Lesson plan
Daniel 7
Daniel 7 (the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel) tells of Daniel's vision of four world-kingdoms replaced by the kingdom of the saints or "holy ones" of the Most High, which will endure for ever. Four beasts come out of the sea, the Ancient of Days sits in judgment over them, and "one like a son of man" is given eternal kingship. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the "holy ones" of God, but they will be destroyed and the "holy ones" will be given eternal dominion and power. Although set during the reign or regency of King Belshazzar (who probably died in 539 BCE), the prophetic chapters of the Book of Daniel date to 167–164 BCE, with Daniel 7 dated somewhat earlier than the rest. It is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient; it is also an eschatology, a divine revelation concerning the moment in which God will intervene in history to usher in the final kingdom. Its context is oppression of the Jews by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who outlawed Jewish customs and built an altar to Zeus in the Temple (the "abomination of desolation"), sparking a popular uprising which led to the retaking of Jerusalem and the Temple by Judas Maccabeus.…
Article summary
Daniel 7 (the seventh chapter of the Book of Daniel) tells of Daniel's vision of four world-kingdoms replaced by the kingdom of the saints or "holy ones" of the Most High, which will endure for ever. Four beasts come out of the sea, the Ancient of Days sits in judgment over them, and "one like a son of man" is given eternal kingship. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the "holy ones" of God, but they will be destroyed and the "holy ones" will be given eternal dominion and power. Although set during the reign or regency of King Belshazzar (who probably died in 539 BCE), the prophetic chapters of the Book of Daniel date to 167–164 BCE, with Daniel 7 dated somewhat earlier than the rest. It is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient; it is also an eschatology, a divine revelation concerning the moment in which God will intervene in history to usher in the final kingdom. Its context is oppression of the Jews by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who outlawed Jewish customs and built an altar to Zeus in the Temple (the "abomination of desolation"), sparking a popular uprising which led to the retaking of Jerusalem and the Temple by Judas Maccabeus.…
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.