The W. A. Criswell Sermon Library

There is not a liberal theologian in the world who accepts the authenticity and integrity of the book of Daniel. All deny its authenticity. All declare it a blatant, patent forgery; its contents pure fiction. A pattern of denial for over 100 years.
Why this unceasing and vicious attack against the book? Because of the attempt on the part of modern rationalism to destroy the supernatural and the prophetic in the Bible. To make of the Bible a human book like any other book.
They start here because
(1) Daniel to them is most vulnerable
(2) Whatever else they may achieve in their destructive criticism, if this left intact, they have failed. No thesis against the supernatural in the Bible could stand as long as Daniel stands. A revelation of the years and the centuries that followed after: something only God could do.

I. Prophecy in the Bible

1. Prophecy is everywhere, throughout the Bible. Not incidental. The predictive element, like a Gulf Stream makes its way from shore to shore through the sacred Word. One writer avows that two-thirds of the Scriptures are prophetic either in type, symbol or direct statement. More than one-half of them are yet to be fulfilled.

2. Prophecy is unique to the Bible.
All other religious books contain no predictions as to the future. If their human authors had attempted to foretell the future, their errors, mistakes, mis-guesses, unfulfillments would long ago have discredited their writings. Only the Bible has prophecy. In no small part, bases its authority, authenticity, inspiration on prophecy.
cf. Jesus--John 14:29
cf. Moses--Deut. 18:21, 23
cf. Micaiah, Zedekiah--I K. 22:25; II Chron. 18
Jer. 29:21-23
cf. Jeremiah, Hananiah breaking yoke--Jer. 28:10-12
Prophecy is history written in advance. Only God could possess such foreknowledge.
cf. Dan. 2:45
Prophecy is two-fold: (1) exhortative (declarative); (2) predictive. The prophets were both forth-tellers and fore-tellers. They possessed both insight and foresight. Their utterances were not the deductions of reason but were imparted to them by the Holy Spirit. cf. II Pet. 1:21

3. As prophecy, like a great river, makes its way thru the Bible, it widens and deepens into veritable seas in two books of the sacred Word: Daniel and Revelation. Both violently attacked, but particularly and especially Daniel.

II. But How Attack Plain Prophecy?

Here it is written . . . here in after years fulfilled? How deny?

Can say of Israel crossing the Red Sea--"Reed Sea." Waded through--army drowned?!
" " " manna, common sap oozing from a desert plant
" " " Elijah's Mt. Carmel fire, a chance bolt of lightning
" " " Jesus' resurrection, a hallucination of the disciples
" " " Paul's Damascus Road conversion, an epileptic fit, a sun-stroke
But prophecy, prediction that is fulfilled. What say?

Porphyry showed the way
Let us get acquainted with him.
Born A.D. 233 in Tyre, Syria.
Studied under Origen at Caesarea, where is supposed he once a Christian
Came to Rome, studied under Plotinus, world-famed Neo-Platonic philosopher,
A.D. 263-268, of whom he became a passionate disciple, and whose teachings he popularized in the Empire.
A diligent student distinguished by great learning with a gift for historical and philosophical research. In his defense of polytheism, of national religions, the worship of the gods and of the whole Hellenic speculative system, he felt, along with his fellow Neo- Platonists that their great enemy was Christianity. Felt called upon to uproot the false teachings. He wrote, therefore, 15 books which he called Against the Christians, which gained for him the reputation of the most rabid and wicked of all the enemies of Christianity.
And his penchant for research--He largely directed his assault against the sacred books of the Christians, and this brought his attack against Daniel. He purported to preach that it was not prophecy at all. Was not written by Daniel. Was not written B.C. 535 during the exile but was written by some unknown Jew in B.C.168, during the time of the Maccabeans after all the events had already come to pass. A spurious forgery, written 400 years after says it was written.
An insult to the Christian faith. His works publicly destroyed by Emperor Theodosius II in A.D. 448. Without repercussion, thereafter, in the main stream of Christianity for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Thus, the modern rationalist-liberal movement that had its birth in higher critics of Germany. In their efforts to destroy the Bible or the Word of God, to reduce it to a common human denominator, turned to Porphyry and repeated his vicious attack against the book of Daniel. (Satan, nothing new. cf. Celsus, A.D. 150) That it is a forgery and that its author lived B.C.165. has become universally accepted among liberal-minded theologians today.
cf. "Cyrus" - Isa. 44:28; 45:1 Isaiah 1-39 Another unknown 40-66

III. Why A Concern to Us

1. Jesus called Daniel "a prophet" Matt. 28:15
Not the forger, deceiver Daniel, but "the prophet Daniel."

2. Daniel is the indispensable introduction to the New Testament, and especially to New Testament prophecy, and most especially to the Revelation. Woven into the warp and woof of New Testament revelation.
* (a) Sir Isaac Newton ". . . . . ."
3. The book is a classic of the very highest character. Reading it, again and again, the impressions of God's presence and voice
This attack upon it is founded upon the exigencies and necessities of modern rationalism. The visions of Daniel afford an unanswerable testimony to the reality of inspiration and the reality of the supernatural. This voice must be stilled.
Whatever a miracle in the Bible--they find a natural cause.
Whatever the date assigned 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the skeptics would reject the Messianic interpretation of it.
But if the visions of Daniel were truly, verily seen in the 6th century B.C., skepticism becomes impossible. Therefore, the farrago of the attack against the Book. The propaganda to degrade the Bible to the level of a human book found it essential to prove that Daniel was written after the events it professes to predict. To destroy prophecy is to destroy Christianity.

4. Christianity is a revealed religion or it is nothing at all. Job 11:7--Man by searching cannot find God. God must reveal Himself. The Bible, the record of that self-disclosure.
To take that supernatural self-disclosure out of the Word is to destroy the religion itself.
The attempt to make the faith but man's search for God is to lower it to the level of any other philosophical, religious system of which the world has too many.

But Christianity is alone, separate, unique, apart, exalted, holy. And this uniqueness can be seen in the prophets.
II. Pet. 1:19
Lk. 24:27
Acts 3:24
" 10:43
" 26:22, 27
II. Pet. 2:21
Rev. 19:10

* Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John I p10

"Whoever rejects the prophecies of Daniel does as much as if he undermined the Christian religion, which, so to speak, is founded on Daniel's prophecies of Christ."

Tyre
Born, Batania, Syria, 233 A.D.
Studied under Origen at Caesarea
Studied under Plotinus at Rome 263-268, of whom he became a passionate disciple
Traveled extensively, returned to Rome.
Died 305 A.D.

The most important of his productions was his work against Christianity which was publicly burned by Emperor Theodosius II in 448 A.D.

He regarded national religion justifiable, both the religions of the Greeks and those of the barbarians. He opposed strongly the complete morality of Christianity in his 15 books Against the Christians which were totally destroyed by Theodosius II in 448. Felt with all his fellow Neo-Platonists that the whole Hellenic system threatened by Christianity. Replies to him published Methodius and Eusebius of Caesarea and others.

270 A.D. for 2 years lived in Sicily where he wrote his 15 books against the Christians. Then returned to Rome where he worked as a teacher and editor of the work of Plotonius.

Porphyry recast and popularized the system of his master. A diligent student distinguished by great learning, by a turn for historical and philosophical criticism. Felt especially called upon to uproot false teaching, especially Christianity.

He stood up for the worship of the many gods and maintained the causes of every old, national religion.

His work Against the Christians--which gained for him the reputation of the most rabid and wicked of all the enemies of Christianity--was largely directed against the sacred books (Bible) of the Christians.

Works destroyed by Emperor Theodosius II in 448 B.C. Only know it from copious extracts written by Christians leaders--Augustine, Jerome, etc.

In book 12 of his extensive work against Christianity Porphyry discussed the book of Daniel and placed its author in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

But little impression upon the mainstream of Christianity until the birth of German rationalism. That its author lived during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes became universally accepted among liberal-minded scholars.