Transcendence – “Who’s the boss?”
Hierarchy – “Who has He put in charge?”
Ethics – “What are the rules?”
Sanctions – “What are the rewards?”
Succession – “What’s next?”

As this plays out in history, the “Ethics” gets split into three, which gives us a seven-fold pattern that corresponds to the Creation week and the Feasts.

TRANSCENDENCE
Sabbath – Unlike Adam, Daniel resists the offer of kingdom food without priestly obedience, and qualifies as God’s Man

HIERARCHY
Passover – Daniel shelters the wise men by
interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s night vision

ETHICS (Laws)

Firstfruits – Daniel’s mighty men are
offered on a false Altar (LAW OF MAN)

Pentecost – The king of kings is humbled as a beast and regains his kingdom as a man (LAW OF GOD)

Trumpets – Daniel warns Belshazzar that the kingdom is about to fall. He has drunk from the Lord’s prophetic cup and been found “wanting” (LAW OF GOD’S MAN)

SANCTIONS
Atonement – Daniel survives the lions’ den, and is “resurrected” from the sealed “tomb”

SUCCESSION
Booths – Daniel is given a vision of the end of the Restoration Covenant era, the final Old Covenant Succession

If you look carefully, each chapter follows the same structure. Chapter 1 begins with the beginning of the captivity and ends with a mention of Daniel’s “Succession” at the start of the Persian empire.

And if you step out, the entire book of Daniel also follows the same pattern. The Bible is a fractal.

You can see the pattern above in Jesus’ ministry up to AD70. The Revelation, a Covenant lawsuit against Herodian worship, follows the same pattern, and ends with a vision of the “world to come,” the gospel era, the kingdom won by the faithful apostolic witnesses (20-22).

So the chiasms in the Bible are not just a “there and back again,” they are Covenant quests. Depending upon the Man’s obedience, he will return with either plagues or plunder. Moses plagued Egypt and plundered it. The Ark conquered Dagon and the plunder looked like plagues! The faithful Man’s reward is the future, an inheritance.

Jesus’ ministry is the same, and His faithfulness entitled Him to inherit the nations (Succession) which He is doing. He bound the strong man and is plundering his house.

The reason these experts got it partly wrong is because they need to be a little more cross-eyed when reading the Bible, i.e. looking at two things at once. An understanding of the Covenant pattern is crucial.