Episode Transcript
So take God's precious word, open your Bibles, and let's turn to the book of Daniel, chapter 6.
And we have been studying Daniel chapter 6.
And just to remind you, if you're a first-time visitor this morning, that we start at a particular book in the Bible, chapter 1, verse 1.
We explain every single verse.
We don't skip any verses.
We explain every single verse as God gives us the understanding until we get to the very last verse of that book, so that every verse of that book is understood.
And then we move to another book and we explain every verse in that book.
Brother Shepherd does the same thing in Sunday school.
He's teaching through the book of Job.
Job.
Or, if you are related to Siri, it's the book of Job, because Siri thinks it's the book of Job.
Daniel chapter 6, and God willing, we'll be expounding verses 16 through 19 this morning.
And the title of the message this morning is a fingerprint of Jesus.
And I tell you, I had a particularly wonderful time studying this passage of Scripture.
I tell you, I'm excited about teaching you God's Word this morning.
When those of y'all who know my history, I was an investigator, a criminal investigator for the state of Texas for many years before I retired.
And as an investigator for the state, I frequently had the occasion to develop and collect latent fingerprints for evidence.
Now I said develop and collect.
There are two parts to that.
Well actually there's three parts.
There's develop, collect, and compare.
Let me tell you how it works.
The word latent means it can't be seen.
When you have your Bible in your hands and you look into that Old Testament, all through that Old Testament there are latent fingerprints of Jesus Christ.
Now, this is for real.
Latent fingerprints of Jesus Christ, they can't be seen, but they're there.
Say, well, that's spooky, Brother Richard.
No, no more spooky than a fingerprint.
Look here.
If I do this right here, now lift my hands up, there's fingerprints right there.
You leave them behind on almost anything you touch.
And sometimes it takes powder.
It may take nanhydrin.
You can even use superglue gas.
Did you know that?
There's all kinds I'm sure since I've retired they come up with all kinds of other chemical ways to develop the latent so they can be seen.
And we all understand that.
But without development, they cannot be seen.
But once they're developed, it's obvious they were there.
In the Old Testament, it is full of latent fingerprints of Jesus.
Now, when I developed them, I would use certain techniques that were that were known powder, ninhydrin I never had the chance to I never had the the need to use super glue fumes, but that's very common too.
But in the Bible, the New Testament is the fingerprint dust.
And what you do, you take that New Testament and you go back and you dust that Old Testament like that.
I'm telling you, you'll see fingerprints of Jesus all over that Old Testament.
And then what you do, because when you find a fingerprint, just because you, if I were to.
If I were to develop a fingerprint, it's a little harder on wood because it's porous, but if I were to develop a fingerprint off this surface right here, I couldn't say, aha!
Doug left fingerprints on the communion table.
Could I do that if I found a fingerprint on there?
No.
Why, it could be anybody's fingerprint.
We don't know.
The only way to know is that third thing and that's compare.
You develop it so it can be seen, right?
And then you compare it.
So if I think it's Doug that left that fingerprint there.
Then I'm going to take Doug's fingerprint and I'm going to put Doug's fingerprint Right here, it, there we go.
And now I'm going to compare it with the fingerprint on this table.
And we all know they're completely unique.
There's no two alike.
And so I'm going to compare it to this fingerprint on this table.
And if it matches, because they have, it's called minutia.
If there's certain minutiae in there, these little minor details that are unique identifiers, you got your man right there.
No doubt about it.
You've identified your man.
And so that is that where that was?
Who there it was?
That's close enough.
That's how that works.
So what we're going to do this morning, we're going to go back.
And we're going to take a fingerprint that I've already dusted in the Old Testament.
And I'm going to show you that fingerprint.
And then we're going to compare that fingerprint.
And once we compare that fingerprint, we're going to see who the identity of the person is that left it there.
It's a beautiful, beautiful thing here.
Daniel chapter 6 verses 16 through 19, a fingerprint of Jesus Christ.
If I find your fingerprint at a crime scene, it doesn't prove you committed a crime.
You know what does prove?
It proves you were there.
Fingerprints aren't carried through the wind like pollen.
For a fingerprint to be on something, you have to be there and you have to touch it.
And we know that Jesus Christ Was in Bethany on a given day in the house of a man named Simon the leper.
You know how we know that?
Through eyewitnesses.
An eyewitness testimony in Matthew 26 verse 6 says, Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper.
Eyewitnesses also tell us that he was in Gethsemane at one particular night praying.
They tell us that he was in a large upper room eating the Passover with his disciples.
Eyewitnesses tell us that he was on Calvary being crucified.
And in many other places in the New Testament, we have eyewitness testimony, and that will convict A man in any court.
But do you know what's stronger than eyewitness testimony?
Physical evidence.
Said, Brother Richard, how can physical evidence be stronger than eyewitness testimony?
A witness can lie.
Physical evidence doesn't lie.
Now you can tamper with it, but untouched physical evidence doesn't lie.
And that's why I believe God put latent fingerprints in the Old Testament.
I believe that with all my heart.
I've been teaching through that Old Testament next door every year.
Just about since I've come here.
And I'm telling you, it's there.
And it cannot lie.
Jesus Christ was in the book of Daniel.
He was, and he left physical evidence behind.
He left a fingerprint, if you will, to prove that he was there the whole time.
Now, here's the reason why that's important.
I've been reminding you over and over again.
That Daniel, the book of Daniel, is not just a book of history.
It's a book of history.
But it's not just a book of history.
I remind you that Daniel is a Book of Prophecy Here in the next few chapters, we're going to be getting into very deep, specific prophecy.
It'll actually tell you when the promised Savior will come.
I mean it tells you exactly when the promised Savior is going to come.
So what we're doing here, this prophet Daniel, that's going to be telling us how the world's going to end, telling us how the Savior is going to come, telling us when the Savior is going to come, the first time that is.
This same prophet is working toward those prophecies in the book of Daniel.
So isn't it amazing if we can find, develop, and identify a fingerprint of the person that he's prophesying is going to come?
And finding that right smack dab in the middle of his prophecy.
That's what we're going to do.
And folks, we're going to find so many identifiers on this fingerprint, it would convict a man in federal court today.
Here we go.
By God's grace, we're about to go to the crime scene in Babylon this morning.
We're going to collect some fingerprints from King Darius' castle.
And from the lion's den where an attempted murder took place, we're going to compare The print that we find at that ancient Babylonian scene with the known fingerprints that we have of Jesus in the New Testament.
And by doing so, I intend to prove.
That the Lord Jesus Christ had his hands all over the book that we're studying this morning.
I submit to you this morning to the prophet Daniel.
When he was cast into the lion's den was a fingerprint of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet Daniel.
When he was cast into the lion's den, was a fingerprint of Jesus Christ.
Now, in court, a person's identity, as I told you before, is determined by those unique characteristics, the minutiae.
Of a fingerprint to those that we're trying to identify.
And the better the quality of the identifiers, the fewer the points are needed.
We're going to have excellent quality.
But we're going to have many points.
Now let's begin now by dusting for this print in Daniel chapter 6, verse 16, and we'll compare the identifiers we find with the known print of Jesus Christ.
Look with me now.
Daniel chapter 6, and look with me now in verse 16.
Then the king commanded.
And they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of, say that word with me, together, lions.
We are now at the place where the attempted murder took place.
In their mind, and for all practical purposes, this is a murder scene.
They have just cast this man of God into a lion's den for praying to God.
Why?
Because they did not want Daniel ruling over them.
Look back with me now in Daniel chapter 6.
Verse 3 and 4.
Remind you of the reason he was casting his lines.
Daniel chapter 6, verse 3 and 4.
Then this Daniel.
Was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault, for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
So they wanted to kill Daniel because they didn't want Daniel to reign over them.
The king thought to put Daniel over the whole realm.
He was going to have Daniel ruling over the entire kingdom.
Under his leadership, Daniel would be second in command.
And so they didn't want Daniel to reign over them.
Now, let's compare this to the identifier of Jesus Christ we have in the New Testament.
Luke chapter 19 verse 14.
Luke 1914 Jesus speaking of himself says But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
Identifier number one, Minutia number one.
But when they tried to find a crime to legitimately convict Daniel of, so they could legitimately put Daniel to death, The Bible says we just read, quote, they could find none occasion nor fault.
Look back in your text.
They could find none occasion nor fault.
Now, let's compare that identifier to Jesus.
Speaking of Jesus in Luke 23, verse 4, the Bible says, Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.
Isn't that amazing?
They don't want Daniel to rule over them, so they want to kill him.
When they go trying to kill him, they try to find a reason to put him to death.
They could find no fault.
They wanted to kill Jesus because they didn't want him reigning over them.
When they go try to find a legitimate reason to put him to death, Pilate says, I find no fault.
Identifier number two.
So they convicted Daniel for what?
Praying to God, being faithful to God, and they cast him into a den.
Say that word with me again.
Lions.
Now, listen to how the Old Testament describes Jesus' future death on the cross.
I was teaching this morning.
We were in the, in.
The time period of the kings in the Old Testament.
And King David was the one who was another fingerprint of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
And the Lord Jesus would speak through King David in the Psalms.
So, the promised Savior, through the Holy Spirit on David, would then speak about himself, about his coming, about the gospel, and many other different things through David, and David would pin them down.
And now we have them in the Bible called the Book of Psalms Psalms.
Now, listen as we're in the book of Psalms, chapter 22.
In Psalms chapter 22, Jesus is speaking through David about his future crucifixion.
Now remember, they cast Daniel into a den of lions.
Psalm 22 verse 16, listen to Jesus speaking.
For dogs have compassed me.
The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me.
They pierced my hands and my feet.
Now, folks, that's amazing right there.
Here Jesus is speaking prophetically, saying That, like a pack of dogs, the wicked are going to be surrounding him, and they're going to pierce his hands and his feet.
And that happened.
That's a fingerprint of Jesus right there.
You say, Brother Richard, what does it have to do with the dental lions?
Now that's why you got to develop latent prints, folks.
They're not always there.
I mean, they're there, they're not seen.
They're latent.
When you study the Hebrew, you're going to find a beautiful, beautiful minutia.
So good in quality, it in and of itself would be enough to convict us that Jesus is the Messiah.
Listen to how the Jewish Bible so if you were a Jew and you were to have your own translation of the Old Testament today in English That's the Jewish Bible.
It was translated by the Jewish Publication Society years ago.
And I'm going to read to you Let me read to you in our translation first, Psalm 22, 16, For dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet.
Now listen to how the Jewish Bible translates the same verse.
For dogs have compassed me, a company of evildoers have enclosed me.
Like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.
Like a lion.
And again, Psalm twenty-two, verse twenty-one This is still Jesus speaking of his coming crucifixion through the King David.
Psalm 22, 21, speaking of Jesus' coming death on the cross.
He says, Save me from the lion's mouth.
Look at that.
So Jesus. is comparing his crucifixion on the cross to being devoured by lions.
And of all things, guess where old Daniel's going to be devoured by lions.
Isn't it amazing?
And then God says, as we look in our translation into English, they pierced my hands and my feet.
The two are the same, whether it's lions or the piercing.
It's all the same thing.
But watch now.
Look on further.
He says, Oh, no, no, no, go back.
We were there.
Save me from the lion's mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
What in the world is that?
You've heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
This was an animal.
A big beast in the Jewish translation translates as a wild oxen, with kind with the horns coming up.
And whether it was A regular wild oxen, or whether it was an animal that's extinct now that had a like a rhinoceros, a big old horn coming up.
I don't know for sure.
But I know this: it was an animal that had a big horn and a lot of power.
And Jesus, through David, calls for God to save him from the lion's mouth, and then he says that God has heard him from the horns of the unicorns.
Isn't that weird?
But here's what we want to understand first.
Daniel was cast into the dental lines, and so was Jesus.
Identifier number three.
As far as the unicorns, If you're wondering about that comment, that is speaking about the power of God to judge Jesus' enemies and deliver him.
It's speaking about the power of God to raise Jesus back up from the dead after the lions devour him.
Speaking of the power of God's judgment on his enemies, Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse 17 says, His glory is like the firstling of his bullock and his horns.
Are like the horns of unicorns.
God's power to judge.
He says, with them, the horns of the unicorns.
He shall push the people together to the ends of the earth, and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
Speaking of God's saving power, not his judging power, but his saving power.
Numbers chapter 23, verse 22 says, God brought them out of Egypt.
He hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn.
So all of that scripture there.
Don't get distracted with the unicorn.
Jesus says, Save me from the lion's mouth, and then Jesus prophetically says that God will save him That God will hear him from the horns of the unicorns, his saving power to raise him back from the dead, his judging power to condemn his enemies in his place.
That is not in my notes, but that is another identifier, because that's exactly what happened.
Once Daniel was delivered from the lion's den, the enemies who thought to kill him were killed in his place.
It's absolutely amazing, folks.
All these identifiers, we could go on and on and on.
Now that we have established that, let's look back in Daniel 6, 16.
Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
Daniel and the king.
They were trusting in God, the God whom Daniel served, to deliver him.
Speaking of Jesus' coming death, Psalm 22 again, verse 8.
The Bible says, speaking of Jesus, he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him.
You see that?
Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
And that exact same Bible verse was quoted again in full By the way, in the New Testament, when Jesus died.
That's Matthew 27:43, by the way, if you ever want to look it up.
When they looked up at Jesus, he trusts in the Lord that he would deliver him.
Let's see if he'll deliver him.
Quoting from that psalm.
That's identifier number four.
Now let's look in verse 17.
That's actually five identifiers now.
Let's look in verse 17.
And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den.
They took a big stone and they rolled that stone upon the opening of the lion's den.
They cast Daniel into the lion's den.
They take a stone, they roll it over the lion's den.
And now the lion's den, where Daniel metaphorically dies, becomes Daniel's tomb with a stone across it.
So he can't get out.
Isn't that amazing?
We probably don't have to hint around where this is going, do we?
I mean, this is in-your-face kind of stuff.
Now let's compare that to Jesus.
Matthew chapter 27, verses 59 and 60.
It says, And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it In his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, that means to the door of the grave, and departed.
Identifier number five or six.
If you want to keep the extra ones we're throwing in.
Now it doesn't stop there.
Look back in your text again.
Not only did they lay the stone upon the mouth of the den, but look next, and the king, say that word, sealed it.
With his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
So, what happened is, not only do they take the stone and roll it over Daniel's grave, But the king then seals the stone.
Now, the other day I took some vitamins.
I'd got on subscribe and save.
I'd bought them on Amazon to get the discount.
I did the subscribe and save.
I took them for a while, and then I thought.
I don't want to take these anymore, and I forgot I had the subscribe and say, by the way, I think they want you to forget.
So, guess what?
I had some vitamins shipped to the house the other day.
That I didn't expect coming, I went ahead and canceled my subscription.
But you can't send them back.
Not food and medicine and things like that.
So I took them to a man at work that takes those vitamins.
Now, if he would have taken that bottle and I just handed him a bottle of pills, you think he'd just pop them in his mouth?
Not if he's smart.
But you know what he found on that?
He found a seal.
He found a seal that showed that it had been protected.
It hasn't been tampered with, it hasn't been opened.
And the king seals this tomb.
And he seals it with his signet.
And what that means is this: they place a barrier over this tomb, a seal, and then the king puts his stamp on that seal.
And that seal better not get broken.
It better not get broken.
If you do, you're going to get killed.
Penalty is going to be death.
So the king, with all of his authority, And his lords under him with their authority.
They seal that tomb up so that the penalty be death.
It cannot be rolled away.
All the power All the authority of the kingdoms of this world said, Daniel cannot come out.
Now let's compare that to Jesus, Matthew chapter 27.
Matthew chapter 27.
Look, we've been down in verses 62 through 66.
Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation.
The chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive.
After three days I will rise again.
Now, Jesus is in the tomb right now.
The stone is rolled over his tomb.
And they said, You know what?
We remember that he said after three days he'd rise again.
So this is what they say.
Verse 64, Command, therefore, that the sepulchre, that is the tomb, be made sure.
Until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead.
So the last error shall be worse than the first.
Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch?
Go your way, make it as sure as you can.
You make it as secure as you can.
So they went and made the sepulchre sure.
Watch this now, sealing the stone.
And setting a watch.
They rolled a stone over Daniel's grave, being crucified by lions.
And then they sealed the stone.
Jesus said, like a lion at my hands and feet.
They're going to pierce my hands and feet.
They then roll the stone over his grave, and then they seal that stone.
Identifier number six.
Verse 18, Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting.
Neither were instruments of music brought before him.
Usually at night he would go to his palace and they'd play nice, gentle music play the king softly to sleep.
I mean he was a king it was luxury.
He had it made.
Not this night.
He went to bed with no supper.
He was miserable.
He was grieved.
He could not be comforted.
And he couldn't sleep, it said, and his sleep went from him.
You see that?
The king who loved Daniel was greatly grieved at what he saw.
Now let's compare that to Jesus.
Luke chapter 23, verses 48 and 49.
And all the people that came together to that sight Beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned.
And all his acquaintance and the women that followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things.
Oh God, oh God.
They couldn't be comforted.
Identifier number 7.
Verse 19.
Then the king, this is the next day.
Then the king rose very early in the morning.
Will you all say that with me?
Then the king arose, say it with me, very early in the morning.
And went in haste unto the den of the lions.
The king got up very early in the morning to go to Daniel's grave, whereon the stone had been rolled across.
Where the stone had been sealed.
Now, let's compare that to Jesus.
Luke chapter 24, verse 1 says, Now upon the first day of the week, say it with me, very Early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them.
Identifier number eight.
But not only that, but the Bible says the king went in haste.
In haste.
That means the king hurried.
He ran to that grave.
Now let's compare that to Jesus.
John chapter 20, verse 4 says, So they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter.
And came first to the sepulcher.
Identifier number nine.
And church next week, we will see that guess what?
I have to wait till next week.
We're running out of time.
She's going, no, no.
Church, the next week, we're going to see.
That when the king came to the sepulchre, just like Jesus' disciples, he found Daniel alive.
Identifier number 10 and identifiers don't stop there.
We've mentioned some extra as we've been going along.
You see, Daniel was convicted because of his faithfulness to God, and so was Jesus.
That's Denophi 11 or 12 now.
Daniel was raised to rule.
As second in command, the Bible says Jesus has been raised to sit now at the right hand of God, ruling now as second in command.
Under God the Father.
And you know what the gold standard of identifiers has historically been in court for identifying people by fingerprints, the little unique identifiers you find when you compare them?
Historically, it's been between five or twelve.
And this leads us to only one conclusion: with all the quality identifiers we found.
Now, folks.
You see, you can't see it when you read Daniel.
You never see it.
But when you take the dust of the New Testament and you swipe it across at the Old Testament, Wow, there it is.
And all the identifiers are there.
And this leads us to only one conclusion.
That the man who died on the cross in the first century AD is the Messiah the prophet Daniel said would come.
In the coming chapters that we're going to be studying to save the world.
A fingerprint of Jesus, and they're all over.
The Old Testament book.
Father, we thank you so much for your precious word.
Thank you, Father, for the hard Physical evidence that you have placed in your word like a crime scene, so that any reasonable jury Upon seeing the evidence of the physical evidence in the Old Testament, upon reading the eyewitness testimony in the New Testament.
And putting it all together can come to the rock-solid conviction that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Because God so loved the world that he gave him, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Truly, these things were written.
That we might believe, and that believing we might have life in his name.
Thank you.
In Christ's name, amen.
