Chapter 1

1:1-2 - The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be 606 BCE, at which time Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king of Babylon. It was 597 BCE that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem for the first time (without actually destroying it). By that time Jehohiakim was dead and his son, Jehoiachin, was ruling.

* Is there evidence that proves this statement?

1:1 - When did Nebuchadnezzar come to Jerusalem?

* Jeremiah 25:1 reads, "The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon)."  Daniel 1:1 reads, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it." 

* These two passages are complementary.  In the third year of Jehoiakim's rule, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.  In the fourth year of Jehoiakim's rule, it was Nebuchadnezzar's first year.

1:8 - Daniel refused to be defiled by eating meat or drinking wine. So is it, or is it not, OK to drink alcohol or eat meat?

* When he walked off the ark, God gave Noah the option of eating animals.  Therefore, Daniel could have eaten this meat and still been obedient to God.  Daniel simply wanted to be in a better physical and mental condition, so he decided to abstain from the rich diet of the Babylonians.

* This Hebrew word for "meat" in verse 8 is also translated as "delicacies" in verse 13.  It is obvious that Daniel didn't only abstain from meat, but also the fatty and unhealthy foods that they were serving.

Chapter 2

2:4 - The Governing Body's Theocratic rule will last forever.

* Daniel 2:4 reads, "Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."  This statement was made by one of the king's subjects.  This was simply a phrase that honored the king and was not spoken by a prophet of God.  This is only a historical record of what a pagan person spoke.

2:35 - The stone became "a great mountain" that "filled the whole earth." This could only be possible on a flat, disc-shaped earth.

* This passage never directly says the Earth is flat.

* This was a dream that the king had.  It had many symbols in it and other imagery.  Frankly, since it was a dream, he could have dreamed that the Earth was in the shape of a triangle and it wouldn't have conflicted with the scriptures or the truth.  It is unwise to draw scientific facts from assumptions made about dreams.

Chapter 3

3:1 - Nebuchadnezzar built a statue of gold sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. Taking a cubit to be 18 inches and assuming the depth to also be six cubits, this would give a total volume of 270 cubic yards -- which would have been more than all of the gold that King Nebuchadnezzar possessed, and probably more than all of the gold in all of the kingdoms of the world at that time.

* If you're assuming the volume was 270 cubic yards, then you meant to say the depth was "sixty cubits" and not "six cubits."

* This passage says nothing about the depth of this statue.  Assuming the depth is sixty cubits is the fallacy here.  

3:29 - Nebuchadnezzar, after first trying to burn to death the three Hebrews, now decrees that everyone who says anything against the Hebrew god "shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill." This is an example of the loving kindness and tolerance that supernatural belief inspires in humans.

* This Aramaic word for "speak" is better translated "command."  The king was making a law that nobody could command any deceptive laws concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's God.  Early in chapter three, the king's subjects set up the three Hebrews for failure by making a law that made everyone bow to the gold statue or be burned to death.

Chapter 4

4:10-11, 20 - Daniel's tree is tall enough to be seen from "the end of all the earth." Only on a flat earth would this be possible.

* It is clear, from the scriptures, that this tree was in a vision.  This passage does not make a clear and defined statement that an actual tree exists that can be seen from all places on Earth.  This tree was used as a symbol.

4:32-33 - Nebuchadnezzar eats grass, lets his hair grow like eagle feathers and his nails like bird claws. Of course, there is no record in secular history that Nebuchadnezzar suffered any such strange sickness.

* This wasn't a glorious time for Nebuchadnezzar.  Why he purged it from most historical records seems obvious.

* Scientists have conjectured several possibilities for Nebuchadnezzar's ailment.

4:34-35 - After going through a rather bizarre ordeal, inflicted upon him by God, Nebuchadnezzar heaps praise upon God -- in whose eyes "all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing." This is certainly a being worthy of our praise.

* Nebuchadnezzar learned from his punishment.  Only if more people could learn from the more merciful punishments that they receive for their sins.

Chapter 5

5:2,11,18,22 - Apparently, the author of Daniel know of only two Babylonian kings during the period of the exile: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, who he wrongly thought was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. But Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Awil-Marduk (referred to in the bible as "Evilmerodach" [see 2 Kg.25:27 and Jer.52:31]). In 560 BCE, Amel-Marduk was assissinated by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur. The next and last king of Babylon was Nabonidus who reigned from 556 to 539, when Babylon was conquered by Cyrus. It was Nabonidus, and not Belshazzar, who was the last of the Babylonian kings. Belshazzar was a the son and viceroy of Nabonidus. But he was not a king, and was not the son (or any other relation) of Nebochadnezzar.

* This Aramaic word for "father" is better translated "forefather."  Nebuchadnezzar was one of Belshazzar and Nabonidus' forefathers.

* Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and the viceroy.  In this passage, Nabonidus is not present, therefore, while he was away, Belshazzar was the king in charge.  Nabonidus was away on a diplomatic mission and left Belshazzar in charge.

5:5-6 - A detached hand writes upon the wall, and when the king sees it "the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other."

* This is correct.  These words are metaphors to show that Belshazzar was shaking in fear.

5:31 - Darius the Median is a fictitious character whom the author perhaps confused with Darius I of Persia, who came to the throne in 521 BCE, 17 years after the fall of Babylon. The author of Daniel incorrecly makes him the successor of Belshazzar instead of Cyrus.

* Darius was a title, like Caesar or Pharaoh.  His actual name was Gubaru of Gutium.  This has been verified by historical accounts and Akkadian cuneiform.  Daniel recorded the correct person who was put in charge of the overthrown Babylon, but he simply used his title instead of his actual name.

* According to Daniel 9:1, Darius was "made the ruler."  This phrase is used to indicate a person was given the throne, not that they seized it.  Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians and Darius (Gubaru) was the appointed ruler.

Chapter 6

6:24 - King Darius, after trying to feed Daniel to the lions, orders those who accused Daniel (and their wives and children) to be cast into the lion den. "And the lions ... brake all their bones in pieces."

* This is correct.  This pagan king decided to put all of these people to death.

6:26 - Darius makes a decree, "that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel."

* A better translation, from the Aramaic, is this: ". . . men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel . . ."

Chapter 7

7:3, 8:3-6 - Despite the knowledge that the writer of Daniel most likely lived well after the events he writes about, modern day Armageddonists, or Endtimers, use the vision of the four beasts to bolster their claim that the end is near. They say the lion, bear, leopard, and horned beast represent Europe, Russia, Israel and the U.S., respectively. 

* These interpretations (e.g. that those animals represent those countries) do not represent my views and interpretations.  For extended information on these dreams, read Chuck Missler's commentaries or listen to his audio lessons.  I haven't written on these particular prophecies, but I agree with his teachings on them.

Chapter 8

8:10 - To Daniel, the stars are small objects that can fall from the sky and then be "stamped upon."

* The "stars" are symbolic and not referring to literal stars.

8:23-25, 11:21-45 - To many endtimers, these verses describe the coming Antichrist. However, it is more likely that they describe a tyrant king of Syria, Antiochus IV. He reigned around 170 BCE and persecuted the Jews, sparking the Maccabean revolt. This information gives even more credence to the train of thought that has Daniel's writer living in the second century BCE, than in the sixth. Which wouldn't make these verses prophecy; they would be contemporary history.

* Without addressing these verses specifically (they are not addressed specifically in the SAB), remember that most, prophetic passages in the Bible relate to both the people and time in which they were written and a future time and people.

Chapter 9

9:25-27 - If you want to be confused out of your gourd, check out The 70th. week of Daniel; Revelation Unsealed, By James D. Shade. This tries to link the time frame and descriptions in Daniel to the same type of passages in Revelation.

* Daniel 9:24-27 is an awesome prophecy.  Among other things, this prophecy predicts the exact day that Jesus Christ will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey; which happened and can be verified.  I've researched this prophecy and published my research.  You can see it here: http://daniel9.jcsm.org.

Chapter 10

10:16 - Daniel is literally "Touched By An Angel."

* Daniel's lips were touched.  This doesn't contradict any other passages of scripture.

Chapter 12

12:2 - "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life..." But, I thought death is final?

* This verse is better translated: "And a multitude of dead will awake, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt (shame)."

* It has been verified by many other passages of scripture that we die once, then there is a judgment (see Hebrews 9:27).  Believers are rewarded and go to Heaven.  Unbelievers are condemned and suffer the second death.  See Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 21:8, etc.

12:12 - Does Hell exist? Yes.

* This verse says nothing about Hell, but according to other passages of scripture, Hell does exist.