† Daniel and Revelation are the two books in the Bible that are called the Apocalypse. They contain prophecies of end-time events.
† Some of the prophecies in Daniel are about 4 past empires and 2 future kingdoms.
|
Prophesy |
Daniel
2 |
Daniel
7 |
Daniel
8 |
|
Babylon (604-538 BC) |
32,37 The head of the statue was made of pure
gold; you (king of Babylon) are that head of gold |
4 The first was like a lion, and it had the
wings of an eagle |
|
|
Media & Persia (538-333 BC) |
32,39 its chest and arms of silver; After you,
another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours |
5 like a bear |
3-6,20 ram with two horns |
|
Greece (333-147 BC) Alexander’s empire divided into 4 (297BC) |
32,39 its belly and thighs of bronze; Next, a
third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth |
6 looked like a leopard. And on its back it
had four wings like those of a bird |
5-7,21 goat with a prominent horn |
|
Roman Empire (272BC-AD476) Roman Empire divided into 2 (AD285) |
33,40 its legs of iron; there will be a fourth
kingdom, strong as iron |
7 terrifying and frightening and very powerful.
It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims |
8,22 his large horn was broken off, and in its
place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven |
|
Future kingdom eventually controlled by
the antichrist |
33,41-43 its feet partly of iron and partly of
baked clay; this will be a divided kingdom; this kingdom will be partly
strong and partly brittle |
7-8 it had ten horns; another horn, a little
one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted
before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke
boastfully |
9,23-25 another horn, which started small but
grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land |
|
God’s everlasting kingdom |
34,44-45 a rock was cut out, but not by human
hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them;
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed |
11 the beast was slain and its body
destroyed; one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven |
25 he will be destroyed, but not by human
power |
† Other prophecies in Daniel appear to be describe the end-time.
|
Prophesy |
Daniel
7 |
Daniel
8 |
Daniel
9 |
Daniel
11 |
Daniel
12 |
|
Antichrist |
8,20-21,24 a little horn, 3 horns uprooted, had eyes
and boastful mouth; this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating
them; he will subdue three kings |
9-12,23-25 small horn, grew in power to the south
and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land (Israel); it grew until it
reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to
the earth and trampled on them; it set itself up to be as great as the Prince
of the host |
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for
one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and
offering |
21-30,37 (Antiochus IV Epiphanes), type for
antichrist: will exalt himself above them all |
|
|
Persecution of saints |
25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress
his saints and try to change the set times and the laws |
12-13 the host of the saints and the daily
sacrifice were given over to it; the surrender of the sanctuary and of the
host that will be trampled underfoot |
|
|
1 There will be a time of distress such as
has not happened from the beginning of nations until then |
|
Daily sacrifice stopped |
|
11-13 it took away the daily sacrifice from
him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low |
27 In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an
end to sacrifice and offering |
31 His armed forces will rise up to
desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice |
11 the daily sacrifice is abolished |
|
Abomination of desolation |
|
13 the rebellion that causes desolation |
27 desolations have been decreed; he will
set up an abomination that causes desolation |
31 they will set up the abomination that
causes desolation |
11 From the time that the daily sacrifice is
abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be
1,290 days |
|
Middle of the last 7 years |
25 The saints will be handed over to him for
a time, times and half a time |
14 It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings;
then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated (1150 days) |
27 In the middle of the 'seven' |
|
7,11-12 It will be for a time, times and half a
time |
|
God’s eternal kingdom established |
13-14 one like a son of man, coming with the
clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and
men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. |
25 he will be destroyed, but not by human
power |
24 Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your
people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to
atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness |
|
2-3 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the
earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting
contempt |
|
The end |
18,28 The saints of the Most High will receive
the kingdom and will possess it forever This is the end of the matter |
17,19 vision concerns the time of the end; the
vision concerns the appointed time of the end |
26 The end will come like a flood |
|
4,9,13 the time of the end; at the end of the
days |
† Many of the end-time prophecies in Daniel are found in parallel verses in the NT.
|
Antichrist |
2Th 2:3,9 for that day will not come until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to
destruction. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance
with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs
and wonders. Rev 12:3 Then
another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and
ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. Rev
13:1,5-6 And
I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with
ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast was given a mouth to utter
proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two
months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his
dwelling place and those who live in heaven. |
|
Persecution of saints |
Rev 11:2 But exclude the outer court; do not
measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on
the holy city for 42 months. Rev 13:7 He was given power to make war against
the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe,
people, language and nation. |
|
Daily sacrifice stopped |
2Th 2:4 He will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself
up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. |
|
Abomination of desolation |
Mt 24:15 So when you see standing in the holy place
‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet
Daniel |
|
Middle of the last 7 years |
Rev 11:3 And I will give power to my two
witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. Rev 12:6,14 The
woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she
might be taken care of for 1,260 days. The
woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place
prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time,
times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. |
|
God’s eternal kingdom established |
2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be
revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and
destroy by the splendor of his coming. Rev 19:19-20 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the
earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the
horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false
prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these
signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and
worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. |
† Dan 9:24-27 talks about “seventy sevens”, a prophesy describing events that would happen in the history of Israel in a 490-year (70x7) period. However, events prophesied in the last “seven” have apparently not occurred. Most Biblical scholars believe that these events will happen in a 7-year period of Tribulation which is described in Revelation.
9:24 [about the purposes of the 70-7s]
Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
These seventy sevens will result in the fulfilment of God’s final purposes. They will result in the glorious kingdom of righteousness with the following characteristics:
· restraining of transgression
· sealing up (end) of sins
· reconciliation for (cover) iniquity
· ushering in of everlasting righteousness
· sealing up of vision and prophecy (meaning terminating, because of the final and complete fulfilment of vision and prophecy, it is no longer required in the future)
· anointing of the most holy: anointment of the everlasting King or, more likely, annointing the supreme everlasting sanctuary to be the eternal dwelling place of God with men
9:25 [about the 3 periods of the 70-7s: 7-7s, 62-7s, and the last seven]
Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
The 490-year (70-7s) period will begin “from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” This happened in 445BC with King Artaxerxes’ decree (Neh 2:1-6). During the rebuilding in the first 7-7s (49 years), there will be troubles (as recorded in Nehemiah).
After the 7-7s, there will be another 62-7s (434 years) and the Anointed One will appear during this time.
9:26 [about the end of the 69th 7]
After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
The Anointed One (Messiah) will be cut off at the end of the 69th 7. This points to the death of Jesus. (Some explain “will have nothing” to mean “having no crimes.”)
Based on historical research, the birthday of Jesus is widely accepted as in 4BC. This will put the date of His death in AD30 (3.5 years of mission from age 30). Between 445BC and AD30 is a period of only 474 years (as there is no zero year). This is 9 years shorter than the 69 sevens (483 years).
The common explanation is that the calculation of year in the Hebrew calendar is based on lunar months, meaning one year is equivalent to 360 days. [Note that there are slightly different calculations by different Biblical scholars.] If so, the end of the 483-year period in the Bible will coincide with AD30.
The holy city and holy Temple were destroyed in AD70. The “desolations” refer to the placing of an idol at the burnt Temple site by the Romans.
“The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed”: may refer to the AD70 event or link to the end-time events in the next verse.
Most Bible scholars believe that the present time is the gap between the 69th seven and the 70th seven because the conditions specified in Dan 9:24 have not been realized. In addition, the description of the last seven fits prophecies elsewhere about the antichrist. This period, as described in many different places in the Bible, is characterized by the domination of the antichrist in the world and persecution of the saints. It is commonly identified as the 7-year Tribulation period in the end-time and the last 3.5 years are described as the Great Tribulation (this term used only in Rev 7:14).
9:27 [about the 70th 7—the antichrist]
He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
The antichrist will confirm a covenant of 7 years with the Jews.
However, at the middle of 70th seven, he will break the covenant and put an end to sacrifice and offering at the Temple. And on a wing of the Temple (Chinese translation incorrect, not “like flying”), he will set up “an abomination that causes desolation”, an image of himself.
At the end of the 70th seven, God’s decree will be enacted: the antichrist will be destroyed by God.
† There is no contradiction in the prophecies written by many different authors and in very different time periods: Daniel at about 530BC, Jesus (as recorded by Matthew) at AD30, Paul (in 2Th) at about AD50, and John (in Rev) at about AD95. This alone acts as a powerful witness that the Bible is reliably the Word of God which forms a worthy foundation for our faith.
† While the world will get worse before the end, all Biblical prophecies also assure us that God will destroy evil at the end. All injustice in the world is only temporary. We need to rest in the assurance that God’s plan will work out according to His perfect timing.