“… For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done…” (Isa 46:9, 10)
“The Bible as a book is unique in that it contains literally hundreds of prophecies that span thousands of years and that have witnessed equally as many fulfillment's. Other sources may venture opinions or suggest reasonable outcomes of events, but they amount to little more than hopes or outright guesses. Only the Bible, as the word of God, has proven consistently reliable in its predictions dealing with empires, nations, civilizations, and events, often very specific and detailed in their coverage.
It has been said that prophecy is greater than miracles in establishing faith in the Bible. A miracle that occurred, say 2,500 years ago, fades into the mist of time and cannot be confirmed today. But a prediction of antiquity, if preserved in writing, especially if appearing at odds with known facts at the time and therefore most improbable of ever occurring, yet fulfilled later as stated, amounts to very convincing evidence.
The credibility of the Bible as a whole is greatly enhanced when the accuracy of its prophetic forecasts is considered. Careful reflection shows that these predictions are of an order and detail that preclude the possibility of historical facts being mere wrested to fit the outcome. Numerous recent archaeological findings have further validated certain Bible prophecies by indirectly confirming their early origin. This has disarmed the critics who contended for later dates or had supposed they originated after the historical events they depicted had occurred. Now even skeptics are being forced to admit the accuracy of the Bible without being able to provide a satisfactory explanation!
As a sincere truth seeker considers the claims of the Bible as the word of God the overwhelming testimony of fulfilled prophecy encourages an overall faith that will accept the divine revelation in its entirety. This builds confidence in the yet to be fulfilled promises and a willingness to accept its broader teachings and precepts.” (Bible Prophecy—It's Purpose in God's Plan)
With the forgoing thoughts in mind we should now like to examine the message (prophecy) revealed to Daniel in the Eleventh Chapter.
“The message was true, but the appointed time (for its fulfillment) was long (that is from Daniel’s perspective).” Dan 10:1
What precisely was this thing which must wait to the “appointed time”?
The thing which awaited its appointed time was the “Time of the End”, but even more importantly to us it marked the time when the great prince would stand up, the time of our Lord’s parousia (presence), the Second Advent.
A simple scan of the internet will reveal that there are many commentaries written on the Eleventh Chapter of Daniel both religious and secular each of which appears to devise a different series of events, characters and time line (The same can be found under several of the threads dealing with the subject on this very forum). Some of these imagine this to be a history of events from the time of Darius the Mede to the coming of the Messiah (the First Advent); while others believe it reaches to the Second Advent (we of course are of the latter).
Special Note: This subject was originally suggested by a forum member on another forum we frequent, and as such we should like to present the subject as it was originally presented on that forum.
We will take a look at this in our next post.
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