Re: The book of Daniel and the Investigative Judgment

Mark Goodge wrote:
> On 1 Dec 2005 04:11:06 -0800, marcandmia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put finger to
> keyboard and typed:
>
> >Douglas Cox wrote:
> >> It seems obvious, given that it was normal to have years of either 12
> >> or 13 months in those days, that Daniel would use both 12-month years
> >> and 13-month years in a three and a half year span. Is there any reason
> >> why he would not do so?
> >>
> >
> >Prophetic time is not the same as literal time.
>
> I'm sorry, but this assertion simply doesn't make sense to me. After
> all, of you're going to prophesy something, why not prophesy it in a
> way that makes it understandable to those who will receive the
> prophesy? It's not as if God can't give the prophet real dates instead
> of made-up ones, after all.

Perhaps the story in Daniel chapter 5 about the interpretation of the
writing that appeared on the wall during Belshazzar's feast will help.
The words were "mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." The scholars say these
four words are a list of coins with denominations two minas, a shekel,
and a peres. A peres is equivalent to a half mina. Translated, they say
something like "numbered, numbered, weighed, divided."

It is interesting to compare this with Daniel's phrase "a time, 2
times, and half a time." A "time" corresponds to a shekel; the two
minas correspond to the "2 times", and the "half a time" corresponds to
the peres, the half mina. So these phrases are evidently related.

The words that appeared on the wall at Belshazzar's feast caused the
king a considerable amount of discomfort; "his knees smote one against
another", he was very anxious to determine what they meant. But none of
the wise men, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers,
could interpret the words, until Daniel was found, and he resolved the
mystery.

Similarly the phrase "a time, times, and half a time" have generated a
lot of scholarly debate over the centuries, and there are many
suggestions about the meaning, but little consensus. There may be a
hidden message in the phrase, just like the message that Daniel derived
from the cryptic words written on the wall at the kind's feast.

Why didn't God write his message to king Belshazzar in plain words,
that everyone could understand right away? Why was it necessary to find
someone such as Daniel, who could interpret the words to the king's
satisfaction?

The divine origin of the words was evident from the manner in which
they were delivered. The king saw the hand that wrote the message on
the wall during the feast. The mystery about their meaning was a
challenge to his advisers, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers, and they could not come up with a satisfactory answer. The
resolution of the mystery became a high priority.

I suggest it is similar in the case of the phrase "time, 2 times, and
half a time," which is part of Holy scripture, the phrase being present
in both Daniel and Revelation, so has a divine source. The
interpretation of the writing on the wall required a person who was a
contemporary of the king, who was given the necessary wisdom by God,
and similarly, the interpretation of the "time, 2 times, and half a
time" is something that requires a gift of wisdom from God.

Doug
.

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