Why Daniel? | A Book Like No Other

Over the course of the previous posts, we have explored ten ways the ancient Book of Daniel is of tremendous importance today. Our journey has taken us through a wide range of issues—from the perils of the digital age to studies of ancient tablets; from the current epidemic of loneliness to the beleaguered Jewish State. Daniel has much to say regarding these topics as well as insights on subjects that we haven’t yet encountered. Perhaps you have already begun to dip into the book or even given it a full reading. However, before we dive into this book together, let’s pause and consider what we have discovered and what these findings show us about all Scripture.

Scripture is odd. It stands out! What kind of book can teach me about my computer, my commitments, my church, my confused friend, my condition, my calling, my canon, my college class, my current news, and my Creator? It is written to all people yet clearly meant for each of us personally. It was written in ancient times and yet is perfectly fitting for our present needs. It is remarkably human yet undeniably divine.

It has become common today for people to question the idea of Scripture—that a book could stand as God’s holy and error-free communiqué to us. Many scholars assert that the ancient world was awash with religious books and that the books of the Bible became “holy” only because they served the sociopolitical interests of the elite that selected and imposed them upon society. However, there is no basis for this theory—whether in Scripture itself, in ancient history, or in our personal experience (Dt. 18; Jn. 4:7–26, 39–42).

The truth is that a scriptus (Latin for “a product of writing”) became Scripture because it was found to be miraculously exceptional. Its contents did not require the aid of human authority because their divine origin was self-evident to all who encountered them (2 Ki. 22; 2 Tim. 3:10–17; 2 Pet. 3). Is it not so today? Is there any book as beloved and as reviled as the Bible? It is the exceptional and inherent value of the Book of Daniel that demands our reverence and attention. And so it is with all Scripture.