Old Testament Texts

Zechariah 9, especially verses 9–10, is a well-known Bible text, mainly because of its citation in the New Testament narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. These verses describe the humble Messiah, who comes to Jerusalem “riding on a donkey.” However, one of the paradoxes of the chapter is that it not only describes the humble Messiah and His peaceful kingdom, but also a liberation war that destroys Israel's enemies and gives the land to the children of Israel. So it appears important to investigate the precise meaning of verses 9–10 in the context of the whole chapter. This presentation analyzes the structure and content of the chapter, and then reflects on its eschatological message.

This presentation presents a model of interpretation that seeks to convey Daniel's fourth and final prophecy as the continuation and fullest expression of the three that precede it, giving each power and emphasis proportional to what it receives in chapters 2, 7, 8, and 9. It emphasizes the parallel between Daniel 11:40a and Revelation 13:3, binding Daniel together with Revelation. It also emphasizes the parallel between Daniel 11:40b–45 and The Great Controversy chapters 35–40, binding Daniel together with the Spirit of Prophecy.

With the disillusionment in some circles regarding the prophetic day-year metric, it is time to reconsider the biblical data and turn away from the uninformed gossip that has fueled the uncertainties. This paper assumes an intimate connection between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel, and rather than dwelling on the specifics of Daniel 8:14, examines the impact of Daniel 9:24–27 in the NT corpus. If it can be demonstrated that Daniel 9 legitimately employs the year-day principle, then that provides solid evidence for the traditional chronology of the vision of Daniel 8. Not only is the vision of Daniel 9 key to the understanding of the mission of Messiah, but it also outlines a series of specific markers that include the appearance, mission, and death of Messiah. The writers of the New Testament recognized some of these chronological pointers as evidenced by a string of (20+) references, throughout the NT, that speak of “the fullness of time.” The obvious question is, “What time?” This paper demonstrates that the time they spoke of was Daniel’s prophecy found in Daniel 9.

This presentation accepts and assumes the solid work done by other Seventh-day Adventist scholars in establishing the date of 457 BC as the starting date for the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14, and AD 1844 as the ending date of the prophecy. Building on these biblically based conclusions, this study explores fresh evidence from Scripture, chronology, and Karaite history in order to determine if there can be more precision with regard to the starting and ending dates of the 2,300 day-year prophecy. It concludes that the time period of the prophecy certainly begins in the autumn (not spring) of 457 BC—probably on the Day of Atonement, October 30—and ends on the Day of Atonement in AD 1844, which, according to the biblical reckoning, almost certainly fell on October 22 that year, not September 23.

This study uses the biblical-historicist method of interpreting the prophecy of Daniel 11. The interpretation of this chapter follows a Christocentric, cross-centered interpretation where the first part (11:1-29) focuses on the great controversy before the cross, dealing with the literal history of kingdoms in geographic areas. The second part (11:30-45) focuses on the great controversy during the Christian era after the cross between spiritual Israel and apostate Christianity where kingdoms and places take on spiritual and global meanings. When interpreting texts in the context of the time of the end, these are not explained with its focus on literal Israel with its Middle Eastern background, but in the light of spiritual Israel with its spiritual and universal perspectives.

Understanding and interpreting the last three chapters of the book of Daniel have always been a challenge to scholars and readers of the Bible. The central prophetic content of Daniel 11:2b–12:3 that refers to the mysterious kings of the north and the south has been particularly obscure. Though this section has been either studied superficially or totally ignored in Adventist literature, during the last twenty years there has been a change toward this prophecy. This presentation also evaluates new approaches to Daniel 11 facing Adventism. This study recognizes the basic importance of grammatical and syntactical work in the exegetical enterprise. Furthermore, it demonstrates that structural analysis provides better comprehension of the passage and the flow of thoughts contained in it. It also deals with the parallelism of the Danielic prophecies and hints the chapter itself provides for its interpretation. These guidelines offer a structure for understanding Daniel 10–12.

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One major theme in the book of Job is: Why do the righteous suffer? As the focus in a cosmic drama between the forces of good and evil, Job struggled with this ancient conundrum that robbed him of children, wealth, and health—leaving him devastated and his life threatened. This presentation examines the basis of Job’s avowal, which suggests an eschatological twist engendering hope and the realization that suffering, in whatever form, is meaningless if viewed from the fragmented lens of current realities. Outside the biblical worldview, the existential problem of suffering is difficult to understand. Faithful believers experience difficult and hopeless situations that threaten their well-being and faith in God. This presentation, therefore, concludes that although the cosmic dimensions of human suffering may not always be apparent, as in the case of Job, believers can overcome by exercising unwavering faith rooted not in the externals (material prosperity) but rather in the internals (a conscious and deepened relationship with God); such faith rekindles hope amidst hopelessness and stretches to the hereafter.

The historical application of the fourth beast in Daniel 7 has almost exclusively been interpreted by Adventist scholars with the emphasis on the western part of the Roman Empire. This is particularly noticeable when the end of the empire is linked with the territory where the little horn appears. This presentation attempts to demonstrate that taking AD 1453 as the end of the Roman Empire brings an opportunity for a much more historically precise application of Daniel 7 in regards to the fourth beast and a much more complete theological understanding of the identity of the little horn.

The author of this theological essay on the book of Daniel is a German geologist and part-time professor at Friedensau University. According to the back cover, his goal in writing this book on Daniel was to find a new approach to the book divorced from the church’s traditional understanding of Da...

Some people care only for themselves. They are not interested in the future of the human race, the future of the people of God, or even the future of their children or grandchildren. Others care deeply. Daniel belonged to the second category, and God revealed to him large portions of the plan of ...