I just want to draw your attention to the paper you've lifted or were thrust into your hand or whatever the case may be. It is notes from a brief synopsis of the past couple of weeks that we've done, just for those who have taken notes and you want to compare. So this is the breakdown of what we've covered the past couple of weeks, and there's a bit on the back for tonight if you want to take notes. But I want to draw your attention to the graph, to the picture I've put in. on the bottom of the first side. Remember I said that Daniel is broken up into two halves, chapters 1-6 which is historical and then chapters 7-12 which is prophetical. Well you can also break it down and I tried to tell you and I thought well it's better to show you And this is what the book of Daniel will look like and this is the way we'll be covering it. Chapter one is on its own. Then you have from chapters two to seven are like one big block. And then chapters eight through to 12 is the third sort of block we'll be looking at. chapter 1 and chapters 8 to 12 are in Hebrew you'll probably see that on the bottom and chapters 2 to 7 are in are in Aramaic and I believe that's there for a purpose. You will also see that i have drawn links between certain chapters that i believe are linked and are there for a purpose and we will we will touch on those as we go through the book okay so that's why that is there just to try and give you a visual picture of the book of daniel as as we will be going through it okay um well we will not be going we'll not be going through it um Chronologically, which year follows which year but we will be doing it chapter by chapter and I'll be trying to fit it in as we go through so you can get a full picture of the book of Daniel. Shall we pray together? Lord, we want to thank you that we're here. We want to thank you that we have come to study your word. We want to thank you that this is a book that is very relevant for us. And we do pray that as we continue our look at chapter one that you, Lord, again would challenge us and teach us about what you would have us know. We ask this in your name. Amen. Right so again just a quick recap you will remember that so far in the book of Daniel we've looked at we're looking at chapter one and we will be finishing chapter one this evening but we've looked at the four historical references in chapter one that was at the very beginning You remember that within the first two verses we looked at Daniel, we looked at Nebuchadnezzar, we looked at the King Jehoiakim and how he was then he was the king of Judah that was taken or Israel that was taken captive and then we we looked at Nebuchadnezzar and the siege of Jerusalem. These are big historical events that you can look up in any history book and see how Daniel fits in. As I said we've seen how the book of Daniel was divided. To try and give us an idea that we're at the moment we're dealing with history. Chapter one is part of the history. Although it's not as you will see it. tonight. It's not quite as easy as first year and then chapter 2 is the second year we'll touch. Hopefully you'll be as interested as I was as we went through it. Last week we looked at it from verses 3 through to 8 when we looked at Nebuchadnezzar. We looked at the three point strategy of Nebuchadnezzar and then this one declaration that we've seen is still at play even today okay and by the way last week something happened to the recording but don't worry I will record it again and it'll go up online if you wish to go back and Cracked all my mistakes. You're more than welcome. But you see, we've seen from verses 3 through to 8 that one of the strategies or the first strategy was isolation. And this took part in a twofold way. It was a physical isolation in that Daniel and his three friends were taken away from The place they grew up in, they were taken away from all the stuff they were familiar with, the temple, the worship of God. There was this physical isolation that they went in, that they went through. And then they were taken away from their community because they were then taken to work in the palace. They were taken to work in King Nebuchadnezzar's palace. And we've seen that because they were coming to work in the palace, it normally meant that they became eunuchs. At around 15, these four men became eunuchs because that all kings wanted to protect the royal bloodline and you can't have anybody working in the palace that might get up to mischief. So they all became eunuchs or they were made eunuchs. Then we've seen indoctrination. We've seen how this was more of a mental indoctrination in the fact that Daniel and his three friends were put into a three year course in learning all all the Babylonian literature and languages. And we looked at that. And when it says they were in all things, that took in occult literature and things like that. So Daniel and his friends had to study occult literature, astronomy, and astrology, and all of that. And we know this. Because, as we said, many scholars say that these wise men were magi that appeared, not them personally, but this type of group appeared at Christ's birth. So you're talking about how they would read the stars and try and interpret the stars, all this astrology. So when we see that this indoctrination is still very strong and polite, Today, strategy one is separate people from everything that they know. We see this in the life of people even today. today and then to indoctrinate them with all the various ideologies and teachings and everything else to try and make them make Christians look silly and to indoctrinate them to believe other things. Then we've seen that the third part of the strategy was identity, that they altered their identity as in their names. Their names of Daniel, Haraniah, Mishael and Azariah all had links with God, with the God of Israel. God is the judge, all very strong connections with God. And yet, when they were given new names, they're all linked with the Babylonian gods, the pantheon of gods that they had. And so they tried to alter their identity. And even with the things that they were eating, they put it in. And we looked how that Daniel appeared to Ashpenaz, which was the leader of the other eunuchs, the official that was in charge, and he went, I don't fancy any pork or any spare ribs or know I don't want any of that Lark. I don't you know I want to we want to stay pure and he and he asked if he could eat vegetables we'll get to this in a minute but he says he decided he had a determined resolve and that resolve as we seen was a desire to follow God's commands and God's will that's what it means that's the word within the biblical context is this desire, this determination to follow God's will and God's commands. And so even as a young Hebrew, he turned up and he went, well, actually, no, I'm not going to eat that because I'm sure he would have given a very valid reason because it is believed that a lot of the food, the king's food, and his wine would have been sacrificed to offer to idols, the various deities, for their blessings and for everything else. And so Daniel said, I don't want to eat any of that because that would make me ceremonial impure, unclean, and I can't have that. So him and his three friends have had a determined stance to not to, or their intentions were to stay pure and uncontaminated. We now come into the rest of the chapter, we're gonna read from verse nine through to verse 21. And I must say, as I went back through this again, I had a lot of questions which I asked and I'm gonna give them to you. Because I can. Right, starting at verse nine. We've just had Daniel make the request. In fact, let's start at verse eight, it says, but Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord, the king who has appointed your food and drink, for why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king. So Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink, then let our appearance be examined before for you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies. And as you see fit, so deal with your servants.' So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portions of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, And among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they served before the king. And in all the matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realms. Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus. It's a wonderful chapter this. We're going to see very quickly, as you see on your papers, we're going to see, I've broken it down into fear, sorry, favour, fear, favour, felt-out favour, fall-out from favour, and favoured fine gifts. Now this will all make sense in a minute, okay? I did try my best to break away from the I's and go on to a different letter. F. So favour. It's very important in verse 9 we see now God had caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel. We see here once again the sovereignty of God. God made, God gave. This is, we see within the whole concept of chapter 1, the sovereignty of God. And I believe this is for a purpose and we'll get to this in a minute. If you underline, you color in your Bible, when you go home, keep underlining where it says, God gave. Okay, and you'll be surprised. So here we see that God gave, God moved in a sovereign way and the official gave favour and compassion. Even though God's people were deported to a foreign land for a period, this was going to be for a period of around 70 years according to Jeremiah. Read about that in Jeremiah 25 and Jeremiah 29. Christ still says in Jeremiah 29, I know the plans I have for you. That's the context of that verse we like to quote so very often, that the people of Israel were going to be deported for 70 years because of their disobedience. And yet God said, I know the plans I have for you. And when you're out there in Babylon, they don't know what's going to hit them. That's my terminology, all right? Because God was going to work, and God did work. And we'll see it as we go through the book of Daniel. There are echoes here of Joseph's story. If you have time, go back to Genesis 37 to 50, and you keep seeing how God gave Joseph favor. God was always in control. Now, I'm not going to try and defend Joseph completely. I think he was a tad arrogant to get himself there anyway. He wound up his brothers. Never a good thing to do. But he ended up in Egypt and God gave him favour. Everywhere he went he had favour. So again, we see similarities between Daniel and Joseph. I'm just trying to point this out that this isn't a one-off. God moves, and I believe there's a reason why. One mistake in reading chapter one, and this is a thing that struck me recently, is that we all make mistakes. This is the same thing we all make, I'm assuming, is to read it as a continuous event. This would be bringing confusion, but we will address this a bit later. What I mean by that is we tend to read chapter one and we find Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Nazariah, they get whipped into, they get deported, they are brought into to Ashpenaz, the official of the eunuchs. And the next day Daniel goes, I'm not eating that. And he goes, yeah, all right. That's the sort of concept we have. But I think that's a mistake in reading chapter 1. Okay and we'll get, I will back that assertion up. I just want to put it out there as we go through this. But it's interesting to know that the Hebrew word that is used here for favour, it can be interpreted grace or acceptance. So in essence you can say that God gave Daniel grace and acceptance in the eyes of his captors. Now that doesn't happen in one day, normally. And so this is just a way of trying to build out what I believe has happened. Another word that is used, because two Hebrew words are used for favour and normally compassion, I believe it is, is the word is often translated loving kindness, mercy or compassion. Get that one. And I think this is a wonderful context because here in the midst of what's happening in Daniel's life, God sovereignly moves on the person in charge of them to show Daniel, if we look at what the word means, what both words can mean, this official showed Daniel grace, acceptance, goodness, kindness, mercy, and compassion. Wow. Not a thing you would expect in prison, is it? But that's, man, I prayed for that from some of my teachers. But there we were. So as Daniel, Ananias, Michiel, and Azariah progressed in their three-year course, how they conducted themselves impacted Ashpenaz, this official. and God caused him to show favor. This is what I mean. They're in a three-year course. And we'll read a bit later that the king examined them. Now, I know you get an end-of-year examination, but I don't believe that's what happened here. I believe, as they went through the three years, how Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah conducted themselves won the favor of Ashpenaz. They seemed there was something different in them. He must have seen something different in them. Perhaps it was how they related to him. Perhaps they were too kind and polite when he's thinking they probably shouldn't be. Perhaps they devoted themselves to their studies. They were diligent in everything that they did. Somehow, how they operated and lived through these three years one Ashpenaz over. God moved his heart and he showed them compassion, this kindness, this mercy, this acceptance and that made him open to their request. Now Well, we'll get there in a minute. It is unsure at what point in the course of Daniel made this request not to eat his food. Perhaps it was at the end of the first year. Perhaps it was halfway through the first year. We don't know when, but we do know that Daniel did. And perhaps Ashpenaz was alert to the fact that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were not eating. There's two ways. We can either look at this as At some point in the first year, they went up and went, excuse me, we don't want to eat that. We don't want to defile ourselves. Or it could be, and I just put this out as a hypothesis, we can't prove or disprove this, but perhaps some of their fellow students, they were in fear of their life because if they didn't buck up their ideas, they were all going to be in trouble. Now we see this in chapter 2, you know, when they get the dream and King Nebuchadnezzar wants the dream interpreted, the dream and the interpretation, and they go, well we can't do it, and he goes, we'll kill them all. Now, you could sit down and go, but I wasn't even at the place. Well, why am I going to get killed? It just seemed to be that the whole cohort got killed or wiped out. So perhaps these guys were a bit fearful. And so they went to Ajpanaz and went, those four guys aren't eating the food. So we don't really know. But we do know at some point throughout these three years, there's this confrontation in a very pleasant way and Daniel puts out this request and says we don't want to eat because we want to stay pure and of course he gets that grace in that paper. Now, there is fear in the favour, and the fear is to do with Ashpenaz, not to do with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael or Azariah. It's the fear of Ashpenaz. Notice what he says in verse 10, he says, But the official told Daniel, I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than all the other young men of your age? The king would have my head. It's very important. He grew attached to his head and he wanted to keep it. And he thought, if I let you do what you want to do and you don't cut the mustard at the end of the examination time, I lose my head. But that only goes to show the strength of the favour that God had given. Even though there was this fear, Still, as we will see in the middle of this conversation, he still is prepared to show them compassion, even though the risk is he could lose his head. And I believe there's a lot of wisdom in what Daniel says, and we'll see this momentarily. So, It's very simple. The fear is, I'm afraid of my lord, the king. Remember, the Babylonians were cruel. They were brutal people. And so he knew what they were like. And so he feared his king. And the king would have taken his head if he had given up. But Daniel gives out this request. To give in to Daniel's request was dangerous. for the chief unit as he could be suspected of misappropriating the king's bounty. He would have to give an answer for why they're not eating. Is this guy taking the food? Is he selling the food somewhere else? What's he doing with it? Because they're not eating. So there's a lot of things in here. He says this as well, and I think, again, this is something we need to understand. Because I got into a lot of questions, like, how can vegetables make you fat? Do you ever think about that as you read chapter one? Because he says, I want to eat vegetables. And the guy goes, why should you look less fat than everybody else? I've never come across vegetables that can make you fat. That's just me. In chapter 1, verse 10, it says the word worse in Hebrew is translated things like angry or sad. Their appearance would not be glowing. They would not be happy. They would be looking worse. They'd be looking angry or they would be looking sad. But it can also refer to the general state of being gloomy, more morose, or even emaciated, very, very thin. And so he goes, why, I can't bring you to the king if you're going to look very sad, you're going to look a bit angry and you're going to look very, very thin on it. You want a bit of meat on the bones. Look good. You know, look good. And so this is what the passage is trying to get it out. Even though there is fear that Ashpenaz has, because if they did not meet a particular standard, it was dangerous for Ashpenaz. And yet Daniel says, no, no, no. just put us to the test. And so he says, why would you look worse or gloomy or sad? But there's a lot of stuff in here, but I don't want to spend too long because time is going. We still have, we're still only in verse 12. There's a felt out fear. Felt out is another, is it, is it, is another terminology for test. Okay. To test something, you feel it out, or you felt out. It's felt out, OK? So there's the test in the favor that's being shown. Verses 12 through to verse 14 says, please test your servants for 10 days. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. And then he says, and then compare us. Us four with the rest of them. Compare us. Now, here's two things I want to say. Eating vegetables for 10 days doesn't do a lot for me except make me more hungry. 10 days is not a long time. And 10 days isn't really much of a test, really. The vegetables don't have a lot of time to take effect in 10 days. So what is, again, the passage trying to say? Well, again, we have to understand that the word test in Hebrew, it means to try to prove or put to the test. In other words, test us out, compare us. So basically what Daniel is saying, you can test their ability against our ability. There is a competition here as a test ability. It's not just test us, but test us against them and see. Okay, that's what this is all about. Daniel is sure that in staying true to God, this will work out. The root verb that will signify a process of testing or provide something or someone to see results. So there's a process here. 10 days isn't much of a... process as well okay so what scripture actually said now if you want to hold on to what it means and you think it's 10 literal days that's all right have at it the scholars are split on this one. So I'm not trying to say it is, and I'm not trying to say it's not, but I would think you need to be eating vegetables for a bit more than 10 days before it really has an effect. So why 10? I believe the word 10 is often used in scripture to represent a complete cycle or full set, i.e. 10 commandments. It's a full set. It's a completion. There's something, there's nothing lacking. So this test for 10 days, the set of 10, was to be a complete test, a full test. There's gonna be nothing lacking in this test. So Daniel is putting himself and his friends through the ringer of a complete and full test because they wanna remain undefiled and pure. The phrase 10 days can also signify a trial or probationary period to test something that was sufficient but not excessive. It was to prove the effectiveness of Daniel's diet. So this is a set time that Daniel says, a complete test, a full test. Daniel isn't cutting corners here. In essence, I could almost hear him say to his mates, his three friends, Hananiah, Michel, Nazariah, they load the gun and send Daniel to fire it. There's always one that will go up and do the front work. And they go, listen guys, I will prove him. And he goes up and he goes, listen, you put us four to the test, not just me, us four to the test, put us through the most extreme test, full test, complete test possible. You can almost hear them going, we didn't ask for that. We just wanted vegetables. But yet he was willing to put all four of them to a complete and full test to prove God's faithfulness. This is a proof for God. Some interpret 10 days as a connection to the 10 days between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement, a time of judgment and preparation. So there's a lot of people looking at this 10 and 10 days and trying to look at it within the biblical context but whatever it is it's linked with judgment testing and I tend to think it's a bit more than just 10 days. The Hebrew word and I think we have to understand this as well in Daniel 1 16 for vegetables is not rabbit food. Okay, I won't put it out there. We're not talking about rabbit food. No, I've nothing against rabbit. Okay, I like a bit of rabbit, but I'm not talking about their food. When scripture talks about vegetables here, the Hebrew word literally mean seeds. Pulse. Vegetables. So you're talking about, this is, he is saying, you know, give us the grains and give us the vegetables. He's saying, you know, we just don't want the meat. But we want everything else. So it's not just lettuce he's eating, he's eating like grains and pulse and vegetables. So it's not quite as dire as you probably think really, as it might come to mind. So this is what we're talking about here, a plant-based diet rather than a specific category. Okay, a plant-based diet rather than a specific category. Now we're not talking about the Daniel diet in case you're wondering, we're not going to go there. But I think it's very, we all know about the Daniel diet. I wonder if he knew he was going to set us to sort of fad in a phase. I wonder if he knew that one. Anyway, I digress. In Psalm 34 verse 8 it says, Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him. Taste and see. Test. Test. A complete test, not just a little sip. A complete and utter full test. Taste and see. Put God to the test. And so this is what is happening here. So they're given their permission to get this grain and this pulse and these vegetables, this plant-based diet for a set period of time where they're tested in all of this and then you have fallout from Now, it's not fallout for Ashpenaz, and it's not fallout for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael or Azariah. It's not that. They're on the winning side, as we know. But the fallout is this. In verse 15 through to 16, it says, at the end of 10 days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Could you picture it? The four guys have just passed the set test period. They're looking healthier. And so all the boys come in from playing football outside and they come in and go, where's the spare ribs? Oh, they're not there. Oh come on, no you're not getting any of that anymore. There's only grain and vegetables here. Blame those four. A bit of fallout. It wasn't just Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah that were affected by this. They were all affected by it. They all were. The choice food and the wine was taken away. I don't think people may have been happy with that thought, would you? I don't think everybody was happy with it, but that's part of the fallout. Daniel 1.16, the Hebrew word for fat, it means literally healthy, strong and well fed. Strong, healthy and well fed. And again, I'm just going to put this out here. I'm not going to try and push any particular Daniel dad or anything else. But I believe these guys, if you live in accordance with the word of God, if you live in accordance with obedience to God, things work out well for you. Simple. And these guys proved it. In this hostile environment, even under the strictest and most complete test, they still proved to eat what God says is good to eat and avoid what God says is good to avoid, they appeared healthier than all these other guys. And so they were all put on rabbit food. So we have to understand that the Hebrew word here, as I said, for fat, within the biblical context, contrasts Daniel's diet of pulse, vegetables, and water with the king's food, which likely included things forbidden. So here's the contrast. you again in the context of chapter one you either succumb and become like little babylonians live as they live or you stay strong to God and we see that God will will draw a stark distinction between you and them and how living in obedience to God has a benefit to you. I'm not going to say it's health, wealth and prosperity, please don't read into my words, but there's a healthier impact on us if we stay true to God's word. In Daniel 1, 10 times better is not literally, we're not there to multiply by 10, but it's a figure of speech. Because it means the best, literally the best, or that top quality. So it's always there. I always liken it to when I was a kid, everything was a 10. If it was really good, it was a 10. You'd done everything out of a 10. You got a bike, oh, it's like a 7. You knew it was quite good. Well, here, 10 times better means absolute best. So again, it's a figure of speech, it's not a multiple of ten, but a figure of speech. If we go on to the favoured found gifts, I think again verses 17 through to 20, again I think this is a fantastic passage. Just for time I'll not read it but again this is found from verse 17 through to verse 20. Verse 17, yet again for the third time in this chapter we see God's sovereignty, His power, His authority and control as it declares, God gave. God gave. So again, as we draw near to the end of this chapter, we see four men who God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds. It wasn't that they were the best of all students. Perhaps they were. I'm not going to say they weren't. And I'm not going to say they were. I wasn't in class with them. So I don't know. But what I'm trying to say is their ability to answer in a very wise context and appear to have the best of all knowledge was a gift from God. God gave them that ability. And so here we see God's sovereignty and God's gifts in this sense. And again, God gave them, it says, gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams. Dreams. Again, this is another, we see again, throwback to Joseph here. Joseph could interpret dreams as well. So in Daniel, there is one main dream. It's very important we understand this. Throughout Daniel, there's one main dream. That's chapter 2. And there are four visions that Daniel has to play. So Daniel could understand visions and dreams. And that's why, throughout Daniel, I believe, there's one main dream. that covers two chapters, and there are four visions that he tells us about. And again, we see the favour of God, and this time it is manifest in the abilities they need to serve God. God gave them the abilities they need to serve in the midst of the court of Babylon, the empire of the time, as they engaged with the king. And you will be surprised again as we go through chapter two, just the sovereignty of God, the way God moved, the way God blessed and favoured Daniel over all these other wise men. Again, we see in verse 18, it says, at the end of the time set by the king. Here's why I believe that Daniel is not one year, even though it says that in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, and then chapter two starts in the second year of King Nebuchadnezzar. This is why I believe Daniel is more than one year in length, because at the end of the set time, what time? Their three year course. This was the end of the year exam. Three year. They had to go up to the king and appear towards the king and get questioned and get grilled and stand your ground and be able to show wisdom of all literature and all kinds. And so this is why I believe that the verse 18 is at least three years in. as Daniel is passing, as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Nazariah are coming out of their course with honours, passing with the top grade, as it were, at this time. So again, please do not be mistaken. And another reason I believe that chapter one is more than one year is because of verse 21. Verse 21 talks about the first year of King Cyrus. King Cyrus was the king of the Medes and the Persians who took over in about 539 BC. How they conquered Babylon, we'll get to that in chapter five. How they conquered Babylon and the Medes and the Persians came into play. So this is at least, so verse 21 is at least 66, 68, something like that, years. So now you've got the broad spectrum of chapter one. And I believe chapter one covers as a quick introduction to the whole captivity period, showing God's sovereignty, God's power, God's provision. And if we stand strong and stay pure, what God will do. That's why I believe if you look at your graph, chapter one, chapter three, and chapter six are all linked. Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 6 are all linked. And what happens in Chapter 3? Anybody know what happens in Chapter 3 of Daniel? The fiery furnace. Chapter 6? Daniel in the lion's den. All times of when these men said, I will follow God more than follow you. Every time God is put to the test, God comes out. victorious. And this only happens because these guys, they graduate top of their class. They're in the court. They're serving in the top court of the land for about 66 years, 67 years. And chapter one covers briefly that whole time. And I believe it sets in place the key to understand, two keys to understand the whole book. Do you want to know what they are? God gave and God is sovereign. If you understand God's sovereignty and you look throughout the book you just see this sovereign God at work declaring moving about events, bringing world powers into play and taking world powers out of play. You see God constantly will give his people as they stay strong and stay honest and true to him. So this is a great chapter, a great introductory chapter. But I just want to bring out just one last thing before we close, and it's this. You read the words magician in chapter, at the end of chapter one. magician and astrologers. The magicians, sort of the Hebrew, will use the words from Genesis 41 and Exodus 7, 8, 9. That has Egyptian origin, sort of has enchanters in Babylon with specific sort of exorcists and occult overtones. So when it talks about magicians, it's talking about enchanters, it's talking about occultists, it's talking about people who are dealing with spirit, the enchanters in that sense. So this is the type of people that Daniel mixed with and stood strong for God in the face of So in Daniel he's 10 times better, it is not literally a multiplier but a figure of speech to show how big God was. So as we conclude, We see a brief record of the span of Daniel's service in Babylon, around 66 years. The strategy of the enemy, as we've seen, a three-point strategy and one-point Daniel's intention, which we've seen went throughout all his life. We see how Daniel and his friends determined to remain true and pure to God's will and commands. And we see that chapter one brings us full circle almost as in chapter 9 verse 2, Daniel is reading the prophet Jeremiah and he will realize that 70 years is almost up. So chapter one will bring us almost full circle in a brief introduction. We also see that Daniel spans from 605 B.C. to, sorry, Daniel one from 605 B.C. to 539 B.C. And he's got about two or three years after that before he dies. So that's chapter one. That's chapter one, as we see the sovereignty of God, we see the determination of four 15-year-olds at the start of deportation who were willing to stand strong for God and put God to the test by letting people put them to the test and they could see the sovereignty of God and God glorified in all things. So that is chapter one, amen.