Defending Daniel - Evidence for the Bible pt4

About this sermon

IMPORTANT UPDATE: It's been over 5 years since I posted this video and I have a really important update for you. One of my concerns in the video was that it was so difficult to find an accessible resource that walked you through this topic well and this was my motive for making one. But I have just found a resource that handles this issue MUCH BETTER than I did and I want to share it with you now. Dr. Jonathan McLatchie (a brilliant scholar) just posted a 90 page, well-footnoted treatment of the dating of Daniel and it is far better than my treatment in this video. I even went back and edited out some stuff from my video after reading his paper! I think it's a thoughtful, balanced and thorough treatment of the subject and while it might be just a bit challenging for laymen I think it's still well worth your time. Jonathan gives strong support for the early date, shows where some common arguments in defense of Daniel fall short (even some I shared in the video, which I have edited out to keep from providing any poor arguments in support of the early date, which I am still quite strongly convinced of), and even gives some new support for the early dating that I wasn't aware of before! Here's what I edited out, since I'm sure many will be interested. - Critics say that Belshazzar was not Nebuchadnezzar's son and I responded by quoting Herodotus who gives room for us to think that Belshazzar's grandfather was Nebuchadnezzar. However, Herodotus may be unreliable on this account and it is simpler to say that the "Son of Nebuchadnezzar" claim is about claiming to rightfully sit on the throne of Nebuchadnezzar and not a claim to be a biological descendant. Jonathan's article supports this perspective well. - I edited out some of my claims about the motives of critics. I've grown as a follower of Christ in the last several years and would not now make any conclusions about the motives of people with such broad strokes. Even if it could be true of some people it's a hasty generalization to make of all. In hindsight and with a few more years of life under my belt I see that I was being rude and I'm sorry. - I had said that Nebuchadnezzar was not known to be a builder by historians in the 2nd century BC but that's proven wrong by Jonathan's article when he shows Josephus quoting a 2nd century historian on the topic. This wouldn't be a strike against the early date for Daniel but it should not be used in support of it either. It's a non-issue when it comes to dating. - Finally, I removed a brief reference to Daniel being made a "third ruler" in the kingdom as support for Belshazzar being the 2nd ruler under his father. This is possible but it's equally possible that the queen mother was the 2nd ruler, in which case the point had nothing to offer us in supporting or refuting the early dating of Daniel. I'm grateful to Jonathan for helping us defend the Christian faith with even greater accuracy and intellectual integrity. HERE is Dr. Jonathan McLatchie's excellent work on the dating of Daniel https://jonathanmclatchie.com/the-authenticity-of-the-book-of-daniel-a-survey-of-the-evidence/ This is part of a series on Evidence for the Bible. The previous week's video on the provably fulfilled prophecy of Daniel 7-8 is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfQCgNLV6Rw Full "Evidence for the Bible" playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjnwldgqN8c&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuhA0RPKZFHVcjIMN_-F596

Topics

• Bible Study
• Second Coming