It was during my senior year of high school that I was drawn to the books of Daniel and Revelation, and for one particular reason—the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in history. As I have shared before, my family background included both Christian (Dutch) Reform and Seventh-day Adventism, which both hold to the Reformer’s view of prophecy—God safely preserving His true church through history.
There are many subjects in the Bible that people have long debated over. But the fulfillment of prophecy is tough to argue with. It is what it is. And what “is” is exactly what God foretold that it would be.
Consider Daniel, for example. Called the “companion” of Revelation, it contains some of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible. In Daniel 2, we read about a pagan king’s vision, of an idol, which revealed the rise and fall of exactly four world kingdoms—no more, no less! Then there’s Daniel 7, where the prophet Daniel himself is given a similar vision, but in scenes that he could relate to as a Jew—unimaginable (and “unclean”) beasts, representing powers hostile to God’s law, kingdom and people.
Amazingly, John the revelator saw the same creatures that Daniel did, but in reverse order (Rev. 13:1-2). That’s because Daniel was looking into the future, especially to the days of Rome, while John was looking back over it.
I don’t know what the near future holds. I don’t know who the next president will be, or what will happen to world financial markets. I don’t know how much longer we can depend on fossil fuels. I don’t know how many more nations will fall into poverty or how many more animals will become extinct.
But here is what I do know. The God of heaven is in control.