Dare To Be A Daniel
It has been said there are two things that cannot be stopped—death and taxes! Concerning taxes, consider the following poem:
Tax his land; tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.
If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him until he’s good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
“Taxes drove me to my doom!”
And when he’s gone, we won’t relax,
We’ll still be after the inheritance tax.
By anonymous
But more accurately, there are three things that cannot be stopped… death, taxes, and the Word of God! God’s Word has been fulfilled in the past, will be fulfilled in the future, and is being fulfilled in the present.
Daniel was given incredible prophetic revelation, but he did not get puffed up with pride. Rather, he humbled himself under God’s mighty hand. The Lord sent a message to Daniel after he fasted and prayed for 21 days that said, “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words” (Daniel 10:12).
The transliteration of the Hebrew word “understand” means to discern. The word “chasten” means abase self. The man of God—Daniel, set his heart to seek the Lord for discernment and in so doing it changed his life. In other words, the message from God to Daniel concerning “Tomorrow’s Revelation” caused Daniel to live a life of “Purification.”
Daniel dared to be different! He dared to stand alone! He dared to have a purpose true! He dared to make it known! There are at least seven ways Daniel dared to be different.
First, he understood the principle of coming under authority (Dan. 1:1-7). Daniel learned it is never right to do wrong and it is never wrong to do right. In order to be over, one learns to first come under. God gave him grace to submit to the authority of the pagan King of Babylon—Nebuchadnezzar, but he did this without compromising his spiritual integrity.
Second, he lived a life of moral purity. Daniel 1:8 states, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.” Daniel learned—no boozing, no bowing, and no biting. Character does count! Instead of caving into the pool of popularity, though he was just a teenager at the time and 900 miles away from home, Daniel was strengthened by his convictions based on God’s Word.
John Walvoord suggested the reason Daniel refused to drink or eat the king’s meat or wine was because he being a Jew would have been defiled by eating certain unclean animals; the blood may not have been properly drained or may have been offered to idols. Consequently, he requested an alternate plan. Instead, he and his buddies would eat “pulse” or vegetables (that which grows from seed, fruit, grain, and bread). It worked!
After the 10 days of testing, their countenance looked better than the king’s crowd. They did not give in to the pressure of the world, nor did they give up to the devil’s plan, but rather they gave out to the power of the one true God who pulled them through the test as a testimony to the king. Drinking wine or any alcoholic beverage became a stumbling block issue which Paul addressed in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 14:21).
Third, he found God to be his security (Dan. 2:14, 16, 19). King Nebuchadnezzar was puzzled, but Daniel was prayerful. Both the rising of the Antichrist as the “little horn” (Dan. 7:8, 25) and the “Times of the Gentiles,” or the four world powers, was revealed. These four powers were Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece, and Rome. Jesus used the phrase the “Times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24. This phrase describes the time when Gentiles rule over the Jews and Jerusalem, which will run its course until the second coming of Christ (Rev. 19:11f-Rev. 20, 21, 22).
Fourth, he learned to live a life of humility (Dan. 4:4f). The big and bad King Nebuchadnezzar had to learn, “The way up is down.” He learned the hard way—God rules, God overrules, and God ever rules! After his brain took an extended vacation, Nebuchadnezzar finally came to his senses and said, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Dan. 4:37).
Fifth, Daniel warned the world about God’s sovereignty (Dan. 5:1f). After throwing a big, drunken, and blasphemous party, God showed up and said to Belshazzar the king, “The Party’s over”—paraphrase. The party turned into a nightmare! Only God’s children can read their Father’s handwriting!
Written on the wall were these words, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” (Dan. 5:25). Daniel’s translation was the following, “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it” (Dan. 5:26). America better take note! Even though the Babylonian Empire was thought to have been unsinkable and impenetrable, the Medes and the Persians did the unthinkable. That night the Babylonian Empire was overtaken. They were caught completely off guard.
Because of their defiance against God in disregarding the holy vessels and His sovereignty, she fell! God’s prophetic wheels of justice rolled over Babylon and could not be stopped.
Sixth, Daniel was courageous through adversity (Dan. 6:1f). However, he was despised; seeds of jealousy began to germinate. Because of an excellent spirit, Daniel was promoted. Darius the King chose him over the other men. Daniel was different and dared to stand alone. Daniel 6:3 states, “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
Through a deceptive plot and plan, the king signed a decree for the law of the land forbidding anyone to petition any other God or man except for the king.
Daniel still had his daily devotions despite the decree. Albeit, his nightly devotions were moved temporarily! He prayed before the lion’s den, when he was in the lion’s den, and after he got out of the lion’s den. Prayer was his lifestyle. Because of his faith in the God of the Bible, He was escorted to the lion’s den.
Sorrowfully, the king attempted to help Daniel, but God had determined to deliver His servant and make him a testimony to the whole empire. Without any sleep or any food all night long, the disturbed king arose early in the morning to check on Daniel. One preacher said the prophet had been “Reading between the Lions!… And I’m not lying!” But God delivered his servant Daniel! He is still in the delivering business from the roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8-10).
Finally, the seventh character trait that motivated Daniel to stand alone was when he saw Jesus will win the victory (Dan. 7:13, 14, 27). There has been a battle raging down through the ages but the battle has been won by God’s only Son! From Genesis onward in the Scriptures, it appears that Satan is in control, yet one glance at the end of the book, which is foreshadowed throughout the whole book, reveals Jesus wins! A Satanocracy—the result of the fall of man when authority was given over to Satan—ultimately concludes in a Theocracy when Jesus inaugurates His earthly kingdom (Rev. 20). So… “Dare to Be a Daniel”!
For teaching on end times visit Until That Day at https://www.youtube.com/untilthatday. Until That Day is an outreach ministry of New Rocky Creek Baptist Church. Every day, more and more people are becoming aware of the significance of Bible prophecy. God’s Word is being fulfilled all around us. Learn to talk intelligently and spiritually with your loved ones about the things unfolding in our world today.