Daniel: Faithfulness, God's Kingdom, and Hope in Exile

Daniel: Faithfulness, God's Kingdom, and Hope in Exile is a 20-lesson study of Daniel 1-12. The course combines the book's powerful narratives of faithful living under foreign rule with careful study of its prophetic visions, emphasizing God's sovereignty, prayer, courage, the Son of Man, judgment, resurrection, and everlasting kingdom.

Learning Objectives

• Understand Daniel's exilic and imperial setting.
• Explain how Daniel and his companions model faithful service without compromising worship of God.
• Trace Daniel's teaching about God's sovereignty over rulers and kingdoms.
• Study prayer, wisdom, humility, courage, and integrity throughout the book.
• Interpret Daniel 7-12 with attention to literary context and explicit explanations of symbols.
• Explain the significance of the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man.
• Examine Daniel 9's prayer and seventy-weeks prophecy while recognizing major interpretive questions.
• Understand Daniel's teaching about persecution, judgment, resurrection, and hope.
• Apply Daniel's message to faithful Christian life in changing cultural and political settings.

Course Content

Twenty substantial self-study lessons cover Daniel 1-12: faithfulness in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, the fiery furnace, royal pride, writing on the wall, lions' den, four beasts, Ancient of Days, Son of Man, ram and goat, Daniel's prayer, seventy weeks, spiritual conflict, kings of north and south, persecution, resurrection, and God's everlasting kingdom. Each lesson includes teaching, a plain-text assignment, and four multiple-choice questions.