2.7.5 - Judgment

As was mentioned in our discussion concerning the Authorship of the book, the name “Daniel” means either “God is my judge” or “God is judge.” It would seem that Daniel’s name is intended to call attention to the theme of judgment which runs throughout the book: (1) Israel, and especially the scepter of the Davidic throne, is judged by God by the captivity in Babylonia (Eze. 21:10, 13, 25-27); (2) Man judges the sequence of Gentile kingdoms as a glorious image (Dan. 2+; 3+); (3) God judges man’s rule as beastly (Dan. 4:28-33+; 7:26+); (4) Belshazzar’s kingdom is judged and found wanting (Dan. 5+); (5) At the end of the age, the righteous and wicked stand for judgment (Dan. 12:2-3+). “The theme of Daniel’s prophecy seems to be the fact that God is the judge of all the earth, and that, in spite [of] appearances, all things are following His schedule and are working together to fulfill His purpose.”¹

Notes

¹ Thomas A Howe, Daniel in the Preterist’s Den (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2008), 36-37.