Daniel and Revelation

Transcription

1 1 Daniel and Revelation Nature and Purpose of the Course Let me welcome you to this study of two of the greatest prophetic books in the Bible. Surely when you think about the subject of biblical prophecy, the book of Revelation immediately comes to mind. Of the Old Testament books Daniel is truly cherished, not only for the wonderful stories of deliverance that were afforded to Daniel and his friends, but also for the meticulous details of prophetic truth leading to both the first and the second comings of Jesus Christ. However, the thought of studying biblical prophecy causes many students of the Bible to throw up their hands in despair. After all, prophecy is at times confusing and difficult to understand because of the figures of speech and symbolism used to communicate the truth. In addition, many different opinions are held among Bible scholars as to the exact details relative to the future; so whose opinion is correct? It is easy to believe that we can never really be sure of future events because of all the confusion in this area of study. Daniel and Revelation is an attempt to help you unravel at least some of the prophetic confusion that seems to beset us in this discipline. While there are many opinions about prophetic details it is, nevertheless, possible to come to some conclusions. One of the most helpful things in prophetic study is to observe prophecies that have already found their fulfillment. The book of Daniel will help us tremendously as we observe how God revealed the details of the future and then see the actual fulfillment of His words. God's method of fulfilling His prophecies is simply that He fulfills them literally. Since God has fulfilled His prophecies literally in the past, then should we not expect that the unfulfilled prophecies of Scripture will also be fulfilled in the same manner, that is, literally? My approach to these prophetic books will be to attempt to understand what God is saying literally, realizing that figures of speech are a legitimate means of communicating literal truth. Whenever a figure is encountered in the text, it will be our task to seek to understand what God is attempting to communicate to us through that figure. That will be its literal meaning. Perhaps it would also be good to note that in working our way through these great prophetic books of Scripture, we must avoid the tendency to become a prophet. We will talk about a number of events which the Bible predicts very clearly as happening in the future. It is one thing to talk about such events; however, we must be careful not to relate them to the events we read about in the newspaper each morning. While prophetic events always do have a foreshadowing, God's timetable for the carrying out of His prophetic program may not begin until the next generation. While the prophetic time line is clearly given in Scripture, the exact beginning point is never disclosed. This course is built around two textbooks, both written by an eminent premillennial scholar, Dr. John F. Walvoord, Chancellor and Professor Emeritus of Dallas Theological Seminary. Making use of two textbooks by the same author will help us maintain a consistent approach and viewpoint of the prophetic Scriptures. In addition, the Supplement for each lesson contains

2 2 comments on the biblical texts that I have used in teaching this same course in the undergraduate school at Moody Bible Institute. I hope that through the reading of the texts and the Supplement, you will have a better understanding of these books of the Scripture. This course is a three-semester-hour study of the books of Daniel and Revelation. It is described in the Moody Bible Institute Undergraduate Catalog as "A study of two closely related prophetic books. Considers Daniel first as presenting the framework of prophecy. Examines Revelation as the completion and climax of the prophetic Scriptures." Introductory material in this course will include the background of the books as well as a detailed study of the prophecies involved. In addition, there will occasionally be observations made as to how this material should be applied practically to our lives today. If you complete the reading assignments connected with this course, you should be able to: articulate the main points of the books of Daniel and Revelation. trace the fulfilled prophecies from these two books. construct a prophetic chart of significant unfulfilled prophecies. Table of Contents UNIT 1 The Book of Daniel Lesson 1 Introduction and Daniel 1-2 Lesson 2 Daniel 3-6 Lesson 3 Daniel 7-8 Lesson 4 Daniel 9 Lesson 5 Daniel UNIT 2 The Book of Revelation Lesson 6 Introduction and Revelation 1 Lesson 7 Revelation 2-3 Lesson 8 Revelation 4-5 Lesson 9 Revelation 6-7 Lesson 10 Revelation 8-11 Lesson 11 Revelation Lesson 12 Revelation Lesson 13 Revelation Lesson 14 Revelation Lesson 15 Revelation 21-22

3 3 The Text Book The following is the required textbook for this course. You should be able to purchase this book from a local bookstore, an online book store such as Amazon.com or Christian Book Distributors John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody, 1971). ISBN: John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody, 1966). ISBN: Specific assignments related to the reading from this textbook are found in the Introduction to each lesson. In order to gain the most benefit from this course, you should read the assignment in the textbook first, then read through the Supplement for that lesson. Course Requirements For this course you must successfully complete the reading of the study guide; read the books of Daniel and Revelation at least two times, each time in a different version of the Bible; read the two textbooks in their entirety (you will be held accountable on exams for any material in these books); take two exams; write two papers, submit answers to ten review/study questions and participate in the threaded discussions. Daniel paper (5-8 pages, choose between the following): 1. "The Succession of Gentile World Powers in Daniel 2 and 7." These chapters trace a succession of Gentile world powers that will have dominance over the nation of Israel. What Gentile powers are suggested by the different images in these chapters? How do these chapters parallel each other? What unique contributions are made by each chapter? To what degree have these visions been fulfilled? What portion of them yet remains to be fulfilled? Why is the destruction

4 4 of the entire image (and all of the Gentile world powers) at one time important to our understanding of Christ's return? 2. "The Purpose of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel." Daniel 9 gives the extremely important prophecy of the "seventy weeks." Why was this prophecy given to Daniel at this time in his life? How do we know the intent of the prophecy? What does the Scripture say will be accomplished as a result of the seventy weeks? Has any of the prophecy been fulfilled? What remains to be fulfilled in Daniel's seventy weeks? How might both the nation and the community in which you live be affected by the Tribulation? Revelation paper (5-8 pages, choose between the following): 1. "The Coming World Dictator." This individual is commonly referred to as "the Antichrist." But by what designations does John refer to him in Revelation? Trace the chapters that reveal details about him. What information can you gain from a study of these references? When will this person appear in the course of history? What will be his agenda? How will he accomplish that agenda? What will happen to him historically and what will be his final doom? Then, interview or write to at least three people, one of whom is not a professing Christian, and ask them the following questions: (a) Do you believe the world will come to an end some day? If so, how? If not, why? (b) Will there someday be one leader over the entire world? At the end of your paper analyze their answers to these questions. Also include how you might answer someone who, according to his or her responses, does not believe in the teachings of Revelation. Note: It is not necessary for you to give this answer during the course of the interview. 2. John writes to seven specific churches in chapters 2 and 3. Choose one of these churches and study it in depth. Where is the church located? What is the specific message to that church? Does the historical background of the church give any insights as to why the message was given? Why do you believe that church was selected to be given a message? Is that "church" still with us today? Then, either interview or write to your pastor (or someone else you consider to be knowledgeable in biblical studies) and ask the following questions: Which of the seven churches describes your church? Why? What steps could be taken in your church to respond to the Lord's evaluation of it? Analyze the answers that person gives you at the end of your paper. Also, give ways that you might become involved in meeting some of the needs in your local church.

5 5 Reading You will be required to read the study guide as well as the textbook. Your comprehension of this material will be reflected by the exams. The Self-Check Tests and Review Questions will refer to material in both the study guide and textbook, and thus help prepare you for the exams. You will be required to submit a Reading Report, stating that you have completed reading of the textbook, and the lesson supplements. Threaded Discussions The Threaded Discussion portion of this course will enable you to interact and dialogue in a collaborative setting with the instructor and your classmates. Each week your instructor will post a discussion topic or question. Usually these topics or questions will be taken directly from the Review or Study questions in the lesson. You will be required to post a response by the given deadline. Your responses will be evaluated based on the specifications your instructor posts with each new question. Some responses will be evaluated based on their length, others on the number of resources referred to and others on the quality of their content. Each response should be well thought out and contain no spelling or grammatical errors. You will also be required to read the responses of your "classmates" and respond. Study Questions At the beginning and end of each lesson, you will find Review and Study Questions, which are designed to guide you in your understanding of the Supplement. You must select 20 of these questions (from a variety of lessons), write a response/answer and send them to your instructor via the Drop Box.