WHY I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: Very good book on Daniel, his prophecy of the 70 weeks, and Bible interpretation. Secular research confirms Biblical chronologies. For the new Bible student: Getting your mind around the noncontiguous 70 weeks is vital to understanding prophecy.
Primary focus: Daniel, the 70 weeks of prophecy
Praise the Lord for such insight! Anderson’s analysis speaks to the plowman as he explores morsel after morsel of prophetic food. His multifaceted approach (see chapters, below) greatly illuminates many events and connected prophecies throughout the Bible.
Unpacking Daniel’s 70 Weeks and God’s Prophetic Timeline
Many a religious type have gotten tripped up by the 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy, and very specifically that last 70th week. Cults and watered-down mainstream religions usually bungle the interpretation by confusing the coming prince. But the way Anderson holds these two side-by-side, you get a renewed sense of clarity — the one cannot be the Other.
But the thrust of the matter is this: the last week of the 70th week prophecy is noncontiguous from the previous 69 weeks. Once you get a grasp of that very important concept, pieces start fitting together. Revelation starts making a whole lot more sense in light of the division of that 70th week.
An adage to keep in mind when studying Daniel’s prophecy is that you don’t keep both feet in Daniel — you keep the other in Revelation, where in this case Anderson spends some time connecting the two.
The Apostle Paul referred to the noncontiguous week mystery (unknown to the Old Testament prophets — who knew nothing of the Gentile church age — and how it would occupy the span between the 69th and 70th weeks) as the mystery of the Gentiles (Colossians 1:26). This time of the Gentiles inserts a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy.
Let’s look at the chapters:
- Intro
- Daniel and his times
- The King’s Dream and the prophet’s visions
- The vision by the River of Ulai
- The Angel’s message
- The prophetic year
- The mystic era of the weeks
- “Messiah the Prince”
- The Paschal Supper
- Fulfillment of the prophecy
- Principles of interpretation
- Fullness of the Gentiles
- Second Sermon on the Mount
- The Patmos Visions
- The Coming Prince
Additionally, three appendices are included.
History, Prophecy, and the Perfect Fit Between Daniel and Revelation
What a well-rounded work on the book of Daniel! I didn’t come across this work until later in life, but had I found it earlier I would have enjoyed far clearer understanding of the 70 weeks’ prophecy and its perfect fitting conclusion in Revelation.
Anderson reaches into history often, using both religious and secular accounts to validate Biblical records. The result of this is a collage of tables, appendices and lists showing events ordered chronologically. (Now THAT is a breath of fresh air for anyone beginning the study of Daniel’s prophecies.)
The point being in all of this, that our Bible is trustworthy, is verifiable, is accurate and can match up against any verified historical accounts.
Anderson was a skilled investigator from Scotland Yard, and you can see his prowess in his analysis of gospel narrative timelines. One quote being, “The trustworthiness of witnesses is tested, not by the amount of truth their evidence contains, but by the absence of mistakes.”
Anderson skillfully focuses on literal interpretation in numerous areas: chronologies specific to rulers and Hebrew events; precise birth date of Messiah; and in one paragraph sums up the literality of scripture interpretation and how it was used by the ancients instead of spiritualizing things away. page 128. This one sentence, at the end of his footnote #1, was such a sobering and shocking statement as I have ever read in an author’s commentary.
His determination to show as many accounts as possible, along with their apparent lack of errors, is evident throughout his book.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to beginning and maturing Bible students who want a clear understanding of the numerous connections between Daniel and Revelation.
Related Books on Prophecy:
The Bible Foretells the End: Things to Come, by Dwight Pentecost
Christ’s Imminent Return: The Rapture Question, by John Walvoord
The Conclusion of History: 35 Simple Studies on the book of Revelation, by M.R. DeHaan
This review was part of my 9 Lifelong Bible Companions Series. See related recommendations.