Kevin Michalek joined James on Advent Media Connect again for an in-depth study of Daniel chapter 6, the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. It picks up where their earlier conversation on Daniel 12 left off. Kevin reads Daniel 6 as more than a story of one faithful man: he sees it as a picture of what God’s people will face at the end of time.
A narrative that mirrors prophecy
The first six chapters of Daniel are narratives, and chapters 7 through 12 are prophecy. Kevin treats the book as a Hebrew parallelism, so chapter 6 sheds light on chapter 12. His starting point is Daniel 12:11: “from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
The Hebrew word for “daily” or “continual” is tamid. Kevin connects it with the table of showbread, the Word of God that “endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8), and with the Sabbath as God’s covenant sign (Exodus 31). In his reading, the removal of the continual is the replacement of the Sabbath with a counterfeit, and that marks the start of the prophetic periods in Daniel 12.
The 30-day decree
In Daniel 6:7, the king’s officials ask Darius to sign a decree that for 30 days no one may pray to any god or man except the king. Kevin points out that the same 30-day gap separates the 1,260 days of Daniel 12:7 and the 1,290 days of Daniel 12:11. He sees it as a final test before the close of probation, and compares the 30 days and the 45 days that follow (to the 1,335 days of Daniel 12:12) with Christ’s experience in Gethsemane and on the cross.
Why a test? Kevin read Deuteronomy 8:2, where Israel was led 40 years in the wilderness “to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” The question in Daniel 6, he says, is the same question each of us will face: whose king will I be loyal to?
A law that cannot be changed
Once Darius signed the decree, even he could not reverse it (Daniel 6:8–9, 15). Kevin and James discussed the parallel with Esther, where the king was also persuaded by men with their own agenda to sign a law against God’s people. Kevin sees in both stories a warning about religious goals being enforced through civil law, and about how chaos can push people to give up their freedoms for a law that promises order.
Daniel kept praying
When Daniel knew the decree was signed, he went home, opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed three times a day, “as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). He did not hide. James observed that Satan’s real target was Daniel’s prayer life, because that relationship with God was the source of his strength. Kevin linked the three daily prayers to the Feast of Trumpets, when the shofar sounded three times a day and grew louder as the Day of Atonement approached.
The sealed den and the shut mouths
Kevin drew out several details from the rest of the chapter:
- Verses 4–5: Daniel’s enemies could find no fault in him “except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
- Verse 17: the king sealed the stone over the den with his own signet, which Kevin compares to God’s seal on His people.
- Verse 22: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths.” Kevin reads the lion as the enemy who “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), whose lies could not destroy someone anchored in God’s Word.
- Verses 25–28: the king’s closing decree and blessing, “peace be multiplied unto you,” which Kevin sees as a picture of the final deliverance and the kingdom “which shall not be destroyed.”
What we can take from Daniel
Asked what we should do now, Kevin’s first answer was simple: Daniel never broke his chain of prayer. Prayer “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) does not always mean being on our knees; it can mean turning off the radio in the car and talking honestly with God. He encouraged going deeper in Scripture, with concordances and word studies, and reading The Desire of Ages to grow in appreciation of Christ.
He also urged being real with God, as Job was. God is not easily offended, and honesty brings us closer. And he returned to a verse he often quotes, Galatians 5:6: faith “worketh by love.” The deeper our understanding of God’s love, the stronger our faith will be when it is tested.
Watch the full study
Watch it on the Advent Media Connect YouTube channel, and find Kevin’s earlier studies on Daniel 12 and the 144,000 on our Videos page.