Daniel 12:4 –
But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.
The final chapter has some interesting caveats as to when to release these prophecies. It is clear to “seal up” and protect these writings, yet we are reading them today. Not sure how long they have been in “public record”, but it’s agreed they were written around 530BC. It seems to have been discovered around 186BC but was already included in the Hebrew “canon”, so it’s unclear if this was ever actually sealed and kept secret.
One could also argue it was to be sealed until Daniel was on his death bed. Then the “release” would justify the 2000 plus years of no apocalypse. Now as you start to think about the exponential growth of technology we see this happening. First the slow dissemination of these prophecies by hand writing, then the printing press, then the copier, then the digital realm, then iPhone apps, who knows what’s next. Now we are rushing here and there and with every day knowledge increase if we want.
One could argue the collective knowledge of the internet is the “increasing” part that Daniel was talking about. Honestly, we will never really know until we meet the writer after death. At that point technically we will become full of knowledge and not need an explanation. Either way, don’t drive yourself crazy searching for “the answer” since one could argue this has already happened or never will happen just as convincingly that it’s happening now.
I want to point you to verse 10 and want you to really think of the idea that “many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials.” Does that mean we must go through trials before we “get it” or just that we get better during trials? I know with my “journey” the trials I have been through are minor to many and major to a few, but have defined my walk. One thing I have notice in my many trials no matter if I push away or get closer to God, the end result is I see His glory and am amazed. Think about forging and the end result, the metal gets heated up and pounded with a hammer, but ends up being a useful object in the end. What may “suck” for the steel or us in the short term, ends up molding us for glory in the long term.