Preparation for suffer does not happen while suffering but prior. The final 3 chapters of Daniel contain 1 vision with the purpose of preparing us to suffer.

In response to Daniel’s prayer, the angel Gabriel delivers one of the most profound and glorious prophesies in all of the Old Testament.

Daniel models here a prayer of repentance and faith in God. He trusts God’s character of merciful love to fulfill his promises.

The world is not a playground. It is a battleground. And when the people of God are struck the ground the only question is ‘How long?’ How long before God deals with our enemies.

So far the stories of Daniel have all ended well. The question now is what if it doesn’t? Where is God on the day it all goes bad?

Faced with the choice of death or 30 days without prayer, Daniel chose death and was thrown into the pit of lions.

But he made it out alive. Why did Daniel make it out of the lion’s den? Hint: the kid’s story books are wrong…

As Belshazzar parties away his final days as king, we get an insight into the hollowness of life apart from God and the terror of judgment to come.

The question is – Who is King? Pride is the announcement that I am king.

This chapter is a battle between kings. And Nebuchadnezzar writes a letter to the world declaring that the ‘Most High rules the kingdom of men’.

Nebuchadnezzar commands the worship of his statue or die. But God’s people know that there is a fate far worse than death – to deny God and live.

The king can’t sleep. He demands his hired wizards to both tell him the dream and reveal it. But there is only one revealer of mysteries.