2006-06-13 - Daniel

Installment 3

2. Author: The following is taken from Halley's Handbook:

   "The book itself represents Daniel as its author (7:1, 28; 8:2; 9:2; 10:1, 2; 12:4, 5). Its genuineness was sanctioned by Christ (Matthew 24:15). It was so accepted by Jews and Early Christians. Porphyry, an infidel of the 3rd century a.d. propounded the theory that the book was a forgery of the period of the Maccabean revolt (168-164 b.c.). However, the traditional view that the book is a true historical document dating from the days of Daniel himself persisted unanimously among Christian and Jewish scholars, till the rise of modern criticism.

   "And now the critics, in the name of 'modern scholarship,' have revived the theory of Porphyry, and put it forth as a settled fact, that the book was written by an unknown author, who, living 400 years after the days of Daniel, assumed Daniel's name, and palmed off on his own generation his own spurious work, as the genuine work of a hero long dead...." ³

   "So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand" (Matthew 24:15).

   The problem, of course, is that critics start from the premise that there is no "supernatural" and therefore there is no foreknowledge from God. Like the Jesus Seminar, which decides what Jesus did or didn't say, there is a total rejection of God's involvement in the world and the lives of men. Obviously, if there is no supernatural, there can be no prophecy.

   "If the book is not exactly what it professes to be, how can we think that God could be a party to the deception? For writers to put forth their own ideas, in the names of heroes who lived long before, is not even common honesty. We suspect that the real crux of the attempt to discredit the book of Daniel is the unwillingness of intellectual pride to accept the marvelous miracles and amazing prophecies recorded in the book."⁴

³ Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1965, p. 341­342.
⁴ Ibid., p. 342.

Comments or Questions?
Geoff

GKragen@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org