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If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 8
Parallels
Between the Prophetic Books
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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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1 Corinthians 14:32,33
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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First, we saw the outline of the book of Daniel :
Part I: Historical Section (Daniel chapters 1 to 6)
- The education of Daniel and his friends, captives in Babylon (ch. 1)
- King Nebuchadnezzar's first dream, interpreted by Daniel (ch. 2)
- Deliverance of Daniel's friends from the fiery furnace (ch. 3)
- Nebuchadnezzar's second dream, interpreted and fulfilled (ch. 4)
- Belshazzar's banquet, followed by the fall of Babylon (ch. 5)
- Daniel's deliverance from the lions' den (ch. 6)
Part II: Prophetic Section (Daniel chapters 7 to 12)
- Prophecy of the four mythical beasts and the little horn (ch. 7)
- Prophecy of the ram, the goat, and the 2300 days (ch. 8)
- Prophecy of the 70 weeks, following Daniel's prayer (ch. 9)
- Prophecy of the warring kings of North and South (ch. 10 à 12)
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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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Matthew 24:15
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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Outline of Matthew 24, and parallel with the book of Revelation :
| 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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Matthew 24:46,47
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.
---------------------
Revelation 22:12
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
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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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Revelation 22:7
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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An example of striking parallel between Daniel and Revelation :
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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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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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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Genesis 41:1,4,5,7,32
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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Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel :
The 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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Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel :
The 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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Just like in Daniel's book, the prophecies of Revelation are parallel :
The 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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Seventh letter: Revelation 3:20,21
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.
---------------------
Seventh seal: Revelation 8:1
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
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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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Joshua 4:13
About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.
---------------------
Romans 13:12
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.
----------------------------------------------------
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.
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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.
The test of Lesson 8 is waiting for you!