Daniel 7-12: Daniel's Apocalypse

Daniel 7-12 shows Daniel not as the revealer of chapters 1-6, but one to whom things are revealed. Before he interpreted the dreams of others; now he requires supernatural interpreters for his own apocalyptic visions. Apocalypse here comes from the Greek meaning "revelation." However, the popular connotation of apocalypse as the end of this world order is still appropriate in certain cases.

Revelation by nature presents fantastic imagery that represents a historical reality. It is not prophetic per se, as apocalyptic visions are "kept secret" from the public after the events have already occurred and their meanings can presumably be understood.

"But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase."
(Daniel 12.4)

“Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end."
(Daniel 12.9)

First Vision: Daniel 7
Daniel's first revelation exposes him to the future of the political world stage through four kingdoms, represented by beasts. Judah may look forward to these nations that will arise to rule the world.

1. The first beast:

"The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off and it was lifted up form the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it."
(Daniel 7.4)

This beast undoubtedly represents Babylon through the image of Nebuchadnezzar, God's designated actor to exile the nation. When the Babylonian king goes mad in Daniel 4, he is described in beastly terms, particularly as an eagle, an image that also appears in Ezekiel 17:

He was driven away from human society, ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers and his nails became like birds' claws.
(Daniel 4.33)

And, like the beast in Daniel 7, Nebuchadnezzar's sanity is eventually restored.

So what to make of the eagle/lion mix? Mixed parts (e.g. cotton/wool, milk/meat, Israelite/outsider) are forbidden by Leviticus, so there is something particularly vile about this beast. I think the lion is chosen specifically because it is a traditional symbol of Judah. This creates a beastly image rife with tension. Nebuchadnezzar, remember, was divinely commissioned. The lion/eagle beast therefore may represent a hybrid of Judah and its conqueror Babylon. That nation is now composed of not only its own people, but now the exiled Jews as well. When the wings are plucked, the creature represents a ghastly new reality for Judah. The beast that existed under the kingship of Nebuchadnezzar through Darius will be irrevocably changed, and the Jews may not enjoy the same freedoms as Daniel.

2. The second beast, bear-like with three tusks and many teeth that is told, "Arise! devour many bodies!" is Medea, which attacked, but was unable to conquer Babylon.

3. The third beast, like a leopard with four bird wings on its back and four heads, represents Persia. To this beast is given dominion, mirroring the historical reality of Persia's successful conquest of Babylon.

4. The fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and strong, represents Greece - its horns are the leaders from Seleucus I through Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

After the time of these four beasts will arise Israel's savior:

I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven,
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.
(Daniel 7.13-14)

After seeing all this, Daniel seeks an attendant to the Lord who can explain the vision to him. The interpretation goes pretty much as above, with the one like a human being ushering in an eternal kingdom for the Jews:

"The kingship and dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey them."
(Daniel 7.27)

Further Visions
Daniel's further apocalypses clarify and expound upon the material introduced in the vision of chapter 7.

Chapter 8 presents a vision of the future actions of Medea, Persia, and Greece, with particular emphasis on Greece.

In chapter 9, direct revelation occurs, with no imagery to be interpreted. Daniel, who prays for God's forgiveness on behalf of Jerusalem, is visited by the angel Gabriel, who gives him the history of the future, a succession of 70 weeks of years (490 years total) until good finally triumphs.

Chapter 10 presents another direct revelation, and here we dig into more apocalyptic devices. A man (probably Gabriel, who is Israel's patron angel) visits Daniel and tells him that he has been fighting the patron angel of Persia. In the apocalyptic worldview, you see, events on earth mimic those in heaven. This idea is common among a number of cultures, and helps to provide a symmetry and reason for events on earth.

In fact, future peace in the Christian tradition is perceived in exactly this way:

...Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven...

And so the one like a man departs from Daniel, with the parting words,

"Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. Thee is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince."
(Daniel 10.20-21)

At a later time (Daniel 11-12) Gabriel reveals to Daniel a blueprint of the very difficult times ahead, but ultimately the story ends positively for God's people. We even get a tiny glimpse of the notion of heaven:

“At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."
(Daniel 12.1-3)

Isaiah 56-66: Belief and Prediction

Third Isaiah

First Isaiah presents Zion/Jerusalem on the brink of destruction, Second Isaiah presents Zion in Babylon, and Third Isaiah presents God's people as they have returned to Judah from their captivity in Babylon. Even though the people have returned to their land in Third Isaiah, the prophet's grandiose prophecies have not all come true. Oppression remains, even in the homeland as the Israelites start to rebuild their home city and temple. Therefore, Isaiah must deliver new oracles to clarify the old ones.

That's the trouble with prophecy: it is rarely exactly correct, and so the prophet must modify the prophecy in order to suit his worldview. We see this tradition continue even today. Evangelist Harold Camping, who predicted the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011 and the end of the world on October 21 of the same year, is by no means a biblical-level prophet, but his predictions thrust him into the realm of prophecy. When no apparent rapture occurred, he had to change his prediction somewhat.

Camping had in fact originally predicted the end of the world for September, 1994. When that did not occur, he insisted that he had not done enough research. He was much more certain about the events of May and October 2011. When the faithful were not corporeally ascended on May 21, Camping held strong in his assertion of rapture, but clarified that it was largely symbolic, or spiritual, as opposed to physical. The proposed date for the destruction of the world remains.

Isaiah also fails on a number of counts. The wilderness of Zion is not like Eden, the nursing child does not play over the hole of the asp. These things have not even come true in metaphorical terms. But part of his prophecies did come true: Judah was conquered, then delivered, and its people were allowed to return to their homeland. But because so much did not come true, the new message represents a departure from previous predictions.

The reasons Isaiah's visions do not come true are attributed to the Israelites' apostasy. God is not worshipped as he should be. And when pagan practices are in vogue, the normal signs of worship: sacrifices of oxes, lambs, grain, and aromatics like frankincense do not count, and actually bring sin upon a person.

But one day, all these people will be put to shame, when the new kingdom comes. A much different kingdom it shall be.

Deliverance and Social Justice
In Third Isaiah, deliverance is not longer reserved for those related to Israel. Now foreigners who obey the Lord will be called to the house of God. (Isaiah 56.8) They stand in stark contrast to Israel's rulers, the “wild animals,” and blind sentinels with mighty appetites and meager understanding.

The reason for the concession to foreigners seems to be the lack of regard that Israel has for God. They simply go through the motions of Judaism, without proper belief or practice. They ask:

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
(Isaiah 58.3)

God responds:

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
(Isaiah 58.3-5)

Fasting, the Lord asserts, should be accompanied by humility, even in the face of hunger. Fasts are meant to “loose the bonds of injustice,” “let the oppressed go free,” “share your bread with the hungry,” “bring the homeless poor into your house,” and cover the naked. (Isaiah 58.6-7)

The simple orthopraxy emphasized in the days of Moses must now be accompanied by social justice. Israel's relationship with God is no longer simply based on obedience of his commandments, but also a sense of caring for one another. In prophesy short of apocalypticism, there is always an opportunity for the audience to change its ways.

Prophets, we must remember, were always on the fringe, and rarely believed by the aristocracy or the common people. So it remains today. Our new prophets, uninspired by any god we comprehend, continue to fail in their predictions. It is up to us whether they serve as an example of piety or errancy.

Charting the End of Days

Harold Camping has a blueprint for humanity. Those billboards reading “Judgment Day May 21” are the brainchild of the 89-year-old, who hosts a daily internationally-syndicated radio show, “Family Radio.” Judgment Day arrives Saturday with the rapture of God’s faithful. At six o’clock p.m. Standard Time, an earthquake will occur at the International Date Line, and will spread over the whole world. For the next five months, quakes and fires and suffering will rack what remains of humanity. The fantastic machinery of the cosmos will enter a new era as the “salvation program” ends and the “judgment program” begins. The final stroke comes on October 21, with the end of the world.

That is the blueprint for the End of Days.

Camping’s reasoning comes about from cherry-picked passages stitched together into biblical mathematics, substituting verses the way mathematicians substitute variables. (See the run-down on his website)

Camping’s history as an engineer no doubt helped him in charting the apocalypse. D.T. Brown’s interview at Killing the Buddha quotes him as saying:

I was an engineer and that helped me enormously in studying the Bible, because, just like engineering, the Bible is very analytical. ...I approached the Bible the same way I approached any engineering question, in a very analytical way.

This “analytical way” means a mapping out of the end times, something hardly new in eschatology. Many of Camping’s adversaries are quick point to 2 Peter 3.10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…” However, there is an enduring and perhaps innate desire to know exactly when the end will occur, and to identify and map out the signs of the times leading to it.

Micheael Shermer in the Wall Street Journal writes about “The Enduring Appeal of the Apocalypse,” suggesting that eschatology helps us to cope with a world we do not completely understand:

For human beings, it is much easier to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune when we believe that it is all part of a deeper, unfolding plan. We may feel like flotsam and jetsam on the vast rivers of history, but when the currents are directed toward a final destination, it gives us purpose and meaning. We want to feel that no matter how chaotic, oppressive or evil the world may be, all will be made right in the end.

Camping’s eschatology, like many other eschatologies, is based on a succession of eras. In these, there are one or more watershed moments that delineate between the old, sinful time, and the new time of salvation.

I remember the first time I was given a handout of the “Chart of Ages” by the Chicago Bible Students. A series of colored arcs intersect and overlap in a number of ages and dispensations. The timeline resembled a dome temple, and within it were pyramids and fragments of pyramids, all explaining events from the bible and those still to come in human history. What I held was a blueprint of all time, starting with the creation of the world and “ending” with a period of eternal perfection. At the time, I did not know what a “dispensation” was. That knowledge came later, with scholarly study.

The chart owed a lot to the evangelist John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), who popularized the idea of the rapture as well as dispensationalism. Darby’s dispensations organized history very neatly, making clear the evolution of God’s relationship with humankind through the past and as it extends into eternity. Though he takes Martin Luther’s idea of sola scriptura to an extreme, surely Camping draws something from Darby in the way he maps out the end times.

In fact, though, there is a man even further back that informs both of them. Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202) was a medieval theologian whose ornate diagrams (figurae) traced history from the beginning of the world through three distinct ages. Through these elaborate charts of interlocked rings and seven-headed dragons, the man attempted to chart God’s plan from creation to the eternal kingdom. Joachim saw order in biblical numbers, and relied on the trinity for his idea about the history of the world. The Age of the Father was explicated in the Hebrew Scriptures, and was typified by God’s revealed law. The Age of the Son was explicated in the Gospels, and was typified by the “good news” brought by Jesus Christ. The Age of the Spirit was foreshadowed by Revelation and other apocalyptic literature. Joachim believed the Age of the Son was coming to an end, and the Age of the Spirit was to begin at some point between 1200 and 1260. That span came and went, with a fair amount of terror and repentance, but the Age of the Spirit was never ushered in.

Camping has applied his own eras to history. The “Age of the Church” ended in 1988, nearly coinciding with his failed attempt at forming a congregation. The “Age of Salvation” will end with the rapture, and the age of judgment will begin Saturday.

These three men have in common something that we are very familiar with today: a desire to classify the world. I recall being frustrated as a child that my history book charted the history of specific areas, rather than plotting all history on a gigantic timeline. There it would be much easier to see cause and effect – and I realize now – even perceived effects without true causes. Camping is not searching for Gog or Magog or the Four Horseman, but he shares a similar desire with those who do. With the signs he offers, we are able to see where we are going. The bible becomes a guidebook, and Camping becomes out guide.

Camping believes that the world will end, and to a degree he is correct. Whether or not the rapture occurs, May 21, 2011 stands as a demarcation in the long history of expected doomsdays. If the faithful are not raptured, their beliefs will be shaken. They will have to deal with the consequences of decisions made in preparation for the end times, especially those who gave up their friends, family, possessions, and wealth in anticipation of the end time. An old history will end, and a new one begins, awaiting yet another blueprint for the future.

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Post Script
Eschatological blueprints are not limited to Christians. The Mayans also used a system of cycles to define history. Most people have heard of the impending “Mayan apocalypse” December 21, 2012. The key thing to remember here is that the end of a Mayan cycle does not indicate an apocalyptic end of life, but rather a renewal. On December 21, 2012, the old cycle will be shed and the new one will begin fresh. Ten days later we will ring in a secular new year, and a new cycle of interest in the end times will begin.