Study 36
by Charles Tan
Text: Daniel 7
Dear Young People,
THE WTC TRAGEDY
11 September 2001 will not be a date easily forgotten. On that fateful day, the WTC twin towers were brought to the ground. Hijacked planes were flown into the Towers and thousands died. All who had seen this tragedy were moved.
Then came the many attempts to interpret these two events.
1. Some proclaimed that these were acts of Judgment from God.
2. Others claim that WWIII will commence shortly.
3. Still others claimed that Nostradamus predicted these events.
4. Others not to be outdone pointed to Books like Daniel and Revelation and constructed theories that seem to suggest that the Bible predicted these events!
How do we make sense out of the many different theories that abound? How can we actually interpret these events from a Biblical perspective? Is there a Biblical prophecy concerning such events?
STRONG MOTIVATION TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURES CAREFULLY
The Scriptures do speak of “The End Times”. But what does that phrase actually mean? Let us guard ourselves from sensationalism. The sensational approach may appear most appealing, but we may find out to our horror that the theology behind it is not at all sound.
Let us develop a strong and sound approach to the interpretation of prophetic material. Let us also seek to be consistent in our application of these principles. God did speak in prophetic terms. Our challenge is to attempt to understand the symbolic language employed in the Scriptures.
THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPARING SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE
One of the most important principles to apply in the interpretation of the Scriptures is to “compare Scripture with Scripture”. This principle was mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16. He wrote and spoke of how the Holy Spirit employed this principle to teach all believers. This is one principle we will carefully apply whenever we study any portion of God’s Word, and not just prophetic literature.
In order to understand Daniel 7, we would need to compare this chapter with Daniel 2. The following things may be observed as we compare the two visions.
1. Daniel 2 describes 4 great empires
Daniel 7 describes 4 great beasts
2. Daniel 2 describes a Great Stone that destroyed all these empires
Daniel 7 describes God, The Ancient of Days destroying these empires.
Take time to ponder over these difficult portions. Though different imagery was used, it would appear that Daniel was given a vision of how God would destroy these great empires. Don’t lose sight of God amidst looking at all the details!