Daniel’s figure
In the The Book of Rules , Tyconius suggests that in his witness to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel represents “the whole body of the church” since “Daniel confounded the king of Babylon as a figure.” Through the Spirit, Daniel “brought the proud king to his knees to confess the one God by virtue of the church’s majesty; by the confession of his own power and his own heavenly wisdom, he overturned the superstitions of Babylon.”
For Tyconius, this means that Nebuchadnezzar was himself a convert: “the king of Babylon who devastated the Lord’s land and killed the people . . . was clean at his death and does have eternal life.”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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