3rd Year of the Reign of King Jehoiachin

• 606/605 BC

Deportations

1. First Deportation [2Ki 24:1-4] 605BC

1. First Deportation A

1. King Jehoiakim is taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon [2Chr 36:5-6]
2. "Nebuchadnezzar ...took to Babylon articles from the temple of Yahweh and put them in his temple there." [2Chr 36:7]
3. Jehoiachin, son of King Jehoiakim, is installed in place of his captive father [2Chr 36:8-9]

2. First Deportation B

   (in the Spring)
1. King Jehoiachin is sent for by Nebuchadnezzar [2Chr 36:10] and
2. More articles from the temple of Yahweh are taken to Babylon along with him [2Chr 36:10]
3. Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, is made king over Judah and Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar [2Chr 36:10]

2. Second Deportation [2Ki 25:1-9] 586BC

1. The Temple in Jersualem is destroyed

Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego) Enter into Training for Service to the King

Daniel (Belteshazzar), along with Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego) [Dan 1:6-7], were among the captives taken from Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ₂And Yahweh delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. [Dan 1:1-2]

The Consecration of the Four Men

1. Daniel and his friends were taken captive and
2. Brought into the service of King Nebuchadnezzar [Dan 1:6-7]
3. Under the charge of "Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials," [Dan 1:3]
4. They were chosen as qualified to serve in the king’s palace based on the following requirements,
1. They were from the royal family and the nobility [Dan 1:3]
2. They were young men,
3. Without any physical defect,
4. Handsome,
5. Showing aptitude for every kind of learning,
6. Well informed,
7. Quick to understand [Dan 1:4].
   
5. They were
1. Assigned a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table [Dan 1:5], and to be
2. Taught the language and literature of the Babylonians [Dan 1:5]
3. For 3 years [Dan 1:5]
6. Ashpenaz, the chief of Nebuchadnezzar's court officials gave them new names [Dan 1:7]
1. To Daniel, the name Belteshazzar;
2. To Hananiah, Shadrach;
3. To Mishael, Meshach; and
4. To Azariah, Abednego
7. Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and tried to get permission from Ashpenaz, but he was turned down [Dan 1:8-10]
8. Daniel then approached the guard set over him and the three others with him, to be tested for 10 days [Dan 1:11-14]
9. After 10 days, Daniel and his friends "looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food." [Dan 1:15]

Daniel and the Three Enter the King's Service

1. After Three Years of training [Dan 1:5],
2. Daniel and the Three were presented to the King [Dan 1:18] and
3. "In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." [Dan 1:20]

Daniel's Third Year of Captivity

1. Daniel and the Three were to be in training for Three Years [Dan 1:5],
2. Therefore, their presentation to the King [Dan 1:18] must have been in the Third Year of their captivity

Daniel Leaves the Kings Court

"Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus." [Dan 1:21]

2nd Year of Nebuchadnezzar's Reign

"In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep." [Dan 2:1]

Nebuchadnezzar's Statue Dream

"In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep." [Dan 2:1]

Nebuchadnezzar has a dream [Dan 2:1] and God reveals both the dream and its interpretation to Daniel who then tells the King [Dan 2:1].

1. Nebuchadnezzar has a dream [Dan 2:1] which he demands his wise men to both tell him and interpret [Dan 2:2-11].
   
2. The wise men tell the King that his request is impossible and so he decides to execute them all [Dan 2:2-11]
3. Arioch the commander of the King's guard is sent to execute the wise men of Babylon [Dan 2:14]
4. Daniel asks the King for some time and he [Dan 2:14-16] and the Three seek God's face for the dream and its meaning [Dan 2:17-18]
5. Daniel is show the dream by God that same night [Dan 2:19]
6. Daniel then meets Arioch who then takes him to the King and then Daniel relates the dream and its meaning to the King [Dan 2:24-45]
7. Nebuchadnezzar falls prostrate before Daniel and pays him honor and orders that an offering and incense be presented to him. [Dan 2:46]
8. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges Daniel's God to be “...the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries...” [Dan 2:47]
9. Then the king
1. Placed Daniel in a high position and
2. Lavished many gifts on him.
3. Made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and
4. Placed him in charge of all its wise men. [Dan 2:48]
10. Also, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon  [Dan 2:49]
11. Daniel himself remained at the royal court [Dan 2:49]
    

<blockquote>"...Daniel himself remained at the royal court." [<a class="rtBibleRef" href="https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/Dan%202.49" data-reference="Dan 2.49" data-version="nkjv" data-purpose="bible-reference" target="_blank">Dan 2:49</a>]</blockquote>

Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon... [Dan 2:49]

Burning Furnace

1. The Three, i.e., Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden image [Dan 3:18] which he had made and had commanded everyone to worship [Dan 3:1-6].
2. Nebuchadnezzar, therefore, has them thrown into the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual [Dan 3:19-23].
3. Nebuchadnezzar then sees “...four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” [Dan 3:24-25]
1. He later calls this "one like a son of the gods" an angel/messenger sent by the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego [Dan 3:28]
4. Nebuchadnezzar then calls them out of the fire and all gather round them [Dan 3:26-27]
   
5. He praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and commands that no speak against their God on the threat of a very severe punishment [Dan 3:28-29]
6. The king then promoted the three in the province of Babylon [Dan 3:30]

Burning Furnace

King Nebuchadnezzar makes and image and demands all people to worship it but the Three do not, are punished, miraculously saved and promoted in the province of Babylon [Dan 3]

King Nebuchadnezzar Insane for 7 Time

King Nebuchadnezzar lives as an animal for seven years (or months)

A Sentence is Passed Against King Nebuchadnezzar

King Nebuchadnezzar is Restored

King Nebuchadnezzar is Punished By God Most High

The Divine Council Meets

God and the Watcher or holy ones meet and a sentence it passed against King Nebuchadnezzar [Dan 4:17]

The End of the Babylonian Kingdom

1. King Belshazzar offends God by using vessels from His temple to drink and feast even though he knows that He is God Most High
2. God judges him, passes sentence against him decreeing the end of his reign and sends a hand to write the sentence
3. Daniel interprets it for the king
4. That night Belshazzar is overthrown and Darius the Mede takes power [Dan 5:30-31]

Darius the Mede and the God of Daniel

1. Darius the Mede
1. Knew that Daniel served God continually [Dan 6:16]
2. Even before he had known that Daniel was saved, recognized Daniel's God as "the Living God" [Dan 6:20] 

Daniel & the Lions' Den

1. Daniel is thrown in the lions' den for worshipping God instead of King Darius [Dan 6:13,16].
2. God's angel shut the mouth of the lions so that they did not hurt Daniel [Dan 6:21-22]
1. How did Daniel know that it was God's angel and not some other means that God used?
2. Did Daniel see the angel?
3. Daniel's enemies are thrown in the lions' den [Dan 6:24]
4. King Darius issues a decree to all people to "fear and reverence the God of Daniel" [Dan 6:25-27].
5. Daniel prospers during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian [Dan 6:28]

The Angel of Dan 10 Takes His Stand to Support Darius the Mede

(No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince. ₁₁And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) [Dan 10:21 -- Dan 11:1]

The angel, in the words above, speaks as though Daniel knew him or about him.

Identifying the Angel of Dan 10

Angels in the First Year of Darius the Mede

There are three accounts of angelic presence during the first year of Darius the Mede.

1. The angel God sent to deliver Daniel from the lion's den [Dan 6:22]
2. The angel Gabriel who, in answer to Daniel's prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, brought the prophecy of the Seventy Sevens [Dan 9:21]
3. The angel who was resisted by the Prince of Persia for 21 days, who brought the prophecy to Daniel in answer to his prayers [Dan 10:12-13]. He said that he took his stand to support and protect Darius the Mede in his first year [Dan 11:1]

The presence of this angel in the first year of Darius the Mede explains why there was such angelic activities in that year.

This angel's activities may either

1. Have made it possible for other angels to come and go easily or means that
2. He was, in fact, the angel Gabriel and the same angel who stopped the lions' mouths.

Three, Two or One Angel?

What would have been the point of sending another angel to deliver Daniel from the lions' den or to bring him the Seventy Sevens revelation when there was already a mighty and very knowledgeable angel on ground?

If Gabriel is not one of the two angels [Dan 12:5] that came with this angel, then he is in fact Gabriel.

The big question is why Daniel did not address him as Gabriel as he earlier did [Dan 9:21] if he was indeed Gabriel?

Gabriel and the Dan 10 Angel

1. If we went simply by the meaning of the name Gabriel, then we would recognize Gabriel as a warrior of God and not simply as someone who delivered messages for God.
1. Now, the angel that appeared to Daniel was apparently a warrior and like Gabriel he came simply to deliver a message to Daniel.
2. Therefore, by name and mission, this angel is Gabriel.
2. When the angel of Dan 10 says that no one helps him except for Michael [Dan 10:21], it suggests that this angel is Gabriel
   
1. By his words, he speaks as though Gabriel did not exist for if Gabriel existed, then Michael wouldn't have been the only angel helping him.
2. So, since we know that Gabriel exists, we ask, "Where is Gabriel? Why is he not like Michael helping this angel?".
3. If Gabriel would truly have helped this angel, yet this angel does not speak of Gabriel helping him, then this angel must have himself been Gabriel. And, of course, if he is Gabriel, he wouldn't have spoken of himself as helping himself.
   
3. They are both present in the First Year of the reign of Darius the Mede
1. Gabriel was evidently present during the First Year of Darius the Mede and so he brought the answer to Daniel
2. In Dan 10, the angel said that he took his stand to help Darius in the same year
3. Now, if both were present, why didn't the Dan 10 angel bring the explanation to Daniel?
4. They both have an above average knowledge of prophecy and are sent in response to Daniel's request for understanding
5. Gabriel was sent twice with revelation to Daniel [Dan 8:16; 9:21]. Would God have sent another angel the third time?
1. When he came the second time to Daniel, he said a word was sent and that he had come with the word
   • At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out and I have come to tell it to you... [Dan 9:23 ESV].
   If so, and if he was different from the other angel, why was he sent and not Gabriel?
2. The angel of Dan 10 said
• “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. [Dan 10:12 ESV]
  
6. Considering Gabriel's testimony recorded by Luke, this angel is Gabriel
1. Twice, Gabriel brought messages from God--very high profile messages. The conception and birth of Jesus was certainly a very high profile message, therefore, the one sent with it must have been very high profile.
2. His words that he stands in the presence of God [Luk 1:19], means that he is an attendant to God. Therefore, except there are other attendants, Gabriel would have been the One God sent to bring Daniel the explanation he desired.
7. He spoke as Gabriel referring to Daniel as a man highly esteemed [Dan 10:11 cf., Dan 9:23]
   

Dream--Four Beast and One Like A Son of Man

1. Daniel dreams about four kingdoms, portrayed as beasts, rising from the earth, portrayed as rising from the sea [Dan 7]

Dream--Ram, Goat, Little Horn and Prince of Princes

1. Daniel dreams about the kingdom of the Medes and Persians and the Kingdom of Greece leading up to the end [Dan 8:1]

Those Present

1. Daniel,
2. Two holy ones
1. Gabriel [Dan 8:16]
2. The other holy one [Dan 8:] who is the same as the one who spoke with a man's voice from the Ulai [Dan 8:16]
1. The vision was besides the Ulai Canal [Dan 8:2]
2. The holy ones spoke together [Dan 8:13] but
3. While Daniel was focused on the vision, trying to understand it, he did not notice Gabriel coming up to him until Gabriel was standing before him [Dan 8:15-16]
4. So, Gabriel left the Ulai to stand before Daniel while the other voice did not come forward

Darius the Mede

1. He received the throne at the age of 62 after king Belteshazzar of Babylon was slain [Dan 5:30-31; 9:1]
2. He ruled under the kingdom of the Medes and Persians [Dan 6:9,12,15]

Connection to the Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem

Darius the Mede reigned over the Medes and Persians along with Cyrus.

Interestingly, the Decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the Temple was found in "Ecbatana in the fortress, which is in the province of Media..." [Ezr 6:2]

For more reading please see

• truthonlybible.com/2016/01/08/darius-the-mede-a-solution-to-his-identity/
  
• www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/Book_of_Daniel/commentary/htm/topics/darius.html#4.3

Angels in the First Year of Darius the Mede

There are three accounts of angelic presence during the first year of Darius the Mede.

1. The angel God sent to deliver Daniel from the lion's den [Dan 6:22]
2. The angel Gabriel who, in answer to Daniel's prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, brought the prophecy of the Seventy Sevens [Dan 9:21]
3. The angel who was resisted by the Prince of Persia for 21 days, who brought the prophecy to Daniel in answer to his prayers [Dan 10:12-13]. He said that he took his stand to support and protect Darius the Mede in his first year [Dan 11:1]

The presence of this angel in the first year of Darius the Mede explains why there was such angelic activities in that year.

This angel's activities may either

1. Have made it possible for other angels to come and go easily or means that
2. He was, in fact, the angel Gabriel and the same angel who stopped the lions' mouths.

Three, Two or One Angel?

What would have been the point of sending another angel to deliver Daniel from the lions' den or to bring him the Seventy Sevens revelation when there was already a mighty and very knowledgeable angel on ground?

If Gabriel is not one of the two angels [Dan 12:5] that came with this angel, then he is in fact Gabriel.

The big question is why Daniel did not address him as Gabriel as he earlier did [Dan 9:21] if he was indeed Gabriel?

Gabriel and the Dan 10 Angel

Both Gabriel and the Angel of Daniel 10 are the same since

1. They both have an above average knowledge of prophecy and are sent in response to Daniel's request for understanding
   
2. The angel of Dan 10 says no one helps him except for Michael [Dan 10:21]
1. However, if this angel wasn't Gabriel, Michael wouldn't have been the only one helping him.
2. But, of course, if he is Gabriel, he wouldn't be speaking of himself as helping himself.
3. They are both present in the First Year of the reign of Darius the Mede
1. Gabriel was evidently present during the First Year of Darius the Mede and so he brought the answer to Daniel
2. In Dan 10, the angel said that he took his stand to help Darius in the same year
3. Now, if both were present, why didn't the Dan 10 angel bring the explanation to Daniel?
4. Gabriel was sent twice with revelation to Daniel [Dan 8:16; 9:21]. He said he was sent from heaven. If so, and if he was different from the other angel, why was he sent and not Gabriel?

This must have been after Daniel's ordeal with the lion's den.

Vision - Seventy Sevens

1. In the first year of Darius [Dan 9:1]
2. Gabriel brought a word to Daniel concerning the restoration of Jersualem [Dan 9:21]
   

Please see note under "Angels in the First Year of Darius the Mede" above

Two Years After the Decree to Rebuild the Temple

This is two years after the Jews are allowed by King Cyrus to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple there [2Chr 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4].

Daniel Leaves the Kings Court

"Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus." [Dan 1:21]

The Celestial Prince of Persia

The Angel (Gabriel) supported Darius the Mede in his first year, and as noted there were increased angelic activities. However, in the third year of Cyrus, when Daniel fasted for 21 days, we hear of a "Prince of Persia" resisting the same angel for 21 days.

Apparently, the Prince of Persia was not around in the first year of Darius the Mede to resist the angel.

Therefore,

1. Since the Prince of Persia is obviously associated with Persian rule, and
2. Since, unlike Darius the Mede, Cyrus was a Persian and not a Mede,
3. Then the Prince of Persia must have been connected to his rule.