The "Scroll of Daniel"/The "Scroll of Revelation"
But thou, o Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book [scroll], even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased (Daniel 12:4).
Though the previous century has been marked with significant advances in transportation and communication, only the last few decades could properly be called "The Information Age." And yet, despite the exponential explosion of secular data, God still places a premium on spiritual truth and prophetic insight. Consider the following (with emphases added):
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, . . .; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God" (Hosea 4:6).
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, . . ., rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
". . . ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" (Matthew 16:3b).
To aid His people in their quest of not being destroyed devotees, but rightly-dividing and discerning disciples instead, especially in times when evil powers were dominant and wickedness seemed supreme in the world, God conveyed His truth in the figures, types, and symbols of apocalyptic writing. The classic Biblical examples of this literary style are the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. An 'apocalypse' is an "unveiling," when God's truth pulls the curtain back on the world stage to shed light on what is seemingly real but which is, in reality, deceptive darkness. Apocalyptic prophecy also assures God's people of His sovereign control over the kingdoms of men and the eventual victory of His righteousness upon the Earth.
The picturesque scroll murals of Loretta S. Phillips graphically portrays all the splendor of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2) of four world empires envisioned from the human perspective as a towering metallic statue—descending footward with ever-decreasing fineness yet increasing firmness—to Daniel's contrasting vision from the divine viewpoint (Daniel 7) of the same Gentile powers as rapacious and fearsome beasts bent on war and dominion—the true nature of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. Lavishly illustrated, the Daniel Scroll and the Revelation Scroll will be valuable resources to all those truly interested in discerning the "signs of the times" by becoming ever-familiar with both the historical and prophetic truths which Jesus expected His disciples to know (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14).
We are definitely living in the perilous, scoffer-infested times of the "last days" (2 Timothy 3:1; 2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18). The LORD is bringing to a close another redemptive phase of His prophetic plan in history (His Story). And, as always, He has not left His people in the dark concerning His present and future strategy. God has revealed in His Holy Word, especially through the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, how He has "even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it to thee" (Isaiah 48:5a).
David V. Bassett, M.S., Creation Evidence Museum Staff Writer, Glen Rose, TX.