Introduction: We begin a new series of studies on prophecy.
What are your views on Bible prophecy? Do you think you
understand them, while many others do not? Do you think it
is a waste of time to study them? The best argument for
studying Bible prophecy is the second chapter of Daniel. In
that chapter Daniel interprets a dream of King
Nebuchadnezzar which lays out the entire course of history
on planet earth! While our history is not yet complete, the
first 2,000 years following the dream were correctly
predicted! The best argument for being skeptical, or at
least cautious about Bible prophecy, is that most of our
current study is on the Second Coming of Jesus. The Bible
scholars got Jesus’ first coming wrong, so why should we
think we can get His Second Coming right? Whatever your
current views on Bible prophecy, come with me as we explore
this topic!
I. Understanding God
A. Read Jeremiah 9:23. What does God say that we
should not boast about? (Our intelligence, our
strength, or our money.)
B. Read Jeremiah 9:24. What should we boast about?
(That we know God.)
1. What do you think it means to “know God?” That
we are friends? Or, that we understand that
God delights in love, justice, and
righteousness? (Because God states details
about His character, it seems that He means
both.)
C. Read Isaiah 55:6-9. What kind of problems do we
have in seeking and understanding God? (His
thinking is not in our league. He is much smarter
than we are.)
1. Then why does God call on us to seek to
understand Him?
D. Read Matthew 13:10-11. How do you understand
Jesus’ answer to the reason why He speaks to the
people in parables? (Jesus wants some to
understand and others not to understand.)
1. Why would Jesus want anyone to misunderstand?
(Read Matthew 13:14-15. Jesus is not cheering
on a failure to understand. Rather He is
saying that some people do not want to
understand.)
E. Read Matthew 13:12-13. Is Jesus saying that some
people are not too smart, hard of hearing, or have
poor eyesight? If that is true, then it surely is
not their fault that they do not understand,
right? (Wrong. Jesus says that the ability to
understand what He is teaching turns on the
attitude of the listeners. If they study to learn,
then they will be given greater understanding. But
if you don’t care about understanding, then you
will lose even the little understanding that you
have.)
F. Read Acts 1:6-9. What do you say about the
question asked by the disciples just as Jesus was
about to return to heaven? (If I were Jesus I
would have started yelling at them! After all the
time they spent with Him, they still did not
understand that He was not going to overthrow the
Romans and restore Israel as master over their
Roman oppressors.)
1. How good were the disciples at understanding
the future? (This suggests that they were
terrible. They refused to let go of the common
prophetic belief of the Jews that the Messiah
would set up a secular kingdom.)
a. I know many people who are very sure that
they understand the prophecies about
last-day events. The disciples spent more
than three years listening to Jesus. If
that does not make a person cautious
about arrogance in understanding
prophecy, what does that tell you about
that person? (They are foolish.)
G. What do you think is the key to understanding
prophecy? (Matthew 13:12 suggests that we be
serious about it. To work diligently at
understanding. At the same time God is God and we
are not. We must understand our limitations.)
II. Shut Up or Open Up?
A. Read Daniel 12:1-3. What is being discussed here?
(The Second Coming of Jesus.)
B. Read Daniel 12:4. What do you think it means to
“shut up the words and seal the book?” (Read
Isaiah 29:11. This means that the book should not
be understood until some future time.)
C. Read Daniel 12:8-9. Did Daniel understand? (No. He
wanted to understand, but was told the words were
“shut up and sealed until the end of time.”)
1. When we read that “the book” is to be sealed,
is it the entire book of Daniel? (Read
Daniel 2:44-45. The “book” cannot refer to the entire
book of Daniel because Nebuchadnezzar’s
important dream prophecy is explicitly
“known,” and the interpretation is “sure.”)
D. Re-read Daniel 12:1. Is the “time of trouble” the
part of the book that is sealed and shut up? (I
don’t know. What is clear is that the entire book
of Daniel was not sealed.)
E. Re-read Daniel 12:3. Who is this describing? (Just
before the statement about sealing, we read this
statement about the “stars” who convert others.
Some type of knowledge of God is increasing.)
F. Read Matthew 24:15-16. Who is speaking? (Jesus.)
1. Who is Jesus quoting? (He is attributing this
to Daniel. I suggest Daniel 9:27.)
2. What does this tell us about the entire book
of Daniel being sealed? (Jesus said that His
listeners should be looking at the Daniel
prophecies to survive the Roman destruction of
the Jewish second temple!)
G. One commentator pointed to the prophetic work of
William Miller, who predicted the world would end
in 1843-44, as an example of the time of unsealing
when “knowledge shall increase” (see Daniel 12:4).
What do you think? Is an obviously incorrect
understanding of prophecy (because the Second
Coming did not occur in 1843-44) an example of the
book being sealed or unsealed?
1. With uncertainty about what part of Daniel
will be unsealed when, how should we view
those who claim to be correct about end-time
prophecies? (If history were not enough (that
God’s people misunderstood Jesus’ first
coming), this text about sealing gives
additional warning against being arrogant
regarding Bible prophecy.)
H. Read Revelation 22:10-11. What did the angel tell
John about sealing the prophecies of Revelation?
(He was told not to seal them. They should be
understood now.)
1. Why is Revelation unsealed and Daniel sealed?
(John writes that the “time is near.”)
a. Does that mean that Daniel should be
understood after the time of writing
Revelation?
b. Daniel and Revelation cover the same
topics to some degree. How can one be
sealed and the other unsealed?
I. I recently listened to a lecture on the phrase
“the time is near” and similar statements made in
the New Testament. From a human point of view the
time of the Second Coming is at least two thousand
years later. The lecturer argued that “near” did
not refer to chronology (counting time), but
rather referred to being unexpected. His argument
was based on a culturally informed translation of
the original language. He sounded convincing, and
I know too little to evaluate his understanding of
the original language. But that understanding
accords what has happened since. If you do not
expect Jesus to come now, and He does, the time is
near.
III. Our Role in Opening Up
A. Read 2 Peter 1:19-20. If we should avoid arrogance
about prophecy, what is required of us? (We should
pay attention! We should study the prophecies to
understand them and to determine what is
unsealed.)
1. What is our beginning point as students of
prophecy? (It is like we have a lamp in a dark
place.)
a. How effective is that in seeing the
entire picture? (Not very. But it is a
beginning.)
2. What does our lamp become? (The dawn of
morning.)
a. What does this suggest about our
increased knowledge? (Our knowledge
rapidly increases!)
B. Look again at 2 Peter 1:20. In studying prophecy,
what direction does this give? (The Bible prophecy
is inspired by God. We need to keep a clear line
of distinction between what the Bible says and
what a person interpreting the Bible has to say.)
C. Read 2 Peter 1:21. How confident can we be in
Bible prophecy? (It comes from God. We can be very
confident. Interpretation of prophecy is another
thing. We need to have the Holy Spirit inspire the
interpreter.)
D. Friend, we need to be serious students of the
prophecies that God has given to us. Will you join
in this journey to better understand Bible
prophecies?
IV. Next week: The Genesis Foundation.
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
