The Handwriting on the Wall: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel

The Handwriting on the Wall. A book in 24 chapters and eleven appendixes, explaining the historical context of Daniel s life and prophecies, what those prophecies meant to the first generation who heard them, and what they continue to mean. A commentary that for the first time in our day takes with total seriousness the fact that Daniel spoke and wrote for those of his own day first for those still living in Jerusalem who were supposed to submit to God's New Empire, and then to those living in exile and looking to the future. Unlike liberal commentaries, The Handwriting on the Wall takes seriously the claim that Daniel and his contemporaries put this book together. In this respect, this commentary stands within the mainstream of all Jewish and Christian commentaries. But unlike most conservative commentaries, the author, James B. Jordan, refuses to jump the prophecies off until the end of time, but takes seriously what they meant for those who heard them. Like any scholarly commentary, however, The Handwriting on the Wall is based on careful treatment of the grammar of the Hebrew and Aramaic text, and reflects a thoroughgoing familiarity with scholarly treatments of Daniel, liberal and conservative, up to the present day. Finally, The Handwriting on the Wall is written in a reader-friendly style, designed for layman, pastor, and scholar alike. Jordan successfully takes the reader both into the amazing stylistic features of the text and into the amazing adventures of the protagonists. The Handwriting on the Wall takes a Covenant Historical Approach to interpreting the imagery of God's prophecies revealed to Daniel. The prophecies of Daniel deal with the events in the Covenantal Era that were dawning in Daniel's lifetime: the Restoration Era after the exile and the return of God's people back to the land, city, and temple. There are no historical parentheses or gaps, no leaps of thousands of years into the future. Nor is the book of Daniel concerned about predicting the course of European church history after the apostolic age and into our time. This book is not only a commentary on Daniel, but an education in how to read and study the texts of the word of God. PLUS receive with your purchase of this book Gary DeMar's 13 MP3 Download series How to Have Dominion in a Hostile World!* Read more