What in the World?
Technology: Sealing the Book Until the End
The century in which we live meets the prescribed descriptions for the end times era as prophesied by the prophet Daniel. Let's continue to discuss his remarkable description.
The Book of Daniel was written more than 600 years before the life of Christ and foretells numerous historically accurate future announcements. In fact, the accuracy of Daniel's already fulfilled prophecies leads some people to conclude the document was written by another author at a much later time. One Christian author explains the situation to us.
The book of Daniel has been subject to more criticism and rejection by critics than any book of the Bible except Genesis. This is essentially because of one reason only: the remarkably fulfilled prophecies in the book. Critics who refuse to believe in God's ability to reveal events through His prophets have gone to great lengths to deny the traditional authorship. They have charged historical errors and linguistic inconsistencies, but the real reason is its prophecies" (MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1253).
The same author goes on to refute the critics' claims and points out that even "Jesus himself attributed one of the book's most important prophecies to 'Daniel the prophet.'" It would behoove us to take seriously God's claims as announced through the prophet Daniel. So, let's take a step back and consider the reference we are discussing in a slightly wider context.
Daniel's overview
The latter portion of Daniel 11 deals with the Antichrist and his exploits at the end of human history. In fact, the book of Revelation ties into and expounds significantly on Daniel's prophetic announcements and elaborates in greater degree concerning the Antichrist's actions during the tribulation period. Daniel, on the other hand, provides a more succinct overview. The prophet explains the matter in this fashion (italics added):
And the king [Antichrist] shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done...Yet he [Antichrist] shall come to his end, with none to help him" (Daniel 11:36-37 KJV).
Daniel then writes, "At that time…" and provides an overview of the conditions and what will transpire at the end of the age we appear to be living in (italics added):
Daniel 12:1 At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Daniel 12:4 But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.
Let's briefly discuss some of the points Daniel makes.
A time of trouble
Daniel explains that during that period, "...there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time." In other words, the Tribulation period that will come on the world will be the most troublesome period the world has ever experienced. That trouble will highlight and nearly engulf the nation of Israel and will encompass every nation of the world.
A time of resurrection
Daniel informs us of the reality of the resurrection that will include all persons who ever lived, saying, "…many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 21; 42). The truth that all persons will appear before the judgment seat of God is included as an end-time reality (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15). Furthermore, the reference is clear that some will go on to eternal life and others will not.
A three-fold specific description of the end
Daniel is then provided a general scenario of the world at the time of the end. These three points are clearly indicative of the situation the world is currently experiencing: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall greatly increase" (Daniel 12:4 ESV).
"Shut up the words…"
Daniel is instructed to "seal the book." Initially, this appears like a strange thing to inform a writer to do. But from our perspective now, it makes perfect sense. Daniel is told, "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end." The revealing point about this command is that it would not be until the end-time that Daniel's words would be understandable, that is, unsealed. We have already elaborated that the time of the end will be characterized by a great increase in knowledge. Yet, that increase would not be realized until the time of the end. Prior to that period, knowledge remained stable and for the most part unchanged. The book, as it were, would be unsealed once people became capable of seeing the change in technological knowledge and the gravity of the increase.
To this point, let me challenge you if I may. Take the time to watch these two videos. The first video is only 3 minutes long and briefly explains the exponential growth of knowledge taking place in our world today. The second video is 50 minutes long and provides an overview of technology as a military threat ‒ even in orbit around the earth. If you do not wish to watch the entire video, just watch for 15 minutes. As you watch, consider the increased capabilities in technical knowledge that has allowed this global stage to unfold and this situation to become reality. Not many decades ago, this was purely science-fiction. Today, as is stated in the video, this matter is considered one of the greatest threats the world faces.
Video 1: Exponential technology growth
Video 2: Battlefield Space: To the Moon and Beyond
"…many shall run to and fro…"
Daniel also informs us that the end days would be identified by the phrase, "…many shall run to and fro…" Again, at first, this might seem a rather strange and unreliable evidence that humanity is in the end times. But if we consider the point further, we find it to be as accurate of an indicator as one could devise.
Throughout human history transportation was relatively slow and even arduous. In fact, up until the invention of Carl Benz' gasoline powered vehicle on January 29, 1886, the fastest mode of transportation was by horse (and unpowered sailing ships). Historians tell us that the top speed people could travel under good circumstances was 25-30 miles per day. Remarkably, throughout history, many people never traveled more than 30 miles away from the location they were born. Due to the drastic increase in technological advancement, transportation systems have utterly changed the world.
To put the change into perspective, if we watched people from above, we would see travel in a different light. What we would see is people traveling, well, "to and fro" across the planet at an extent and speed never considered until the recent decades. Consider some statistical data put out by the US Department of Transportation, more specifically, their Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The page can be viewed here.
‒ Americans take 1.1 billion trips a day ‒ four for every person in the U.S.
‒ U.S. daily travel averages 11 billion miles a day ‒ almost 40 miles per person per day
‒ Americans take 411 billion daily trips a year or about 1,500 trips per person
‒ U.S. daily travel totals about 4 trillion miles ‒ 14,500 miles per person
Keep in mind, these are only statistics pertaining for the United States. It is also estimated that there are an enormous number of vehicles designed for travel throughout the world (bold statistics are linked to source). For example, there are some 1.44 billion cars on the earth. It is estimated there are 600 million motorcycles in the world. There are also over 25,000 fleet commercial aircraft in service around the world allowing for 37.8 million departures and 4.3 billion people flying annually (2018). There are also some 340,000 general aviation aircraft in the world, with all of these numbers increasing annually.
This increase in world-wide travel has occurred essentially within the last 100 years. The prophetic statement made to Daniel that "...many shall run to and fro…" (across the earth), becomes a fulfilled prophesy of such proportions that could only be fulfilled in this era. This characterization of the period of the end that describes humanity's ability to travel due directly to increased technological knowledge, is an indicator suitable for pointing to the scenario that would exist in the end times.
I invite you to continue with me as we discuss the third general description Daniel makes: ...knowledge shall greatly increase," and how that knowledge and technological innovation is rapidly paving the way for a global system of buying and selling, just as Daniel and the book of Revelation predicts.
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