It is written:
“And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time. 36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.” (Daniel 11:35-36)
And:
“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)
“And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” (Daniel 12:6-7)
And:
“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” (Daniel 12:13)
The eleventh and twelfth chapters of Daniel provide incredible prophetic insight. There are over seventy prophecies within these chapters, many of which were fulfilled between the time of the close of the Old Testament canon (408 B.C., when the last Old Testament Book, Malachi, was written) and the opening of the New Testament age.
These prophecies were written by Daniel around the fifth century B.C., well over a hundred years before they began to be fulfilled; and it is because of the accuracy of the fulfillment of these prophecies that so many have tried to relate the Book of Daniel to the first century before Christ (i.e., in an attempt to make Daniel appear as a forgery after the fulfillment of these prophecies, so that he would have been writing history that had already taken place by his time, and not prophecies yet to be fulfilled).
However, the facts continually confirm that the Book of Daniel was written in the fifth century B.C., as the Book itself claims. One researcher, after having written extensively on the evidence which confirm the Book of Daniel, has noted especially the way that some have attempted to withhold the findings of archaeology, which vindicate the Bible, from the eye of the public.
“They know the truth of the matter, yet wilfully conceal it from the public. This goes for every item of evidence that we have looked at in this present study. But while that is not surprising considering the school to which the critics belong, it is surprising to see such evidence kept out of the public eye by seemingly conservative scholars. They generally discuss the evidences among themselves, and very ably too, but the discussion is held in scholarly papers which few members of the public will ever get to know about, let alone see; and those who do get to see them will often be confused by the nit-picking pedantry that has become the obscuring fare of scholarship these days. This evidence should have been trumpeted from the housetops from day one, yet it has been kept under wraps even by those who should have loudly advertised it. We have seen for ourselves in this present study the formidable amount of evidence, both written and archaeological, that demonstrates the authenticity, historicity, and integrity of the Book of Daniel. We could hardly ask for better. Yet, it is certain, none of this will make any difference at all to what our schools, colleges, seminars and universities teach concerning the Book of Daniel – nor any other part of the Bible come to that. All we can hope for at this stage is that the evidence which has now come to the surface will be able at long last to circulate amongst those, especially our younger students, who could most easily be misled by what the critics say. It is an understated fact that wherever the Bible can be tested historically, it always shows itself to be astonishingly accurate in its statements. Being buried in obscure scholarly papers that are scattered around the world, finding the evidence for a given fact is never easy. Sometimes, as I know too well, it can take a lifetime to track down just one solitary item. Yet such research is always rewarded with exonerating evidence of such high quality that, while it can certainly be ignored by the critics, it can never be answered. The Bible is an astonishing Book. It claims to be the Word of God and to speak in perfect Truth. Moreover, and with a breathtaking audacity, it invites us – no, it challenges us – to put it to the test, and test it we must. I have been conducting such tests for more than forty years now, many of those tests being cruel and harsh – unreasonably so for any historical document – yet not once have I ever come across a statement from the Bible that has proved to be untrue, inaccurate, naive, falsely confident, or even an outright lie.3 What the Greeks would have called that, I just don’t know, but I call it a phenomenon.” (Bill Cooper, The Authenticity Of The Book Of Daniel, 1366-1381 (Kindle Edition))
The prophecies of Daniel are authentic.
This raises some very important questions, however, from the texts cited at the beginning of this article.
What do the phrases “the end,” “time of the end,” “finished,” and “end of the days” have reference to?
Could they be a reference to the end of some nation or period of history?
Or could they, indeed, be a reference to the time of the Second Coming of Christ?
Let’s study.
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