Sermon Tone Analysis

THE APOCALYPTIC GOD IN DANIEL

The book of Daniel shows us new dimensions of the Old Testament view of God.

Especially the description of the apocalyptic God, which is important in Daniel but seldom discussed.

As we continue to walk through the world of/within the text of Daniel, we’ll build on our earlier discussions and look at other ways that the text depicts God.

In this way, we will draw connections between the first half (court tales) and second half (visions) of the book.

First, the book as a whole uses a multitude of names, references, and elaborate descriptions to present us with a multifaceted view of the Hebrew God.

In the court tales (chs.

1–6), the narrator has a sharp focus on the hand of God.

God actively works among his faithful servants—Daniel and his three friends—through miraculous rescues, protection, and guidance.

God is in control of the rising and falling of kings and empires, as well as in the promotion and survival of Daniel and his faithful group.

From another angle, the sovereignty of God is exhibited through the contests between two kings—first Belshazzar, then Darius—and the confident Daniel (chs. 5 and 6), between the earthly rulers and the Hebrew God (ch.

3, esp.

v. 29), and between court officials and Daniel (chs.

2–6).

Reading the book as resistance literature or as a survival manual, one can see the overarching message that the hand of God is always working in the history of Judah; it’s a message that echoes through every chapter of the book.

With the view of God presented in the historical recitation of 9:2–19 (the penitential prayer) as a theological backbone, chapters 7–12 use a host of highly descriptive elements and a variety of names to present us with an otherworldly, awe-inspiring portrait of the sovereign God.

God is the Ancient of Days; the one who carries out judgment (7:9–10) and sets the appointed time (11:27, 29, 33); the humanlike figure riding on clouds (7:13–14); the one who works through his angels and heavenly messengers, like Gabriel and Michael (7:21–27; 8:13–16; 10:12–11:1; 12:5–7); the Most Holy and the Anointed One (9:24–26).

God is the one dressed in linen above the water of the river (12:5–6).

The most extraordinary description is the luminous and fearful man (10:2–6) who speaks like the sound of a multitude (10:6).

God is also the divine warrior who fights for his people and punishes those who oppress them (chs.

10–11).

To modern readers, not only is this portrayal of God rich and splendid, but it also engages our senses and imaginations through its use of “apocalyptic” literary traits to communicate its theology.

A rational analysis of the names of God wouldn’t be enough.

Moreover, the apocalyptic understanding of God is revealed to us through the visions of Daniel, in his own voice.

Daniel watches with his eyes, hears with his ears, feels the impact of the visions physically and emotionally, seeks to understand the full extent of the visions, and initiates the deep cry, “How long?” (12:6–8).

Through the literary medium of a first-person vision report, Daniel invites all of his contemporaries, as well as we modern readers, into the experiential dimension of his visions.

In other words, Daniel views God as a being who may be experienced in life-transforming ways by people of faith.

Readers are encouraged to experience God as Daniel experiences him: with all our being, and in awe of him.

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

The word “apocalypse” derives from the Greek word for a supernatural revelation (apokalypsis).

Revelations in the Bible are usually visions, which are explained by an angel, concerning heavenly mysteries (for instance, God’s throne in heaven or the climax of history).

Some of the imagery in Daniel’s visions parallel ancient Near Eastern mythology (for example, beasts rising from the sea, the figure riding on the clouds, etc.).

There are also parallels to earlier passages in the Hebrew Bible (see Isa 24–27).

Second, the distinctiveness of the portrayal of God within the book of Daniel is shown in the extent of God’s intervention.

In the Old Testament, God is reaching out and speaking to humanity through the voice of Moses and the prophets.

Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job show us a new side of the dynamic: humanity is reaching out/speaking to God.

The realm of this twofold framework (God reaching out/speaking to humanity and humanity reaching out/speaking to God) is placed within the history of humankind—in other words, on the earthly scene.

In Daniel, from chapter 11 onward, God’s intervention in the history of humankind is slowly moving toward another sphere—over and beyond human history.

This is the true function of apocalyptic literature: It takes an entirely new genre to communicate the mystery of the sovereign God, the events of the end times, and the dynamics in their unfolding, such as the final victory of God for his people (11:40–12:10), the promise of resurrected life (12:2–3, 12), and the eternal perseverance of the people of God (the saints; 12:11–12).

God’s intervention moves from the earthly scene to a realm of over and beyond human history.

Third, the book of Daniel portrays God as mysterious.

There are dimensions of the apocalyptic vision of God that are puzzling to Daniel—not to mention to us modern readers—even when angels explain his vision.

Perhaps this fits with the function and nature of apocalyptic literature—to communicate mysteries while maintaining their mysteriousness.

It would be difficult for us to pinpoint all of the characteristics of God shown in Daniel.

Among the emphatic announcements that the visions are true (10:1), and that the message is truth from the Book of Truth (11:2), and in the assurance that things will happen at the appointed time, readers may acquire glimpses into the mystery of the sovereign God.

He is the one who decrees, who sets appointed times, and who is in full control of world events.

DANIEL AND OUR OWN TRANSFORMATION

Kazoh Kitamori was probably the first Asian-American theologian to contribute to the theology of the pain of God.

His monograph Theology of the Pain of God came out in the mid-1960s.

In identifying himself with the pain and suffering of the Japanese nation during the aftermath of the atomic bomb, he wrote this insightful and penetrating book.

In the context of biblical interpretation, this process may be referred to as the process of “appropriation,” in which the experiences of others in an ancient text—in our case, the book of Daniel—are brought into conversation with modern faith.

Appropriation

We begin with the concept of appropriation as the practice of bringing any given text in the Bible into contextual relevance for the reader.

Andrew D. Kille notes that “appropriation involves not only an analysis of various aspects of the text, it requires a re-expression of those elements in a way the reader can grasp.”

Appropriation is a two-way street, from the world of the text to the circumstances of the reader and vice versa.

It takes place in the interactive space between the reader’s own world and the possible world projected by the text and is controlled neither by the text nor by the reader.

Appropriation occurs in the intersection between text and reader, through the interplay of their perspectives, and takes two distinct steps: reliving and reexpressing.

Toward a Renewed Affirmation of Our Faith in the Apocalyptic God

We have already discussed the importance of the exotic and elaborate depictions of God in the book of Daniel, which are highlighted by a host of divine names.

There is, however, always an element of mystery and suspense behind these depictions.

Just like the exilic community in Daniel’s time, our collective and individual experiences of God are most often based on who God is.

God saves, protects, guides, comforts, sustains, and empowers us through his intervention in our lives.

Through the six court tales (chs.

1–6), the original audience learned of and preserved the acts of God as they played out in history.

In a similar way, our faith is built on the promises and our experiential knowledge of God.

The revelation of various dimensions of divine mystery, especially toward the end of the present era (chs.

11 and 12), creates a sense of suspense and uncertainty that may challenge our faith.

Daniel expresses the same sentiment with his earnest desire to know “how long?” (12:6).

The same inquiry, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled?”

(8:13), in combination with nonspecific references (for example, “at the appointed time” [11:27, 29]; “a time yet to come” [10:14]) and the timeframe presented via the apocalyptic timetables (for example, 2,300 evenings and mornings [8:14]; 1,290 days and 1,335 days [12:12]) suggest that our interpretive goal should not be to decode the mysteries of Daniel but to renew our faith in the Most High and sovereign God, the God of gods (11:36).

The narrator drives this point home most strongly at the end of the four visions.

Toward the end of the first-person retellings of the visions, Daniel is given a promissory charge: “But you, go on to the end, and you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of days” (12:13, my translation).

On the one hand, we may wonder whether it is enough for Daniel to “go on to the end,” whenever that may be, or if more is required of him.

The same could be said of the ideas of “rest” and “[rising] to receive your allotted inheritance” (12:13).

On the other hand, the promise of resurrection and eternal reward was more distant and foreign for Daniel and his contemporaries than for us.

The ending of Daniel is, in essence, a call to put our trust in the eternal promise of the sovereign God who will bring these things to pass at their appointed time.

At the end of Daniel’s visionary experience, that which has calmed his tormented soul also has a soothing effect on us: “But you, [Carver/Christine/Warren], go on to the end; for you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of days” (12:13, my translation).

Second, in addition to the revelation of God through the other books of the Old Testament, God’s intervention in the book of Daniel is over and beyond human history (especially in chs.

11–12).

From the third-person perspective of the narrator of chapters 1–6, God’s sovereignty manifests through his work on the earthly scene.

God continues to rule over world events in present and future eras, and will be in control over and beyond human history.

What, then, are the implications for those of us who are pilgrims on this journey?

To relive the turbulence of Daniel’s time and to reexpress the significance of this aspect of the apocalyptic God so that, somehow, we can come to terms with the extent of human evil and the intensity and magnitude of human suffering in our chaotic world.

In spite of current appearances, the sovereign God is still in control—this is how we may appropriate the message of Daniel in our daily lives.

Daniel as Resistance Literature and as a Survival Manual

Reading Daniel chapters 1–6 as resistance literature and as a manual for survival highlights the coping strategy that Daniel adopts.

Daniel’s world is unpleasant and difficult for him because he is a religious and ethnic minority under foreign rule.

Perseverance and the ability to adapt are necessary tools for survival.

If we read Daniel as a success story, the overall values of the narrator of chapters 1–6 are loyalty, optimism, and, perhaps, accommodation to the ruling power, but not to the extent of giving up individual identity (in Daniel’s case, being a Jew from Judea).

Crossing borders between their home and host cultures, immigrant families today go through the same journey of alienation, adaptation, assimilation, and, for some, reorientation.

As in Daniel, pleasure, pain, success, and failure are among the possibilities of border crossing.

Daniel exemplifies an individual’s breaking away from captive status to become an aspiring sage in an adopted culture, bringing the positive characteristics provided to him by his home culture into the royal court and using his background for the good of all.

Failing to see this possibility, we might remain perpetual captives in a free land, hiding the good that we have to offer our new situation and neighbors.

Daniel is also a text that is often appropriated by people who discover that it speaks to the contexts in which they find themselves.

In 9:2, Daniel himself turns to a text—Jeremiah—as he seeks to understand his present situation.

In doing so, he mirrors our search for meaning and significance in the traditions that have been handed down to us.

If Daniel can be read as a manual for survival under hostile and dominating empires, then Daniel and his group’s coping strategy is the subtle yet creative use of satire and humor.

This may have profound implications for coping strategies on the part of minority persons today—in society at large, as well as in some professional fields.

The “Daniel” in Each of Us: Tension between Public and Private

Leung Lai, B. M. (2016).

Glimpsing the Mystery: The Book of Daniel.

(C.

G. Bartholomew, Ed.) (p.