Dr Paul Allen

Earlier this year, I read Carl Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. It’s a devastating survey of the history that’s led to the expressive individualism and sexual revolution of our current cultural moment. Trueman uncovers the tensions and contradictions present in commonly held cultural assumptions. But he’s also frank about the mammoth task Christians face in holding to biblical ethics, morals, and values. It’s unlikely to become easier to be faithful to Scripture in the coming days. A book like Trueman’s raises questions: How can Christianity survive such a hostile onslaught? Do we have a survival strategy? The familiar narrative of Daniel 6 answers these questions with the foundational truth that God rules over all—even in the most hostile environments. Daniel’s confidence in God’s absolute authority encourages us to adopt three postures in the face of hostility. Obedience in the Face of Danger As the curtain rises on Daniel 6, there’s a new king in town: Darius. As t...

One of the most memorable events from the book of Daniel—a book with no shortage of memorable events—is Belshazzar’s feast in chapter 5. The potency of the entire empire, its nobility, sexuality, and wealth, is on display in garish fashion—until everyone’s merriment is brought to a sudden end by a vision of a heavenly hand. Talk about awkward. The hand appears immediately and disrupts the hapless, reckless celebration initiated by the drunken regent Belshazzar. Contrary to some interpretations, the vision seems to be literal and apparent to everyone. The image of the appendage is so disturbing that it has a physical effect on the king, causing the color to drain from his face and making his knees buckle (v. 6). We should also notice that no one in the room can understand the message. It may be in a script that appeared illegible. Perhaps the letters are visible, but the significance of them is not. Whatever the case, no one—not the king, the lords, or even the wisest men in his kingdo...

Christians and non-Christians, including people from cults and world religions, can and do turn to the Bible for instruction and inspiration. But, the Christian has a distinctly unique focus when studying the Bible. For the Christian, the centre of the Bible is Christ. Jesus Christ modelled this very thing for us . After His resurrection from death, the last chapter of Luke’s gospel in the New Testament says that Jesus taught two different Bible studies, including the prophets like Daniel, and revealed how every page of the Old Testament was ultimately about Him.           For the Christian, the Bible is not primarily about us. The Bible is about Jesus, but for us. Here are a few ways that the book of Daniel connects to Jesus Christ: The point of preserving the nation of Israel was to bring forth Jesus Christ as the Savior of the whole world. The Second Coming of Jesus is prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, wit...

How did Daniel remain faithful to God from his teens to his eighties while living in Babylon pressured every day in every way to dishonour, disobey, and disregard his God? One secret to Daniel’s success was his prayer life.           Daniel knew God and knew how to talk and listen to God. Daniel’s prayer life is highlighted throughout the book and a prime cause of his fortitude and wisdom. In fact, Daniel gets into trouble with the demonic leadership in Babylon because of his immovable prayer life.           THREE TIMES DAILY ON HIS KNEES We read in Daniel 6:10 that he prayed three times a day on his knees openly and publicly as a form of nonviolent protest against false gods and praise to the real God. In 2:17-23, he asked friends to join him in prayer and was emboldened to risk his life interpreting the king's dream. Daniel 9:1-27 is a long explanation of his prayer life, complete with fasting and prayer answered by an angelic...

In Daniel 10 , the prophet receives a word from the Lord (v. 1) — a vision of conflict that stunned him with its greatness. So Daniel set himself with tears and fasting and prayer to seek the meaning of the vision, and for three weeks he wrestled in prayer over this vision and sought to know God ’s will. After three weeks he went out to the banks of the Tigris River (v. 4). There he had a vision that was so awesome he could hardly bear it. To make matters worse (in v. 10), a hand reached out and touched him so that he shook terribly on his hands and knees. Then the voice said (vv. 11–12): “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you…. Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” Now this is immensely important for understanding prayer. Notice the words: “I have come...

Jesus, the angels, and Paul mention clouds in connection with Jesus’ return (Luke 21:27; Mark 14:62; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:17). As Jesus’ ascension to the Father was marked by clouds that hid him from the sight of the disciples, so his return could be accompanied by literal clouds as well. However, if the clouds are literal, Jesus’ return would be an event in a particular region: if Jesus’ return took place in the city of Jerusalem in Israel, accompanied by clouds, his return could be witnessed only in that city, nowhere else. The explanation that satellite technology makes a worldwide viewing of Jesus’ return is technically correct, but it is inadequate as an explanation for what Jesus, the angels, and Paul could have meant and what his readers could have understood. When Paul writes to the Thessalonian believers that “we who are still alive and are left” will meet Jesus “in the clouds” (1 Thess. 4:17 NIV), he does not seem to understand the “clouds” as a meeting point above a part...

A map of the Babylonian Empire during the time of the Kassites, roughly the 13th century BC. This map shows the probable river courses and coastline at that time. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.” ( Daniel 6:1-2 ) Not many people realize that the godly prophet Daniel was the first president of the great Medo- Persian - Babylonian empire ! Of course, Daniel’s office did not correlate directly with that of an American president , being appointive rather than elective, and being subject to the emperor, but he nevertheless had great authority. Many translations use the word “governor” instead of “president”—the original language was Aramaic in this case rather than Hebrew . In any case, Daniel was a God-fearing Hebrew, rather than a P...

“Give glory to the LORD your God , before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.” ( Jeremiah 13:16 ) The figurative representations of Christ as the foundation rock of the great spiritual house of God ( Matthew 16:18 ; Ephesians 2:20 ; 1 Peter 2:6 ) and also as the water-yielding rock of sustenance in the wilderness ( 1 Corinthians 10:4 ) are two of the great symbols of the Bible . But for those who reject Him, He becomes “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense. . . . And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken” ( Isaiah 8:14-15 ). Not only will the stone cause such a one to stumble, but Jesus said, “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” ( Matthew 21:44 ). This figure is taken from the fall of the great image in Nebuchadn...

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The vision recorded in the seventh chapter of Daniel is central to the book, and understanding it is crucial to grasping the meaning of a number of otherwise obscure passages in the New Testament .  Daniel received this vision in the first year of Belshazzar (v. 1), so it occurred sometime after the events of chapter 4 but before the events of chapter 5.  In the vision, Daniel sees the winds of heaven stirring up the sea (v. 2). From the sea, he witnesses four great beasts arise, each different from the other (v. 3).  The first beast is like a lion with eagles' wings (v. 4). Its wings are removed and it is made to stand on two feet like a man.  The second beast is like a bear (v. 5). It is raised up on one side and has three ribs in its mouth.  The third beast is like a leopard (v. 6), but it has four wings and four heads.  The fourth beast is almost indescribable (v. 7). It is...

English: Angel smites the Assyrians (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” ( Daniel 4:17 ) Who are these mysterious “watchers” who are so concerned that we know that “the powers that be are ordained of God ” ( Romans 13:1 ), sometimes even including the “basest of men?” They are mentioned in the Bible only here in the fourth chapter of Daniel (see also vv. 13, 23), all three times evidently synonymous with “the holy ones,” beings who come down from heaven. Such phrases could apply only to angels, created to serve the Lord and the “heirs of salvation” ( Psalm 103:20 ; Hebrews 1:14 ). The word is used here in reference to Nebuchadnezzar ’s vision and period of insanity. Although it is used nowhere else in the Bible, it occurs frequently i...

English: An image of Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, as described in the Second Chapter of Daniel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Summary justice was to be meted out on the offender, declared the herald, v. 6. The king’s golden image was to be worshipped as soon as the music played; else ‘the same hour’ the burning fiery furnace would teach others a lesson few would forget. And ‘ Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury’ had reinforced the command, vv. 13–15. In uncontrollable fury the king had increased the degree of barbarity ‘seven times more than’ his previous requirements. The ‘exceeding hot’ flame—now almost as incandescent as Nebuchadnezzar’s fury—claimed the lives of the king’s guards, v. 22. Nevertheless, those three Hebrews testified resolutely that their God was able to deliver them, v. 17. The God they described to the infuriated monarch was ‘our God whom we serve’, v. 17. They may have served Him among their own people, certainly they had in the school in wh...

Giovanni Baglione - Heavenly Love and Earthly Love - WGA1158 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people” (v. 1a). Central to the biblical description of God is the doctrine of divine providence. Scripture is clear that the Lord did not make the world and then leave it alone to run its course. Rather, He continues to uphold and sustain His creation (Heb. 1:1–4). God’s continuing involvement with creation is according to His design as He works out “all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). What is often forgotten when considering divine providence is that the angels are some of the many secondary agents through which the primary agent — God Himself — works out His plan. Angels themselves are not divine; they are creatures who, along with everything else the Almighty has made (Rev. 4:11), have an origin in space and time. That the Lord uses angels to govern His c...