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Competing Kingdoms: An Introduction to the Book of Daniel
Charles Dickens opens A Tale of Two Cities with one of the most famous lines in all of literature: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That opening introduces the central theme of the novel—stark contrast. Dickens presents contrasts between cities, people, ideologies, light and darkness, wisdom and foolishness, belief and unbelief. Set during the French Revolution, the story explores a false promise of moral renewal through human revolution, contrasted with true moral renewal that comes only through repentance and self-sacrifice.
Though not an allegory, Dickens’ Christian worldview clearly shapes the novel. Themes of bondage and freedom, death and resurrection, self-preservation versus substitutionary sacrifice, and meaningless death versus redemptive death run throughout. Ultimately, A Tale of Two Cities presents not merely a contrast between London and Paris, but between two kingdoms: a man-made moral order and a transcendent kingdom that reflects the eternal reign of Christ.
This same contrast lies at the heart of the biblical book of Daniel.
A Tale of Competing Kingdoms
The book of Daniel presents a narrative not simply of two kingdoms, but of many earthly kingdoms set against the one true kingdom of God. These competing kingdoms—political, ideological, spiritual—have existed since Daniel’s time and continue to this day, persisting until the return of Christ.
Daniel was written to a people caught in an intense contest for allegiance. The original audience was the nation of Israel, specifically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin—the southern kingdom of Judah. Once God’s covenant people, Israel had been granted extraordinary privilege, protection, and prominence. Yet repeatedly, they abandoned faithfulness to Yahweh and turned to the idolatry of surrounding nations.
Despite countless warnings delivered through prophets and periods of discipline, the nation persisted in rebellion. As an act of discipline—always aimed at redemption—God allowed Assyria to conquer the northern kingdom of Israel, and roughly 120 years later, Babylon to conquer the southern kingdom of Judah. This Babylonian conquest sets the stage for the book of Daniel.
Both those taken into exile and those left behind under Babylonian rule faced the same question: Would they return to the Lord, or would they give their allegiance to the kingdom of Babylon?
The Offerings of Babylon
Babylon offered many seductive alternatives: power, empire, human wisdom, false gods, pride, luxury, pleasure, security, and accommodation. Throughout Daniel, these offerings appear repeatedly in different forms. And they are not ancient relics—they are the same temptations present in the modern world.
Daniel shows us that earthly kingdoms are not merely political entities. They are also ideological and spiritual systems competing for human allegiance. Behind them lie unseen spiritual forces working to draw loyalty away from God.
Structure and Authorship of Daniel
The book of Daniel consists of twelve chapters. The first six are written in the third person and present historical narrative. The final six are written in the first person and contain prophetic and apocalyptic visions.
The book is written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. Hebrew appears in Daniel 1:1–2:4, after which the text switches to Aramaic—the language of the exiles—until chapter 7. This linguistic shift reflects the book’s dual audience: God’s covenant people and the surrounding nations.
Despite changes in language and perspective, Jewish and Christian tradition has consistently affirmed that Daniel himself authored the book in the sixth century BC, likely writing later in life while reflecting on events he personally experienced.
The Question of Historicity
In the nineteenth century, theological liberalism challenged the historical reliability of Daniel, claiming it was written centuries later due to its accurate prophetic content. These scholars began with presuppositions that miracles do not exist and that predictive prophecy is impossible. From there, they concluded that Daniel must have been written after the events it describes.
However, the only real alternatives are these: either God is omniscient and sovereign over time, capable of revealing future events, or the book of Daniel is fictional. Scripture presents God as the One who declares the end from the beginning, who intervenes in history, and who performs miracles according to His will.
Approaching Scripture with the presupposition that it is the Word of God leads us to read Daniel as true, reliable history—not myth or legend.
This very debate reflects the book’s central theme: competing kingdoms. Worldly wisdom seeks to explain reality without God; the kingdom of heaven transcends human reason.
Daniel 1:1–7 — The Opening Conflict
Daniel begins by situating events during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem around 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, a historically verified figure, was a powerful military leader and devout worshiper of the Babylonian god Marduk.
When Babylon conquered Judah, sacred vessels from the Jerusalem temple were taken and placed in the treasury of Babylon’s god. To Babylon, this symbolized spiritual dominance. But Daniel makes the truth explicit: “The Lord gave Jehoiakim… into his hand.” This was not a victory of Marduk, but an act of God’s sovereign discipline.
Nebuchadnezzar also selected young men from Judah’s royal and noble families—physically impressive, intellectually gifted, and likely between fourteen and eighteen years old. They were educated in Babylonian literature and language, fed from the king’s table, and renamed to reflect allegiance to Babylonian gods.
This was forced assimilation—religious, cultural, and ideological. Babylon sought to erase their former identity and replace it with loyalty to the empire.
Yet these young men—Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—had been shaped by faithfulness to Yahweh, influenced by godly leadership such as King Josiah. Their roots ran deeper than Babylon expected.
The Battle Beneath the Surface
At its core, Daniel reveals a spiritual conflict. The struggle between Judah and Babylon reflects a deeper battle between the kingdom of God and the powers of darkness. This struggle is not about threatening God’s sovereignty—He reigns supreme—but about the allegiance of human hearts.
Scripture repeatedly presents this contest: in Eden, in Israel’s history, in Jesus’ ministry, in the early church, and in Revelation. Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” His kingdom was not political or military, but spiritual and eternal.
Competing Kingdoms Today
The strategies seen in Daniel are still active. Sacred things are co-opted. Truth is blended with falsehood. Youth are targeted, dazzled, renamed, and given false identities. The message is clear: abandon God-given identity and embrace self-defined reality.
What we see in the natural world reflects what is happening in the unseen realm.
Our Hope: The Kingdom of Christ
Colossians 1:12–14 declares that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. This kingdom is secured not through power or pride, but through sacrifice.
Dickens captures this truth in A Tale of Two Cities through Sydney Carton’s self-giving death—a reflection of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice. The kingdom of God is not about self-preservation, wealth, or comfort. It is a kingdom of everlasting love, joy, and peace.
Daniel and his friends model unwavering allegiance to this kingdom—a kingdom ruled by the Ancient of Days and the Lamb who was slain.
And that is the kingdom to which we are called to belong.
