Daniel (Concordia Commentary)

Daniel (Concordia Commentary)

About This Volume:The Gospel of the kingdom of God finds its most consistent Old Testament treatment in Daniel. This biblical book is much more than a combination of miraculous stories and fantastic visions; it presents the Gospel of the promised Messiah and his eternal kingdom. However, interpreting Daniel is no easy task. While the narratives about Daniel and his fellow Judeans appear simple (belying a rich theological complexity), the visions at the end of the book seem extraordinarily complicated. Thus, the challenge for any commentator is to understand the book as a whole and to explain its rich and variegated view of the Gospel and the Savior.Since at least the first century before Christ, Daniel has been the subject of intense scrutiny by religious zealots seeking to view it as an eschatological roadmap for determining all sorts of harmful theologies of triumphalism. In our day this is often manifested in millennial speculation. This commentary shows that Daniel is not an adjunct to such theories, an oracle to be bent in service to eschatological speculation about an earthly messianic kingdom. Instead, it is a book about Christ, the salvation he accomplished by his cross, and the eternal glory he promises his redeemed people. Christ preserved his people throughout the Babylonian captivity and pointed them forward to the coming of his kingdom at his first advent, and the consummation at his second advent. Through this book Christ preserves us in faith until he returns in glory to bring us into the fullness of eternal life.provides Gospel comfort to the church, which will be vindicated.About the Series:The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the biblical text.This landmark work will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, interpreting Scripture as a harmonious unity centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Every passage bears witness to the Good News that God has reconciled the world to Himself through our Lord's life, death, and resurrection.The commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture as it emphasizes "that which promotes Christ" in each pericope.Authors are sensitive to the rich treasury of language, imagery, and themes found throughout Scripture, including such dialectics as Law and Gospel, sin and grace, death and new life, folly and wisdom, demon possession and the arrival of the kingdom of God in Christ. Careful attention is given to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. Further light is shed on the text from archaeology, history, and extra-biblical literature. Finally, Scripture's message is applied to the ongoing life of the church in terms of ministry, worship, proclamation of the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, confession of the faith--all in joyful anticipation of the life of the world to come.About the AuthorAndrew E. Steinmann is Distinguished Professor of Theology at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. He also wrote "Fundamental Biblical Aramaic, The Oracles of God, and is completing the Concordia Commentaries, "Daniel and Proverbs.