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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Dan. 10-11
Again, I don’t know the message or the purpose in these prophecies. Clearly they show that God knows what is to come, as many of them fit with now historical events. Also, I know many people have put in a lot of time and effort trying to sort it all out and make predictions about the future. And still we lack understanding. I’ll tell you what I do understand, though. For however long time lasts, men will fight and destroy, kingdoms will rise and fall, people will oppose God and all that is His, and sometimes evil will succeed. But all of man’s plans, efforts, and triumphs don’t mean a thing. For, as it says twice in chapter 11, “still the end will come at the appointed time.” (Dan. 11:27b and 35b).
Dan. 12
Radical thought here… There is an obvious connection between the books of Daniel and Revelation. Both are prophecies about the so called “end times”. But what does that really mean? I am becoming more and more convinced that Revelation is not meant to be a prophetic timeline of future events. It’s called “Revelation” for a reason, after all. That reason is because the book reveals Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promise; God’s answer to our human need. So maybe the prophecies in Daniel have the same purpose.
So what if “the time of the end” has more than one meaning? What if there is more than one “end”, or “the time of the end” is a long time in itself? It is certainly not unusual for things in the Bible to have multiple layers of meaning. If, then, “the end” refers to evil’s defeat, hasn’t that already happened? Didn’t death lose the battle the moment Jesus stepped out of the grave? Jesus’ death was certainly a, “time of distress such as never has occurred” (from Dan. 12:1). Because of it, however, those who believe in Him – those, “who are found written in the book” (from Dan. 12:1) – escape the grip of sin. Also, when Jesus died on the cross, many rose from the grave. Finally, God’s Spirit now shines through those who follow Christ and lead others to do the same.
Daniel’s instructions were to, “…keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4a). The message to John, on the other hand, was, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.” (Rev. 22:10). The prophecies of Jesus’ death are clear in hindsight. Until that time, however, their true meaning remained hidden. Sealed and kept secret, just like Daniel’s prophecy. After that pivotal moment in time, however, John’s final prophecy revealed the truth of it all. So maybe now we are in “the time of the end”, waiting patiently for the end of the end to reach its appointed time. Yeah…mind blown.