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| We are glad to welcome you to this lesson! Let's pray together: |
| Father, In the last three lessons, we have studied the organization of the three main prophetic books contained in Your Word. Please help us now to parallel these three prophetic texts, just like the pieces of a puzzle which, once joined together, will give us a portrait of the future. We ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. Amen. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
1 Corinthians 14:32,33 |
Comments |
| And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace. | For the novice, the Bible's prophetic books look like
a disorganized patchwork, without plan, without logical link... However, a careful
analysis shows a totally different picture! On the contrary, we discovered, in our last three lessons, that these books, inspired by an orderly God, are highly organized and linked one to the other. Here is a summary of what we found. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| First, we saw the outline of the book of Daniel : |
Part I: Historical Section
(Daniel chapters 1 to 6)
Part II: Prophetic Section (Daniel chapters 7 to 12)
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Next, we discovered that Daniel's prophecies are parallel: |
| «He shall speak pompous words
against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to
change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times
and half a time.» (DANIEL 7:25) «A king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.» (DANIEL 8:23,24) «And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purge them, and make them white (...). Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.» (DANIEL 11:35,36) |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Matthew 24:15 |
Comments |
| When you see the «abomination of desolation», spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). | Then we saw that Jesus Himself referred to the book of
Daniel and recommended that we study it. In addition to being linked to the book of Daniel, we discovered that Jesus' prophetic discourse, found in chapter 24 of the Gospel according to Matthew, had also been used as a framework for the book of Revelation, as the following table illustrates. Matthew 24 is thus the link between Daniel and Revelation. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Outline of Matthew 24, and parallel with the book of Revelation : |
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Matthew |
Book of |
Events covered Section | ch. 24 | Revelation | by this section ========================================================================= Introduction | v. 1-3 | ch. 1-5 | Opening scene and presentation -------------+----------+------------+----------------------------------- Part 1 | v. 4-14 | ch. 6-9 | Signs of the times -------------+----------+------------+----------------------------------- Part 2 | v. 15-28 | ch. 10-14 | Tribulation, world-wide apostasy -------------+----------+------------+----------------------------------- Part 3 | v. 29-31 | ch. 15-20 | Return of Jesus and its effects -------------+----------+------------+----------------------------------- Conclusion | v. 32-51 | ch. 21-22 | Personal appeals to follow God |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Matthew 24:46,47 |
Comments |
| Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. | Just like Matthew chapter 24 and the book
of Daniel, Revelation shares the goal of preparing us for the return of Jesus. And just like them, this famous work is a lot more organized than it seems to be at first glance. |
Revelation 22:12 |
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| And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Mirrorlike organization of Revelation with a cross-over at the center : |
| Historical part:Conflict in progress| Eschatological part: Conflict
ended ==+=======+=======+=======+=======+=+=+=======+=======+=======+=======+== P | 1-3 | 4-7 | 8-11 | 12-14 | | 15-16 | 17-18 | 19-20 | 21-22 | E R |Counsel| Jesus |Severe |Trials | M | Severe| Down- | Jesus |Reward | P O |to the | com- | judg- |of the | I | judg- |fall of| en- |to the | I L |church,| forts | ments | pure | R | ments |impure |thrones|church,| L O | scat- |His af-| warn | woman | R | punish| woman | His |gather-| O G | tered |flicted| the |and her| O | the |and her|resur- |ed and | G U | and |people | world | chil- | R | world |daugh- |rected | at | U E |at war | | | dren | | | ters |people | peace | E ==+=======+=======+=======+=======+===+=======+=======+=======+=======+== A B C D E D' E' C' B' A' |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Revelation 22:7 |
Comments |
| Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. | Therefore, there are close links between the book of
Daniel and Matthew chapter 24, and also between Matthew chapter 24 and the book of
Revelation. Can we also draw parallels between the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation? Yes, we can, and those parallels are very solid. The following examples, that we will study in future lessons, demonstrate this statement in a convincing way. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| An example of striking parallel between Daniel and Revelation : |
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DANIEL 12:7
| REVELATION 10:5,6 ========================================|============================ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, | And the angel whom I saw who was above the waters of the river, | standing on the sea and on when he held up his right hand and his | the land lifted up his hand left hand to heaven, and swore by Him | to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for | who lives forever and ever a time, times, and half a time. | (...) that there should be | delay no longer. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Another example of striking parallel between Daniel and Revelation : |
| DANIEL 7:25 |
REVELATION 13:5-7 ==============================|========================================== He shall speak pompous words | And he was given a mouth speaking great against the Most High, shall | things and blasphemies, and he was giv- persecute the saints of the | en authority to continue for forty-two Most High, and shall intend | months. Then he opened his mouth in blas- to change times and law. Then | phemy against God, to blaspheme His name, the saints shall be given | His tabernacle, and those who dwell in into his hand for a time and | heaven. And it was granted to him to make times and half a time. | war with the saints and to overcome them. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| We parallel the little horn with the beast, subjects of future lessons : |
| The little horn (DANIEL 7)
| The beast (REVELATION 13) ------------------------------------+------------------------------------ Speaks pompous words (v. 8,20) | Speaks great things (v. 5) Blasphemes against God (v. 25) | Blasphemes against God (v. 5,6) Reigns during 1260 years (v. 25) | Reigns during 1260 years (v. 5) (3½ times = 3½ x 360 = 1260 years) | (42 months = 42 x 30 = 1260 years) Makes war against saints (v. 21,25)| Makes war against saints (v. 7) Overcomes the saints (v. 25) | Overcomes the saints (v. 7) |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Genesis 41:1,4,5,7,32 |
Comments |
| Pharaoh had a dream. (...) The
ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. He slept and dreamed a second time. (...) The seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. (...) «The dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.» |
We have already seen that the prophecies of the book
of Daniel describe the same sequence of events. This parallelism can be found elsewhere in the Bible (like in Pharaoh's dreams), and in the book of Revelation. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel : |
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first letter (REVELATION 2:2,3) | The first seal (REVELATION 6:2) ------------------------------------|------------------------------------ I know your works (...). You have | I looked,and behold, a white horse. persevered and have patience, and | And he who sat on it had a bow; and have labored for My name's sake and | a crown was given to him, and he have not become weary. | went out conquering and to conquer. ====================================|==================================== The second letter (REVELATION 2:10) | The second seal (REVELATION 6:4) ------------------------------------|------------------------------------ Do not fear (...) [what] you are | It was granted to [the rider] to about to suffer. Be faithful until | take peace from the earth, and that death, and I will give you the | people should kill one another. crown of life. | |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel : |
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third letter (REVELATION 2:17) | The third seal (REVELATION 6:6) ------------------------------------|------------------------------------ He who has an ear, let him hear... | I heard a voice (...) saying, «A To him who overcomes I will give | quart of wheat for a denarius, and some of the hidden manna to eat. | 3 quarts of barley for a denarius.» ====================================|==================================== The fourth letter (REVELATION 2:23) | The fourth seal (REVELATION 6:8) ------------------------------------|------------------------------------ And I will kill her children with | Behold, a pale horse. And the name death. And all the churches shall | of him who sat on it was Death, and know that I am He who searches the | Hades followed with him. And power minds and hearts. | was given to them (...) to kill. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel : |
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fifth letter (REVELATION 3:5) | The fifth seal (REVELATION 6:11) -----------------------------------|------------------------------------- He who overcomes shall be clothed | And a white robe was given to each in white garments. | of [the martyrs]. ===================================|===================================== The sixth letter (REVELATION 3:10) | The sixth seal (REVELATION 6:15-17) -----------------------------------|------------------------------------- Because you have kept My command | [Men] hid themselves in the caves to persevere, I also will keep you | (...) and said to the mountains and from the hour of trial which shall | rocks, «Fall on us and hide us! come upon the whole world, to test | (...) For the great day of His wrath those who dwell on the earth. | has come, and who is able to stand?» |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Seventh letter: Revelation 3:20,21 |
Comments |
| Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne. |
This seventh parallel doesn't seem convincing to you? Don't worry, the lessons on the seven letters and the seven seals will answer your questions. |
| Seventh seal: Revelation 8:1 | |
| When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Diagram of the organization of the prophetic books : |
| +---------+ Parallelism of the
prophecies +------------+ | Book of | Similarity in the symbolism | Book of | | Daniel +---------------------------------+ Revelation | +---------+ «For God is not the author of +------------+ | confusion.» (1 Cor. 14:33) | Same sequence: «When you see | +------------+ | 1. Presentation the "abomina- +-----------+ Matthew +--------+ 2. Signs of times tion of desolation", spo- | Chapter 24 | 3. Tribulation and apostasy ken of by Daniel the pro- +------------+ 4. Glorious return of Jesus phet...» (Matthew 24:15) 5. Personal appeals to all |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
Joshua 4:13 |
Comments |
| About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. | Our next section is entitled «The
Toolbox». It will provide us with everything we need to understand prophecy, as well as to prepare ourselves for the great conflict which will soon take place here on earth. |
Romans 13:12 |
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| The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. |
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Lesson 8 |
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Parallels Between the Prophetic Books |
| Let's thank God for His precious help: |
| Lord, Studying the organization of the prophetic books has brought us to discover the close links joining them. We thank You, Father, for if we better and better understand the prophetic word, it is because You enlighten us by the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Please continue to guide us, as we seek to deepen our knowledge of Your prophetic word. In Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. |
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Parallels Between
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