The Incredible Journey: Daniel

There are many heroes in the Bible. Some are great warriors. But others are men of quiet faith – men who display their courage, not on the battlefield, but simply by their faithfulness to God. Daniel is such a man. In this program we’re going to consider his experience in the lions’ den. This is an inspiring story about courage and bravery, but most of all, about true faithfulness, about faith in God through all things, about faith that stood the test of time during a crisis.

King Belshazzar of Babylon organized a big party. Amid all the revelry, an event occurred that brought all festivities to an immediate halt. A mysterious hand appeared, and in fiery letters, wrote a chilling message on the king's palace wall. Suddenly the party crowd goes silent. They are stunned. As they watch a hand appears, it comes out of nowhere and begins writing in fiery letters on the wall. The people watch in awe as the handwriting slowly makes words. But nobody can read the message, and so nobody knows what it means - until the prophet Daniel is asked to read and interpret the writing on the wall. A chilling revelation of what would happen to Babylon. And it would all start that very night, 12 October 539 BC.

Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest king on earth. He had every reason to be proud of his achievements. He ruled over the biggest empire the world had ever seen, from his palaces in the most beautiful city in the world: Babylon. And he had built it himself. This is the story of his struggle to accept that he wasn’t the centre of the universe and that the true God was in control. It climaxes with the king in a field eating grass like a cow, completely mad. But it has a good ending. This story helps us reflect on how God has worked throughout our lives to reveal himself to us, and helps us reflect where we are on this very special journey called life.

We're going to go back in time to a remarkable scene on the plains of Dura right near ancient Babylon. An enormous statue of King Nebuchadnezzar had been set up, and thousands of representatives from his empire were invited to pay homage to it in a splendid ceremony. But when the vast assembly on the plain bowed to the ground toward the image, three young men defied the king and remained standing. Their decision angered a king and shook an empire. It’s also encouraged people everywhere. This is their story.