2. The Texts and Books of the OT (7)

The book of Daniel contains three detailed predictions of the overthrow of the Babylonian empire by Medo-Persia. It also prophesies the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, the breakdown into four smaller powers after Alexander’s death, and the subsequent rise of Rome (Daniel chapters 7-12).[23] As the book of Daniel is claimed to be written by Daniel – in Babylon , during the exile – around 535 BC, these prophecies were made centuries before the events.

Liberal critics push the date for the composition of Daniel to near 165 BC, in an effort to discredit the book’s prophecies about the Greek and Roman empires. Their claim, however, stretches far beyond available evidence. The case for an early date includes the detailed knowledge of sixth century BC events not known by a later author, various archaeological discoveries that confirm the names of characters/kings in the book, the use of early Aramaic language by the author and the similarity of theology between Daniel and the other books of the Old Testament written in the 700-500 BC period.[24] Ezekiel, the sixth century prophet known to be a contemporary of Daniel, refers to Daniel three times in his book (Ezekiel 14:14, 14:20 and 28:30) and these references are convincing evidence for the traditional view.[25] Considering that Daniel was included in the LXX (translated before 250 BC) it becomes obvious the 165 BC date simply will not work. Lastly, among the Dead Sea Scrolls eight manuscripts of Daniel survive, one of these was dated to the late second century BC. It is highly unlikely the book would have been accepted as Scripture by the Qumran community and placed along side other sacred books only a few years after its composition.[26]

Even if the 165 BC date were to be considered, the prophecies about “the fourth beast” ( Rome ) would still have been recorded about 100 years before the events (the rise of the Roman Empire occurred around 60 BC).

Besides its many prophecies of world events, Daniel contains accurate predictions about Christ. As we will discuss in detail later[27], Daniel 9:24:27 – the “Seventy Sevens” Prophecy – predicts the exact day for Palm Sunday – the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem . As with Isaiah, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the LXX present undisputed evidence that this book was written centuries before the birth of Christ.