Daniel 12:8

"And I heard, but I understood not; then said I, O my lord, what shall be the issue of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end."

One of the favorite dictums of Bible enemies is that we should look for what was "probably in the mind of the prophet" to understand and interpret his words; but the Holy Scriptures in this passage offer the complete denial of such a bastard ruling, which, alas, influences much of the so-called "interpreting" of the ancient prophecies. Here Daniel freely admitted that he did not understand the words which the holy one spoke unto him and which he wrote down and sealed. He asked for information about what the words meant, but the holy one refused to enlighten him further, saying, "Go thy way, the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end."

There was no way, really, that Daniel could have understood these words. Why? (1) The holy people whose power was to be broken in pieces in the mind of Daniel was doubtless a reference to the OLD ISRAEL; but we have known since Jesus Christ that HE, and HE ALONE is the true Israel of God (John 15:1,5). (2) The expression, "time, and times, and a half a time" could have had no practical meaning whatever for Daniel. (3) The prophecies of knowledge being increased and men going "to and fro" could never have been fully understood by any person living prior to the 20th century!

In this connection, one should read 1 Peter 1:10-12, where this phenomenon of the prophets not understanding their own prophecies is specifically stated.