SEGMENT 1
DANIEL 2
THE ROCK OF
AGES
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Consistent Behavior
In a similar way, the
architecture in Daniel is distilled
through a careful study of
Daniel’s prophecies. Because the
visions within Daniel behave in a
predictable way, this behavior allows
us to decipher things about the
meaning of prophecy that we could not
otherwise know. For example, here is
a consistent behavior that occurs
throughout the book of Daniel. Each
of Daniel’s prophecies has a
beginning point and an ending point
in time, and the events in each
prophecy occur in the order in which
they are given. This behavior may
sound simple, but it has profound
ramifications. Consider the results
of violating this self-evident
rule. If the events given within each
prophecy of Daniel do not occur in
their given order, how, then, is the
order of events determined? This
question even brings up an even
greater question. Does the Bible
speak for itself or must it have an
interpreter? After many years of
study on this question, I find the
Bible has to speak for itself and the
Bible has to be its own interpreter.
The constant and predictable
architecture within Daniel’s
prophecies is the basis for Rule One.
This rule is: Each apocalyptic
prophecy has a beginning point and an
ending point in time and the events
within each prophecy must occur in
the order they are given. Keep in
mind; I am not inventing this rule.
Instead, I am
expressing a consistent behavior that
occurs without exception throughout
the book of Daniel (as well as
Revelation).
When the fulfilled
elements of each prophecy in Daniel
are aligned with widely published
historical records, the validity of
Rule One proves true every time!
The prophecies in the book of Daniel
cover more than 2,600 years so far.
This great span of time contains
everything necessary to validate the
four rules that spring from the
architecture of Daniel. As a bonus,
the book of Daniel provides a
historical foundation for certain
prophecies in Revelation. Because
some of the prophecies in Revelation
run parallel to the prophecies in
Daniel, we can link them together and
establish the timing of events
mentioned in both books. Therefore,
the discovery of Daniel’s
architecture, like the discovery of
the Rosetta Stone, enables the Bible
student to resolve many prophetic
mysteries that would otherwise be
impossible to solve.
How Can the Bible Tell
Us Things We Do Not Want to Believe?
Knowingly or
unknowingly, every student of
prophecy implements a method of
interpretation to support his
prophetic conclusions. The problem,
of course, is that invalid rules will
not produce valid conclusions. For
example, some people believe, “A
day in Bible prophecy always
equals a year.” A rule cannot
have an exception, for if it does,
who has the authority to determine
when the rule should be applied or
ignored? Therefore, if we accept the
idea that a day for a year is always
true, then the 1,000 years of
Revelation 20 would have to be 365,
242 years in length. (365.242 in a
year x 1,000 years = 365, 242 years)
For many reasons, I believe the
all-inclusive day-for-a-year rule is
invalid. There are several places in
Daniel and Revelation where God
measures time according to the
Jubilee Calendar where a day
represents a year (like the seventy
weeks of Daniel 9), but there are
also places in Scripture where God
measures time in literal units (like
the 42 months in Revelation 13:5). In
fact, Rule Four tells us when God is
using a day for a year and when He is
using literal time. The point is that
rules force the conclusions. If our
rules are flawed or inadequate, our
prophetic conclusions will be flawed.
Popular eschatology
today is “a nose of wax”
which expositors manipulate for
political, religious or personal
reasons. Millions of people believe
things that have no truth in them. If
an idea is reasonable, then it is
believable. However, we cannot ignore
the other side of the coin –
that reasonableness does not ensure
validity. For thousands of years,
people believed Earth stood still and
the Sun traveled in its orbit around
Earth, until Copernicus came along
and ruined a very reasonable idea.
Rules of interpretation are vitally
important to this study of prophecy
because students of Bible prophecy
need a method whereby the Bible tell
us things that we do not want to
believe. We want a valid process
whereby the Bible can tell us things
that run contrary to everything we
believe so that our understanding of
God’s truth can increase.
Therefore, we need rules to test our
conclusions and beliefs. In short,
valid rules of interpretation allow
Bible prophecy to say all that it has
to say, and they help us listen to
God’s truth so that we might
learn of His plans.
Private Interpretation
Any interpretation of
prophecy that does not conform to a
stated set of valid rules is
classified as a “private
interpretation.” The word
“private” in this context
does not mean obscure. Millions of
people can believe and endorse a
private interpretation (and they do).
A private interpretation is an
interpretation that does not have an
external means of validation. In
other words, a private interpretation
cannot be tested and validated by an
impartial jury given a set of stated
rules. This emphasizes our need to
understand the apocalyptic
architecture in Daniel. There is
one architecture in Daniel and
Revelation and there is one truth. Looking
for that truth is a joy of every
Bible student. Even if we have the
right rules of interpretation, the
likelihood of reaching the intended
meaning is not guaranteed, but it is
greatly improved! (It is one thing to
have the right formula, but it is
another to correctly solve the
problem.)
The Four Rules
When the rules of
interpretation are valid, the
prophecies of Daniel and Revelation
will make sense just as they read,
because the Bible is its own
interpreter. On the other hand, a
private interpretation requires an
interpreter. An interpreter stands
between the Bible and its meaning;
whereas, valid rules explain the
meaning without a go-between.
Consider the difference. A private
interpretation prevents people from
independently arriving at the same
conclusion without the coaxing of an
interpreter, but a valid set of rules
enables people to arrive at similar
conclusions without knowing
one another. Many Christians believe
their leaders say about prophecy
without studying the conclusions for
themselves. Lay people usually
“go along” because their
church endorses a particular view.
Because the subject of Bible prophecy
is complex and complicated, and the
average Christian does not study
prophecy, it is easier to follow the
leader. Of course, the mysteries of
Bible prophecy will vanish during the
Great Tribulation because everyone
will see the evidence of what is
predicted in Bible prophecy. However,
until the Great Tribulation begins,
we need a set of valid rules to guide
our prophetic faith. If the rules of
interpretation are valid, the books
of Daniel and Revelation will form a
unified story. A comprehensive
explanation of God’s ways will
unfold in a drama that is in perfect
harmony with the Scripture!
Since the following
four rules will be used frequently
throughout this study, you may want
to bookmark this segment. After
several years of study and discovery,
I am excited to share with you the
combination that unlocks the books of
Daniel and Revelation. The four rules
are:
- Each
apocalyptic prophecy has a
beginning point and ending
point in time and the events
within each prophecy must
occur in the order they are
given.
- A fulfillment
of apocalyptic prophecy
occurs when all of the
specifications within that
prophecy are met. This
includes the order of events
outlined in the prophecy.
- Apocalyptic
language can be literal,
symbolic or analogous. To
reach the intended meaning of
a prophecy, the student must
consider: (a) the context,
(b) the use of parallel
language in the Bible, and
(c) relevant statements in
the Bible that define that
symbol if an element is
thought to be symbolic.
- God reckons
apocalyptic time in two ways:
(a) a day for a year, and (b)
as literal time. The presence
or absence of the Jubilee
calendar determines how God
reckons time.
By the time you finish
this complete study on Daniel, I hope
you will find my conclusions to be
consistent with these four rules.
Test the rules to see if they are
valid and test my conclusions to see
if they align with the rules. Do not
forget – God sealed up the book
of Daniel until the time of the end
because the message in Daniel and
Revelation uniquely belongs to the
last generation. Ours is the
generation that will experience the
Great Tribulation, and when it
begins, the whole world will be
caught up in a drama of unimaginable
consequences. Because God’s
forthcoming behavior will be shocking
and outrageous during the Great
Tribulation, God has unsealed the
book of Daniel so that the last
generation might understand His ways
and some of His purposes before the
Great Tribulation begins. “The
knowledge of the secrets of the
kingdom of God has been given to you,
but to others I speak in parables, so
that, ‘though seeing, they may
not see; through hearing, they may
not understand.’” (Luke
8:10)
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