First, the meaning of the term ‘end times’ must be clarified. Chilton comments, … what is often missed is the fact that the expression ‘the last days’, and similar terms, are used in the Bible to refer, not to the end of the physical world, but to the last days of the nation of Israel, the ‘last days’ which ended with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.[1] This may be a … [Read more...]
Sovereignty & Unjust Suffering: Studies in Daniel, Part 2/2
Through the grid of God’s sovereignty, Daniel provides not only a practical philosophy of suffering for the Christian but also a foundation for action. Paul could say to the church in Colossae, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. … [Read more...]
Sovereignty & Unjust Suffering: Studies in Daniel, Part 1/2
Divine Sovereignty & Christian Suffering In view of Christian experience and, indeed, that of Daniel, it must be asked as to how one responds to 'unjust suffering'. While 'unjust suffering' can manifest in many forms, the focus of this article is on persecution. Perhaps the best way to view ‘unjust suffering’ in the book of Daniel is through the words and teaching of … [Read more...]
Sovereignty & The Pagan Power-State: Studies in Daniel
Divine Sovereignty: asserted by Daniel Every chapter of this book clearly asserts the sovereignty of God. In referring to the lesson of fulfilled prophecy that Daniel provides for the church, the translator’s preface to Calvin’s commentary on Daniel points out that, “they [fulfilled prophecies] display His ceaseless dominion over the wills of Sovereigns and over the destinies … [Read more...]
“Predictive Prophecy” In The Book Of Daniel: The Challenge to Rationalism
Presuppositions & Prophecy The issue of "predictive prophecy" has provided a stumbling-block for rationalistic interpreters from the Neoplatonic critic, Porphyry, to German Higher Criticism of the nineteenth century, and even down to the contemporary critic of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. To accept the validity of “predictive prophecy” is tantamount to … [Read more...]
