Conclusion of DANIEL - A BOOK ON TRAIL, Chapter Two

Where do such ideas originate?  Criticism of the book of Daniel is not new.  It started back in the third century C.E. with a philosopher named Porphyry. Like many in the Roman Empire, he felt threatened by the influence of Christianity. He wrote 15 books to undermine this "new religion.  the 12th was directed against the book of Daniel. Porphyry pronounced the book a forgery, written by a Jew in the second century B.C.E. Similar attacks cam in the 18th and 19th centuries.  In the view of higher critics  and rationalists, prophecy-the foretelling of future  events - is impossible. Daniel became a favorite target. In effect, he and his book were put on trial in court. Critics (note: I do not believe in critics for anything, except for Jehovah and Jesus Christ, it is  the and only them that have the right ) claimed to have ample proof that the book was written, not by Daniel during the Jewish exile in Babylon, but by someone else centuries later.  (Satan does those things, puts wrong info to mislead people)  Such attacks became so profuse that one author even wrote a defense called Daniel in the Critic's Den. 

Is there proof behind the confident assertions of the critics?  Or does the evidence back the defense? A lot is at stake here. It is not just the reputation of this ancient book but also our future that is involved. If the book of Daniel is a fraud, its promises for mankind's future are just hollow words at best. But if it contains genuine prophecies, doubtless you will be eager to learn what these mean for us today.  With that in mind, let us examine some of the attacks upon Daniel.

Take for example, the charge made in The Encyclopedia Americana:  "Many historical details of the earlier periods  [such as that of the Babylonian exile] have been badly garbled" in Daniel. Is this really so? Let us consider three alleged mistakes, one at a time.  (Note; You have to understand that the Book of Daniel is in the Bible, these are God's words that prophets have written down  in their hand.)  

 Next time: THE CASE OF THE MISSING MONARCH 

From the Book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999