Table Of ContentTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
Series Introduction
Daniel
Be Strong and of Good Courage (Preparing Our Children for
the Nations) 1:1-21
God’s Kingdom: The Only Kingdom That Will Never Be
Destroyed 2:1-49
Courage in the Fire! 3:1-30
Learning the Hard Way That God Is God and We Are Not
4:1-37
The Handwriting Is on the Wall 5:1-31
Daniel and the Lions’ Den 6:1-28
Is Anyone Really in Control? Yes! God Is! 7:1-28
And the Visions Keep on Coming! An Apocalyptic Ram,
Goat, and Little Horn 8:1-27
Lessons on Prayer from a Man of God 9:1-19
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks and the Glorious Work of Messiah
Jesus 9:20-27
The Life and Death Realities of Spiritual Warfare 10:1-21
Civil War: Just as God Said It Would Happen 11:1-20
Antiochus Epiphanes and the Antichrist: The Archenemies of
God’s People 11:21-45
Nine Marks of Eschatological Discipleship 12:1-13
Works Cited
Scripture Index
“Daniel is a book for our day. The first half of Daniel shares multiple,
encouraging examples that will help modern believers live faithfully for Christ
in today’s pagan, sinful culture. The last half of Daniel gives eschatological hope
to all Christians who anticipate Christ’s imminent return. Dr. Akin’s exegesis of
Daniel is precise in its explanation and practical in its application. I highly
recommend this excellent work.”
Steve Gaines, PhD, senior pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, president
of the Southern Baptist Convention
“This product of a scholar-pastor reflects the very best of each of these
nomenclatures—both sound scholarship and heart-warming counsel and
exposition of the text by a pastor who knows how to make the bridge from text
to theology, exegesis to exhortation, and literary technicality to life-changing
application.”
Eugene H. Merrill, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Studies Emeritus,
Dallas Theological Seminary
“Danny Akin is one of the most gospel-focused, morally courageous, and
exegetically skilled leaders in American Christianity. He lives up to his name as
a Daniel who is willing to speak truth, no matter the cost. In this excellent
commentary, you will be equipped to understand a biblical book that has proven
confusing for many. Don’t be intimidated away from the book of Daniel. This
commentary will provide you with a clear, rich, gospel-resonant guide.”
Russell Moore, president, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the
Southern Baptist Convention
“Daniel Akin’s commentary on the book of Daniel is part of the Christ-Centered
Exposition Commentary series that is designed to help pastors in their
preparation to accurately proclaim the Word of God. In the commentary Akin
outlines and explains the text of Daniel with a focus on exegetical accuracy. The
outlines and divisions of each passage apply the Scriptural teaching to a
contemporary modern audience with the aid of illustrations and theologically
focused applications. At the end of each carefully examined chapter is a section
on “How Does This Text Point to Christ?” or “Where Is Christ in This Text?”
This is followed by challenging questions directed toward believers today based
on the teaching of the passage.
“Being guided by the interpretive method that is found in the New Testament,
Akin reads the Bible with an explicit messianic focus. The whole Bible must be
read as Christian Scripture.
“This work is a model not only for the teaching of the book of Daniel but for
the analysis of other books of the Bible as well. Pastors and teachers concerned
about effectively proclaiming the book of Daniel (and other books of God’s
Word) will find this work to be an indispensable aid and model for proclaiming
Scripture in our modern age.”
Mark F. Rooker, senior professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary
“In a day of global political upheaval and rapidly changing cultural norms,
God’s people are facing incredible challenges to their faith. The lives of two
Daniels intersect in this volume to show us how to navigate those challenges
with integrity and godliness. One Daniel—a seasoned expositor and president—
uncovers for us how the other Daniel—a saintly exile and prophet—held fast to
the sovereignty of God amidst political opposition, religious persecution, and
spiritual warfare. The result is an exegetically accurate and contemporarily
relevant picture of living well as ‘sojourners and exiles’ in this world (cf. 1 Pet.
2:11). Read this book to help you see the glory of God’s eternal kingdom and the
Christ who reigns over it. Use it to learn how you and those you teach can live
faithfully as strangers in this world as you wait for the next.”
Jim Shaddix, D.Min, Ph.D., W. A. Criswell Professor of Expository Preaching,
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Daniel © Copyright 2017 by Daniel L. Akin
B&H Publishing Group
Nashville, Tennessee
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8054-9687-1
Dewey Decimal Classification: 220.7
Subject Heading: BIBLE. O.T. DANIEL— COMMENTARIES \ JESUS CHRIST
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the Christian Standard Bible® Copyright 1999,
2000, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Scripture passages marked ESV are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version®). ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry
of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of
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VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights
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Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©
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Scripture passages marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright ©
1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United
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BTH
SERIES DEDICATION
Dedicated to Adrian Rogers and John Piper. They have taught us to love the
gospel of Jesus Christ, to preach the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, to pastor
the church for which our Savior died, and to have a passion to see all nations
gladly worship the Lamb.
—David Platt, Tony Merida, and Danny Akin March 2013
AUTHOR’S DEDICATION
Dedicated to Daniel Lee, faithful pastor, preacher, evangelist, missionary, and
visionary of Global Mission Baptist Church in Seoul, Korea. You are a blessing
and inspiration to many.
—Danny Akin
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iam grateful for the wonderful assistance of Shane Shaddix, Mary Jo Haselton,
and Kim Humphrey. This volume would not be possible without your
invaluable assistance. Thank you for serving our Lord and me so well.
SERIES INTRODUCTION
Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks.” The editors of the
Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series believe that where God
speaks, the pastor must speak. God speaks through his written Word. We must
speak from that Word. We believe the Bible is God breathed, authoritative,
inerrant, sufficient, understandable, necessary, and timeless. We also affirm that
the Bible is a Christ-centered book; that is, it contains a unified story of
redemptive history of which Jesus is the hero. Because of this Christ-centered
trajectory that runs from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, we believe the Bible
has a corresponding global-missions thrust. From beginning to end, we see
God’s mission as one of making worshipers of Christ from every tribe and
tongue worked out through this redemptive drama in Scripture. To that end we
must preach the Word.
In addition to these distinct convictions, the Christ-Centered Exposition
Commentary series has some distinguishing characteristics. First, this series
seeks to display exegetical accuracy. What the Bible says is what we want to
say. While not every volume in the series will be a verse-by-verse commentary,
we nevertheless desire to handle the text carefully and explain it rightly. Those
who teach and preach bear the heavy responsibility of saying what God has said
in his Word and declaring what God has done in Christ. We desire to handle
God’s Word faithfully, knowing that we must give an account for how we have
fulfilled this holy calling (Jas 3:1).
Second, the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series has pastors in
view. While we hope others will read this series, such as parents, teachers,
small-group leaders, and student ministers, we desire to provide a commentary
busy pastors will use for weekly preparation of biblically faithful and gospel-
saturated sermons. This series is not academic in nature. Our aim is to present a
readable and pastoral style of commentary. We believe this aim will serve the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third, we want the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series to be
known for the inclusion of helpful illustrations and theologically driven
applications. Many commentaries offer no help in illustrations, and few offer
any kind of help in application. Often those that do offer illustrative material and
application unfortunately give little serious attention to the text. While giving
ourselves primarily to explanation, we also hope to serve readers by providing
inspiring and illuminating illustrations coupled with timely and timeless
application.
Finally, as the name suggests, the editors seek to exalt Jesus from every book
of the Bible. In saying this, we are not commending wild allegory or fanciful
typology. We certainly believe we must be constrained to the meaning intended
by the divine Author himself, the Holy Spirit of God. However, we also believe
the Bible has a messianic focus, and our hope is that the individual authors will
exalt Christ from particular texts. Luke 24:25-27,44-47 and John 5:39,46 inform
both our hermeneutics and our homiletics. Not every author will do this the same
way or have the same degree of Christ-centered emphasis. That is fine with us.
We believe faithful exposition that is Christ centered is not monolithic. We do
believe, however, that we must read the whole Bible as Christian Scripture.
Therefore, our aim is both to honor the historical particularity of each biblical
passage and to highlight its intrinsic connection to the Redeemer.
The editors are indebted to the contributors of each volume. The reader will
detect a unique style from each writer, and we celebrate these unique gifts and
traits. While distinctive in their approaches, the authors share a common
characteristic in that they are pastoral theologians. They love the church, and
they regularly preach and teach God’s Word to God’s people. Further, many of
these contributors are younger voices. We think these new, fresh voices can
serve the church well, especially among a rising generation that has the task of
proclaiming the Word of Christ and the Christ of the Word to the lost world.
We hope and pray this series will serve the body of Christ well in these ways
until our Savior returns in glory. If it does, we will have succeeded in our
assignment.
David Platt
Daniel L. Akin
Tony Merida
Series Editors
February 2013
