Chronicles of the End Times: Using an Ancient Reading Method to Better Understand the End of the Age

PROLOGUE

The Real, Next, End-Time Event

It began with a powerful underground explosion in the desert of eastern Iran. The regime made sure the nuclear warhead detonated in the middle of the day, local time, on a Monday so the message to the world was loud and clear. It was large enough—on par with recent North Korean tests—so the seismic readings unmistakably indicated a 200-kiloton explosion.

Iran had just conducted what many feared as a nightmarish scenario: its first atomic bomb test.

The event was immediately reported in the news around the globe. All this occurred while many in the western hemisphere were sleeping. As Americans were waking up and getting ready for the first day of their workweek, the detonation was on every channel and website. Europeans had been informed hours before. The supreme leader of Iran announced later that day what had been detected by seismic sensors: a subterranean atomic explosion in the Khorasan province of Iran confirmed a successful test. The explosion had ten times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

The world was now facing a nuclear Iran. The realization was finally dawning on many that the nuclear deal had not accomplished anything after all, except to allow Iran to have time to finish their bomb.

Deep in a bunker in his command center in Basra in southern Iraq, the top commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) invasion force had received the orders from the supreme leader hours after the explosion. He was to proceed with what Iran had been preparing for since 1979, the next phase of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolution. Basra seemed a fitting location for the general’s headquarters. For years he had used the location embedded deep in safe Shia-populated territory near the ancient citadel of Susa. Susa is also the origin of the invasion that Daniel 8:2 has told us for centuries would happen one day to herald the coming of Christ.

Shia sleeper cells in eastern Arabia, Shia militias such as the Badr Brigade, located in Iraq, the Houthi in Yemen, and IRGC rocket forces, all had to be coordinated in their initial attacks to be in the right sequence, in order to soften the region for the real invasion that was about to charge out. The general had been practicing the coordination of these elements for years.

What was not immediately reported in the news was that Iranian Basij soldiers on motorbikes and in trucks were coming out from the cities in southwest Iran and from Baghdad. Mechanized divisions with their tanks were joining them. From over the highway through the Zagros Mountains, and from Abadan, Khorramshahr, and Ahvaz, tanks, trucks, and motorbikes were being organized into columns for the advance south into the Arabian Peninsula, west to Syria and Lebanon, and north into eastern Turkey.

Twenty-four hours after the explosion that changed the world forever and heralded the start of the prophetic Iranian invasion of the Middle East, it became evident to world leaders what Iran was doing. The supreme leader also made it clear what the regime’s intentions were. He made his speech on Iranian state news media:

The time has come. The forces of the Revolution are being unleashed. If there is any interference with our soldiers and militia in their mission, the oil fields of northern Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf will be neutralized and made inoperable. Do not try to attack our rocket forces, for units ready to carry out this retaliation are spread all over our territory. Additionally, the Islamic Republic of Iran is declaring that, henceforth, all oil in this region will no longer be sold in US dollars …

Military intelligence personnel, both in NATO and in Russia, recognized that literally hundreds of SADR rockets, any one of which could be carrying a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the Middle East with accuracy, were poised to launch from all over Iran. There was no way to know which two or three missiles carried the atomic warheads among the hundreds of missiles scattered all over the country’s territory.

Then the barrage of rocket attacks began all over the Middle East. Starting hours after the supreme leader’s announcement on Tuesday, it was the rocket attack that triggered the turmoil in the oil and other commodity markets. The price of crude oil and energy stocks had already started skyrocketing. Governments that had a track record of trying to take down the U.S. dollar did not hesitate to sell their U.S. treasuries and dump dollars onto world markets since they were now useless in buying the lifeblood from the Middle East on which their economies so depended. Since the U.S. dollar had started to fall, gold, silver, and other commodities started to rise denominated in dollars. The euro and the yen also began to fall. Americans and Europeans saw prices on grocery shelves start to rise.

The regime began threatening to cut off all oil coming from the Gulf region. This threw the workaday world into turmoil, for oil was indeed the lifeblood of the entire world economy. Over the next few days, the question starting to dawn on millions in many countries was how they could commute to their jobs, pay the mortgage or rent, and put food on the table.

What is this scenario? Is it some prepper’s dream or the start of an apocalyptic novel? No. Believe it or not, something like this could very well be the start of the next real event foretold specifically in Bible prophecy. It is the great invasion of the Middle East by Iran, which will kick off economic hardship for the rest of the world.

One problem I’m sure many Christians may have with this picture is that it doesn’t look very much like the picture taught by popular end-time theology. Premillennialists are looking forward to the Rapture as the next great event. Others, such as amillennialists, are simply waiting for the second coming of Christ since they believe all other end-time prophecy has been fulfilled.

How could this Iranian invasion be what is truly next? How could so many prophecy teachers be wrong? Isn’t the next great Bible prophecy event truly the Rapture or maybe the Tribulation itself? Or could it possibly be the Gog-Magog war with Russia invading the Middle East en masse? Shouldn’t there be some appearance of a great dictator taking over the European Union? After all, prophecy teachers have been saying these things for decades.

The next great event in Bible prophecy is not any of these commonly taught ideas. Rather, the next great event has been stated in the Bible for two-and-a-half millennia, in Daniel 7 and 8. It has been sealed up so no one could understand it until the end-time events were almost upon us, as it says in Daniel 8:26. Popular theology has chosen to ignore the very plain text in places like Daniel 8:17 and 8:19 that states the invasion by the Persian ram is to occur in the end times, rather than in the days of Alexander the Great. Because of the wholesale ignoring of telltale verses like Daniel 8:17, prophecy teachers and students are looking for answers in all the wrong places.

If you have read this far, then I welcome you to a whole new world—the real world of Bible end-time prophecy.

My earlier book, Daniel Revisited, showed the details in the text of Daniel 7 and 8 that revealed what I call the Four Signposts—four events to occur in the Middle East prior to the Tribulation and Rapture. The Four Signposts in turn yielded some hints as to how to clarify even more Bible prophecy. This book picks up the ongoing search for truth where Daniel Revisited left off. We will continue from the Four Signposts to all the events of the end time. We will continue from the Middle East to all the earth.

SECTION I

A Forgotten Ancient Method of Reading to Better Understand Bible Prophecy

CHAPTER 1

Rightly Dividing the Word: Reading Bible Prophecy Differently

This book presents an entirely different way to read and better understand Bible end-time prophecy. While the reading method presented here is different, it is not new, though it will be new to most of us. This different method was used prior to the second century AD, so it is actually very old. This method was lost for centuries starting at the time manuscripts of our Bible were converted from being written on scrolls to being written on pages bound in books. It was rediscovered by seminary scholars.

It may seem incredible, but this different way to read the Bible will open up whole new meanings of familiar Bible prophecies, and will also show associations never seen before between various Bible chapters. It even unveils a master frame of reference for all end-time Bible prophecy. If you read through to the end of this book, there is a good chance your view of all Bible prophecy will be changed forever. Some reviewers of this book have said it has even changed the way they read the Bible.

In your own reading, you’ve probably discovered that end-time Bible prophecy can be confusing. One source of confusion can be not paying attention to the meaning of all words in a passage. For example, much theology and Bible commentary ignores the simple meaning of verses such as Daniel 8:17, as I showed in my earlier book, Daniel Revisited. Daniel 8:17 tells us the vision of the ram and goat is to be fulfilled in the end time, not in ancient times. By ignoring pivotal verses such as 8:17, a whole chapter such as Daniel 8 is removed, in people’s minds, from the passages that help tell us about the end times.

In this book, we will explore another source of confusion that has become evident recently: the way we read Scripture. Any piece of writing should be read taking into account the literary structure in which the text is written. Only then can a text be properly understood. Poetry is an example. So it is with much Scripture.

When you open your Bible to a book like Daniel, how do you read it? You probably start at the beginning and continue to the end. This is reading linearly, from start to finish. That has been the normal way to read all our lives, and even for centuries. It does seem logical; how else would one read it anyway?

However, reading linearly as we do in everyday life may be contributing to our misunderstanding of Bible prophecy. To us it is second nature to read linearly—we read one page and then the next and then the next. In truth, those pages you read are presenting a series of only pieces of a passage from God’s Word. Each page presents a portion of a given text. The key, however, is an entire passage must be viewed and considered in its entirety. There are literary structures in the Bible requiring the reader to have an entire passage in view at one time, in order to read it to receive more understanding.

I believe reading linearly is a contributing factor to the church also having only had partial success in understanding prophetic texts. Reading linearly misses the way much of God’s Word was written and thus, was intended to be read. When the Bible was written on scrolls, the words were displayed in front of the reader in their entirety, potentially offering a deeper understanding. How can this be? We will look at this shortly.

In addition, how can reading the Bible as if from a scroll make a difference in interpretation and understanding? This book will show you. For example, this different method of reading the Bible will:

• Tell us what the metals and the beasts really stand for in Daniel 2 and 7. It answers the question, Why are kingdoms represented as metals in one vision, and as beasts in another? to complete satisfaction. And no, it is not because man’s view of the kingdoms is like metals and God’s view of the kingdoms is like beasts! It is something completely unexpected.

• Unveil a master frame of reference for all of end-time Bible prophecy. The passages of prophecy that are most pivotal and on which most other prophecy rests, become clearly evident. Not having a frame of reference for all of Bible prophecy has been yet another source of confusion.

• Open up deeper meanings of such passages as the parables in Matthew 25.

• Show us more information regarding the trumpet and bowl judgments, such as areas of effect.

• Show us which parts of Daniel 11 are to be fulfilled in ancient times, and which parts are to be fulfilled in the end times.

• Show us the identity of Mystery Babylon.

• Give us a better sense of what will happen across the earth.

• Put the seven messages to the seven churches into better focus.

• Help to clear up misunderstood details, as in Zechariah 4.

An Example from Zechariah 4

Expanding on that last bullet, if you read Zechariah 4 linearly, front to back, you will come across a question and a non sequitor answer that follows it. In Zechariah 4:2−6, we find this example of a problem that can appear with reading the Bible linearly. In verse 2, Zechariah the prophet sees a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it. In verse 4 he asks the angel who is with him, What are these, my lord? In the context of the whole chapter, Zechariah is asking about the seven lights on the bowl.

In verse 5, the angel responds, Do you not know what these are?

We would expect the angel to give Zechariah the answer in the very next verse. However, in verse 6, the angel replies with the often quoted, Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.

That is a fine verse with a powerful message, but what does it have to do with answering Zechariah’s question? He was asking about seven lights and the answer is by my Spirit?

Some may say, It’s God’s Word; how can we question that? Perhaps we might think there is some hidden meaning we do not understand. The problem I’ve discovered is Zechariah is not written linearly alone, so it should not be read only linearly.

Zechariah 4 is written in a way in which the words flow differently than we expect. After learning to read Zechariah 4 following the guidelines presented in this book, the straightforward answer to the prophet’s question pops out in a verse in the same chapter, but later than where we would expect. The answer to Zechariah’s question is not only completely logical, but this different method unmistakably points to the correct verse for that logical answer. (We will finish exploring this specific example in Section III.)

Not Linear, but Concentric

The key to reading presented in this book is to read a passage concentrically. There are no tricks or deceptions presented here, but simply reading and following the Bible’s plain text and words in a manner that is not linear, but concentric.

In this concentric method of reading, we will not depart from paying attention to the meaning of words. However, as this different method of reading makes plainly evident later in this book, the locations of the words, i.e. the form of the flow of the words within the text when read concentrically, are also key to revealing a deeper meaning and a fuller understanding. In other words, the form of the text adds further understanding to the meaning of the words alone.

Amazing as this sounds, it is nevertheless true. This book will prove it.

The individual words and their meaning within a Bible passage are analogous to musical notes written on a sheet of music. Each note by itself must be understood much like each word. Each note’s definition is made up of a duration, the length of time it is to be played such as whole, half, or eighth, and a pitch such as A, B, or C and so forth. However, that’s only half of what we need. Obviously, the location of the notes is equally important, for it is the notes themselves combined with their location that creates the melody.

Likewise, the location of words in the text creates another layer of meaning for a Bible passage that is written concentrically.

In a nutshell, concentric reading is to first pay attention to the middle of the passage, finding the central message using some guidelines, and next read the texts before it and after it, in mirrored pairs, and progress to the outer edges of the passage, which are the linear beginning and end of a text. However, the middle of the passage is its real beginning and end. The entire passage should be read keeping in mind the central message. Not only that, but the form of the text and flow of the words contribute to telling us more about the text as well.

This method involves, literally, rightly dividing the Word of God. Paul exhorts us in this:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15 NKJV, emphasis added)

Prior to my research for this book, I did not understand how the Greek word behind rightly dividing (orthotomeo, Strong’s #3718, which means literally to correctly cut or rightly divide) had anything to do with Bible interpretation. At one time I thought perhaps the translators got it wrong and it’s rightly divining, which to me would have made more sense. But no, it is dividing.

Tomeo means to cut, and ortho means to be straight or correct. Some translations such as the NIV and NASB use the phrase correctly handling. Though this phrase seems like a good translation, it doesn’t fully capture what rightly dividing means. It includes correctly handling but involves more.

Surprisingly, the concentric method of reading presented in this book involves literally dividing the text into two proper and correct halves, thus focusing the reader’s attention where needed to obtain a fuller meaning. Paul wrote on, and read from, scrolls. This verse in 2 Timothy gives us a hint that Paul and all the first century Christians knew how to read in a way that we do not.

I realize the statements made here may sound strange and suspicious. One question some may ask is, Why wasn’t this discovered before? It was—almost three centuries ago—but kept on shelves in seminaries. I believe God used this situation to further seal prophecy as it says in Daniel 8:26 and Daniel 12:4.

It’s not very often that a new or previously hidden process comes along in any age-old area of study that is of significant assistance. When it does, it can be a game changer. An example of such a game changer was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 in Egypt. Before that time, Egyptian hieroglyphics were not understood. This four-foot tall decree by Ptolemy V created in 196 BC, and chiseled in stone, translated hieroglyphics into the well-known Greek. It was at that time the science of modern Egyptology was born.

When I started reading Daniel, Zechariah, and other books, with this concentric method of reading as part of my research for this book, there were times when I was making new discoveries daily, if not every few hours.

Among the reviewers who read the manuscript for this book, one said he could not argue with what was presented because the words in the text of the Bible were indeed there, pointing the reader to what was truly important. Another reviewer was astounded at the revealed truths, such as, the true meaning of the metals in the statue of Daniel 2; it made so much sense!

Confusion abounds almost everywhere in end-time prophecy. We need a breakthrough in clarification of these prophecies in the Bible as we see the day of our Lord approaching. For this reason, I am presenting this rediscovered method of reading to benefit our comprehension of Bible prophecy. Seminary scholars discovered this curiosity. Their results from concentric reading did not connect with their view of end time prophecy. This book takes the application of this method, reads the Bible, and accepts straightforwardly what we read, therefore taking this method of reading to a logical conclusion.

The results are astonishing.

CHAPTER 2

Prophecy is Confusing

Let’s face it, biblical end-time prophecy can be very confusing. Often, chapters of the Bible from the books of Revelation, Daniel, Matthew, Zechariah, and Ezekiel cause believers to scratch their heads and wonder what these prophetical passages are trying to say. Many, upon believing they know what certain prophecies say, are confronted the next moment by others who think they also know what they say. The result is much debate.

For example:

• There is no universal agreement on the seventieth week prophecy in Daniel 9:27.

• What about Daniel 11? At what point does the chapter narrative turn from fulfillment in the past to fulfillment in the end times?

• Do you know what the eight visions of Zechariah 1−6 are truly about?

• What about the Olivet Discourse given both in Matthew 24 and Luke 21? Opinion differs on whether they are talking about the same set of events or if Luke 21 might be fulfilled in the past.

• Matthew 24 tells us of the beginning of the birth pains. Do they build up over decades or do they point to specific events?

• Is the gathering of the elect referring to the Rapture or something else?

• Then, of course, there is the great pre-Trib versus post-Trib Rapture debate, with some mid-Trib and pre-Wrath sprinkled in to add to the fray.

The list of topics of debate goes on and on.

What can definitely be said is Christians disagree on almost every end-time prophetic passage in the Bible. The differences are both between individuals and between major schools of thought. Some Christians are amillennialists and preterists. Others are premillennialists and futurists. (Just to clarify, amillennialists believe the only event to come is the return of Christ and that eternity future begins with no millennial reign. They also generally believe every prophecy in the Bible has been fulfilled except for those dealing with the second coming itself. Premillennials believe there will be a Tribulation, second coming, and millennial reign of Christ, and they believe these events are all prophesied about in the Bible.)

A Master Prophecy Frame of Reference

Scripture declares to us events of the end times in bits and pieces, across many chapters and books. These pieces include the parable of the virgins, the beginning of birth pains, the parable of the talents, the trumpet and bowl judgments, the unsealing of the scroll in Revelation, Mystery Babylon, the two witnesses, the seven letters to the churches, the four horsemen, the ram and the goat, the Beast, the 144,000, the kings of the north and south, the seventy weeks, the Rapture, the mark, and the abomination that causes desolation, and on and on.

But what do all these pieces mean? How do they all fit into the end-times picture?

In all the various passages of end-time prophecy, it is as if God is telling us in fragments about his plans for the world and Israel in the end times. As in all efforts to relate an account to others, a master frame of reference would be very helpful. Bible prophecy should be no exception. After all, God uses the Bible to communicate with us.

We need a frame of reference to understand any complex account; without it we cannot understand more complex situations. Therefore, a prophecy frame of reference provided by the Bible itself would be very helpful in our understanding of the end times.

What would a master end-time prophecy frame of reference look like? As with any account to be told or understood by human beings, it would be an over-arching outline or timeline of the major events to occur, in order, one after the other. It should even include a map if possible. This would be a framework on which most other end-time prophecy passages could be hung.

Today there is no known or universally accepted master frame of reference for prophecy. This book will show one does exist, and has been hidden in Scripture because of our traditional assumptions of Scripture. It is revealed when one reads Bible prophecy concentrically.

The Need for a Frame of Reference

In any complex storytelling there must be a frame of reference. Without a frame of reference we would be stumbling around trying to guess what the meaning is of all the prophetic chapters. Indeed, the church has been hazarding guesses for centuries in interpreting end-time prophecy. No master frame of reference has ever been established; it is desperately needed.

Have you ever tried to understand some complex account or story that someone was trying to tell you? Of course you have at one time or another. If it was told to you piecemeal you would understand each piece by itself, but you might feel an overall understanding of what happened was still eluding you. Why? Because the order of events and the relationships between people and things and events was not understood. The overall story related to you would make no sense in context to what really happened because there was no connection to other pieces.

In baseball, a runner sliding in to second base, and the second baseman catching the ball, are two concepts we can easily understand by themselves. But the order in which they occur in time, and where the baseman was standing—at second base or elsewhere—are factors that greatly affect the outcome of the story. Without the chronological and spatial relationships between the pieces in a framework, we still would not know what happened—is the runner safe or out at second base?

Once a frame of reference is established, people listening to a story can take every fact about a story and fasten it to the framework. In this way, the hearer can understand a rather complex recounting.

Reading prophecy today—spread over many books and chapters—without a frame of reference is like not knowing whether the runner is safe or out. A single account in prophecy is like knowing the second baseman caught the ball, but not knowing how that fact fits into the overall account of the game. We do not know for sure the time each chapter of the Bible is referring to in an account, nor how the account fits in with other chapters. And we do not know, in many instances, where the prophesied event is to take place. All these end-time passages could be better and more completely understood and placed into one coherent story if one had the proper frame of reference on which to attach all these pieces.

Scripture gives us many prophetic events in pieces, across many chapters and books. In reality, there will be only one series of prophetic events that will actually occur here on earth between now and Christ’s coming. There will be only one string of main events and various threads of supporting events. (As an example of main and supporting events, the Antichrist being in the temple in Jerusalem midway through the Tribulation can be thought of as a main event. That event begins the Great Tribulation. However, Israel rebuilding the temple is a supporting event, allowing the main event to occur.)

My earlier book, Daniel Revisited, hinted Daniel 7 is that frame of reference. I believe the main reason Daniel 7 has been ignored for so many centuries and not recognized as such is because it has been viewed as being fulfilled in ancient times. In my research for this book, however, I found the concentric method of reading reveals and even highlights Daniel 7 as a master frame of reference for all end-time prophecy. (You will see the proposal for this at the end of Section II, and the proof in Section VII.)

There are an uncounted number of prophecy books out there giving opinions on various prophetic passages of Scripture. This book is not going to hazard yet another guess about what various passages mean. Instead, we will read the Bible using the concentric method of reading and watch this method open up the Bible and make many passages plain. Instead of trying to wrestle interpretation from the Bible, the Bible itself becomes an ally in teaching us its truths. We will simply read the Bible concentrically, and note what it says. Using the analogy with a musical composition, we will stop listening to a cacophony of musical notes, or your favorite song or movement from a symphony being all chopped up, and read them as intended, in a flow, and hear the music as intended for the first time.

A Divine Highlighter

When we read the Bible linearly (from start to finish), we, in our own minds, try to highlight the important words and verses. But, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could let the Bible itself highlight and focus our attention on various verses and passages for us? That’s what the concentric method of reading presented in this book does. It is like letting the Author of the Bible highlight the right passages for us. According to scholars, if a passage is written concentrically, it is better understood if read concentrically. The words are there in the Bible to be followed, with the words highlighting the verses.

Anyone can follow this different method of reading. It’s not anything mystical or complicated—it simply involves the recognition of some guidelines to catch certain significant words and phrases in the text that allow the Bible itself to show us the proper relationship between various passages, at both the verse and chapter level. We will learn these guidelines in this section.

I daresay if we all grew up reading the Bible from scrolls, we might already be familiar with concentric reading.

CHAPTER 3

Stumbling Upon This Different Method

In Daniel Revisited, I presented a new interpretation for Daniel 7 and 8 that is quite different from what you have probably encountered. When we examine the text of those chapters, there are verses in both chapters that tell us directly that the visions of the four beasts and the vision of the ram and goat are to be fulfilled in the end times, and were not fulfilled in ancient times.

Popular premillennial end-time theology teaches the Rapture or the Tribulation is the next event, and then the second coming. This means the Rapture or Tribulation is imminent. Preterists and amillennials, on the other hand, believe the second coming itself is next and is imminent.

In both cases, no great hardship for Christians is expected, but only a whisking away of the saints by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The problem is Scripture doesn’t really support either of these positions. Please don’t misunderstand me—the Rapture and the Tribulation will occur, but not before other biblical events happen first. Here in the West, the idea of a specific and troublesome prophetic series of events prior to the Rapture and Tribulation and second coming is not on most Christians’ radar.

The signpost interpretation of Daniel 7 and 8, written about in Daniel Revisited, shows there will be four events to occur prior to the Rapture and Tribulation. The first event has occurred, and the next event is to be the great Iranian invasion of the Middle East as fictionalized in the prologue. A summary of the signpost interpretation is given in Appendix A. The method of reading concentrically does indeed confirm the Signposts.

If you’ve never heard of the signpost interpretation of Daniel 7 and 8, and don’t know what it is, rest assured you do not need to know about it to continue on in this book. The only reason I mention this at all is because it was this view of Daniel 7 that caused me to stumble upon this different method of reading.

In researching and writing Daniel Revisited, Daniel 7 was showing hints that it might actually be a master timeline or frame of reference for all end-time events. After all, if Daniel 7 starts with the democratization of modern Babylon (Iraq), and ends with the arrival of Christ and the destruction of the Antichrist, it is indeed showing us an end-time progression of events. So, it is potentially a frame of reference since it might at least be a complete timeline.

I began to seek an answer to the following questions: Is there another way of looking at Daniel 7, something that might show authoritatively that it is indeed a master timeline? Or, could Daniel 7 be something else entirely? Then I noticed the similarities between Daniel 2 and Daniel 7, both showing a progression of kingdoms. No, the statue and four beasts are not showing the same historical progression; one is historical and the other is end-time. Exploring the true but hidden difference between Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 was the key that motivated me to begin work on this book.

What I Discovered

The dream of the statue in Daniel 2 seems to parallel Daniel’s vision of four beasts in Daniel 7. You are perhaps well aware of this curiosity; many prophecy teachers point this out. Each of the two chapters portrays a succession of kingdoms, but Daniel 2 shows them as metals in a statue and Daniel 7 shows them as beasts.

Have you ever noticed that other stories in some of the chapters in Daniel repeat themselves, or run parallel to each other? The stories of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3 and the lion’s den in Daniel 6 are one example. There is a parallel there. In those two stories, Daniel, or his three friends, are punished by pagan governments, putting them into a place that means certain death, but God rescues them. The order of events in each story is also identical.

Consider Daniel 4 and Daniel 5, the stories of two kings. One of them, Nebuchadnezzar, yields to the living God and repents: Belshazzar his grandson, in the story of the writing on the wall, rejects God.

These six chapters, Daniel 2 to 7, seem to show parallels, or a mirroring, within their chapter narratives. From the beginning and end chapters, to the center chapters, all six chapters seem paired. These six chapters of Daniel suggest a concentric reading.

These six chapters were also written originally in Aramaic, which is unusual for the Old Testament. Most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew except for some verses in Ezra and one in Jeremiah. Yet, fully half of Daniel is written in Aramaic.

Until very recently, I thought of both the presence of Aramaic as the language of some of the chapters of Daniel, and the paired story structures of those chapters as mere curiosities. In the past, I would toss aside the fact that those chapters had parallels and were written in Aramaic. I had concentrated on finding deeper meaning in these chapters’ word meanings alone (like all of us) and had failed, not realizing the parallel stories and the Aramaic indeed are the keys to deeper meaning.

The chapters of Daniel written in Aramaic are written the way they are to set those six chapters aside as a separate unit from the rest of Daniel, with their pairs of mirrored chapters. This separate unit of Daniel written in Aramaic highlights the content of its six chapters. It seems the different language and paired chapters go hand-in-hand. God has something important to tell us that we have been missing with these six chapters. They are concentrically constructed and we have not been reading them that way. We will see this message fully developed in Section II.

For the remainder of this book, for convenience, I will call the chapters of Daniel written in Aramaic—chapters 2 to 7— Aramaic Daniel. The remainder of Daniel—chapters 1 and 8 to 12—I call Hebrew Daniel.

As will be shown in Section II on Aramaic Daniel, the vision of the historical kingdoms in Daniel 2 actually supports and clarifies the vision of the end-time kingdoms in Daniel 7. Finally, I realized the paired chapters of Daniel 3 and 6, and Daniel 4 and 5, also contribute to understanding the relationship between Daniel 2 and 7, and henceforth assist in understanding prophecy.

Once I realized the chapters of Aramaic Daniel mirrored each other, I began to search for more information on this topic. This new path of research began the same way as it did for Daniel Revisited: with a prayer asking God for his wisdom, and then a word search on the internet.

The Chiasmus

After entering a few key words about Daniel, Aramaic, and mirroring chapters, one word came up that was completely off my radar up to that time and took me down an unexpected path of research. I hadn’t a clue that the word even existed, or the field of study it represented had been initiated and fairly well developed in the past century. The word is chiasmus (pronounced kī-az´-mes), and is derived from the Greek letter chi. According to Breck, ¹ the term chiasmus is based on the Greek letter chi which is written like the Roman letter x.

If you feel a bit intimidated by an academic-sounding word, there is no need. It may be a complex-sounding word, but the process of reading a chiasmus is easy to understand. Finding the word chiasmus was important because there was already a body of literature pointing out its guidelines, its features, and its importance. The study in this book is built on, and extends from, these earlier works.

A chiasmus, in its simplest and shortest form, is two or more phrases or sentences in which the second phrase’s or sentence’s words are either a reversal or a repetition of the words in relation to the first phrase or sentence. It is the reversal or the repeating of words and phrases itself that reveals greater meaning than either of the two parts by themselves. A simple example is found in the words of Jesus where He said, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27 NKJV) In that verse we see the reversal of key words, and the reversal itself teaches us a truth.

A chiasmus can be as short as a single verse or cover an entire book of the Bible. A passage that is a chiasmus is said to be chiastic. The examination of a text passage to see if it is a chiasmus is called chiastic analysis.

Believe it or not, the Bible is filled with chiastic passages. Reading a passage chiastically, and thus concentrically, is the different method of reading the Bible presented in this book. When I realized I was looking at one great chiasmus covering all of Aramaic Daniel, a whole new world of Bible prophecy understanding opened up to me. This is an important tool we have all been missing to obtain a fuller meaning of prophetic Scripture.

CHAPTER 4

The Chiasmus: God’s Highlighter

An Introduction to the Chiasmus

Theological scholars in seminaries have written extensively about the subject of the chiasmus. I do not intend to get into a lengthy and deep discussion of chiastics in this book. There are already many books on the subject, and the reader is referred to some of them in the Bibliography. I am more interested in showing the reader how chiastic reading can be applied to the Bible, that is, how to recognize a chiasmus, and how it can change one’s view of Bible prophecy interpretation.

From the literature, I will be passing along the definitions, and guidelines of chiastics, as well as borrowing basic chiastic structures of Bible books already presented by other authors. A few of the chiastic readings given in this book are built on general outlines as needed.

To some, delving into a whole new area of academia might sound foreboding. Rest assured I will keep the definitions and concepts as simple as possible. Also, the work of reading and finding the words will be done for you. My intention is to acquaint the reader with the concept of the chiasmus enough to allow the reader to properly recognize a chiasmus when it exists in a text, and to hopefully experience the aha! moments that come with the increase in understanding of a text.

This new way of looking at Bible prophecy will likely change your view and understanding of the end times (even if you know the Signposts from Daniel Revisited). It might even change the way you read the Bible. It has for me. Additionally, if you enjoy word games, such as word searches and associations, you might even find this new way to study the Bible provides an extra element of enjoyment. It may sound complicated, but it’s not.

Some may ask, Haven’t we all been getting along fine reading the Bible linearly, verse by verse, and chapter by chapter, all these centuries? Yes, of course, for straightforward text that gives us a saving knowledge of Christ, such as the Gospels and Epistles. Yet chiastic structures still exist in those texts too. Therefore, a fuller understanding of the Gospels, Epistles and the wisdom books may also be possible. On the other hand, haven’t you read through some prophecy passages and been completely mystified or lost? When it comes to prophetic Scripture, chiastics can be immensely helpful in our understanding.

For example, John 3:16 seems fairly clear on its own without any need of a chiastic structure. However, what about the eight visions Zechariah recorded in the first six chapters of his book? Do you know what the four craftsmen and four horns represent in Zechariah 1:18−21? What about the horses in Zechariah 6? Chiastics can shed a new light on these passages.

Convergent and Parallel Structure

At the end of the last chapter I mentioned the chiasmus exists in the Bible. There are actually two types of divided structures that can make up a chiasmus. One is the parallel text. The other type is the "inverted parallel text," also known as convergent text. Below are examples of both.

An example of a parallel text is Proverbs 9:10 (NASB), shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows the verse has two halves. The first line of the verse is one half and the second line is the other half. Both halves have the same literary structure. In this verse, fear of the Lord is understood to be a modifier of knowledge of the Holy One, and vice versa. Likewise, beginning of wisdom is understood to be a modifier of understanding, and vice versa. Each phrase in one half modifies its corresponding phrase in the other half, using the same word order. As you can see in Figure 1, a line connects each phrase of the two sets of repeated ideas. These two lines are parallel to each other, hence, the use of the term parallel to describe this verse’s structure.

An inverted parallel text—also known as a convergent text—is different. An example of an inverted parallel verse is 1 John 3:9 (NIV 1984) as shown in three lines of text in Figure 2.

You may already see from Figure 2 why the verse has an inverted parallel structure. The repeated words and phrases are not in the same order as we saw with the parallel passage of Proverbs 9:10, but in opposite order. The third line of 1 John 3:9 has phrases that are in reverse order relative to the phrases in the first line. Note the two gray lines connecting the common sets of phrases. Instead of being parallel, they are crossed like an x. This x seen overlaying the passage gives the chiasmus its name as we saw in the last chapter.

Both an inverted parallel text, and a parallel text, are divided, chiastic, texts. The words of Proverbs 9:10 in parallel order, and the words of 1 John 3:9 in an inverted or convergent order, show the division of each verse. The text in 1 John 3:9 is seen as a convergent text because the phrase born of God appears on each of outer edges of the verse, and the phrases concerning sinning are towards the inside of the verse, pointing to a central message.

The structures of these two verses lend easily to being rightly divided; their structures are very simple.

We can now formally define a chiasmus:

Definition: Chiasmus

A chiasmus is a passage of text of any length, in which its first and second halves are assembled so the words and phrases in the first half of a passage reflect the words and phrases in the second half of the same passage, either in the same order, i.e. parallel, or in reverse order, i.e. inverted parallel, or convergent.

To make this concept clearer, and to learn its associated jargon, we will look at some simple examples. Let’s look at the short chiasmus in 1 John 3:9 again. This time, the verse is presented below in five parts written in five lines, with the style associated with chiastic analysis:

A—No one who is born of God

   B—will continue to sin,

       C—because God’s seed remains in him;

   Bʹ—he cannot go on sinning,

Aʹ—because he has been born of God.

Note three features of this verse over the five lines. The first feature is the single letters at the start of each line. Second is the indentation of the lines in a sideways V-shape. The third feature is that some of the words are italicized or written in bold text. These are all the written notations of chiastic features, which we will discuss next.

Panels

The text of 1 John 3:9 above is divided into five parts (or, five lines), which are called panels and are each designated by a leading, single, bold capital letter. In the chiasmus above, the panels are written with increasing levels of indentation: the outer edges (the first and last panels) have the least indentation, and the center has the greatest indentation. In a sentence (such as this one), the panel designations are written as A:B:C:Bʹ:Aʹ. The first part and the last part of 1 John 3:9 are contained in two panels, designated with the letter "A" in the first half of the verse, and its mirrored text panel, Aʹ, read as A-prime, in the second-half of the verse. The parts of the verse next toward the center, the B:Bʹ panels, are paired like the A:Aʹ panels. What remains is the center panel, C.

We can now formally define a panel:

Definition: Panel

A panel is a piece of a convergent or parallel text, which is either the center piece of text, or one of a pair of texts located symmetrically on either side of the center of the passage. A panel can be identified by the unique words or theme it contains within the greater passage, and is reflected, or echoed, by a twin panel with the same unique words or theme.

In 1 John 3:9 above we see five panels, dividing up the text of the verse, and the five panels form the chiastic structure of the verse. There are two pairs of panels, and the single central panel. Each pair of panels, as well as the center panel, has its own unique words and phrases.

For chiastic texts that are parallel rather than convergent, such as Proverbs 9:10, that verse is written as follows.

A—The fear of the Lord

    B—is the beginning of wisdom,

Aʹ—and knowledge of the Holy One,

    Bʹ—is understanding.

The indentation is not V-shaped as with a convergent (inverted parallel) passage, but is repeating in a parallel fashion, where the indentation begins again with the Aʹ panel with no indenture. The four panels of the verse are written as A:B:Aʹ:Bʹ.

Whether in convergent or parallel chiastic structures, a panel pair will always have a panel labeled as a letter, and as a letter with the prime notation.

There is one last feature of panels to be stated here. Panels are not essential when finding a chiastic structure in a text, the words and phrases are. Panels, though, act as a convenience in collecting like markers or themes in one area of text, to help us visualize and write out a text’s chiastic structure.

Markers and the Central Message

The italicized text in the example of 1 John 3:9 above (on p. 25) are words and phrases shared between the panels of the text. These shared words and phrases are called markers. Markers are said to be echoed between twin panels. It is the markers themselves that tell us if two parts of a text are twin (or paired) panels. These markers also indicate to the reader that the text is a chiasmus, while defining the panels. The italicized text of panel A (born of God) is a marker mirroring—or echoing—the marker in italicized text of Aʹ (also, born of God). Both italicized texts are markers, and are echoed, in this case, verbatim.

Panel B has italicized text that is a mirror of Bʹ, i.e. continue to sin versus cannot go on sinning. The italicized texts of B and Bʹ are similar in topic and words, but have opposite meanings. These two phrases are also markers that are echoed.

Finally, the italicized and bolded text in C is the central message of the passage. The central message of the passage in C is God’s seed remains in him. In this book, the texts of central messages are in bold type.

We know panel C contains the central message because the markers of the other two pairs of panels converge on, and therefore point to, the middle panel. This is how the location of the words of the Bible highlights the main theme of a chapter or verse.

Also, just as the markers point to the central message, the central message of the passage places the outer pairs of text into better perspective. Therefore, the texts of the panels preceding and succeeding the central message modify each other, and the central message itself modifies all the other texts. For example, One who is born of God (in A), has been born of God (in Aʹ). The two phrases modify the subject of one who has God’s seed planted in him. And why can’t someone born of God go on sinning as it says in panel Bʹ? The answer in the middle panel (C) is that God’s seed, the Holy Spirit, remains in that person.

As Breck ² simply states regarding an A:B:Aʹ chiasmus, panel A intensifies the meaning of Aʹ, and vice versa, and the primary meaning is B.

For parallel texts, the markers echo between paired panels, except instead of converging on a center, the markers are in the same order in each text panel. The markers show where the division is between two mirrored panels. In the example given above (on p. 26) of Proverbs 9:10, the markers are again the italicized phrases. The markers of the A:Aʹ panels echo each other, as do the markers in the B:Bʹ panels. However, there is no central message in Proverbs 9:10, as there is in 1 John 3:9. This is not to say there can be no central message between two parallel halves of a text; this example simply has no central message.

If a convergent or parallel passage is long enough, markers will be seen to repeat. In other words, they will not only echo between paired panels, but will repeat many times in a pair of panels. We will see examples of this later.

We can now formally define a marker and a marker set:

Definition: Marker

Markers are repeated and echoed words, phrases and themes in a pair of text passages that show us (a) a parallel or convergent structure exists and so a deeper meaning for the overall text also exists, (b) the text panels are paired and therefore modify each other, and (c) the location of the central message, or theme, of the entire passage if there is one.

Definition: Marker Set

A marker set is a pair of markers echoing each other, where each marker is located in one of two panels mirroring each other in parallel or in convergence.

Markers themselves may or may not allow a greater understanding of the text directly. Markers may sometimes be only trail markers showing word associations leading the reader to the central message of a text. We will see examples of such things as we get in to the next sections.

We can also formally define the central message:

Definition: Central Message

A central message is typically at, or near, the center of a text passage. Identified by pairs of markers in a convergent or parallel text, the central message states the theme and most important idea of the entire passage. In a narrative, the central message can also be a turning point between the first and second halves of a story.

The two passages in 1 John 3:9 and Proverbs 9:10 have been given as only simple examples. Lund, ³ Dorsey, ⁴ and others, show us chiastic structures exist throughout the Bible and can be used to reach a better understanding of the text being read. Bible scholars have shown whole books like James and 1 John each forms their own chiasmus. Also, major parts of longer books, such as the life of Abraham in Genesis (Gen. 12−24), and the Exodus from Egypt (Ex. 1−13) each form their own chiasmus. ⁵

In this book, we will be studying the chiastic structures of Daniel, Revelation, half of Zechariah, and a part of Matthew.

Care and Objectivity are Essential in Chiastic Reading

Welch ⁶ wrote that chiasmi definitely exist in Scripture. There is a growing awareness of chiastics in academia such that skepticism of chiastics’ existence ended decades ago. The next questions were how important or significant is it to properly read a passage chiastically, and how do you interpret a passage chiastically? Those have been the topics of many books and articles on chiastics in the Bible.

In my research, I have found it to be true that there are real benefits to paying attention to the chiastic structure of a text, i.e. reading chiastically. Radday wrote about this: ⁷

Chiastic structure, it will be seen, is more than an artificial or artistic device. If it were nothing else, it would hardly warrant more than a passing illustration of a few exemplary passages. It is rather, and most remarkably so, a key to meaning. Not paying sufficient attention to it may result in failure to grasp the true theme. (emphasis added.)

If a text is written as a poem, it needs to be read as a poem or its full meaning is missed. Likewise, if a text is written as a chiasmus, it needs to be read as such or the full meaning of the text will be missed. You will witness this in the upcoming sections of this book.

Like Welch, Breck ⁸ also wrote: Written chiastically, biblical works must be read chiastically if they are to reveal the primary message the author wanted to convey.

A chiasmus teaches us more meaning because, as Welch ⁹ notes, When chiasmus achieves the level of ordering thoughts … the form itself merges with the words for message and meaning. Indeed, what is said is often no more than how it is said. The analogy with music works here. The ordering of the notes is just as important as the notes themselves.

Welch ¹⁰ also wrote about the chiasmus: … these structures may add novel perspectives and unexpected dimension to the texts in which they appear.

This is so true! After you finish this book, this quote from Welch might seem like an understatement. To this end, chiastic analysis yields many surprises. As we go through each prophetic book and chapter, discoveries will be highlighted.

Markers, panels, and central messages are indeed highlighters God has placed in the Bible, pointing to and highlighting passages and verses He wants us to understand. It’s all in his Word! The words of the text are there. This is a truly exciting prospect. By reading linearly as we have done all our lives, we have passed up and been ignorant of, God’s highlighter.

However, to read the Bible chiastically also requires an obligation to be objective, as Welch ¹¹ also warns. The reader must simply note the words that echo and repeat in the text to find the panels and the central message.

It is also easier to find a true chiastic structure in a text if there is significant repetition of words, or several words being echoed in the text. The more obvious the markers, the more easily a chiasmus is recognized, and therefore, the passage being read will likely have more to teach us. A text that is chiastic has much more to teach us, and a true chiasmus will teach us something closer to the truth of the text. A forced chiasmus will not.

Guidelines for Identifying Markers

The following guidelines are to help readers recognize a proper, or stronger, set of markers. These guidelines are used in this book and the reader can use them in his or her own studies. A general rule regarding markers is: the more obvious the markers are to readers, the more likely a convergent or parallel structure exists. Therefore, a deeper meaning only attainable from a chiastic reading is more likely.

1. Echoing markers should be the same words or words of similar meaning and repeated as often as possible. Verbatim or near-verbatim repetition of words and phrases between two proposed panels in a convergent or parallel text marks the presence of a chiastic structure. Markers do not have to be echoed verbatim or nearly verbatim, but they are stronger if they are. The phrase born of God we see in 1 John 3:9 is echoed verbatim between that verse’s A:Aʹ text panels. The marker born of God is not repeated within each panel, however, since the verse is short. Longer passages can and will exhibit repeated markers.

2. Markers should be unique to each panel pair. Markers should be words and phrases that are unique to specific mirror-paired text panels. For example, Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 reflect iron uniquely. The word is not reflected between the chapters of Daniel 3 to 6. Daniel 3 and 6,