During the time of God's judgment on Israel, when the Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon, it came to pass that the Babylonian kingdom was conquered by King Darius the Mede. Daniel had prophesied this event to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar on the eve of the night it happened (Dan 5:17-31). Daniel was one of three administrators that Darius had appointed over his 120 satraps who ruled under him (Dan 6:1). Daniel had so distinguished himself with his exceptional qualities that the king had planned to set him over the whole kingdom, similar to the way Pharaoh set Joseph over his kingdom (Dan 6:3). That made the other two administrators and the satraps jealous of Daniel, so they tried to find grounds for charges against him in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so, because Daniel was neither corrupt nor negligent (Dan 6:4).
Finally the administrators and satraps realized that they would never find any basis for charges against him that way, so they decided to try to drum up fake charges against him regarding the law of his God (Dan 6:5). They knew that Daniel was a man of prayer, who prayed to God on his knees three times a day (Dan 6:10). So they got the king to issue an edict and enforce a written decree, which could not be repealed, that anyone who would pray to any man or god except the king during the following thirty days would be thrown into the lions' den (Dan 6:7).
Then when Daniel learned of the decree, he went home and prayed on his knees toward Jerusalem with the windows open, just as he usually did three times a day (Dan 6:10). So when these men found Daniel praying and asking God for help, they brought the charges against him to the king. Even though the king highly esteemed Daniel, was greatly distressed, and made every effort until sundown to save him (Dan 6:14), he was unable to repeal the decree, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, so he reluctantly agreed to throw Daniel into the lions den (Dan 6:16).
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, preventing the situation from being changed (Dan 6:17). But the king did not sleep or eat all night, and had no entertainment brought to him in his palace (Dan 6:18).
At the crack of dawn, the king went to the lions' den and called out in anguish to Daniel, asking if his God -- the living God whom Daniel served continually -- was able to rescue him from the lions (Dan 6:20). Daniel responded to the king that his God had indeed sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions, who were unable to hurt him, since he was innocent in God's sight and had never done any wrong before the king (Dan 6:22).
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to have Daniel lifted out of the den. When he was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God (Dan 6:23). The king then gave the orders for the men who had falsely accused him to be thrown into the lions' den with their wives and children, and before they could reach the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed their bones (Dan 6:24).
Now let me show you the parallels between Daniel and Christ in this chart below.
| Daniel | Christ |
| Daniel had exceptional qualities and found favor with the king. | God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him (Ac 10:38). |
| The other administrators and the 120 satraps tried to find fault with Daniel in order to trap him legally, but they were unable to, because he was neither corrupt nor negligent (Dan 6:4). | The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the teachers of the law, along with their chief priests and elders, tried on numerous occasions to find some way to trap Jesus (Mt 22:15-46; Jn 8:6). They failed to find any legitimate grounds on which to accuse Him. |
| Daniel’s enemies had to come up with a legal scheme in order to shield themselves from blame for killing him, by using the king to do it for them through the law of his own kingdom, rather than assassinating him themselves. | Jesus’ enemies had to come up with a legal scheme in order to shield themselves from blame for killing Him, by using the Roman governor (Pilate) to do it for them, rather than assassinating him themselves. |
| Because the other administrators and the 120 satraps were jealous of Daniel, they brought charges against him before the king by trickery, regarding the law of his God (Dan 6:5, 13). | Because the Jews were jealous of Jesus, their chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, brought false charges against him before the governor, based on the law of His God (Mt 27:18; Mk 14:55-56). They told Pilate that, according to their law, since He claimed to be the Son of God, He must die (Jn 19:7). |
| Daniel’s enemies manipulated the king into issuing a Median-Persian decree that could not be annulled, and then forced him into obeying that decree in order to accomplish their goal (Dan 6:8, 12, 15). Thus they fashioned the king's own words around his feet like a snare. | Jesus’ enemies manipulated Governor Pilate into having Him crucified by claiming that if he let Jesus go free, then he was no friend of Caesar, since Jesus had claimed to be king. In this way they forced Pilate’s hand by threat of Roman law (Jn 19:12). |
| Daniel was a man of prayer, and when he heard of the decree, he went to his house, got down on his knees, and prayed three times a day to God, asking for help, just as He had done before (Dan 6:10). | Jesus was a man of prayer, and on the night He was betrayed, before he was arrested, he went to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, got down on his knees, and prayed to God, asking for help (Matt 26:36-56; Lk 22:40-46; Mk 14:32-42). |
| Daniel trusted in his God (Dan 6:23) and remained faithful to Him, even when he knew it would cost him his life. | The Lord Jesus trusted in His God and remained faithful to Him, even when He knew it would cost Him His life. He ultimately prayed that the Father's will be done, not His own (Mt 26:39, 42). |
| King Darius knew Daniel hadn't actually done anything wrong, and tried to save him, but to no avail (Dan 6:14). He ultimately gave in to the demands of the Daniel's enemies, sentencing him to be thrown into the lions' den (Dan 6:16). | Governor Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, and had not done anything deserving death, so he tried to save Him, but to no avail. He ultimately gave in to the demands of the Jews, sentencing Jesus to be crucified (Mt 27:19, 24; Mk 15:9, 14; Lk 23:15, 20, 24). |
| On the night that Daniel was in the lions' den, Darius was so troubled that he could not sleep all night (Dan 6:18). | On the day of Jesus' trial, Pilate's wife suffered a great deal in a dream, in which she was shown that He was an innocent man (Mt 27:19). |
| A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den (Dan 6:17). | They rolled a large stone to seal the entrance to the tomb where Jesus' body was placed (Mt 27:60). |
| King Darius sealed the stone with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed (Dan 6:17). | Pilate gave the order for a guard to be placed at the entrance to the tomb, and for them to make the tomb as secure as they knew how, thereby authorizing Jesus' enemies to place a seal on the stone (Mt 27:65-66). |
| At the first light of dawn, the king went to the lions’ den to see if Daniel's God had delivered him from the lions (Dan 6:19). | At daybreak, the women went to Jesus' tomb (Lk 24:1; Mk 16:1). |
| The king cried out with a troubled or anguished voice to Daniel, as he stood outside the den (Dan 6). | Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb crying (Jn 20:11). |
| Daniel came forth from the lions' den alive the morning after he was thrown into it (Dan 6:23). | Christ came forth alive from the tomb, very early in the morning, on the third day after he died on the cross (Mt 28:6-7). |
| No wound was found on Daniel, because he had trusted in his God (Dan 6:23). | When Christ rose from the dead, He was no longer covered in blood, nor did He still have all the wounds they had inflicted upon Him, except the nail marks in his hands and feet, and the hole in his side where they had pierced Him (Jn 20:27). |
| Because Daniel was found innocent in God's sight, his God had rescued him from the mouths of the lions (Dan 6:22).
[NOTE: Daniel was blameless before God, but he was not sinless like Christ. Daniel confessed his sins to God and asked for forgiveness (Dan 9:4-10).] |
Because Jesus Christ, God's Son, was sinless in God's sight, His God raised Him from the dead (Romans 6:4; Acts 2:32; 1 Pet 2:22; Is 53:9; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15). |
| God sent His angel to shut the mouths of the lions, so that they didn't harm Daniel (Dan 6:22). | God sent His angel to roll the large stone away from the tomb (Mt 28:2; Mk 16:4-5). |
| The King was overjoyed when he heard Daniel’s voice and discovered him alive (Dan 6:23). | The women left the empty tomb quickly with fear and great joy that Jesus had risen (Mt 28:8). |
| Daniel was victorious over all his enemies, who were ultimately thrown into the lions' den where the lions crushed their bones (Dan 6:24). | Christ was victorious over all his enemies -- the devil and his demons (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14), as well as over death, hell, and the grave. He was also victorious over all His enemies who falsely accused Him, and over Judas His betrayer, who committed suicide (Mt 27:5). |
| When God rescued Daniel from the lions’ den, the king gave glory to God publicly in a new decree that he issued, requiring everyone in his kingdom to fear and reverence the God of Daniel (Dan 6:25-27). | When God raised Jesus from the dead, it brought glory to God. When His disciples saw Him, the worshipped Him (Mt 28:9; Jn 20:28). |
Closing Words
As I have shown in the chart above, the prophet Daniel, who lived hundreds of years before Christ, was a type of Christ in many ways. Since there are twenty points of correlation, the parallels and similarities between them are too many to merely be coincidence. This should help the faith of anyone who reads the Bible, so that they may believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, accepting His perfect sacrifice on the cross as atonement for their sins.
Attribution notice: All Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.
Author's note: Also see The Sufferings of the Prophets as a Type of Christ, Joseph as a Type of Christ, Jonah as a Type of Christ, Adam as a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_______________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
