Daniel’s Story

Daniel’s story is a close harmony with the testimony of Jesus, and therefore reveals the journey ahead for the final generation (Rev 1v1-2, 19v10b, Mat 24v34).

Both Daniel and Jesus escaped a calamity at a young age, lived and served God during times of world government, and they both knew the final hour of suffering that comes immediately before great kingdom glories.

  1. Daniel was deported to Babylonian at a young age with the first group of Jewish exiles, escaping the worst of the calamity brought by the King of Babylon. He also shaped up well with his friends during 10 days of testing (Daniel 1).

  2. Daniel lived the rest of his life, at least 70 years in Babylon which was like world government. He remained obedient to God while serving the King of Babylon.

  3. In the first year of Darius the Mede, praying to God was outlawed, and Daniel suffered a horrible betrayal. He was subsequently sentenced to death and thrown into the lion’s den with a stone placed over its mouth. It could be called a tribulation, an abomination, but God saved Daniel and he was raised up the next morning, miraculously unhurt, (Daniel 6).

“Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throught the earth... people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel… So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and the reign of Cyrus, the Persian” (Dan 6v25-28).

King Cyrus was God’s anointed one who Isaiah prophecied would set the exiles free, (Is 45v13). Some Jews returned home in a move that mirrored the exodus. The end of the story foreshadows our ultimate going home to dwell with God in the new creation at the end of the age.

Jeremiah’s parallel story

Jeremiah provides more detail on what God was doing during the time of the Babylonian exile. Jeremiah was prophet in Jerusalem while Daniel was in Babylon.

Birth

Jeremiah 31 and the surrounding chapters are especially relevant to the theme of birth, with a prophecy about the slaughter of the infants, a new covenant and signs.

Jeremiah warned the people about God’s coming judgement, urging them not to fight, but to surrender (Jer 21v9, 38v17). This would probably have been surprising to some, but God promised to look after them in Babylon, and later he would regather his scattered people, even Israel saying,

“Ephraim is my firstborn son.” — Jeremiah 31v9b

The conquest was described as a slaughter of infants:

This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.” — Jeremiah 31v18

This prophecy was fulfilled by King Herod when Jesus was a baby (Mat 2v15), and as Jesus’ life is prophetic it will also be fulfilled when the final generation is born at a time of world war three.

Ramah is mentioned as the place of weeping for a couple of reasons:

  • Rachel who died while giving birth (Gen 35v16-19) was buried near Ramah — 1 Samuel 10v2, (Samuel lived in Ramah).

  • Nebuchadnezzar was gathering up the exiles at Ramah prior to being deported to Babylon. In Jeremiah 40v1, Jeremiah himself was being held prisoner in Ramah. There would have been much weeping at that time.

At times of birth God makes His covenant with His people, so it is fitting for Jeremiah to prophesy about the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:

The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people. — Jeremiah 31v31-33

This prophecy was fulfilled on Pentecost at the birth of the church, when God poured out His Spirit into our hearts. It continues today when we are born again, but in the near future we can consider the apocalyptic birth of the final generation.

Other times of birth where covenants were made include:

  • Noah’s flood — a covenant with all flesh

  • Abraham’s Chiasm including Gen 15 and 17 covenants.

  • The covenant at Mount Sinai when Israel was born as a nation.

  • Joash was only a baby when he survived the slaughter of the royal family by Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah. After 7 years he was crowned king of Judah at the age of 7, and Jehoiada the priest made covenants between the Lord, the new king and the people — 1 Kings 11.

  • The Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 was made when David began his Kingship.

Signs and wonders are also relevant to the time of birth and covenant making, as discussed in Jeremiah 32.

“You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror.” — Jeremiah 32v20-21

“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it.” — Jeremiah 32v24

The siege ramps were a clear sign of the coming judgement in Jeremiah’s time, and in our current time we also have this kind of sign in the arms race and threats of conflict. Many other signs are pointing to world war three as discussed on the Cross2Victory website.

But even while the Babylonians were besieging the city, God told Jeremiah to buy a field. It was an act of faith, and a sign that God really would regather His people and make an everlasting covenant in the future (Jer 32v37-41).

We are now in Jeremiah’s position, seeing conflict is coming soon, a war that will be too big to fight. We will need to get out of the cities, and we can expect a special journey ahead for the final generation, but God is with us. Jesus, our Messiah will return in due course, as promised.

World Government:

Our time of ‘exile’ will be life in a post-apocalyptic world after the destruction of world war three. But we will continue to serve God during a future time of world government — Babylon the Great, the beast of Revelation 13 and Daniel 7.

Like Daniel, we will continue to serve God while in Babylon during the last days. God will be with us, and His advice in Jeremiah 29 is to settle down, build houses and serve the King of Babylon for the 70 year period of exile because if Babylon prospers, so will we.

Jacob’s Trouble

The end of the journey brings death and resurrection. We follow Jesus on that path. The final suffering will be brief.

“How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble of Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.” — Jeremiah 29v7

Death and resurrection is part of our life journey. It is a scattering and regathering. The crisis of the cross is a persecution, a lion’s den moment just as Daniel demonstrated at the very end of his life story (Daniel 6).

The whole nation of Israel demonstrated this suffering in the book of Esther which follows on after Daniel chronologically. A decree was issued that they would all be killed in one day, but through Esther and Mordecai it became a great victory.

Elsewhere it is called, ‘the battle of armageddon’ or ‘the great tribulation’, and it will be brought on to the final generation by the final antichrist.

We don’t need to fear the final hour. If we remain in Christ, while persecution is promised, if we share in His sufferings we will share in his glory when he comes.

Another Prophetic Cycle

While King Cyrus maked the end of the 70 years in Babylon he also signalled the beginning of another prophetic cycle as was revealed to Daniel in the prophecy of the 70 weeks, (Daniel 9).

Near the end of Daniel’s life, in the first year of Darius, he understood from the prophet Jeremiah that 70 years of exile were nearing completion, (Daniel 9v1-2). With prayer and repentance Daniel prayed for his people and recieved a vision about 70 weeks.

A severe judgement would occur in the 70th week directly before the kingdom of God was to be established, (Dan 9v24-27). For Daniel himself, the time had come to foreshadow God’s ultimate plans.

It is significant that Donald Trump is likened to King Cyrus as we consider the end of the age, and the beginning of the prophetic period of the final generation.