kingdom will be the fourth, iron, eternal kingdom, which will crush everything. God will not hand over this kingdom to any one of His chosen people. It will be a kingdom for everyone, other kingdoms will be crushed. This is the main clue to the dream, its prediction.
King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed at such a detailed interpretation. He remembered well this idol statue with a golden head and the stone rolling towards it from the mountain. He bowed to Daniel and acknowledged that the God of the Jews was truly the God of gods and the ruler of kings.
Reconstruction of the Babylonian gate of the goddess Ishtar in the Pergamon Museum Berlin
For this interpretation of the dream, Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel the head of all the wise men, Chaldeans, fortune-tellers and magicians of the country of Babylon. He left him at the palace, surrounded him with honor and respect, and appointed his friends Ananias, Azariah and Misail as rulers in different places of the Babylonian country.
According to the Bible, after the golden Babylonian kingdom came the second, lower rank, silver, its name was Median-Persian, then the time came for the third kingdom, copper, or Macedonian-Greek. And finally, the time came for the iron kingdom, the Roman one. And each of these kingdoms owned Judea and tried to enslave the Jewish people.
Under Roman rule
During the Roman kingdom, during the reign of the emperors, in particular Tiberius, Jesus Christ appeared in the land of Judea, in Bethlehem, that is, it was the very stone that destroyed all pagan religions. It is no coincidence that He was also called the Savior of the world. He brought a new religion to earth, called Christian after His name...
Daniel, in his book of prophecies, foretold the long reign of the Romans. He was the first to foresee that they would come to Israeli land, capture and destroy Jerusalem, they would devastate, plunder and destroy the Jerusalem Temple, located on the Temple Mount, which from the 10th century BC to the 1st century AD was the center of the religious life of the Jewish people.
These predictions, as Daniel wrote, were received by him from God. He was only His servant, wrote them down and left them for posterity for edification, so that future generations could bow before the honor that he, Daniel, was awarded by the Most High. Thus, Daniel gave a warning to the people. But the ancient Greek Epicureans, followers of Epicurus, who lived more than three centuries later than Daniel and formed their own philosophical worldview, did not listen to him. They were not afraid of the gods, they were not afraid of death, and they considered pleasure to be the highest good. They rejected the predestination of life and assured everyone that the gods cannot care about worldly affairs, and the Universe is not ruled by one being supreme and above all vicissitudes.
Daniel foresaw their coming. According to him, those who live without a pointer will perish. He will break against an obstacle, like ships that, deprived of helmsmen, perish from the force of the winds or, like chariots without drivers, go astray.
Worship of the shepherds. Artist J. Tintoretto
What prediction did Daniel make to King Belshazzar?
Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylonia for 43 years and died of some illness associated with clouding of his mind. Daniel far outlived the king of Babylonia. After Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonia was ruled by different kings. Seven years later, the son of Nebuchadnezzar (according to other sources, the son of King Nabonidus), the famous Belshazzar, sat on the throne, who reigned for 17 years.
During the siege of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus the Great, Belshazzar, instead of worrying about defending the city and starting hostilities, threw a rich feast and ordered to bring gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple of Jerusalem.
At that moment, a strange inscription appeared on the wall of the palace, which greatly frightened Belshazzar and his guests. Nobody could understand anything. The called sages thought and wondered, but could not understand the meaning of what was written. Then they remembered the prophet Daniel, who, even under Nebuchadnezzar, became famous for his ability to interpret dreams and various sacraments.
Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin
Brought to the king, Daniel said that Belshazzar had committed a criminal act - he began to drink from the vessels of God’s temple and glorified the idol gods, all kinds of idols, but did not glorify God, on whom everyone’s life depends. That’s why an inscription appeared on the wall, sent down from above: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin, which literally means numbered, weighed, divided, and deciphers how the kingdom was completed, the king turned out to be frivolous, and his kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians.
That same night, the king of Babylonia, Belshazzar, was killed, and the conqueror Cyrus the Great began to rule the country. He freed the Jews who were languishing in captivity, bestowed rich gifts and sent them home.
Thus, years later, Daniel’s prediction, which he had given to Nebuchadnezzar many years ago, came true.
Belshazzar's feast. Artist J. Martin
King Darius highly appreciated Daniel's prophetic abilities and brought him closer to him, brought him into the palace, and began to listen to him carefully. But this rise of a man from Judea did not please the courtiers. They didn't know how to get rid of him. They couldn’t kill, all that remained was slander. And they began to whisper to Darius about the oddities they noticed in the behavior of the new prophet. They said that Daniel was praying to his God, his celestial being. He allegedly forgot about the royal favors. He needs to be punished. It is impossible to allow anyone to honor their god more than the reigning Darius. Our ruler is much higher and more worthy than the Jewish God.
Daniel in the lions' den
Their words had an effect. Darius agreed with them. Indeed, who could be higher than him, the ruler and conqueror of the whole world? He decided to test Daniel's holiness. How to do it? And again the courtiers came to his aid. They suggested the real test of Daniel's faith - to throw the prophet into a den with hungry lions. Let him prove his holiness there, let his God come to his aid. Everyone expected that the hungry lions would immediately attack the man who appeared in front of them and tear him to pieces. But the courtiers were wrong. The lions did not touch Daniel. They avoided him and did not express their dissatisfaction in any way. Daniel remained safe and sound. When Darius asked Daniel how he managed to stay alive, he replied that he was saved by faith in the Lord, who sent him a protective angel, and the lions were pacified and did not touch him. Thus, Daniel once again proved his holiness and the protection of the Almighty.
The Prophet Daniel lived to an old age, according to some sources, up to 90 years old. He was buried, according to legend, in the city of Susa, today in Iran. Although there are also his graves in Samarkand and Kirkuk.
Daniel in the ditch. Artist P. P. Rubens
Darius I the Great (VI-V centuries BC). Image on a vase
Tomb of the Prophet Daniel in Susa
In his early youth, taken away from his native Jerusalem, he was a captive in a foreign Babylonian land. However, this did not prevent him from faithfully and devotedly serving the one God, in Whom he preserved faith in his heart. The Lord gave him grace-filled gifts - “ high spirit, knowledge and intelligence, capable of explaining dreams, interpreting the mysterious and resolving knots "(Dan.5:12). Daniel was a true prophet of God; he saw many prophetic visions and God revealed many secrets to him.
Inspirationally and sublimely he glorified the Creator of the Universe both in word and with his whole life. " Blessed be the name of the Lord from everlasting to everlasting! for with Him is wisdom and power; he changes times and years, deposes kings and installs kings; gives wisdom to the wise and understanding to the understanding; He reveals the deep and hidden, He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I praise and magnify You, God of my fathers, that You have given me wisdom and strength... "(Dan.2:20-23)
Many secrets were revealed to the prophet Daniel, and the greatest secret is about the coming of the Messiah, and about His Kingdom, which will have no end...” I saw in the night visions, behold, like the Son of Man walked with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed. "(Dan.7:13,14).
The prophet Daniel came from a noble family. During the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 BC, young Daniel, along with other Jews, was taken into Babylonian captivity. There, 15-year-old Daniel and other most capable young men were sent to school to prepare for service at the royal court.
Prophet Daniel in the lion's den
Three of his friends studied with Daniel: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. For several years they studied the local language and various Chaldean sciences. Upon entering school, these three young men were renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. However, with the adoption of pagan names, the young men did not betray the faith of their fathers. Fearing that they would be defiled by pagan food, they begged their teacher to give them food not from the royal table, sprinkled with blood sacrificed to idols, but simple, vegetable food.
The teacher agreed, on the condition that after ten days of eating plant foods, he would check their health and well-being. At the end of the trial period, these young men turned out to be healthier than others who ate meat from the royal table, and the teacher allowed them to eat food at their own discretion. For their devotion to the true faith, the Lord rewarded the young men with success in the sciences, and the Babylonian king, who was present at the exam, found that they were smarter than his Babylonian sages.
After finishing his studies, Daniel and three friends were assigned to serve at the royal court and remained here in the rank of court dignitary throughout the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and his five successors. After the conquest of Babylon, he became an adviser to the kings Darius of Media and Cyrus of Persia.
God gave Daniel the ability to understand the meaning of visions and dreams, and he demonstrated this ability by explaining to Nebuchadnezzar two of his dreams that greatly confused the king (Dan. 1 and 4). In his first dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a huge and terrible image made of four metals. A stone rolled down the mountain, smashed the image into dust and itself grew into a large mountain. Daniel explained to the king that the image symbolized the four pagan kingdoms that were to succeed each other, starting with Babylon and ending with Rome. The mysterious stone that crushed the idol symbolized the Messiah, and the resulting mountain symbolized His eternal Kingdom (Church).
In his book (bearing his name), the prophet Daniel talks about the feat of his three friends who refused to bow to the golden idol (Marduk), for which, by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, they were thrown into a fiery furnace. But the angel of God kept them unharmed in the fire.
Details about the activities of the prophet Daniel during the 7 years of the reign of the three successors of Nebuchadnezzar have not been preserved. The murderer of Lavosoardach, Nabodid, made his son Belshazzar his co-ruler. In the first year of Belshazzar, Daniel had a vision of four kingdoms, after which he saw God in the form of the “Ancient of Days” and the “Son of Man” coming to him, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When interpreting the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Daniel announced successive kingdoms and the greatness of the last Kingdom - the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ (Dan. 2 :44). Prophetic vision of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9 :24-27) told the world the signs of the First and Second Comings of the Lord Jesus Christ and the events associated with them (Dan. 12 :1-12). Saint Daniel interceded for his people before Darius’s successor, King Cyrus, who highly valued him, and declared freedom to the captives. Daniel himself and his friends Ananias, Azariah and Misail lived to a ripe old age and died in captivity. According to the testimony of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Saints Ananias, Azarias and Misail were beheaded by order of the Persian king Cambyses.
In his book, the prophet Daniel recorded several prophetic visions relating to the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. In its content, his book has much in common with the Revelation of the Evangelist John the Theologian, placed at the very end of the Bible.
Under Daniel, during the reign of Belshazzar, the Median king Darius conquered Babylon (539 BC). Then Belshazzar died, as Daniel predicted to him, explaining the meaning of the inscription on the wall made by a mysterious hand: “Mene tekel upharsin” (you are insignificant, and your kingdom will be divided by the Medes and Persians) (Dan. 5:25).
Under Darius of Media, Daniel occupied an important government post. Jealous of Daniel, the pagan nobles slandered him before Darius and ensured that Daniel was thrown to the lions. But God kept his prophet unharmed. Having examined the matter, Darius ordered the slanderers of Daniel to be subjected to the same execution, and the lions instantly tore them to pieces. A little later, Daniel received the revelation of the 70 weeks, which indicates the time of the first coming of the Messiah and the establishment of his Kingdom (Church) (See Dan. 9).
During the reign of Cyrus, Daniel remained in the same court rank. Not without his participation, in 536, King Cyrus issued a decree on the release of Jews from captivity. According to legend, the prophet Daniel showed Cyrus a prediction about him in the book of the prophet Isaiah, who lived two hundred years before (Is. 44, 28-45; 13). Struck by this prophecy, the king recognized the power of Jehovah over himself and commanded the Jews to build a temple in His honor in Jerusalem (Ezra 1). Under the same king, Daniel was again saved from death, which threatened him for killing the dragon, idolized by the pagans.
In the third year of the reign of Cyrus in Babylon, Daniel was honored to receive a revelation about the further fate of the people of God and the four pagan empires (Dan. 10-12). Daniel's predictions about persecution of faith refer to the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes and, at the same time, to the coming of the Antichrist. Nothing is known about the subsequent fate of the prophet Daniel, except that he died in old age. His prophetic book consists of 14 chapters. The Lord Jesus Christ twice referred to the prophecies of Daniel in his conversations with the Jews.
DANIEL AND THE THREE YOUTHS
Troparion, tone 2
In the oil of faith of correction: / in a fountain of flame, as on the water of repose, / the three holy youths rejoiced, / and the prophet Daniel, / a shepherd lion, as he appeared to sheep. / Through those prayers, O Christ God, / save our souls.
Kontakion to the Youths, tone 6
The inscribed image is not more honorable, / but having defended himself by the Indescribable Being, having been blessed, / he became glorified in the struggle of fire; / standing in the midst of the unbearable flame, / call upon God: / hasten, O Generous One, / and strive, as the Merciful, to help us, / as you can.
Kontakion to the Prophet, tone 3
Your pure heart, illuminated by the Spirit, / prophecies became the brightest friend: / see, as if real, existing far away, / you tamed the lions, you were thrown into the ditch. / For this reason we honor you, blessed prophet, glorious Daniel.
Susanna and the elders
Chapter 13 of the book of the prophet Daniel
There lived a husband in Babylon named Joachim.
And he took a wife named Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, very beautiful and fearing God.
Her parents were righteous and taught their daughter the law of Moses.
Joachim was very rich, and he had a garden near his house; and the Jews came to him, because he was the most honorable of all.
And two elders of the people were appointed judges that year, about whom the Lord said that iniquity came out of Babylon from the elders-judges who seemed to rule the people.
They constantly visited Joachim’s house, and everyone who had controversial matters came to them.
When the people left around noon, Susanna entered her husband's garden for a walk.
And both elders saw her coming and walking every day, and lust for her was born in them,
and they perverted their minds and turned away their eyes, so as not to look at heaven and remember righteous judgments.
Both of them were wounded by lust for her, but did not reveal their pain to each other,
because they were ashamed to declare their lust, that they wanted to copulate with her.
And they diligently kept watch every day to see her, and said to each other:
“Let’s go home, because it’s lunch time,” and, leaving, they dispersed from each other,
and, returning, they came to the same place, and when they asked each other about the reason for this, they confessed their lust, and then together they appointed a time when they could find her alone.
And it came to pass, as they were waiting for an opportune day, that Susanna came in, as she had done yesterday and the day before, with only two maids, and wanted to wash herself in the garden, because it was hot.
And there was no one there except two elders who hid and guarded her.
And she said to the maids, Bring me oil and soap, and shut the doors of the garden, so that I may wash myself.
They did as she said: they locked the doors of the garden and went out through the side doors to bring what they were ordered to do, and did not see the elders because they were hiding.
And so, when the maids left, the two elders stood up and ran to her and said:
Behold, the doors of the garden are locked and no one sees us, and we lust for you, so agree with us and stay with us.
If it is not so, then we will testify against you that there was a young man with you, and that is why you sent your maidservants away from you.
Then Susanna moaned and said: I feel cramped everywhere; for if I do this, death is mine, and if I do not, I will not escape from your hands.
It is better for me not to do this and to fall into your hands than to sin before the Lord.
and one ran and opened the doors of the garden.
When those in the house heard a scream in the garden, they jumped out the side doors to see what had happened to her.
And when the elders said their words, her servants were extremely ashamed, because nothing like that had ever been said about Susanna.
And it happened the next day, when the people gathered to Joachim her husband, both elders came, full of lawless intent against Susanna, to put her to death.
And they said before the people, Send for Susanna the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joachim. And they sent it.
And she came, and her parents, and her children, and all her relatives.
Susanna was very gentle and beautiful in face,
and these lawless people ordered to open her face, since it was closed, in order to be satisfied with her beauty.
The relatives and everyone who looked at her cried.
And both elders, standing in the midst of the people, put their hands on her head.
She looked at the sky in tears, for her heart trusted in the Lord.
And the elders said: As we were walking through the garden alone, this one came in with two maidservants and shut the doors of the garden, and sent the maidens away;
and the young man who was hiding there came to her and lay with her.
We were in the corner of the garden and seeing such lawlessness, we ran at them,
and they saw them copulating, and they could not hold him back, because he was stronger than us and, opening the doors, jumped out.
But we grabbed this one and interrogated: who was this young man? but she didn't want to tell us. We bear witness to this.
And the assembly believed them, as elders of the people and judges, and condemned her to death.
You know that they falsely testified against me, and now I am dying without having done anything that these people maliciously invented against me.
And when she was led to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young man named Daniel,
Then all the people turned to him and said, “What is this word that you have spoken?”
Then he, standing in the midst of them, said: Are you so foolish, sons of Israel, that without examining and knowing the truth, you condemned the daughter of Israel?
Return to court, for these have testified falsely against her.
And immediately all the people returned, and the elders said to them: Sit down among us and tell us, because God has given you the eldership.
And Daniel said to them: Separate them far from each other, and I will question them.
When they were separated from one another, he called one of them and said to him: he who has grown old in evil days! now your sins which you committed before have been revealed,
carrying out unrighteous judgments, condemning the innocent and justifying the guilty, while the Lord says: “Thou shalt not put to death the innocent and the righteous.”
So, if you saw this, tell me, under what tree did you see them talking to each other? He said: under mastic.
Daniel said: Surely, you lied on your head; for behold, the Angel of God, having received a decision from God, will cut you in half.
Having removed him, he ordered another to be brought and said to him: the tribe of Canaan, not Judah! beauty has deceived you, and lust has corrupted your heart.
This is what you did to the daughters of Israel, and they had fellowship with you out of fear; but the daughter of Judah did not tolerate your iniquity.
So tell me: under what tree did you find them talking to each other? He said: under the green oak tree.
Daniel said to him: Indeed, you have lied on your own head; for the Angel of God with a sword is waiting to cut you in half, to destroy you.
and they rebelled against the two elders, because Daniel rebuked them with their mouth that they had testified falsely;
and they dealt with them as they had plotted against their neighbors, according to the law of Moses, and killed them; and innocent blood was saved that day.
Hilkiah and his wife glorified God for their daughter Susanna with Joachim her husband and all her relatives, because no shameful deed was found in her.
And Daniel became great before the people from that day forward.
Lutheranism
Islam
Armenian Apostolic Church
In the Old Testament, the name “Daniel” is mentioned several more times, including in the address of the book of the prophet Ezekiel to the king of Tyre: "You are wiser than Daniel"(Ezek.). It is unlikely that Ezekiel was referring to the prophet Daniel. During excavations in the city of Ugarit, a poem from the 14th century BC was discovered. e. , whose hero - a wise and fair judge who stood up for widows and orphans - bears the name Dani-Il, referring to his veneration of the god El/Il: some scholars identify Daniel, mentioned in Ezekiel, with Dani-Il of this poem.
Book of the Prophet Daniel
The book of the prophet Daniel is included in the Tanakh and the Old Testament of the canonical Bible. Moreover, in the Christian Bible the book of the prophet Daniel is included in the prophetic books, but in the Tanakh it is placed not in the section Neviim (Prophets), but in the section Ketuvim (Scriptures).
Summary of the book
Five Kingdoms of Daniel and their interpretation in Christianity
| You (Nebuchadnezzar) are the golden head (the first kingdom)! After you, another kingdom will arise, lower than yours, and another third kingdom, of copper, which will rule over the whole earth. And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron; for just as iron breaks and crushes everything, so it, like all-crushing iron, will crush and crush... The God of heaven will erect a kingdom (fifth), which will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be transferred to another people; it will crush and destroy all kingdoms, and itself will stand forever |
According to one of the Church Fathers, Ephraim the Syrian, the “golden head” is the kingdom of Babylon. Silver chest and arms - the kingdom of the Medes. The belly and thighs are copper - the kingdom of the Persians. Iron shins - the kingdom of Alexander the Great. Legs of iron and clay - ten kings who rebelled after Alexander. Another smaller kingdom, that is, the kingdom of the Medes, will rise up and destroy the kingdom of Babylon. The kingdom of Cyrus, king of Persia, will prevail over the entire earth. Toes made of iron and clay - ten kings who rebelled in the kingdom of Greece, some of whom are strong and strong like iron, while others are small and powerless. And although they will enter into alliances with each other, they will not have unanimity and love;
John Chrysostom clarifies that the words: “ broke away from the mountain“ - “indicate free action without coercion,” which emphasizes the voluntary decision of the Lord Jesus Christ to come into the world to save people;
"And filled the whole earth"(Dan.) - this is about the Gospel, which has spread to all corners of the world. St. John Chrysostom also offers an allegorical interpretation of the destruction of kingdoms by the Stone, symbolizing Christ the Savior: the destroyed kingdoms are pride (of the Macedonians) and dominion (of the Romans).
The Bible says that Daniel and other Jews in Babylon did not abandon the faith of their fathers, for which they were often oppressed. But in each case they were miraculously saved. Thus, for refusing to bow to the idol, three of Daniel’s friends, the Jews Ananias, Mishael and Azariah (who received the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego respectively in captivity), were thrown into the oven, but were miraculously saved. Daniel himself was thrown into a pit of lions to be torn to pieces (under the Persians), but was miraculously saved (Dan.).
Death and burial of Daniel
It is believed that Daniel lived to an old age (according to some sources, up to 100 years old) and was buried in a tomb in the city of Susa. However, his graves are also shown in at least five locations, including Kirkuk and Samarkand.
It is also reported that when the troops of the Muslim righteous caliph Umar took the city of Tustar (modern Shushter), they discovered the tomb of Daniel there. By order of the Caliph, his remains were reburied at night, away from human eyes, to protect them from further worship of him.
Jewish tradition does not classify Daniel as a prophet because he did not speak directly to God. The Bible says that Daniel spoke to “the angels of the Lord,” but not to the Lord himself. The Koran does not mention Daniel by name at all, although he is present in later Muslim traditions.
At the same time, Daniel is highly revered by the Christian church in view of his prediction of the date of the coming of the Messiah into the world and his appearance in the Jerusalem Temple, to which, according to the New Testament, Jesus Christ referred (Matthew). Interpretations of the book of Daniel were written by Saints Hippolytus of Rome and John Chrysostom.
In Islam
The name "Daniyal" is not mentioned in the Koran, but in the Sunnah and other sources the prophet is known as Daniyal, and the (Islamic) story of his burial is known. According to Islamic traditions, the prophet Daniyal died in
Holy Prophet Daniel - the fourth biblical prophet (related to the so-called “great prophets”), a descendant of a noble Jewish family (according to some assumptions, he could also come from a royal family from the tribe of Judah).
The name "Daniel" translated from Hebrew means - God is my judge, or God judged me.
The beginning of a courtly career at the court of Nebuchadnezzar
In the 4th year of the reign of Joachim, during the first conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (about 606 - 607 BC), Daniel, along with his fellow tribesmen, fell into Babylonian captivity. Then he was 14-17 years old. Together with other noble youths, Daniel was chosen as “fit to serve in the king’s palace...” (Dan. 1:4).
Historical reference
600 years BC. Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, the temple erected by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the people of Israel were taken into captivity. Young Daniel was also taken captive and, together with King Joachim of Judah, was taken from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar was an outstanding politician who managed to avoid the mistakes of the Egyptian pharaohs. The latter humiliated the captured Jews, which created the danger of rebellion. Babylon was unable to maintain a despotic regime through military means because there were too many people to keep in line and not enough soldiers to do so. Nebuchadnezzar chose a different way to control conquered peoples: to force people to remain loyal to the empire. Nebuchadnezzar took all the best from each nation and put it into the service of Babylon. Therefore, if anyone wanted to start a rebellion, he would have to direct it against his own people.
The king “commanded that they be brought up for three years...taught them the books and the language of the Chaldeans” (Dan. 1:4-5). Those. in essence, the youths were subjected to an elaborate system of re-education, taught the language and literature of Babylon, as well as mathematics, navigation, politics, history and geography - the whole range of Babylonian learning was implanted in their minds during these three years. Nothing should have distracted them from learning, so “the king appointed them daily food from the king’s table and wine, which he himself drank...” (Dan. 1:5).
After 3 years of re-education, the young men were to appear before the king (Dan. 1:5) for testing. The pupils had to forget that they were Jews, servants of God, and become servants of the king of the earth. They even changed their names, and there was a deep meaning in this.
So, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that handsome Jewish youths be selected from noble families to serve in the palace. Among the chosen ones was Daniel and his three companions - Ananias, Azariah and Mishael. They were raised in the court of this king, but remained faithful to their God (Dan. 1:3-16).
By order of the king, Daniel was renamed Belshazzar, which translated from Chaldean meant “keeper of the hidden treasures of Baal.” Ananias (“God is merciful”) was named Shadrach (the name of the pagan god Marduk). Mishael (“Who is like God”) received the name Meshach (containing an ancient form of the name of the goddess Venus). Azariah (“The Lord is my help”) is renamed Abednego (“servant of the god Nebo”). Thus, names containing in their meaning belonging to God were changed so that they began to refer to pagan gods.
However, with the adoption of pagan names, the young men did not betray the faith of their fathers. Fearing that they would be defiled by pagan food, they begged their teacher to give them food not from the royal table, sprinkled with blood sacrificed to idols, but simple, vegetable food. For their devotion to the true faith, the Lord rewarded the young men with success in science (Dan. 1:17), and the Babylonian king, who was present at the exam, found that they were smarter than his Babylonian sages:“There were none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and they began to serve the king. And in every matter of wise understanding, whatever the king asked them, he found them ten times higher than all the mysticians and magicians who were in his whole kingdom” (Dan. 1:19-20).
The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths Ananias, Azariah and Misail
Even in his youth, Daniel became especially famous at the court of Nebuchadnezzar for his Divine gifts, in particular, he received from God “the gift of understanding and all kinds of visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17).
King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation
Thus, Daniel explained to King Nebuchadnezzar an extraordinary dream, which greatly troubled the king (Dan. 2:1-49).
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Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
In a dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a huge and terrible image made of four metals: the head was made of gold, the chest and arms were made of silver, the belly and thighs were made of copper, the legs were made of iron, and the feet were made of iron mixed with clay and smeared with it. . A stone rolled down the mountain, smashed the image into dust and itself grew into a large mountain.
King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of a Golden Image
Daniel explained to the king that the image symbolized the four pagan kingdoms that were to succeed each other, starting with Babylon and ending with Rome. The mysterious stone that crushed the image symbolized the Messiah, and the resulting mountain symbolized His eternal Kingdom (Church): “And in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will erect a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be transferred to another people; it will crush and destroy all kingdoms, and itself will stand forever.”(Dan. 2:44).
Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream
This dream and its interpretation interest and concern us today as much, or even more, than Nebuchadnezzar.The divine interpretation of this dream, given through Daniel, shows that the head of the Image was the Kingdom of Babylon, the chest and arms were the subsequent Medo-Persian Empire, the belly and thighs of copper were the Greek Empire, and the legs were the Roman Empire. The feet represented the “Holy Roman Empire” and its successors; the iron in the feet represented civil power, and the clay mixed with the iron and covering it illustrated the ecclesiastical power of our day. Apparently, we live in the days of ten fingers, that is, parts of the Image.The stone represents God's Kingdom, which the clay on the idol's feet only imitated. The stone represents God's Chosen Church, gathered from Jews and Gentiles—from every nation and creed—to constitute the Kingdom of the Messiah. Soon this Kingdom will be established in power and great glory, and the kingdoms of this world will disappear as if on cue. Then the Kingdom of the Messiah will grow until it fills the whole earth and brings everything under its control, and every conscious sinner is cut off by the Second Death.
Miracle in the Furnace of Fire
Arrogance clouded Nebuchadnezzar's mind. He decided to erect a huge statue of himself (as the Ruler of the Earth) on the field of Deire. Having created a golden idol, the king ordered all his subjects to bow to it as soon as they heard the sounds of musical instruments, under pain of death by burning. But three friends refused to bow to the golden idol (Marduk), for which, by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, they were thrown into a fiery furnace. But the angel of God kept them unharmed in the fire. Christian tradition believes that the angel who preserved the youths was the Archangel Michael.
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The three youths in the fiery furnace are Jewish youths in Babylonian captivity, friends of the prophet Daniel, who were thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar for refusing to bow to the idol, but were saved by the archangel Michael and came out unharmed.
Nebuchadnezzar looked in amazement at what was happening in the flames and exclaimed: “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire tied up? Behold, I see four unbound men walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no harm to them; and the appearance of the fourth is like the son of God.” After which he ordered the execution to be stopped. When the three youths came out of the oven, the Babylonians were convinced that not only did the fire not burn a hair on their heads, but even their clothes did not smell of fire. After which, amazed at the power of God, who knows how to save those who believe in him, he again exalted these three Jews.
Nebuchadnezzar's second dream
After a little time, Nebuchadnezzar had another dream - he saw a large and strong tree, reaching its height to the sky and which was visible to the ends of the whole earth, with many fruits, so that everyone could feed from it. But then the Holy One descended from heaven and said that they should cut down this tree, cut off its branches, shake off its leaves and scatter its fruits, but that they should leave its main root in the ground and let it live with the animals in the grass, so that the human heart would be taken away from Him and the heart of a beast will be given to him, and seven times will pass over him. This dream confused the king, but none of the Babylonian fortunetellers and sorcerers could explain to him its meaning until Daniel was called, on whom the Spirit of God rested.
Daniel will explain to Nebuchadnezzar that his dream predicts punishment for his pride
Saint Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar that this dream shows the punishment of Nebuchadnezzar for his pride, that he will soon lose his kingdom, he himself will be excommunicated from people and his dwelling will be with the beasts of the field, he will feed himself grass like an ox, and so seven years will pass until he does not know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of man and gives it to whomever he wants. Soon everything exactly came true: Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind and ate grass like an animal (seven years), after which his reason returned to him and he gave praise to God (Dan; ch. 4).
Mysterious inscription or Belshazzar's last feast
The Prophet Daniel remained in the rank of court dignitary under Nebuchadnezzar and his five successors, and then was an adviser to Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian (Dan. 6:28).
After Nebuchadnezzar, his son Belshazzar became king of Babylon. One day he arranged a feast for a thousand of his nobles. To do this, he ordered his servants to bring gold and silver vessels that his father had taken from the Jerusalem Temple. When the vessels taken from the sanctuary of the house of God in Jerusalem were brought, the king, his nobles and their wives began to drink wine from them and praise their gold, silver, copper, iron, wood and stone gods. But suddenly in the royal palace, where the feast was taking place, a mysterious inscription appeared on the wall. The king shouted loudly and ordered the wise men of Babylon to be brought in to explain what was written. He promised to make the third ruler in his kingdom the one who would explain the meaning of incomprehensible words. But none of the Babylonian sages could explain the meaning of the words written on the wall. They brought Daniel and the king asked him to read and explain the meaning of incomprehensible words.
Daniel translates the mysterious writing on the wall to Belshazzar
Daniel told Belteshazzar that God was angry with him for his pride and for taking sacred vessels to drink wine from, while glorifying idols. Then he said that it was not written on the wall: “And this is what is written: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" (you are insignificant, and your kingdom will be divided by the Medes and Persians)(Dan. 5:25). This is the meaning of the words: “ME” - God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; “TEKEL” - you are weighed on the scales and found very light; “PERES” - your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then, at the command of Belshazzar, they clothed Daniel in scarlet robe and placed a golden chain around his neck and proclaimed him the third ruler in the kingdom." That same night happened what God had predicted through the words written on the wall of the palace: Belshazzar was killed, and his kingdom Darius the Mede took possession.
According to Jer. Gennady Egorov (“The Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament”, part 2), excerpt Dan. 5:18-31 is of exceptional importance for understanding the entire book of the prophet Daniel. First of all, Daniel spoke historical prophecies about the destinies of kingdoms and the world, so his book can be called a philosophy of history: every government must know the hand of God over itself. Arrogance is not valuable in the sight of God and must be punished. The only kingdom that will stand is the Kingdom of God, and it will be unique and eternal.
All the visions of the prophet Daniel and the dreams interpreted by him boil down, in essence, to one thought: all kingdoms will fall, giving way to the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Daniel in the lions' den
Under the Persian king Darius, the holy prophet Daniel took a high position for his honesty. Those around him hated him because he refused to take bribes. They did not know how to convict him, except perhaps in his religion. They convinced King Darius to issue a decree stating that if anyone bowed to any other deity other than Darius, he would be thrown into the lions' den. Because of this, they brought charges against Daniel for disobeying the king's religious edict. Thus, according to the slander of his enemies, Daniel was thrown into the den of lionsso that the lions would tear him to pieces, but the Lord shut the lions’ mouths and the prophet remained unharmed (Dan. ch. 6, ch. 14:28-42).
Prophet Daniel in the lions' den
Was informed by an angel about what happened to Daniel. The angel sent Habakkuk to take food and then, lifting him into the air by his hair, carried him into the lions' den. Daniel saw this as a sign that God had not abandoned him. In the morning the king returned and, finding Daniel alive and unharmed, believed in the power of the Jewish God. The courtiers who plotted against Daniel were themselves thrown to the lions, who immediately tore them to pieces (Dan. 6:14-24).
Vision of the four beasts representing the four kings who will rise from the earth (Dan. 7)
God revealed many things to the prophet Daniel in visions, for example, vision of four beasts representing the four kingdoms (Dan. chapter 7).
According to tradition, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, these kingdoms are understood to be Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome (or Syria).
The little horn with eyes and mouth (Dan. 7:8) - Antiochus Epiphanes (this is in historical terms), who tried to eradicate the Old Testament religion. Antiochus is a prototype of the Antichrist, his persecution is a classic prototype of all subsequent persecutions.
- “saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:18) - The Maccabees are their descendants
- At the end there is a vision of the eternal Kingdom of the Son (Dan. 7:9-14).
The same prophecy speaks educatively about the Antichrist, his persecution against believers and the duration of his power: “until a time (i.e. a year) and a time (two years) and half a time (half a year)” (Dan. 7:25), - in total 3.5 years.
Since ancient times, the vision of the prophet Daniel in chapter 7, along with other Old Testament eschatological prophecies, was widely used by the Church Fathers to formulate the Christian teaching about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (links to chapter 7 are in Justin the Philosopher, Irenaeus of Lyons, the first detailed interpretation of the book of the prophet Daniel is given by Hippolytus of Rome, St. Ephraim the Syrian has a reference to chapter 7 - “The Word on the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Moreover, most researchers believe that, along with other eschatological teachings of St. Ephraim, this “Word” was the basis of the Byzantine iconography of the Last Judgment.
Vision of the “70 Weeks” (Dan. 9)
A little later, Daniel received revelation of the "70 weeks" , which indicates the time of the first coming of the Messiah and the foundation of his Kingdom (Church) ( cm. Dan. 9). Here by weeks we mean seven years (the circle of Jewish holiday years is built on seven-year cycles) that have to pass from the time of the publication of the decree on the construction of the second Jerusalem temple (in 453 BC) until the appearance of Christ and His fulfillment of the New Testament (Dan. 9: 23-27). Therefore, 70 weeks are 490 years.
But the meaning of the explanation given to Daniel by the Archangel Gabriel, from the time of the decree of King Cyrus on the return of the Jews to their homeland from captivity, seven weeks must pass before the creation of the temple, after the next 62 weeks the Anointed One will be killed, the New Testament will be established and the sacrifices will be abolished, and then the abomination of desolation will become in a holy place.
There is complete correspondence between Daniel's prophecy and later history. It is the first seven weeks that fully correspond to the 49 years that elapsed from the decree of Cyrus until the completion of the construction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. The next 62 weeks are equal to 434 years, which, when combined with the 49 years of the first weeks, are equal to 483 years, and correspond to the period before the appearance of Jesus Christ to serve the human race. According to prophecy, the killing of Christ should take place in the middle of the last week, i.e. three and a half years after the appearance, as indeed happened according to the legend of the Evangelists. After this half-week, the abomination of desolation must come in the holy place, i.e. the destruction of Jerusalem, which in turn, pointing to the words of Daniel, was predicted by the Savior (Matthew 24:15). This is how all this actually happened during the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian.
Vision of the Great War (Dan. 10-12)
Daniel fasts for three weeks and the Man appears to him with revelation. According to St. Hippolytus of Rome, “he sees the Lord Himself...”.
The beginning describes future wars, the victory of Alexander the Great, apparently over the Persian troops (Dan. 11:2).
Then the wars of the Lagids and Seleucids are described (many details are quite accurately predicted).
Vision of the little horn, the new king, who is both a type of Antiochus and Antichrist (Dan. 11:21-23). Antiochus Epiphanes is the worst enemy of the Jews, and this vision signifies the persecution of Antiochus against the Jews and the final destruction of himself. The famous Jewish historian Josephus considers the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes to be the exact fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy: “And they will appoint a portion of the army that will defile the sanctuary of power, and will put an end to the daily sacrifice, and will set up the abomination that makes desolate.”(Dan. 11:31), spoken over 408 years.
Dan. 11:36-37 - the new mystery of the coming lawlessness - this is no longer about Antiochus, who worshiped the gods.
Dan. 9:27, Dan. 11:31 Dan. 12:11 - "abomination of desolation"- Matthew 24:15-16 - Christ quotes the prophet Daniel and then speaks about the sorrow of subsequent times (the last chapters of the book of the prophet Daniel are dedicated to this, and the Apocalypse is about this).
Dan. 12:4,9 - about the seal of the blj. Theodoret argues this way: “Put, he says, on the book of the seal of obscurity and make it not clear to everyone, until knowledge will increase,” and, according to prophecy, “the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, like water covering the sea.”(Isa.11:9). The grace of God’s Spirit, at the coming of the Savior, opened these seals and made the unclear clear for believers.”
Tombs of the Prophet Daniel
The Prophet Daniel died at a very old age (over 90 years old), having been in captivity until his old age, and was buried in a tomb in the city of Susa.
Tomb of the Prophet Daniel (Barry, Iraq)
However, his graves are also shown in Kirkuk (Iraq) and Samarkand (Uzbekistan). The grave in Samarkand is a crypt about 18 meters long. Legend has it that the crypt is constantly growing. The saint is revered by both Christians and Muslims, who call the saint buried there Daniyar. Next to the grave is a 500-year-old pistachio tree, which after several years of dead wood suddenly sprouted green shoots in the 2000s. It is also believed that Tamerlane brought the remains of the saint to Samarkand from a military campaign in Asia Minor.
The grave of the prophet Daniyar is located in the Khoja Donier mausoleum in Samarkand
Daniel is revered by the Christian Church especially for predicting the coming of the Messiah into the world, His appearance in the Temple of Jerusalem. Jews do not consider Daniel a prophet, perhaps because he did not speak to God directly, but only to the Angels.
Book of the Prophet Daniel
The Holy Prophet Daniel left a book of his prophecies, consisting of 14 chapters.
The book of the prophet Daniel is a prophetic book historically associated with the Babylonian captivity. There are practically no prophetic speeches in it, but there are records of the events of the prophet’s life, his visions and their explanations. One of the main features of the book is the symbolic nature of the presentation of prophecies:
The prophet Daniel himself explained dreams and received prophecies in his sleep (Dan. 2:19, Dan. 4:11, Dan. 7:1);
- dreams and symbols were explained to him by an Angel (Dan. 7:16-Dan. 8:15);
- through an Angel he sometimes received symbolic revelations (Dan. 9:24, Dan. 10:11);
- apocalyptic form of revelations (especially in chapters 7-12);
- the grandeur of the symbolism (even more than that of the prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah, for example, in chapter 7).
The content of the book can be divided into two main parts:
1) Historical part (chapters 1-6): the life of the prophet Daniel and contemporary events in the Babylonian and Medo-Persian kingdoms, in which he and his friends participated;
2) Prophetic part (Chapters 7-12): visions and revelations about the fate of Judea and the pagan kingdoms that had an influence on the history of the Jews, from the time of the era of captivity to the establishment of the Kingdom of the “saints of the Most High” on earth.
Both parts reveal the same teaching about the universal Kingdom of God and the Son of Man in their triumph over paganism. In its development, this doctrine comes down to two provisions:
A) The world kingdom cannot remain forever in the power of the Gentiles; it exists only for the sake of Israel. Chapters 1-6 of the book are devoted to this topic. Here is their summary: power over the world belongs to God, but His Kingdom will come after a certain time, after the fall of the four world monarchies (chapter 2). Pagan kings can be rulers of the world only if they are conscious of the dependence of their power on the supreme power of God.
B) In the Person of the Son of Man, Israel is destined for dominion over the world, the implementation of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Since pagan kings cannot dominate, power over the world must pass to another people, perhaps Israel, who will become the actual ruler of the world after the fall of the fourth monarchy. Then the Kingdom will be with the “Saints of the Most High” under the headship of the Son of Man, and they will possess it “forever.” By that time their sins will be forgiven (chapter 9).
The universal kingdom will include all those “who are written in the book” (Dan. 12:1). The dead will also be resurrected: sinners “to everlasting reproach and shame” (Dan. 12:2), and the righteous “to eternal life... and the wise will shine like the lights in the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever.” (Dan. 12:2-3).
Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK
for the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Sparrow Hills