Daniel in the Lion's Den

Daniel in the Lion's Den
4 foot x 6 foot Oil on canvas
By: Emerson L. Freese Jr.

Daniel 8:22
"My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." KJV

The prophet Daniel predicted Jesus' coming 438 years before His birth. The Jewish people"were looking" for the Messiah 2000 years ago. The ninth chapter of Daniel is one of the most astoundingly definite, literal time prophecies given in the entire Bible, giving the exact time for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ! The Old Testament has over 300 prophecies which point to the coming Messiah and to his life, death and resurrection. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled every single one of them. The odds of someone doing that; who was not the Messiah, are too great to even figure. It is impossible.

According to a Harris Poll taken in November 2008,
(80%) of Americans believe in God.
(71%), that Jesus is God or the Son of God
(71%), the resurrection of Jesus
(70%), the survival of the soul after death
(68%), hell
(62%), the Virgin birth (Jesus born of Mary)
(59%) and the devil.
(47%) believe in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, than in (40%) creationism.

Only about a third of all adults polled (37%) believe the Bible is the word of God.

I would like to work on that last one, in hopes to inspire americans to dust off there Bibles and once again know the life changing power of Gods Word.

Daniel and the lions den, the first in a series of Biblical Paintings I plan on doing. It is the biggest realistic painting I have ever attempted. Its 48"x72" and much easier on my 48 year old eyes. I used photos I took in 1997, a day in front of the lions den at the Philadelphia zoo. The model is a Messianic Jewish man I met in Iowa and who now is a good friend and Brother in Christ. He is also a winner in Iowa's state fair for ... wait for it.... his beard.
Lord willing the painting I have planed to do next and currently collecting reference material for is Christ's Entry in to Jerusalem. Jesus on a colt passing a roman centurion on a great horse in the crowd of followers praising and laying of palms. This is to coincide with Daniel's 70 weeks prophesy.

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