“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE INCREASED (capitals mine).”
Daniel 12:4
One of the most prophetic books of the Holy Bible, the Book of Daniel, established many of the prophecies upon which so many of the other books of the Bible reiterate its prophetic references regarding the Last Days. In fact, while most feel the Book of Revelation is THE prophetic book of the Bible, it actually relies on the Old Testament Book of Daniel to establish many of its foretold prophecies. Interestingly, after Daniel was told to “…seal the book” which he had just written with all its prophecies, he asked the Lord:
“And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he (the Lord) said , Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”
Daniel 12:8-9
In other words, it was Daniel’s God Given responsibility to write down what he was told BUT it was not for to him to understand it BECAUSE those things told to him were not going to happen in his lifetime or in the near future. They would only be fully understood by those living at “…the time of the end” who personally saw/heard about them and how the Bible had previously predicted their ultimate fulfillment. This differs substantially from what John was told 700 years later when he wrote the Book of Revelation which occurred AFTER the birth, death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“And he saith unto me, Seal NOT (capitals mine) the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”
Revelation 22:10
Whereas Daniel was told to “seal” up the prophecies because Jesus had not yet come and they did not pertain to people living at that time, John was specifically told to NOT “seal” up the prophecies because the time was at then hand. This did not mean it was going to all happen at that time as some mainstream churches teach, but rather there was now nothing left to start the clock clicking towards the Last Days, except for the prophesied rebirth of the Nation of Israel (which happened May 14, 1948). Jesus had come and died for our sins and was raised from the dead! This began the prophetic countdown.
Just a few days ago the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the invention of the internet. When I heard about this, I marveled at what this invention has brought to every man, woman and child on the earth. Not only did it give us all instantaneous communication abilities to each and every one of us on a global scale but it set the stage for so many other things relevant to End Time prophecies. For example, we know about the coming Mark of the Beast where all will be required to have it in order to buy or sell anything.
“And he (the false prophet) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast (anti-christ), or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (666).”
Revelation 13:16-18
The ability to pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks electronically is only possible today because of the internet. Not only did that capability not even exist 50 years ago but the ability to do it without either physical cash or a check but simply with the swiping of a chip imbedded in a credit card OR soon with a “mark” received in your right hand or forehead. THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY! There are people in Wisconsin today who can buy items out of a vending machine at work using a chip implanted by their employer in their hand! There are in fact several countries (like Sweden, which interestingly in 1661 issued the very first European bank currency, and Australia) around the world testing this same technology with some of their citizens by imbedding a chip under the skin in their hand.
In one of my most widely read articles, Could the iPhone be the Mark of the Beast?, I somewhat facetiously described how the iPhone (and of course the Android) could in fact be symbolic of the technology needed to fulfill the Mark of the Beast prophecy. More than that however, if you recognize the iPhone was only recently invented in 2007, you can see how the technology to put a computer into the palm of your hand will change the culture we live in. Do you remember this Scripture?
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Of course, not all who use an iPhone are guilty of all of this but think for just a moment of the impact social media alone has had on the civil culture of so many, especially the young who have grown up with the iPhone and don’t know the type of interactive culture that previously existed. The postings they make about themselves and others; the lies and despisers towards those who speak the Word of God; and, how they exalt themselves with “selfies” above all others is downright sickening. But, THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY to help them fulfill the prophecy of the above Scripture!
When we think of an iPhone or Android today, we rarely think of it merely as a telephone, but instead think of it as one way to get news; financials; weather; contact and calendar information; use it as a camera; play games; measure daily exercise; book flights and hotel stays; and, yes, to use numerous social media sites. But if you have noticed, they are not hot wired into a physical cable. Instead, they get all their info from the internet (invented 50 years ago) which transmits typically via satellite. The first successful commercial communications satellite was launched in 1963, followed thereafter in the 1970’s with a satellite launch that was able to broadcast live TV programs around the world. This has all been done in my lifetime (by the way, I am NOT 2,000 years old!). Why is that important?
“And their (the two witnesses of God in the Last Days) dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city (Jerusalem); which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.”
Revelation 11:8-9
Now you know why Daniel probably asked when all this was going to happen. Living in roughly 600 B.C. he could not even imagine how everyone in the entire world, “…people and kindreds and tongues and nations”, could all be able to see two dead bodies laying in a street in Jerusalem for three and a half days. How could that happen? With the advent of satellite communications recently invented, along with TV, computers and the iPhone, TODAY this is not only feasible but if you turn on the news you will now see broadcasts from all over the world in real time streaming live on multiple devices. THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY for us to be able to see this prophecy fulfilled!
In the beginning Scripture, it also says “…many shall run to and fro.” Most Biblical scholars attribute this to the incredible growth of travel people will have access to in the Last Days. When Daniel wrote his book the only type of travel known by most was walking, riding on a donkey or in a cart, or being on a boat. When he was captured by the Babylonians as a young boy, he was forced to walk from Jerusalem to Babylon, a long journey that probably took weeks. Today, with the invention of the airplane and resulting commercial travel (the first ever commercial flight was in 1913 between Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL) anyone in the world can pretty much fly anywhere else in the world in less than one day! Just in the past few days a jetliner flew the longest non-stop flight ever from NYC to Sydney, Australia, a flight of over 19 hours. For “…many shall run to and fro”? Yes, because THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY!
“And I (God) will send a fire on Magog (Russia), and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles (USA, et.al.?): and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 39:6
While I have to admit there may be a number of assumptions with this one, we do know in the War of Gog and Magog (for more info please read The War of Gog and Magog) referred to in Ezekiel 38 & 39, Magog (Russia) along with her allies Persia (Iran), Togarmah (Turkey), Ethiopia, Libya and Sudan will invade Israel in the “…latter days” and be defeated in ONE day. If you have been watching the news lately, for the first time EVER in history, Russia, Turkey and Iran are now military allies! Besides the Power of God, what other weapon could be used to destroy all these nations in just one day? Nuclear weapons! The nuclear bomb was invented in 1945 and used to defeat Japan sealing the end of WWII. It was only used twice then but has thankfully never been used since. Even so, nine nations today possess approximately 14,000 nuclear weapons which could be used all over the world within minutes. When you couple the ability to launch this kind of attack with what we are also told in Ezekiel 38:21, “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains , saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” a nuclear attack is not the singular prophecy. In other words, those attacking Israel will also end up attacking each other! Could this possibly be a Sunni vs. Shiite battle as well? Since some of them have nuclear weapons today it makes total sense the “fire” sent on these nations, as well as those dwelling in “…the isles”, could easily refer to nuclear weapons being used. Since 1945, THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY!
“And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”
Revelation 9:3
Decades ago I was reading a book on Bible Prophecy and the author, in reference to this Scripture, tried to explain how John in the Book of Revelation tried to describe something that had not yet been invented. He could only explain what he saw from his current perspective and what it seemed like to him. The author’s explanation was that when John described the “locusts” with power, he could easily have been describing what we today know of as helicopters with weapons or delivering military troops to the battlefield. That still may very well be a viable possibility. However, the recent Iranian-backed rebel group who used many drones to attack a Saudi oil refinery got me thinking. This attack was with much smaller and many more drones than a helicopter attack; they were unmanned; and, they were very difficult to shoot down. A swarm of drones seen 2,000 years ago by John could definitely look like locusts from his perspective. The fact that attack took out 50% of Saudi’s oil refining ability for a few days says it is a viable NEW weapon of war. THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXIST TODAY!
“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
Revelation 13:15
Believe it or not, this Scripture could very well describe TWO brand new technologies which did not exist 2,000 years ago. The first is Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology exists today to create a 3D “image” capable of making decisions, to speak, and, to converse intellectually back and forth. When you add the incredible knowledge stored in the Cloud, the knowledge and problem solving capabilities are unimaginable. While AI is a direct result of the computer (invented in the 1940’s) it was not viable to do everything expected until the 21st Century. Today it is easily smarter than any single person or group of people and it is easy to see how “the image of the beast” (the anti-christ) could be very persuasive. Secondly, another new technology introduced in just the past few years is facial recognition. In China today there are 170 million cameras with the plan by 2020 to have 570 million cameras. This will amount to 2 people per camera. With that kind of global surveillance expanded, mixed with AI, the false prophet and anti-christ will easily be able to see who is worshipping the image of the anti-christ and who is not. Those who do not and who have also not taken the Mark of the Beast will be killed! In the past, that ability to surveil simply did not exist. THAT TECHNOLOGY NOW EXISTS TODAY paving the way for this prophecy to be fulfilled.
When you combine the inventions of the computer, the iPhone, airplane (and soon space) travel, the internet, the computer chip possibly used in the Mark of the Beast, social media, satellite communications, TV, nuclear weapons, drones, artificial intelligence, 3D imagery, the cloud, facial recognition and many, many more inventions of this current generation, it is clear! THESE TECHNOLOGIES NOW EXIST TODAY to fulfill so many prophecies made 2,000+ years ago. The beauty of the prophecies described in the Bible are not intended to scare us but to make us aware of God’s Plan for us and for this world. If so many of the prophecies were fulfilled without us having a prior explanation in the Bible, we would all be lost as to what was happening. But because He told us ahead of time what will be happening in the Last Days, we are not uninformed and our faith should be strengthened as we see all these things unfold today. For me, the comfort in knowing beforehand what He has planned for us is incredible and not frightening because of the faith we have put in Him. If you feel likewise, please join me in doing what we are all told to do by Jesus and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” You can do this easily by sharing with them your knowledge of the Bible and its prophecies. Also, please feel free to share this post with your family and friends on Facebook or LinkedIn or to encourage them to sign up below to receive all future posts on Bible prophecy via email. This will ensure social media sites in the near future do not block our message.
May God continue to Bless you!
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