The Prophet's Code

Structure of Daniel

The book of Daniel has the same structure as we have seen in the book of Revelation. Like Revelation, the prophet’s code begins in the middle and ripples out from there. What confirms this perfect symmetry is the fact that the book of Daniel is written in two different languages. Chapters one and chapters eight through twelve are written in Hebrew. The others chapters, chapters two through seven, are written in Aramaic. This helps us understand that chapter one and chapters eight through twelve are tied together.

Chapter one is about the destruction of Jerusalem, the defilement of the earthly sanctuary, and the capture of Daniel and his friends. Chapters eight through twelve are about the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, and the victory of God’s last day church.

The chapters in Aramaic are also in perfect symmetry. Chapter two describes the king’s dream where he saw an image made of four different metals. These four different metals symbolically represented the rise and fall of four different empires, Babylon (gold), Medo-Persia (silver), Greece (brass), and Rome (iron). In chapter seven, Daniel saw four different beasts representing the rise and fall of empires. There was Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Greece, (leopard), and Rome (the ferocious fourth beast). These two chapters are primarily about God’s judgment of the nations.

In chapter three we have the worship of the Babylonian golden image. Chapter six contains the worship of the king, Darius. We can see in these chapters how evil forces tried to destroy God’s people, but God intervened and protected His faithful ones.

Chapter four tells the story of the conversion of king Nebuchadnezzar. The death and eternal loss of king Belshazzar is told about in chapter five. Both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar had a problem with the root of all evil—pride. So why was Nebuchadnezzar saved and Belshazzar lost? For forty years Nebuchadnezzar refused to recognize the authority of the Son of God in his life. Fortunately in the end, he did accept and acknowledge the supremacy of Christ.

These central chapters teach us that the main issue in the war between Christ and Satan is concerning the authority of Jesus. This is the same central point in the book of Revelation, What will we do with Jesus? Will we reject His authority over us? Or will we receive Him into our hearts by faith and live by His words?