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Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation
This Walvoord masterpiece presents the beauties of Daniel's prophecies in the light of modern archaeological evidence. Companion to The Revelation of Jesus Christ , this major contribution to prophetic research emphasizes the value and genuineness of Daniel. It considers alleged historical inaccuracies, difficult-to-interpret phrases, apocryphal additions, major textual problems, use of Persian and Greek words, historical background of Bible events, and past and future fulfillments of specific prophecies. Daniel goes beyond a mere presentation of the author's interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. It quotes Bible scholars from different corners of the theological ring to help the reader discover the meaning of Scripture for himself. Unusually thorough and well outlined, this commentary captures the heartbeat of a young prophet who spoke boldly for God.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 5, 2022
Not a masterpiece, but a good commentary from the pre-trib, premillennial, dispensational perspective. If you want to hear from that perspective, then this is probably your best bet. This commentary heavily focuses on the apocalyptic sections of Daniel. Almost all of the discussion is about how each passage plays into eschatology. The commentary is more technical than it is pastoral.
I'm not in Walvoord's camp, but I found it helpful to consult his thinking. He does tend to get combative towards anyone who interprets Daniel historically. He has a tendency to label anyone who is not premillennial a liberal who doesn't trust the Bible. I think thought it was worthwhile.
This probably shouldn't be your only commentary on the book unless you are a diehard future premillennial who loves dispensationalism. But even if you are in a different camp it is good to consider his perspective.
I'm not in Walvoord's camp, but I found it helpful to consult his thinking. He does tend to get combative towards anyone who interprets Daniel historically. He has a tendency to label anyone who is not premillennial a liberal who doesn't trust the Bible. I think thought it was worthwhile.
This probably shouldn't be your only commentary on the book unless you are a diehard future premillennial who loves dispensationalism. But even if you are in a different camp it is good to consider his perspective.
May 5, 2021
I picked this book up many years ago for a couple of bucks in a Christian book outlet. I'm not sure what I expected but I guess I didn't expect much since I didn't read it until now.
Well...I was wrong. This book is quite good. I should have read it many years ago when I bought it. It's a necessary commentary for anybody preaching through Daniel or merely wanting to study through it.
Well...I was wrong. This book is quite good. I should have read it many years ago when I bought it. It's a necessary commentary for anybody preaching through Daniel or merely wanting to study through it.
January 17, 2024
I think it is fair to say that John F. Walvoord (hereafter W) is a dispensationalist. Yet I do not remember reading in this book any statement claiming that, nor did I mention it to myself in notes I took. I think it is also fair to say that W tends to argue toward a pretribulation rapture (Premillennial) viewpoint although, again, he rarely if at all uses those words to describe his conclusions.
I did find W often to be dogmatic with definite conclusions and often making statements which had the air of being axiomatic despite the fact that many of them involved subjects where views were far from unanimous. Actually, this book and one of the main topics within covers things which are far from unanimous and are better described as controversial. Sometimes it seems that few writers agree with any others.
W does do a pretty good job of covering different viewpoints on any particular passage or even word. Usually he is quick to emphatically express his opinion. I found at least one instance where he dismissed an argument but I couldn't really find a good reason why.
As is appropriate for this Bible book, W writes at length about authenticity, i.e. was it written by Daniel himself in the 6th century BC or is it a pseudo-prophecy written approximately 167 BC.
W convers every verse and discusses word and phrase translations where appropriate including sections which are not nominally prophetic. He does not include showing the original language (Hebrew or Aramaic) with the equivalent letters, but occasionally includes the original transliterated. Footnotes are almost always citations as opposed to parenthetical explanations or rabbit trails and they occur at the end of chapters. There is an extensive subject index and verse index.
This book is not heavy on application and that is an understatement. Little is said about the overall message of the Biblical book.
I have read many books and commentaries on Daniel and Revelation. I used to agree pretty much with a Pretribulation view. But I have been a member of a Reformed church for a few decades and I have softened that view primarily because I found it too slick and had trouble with so many resurrections. All that to say that I found this to be a very good commentary, but I also know enough to see the bias. I still have a very difficult time dismissing the idea that God still has a specific future plan, or "dispensation" for the descendants of Jacob. But I can't say that I have any certainty as to relative timings or even if the Millennium is to be a fixed period of a thousand years. Christ said that no one knows the exact day, but Pretribulation theology based on literal interpretation of numbers should mean that once the Rapture occurs, the date will be set, or at least once the Abomination happens.
I did find W often to be dogmatic with definite conclusions and often making statements which had the air of being axiomatic despite the fact that many of them involved subjects where views were far from unanimous. Actually, this book and one of the main topics within covers things which are far from unanimous and are better described as controversial. Sometimes it seems that few writers agree with any others.
W does do a pretty good job of covering different viewpoints on any particular passage or even word. Usually he is quick to emphatically express his opinion. I found at least one instance where he dismissed an argument but I couldn't really find a good reason why.
As is appropriate for this Bible book, W writes at length about authenticity, i.e. was it written by Daniel himself in the 6th century BC or is it a pseudo-prophecy written approximately 167 BC.
W convers every verse and discusses word and phrase translations where appropriate including sections which are not nominally prophetic. He does not include showing the original language (Hebrew or Aramaic) with the equivalent letters, but occasionally includes the original transliterated. Footnotes are almost always citations as opposed to parenthetical explanations or rabbit trails and they occur at the end of chapters. There is an extensive subject index and verse index.
This book is not heavy on application and that is an understatement. Little is said about the overall message of the Biblical book.
I have read many books and commentaries on Daniel and Revelation. I used to agree pretty much with a Pretribulation view. But I have been a member of a Reformed church for a few decades and I have softened that view primarily because I found it too slick and had trouble with so many resurrections. All that to say that I found this to be a very good commentary, but I also know enough to see the bias. I still have a very difficult time dismissing the idea that God still has a specific future plan, or "dispensation" for the descendants of Jacob. But I can't say that I have any certainty as to relative timings or even if the Millennium is to be a fixed period of a thousand years. Christ said that no one knows the exact day, but Pretribulation theology based on literal interpretation of numbers should mean that once the Rapture occurs, the date will be set, or at least once the Abomination happens.
August 18, 2023
Daniel Made Clear
This commentary takes a dispensational perspective. That is, it sees the nation of Israel as fulfilling a functional role in God's plans as distinct from the church although the salvific approach is the same for both. This should be no surprise as there appears to be functional national roles even in the new heavens and earth (Rev.21:24-26). And the dispensational approach has a parsimonious understanding of Old Testament prophecies such as Isa 2:1-4, Jer 23:1-8, Jer 31:35-40, and Jer 33:19-26. That is, a straightforward reading of these verses indicates there will be a future prosperous and restored nation of Israel fulfilling their intended role in God's future world ruling kingdom. Having said all this, the commentary's insights are helpful in getting a somewhat detailed overview of how's God's plans for the Gentile nations interacting with the nation of Israel have and will play out over time leading up to the establishment of the millennial kingdom on earth. In that regard, I highly recommend reading this book.
This commentary takes a dispensational perspective. That is, it sees the nation of Israel as fulfilling a functional role in God's plans as distinct from the church although the salvific approach is the same for both. This should be no surprise as there appears to be functional national roles even in the new heavens and earth (Rev.21:24-26). And the dispensational approach has a parsimonious understanding of Old Testament prophecies such as Isa 2:1-4, Jer 23:1-8, Jer 31:35-40, and Jer 33:19-26. That is, a straightforward reading of these verses indicates there will be a future prosperous and restored nation of Israel fulfilling their intended role in God's future world ruling kingdom. Having said all this, the commentary's insights are helpful in getting a somewhat detailed overview of how's God's plans for the Gentile nations interacting with the nation of Israel have and will play out over time leading up to the establishment of the millennial kingdom on earth. In that regard, I highly recommend reading this book.
May 9, 2023
I have an incredibly hard time conjuring up respect for the views of dispensationalists. They are brothers and sisters in Christ, and I love them. However, the bulk of argumentation I have seen come from their view and interpretation of the Scriptures lacks in clarity, definitive evidence that isn’t eisegetical in nature, and effective engagement with other views. Walvoord is a prime example of this, and so I gladly finish this book so I can search for others who are better at explaining their view, even if I completely disagree with it already.
January 1, 2024
Wow. This is like taking a semester college class on Daniel... In a good way! Opposing viewpoints are presented, but the author is clearly convinced that this is authentic prophecy written in the 6th century B.C.about then-future world events, most of which were fulfilled in the following 5 centuries. This is God's fingerprint on Daniel's book and shows we can believe the unfulfilled end-times passages.
June 10, 2024
Excellent verse by verse explanation!
Gives the pros and cons of different viewpoints so that you, the reader, can choose which one is closer to the spirit that you receive from Yahweh to understand this marvelous book given to a saintly prophet so many centuries ago. You will not be disappointed.
Gives the pros and cons of different viewpoints so that you, the reader, can choose which one is closer to the spirit that you receive from Yahweh to understand this marvelous book given to a saintly prophet so many centuries ago. You will not be disappointed.
November 10, 2019
This book is a great study of the book of Daniel
If you want to study the.book of Daniel this is the text for you. It is an in depth review and explanation of the entire book of Daniel.
If you want to study the.book of Daniel this is the text for you. It is an in depth review and explanation of the entire book of Daniel.
April 18, 2022
Walvrood does an excellent job explaining the book of Daniel. He provides a lot of solid information and shows the proof and backing for his arguments and presents the various views. I am looking forward to reading his other commentaries.
June 14, 2017
Un libro clásico de Daniel, muy bueno y que analiza varias alternativas en la interpretación.
December 28, 2017
Likely holds a few gems, but far too pre-Trib Dispensational for me.
October 21, 2019
Though I hold to a pre-millennial, post-tribulational eschatology and disagree with Walvoord on those aspects, he makes many great points. This is a great commentary on the Book of Daniel.
December 20, 2024
An incredible amount of research must have gone into preparing this book. If you only read one commentary about the book of Daniel then this must be it. Highly recommended.
September 29, 2012
This was a great read. Walvoord does a great job of defending against the liberal interpreters of the book of Daniel who believe it's origin to be in the 2nd century BC, rather than in the 6th century. He also presents amillennial and post-millennial interpretations throughout the book, and contrasts them against his premillennial view. I would recommend it to anyone who is seeking to learn more about the prophecy of Daniel in a more in-depth fashion. There is a descent amount of historical context and controversy brought in, good explanations for the Hebrew language (even for someone who doesn't know the language), as well as adequate explanations for the pre-tribulational pre-millennial view of the end times. The book is probably best suited for those who have a moderate to higher level of knowledge of biblical prophecy. If you're new to the subject read an introductory book to the subject before trying to tackle this one.
September 14, 2013
Dr. Walvoord has shed a great light on the often difficult field of eschatology with this commentary that provides a detailed examination of the extremely fascinating Book of Daniel. This commentary examines some of the most obscure prophetical literature found in the Hebrew Bible and makes it accessible, clear, and readable to pastors, Bible students, and lay people from a conservative perspective.
May 17, 2014
It took me some time to get into, but after the initial setback I learned to love this book. Walvoord lays out every single argument imaginable, explains why they're wrong, and then states why what he believes must be right. Great read.
January 10, 2011
An excellent explanation of the book of Daniel in the Bible.
May 9, 2012
A conservative evangelical commentary on Daniel. Author is a dispensationalist. Good text for those so enclined.
May 23, 2012
Best book I have read on Biblical prophecy, period. It ties all of the prophecy in the Bible together and makes the book of Revelation more understandable. Great book!!!
June 4, 2025
very technical and theological
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews