What does the future hold? Are the ancient prophecies of the prophet Daniel still usable for people today? By Kai Mester
Reading time: 2 minutes
Before you get to know the first vision of the prophet Daniel, a word about the working materials and basic principles. Dealing with it is actually child's play. But if you're new to the subject, the following tips will certainly help.
working materials
For apocalyptic texts, a Bible with a very literal translation is recommended, for example an interlinear translation or the Elberfeld translation. We prefer to use the more reader-friendly Schlachter translation 2000 here.
You can also compare several translations online. You can find very convenient options for this at www.bibleserver.com, for example. Here you can also search for specific words in the entire Bible text like in a concordance and, if desired, read the text in other languages.
The Bible consists of 1 books from Genesis to Revelation, 66 in the Old Testament and 39 in the New. A look at the table of contents will help you find your way. When specifying places, you will find the chapter and verse names after the name of the Bible book, e.g. B. Daniel 27:2,1 (Daniel chapter two verse one).
Replay and Zoom
The first basic principle of apocalyptic interpretation is what we call replay and zoom. Each vision of the prophet Daniel is a repetition of the previous vision. Like a replay button, everything happens again, but in different images. The succession of world empires is only represented by the different metals from which a statue is made up. In the second vision the world empires appear as predators rising from the sea, and in the third vision we see the world empires in sacrificial animals fighting against each other.
What is special is the zoom function of each new vision. Towards the end it zooms in and an increasingly sharper image full of details opens up.
The prophecies are self-explanatory
Very important for you: An additional Bible commentary is not necessary. The prophecies are self-explanatory. Each vision is explained either by Daniel or by an angel. The visions also explain each other due to their parallel structure. If symbols remain incomprehensible, either the Revelation of John as a sister book or other Bible passages clearly shed light on the difficult passage. Are you ready?
Fasten your seat belt. It's starting!
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