IMPORTANT UPDATE: It's been over 5 years since I posted this video and I have a really important update for you. One of my concerns in the video was that it was so difficult to find an accessible resource that walked you through this topic well and this was my motive for making one. But I have just found a resource that handles this issue MUCH BETTER than I did and I want to share it with you now. Dr. Jonathan McLatchie (a brilliant scholar) just posted a 90 page, well-footnoted treatment of the dating of Daniel and it is far better than my treatment in this video. I even went back and edited out some stuff from my video after reading his paper! I think it's a thoughtful, balanced and thorough treatment of the subject and while it might be just a bit challenging for laymen I think it's still well worth your time. Jonathan gives strong support for the early date, shows where some common arguments in defense of Daniel fall short (even some I shared in the video, which I have edited out to keep from providing any poor arguments in support of the early date, which I am still quite strongly convinced of), and even gives some new support for the early dating that I wasn't aware of before! Here's what I edited out, since I'm sure many will be interested. - Critics say that Belshazzar was not Nebuchadnezzar's son and I responded by quoting Herodotus who gives room for us to think that Belshazzar's grandfather was Nebuchadnezzar. However, Herodotus may be unreliable on this account and it is simpler to say that the "Son of Nebuchadnezzar" claim is about claiming to rightfully sit on the throne of Nebuchadnezzar and not a claim to be a biological descendant. Jonathan's article supports this perspective well. - I edited out some of my claims about the motives of critics. I've grown as a follower of Christ in the last several years and would not now make any conclusions about the motives of people with such broad strokes. Even if it could be true of some people it's a hasty generalization to make of all. In hindsight and with a few more years of life under my belt I see that I was being rude and I'm sorry. - I had said that Nebuchadnezzar was not known to be a builder by historians in the 2nd century BC but that's proven wrong by Jonathan's article when he shows Josephus quoting a 4th century historian on the topic, meaning that this historians work could have been available in the 2nd century BC since Josephus knows of it in the f1st century AD. This wouldn't be a strike against the early date for Daniel but it should not be used in support of it either. It's a non-issue when it comes to dating. - Finally, I removed a brief reference to Daniel being made a "third ruler" in the kingdom as support for Belshazzar being the 2nd ruler under his father. This is possible but it's equally possible that the queen mother was the 2nd ruler, in which case the point had nothing to offer us in supporting or refuting the early dating of Daniel. I'm grateful to Jonathan for helping us defend the Christian faith with even greater accuracy and intellectual integrity. HERE is Dr. Jonathan McLatchie's excellent work on the dating of Daniel jonathanmclatchie.com/the-authenticity-of-the-book-of-daniel-a-survey-of-the-evidence/

Your the best! I was never very religious. I started reading the Bible Nov 2018 at the age of 63. I started reading Revelation followed by Daniel. Both difficult books to understand. Daniel has since become my favorite book. God used it to change my life. If you read and understand Daniel it’s impossible to say God does not exist. I was born again Feb 23rd 2019. My faith and trust in Jesus has grown immensely from reading the Bible and watching videos like this. You have some of the best videos on Daniel. Thanks!

I am a missionary and Bible teacher. This is one of my favorite subjects and this is one of the best presentations I have seen yet. Well done teaching the truth. There is a God, and He has spoken.

I cant even imagine the scale of the amount of people whom faith you help strengthen. Blessed be the Lord for putting you on this path and bless you for following it. Thank you.

Mike, i have finally found a kindred brother in you, who loves seemingly unimportant details and with ability like Paul to bring all of the pieces together for the real demonstration of the Holy Spirit to wrap the argument solidly around our Berean mindset, and pull it home. You are the teacher i have always striven to be. thx sir.

Proverbs 25:2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings."!

Can’t wait to get to heaven and hug mike winger for teaching us so much and his wife for supporting him while he studies for hours before the sermons.

Mike, the Lord brought me to Ken Boas' 30+ part teaching on the book of Daniel about 5 years ago. Since then I have listened to it around 50 times--I have a long commute to work. This video was a wonderful supplement to those teachings and a deep comfort to my soul. Our Father loves us and gives us these wonderful teachings to treasure in our hearts until His Son returns or we return to Him. Thanks for the treasure, brother.

This is a great video, the research you did really gives force to the arguments.

Great job. You answered some of the questions I had concerning the 'Book of Daniel'. Thank you, Mike! Keep proclaiming and defending the Holy Word of God!

I’ve been studying the book of Daniel and I understand it but man you break it down and make it easier to understand! Thanks for this, God bless you!

Excellent work. Thanks for compiling all of this information in one place.

Hey Mike! Just to let you know that my mother and I are currently watching this series and we just finished part 4 and I have to say, even as believers who love the Word of God, we're learning many new things from your series and we can't wait to watch the rest of this series. May God continue to bless your ministry, as I believe that many Christians are being strengthened in their faith because of the work you to do in defending the truth of God's holy word to us.

Here’s another I don’t get about those who claim the late date: the Jews knew how to determine if a prophet was true or not from passages like Deuteronomy 18. If someone came along and wrote “prophecy after the fact”, is it really realistic to assume that these people were deceived into accepting a traditional dating of a text (a dating to then be accepted for centuries after) written by someone who quite obviously was pretending to be a prophet, given these strict guidelines? If someone today forged a document and said it was written by George Washington, a simple investigation could reveal that it was a fake-let alone the fact that Daniel would have been known as a prophet to the Jews living in the 2nd century BC-it doesn’t seem reasonable that they’d just ACCEPT some new writing as having been written 400 years prior and yet no one had any idea it ever existed...does anyone have any strong evidence or a counterclaim to this objection? I’m open to hearing it

I just found your videos and from what I've seen I'm delighted. So good to see folks doing this necessary historical and apologetic work without losing sight of the grand sweep of scripture and its typological resonances.

You said the linguistic section would be difficult, but it was my favorite part!

Once again, thankyou for doing all the work so that I can have a firm foundation if the scriptures are called into question. You are strengthening the faith of many, and helping to bring down the arguments against it.

I really appreciate this series! Thank you and may God bless you.

Thanks Mike. This was riveting for its amazing scholarship and your usual humble but authoritative delivery. I listen to at least one of your podcasts every single day, and they’re the time when I feel closest to God and do my best praying. You have been life-changing to me. I pray for you at the top of my list. Thank you, dear Mike. Blessings.

O. M. G 😲 FA-BU-LOUS 😁😍 Thank you so much for what you're doing! 🙏 I've been listening to you almost every day for weeks, Mike, and I can't get enough. What a blessing your hard work / passion for the Lord and His Word / and your teaching are! May He continue guiding and inspiring you, and blessing us so abundantly through you,... forever and ever and ever, Amen! 😊 💕 Cheers and Hallelujah!

This is GREAT stuff Mike! Thanks for posting this and doing this work! Very helpful for my sermon series on Daniel!

This uplifted me and encouraged me. Bless you my brother.impressive!

Excellent work… You’re a fantastic preacher and teacher. Thankful I found you channel!! God bless you

Thank you so much for this. You have no idea how much this (and your other videos) has strengthened my faith and confidence in scripture.

I am listening to this series over and over. I hope to know it inside out to help me share the Gospel. I also try to listen to the critics, as I would like my understanding to be robust. I find Mike's responses to the critics so helpful. Thanks Mike

Really interesting, thanks. I love stuff like this.

Thank you so much for you hard work, it is such a blessing

Wow! this is gold! great stuff!

This is your best lesson. You are right about there being little to no defenses of Daniel like this. I was looking for a way to not have to do the heavy lifting myself, you know, reading; so I tried to find a video on the linguistics of Daniel and found nothing. Then I found yours, and it delivered more than I had hoped for. Thanks for the best defense of Daniel I have seen.

Thank you so much for this! I had been wrestling with the historicity of Daniel but no longer!

This was very well-done. As someone with a background in anthropology, I really appreciated this video.

Great work Mr Winger! Thank you for your dedication to the Word.

Thank you for your ministry

Excellent presentation! Thank you so much!

Linguistic evidence also supports the traditional dating of Daniel. As is commonly known, the Book of Daniel was originally written in both Hebrew and Aramaic: 1:1-2:3 and 8:1 12:13 make up the Hebrew portions, with 2:4-7:28 making up the Aramaic segment. In the past, critical scholars have relied on the use of Aramaic in Daniel to bolster their case that it was written during the Maccabean period., as they believed Daniel's Aramaic "more closely matched the Aramaic of the second century B.C., than that of the sixth century B.C. However, evidence provided by the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient documents has revealed that the Aramaic in Daniel is characteristic of an earlier, eastern form of the language as opposed to a later, Palestinian derivative, "as one would expect of a resident of Babylonia."7 This type of Aramaic, referred to as "Imperial Aramaic," is thus perfectly congruent with Daniel's geography and time.

😂you are hilarious and thorough. you did an excellent job in research and explanation! thank you! your art is perfect!

Daniel is soooo good. I did a paper on the book in college and it really firmed things up for me. Daniel in the Critics Den is a great book if you are curious.

Hello from England, it's the first time I've listened to some of your teaching. Good job :)

Thank you, Mike! This was an honest and thorough refutation to the half-truths of the "higher critics" of God's Word. I have a nephew who served as an assistant pastor of his local assembly, who went away to receive his doctorate in Assyriology at a liberal school of "higher learning". After having his head pumped full of the useless drivel of his professors, he emerged an avowed agnostic, (just an atheist with a fancy name). The book of Daniel is his favorite target that he uses to deride those that put their faith in the scriptures. This, of course broke the hearts of all our family members, and we lift him up before our Lord daily. Satan has blinded his eyes to God's truth for the time being, but ultimately the scales will be removed and he will worship our Savior with us! You are correct about the unbeliever, he follows his pre-conceived, false notions because of his hatred for God's truth. What is their purpose for going to such lengths to "disprove" the scriptures? I believe in my nephew's case, it is because there is a war going on in his mind, The Spirit wars against the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit, but we know Who wins! Thanks again for this excellent video. I particularly love the fact that you are obviously fighting back the tears at the end of your presentation. This is evidence of The Spirit of God powerfully at work in your ministry! Needless to say, I will forward your video to my nephew. God bless you!

How absolutely fantastic! Thank you Mike for the hard work you put into what you do. I love Bible Prophecy because in it we see God writing history before it happens, it shows how awesome God truly is!

Well done. Excellent work thank you!

@54:06 "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." Michael Scott "The Office"

You are a blessing, Mike!

Critics claim that Daniel is too accurate for it to be genuine. However, even if we were to allow them to say it was written 200 BC, then they would still have the amazing accuracy of the 69 weeks until the coming of the anointed one, his death, and the destruction of the temple to explain (Daniel 9; 25-26). If it can be this accurate on this detail, then why not also on the rest?

This video is epic! So thorough and such a solid case made for the Daniel prophecy that can only be explained by God!

This is great work, thank you!

Well done brother! I feel pre-armed. I haven't heard this argument before, but I might mention (in my next debate) how amazing it is that Daniel prophesied these events years before they occurred. Hopefully I will get a bite!

Thank you for helping me with this book. It is very hard to find solid info online.

great job Mike. if you want still to find a similar defence I listened through John macarthur's huge exposition of Daniel on the gty website - more than 20 hours - so pretty thorough. but yours is just as good and shorter! thanks again.

Glad I found this video, Mike. I learned a few things! On Darius the Mede, I'd offer to you the thesis of Steven Anderson (PhD Dallas TS) called "Darius the Mede: a reappraisal" in which the author revives the claims of Josephus and Jerome that Darius is better known to us as Cyaxares II. He also demonstrates that Daniel agrees with Xenophon, against Herodotus, and that later sources which swayed scholarship towards Herodotus are propagandistic and need to be handled critically. Thanks for all the work you do, I'm loving your videos.

Buddy! Thanks and greets from SDA church :) Let the Lord guide you!

Thank you God for this video. Your Bible proofs again and again You are awesome.

Thank you for making this video! Your research on the book of Daniel is quite the gem. I am in the research phase of a project I am working on that I am titling "Daniel: Fraud, Fiction, or Fact." I also believe that with a proper defence of Daniel our faith can be confidentially placed in the prophecies therein.

Thank You!

Le, Epic. Thank you Mike, God Bless!

Fantastic presentation!

Love the work your doing. Great job. Would mind posting your sources for these post is love to dig in more?

This is evidence that it is not a good time to be an atheist!

Amazing... Just breathe taking...

Excellent!

Hey Mike. I would love to hear your thoughts on the son of man prophecy in Daniel. It seemed like a strong deity of Christ argument, but I have only heard Nabil Qureshi make it. Your whole channel is amazing though. A real blessing. Thanks.

Great defense of Daneil! Keep doing videos like this. Very faith strengthening.

Almost 4 minutes in and I found out thru my studies that it doesn't matter when Daniel is claimed to have existed as long as Daniel was before Jesus, and therefore the 2300 years still applies nicely and accurately (without getting into much details). 🤯🤯🤯

Excelente!!! The best!!! CONGRATS. Praise God for you. Edifying and entertaining. The most important proof being that Jesus said that Daniel prophesied about the End time.

This is nicely done and while the skeptics will continue to snipe at the Bible, it's so good to see these defences keeping on top of things. Thanks Mike.

Hi Mike, just want to point out, in regards to Belsahzzar, the artifacts that were found showing King Nabonidas was out of town and left Babylon in the charge of his son, coupled with the fact that Belshazzar says he would make the interpreter of the writing on the wall a "third ruler", requires an eye witness account given the type of specificity. The so-called "forger" of Daniel in 164 B.C. would not have known what Belshazzar said with that type of specificity. He might have guessed, but, would not have a made a remark like "make him third ruler". It's one of those "off the cuff" type of remarks historians look for to validate the historicity of ancient writings, according to Bart Ehrman. Furthermore, and this is just my own speculation, we all have seen or read the stories where the bratty heir to the throne spends his time time partying with little regard for real leadership. This would fit Belshazzar to the Tee, and lend even more credence to the idea that while daddy was out of town, this spoiled brat was partying every night and showing blatant disregard for the people he was given charge over and their religious beliefs (using the items from the Temple to drink out of to impress his party crowd). His attitude fits that of someone who was never told "No", had everything handed to him, and was a wannabe king who thinks that leadership is giving orders rather than leading by example. He fits the bill as an entitled kid who expects his father to just give him the keys of the kingdom. He feigns gravitas, but is really a coward. Notice how Daniel 5:6 says "Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another". Typical of a bratty prince who has no idea of what it means to be a king and be responsible for a kingdom and it's people. He Talks with authority, but really is a coward. Only an eyewitness could give an account like this. Just my thoughts.

This is an excellent summary of evidence supporting an early date for the book of Daniel. Can you share your sources for the various items shared here? It would help me in defending this position. I’ve already met pushback from my pastors in discussing the date of composition. Thanks for your efforts and your teaching.

Thank you brother for taking the time, energy, and strength it requires to present Truth as it is. May YHWH bless you in His Son, Yeshua, all the days of your life

I'm the one that needs the research too lol!! Well, because blind faith to me means the possibility of falling into lies and traps. Thanks! This research is worth alot!

Thank you so much. God’s Word is true!

I don't agree with everything you teach, but to this I say: AMÉN!!!

Thank you Mark! No work for the Lord is in vain!

Amazing video

Thank you.

Hey mike :) i have watched a lot of your videos and i really like your literal approach to reading the bible. I have a question for you: would you ever consider going vegan as an act of compassion? I feel like i should preemptively mention i am not a seventh day adventist and this question is not so much theological but more personal.

God bless you Mike.

Hello Mike, thanks for the concise video-defence for Daniel. Just wondering if you'd be able to post a list of sources / references for the extra-biblical historical evidences you cited?

Hello (Pastor?) Mike. Thank you so much for this video. It was literally an answer to prayer. I have a question for you concerning the interpretation of the little horn being Antiochus IV. I should clarify here that I take the book of Daniel to consist of repetitions and enlargements in their prophetic chapters--2, 7, 8, 11-12. In other words, I take them to be repeating the same history (although 8 and 11 do not count Babylon, but that is for a reason), but in greater detail. If you want me to, I will do my best to expand on this idea (I'm still a learner when it comes to this book, and really the whole Bible). With that said, let me get to my question. As I have understood it, the little horn refers to the Catholic Papacy during the Dark Ages, when it was not merely a religious entity, but one that had political power on its side as well (Note: This is not referring to individual Catholics, but the system, with its hierarchy and political clout). My reasons for this are (found in Daniel 7:23-25): 1. The 4th beast is a separate nation to that of Greece, not a mere extension of it. It is the Roman Empire. This agrees with the flow of kingdoms of Daniel 2 (the kingdom of Brass, Greece, being followed by the kingdom of iron, Rome). Antiochus was dead by this time. 2. The little horn arises after the 10 divisions (horns, or Germanic kingdoms that arose out) of the Roman Empire (at least its western half)--making it post AD 476. The Catholic church received political power (that is, Justinian permitted the bishop of Rome to "administer justice" on heretics using his and other military forces) in AD 538. Again, Antiochus was dead by this time. 3. Through its influence, 3 of the first 10 divisions fall (can't remember the date now, but the last of the 3--the Ostrogoths--fell some time in the 6th century). The fall of the Vandals, Heruli, and Ostrogoths can be tied to their defiance to the Catholic church's doctrines (they were apparently Arians, although this may have just been slander to justify their slaughter) and ecclesiastical control (they didn't care to follow the Roman bishop as their supreme head). Antiochus didn't do this. 4. It makes blasphemous claims--i.e. it claimed to be God on earth, though only human (John 10:30); claimed the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:7); makes a false profession to be a Jew (i.e. a Christian--Romans 2:28-29; 9:6-8; Gal. 3:26-29). It is for this reason--its religious claims--that it is distinct from the other 10 original nations that arose out of Western Rome. This perfectly describes the religious claims of the papacy (although not all of its claims are incorrect). Antiochus didn't make any of these claims. 5. It persecuted Christians for 3.5 prophetic years (time, times, and dividing of times = 1260 days, or literal years--see Num. 14:24; Ez. 4:6). This again, was fulfilled in history, where Rome, through its ties with several nations of Europe, had millions of Christians, especially during the era of the Reformation, slaughtered, ending finally only in 1798, when General Berthier of France forced the pope to abdicate. Even if we took this time period to be literal, Antiochus didn't persecute God's people for 1260 days. 6. Attempts to change "times and laws"--in part, this refers to an attempt made to change God's law. The papacy did this in its manner of altering the commandments--removing the 2nd, changing the 4th, and splitting the 10th. Antiochus made no such attempt. This is from Daniel 8: 1. The he-goat (Greece under Alexander, and later his 4 generals) "waxed great" 2. The little horn "waxed exceeding great" (that is, it was even more powerful than the nation of Greece). This cannot apply to Antiochus IV, as he was substantially weaker than Alexander and his 4 generals. Rather, this language--that is, "exceeding" (sorry, I'm quoting from the KJV as I write this, hence the old-fashioned English) links it to the 4th beast in Daniel 7 (verse 7). Thus, the little horn here refers to Pagan Rome (the Empire). However, I believe it transitions to papal Rome (the Catholic church-state of the Dark Ages) in vss. 11-12. I must admit, I am still working on this view, but it seems to harmonize with the Daniel 2 and 7 pattern. I'm sure that you have loads of people asking you questions, so don't worry about taking time to respond. Also, I am open to other views, so please know that I am (at least trying to be) sincere in asking this, and not just trying to start a debate. I have just presented what has made sense to me. I really look forward to your response. If you already have a video that addresses this, I can check that out if that saves you time. May God bless you in your ministry. It's been a blessing to me.

Great stuff.

Hey guys let's say that Daniel was actually written in 2nd century b.c. (which it is not) You still have the prophetic insight into the rise and rule of Rome hundreds of years before it came about. Even Edward Gibbon the author of the History of the decline and fall of Rome confirms this. Not only that but Daniel also predicted the division of the Roman empire which would later on become modern Europe.

At 42:00 He says that critics say that the Aramaic is from the 2nd century. Actually they haven't stated that for about a century. They date the Aramaic chapters typically to the 3rd or even 4th centuries. John Collins said the Aramaic belongs to this period.

Also love the history of Belshazzar at 10:24!

Beutifull explained. Thanks

Hi Mike, could you provide your sources to this message? This would be great, thank you 😊

May God bless you

22:30 "he was a gubber". That was awesome.

A + another great teaching

What are your thoughts on the apocryphal additions to the book of Daniel?

There were two different books with the same title published at different times - "Daniel in the Critic's Den". I read the earlier one written by Sir Author Anderson (1841-1918). Kregel Poblications. Good apologetic. I think the latter one was McDowell's version.

In his book God's not dead. Rice Broocks,Ph.D, wrote that, atheists themselves admit that they can't win in a formal debate against Christian scholars. Great job mike. please continue to torch skeptics and critics God bless

awesome bro thank you. skeptics have become the fools here

God pls help me wrap my mind around history. I understand the word of God but the history part of it I just dnt know how to explain pray for me cuz I wanna know this stuff

Mike, I just watched this. I know it has been 7 years since this posted, but I was wondering if you have seen a video from Digital Hammurabi that tries dating Daniel? It was posted 4 years ago. I watched his video on Ezekiel 26 rebutting your video. He makes a compelling case, to those who don't study. I am a Christian and have been watching your videos for about a year. Have enjoyed them very much and am currently going through your "evidence for the Bible" series. Thanks for all you do. I am going to read your suggested article.

Q: Do you know good examples of prophecies that were “made” after the events? A: All those in the book of Daniel which is the most cited for fulfilled prophesies. Believers claim it was written in the 6th century BC, but it actually dates to around 165 BC. What do you say to this claim?

"Historically, the book of Daniel was written in the 6th Century BC" 4:45. No, a historian would NEVER say that. Rather, they would say, "Traditionally, the book of Daniel was written in the 6th Century BC." Only a person with a theological outlook that was immovable would say "historically" when it is that notion that is in dispute.

Is there a transcript or something like that for this video?

I love the history at 20:23

@Mike Winger There is a typo / wrong verse @ min 16:38. it is not Daniel 5:28 but rather Daniel 6:28. The same typo possibly in the slide image about the coregent (min 17:02) - i think Daniel 5:28 should rather be Daniel 6:28

Mike, I wanted to ask, do you have any notes to share? I know this was 4 years ago, but, I’m curious.

Awesome dude