Daniel understood the scriptures about Israel's captivity in Babylon and the end of captivity some 70 years later. So He turned to God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition and in fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

In verse 21, we find the result of his prayer and fasting:

"While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:" (Dan 9:21-23)

Daniel was most esteemed by God. Although He already understood from the scriptures that Israel's captivity in Babylon was at an end, he still humbled himself in prayer and fasting and as a result an Angel was sent to give him insight and understanding. The vision of the last days was explained to him...as well as a prediction of when the true Messiah of Israel would present himself.

Then again in DAN 10:11-12 he has another anglelic visitation and the Angel said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

As God is no respector of persons we would do well to heed the words of the angel: "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them."

Do you want understanding of these last days, then set your mind to gain understanding and humble yourself before your God. The Angel then starts to unfold what will happen in the last days. You might notice as you read chapter 10 through 12 the use of the term "appointed time" for certain events that occur in this yet future end-time chronology. There is an appointed time for the culmination of all things.

Then in Chapter 12:4 Daniel is essentially told that the he will not understand the words of this prophecy, and it will not be understood until the time of the end. Then in those last days, it will be understood. Daniel does not give up however in continuing to seek illumination of these events, so in verse 12:9 the angel tells Daniel: "Go your way Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end."

Perhaps in anticipation of Daniels continued persistence, in verse 12:4, the angel added the following conditions of the last days when the Book will speak:"Many will run to and fro" and "knowledge will increase."

Many will run to and fro carries the meaning from the Greek of a multitude (in quantity, size, age, number, rank and quality - will be cast together) and go to and fro (in the Greek - "to travel") as to travel world-wide as the greek root word implies traveling by sea.

Never in any time in history, as we move to a global economy, has this ever been true. Think of a crowded airline flight. Is it not full of people of every size, age, number, rank and quality? Are they not "cast together" as they jet to their world-wide destinations? In aggregate, do they not comprise the largest multitude of world-wide travel in the history of the world. Consider the following Statistics:

REVENUE AIRCRAFT-MILES FLOWN IN ALL SERVICES OF LARGE CERTIFICATED AIR CARRIERS

1984 - 1993 Thousands of Miles
Total Domestic International

1984 3,264,196...2,875,402...388,794
1985 3,461,795...3,046,440...415,355
1986 3,872,830...3,421,492...451,338
1987 4,182,327...3,652,542...529,786
1988 4,353,512...3,738,242...615,270
1989 4,442,026...3,748,139...693,887
1990 4,723,601...3,963,263...760,338
1991 4,661,022...3,854,416...806,606
1992 4,899,247...3,994,821...904,426
1993 5,099,220...4,144,067...955,153

Clearly World-wide travel is rapidly increasing.

Daniel also indicated that knowledge would increase. Although it took the entire history of mankind until the 1940's for the sum of human knowledge to double, current estimates are that knowledge is doubling every 18 months and accelerating.

Consider the recent cloning of an adult sheep (Dolly) by English researchers. Dr Alan Coleman says she is genetically identical to her mother. She was created by ataking a cell from one sheep and another egg from another sheep which had been stripped of all genetic material. The egg and cell were fused and implanted into a surrogate mother. Five months later Dolly was born -- an identical replica of the sheep which donated the cell. There have been reports of monkey clones by U.S.A. researchers using less sophisticated techniques (these were technically not clones as was the case with Dolly). There have also been reports of "accidental human clones".. Again not really clones, they just induced an egg to split (forming twins). In New Zeland, researchers are trying to recreate a bird that has been extinct for 400 years. They are injecting DNA from bones of the extinct MOA bird into Ostrich eggs.....shades of Jurassic Park. And chickens can now sing the trill of a quail thanks to researchers at the Neural Sciences Institute in San Diego who transferred quail behaviour to a chick with an implant of quail brain cells. Time magazine recently carried a picture of a laboratory rat which was growing a human ear. The moral issues are of course an area of great concern, but the point here is that knowledge is increasing at an unheard of rate.

Using Super Computers researchers have broken the DNA encoding of information within the human gene. They are now cataloging them and generating plenty of legal activity over issues of patents and intellectual property rights...in other words, if they break the code do they own it...If I grow you a new ear, do I have a right to a piece of the profits.

The moral implications of cloning is best summed up in this quote from from R. Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: "This goes far beyond our dominion responsibility...it also treads very near the sin of blasphemy, because those who would tamper with the genetic code are acting as creator rather than creature. To tamper [with the genetic code] is to risk not only intentional genetic mutation and its disastrous consequences for the human race, but to risk the coming of a very sinful and evil dark age in which human beings will seek to define themselves, clone themselves, make themselves, improve themselves, and finally perfect themselves." Embodied in this warning is the recognition of one of the lies perpetrated by the serpant on Adam and Eve -- "you shall be like gods." Here is an opportunity to leap frog the millions of years of so called evolutionary natural selection and reach a state of perfection virtually overnight. Of course, the possibilities of abuse are beyond human comprehension. How about a genetically engineered army that feels no pain or remorse in afflicting punishement, that is totally obedient to their masters, that have strength well in excess of even the strongest humans. Will an attempt be made to clone Albert Einstein.. what would his intelligence bring to the military. Better yet, how about a team of Albert Einsteins...what could they accomplish. It is my contention that the temptation will be to great to resist...We have entered the "Brave New World."

Clinton banned federal funded for human cloning research and asked for voluntary ban by privately funded scientists and said he wanted to close any loopholes pending a review of cloning policy that he requested from his bioethic panel.

Clinton's token recommendation not to have the government fund human cloning experiments is nothing more than a political statement. Private funding by independent companies will go into high gear...and their promise will be compelling. How about growing yourself a liver transplant...of course, your clone will have to be killed.

Genetic enginneering is a dangerous thing in the hands of a finite human who cannot possibily see all the infinite variables downstream of their meddling. Tampering with such things is a receipe for disaster.

In Europe they are growing vaccines on the trunks of trees. We are modifying cold viruses to attack cancer viruses. What if they mutate into a form that the human body cannot defend against. Jesus said that wide-spread disease (pestilence) would be one of the signs that immediately preceed His return. Today, disease is already on the uprise due to the overuse of antibiotics. We have flesh-eating bacteria, Elboa, new strains of drug-resistent pneumonia and T.B. Cholera in South America is at epidemic proportions and modern-day plagues like Aids still have the potential to devestate the human population. Given mankind's weakness to old strains of bacteria, how well do you think he will fare against still new and potentially virulent strains created in a lab by an over-achieving geneticist?

As a side-note, I could not help thinking of that human ear growing on a rat and then the insect in the Book of the Revelation which had a human face. It was always thought that this insect that tormented only those who took the "mark of the beast" had to be supernatural, and it might well be so. But consider that through gene tampering, you could grow a human face on an insect.

Now couple that thought that the "mark of the beast" might take the form of a computer-chip implant married with a radio-frequency technology allowing tracking of an individual utilizing the GPS (Global Positioning Sensing) Satellite network. What if these "insects" were drawn to the Radio transmissions of the implanted chip. Forgive this use of my God-given imagination, but the point is that even these supernatural insects are becoming feasible in our generation, the last generation before the return of Jesus. How literal the interpretation of Revelation really is.

Have you heard about "Robo-Roach". Japanesse researchers implanted a computer chip in the head of a roach and were able to control the roaches motion. They said they could use the roach to get to earthquake victims and then transmit back information via a micro-miniture camara. Researchers are also implanting computer chips in humans as well. One blind lady was able able to see light and make out crude object shapes with the computer chip implants.

Cloning is just one more sign that the return of the Lord is near.

``Watch and pray, therefore, that you would be counted worthy to escape the judgment that is coming upon the earth and be able to stand before the Son of Man'' (Luke 21:36).

``Prophecy and Current Events" is published bimonthly by: ``To His Glory Ministries"

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Maranatha!

Prophetic Links:

Is the Ozone Hole predicted in the Bible - See the section on Pestilence.