Dan-El ("El" being a God, as in "El-ohim")
The story of Daniel was taken from a northern Syrian poem written before 1500 B.C.
The hero, Daniel by name, was a son of El or God - the source of the Hebrew El. He was a
mighty judge and lawgiver, also a provider for his people. This poem about him became so
widely known that many races used its hero as a model for their own.[1,p.143 citing 2,p.256]
As for his "visions," Larson says, "It is evident that the apolcalyptic tribulations of
Daniel and those described in the New Testament are appropriated from the literature of
the Zoroastrians."[1,p.143 citing 3,p.99] Furthermore, although Daniel's "prophecies"
are frequently held up to have been astoundingly accurate, proving the Bible to be the
inspired Word of God, they were actually written after the fact. In particular, the
so-called prophecy at Daniel 9:24-27, referring to the "coming of an anointed one,"
has been fervently interpreted to mean Jesus's advent. However, in the next paragraph,
Daniel reveals whom he is really discussing: King Cyrus. Cyrus, in fact, is called the
"Lord's Christ," as at Isaiah 45:1: "Thus says the Lord to his Christ, to
Cyrus. . . "
