The Book Of Daniel

The Book Of Daniel

Apocalyptic visions in Daniel : The four visions of chapters seven to twelve are an early example of apocalyptic literature and, in contrast to the earlier chapters, are introduced in the first person. One feature of this section is Daniel’s reliance on heavenly figures to interpret and explain his visions. The historical setting of the first chapters does not appear, except in the form of regnal dates. Chapter seven is written in Aramaic while chapters eight to twelve are in Hebrew.

The “apocalyptic” sections of Daniel consist of three visions and one lengthened prophetic communication focusing on the destiny of Israel :

  • Vision of the great beasts

The vision in the first year of Belshazzar the king of Babylon (7:1) concerning four great beasts (7:3) representing four future kings (7:17) or kingdoms (7:23), the fourth of which devours the whole earth, treading it down and crushing it (7:23); this fourth kingdom is represented by a beast with ten horns representing ten kings, followed by a further wicked king who subdues three of the ten (7:24), speaks against the Most High and the saints of the Most High, and intends to change the times and the law (7:25); after ‘a time and times and half a time’, this person is judged and his dominion is taken away (7:26); finally, the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven are given to the people of the saints of the Most High (7:27)

  • Vision of sanctuary elements

The vision in the third year of Belshazzar concerning a ram and a male goat (8:1-27) which, we are informed, represent Media, Persia (the ram’s two horns), and Greece (the goat). The goat with a mighty horn becomes very powerful until the horn breaks off to be replaced by four “lesser’ horns. The vision focuses on a wicked king who arises to challenge the “army of the Lord” by removing the daily temple sacrifice and desecrating the sanctuary for a period of “twenty three hundred evening/mornings“. Rams, goats and horns were used in the service of the sanctuary.

  • The prophecy of seventy weeks

The vision in first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus (9:1) concerning seventy weeks, or seventy “sevens”, apportioned for the history of the Israelites and of Jerusalem (9:24) This consists of a meditation on the prediction in Jeremiah that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years, a lengthy prayer by Daniel in which he pleads for God to restore Jerusalem and its temple, and an angelic explanation which focuses on a longer time period – “seventy sevens” – and a future restoration and destruction of city and temple by a coming ruler.

  • The vision of the kings

A lengthy vision (10:1 – 12:13) in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, regarding conflicts between the “King of the North” and the “King of the South” (= Egypt, 11:8). Starting with references to Persia and Greece it, again, culminates in the description of an arrogant king who desecrates the temple, sets up a “desolating abomination”, removes the daily sacrifice, and persecutes those who remain true to the “holy covenant“. Yet the saints receive God’s kingdom.

The prophetic and eschatological visions of Daniel, with those of Ezekiel and Isaiah, are the scriptural inspiration for much of the apocalyptic ideology and symbolism of the Qumran community’s Dead Sea scrolls and the early literature of Christianity. “Daniel’s clear association with the Maccabean Uprising and those against Rome are a possible factor in the eventual downgrading of it, to include a redefinition of the role of prophet, keeping in mind that at roughly this time the Hebrew canon was being evaluated and adopted. (Eisenman 1997, p 19f).

In Daniel are the first references to a “kingdom of God“, and the most overt reference to the resurrection of the dead in the Tanakh.

Book Of Daniel

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The Prophecies of Dannion Brinkley

THE PROPHECIES OF DANNION BRINKLEY

In 1975, during a thunderstorm, Dannion Brinkley was talking on the telephone when a bolt of lightning hit the phone line, sending thousands of volts into his head and down through his body. Brinkley was thrown across the room, and later reported seeing his lifeless body spread prone, as his then girlfriend found him and paramedics arrived. Obviously disoriented, in his spirit-form above the scene, he wondered what the excitement was about, since (as he put it) “Everybody was okay….” He saw auras around everybody in the room except his own body below — a pretty big hint that he was, in fact, dead.

As doctors pronounced Brinkley dead at the local hospital, he reportedly found himself — or, more specifically, his spirit-self – traveling through a dark tunnel toward an angelic being who led him into a crystal city. There, he entered a cathedral of knowledge where he was shown 13 visions, contained in what he termed “boxes.” So-called “beings of light” also showed him 117 glimpses of possible future events, of which 95 have come to pass (by his count) in early 1998.

Brinkley revived in the morgue some 28 minutes after his death and later gave a personal account of his near-death experience (NDE) in the book, ”Saved by the Light”, first published in 1995.

As recounted in the book, the events of that day changed Brinkley’s life. He spent many months recovering from the physically debilitating effects of the electrical blast, while at the same time discovering mind-reading abilities that, while lessening over time, remain with him to this day. A second near-death experience, a few years later, reunited Brinkley with his angelic teachers, who revealed he was to use his psychic gifts to help the dying.

Another book, ”At Peace in the Light,” soon followed. In September 1997, Brinkley was hospitalized with life threatening brain aneurysms. Despite medical opinions to the contrary, he miraculously survived. During that time, he had a third near-death experience. Besides lectures and book signings, Dannion Brinkley currently does hospice work — using his experiences and gifts to help those who are nearing, and perhaps fear, death.

Visions of Dannion Brinkley

Thirteen prophetic visions as seen by Dannion Brinkley. He refers to them as “Boxes of Knowledge” in his book, “Saved By The Light” which was published in 1994 after he suffered a near death experience.

  • Boxes of Knowledge 1 to 3 : Visions of a Demoralized Country
  • Boxes of Knowledge 4 to 5 : Strife & Hatred in the Holy Lands
  • Boxes of Knowledge 6 : Visions of Nuclear Destruction
  • Boxes of Knowledge 7 : The Environmental Religion
  • Boxes of Knowledge 8 to 9 : China Battles Russia
  • Boxes of Knowledge 10 to 11 : Economic Earthquakes and Desert Storm
  • Boxes of Knowledge 12 : Technology & Virus
  • Boxes of Knowledge 13 : The Final Visions

Prophecies of Dannion Brinkley