Daniel spent his long life as a successful civil servant, first under the Babylonians and then as head of the imperial administration of the vast Persian empire. He obviously did not run away from life and its responsibilities. He believed, in fact, that it is in the daily responsibilities of life that we are to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. From his long experience of men and events, he points out how fatally easy it is for us to get life’s values upside down; to treat things of relative value as if they were of absolute value, and things of absolute value as if they were of little or no value at all. As we study the prophecy of Daniel, may we hear his critique of the world’s education, politics, culture and values; consider with him the glorious and realistic hope that God sets before the world; and learn how rightly to prepare for the second coming of Christ.

I want to…