Daniel The Man who Feared God 2016

Sealed (4)

1. 
   What was Daniel to do with the prophecy he had received?
   
   1. 
      Shut up the words and seal the scroll.
      
      1. 
         The words of the prophetic vision (11.2-12.3) had concluded and were to be shut up and sealed.
         
      2. 
         However, the angel (probably Gabriel; 9.21; 10.5-6) may be speaking not only of these specific words, but also of the entire book of Daniel since he refers the scroll on which the book would have been written.
         
   2. 
      The instruction to shut up the words and seal the scroll may be made up of two synonymous clauses. However, they may also refer to two parts of an official action.
      
      1. 
         Daniel was to complete the writing of the book (e.g., the remainder of chapter 12) and then attach his official seal to it and store it in the archives to be preserved for the future (compare with 8,26).
         
      2. 
         The purpose was to preserve the scroll for the future in a safe manner as a valued treasure (12.9), which could not be tampered with or changed.
         
      3. 
         Normal procedure would have been to make available a copy of official documents for immediate use, while the official copy was stored safely in the archives.
         
      4. 
         References to this process may be found in Isaiah 8.16 and Jeremiah 32.9-12. The two copies of the Ten Commandments (Ex 31.18; 32.15; 34.4) may also be an example of this; although in this case it could be that one copy was considered to be God’s and the other the peoples’.
         
   3. 
      This instruction does not mean that the book was to be kept hidden as a secret until the end of time.
      
      1. 
         This is demonstrated by the fact that the book was translated into Greek sometime in 2^nd century before Christ.
         
      2. 
         In addition, a copy of the book of Daniel was show to Alexander the Great when he came to Jerusalem, to show him that God had prophesied about his arrival in Jerusalem.⁵⁹⁴
         

2. 
   What is the ‘time of the end’ spoken of in this verse?
   
   1. 
      There are two primary possibilities:
      
      1. 
         The end of the world, when Jesus will return
         
      2. 
         The end of the Jewish age, at the time of the incarnation of Jesus, when all the events (other than the final resurrection mentioned in verses 2 and 3) recorded in the vision will have been fulfilled.
         
   2. 
      This account was written specifically to provide guidance and hope to the Jews from the time of Daniel to the arrival of the Messiah. Therefore, the immediate ‘time of the end’ refers to the end of the persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes, Herod and Titus.
      
      1. 
         The time of the end, in this verse, is likely referring to the end of the OT Jewish economy.
         
      2. 
         We have noted throughout our study of Daniel that we are now living in the last days.
         
      3. 
         As Calvin said, ‘[The] whole New Testament time, from the point that Christ appeared to us with the preaching of his gospel even to the Day of Judgment, is designated by “the last hour”, the “last times”, “the last days”.’⁵⁹⁵
         
   3. 
      However, we must not lose sight of the fact that since we are living in the ‘time of the end’, the words of this prophesy also have general value and application to our age—particularly that God watches over his people through all generations and provides for their welfare in the face of persecutors.
      

3. 
   What were to be the indicators that the end of the age had arrived?
   
   1. 
      Many would be running to and fro and there would be an increase in knowledge.
      
   2. 
      Many interpreters today, especially of the dispensationalist and premillennial persuasion, interpret this as a speaking of our day in which there has been a substantial increase in travel facilitated by ships, trains, automobiles, and airplanes; and an increase in knowledge associated first with the printing press and then with additional media including the internet.
      
   3. 
      However, the second part of the verse could have as easily been speaking of the time of the Roman Empire. Travel in the Roman Empire was considerably more available and efficient than at any previous time, and there was a vastly increased outpouring of publications, including: literature, history, civics, science, and medicine. Thus, if the passage is speaking of increased travel and general knowledge, then it could be applied to the time of the Messiah, consistent with how we have interpreted the prophecies in Daniel, and need not speak of our present, or an hypothesized future period.
      
   4. 
      However, the statement probably has nothing to do with an increase of travel and general knowledge. Rather it likely deals with an increased understanding of the application of the OT prophecies, and specifically those in Daniel.
      
      1. 
         The phrase ‘run to and fro’ comes from a single Hebrew word (שׁוּט) and has been translated in various ways. A few suggestions include:
         
         1. 
            Greek (Theodotion) “until many are taught and knowledge is fulfilled”.
            
         2. 
            Greek Septuagint (LXX) “until man are left behind and the earth is filled with righteousness”.
            
         3. 
            Calvin: “many shall investigate”.⁵⁹⁶
            
         4. 
            Leupold: “diligently peruse” knowledge, reading and rereading, checking and pondering.⁵⁹⁷
            
         5. 
            Young: “travelling about in order to discover knowledge”.⁵⁹⁸
            
         6. 
            Mauro: “[T]he worldwide activity in spreading the truth of the gospel.”⁵⁹⁹
            
      2. 
         Usage in other parts of the OT gives the idea of seeking knowledge (2 Sam 24.2 [‘go’]; 2 Chron 16.9; Jer 5.1; Amos 8.12; Zech 4.10 [‘range’]), not necessarily by travelling about.
         
      3. 
         In addition, there is an article (‘the’) before the word ‘knowledge’ in the Hebrew. This seems to indicate that a particular kind of knowledge (‘the knowledge’) is being considered, and not a general increase in knowledge.
         
      4. 
         The idea that seems to be expressed here is that at the time of the end there will be an intense search to understand the meaning and application of the prophecies which are included in the book of Daniel, and especially in 11.2-12.3. Jesus reinforces this idea when he states “Let the reader understand” (Mt 24.15), after he alludes to Daniel’s prophecy.
         
      5. 
         A possible way to translate this phrase is “Many shall seek diligently to understand and the knowledge [of these events] shall increase.” As the events unfolded through the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, Herod and Titus, the meaning of the prophecy would become clearer and the Jewish readers of Daniel would know that the time of the Messiah, and the end of the Jewish era, was near.
         

4. 
   What are some lessons that we can derive from this verse?
   
   1. 
      Comfort – Even though the Jews in Daniel’s day, and following, could not have fully understood his prophecies, they were able to derive comfort from them.
      
      1. 
         They found in them the promise of deliverance for the righteous—if not in their lifetimes, then in the resurrection.
         
      2. 
         In the same way we can derive comfort from knowing that God is faithful to his covenanted promises. The example of his fulfilling history exactly as he had decreed and declared, from the decree of Cyrus to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, provides us with a great assurance that God knows what he is doing and is working all things out according to the purpose of his will, for our good, and for his glory.
         
   2. 
      Consultation – Real knowledge comes from consulting the Scriptures.
      
      1. 
         Anyone who wishes to increase his knowledge must make an effort to diligently study the Bible.
         
      2. 
         The study of other disciplines (from history to science) has some (considerable) value for living in this world. But for living in the next world, the consultation of the sacred texts is of far more importance.
         
      3. 
         Eternity can now only be understood through the eyeglasses of God’s Word—not in a grain of sand, as William Blake claimed.
         
   3. 
      Clarity – All will be revealed in God’s time, since ‘truth is the daughter of time’.
      
      1. 
         As Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said in one of his philosophical works, “For rightly is truth called the daughter of time, not of authority. It is no wonder therefore if those enchantments of antiquity and authority and consent have so bound up men's powers that they have been made impotent (like persons bewitched) to accompany with the nature of things.”⁶⁰⁰ While we do not agree completely with his statement, since God speaks truth with authority, his point is that truth is always vindicated by time—as a popular saying goes, ‘time will tell’. Human authority, tradition, and popular opinion may declare certain things to be fact, but time proves whether or not they are true. For example,
         
         1. 
            Evolution is declared to be a fact by the scientific establishment. As time has passed since the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859), the concept of increasing genetic and informational complexity through mutation and natural selection has become increasingly implausible. It is only a matter of time before evolution is dismissed as a great myth and its proponents as charlatans.
            
         2. 
            Anthropogenic global warming is declared by most politicians and much of the popular media to be a fact. All it will take is a major change in the solar cycle and associated ‘solar winds’ to debunk this silly fetish.
            
         3. 
            It is claimed (if not rationally, then by behaviour) that governments can borrow and spend indefinitely to provide ‘entitlements’ to their constituents. Once the debt-burden crushes the populace, reality will smack politicians and their naïve supporters on the head with a ton of devalued banknotes.
            
      2. 
         So it is with God’s truth. Scoffers in the last days will scoff (2 Pet 3.3) at the truths of God. Yet God will have a the last laugh (Ps 2.4) when all that he has declared in his word (whether speaking of the past or the future) will be unequivocally shown to be absolutely true. Ultimately, God’s truthfulness will be vindicated at end of time.