Tag Archives: Daniel

Hair White As Wool

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Revelation 1:14: “His head and His hair were as white as wool.”

A direct referent for this description is also found in the Book of Enoch (46.1).
“1.And there I saw One, who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.
“And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? 3. And he answered and said unto me: ‘This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.”

About the Book of Enoch

Although the Book of Enoch is not canonical Scripture, it would be profitable reading for any who have the inclination to read this whole passage in Enoch.

We find in Daniel’s prophetic vision of Daniel 9:7 that the “Ancient of Days” has hair  “like the pure wool.” In this passage, verse 13, the “Son of Man” comes before this “Ancient of Days” Who gives Him the everlasting Kingdom.  We may therefore see that in Revelation 1:14 we have the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophesy.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

Why Daniel Was The Signifying Angel in Revelation

Revelation Commentary, , , , , , , ,

The fact that this Angel is Daniel signifies the content of the Revelation; i.e., it is to be the fulfillment of the prophecies to Daniel concerning the “end” and which he did not understand previously, Daniel 12:8.

Daniel Did Not Understand

When Daniel did not understand, the Angel told him, 12:9: “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end…..(13) But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

Daniel could not understand because the prophecy was concerned with the destruction of the City and Temple, the defeat of the chosen people, the desolation of the sanctuary, the successful exploits of the evil prince against the holy covenant. Even the holy place was to be desecrated and the daily sacrifice caused to cease, Daniel chapters 9, 10, 11.

Even the wisest of men could not reason as to how the Most High God, the Covenant keeping God who had made everlasting promise to David, and who had said of Jerusalem: “I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there,” 2 Chronicles 6:6.  Even after she had been sorely punished for her sins, Zechariah could still say: “The Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem, Zechariah 1:17; 2:12. And: “I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,” Zechariah 8:3).

Daniel Did Not Know Christ

Daniel did not yet know Christ as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He did not yet see that the fleshly kingdom could be translated into a heavenly kingdom in Christ, and that, in the crucifixion, the old nation would die, but in the resurrection the nation lived again with the eternal Life which God had ordained from the beginning.

In that great mystery, hidden even from Daniel for a time, is that which the New Testament reveals and of which the Book of Revelation is the epitome. The Book of Revelation shows the Great Revealer of Secrets at work again. And Daniel was in on it.

The End Of The Days

The “end of the days” that Daniel had prophesied was the  “seventy weeks of years” and a “time, times, and dividing of times”. Daniel was promised that he would stand in his lot at the end of these times. The word lot refers to the lot for assigning to service or duty as the priests to their courses; singers, musicians and porters were assigned to their positions by lot as in 1Chronicles chapters 24, 25, and 26.

So Daniel was to have an assigned place of duty and service, his lot,  at the “end of the days”. Therefore, since the Book of Revelation is about the consummation and confirmation of the Messianic fulfillment of Daniel’s visions, we should expect Daniel to be there,doing his duty, receiving his recompense and participating in the revelation of Jesus Christ. And that is exactly what we do see in the role of the Signifying Angel of the Book of Revelation.

Daniel’s position in the Book of Revelation as the Signifying Angel, is evidence, if not proof positive, that the Book was written to show the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies of the end of the natural, physical nation of Israel, the natural race of Jewish people, and the literal City, Jerusalem. It happened on time in 70 AD. 

The nation was translated from the physical to the spiritual; the natural race was translated to the spiritual race of the New Birth in Christ, the Church; the literal city was translated into the heavenly City, the New Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God had been established on earth and God was again dwelling in the midst of His people.

Who Was The Signifying Angel of Revelation 1:1?

Revelation Commentary, , , , , ,

As we shall show, the Angel which accompanied John through the Revelation visions was the spirit of the prophet Daniel. This Signifying Angel is introduced in Revelation 1:1 as the means of making the message known to John, “He sent and signified it by his angel….”

The Signifying Angel in Revelation 5:

It appears to be the same Angel in 5:2: “And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?’” Who would be more likely to ask this question than Daniel, who had been given the prophecy but had to seal it till the time of the end? (Dan. 12:4, 9).

The Signifying Angel in Revelation 10

In Revelation 10 we see a “mighty angel” who has a little scroll/book in his hand. This Angel is like the “man clothed in linen” of Daniel 12:7. Daniel had asked this “man” how long it should be to the end of these wonders. The “man” in Daniel 12 lifted his hand toward heaven and declared it was to be “a time, two times, and half a time.”

However, in the Book of Revelation, (10:6), this Signifying Angel also lifts his hand to heaven but here declares “the time is up”: “there shall be no more delay, but in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, (see below on 11:15), the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled,” (Revelation 10:6-7 RSV).

Who but Daniel would qualify for this angelic role in the Book of Revelation? The mystery had been propounded to him during his life on earth and he had questioned the Lord about it, (Dan. 12:8). Who would be more worthy than Daniel to be granted the privilege to see the fulfillment of the mystery?

The Signifying Angel Passes the Little Scroll to John

But this Signifying Angel of Revelation chapter ten, gives the little scroll, (i.e., what is left of the scroll that has already had six seals broken on it), to John and instructs him to eat it. When John eats it, it is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach. He tells John “You must again prophecy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

This symbolic action signifies that Daniel’s prophecy, the “little scroll” which was only for Israel, was being incorporated into the larger prophecy, the Book of Revelation, that was to be to the whole world in the Gentile age, after they too had heard the Gospel. John was to internalize (eat) the prophecy so that he could apply (regurgitate) it to the Church Age. Who would be more qualified than Daniel to offer the remnants of his prophetic scroll to the prophet John?

Revelation 11

Revelation eleven  follows the same thought, for John is given the builders “measuring line” as described by Zechariah 1:16; 2:1-5 for the building of the New Jerusalem, the City of God, the Church, for the Old Jerusalem is destroyed. This New Jerusalem shall be inhabited as an unwalled village because of the multitude of men and cattle in it; unwalled in the sense that it is to be universal. The Lord Himself will be a wall of fire about her and the glory within her.

Zechariah chapter two continues with this same prophetic promise and the language is identical to that of Revelation 21 and 22 describing the New Jerusalem. Yes, the angelic spirit of Daniel “passes the baton” to John for the building of the New Jerusalem, whose Temple is then opened in heaven, (Revelation 11:19).

 Revelation 14

The Angel of Revelation 14:6-7 also appears to be that of the prophet Daniel for he declares that the hour of God’s judgment has come and calls the people to worship God. It was Daniel who was given the prophecy of the appointed time for the wrath of God on the earthly, fallen city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, (Dan. 8:15-19; 9:24-27; chapter 12). He was best qualified to announce that the appointed time had come.

Revelation 17

This Angel in Revelation 17:1, 7 is seen to be one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of wrath. He, too, may be shown to be the Signifying Angel, Daniel. When the seventh trumpet call was sounded the seven bowls of wrath began. The completion of these bowls of wrath completed the seventh trumpet and finished the mystery, as declared in 10:7.

This Angel invited John to let him explain the mystery of the judgment of the great harlot, (Revelation 17:7). In 17:7-18 this Angel describes the beast and its horns in the same language used by Daniel in Daniel 7:7-8, 19-27. Who but Daniel could qualify so well to describe this beast and its horns and so to see the fulfillment of the mystery of the great harlot? For it was Daniel who had prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem that was to come at the end of the appointed time.

Revelation 19

The Signifying Angel meets John again in Revelation 19:10. As John falls down to worship him, he says: “I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In other words, this Angel was a prophet, a servant, and a man. Only Daniel could qualify for this identity.

Revelation 21

In Revelation 21:9, 15, 17, this Angel is the same as 17:1, 7; that is, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last plagues.” This time, the Angel is revealing the mystery of the Bride, the New Jerusalem. In 21:17, the Angel’s measure of the wall is said to be “a man’s measure, that is, an angel’s.” Again this is a “man-angel” and who but Daniel would qualify for this role?

Revelation 22

Chapter 22 makes it even clearer that this “Man-angel” is the prophet Daniel. Revelation 22:6: “The God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his Angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” This is the same Angel that we met in Revelation 1:1 by whom God sent the Revelation to John.

22:8-9: 1 John … fell down to worship at the feet of the Angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets,’” (RSV). He was a Prophet. Which other prophet would qualify so well for the role of Signifying Angel?

The fact that this Angel is Daniel signifies the content of the Revelation; i.e., it is to be the fulfillment of the prophecies to Daniel concerning the “end” of the nation, city, and people, and which he did not understand previously, Daniel 12:8.

Next Lesson:

Lesson 17 of Series – More About False Teachings

Revelation Commentary, , , , , ,

More About False Teachings: Does God Break His Promises?

The Lord gave Daniel the prophecy of the end of his people, nation, and city, in Daniel 9:24-27 which was to happen at an “appointed time” of 490 years. After that would come another “time, times, and an half,” Daniel12:6-7,  which is also called “the time of the end,” during which time their Messiah Prince should come.  Some dispensationalists and pre-millennialists say that Daniel 9:24-27 “doesn’t tell us that the seventy weeks were fulfilled, because when the Jews refused their Messiah, God stopped the clock, breached his promise, …. ‘Time in’ hasn’t been called yet.”

Did God “Stop the Clock”?

The “last times” specified in Daniel had come in the New Testament era and the people knew it was the last times for their nation, city, and people.  Simeon and Anna knew it was time for the Messiah, (Luke 2:25-34). The Samaritans knew that it was time for the Messiah, (John 4:25, 29-30). Andrew knew it was time for the Messiah, (John 1:40-41), and Philip also knew, (John 1:45).

John 2:18: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

Hebrews 9:24-26: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world [age] hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

The Book of Revelation states that “the (appointed) time is at hand, 1:3.”

Did God “Breach His Promise”?

To accuse God of “breach of promise,” (as translated in Numbers 14:33-34 KJV),  is to accuse Him of lying! This idea is totally foreign to the concept of the covenant-keeping God of the Bible.

Indeed, the passage in Numbers 14:33-34 shows clearly that when God states a time, He means just that. The word translated “breach of promise,” (KJV), is Hebrew tenuw’ah, from nuw’, meaning ‘my opposition,’ or, as translated in Job 33:10, ‘occasion for hostility,’ (BDB). The Lord was saying that they should bear their iniquity for forty years that they might know His “opposition to their rebellion,” the “occasion for His hostility,” not that He failed to keep His word or “breached His promise”!

Numbers 23:19 says:”God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

He is a God of faithfulness, (Deuteronomy 32:4). He does not change, (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17). He keeps His covenant to “all generations,” (Psalm 33:11; 45:17; 100:5; 119:90, and many other references).

Psalm 105:8: “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word [which] he commanded to a thousand generations.”

So when the Lord gave Daniel the prophecy that his nation, people, and city would end in 490 years and the “time of the end” would be an additional time, times and half a time, and that their Messiah would come in that time, those who believed in God and knew the covenant were expecting those things. They were fulfilled and the fleshly nation came to its final end in 70 AD with more than three million killed, almost another million taken and dispersed as slaves, Jerusalem burned to the ground, and the genealogies burned.

God Fulfilled His Promises Through Christ

But Christ was raised from the dead, established His Church and sat down at the right hand of God to reign forever and ever. “Of the increase of His Kingdom there shall be no end,” Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:32.

Next Lesson: The End According To Daniel