Dennis Edwards
The first Bible Prophecy classes I received some
50+ years ago emphasized the importance of the Holy Covenant alluded to by
Jesus in Matthew 24.
"When you shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
(whosoever reads, let him understand): ...For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be," Matthew 24:15&21.
To find out more what Jesus was referring to, we
need to look at those specific prophecies of Daniel and try to understand what
they are saying. Jesus told Daniel, who lived from approximately 620 BC to 536
BC, that it was not for him to understand certain prophecies that he received,
as they were pertaining to the time of the end.
"But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and
seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased," Daniel 12:4.
Knowledge has certainly increased since the time of
Daniel. Many are also running to and fro, much more so than in any centuries
previously.
The prophecies continues and Daniel records,
"that it shall be for a time, times, and a
half; and when he (the Antichrist, that the previous chapter 11 was talking about),
shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, (as has been
prophesized in Daniel 7:25, 8:23-25, Revelation 12:14-17, 13:7), all these things shall be finished," Daniel
12:7.
The above section of the prophecy is referring to
the Great Tribulation period mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24. The prophecy
confirms that the tribulation period will be three and a half years long, or as
written in the prophecy, "time (1), times (2), and a half of time (1/2) or
a total of three and a half years. The length of the tribulation period is also
found in Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11:2, 11:3, 12:6, 12:14, 13:5. All those
dates: the 1,260 days, the 42 months, and the "time, times, and half a
time," are referring to the length of the tribulation period and all come
to the same three-and-a-half-year period.
In the next verse, Daniel confesses that he doesn’t
understand. He says, “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my
Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way Daniel:
for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end,” Daniel
12:8-9.
God’s word is telling us that God has sealed or
closed the understanding of the Daniel prophecies until the time of the end.
Sir Isaac Newton spent a good deal of time trying to unravel and understand the
prophecies of Daniel, but to little avail. Why? Because the prophecies had been
closed up until God opened them. When would God open them. Earlier we have
read, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased,” Daniel
12:4b.
We are definitely living in a time where people are
travelling to and fro all over the world through today’s rapid methods of
transportation. Today is also a day in which knowledge has increased and many
have access through their internet devises to a wealth of information and
knowledge. If those two qualities in the prophecy are conditional, then we
certainly live in a period of time that God’s Holy Spirit could open up the
Scripture to our understanding.
The spiritual being who talks to Daniel tells him
in the next verse, “but the wise will understand,” Daniel 12:10b. Who are the
wise? If, we go back to verse three we find out that the wise seem to be those
“that turn many to righteousness.” In other words, those that are actively
sharing their faith and leading others to Christ. As Jesus said in Matthew,
“Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken
him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock,” Matthew 7:24. It is in
the hearing and doing that we are wise.
In Amos 3:7 God has promised that He will not do
anything, “but He reveals His secret unto the servants the prophets.” Apostle
Paul has admonished us that, “you are not in darkness that that day should
overtake you as a thief. We are all children of the light, and of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do
others; but let us watch and be sober,” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6.
In the parable of the ten virgins, we see five were
ready with oil in their lamps, while five were not ready. Both knew their Lord
was about to return for the wedding feast, yet only five got into the wedding
and the door was shut. The five who got in had oil in their lamps. Oil in the
Scriptures is often symbolic of the Holy Spirit. When Samuel anointed Saul and
David with oil, they were soon afterwards filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts, we find that “God gives the Holy Spirit to
them that obey Him,” Acts 5:32. Therefore, we can deduce that those five
virgins who got into the wedding feast symbolize the wise and obedient spirit
filled true followers of Christ. They not only heard and knew, but did what
their Lord required.
The proverbs of Solomon tell us that “Wisdom is the
principal thing: therefore, get wisdom: and with all your getting get
understanding,” Proverbs 4:7. In all our strivings for more things, more wealth,
more entertainment, etc., if we are not striving for wisdom, we are really
missing the mark. Interesting enough, the word “sin” in its root form means, “missing
the mark.” By missing the mark, we are in fact sinning. How do we get to such a
state where we take pleasure in our missing the mark, in our sinning?
The proverbs tell us right from the first page that
the goal of writing the proverbs is “to know wisdom and instruction; to
perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom,
justice, and judgment, and equity; to give wisdom to the simple, to the young
man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning,”
Proverbs 1:2-5a.
It is two verses later that we get to the heart of
the matter. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools
despise wisdom and instruction,” Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord means that
we acknowledge that we have not created ourselves, but that the best
explanation for the world we see around us is that there was and is a Creator
God. “In the beginning God,” is the bases for a sound understanding of the word
around us.
If we believe in the Creator God and, therefore, in
the supernatural realm, we will seek to understand more about that Creator God.
We will seek to find out if the Creator has given us more information about
Himself. We will seek to find out if the Creator has given us information on
how we should live our lives. We will seek to understand what happens when we
die. The question of death will cause us to seek for purpose and understanding of
the Creator’s reason and plan for our lives.
We will seek to find out more about our Creator,
and how we can live our lives in accordance to His will and purpose. We see
that faith in God, a belief in God, is the first step in properly understanding
reality. For that reason, Saint Augustine said, “Seek not to understand that
you might believe: but seek to believe, that you might understand.” Believing,
or acknowledging the Creator God is the first step in attaining to a correct
understanding of the world around us. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge,” Proverbs 1:7.
By starting our thinking with belief in God, or “the
fear of the Lord,” we our choosing to use that lens to view the world around
us. We are forming a worldview that places God as the focal point of
understanding everything we experience. Proverbs 2 gives us similar instruction
as Proverbs 1. The proverb tells us that we should incline our ear unto wisdom,
and apply our heart to understanding. We should cry after knowledge, and lift
up our voice for understanding. If we have that desperation of heart and mind,
if we seek for wisdom as one would seek for wealth, or for a hidden treasure;
then we shall understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God,
Proverbs 2:2-5.
Our Creator God is not beyond our finding. In His word He says, "You shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me, with all your heart," Jeremiah 29:13. Voddie Bauchan said during his life, “I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfilment of specific prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin."
To be continued. Click here to go to related article.
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