i'm sorry to hear about your experience growing up in a cult. Daniel is prophesying about the "kingdoms" that rise after nebuchadnezzar's reign. the vision Daniel receives from God about the 4 beasts expound on this revelation. i sum up the 3rd kingdom/beast as the microbiome and the 4th as ai. i hope this information helps.
Great video. I also grew up in a cult. Jehovah’s witnesses. They looked to Daniel and revelation as proof of god’s people and that we are living in the end times. My wife and I left 6 years ago. All of my family will not talk to us even to this day. Your videos are so helpful. I have leaned so much about the Bible.
Curious, as I had a friend in high school who was also a witness, but very lax towards the religious stuff, is leaving always punished this hard? I also remember catching him later and he made it pretty clear without outright saying it that he had a hard time leaving town for a better job because his parents wouldn't have been able to matchmake for him, which I found pretty shocking.
@@d0nutwaffle yes. My two children are 19 and 20. They have not seen all four of their grandparents in 6 years. My brother and his wife left after us. They have a 3 year son. My parents have not seen him also. Some JWs are more lax then my parents and in laws but if a family member is caught taking to an apostate (someone who leaves) they can be kick out also.
Yes...if you officially leave or are kicked out, family and friends have to shun you (but for a few loopholes like family staying in the same house or rare "necessary family business" like attending a funeral. As soon as it is legal to do so (at 18), a child might find themselves kicked out of the home to fend for themselves. Matchmaking isn't typical or official policy. Of course, if you work for family or other JWs (having little college if any--as high education is frowned on), then that can present another obstacle to leaving. Members who fail to shun those disfellowshipped or disassocated can find themselves punished themselves. Of course, one can "fade" and go inactive, but often what is experienced is an informal soft shunning where members gradually back away as they realize you are not attending meetings and going door-to-door anymore.
Indeed--it is a doomsday cult. Growing up, commentary on Daniel and Revelation was my bread and butter. But if you look at the leadership's enforced prohibition on blood transfusions since 1945--thousands of members have died needlessly, including children. More than Jonestown, the Branch Davidians, and Heaven's Gate combined and many times over.
The 666 and 616 distinction isn't about which translation is better, rather there are different manuscripts, some which say 666 and some which say 616, so there is some debate over which is original. One theory that makes sense to me is that the number was deliberately changed in manuscripts that were produced for an audience more familiar with the Latin form of Nero's name, rather than the Greek.
I have read yet another, more symbolic Christian interpretation: both these numbers 666/616 were originally written in Greek numeric system as χξς`/χις` respectively. Thus, the number of the beast is a symbol that separates, replaces Christs abbrevation symbol in Greek χς or ΧC, a false Christ or Antichrist.
I once saw Bill Gates "turned into" 666. I do not remember the formula, but it had a few weird details. Given the num,ber of number systems one could (perhaps) make a "666-modificator" that could "massage" most names into 666.
I also read another theory on this. Some think the versions that used 616 were refering to Caligula (aka Gaias Caesar, which in Greek adds up to 616). Caligula had commited an act that compares to Antiochus in demanding the Temple make offerings to other gods, specifically himself. So some historians think that some communities, especially those of Jewish Christians, thought of him as the Beast more than Nero.
Even as a relatively conservative Christian I really enjoyed this series. I’m sure some of the content may have shook some peoples faith a bit, but I try to have an open mind! I learned a lot! God bless!
I'm Catholic and our approach to the Bible is textual rather than literal. An in depth study of Biblical literature using critical methods unlocks layers of meaning not found in a strictly literalist interpretation.
This content is NOT new, but the result of the theological research au the beginning of the 20th century. Every person studying theology knows that the Bible is written by men.
Topic of ancient apocalyptic literature is extremely intersting. It's a shame that people often tend to think about it as a blurred future-telling, rather than as a refined, alegorical, complex genre of literature it was. I would love to see in a future an analysis of other apocalyptic works, such as Oracle of the Potter from hellenistic Egypt
Well, not exactly the same, but you could watch my series of videos on "the wheel of time", and how it connects to escathology of several religious traditions.
There's is much in the bible about the future. It sometimes gets confused because we like to make everything about us. The end of days is prophesied as a warning. We are to live everyday like Jesus is coming tomorrow. We know Hes prob not but we should be ready.
Welcome to the 21st century. A time completely removed from any ancient culture where we only view things in black n white. No nuance, no grey area, no mystery. Just fact or fiction
@@Luinedhel wheels are of less importance now that chariots have gone out of fashion... time is connected to a jet engine now... maybe you could update your title...
@@flipflopski2951 OK, either that was a joke, or you're unaware that I meant the series of books called "the wheel of time". In any case, you're welcome to watch the videos 😉
On Matt's point about the word "prophecy" I've heard it can be one of two things, whereas he said its just the one. A forth-telling, or telling the future like most people today associate the word with. Or a fore-telling, or telling/explaining the times we're in.
It's interesting how thematically close apocalyptic literature is to the modern 20th century dystopian genre, (e.g. 1984, Brave New World) in how they connect present actions and attitudes with future consequences to create a moral message on how we should act to change our fate.
Added to that, both are often seen as genres that predict the future, but their actual true purpose is to highlight issues in their contemporary societies.
@@anarlote5658 That's a very interesting point I had never thought about. In 1984 for example, while it has interesting applicability, people seem to forget it is supposed to be about Stalinism.
@@rsmapping8539 yeah but the argument for that is that the "they" or whatever are using stalinism as a blueprint for the society they want, and the fact that the book applies eerily well today is supposed proof of that.
One major difference that I see between Daniel and Revelation, and 1984, is that 1984 is missing the underlying thread of hope one sees in the apocalyptic books. Or rather, that in 1984 the hope is revealed to be an illusion all along. (1984 is the only dystopian novel I have read to date.) The apocalyptic books seem to carry the message, "Things may look bad here, but keep the faith and we will survive." 1984 carries the message: "If things progress to this point, there is no hope for us."
@@MarsJenkar 1984 does have a certain note of hope, though it is obscure. The book ends with an epilogue commenting on the 'doublespeak' promoted by the Party. However, this epilogue is written in the past tense, implying that the Big Brother regime does eventually collapse. How this happens, and what sort of society replaces it, are left uncertain.
I don't know if you will ever read this, but this video helped me answer a Quizbowl question in a tournament last year. The moderator read a line about a statue made of verious materials and I recognized that it must be from Daniel, and that answer really helped us win that round. So if nothing else, thank you for making this video and giving me the info needed to do well in that game.
Why does the Zadokite priests in your chart seems to contradict Chronicles? Especially the ancestors from Johanan I to Zadok II. Secondly, why is Ezra not an immediate descendant of Seraiah in the Chart?
Thank u 4 sharing. My family USED to be apart of WWCG too. It feels good to be alive NOW & introduced to other ways of interpreting information. Appreciate u.
I remember in college I took a class on Biblical Greek and the teacher said something that always stuck with me. He said, "The Bible was written for you, but not to you." I feel like that is most true of Revelation haha. One really cool thing I've read about Revelation is that the structure of the book mirrors the early church liturgy. That context is totally missing in the Charismatic Pentecostal church that I grew up in. Revelation is one of those books that tends to mean whatever the reader thinks it means.
No it doesn't. It was written in that sense so you wont understand it. It was done on purpose. The only parts you would understand in the books properly are the parts that were written to be understood literally.
@@danielburger1775 i disagree, if you read it (assuming you have) even from the first verse it tells you of the kind of literary work it is. The author literally told us the kind of work it is. I dont know what motivation people have to making the purpose of a literary work different to what the author himself intended. You might not believe it but please do not mislead people as to what the intention of the work was. Please READ THE FIRST VERSE AGAIN.
@@ckay_real2765 Well the point of my professor's quote is that when you just read the Bible without any historical context you're missing half the story. There are parts of the Bible where scholars debate the meaning, but it would've been obvious to the people it was written to.
@@t_ylr This is why I left the more conservative branch of evangelicalism. The Bible only approach (sola scriptura) is actually missing most of the context of why we have the Bible. I can't accept a literal interpretation because once you study history you see the holes in the theology.
That statue has some shredded abs, damn... Also, that picture of the combined lion-bear-leopard-triceratops monster would make for an excellent badass heavy metal artwork or tattoo.
Great video as always! I think part of the problem that comes from interpreting the information in these books is that people believe that they are images of the future, rather than it being advice and encouragement for people in the present.
Eisegesis (out-of-context reading & interpretation) reigns supreme when it comes to Daniel and Revelation, so my general modality is to not engage when either one is mentioned. I did a couple units of the Apokalypsis in uni, and also did some personal study of Daniel (particularly the dating of the book of Daniel, since I was engaged in evangelistic efforts at the time). What I read managed to break my Christian faith, which I’m thankful for in retrospect.
@@sixsmith7653a story doesn't need to be true, it just needs to have a message worth hearing. if it doesn't, find a better one. I am not criticising your decision btw. It is one I made myself.
I grew up as a witness (jehovah's witnesses). Everything you're saying is literally my entire childhood, especially the breakdown of who is being represented in the different parts of the statue 😳
To me the "4 Horsemen" always represented the progression of a war, in general White Horseman with crown and bow: Is some king or general (leader), with a cause for war. Carrying a bow and wearing white because the event is on the horizon. He is not yet stained in blood. Red Horseman with sword: The intractable bloody conflict itself, covered with the blood of the no longer distant battle Black Horseman with scales: often called "famine" is the famine caused by the continuing war, the war machine needs to consume lots of food, causing a price surge. but the luxury goods are unaffected, because the armies are not touching them. The Black is again the blood of battle, now hardened to black. Pale Horseman, named as Death: This is the actual prophecy or warning as you put it. These unending wars of man (Roman Empire) will only lead to death for everyone. I believe that's why the horseman have resonated so well through history. These archetypes can be applied to many extended wars.
@@Rx_Sqx the last reset apocalypse we had is the muddflood. Why don't your enlighten yourself and check it out. It was not that long ago. Look it up on UA-cam!! Lots of evidence for truth seekers.
I grew up with Bible teachers and pastors who were obsessed with eschatology and end times prophesy. Growing up I didn’t think I was reach the end of high school before the world ended. Your videos have been helping me pick up the pieces and piece together what actually happened in history. Thank you!
There are some things about Revelation that only make sense in the context of it being a "Sequel" to the Book of Daniel. For instance, the Beast. If you remember Daniel there is that weird (and fictional) story about Nebuchadnezzar living as a beast for a few years for no reason. If you assume that Rome is meant to be the "New Babylon" in Revelation than calling Nero Caesar The Beast makes a lot of sense.
I really appreciate the fact that you bring this as neutral as you can and give multiple explanations for the verses. This really helps me to make up my own mind about it.
Thanks for this series. Given your interest in the Bible and lineage charts, I’d be interested in seeing an episode on the “lineages” of the various major Bible translations.
For a while now, I've been much more fascinated with interpreting Revelations from historical perspective, as symbolic way of telling common motifs in history, namely in that the Four Horsemen representing the rise and fall of Empire. The first, a Bowman riding on a White Horse, is Conquest, conquering vast swaths of territory (See: Alexander the Great, the slow conquests of the Roman Republic). The second, a Swordsman riding on a Red Horse, is War, representing the civil wars that follow (See: The Wars of the Diadochi, the Roman Civil Wars of the 1st century, BC). The third, a merchant with a scale used to measure prices on a Black Horse, is Pestilence, the disease and starvation that follows war torn areas. The final, Death, is kinda self explanatory.
Masterfully explained. I grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist and I learned the traditional explanations of Daniel and the Revelation. I am glad to hear the historical interpretation which makes more sense to me.
Thank you! Fantastic series- I don't think anyone's summarized the entire authorship and timeline of the Bible so elegantly before. Very much look forward to your Quran episode!
I love that this episode was more focused on textual interpretation rather than who actually wrote the books. You should do more series in this vein! It’s especially interesting hearing about your former cult’s interpretation on things.
I always love how the past told us there is this genre of "apocalyptic literature" so that we can have a nice box with which to place it and store it in the attic.
I'm sorry this series is finally over, it has been fantastically put together and so very well presented. Thank you. The thing about prophesy is you can never be sure to what events it refers even with obvious candidates. As alluded to real understanding is to appreciate the associated message and what if calls for in the here-and-now.
Loved the series. Can't wait for the next one! I really have loved learning about the bible from a historical perspective. It's really helped with where I stand spiritually
I just want to say thank you for your channel. What a great accidental discovery. You're so informative, concise and true to a historical understanding of the subject. Thank you and keep up the good work.
It’s a very interesting topic I got into last year. If you’ve ever heard of the Bible Project, they have a few podcast episodes about what spiritual beings are and why we eventually refer to all of them as angels (it’s implied in the Bible that angels are one type of spiritual being). The only problem is that each episode ranges from 30 minutes to an hour, so you’d be in for a ride.
While I liked this video, I feel like it takes a reverse approach than the rest of the series: you start with when it was being written, then use that to find explanations for that in the text, instead of starting with what's in the books and using that to date them.
Thanks Matt, great video series! I have learned more about the bible watching this series than I did in the 10 years I was attending church 3 times a week. Looking forward to checking out your charts and other videos.
Very interesting series. I remember as an early adolescent listening on the radio to Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the World Wide Church of God. I even wrote away and got some literature, but I was already a member of another cult, Mormon, so I stuck with that until I left it later
The NRSV New Interpreters' Study Bible has a very excellent historical-critical commentary. It is a rather hefty purchase, but it is very worth if you are considering academic study of the Bible.
There is a lot of interpretations. The main ones are the Futurist Interpretation of the most evangelical Churchs, and the Preterist Interpretation of the sholars and catholics, there are others but they are not all that wide spread. Basically, the Futurist Interpretation says the following: Lion and Lamb refers to Jesus, the Woman of chapter 12 refers to either the Church or Israel, the Dragon refers to Satan and his spiritual Army, the Beast refers to Rome and all other evil kingdoms related to Rome (including the supposed future kingdom of the Antichrist), the second Beast refers to a False Prophet (most will say the Catholic Church), and the Woman of Babylon of chapter 17 and 18 also refers to the Catholic Church. All the seven plagues like the Seals and Chalices refers to real and literal natural disasters in the end times (the last 3,5 years of the Earth), but there is some more symbols. If you want a more in deph explanation, them is best search by yourself, but this is basically what evangelical christians believe about this.
I sincerely want to thank you for these videos. I've long ago realized that the way I was taught was not as simple as I was taught, but you did an excellent job of organizing the scraps I'd learned. I will be using your video as reference in the future. I sincerely respect your wisdom.
It's still very alarming and concerning that some Christians, especially those who're the most loud from Churches in the US, still take the Revelation to St John *literally*
Absolutely fascinating series. I grew up jehovahs witness and they have their own interpretations of so much of the bible and are so literal with it. I am atheist now but I still find the history of the bible and the Abrahamic religions in general so interesting. Really looking forward to the Quran video.
As the son of a Lutheran theologian - my father said of Revelation - "no two people on this planet has ever agreed on it, Luther was right in his assessment to remove it."
Really good series. Contexualising the Bible as a mixture of theology, stories and lessons, historical accounts and interpretations - makes it a whole lot more interesting in my view. And the fact that its so intertwined with politics at the time makes it a lot more 'human' and I think that makes me respect it more?
Was raised a JW ... mind blown. Thank you. We spent so much time ingesting Daniel and Revelation that I still can't help but be frightened sometimes, but things like this video really help.
At the 9 minute mark I can summarize the first 9 minutes of your points as presenting the Issue: "I think the authors of these prophecies were not referring to Rome because it was something they couldn't have known about" I think the Question is incredibly fair and interesting to ask and I'm interested in researching much more, it's just that it isn't yet clear to me how we would go out about proving that they didn't have miraculous foresight warning them of the coming of Rome that they would only understand their own legends better after seeing Rome happen. It's a very very good line of inquiry.
I grew up in a Christian church, and I never heard that Daniel's prophesy of 70 years was supposed to predict Jesus' death. Instead, there was some complicated scheme whereby prophetic weeks each got turned into 7 years and somehow it all added up (possible with a bit of time skipped over) to some time in the late 20th century when Jesus was supposed to return.
Growing up Catholic, I don't seem to recall Revelation ever attempting to be interpreted to find a doomsday or anything. Why is this something that a lot of churches fall into?
@@TheTeKuZa I remember our priests talking a lot more about theological ideals and what people in the early church were thinking about. Not literally "anti-Christ this and that". I certainly didn't learn about the Nero thing though. I learned about that from, no joke, History Channel. And I'm 23 so not even when History Channel was apparently decent.
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep i am an Indonesian Methodist christian. I must say that our ministry never preach or teach about end times, except about bodily resurrection and heaven represented by new jerusalem/new earth. But I admit that after the fall of Suharto president, a lot of christian books came and translated, all of them if not all were american origin. Our church was conservative mainline but increasingly became a charismatic evangelical (mainly because UMC is broken). I must say that in here baptists, charismatics, and pentecostal churches are all american influenced if not build by them, have substantial liberal apocalyptic interpretation like Matts cult. While evangelical sola scripturists (calvinists more than others) are pro anglo saxon west and despised eastern tradition or simply anti russia china or asian in general and increasingly like a political party than a church, and use Matt's cult intrepretation whenever needed.
I am a descendant of Abraham Senior Coronel, last exilarch of Spain. He was descendant of the exilarchs from Babylon. You could do a chart with the succession line of the Exilarchs and Gaonims, it would be pretty interesting, since they have Davidic ancestry trough Zerubavel
This has been such a fascinating series. As someone who was raised non-religious, I've gained an entirely new perspective on Judaism, Christianity and the Bible. I can't even imagine the hours and hours of research that went into these videos - props for your hard work!
Matt, you neglected to mention WHO scholars believe actually wrote those books. If Daniel didn’t write Daniel then who wrote Daniel? And who is John of Patmos? Was he the true author?
I think that was intentional in the case of this episode. Assessing the political context of when they were written gives us a picture of what the writer believed.
I already saved mine! Thank you very much for this series. I will definitely watch this again but in a continuous manner. Kudos to all that behind of this production. I am a Catholic but the entire information are worth the wait since I am fond with Social Sciences.
thank you for the great series ! easy to follow and extremely well done really excited for your episode about the Quran (hopefully you narrate it yourself, I like the way you explain things)
Serendipitously, I'm on the way to Costco within the hour (or so) of this video coming out, just like the last video. You have my Costco schedule down, man.
Another amazing video. Really cool to view Daniel and Revelation in a different way and totally makes sense using the same symbols from other books etc. to make sense of it. Love your channel.
Concerning Daniel 9, the starting point you used for the 49 years was the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. Daniel 9:25 says, “Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.” The 49 years is “from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem,” not from 605 BC. Jerusalem wasn’t even destroyed at that point.
20:20 "Nero, the first Roman emperor to persecute Christians" - to be clear, did Nero do anything against Christians but try to make them the fall-guy for burning Rome? If it is the case that this was the sum total of Nero targeting Christians, then the author of Revelation (one John of Patmos, of whom little else is known) could just have picked Nero because even in his day Nero had become the type for a heinous ruler.
He didn't just "try to make them the fall guy". He literally prosecuted and found Christians "guilty" of burning Rome, meteing out punishments as having them torn apart by dogs and mass crucifixion, as recorded in Christian and Roman histories. This was obviously a local persecution to Rome, but it began the long Roman policy of at very least making Christianity an illegal religion, even if the degree to which it was actively persecuted varied over time and region. Furthermore, evidence suggests that both Paul and Peter died during Nero's persecution, a loss which would have been traumatic to the early church considering the two men's importance to the development of the religion. Furthermore, it is important to know that Nero was actually quite popular with the common people of Rome. He has a negative image today, but that is largely based on the writings of the Christians he persecuted and aristocracy he fleeced. Amongst the soldiers, the provinces, and people he was incredibly popular, to the point that after his death, others attempted to drum up popular support for their claim to the Empire by saying they were Nero-reborn. Considering that Revelations was likely written in the late 1st century, it seems much more likely to me that Nero was used as a byword for evil amongst the Christians specifically because of his persecution of them, rather than because of his general reputation.
The 70 years /70 weeks of years part is the most valuable moment of the video so far and I think anyone wanting to be serious should at this point notice that this is where a researcher would start seriously looking for different copies of the Bible to check these measurable claims against each other a dive deeper into linguists to be thoroughly sure that we are careful to separate literal statements from metaphorical ones. For an even more serious look at the same conversation one would want photographs of the texts and translations to look at. "This is the really good part." You're tempting me to read more in the hopes of actually solving it. Maybe more can be knowable than I initially suspected.
I’ve already mentioned that I enjoyed this video. Really well researched and understood, well delivered educational resource. Well done. My only questions though are more about what wasn’t said. If Daniel was written at the time around the Maccabean revolt, then why didn’t you expand on who actually did the writing / editing. Surely there’s some well reasoned speculation out there with snippets of evidence? The other question is about the two halves of Daniel. Daniel is really two books stitched together, right? One in Aramaic and one in Hebrew. Why did was the dating of the first half not discussed, eg the narrative section…
Was raised as a roman catholic. Have to say your series of videos not only opened up my eyes about other realities but also did open my heart to other beliefs. Thank you for that gift. 😇
Really great video, I just picked up a book on Revelation that takes a Historical and Philosophy point of view on it and am excited to read that sometime soon. Also glad you are doing the Quaron, would still love to see you also do the Book of Mormon in 2022.
Great series! Former Christian, but I still get out my Theology Student ESV when you talk about the Bible! I have an English Quran ready for your next series!
I disagree with the interpretation given in this video, as I do think the books of Daniel and Revelations do talk about the past, present and future. However, the most important thing to remember is what Jesus said, "No one knows the day or time ... Only the father knows." In other words, live every day in an upright manner, and consider the possibility it may be your last (there are a few parables on this). Most importantly, don't dwell on it and make it the focus of everything, because you could die in a car accident, or a heart attack, or whatever before then.
Never heard Daniel’s Abomination of Desolation as referring to Jesus’ death. Always heard it was a prophecy of the Maccabean times and also will happen again at the End Times.
According to a certain hadith, all the copies of the Quran written before it were destroyed. It would be pretty interesting seeing how a lot of these hadiths make a lot of questionable changes over time, including scriptures that were removed and replaced by words such as these are only meant to be read by Allah.
Btw, did you see that video from Esoteric Thoughts about the real David & Solomon as Egyptian pharaohs? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (if you found the evidence compelling to convince and so on). Thanks again for this Bible series. I've watched each episode several times already.
Yes, actually I did. It's an interesting hypothesis but I don't think it would actually hold up under closer scrutiny, which is why you don't see it suggested in mainstream scholarship.
I'm a Christian and watching this all the way through, gave me the type of headache that I would get after a math exam 😅. Great work. Very extensive. I save all of your videos.
UPDATE: An expanded summary is now available as a poster: usefulcharts.com/collections/religion/products/timeline-of-the-bible
Complete Series:
1. Torah - ua-cam.com/video/NY-l0X7yGY0/v-deo.html
2. Prophets - ua-cam.com/video/IAIiLSMOg3Q/v-deo.html
3. Writings - ua-cam.com/video/Oto0UvG6aVs/v-deo.html
4. Apocrypha - ua-cam.com/video/HYlZk4Hv-E8/v-deo.html
5. Gospels & Acts - ua-cam.com/video/Z6PrrnhAKFQ/v-deo.html
6. Epistles - ua-cam.com/video/2UMlUmlmMlo/v-deo.html
7. Daniel & Revelation - ua-cam.com/video/fTURdV0c9J0/v-deo.html
8: Summary Chart - ua-cam.com/video/9uIXzUEwrOg/v-deo.html
i see you ended it at 7 episodes how auspicious
I don't need a physical printed version (no wall space) could you post a downloadable version in .PNG 0r .JPG? I'd pay for it.
i'm sorry to hear about your experience growing up in a cult. Daniel is prophesying about the "kingdoms" that rise after nebuchadnezzar's reign. the vision Daniel receives from God about the 4 beasts expound on this revelation. i sum up the 3rd kingdom/beast as the microbiome and the 4th as ai. i hope this information helps.
Great video. I also grew up in a cult. Jehovah’s witnesses. They looked to Daniel and revelation as proof of god’s people and that we are living in the end times. My wife and I left 6 years ago. All of my family will not talk to us even to this day. Your videos are so helpful. I have leaned so much about the Bible.
Curious, as I had a friend in high school who was also a witness, but very lax towards the religious stuff, is leaving always punished this hard? I also remember catching him later and he made it pretty clear without outright saying it that he had a hard time leaving town for a better job because his parents wouldn't have been able to matchmake for him, which I found pretty shocking.
@@d0nutwaffle yes. My two children are 19 and 20. They have not seen all four of their grandparents in 6 years. My brother and his wife left after us. They have a 3 year son. My parents have not seen him also. Some JWs are more lax then my parents and in laws but if a family member is caught taking to an apostate (someone who leaves) they can be kick out also.
Yes...if you officially leave or are kicked out, family and friends have to shun you (but for a few loopholes like family staying in the same house or rare "necessary family business" like attending a funeral. As soon as it is legal to do so (at 18), a child might find themselves kicked out of the home to fend for themselves. Matchmaking isn't typical or official policy. Of course, if you work for family or other JWs (having little college if any--as high education is frowned on), then that can present another obstacle to leaving. Members who fail to shun those disfellowshipped or disassocated can find themselves punished themselves. Of course, one can "fade" and go inactive, but often what is experienced is an informal soft shunning where members gradually back away as they realize you are not attending meetings and going door-to-door anymore.
Thanks for the replies and really, I have to say, this really does paint JW more as a cult than I though before.
Indeed--it is a doomsday cult. Growing up, commentary on Daniel and Revelation was my bread and butter. But if you look at the leadership's enforced prohibition on blood transfusions since 1945--thousands of members have died needlessly, including children. More than Jonestown, the Branch Davidians, and Heaven's Gate combined and many times over.
I love the ownership. “My Cult…”. You rock dude.
Seconded.
Do you happen to know which cult it is?
@@halukonal1400 He literally states it in the video.
@@blue-pi2kt Apparently, I missed that part
I'm amused at how he keeps repeating "...any day now."
The 666 and 616 distinction isn't about which translation is better, rather there are different manuscripts, some which say 666 and some which say 616, so there is some debate over which is original.
One theory that makes sense to me is that the number was deliberately changed in manuscripts that were produced for an audience more familiar with the Latin form of Nero's name, rather than the Greek.
Ah, good to know. Thanks.
I have read yet another, more symbolic Christian interpretation: both these numbers 666/616 were originally written in Greek numeric system as χξς`/χις` respectively. Thus, the number of the beast is a symbol that separates, replaces Christs abbrevation symbol in Greek χς or ΧC, a false Christ or Antichrist.
I once saw Bill Gates "turned into" 666. I do not remember the formula, but it had a few weird details. Given the num,ber of number systems one could (perhaps) make a "666-modificator" that could "massage" most names into 666.
One theory I heard says that 666 is a code number which means tradition.
I also read another theory on this. Some think the versions that used 616 were refering to Caligula (aka Gaias Caesar, which in Greek adds up to 616). Caligula had commited an act that compares to Antiochus in demanding the Temple make offerings to other gods, specifically himself. So some historians think that some communities, especially those of Jewish Christians, thought of him as the Beast more than Nero.
Even as a relatively conservative Christian I really enjoyed this series. I’m sure some of the content may have shook some peoples faith a bit, but I try to have an open mind! I learned a lot! God bless!
I appreciate your open-mindedness! One can always disagree and stay friends, and respect each other's opinions without agreeing!
Much love!
I'm Catholic and our approach to the Bible is textual rather than literal. An in depth study of Biblical literature using critical methods unlocks layers of meaning not found in a strictly literalist interpretation.
If your story only has value because it is "true" not because it has a message worth hearing then you need a better story.
This content is NOT new, but the result of the theological research au the beginning of the 20th century. Every person studying theology knows that the Bible is written by men.
Shook some people 's faith? Comparing Bible prophecy with history has only strengthened my faith.
Topic of ancient apocalyptic literature is extremely intersting. It's a shame that people often tend to think about it as a blurred future-telling, rather than as a refined, alegorical, complex genre of literature it was. I would love to see in a future an analysis of other apocalyptic works, such as Oracle of the Potter from hellenistic Egypt
Well, not exactly the same, but you could watch my series of videos on "the wheel of time", and how it connects to escathology of several religious traditions.
There's is much in the bible about the future. It sometimes gets confused because we like to make everything about us. The end of days is prophesied as a warning. We are to live everyday like Jesus is coming tomorrow. We know Hes prob not but we should be ready.
Welcome to the 21st century. A time completely removed from any ancient culture where we only view things in black n white. No nuance, no grey area, no mystery. Just fact or fiction
@@Luinedhel wheels are of less importance now that chariots have gone out of fashion... time is connected to a jet engine now... maybe you could update your title...
@@flipflopski2951 OK, either that was a joke, or you're unaware that I meant the series of books called "the wheel of time". In any case, you're welcome to watch the videos 😉
“Αποκάλυψις simply means an uncovering” a Revelation, if you will
:0
"Hard times is when it's the end of the world, but you can't see. You need a little...revelation...if you will, baby, haha"
Dusty Rhodes, probably.
On Matt's point about the word "prophecy" I've heard it can be one of two things, whereas he said its just the one. A forth-telling, or telling the future like most people today associate the word with. Or a fore-telling, or telling/explaining the times we're in.
It's interesting how thematically close apocalyptic literature is to the modern 20th century dystopian genre, (e.g. 1984, Brave New World) in how they connect present actions and attitudes with future consequences to create a moral message on how we should act to change our fate.
Added to that, both are often seen as genres that predict the future, but their actual true purpose is to highlight issues in their contemporary societies.
@@anarlote5658 That's a very interesting point I had never thought about.
In 1984 for example, while it has interesting applicability, people seem to forget it is supposed to be about Stalinism.
@@rsmapping8539 yeah but the argument for that is that the "they" or whatever are using stalinism as a blueprint for the society they want, and the fact that the book applies eerily well today is supposed proof of that.
One major difference that I see between Daniel and Revelation, and 1984, is that 1984 is missing the underlying thread of hope one sees in the apocalyptic books. Or rather, that in 1984 the hope is revealed to be an illusion all along. (1984 is the only dystopian novel I have read to date.)
The apocalyptic books seem to carry the message, "Things may look bad here, but keep the faith and we will survive."
1984 carries the message: "If things progress to this point, there is no hope for us."
@@MarsJenkar 1984 does have a certain note of hope, though it is obscure. The book ends with an epilogue commenting on the 'doublespeak' promoted by the Party. However, this epilogue is written in the past tense, implying that the Big Brother regime does eventually collapse. How this happens, and what sort of society replaces it, are left uncertain.
I don't know if you will ever read this, but this video helped me answer a Quizbowl question in a tournament last year. The moderator read a line about a statue made of verious materials and I recognized that it must be from Daniel, and that answer really helped us win that round. So if nothing else, thank you for making this video and giving me the info needed to do well in that game.
Those are some fine-looking posters! Kudos to whomever designed them!
hi
Great posters for sure!
Yes, your posters are good. But the self-shilling is awkward. 🙄
Why does the Zadokite priests in your chart seems to contradict Chronicles? Especially the ancestors from Johanan I to Zadok II.
Secondly, why is Ezra not an immediate descendant of Seraiah in the Chart?
They look very nice indeed!
Are they also divided between verifiable history and religious tradition? Like on Matt’s Ancient Family trees chart?
I have really loved this series. Thanks for all the hard work. A big thanks for how respectful you were to us Christians. 😇
Thank u 4 sharing. My family USED to be apart of WWCG too. It feels good to be alive NOW & introduced to other ways of interpreting information. Appreciate u.
I remember in college I took a class on Biblical Greek and the teacher said something that always stuck with me. He said, "The Bible was written for you, but not to you." I feel like that is most true of Revelation haha. One really cool thing I've read about Revelation is that the structure of the book mirrors the early church liturgy. That context is totally missing in the Charismatic Pentecostal church that I grew up in. Revelation is one of those books that tends to mean whatever the reader thinks it means.
@@Jess-737 psychedelic shrimp 😂 I gotta try that lol
No it doesn't. It was written in that sense so you wont understand it. It was done on purpose. The only parts you would understand in the books properly are the parts that were written to be understood literally.
@@danielburger1775 i disagree, if you read it (assuming you have) even from the first verse it tells you of the kind of literary work it is. The author literally told us the kind of work it is. I dont know what motivation people have to making the purpose of a literary work different to what the author himself intended. You might not believe it but please do not mislead people as to what the intention of the work was. Please READ THE FIRST VERSE AGAIN.
@@ckay_real2765 Well the point of my professor's quote is that when you just read the Bible without any historical context you're missing half the story. There are parts of the Bible where scholars debate the meaning, but it would've been obvious to the people it was written to.
@@t_ylr This is why I left the more conservative branch of evangelicalism. The Bible only approach (sola scriptura) is actually missing most of the context of why we have the Bible. I can't accept a literal interpretation because once you study history you see the holes in the theology.
That statue has some shredded abs, damn...
Also, that picture of the combined lion-bear-leopard-triceratops monster would make for an excellent badass heavy metal artwork or tattoo.
Great video as always! I think part of the problem that comes from interpreting the information in these books is that people believe that they are images of the future, rather than it being advice and encouragement for people in the present.
Eisegesis (out-of-context reading & interpretation) reigns supreme when it comes to Daniel and Revelation, so my general modality is to not engage when either one is mentioned.
I did a couple units of the Apokalypsis in uni, and also did some personal study of Daniel (particularly the dating of the book of Daniel, since I was engaged in evangelistic efforts at the time).
What I read managed to break my Christian faith, which I’m thankful for in retrospect.
@@sixsmith7653 isn't it telling that learning more about the Bible can make someone less Christian? 😬
@@sixsmith7653a story doesn't need to be true, it just needs to have a message worth hearing. if it doesn't, find a better one.
I am not criticising your decision btw. It is one I made myself.
I grew up as a witness (jehovah's witnesses). Everything you're saying is literally my entire childhood, especially the breakdown of who is being represented in the different parts of the statue 😳
Please make a "Who Wrote the Bible" playlist so these videos are easier to find. Thank you and keep up the good work!! 👍😎
To me the "4 Horsemen" always represented the progression of a war, in general
White Horseman with crown and bow: Is some king or general (leader), with a cause for war. Carrying a bow and wearing white because the event is on the horizon. He is not yet stained in blood.
Red Horseman with sword: The intractable bloody conflict itself, covered with the blood of the no longer distant battle
Black Horseman with scales: often called "famine" is the famine caused by the continuing war, the war machine needs to consume lots of food, causing a price surge. but the luxury goods are unaffected, because the armies are not touching them. The Black is again the blood of battle, now hardened to black.
Pale Horseman, named as Death: This is the actual prophecy or warning as you put it. These unending wars of man (Roman Empire) will only lead to death for everyone.
I believe that's why the horseman have resonated so well through history. These archetypes can be applied to many extended wars.
I think you have it right. It’s archetypes not bound to merely one period
It’s happening. Eufrat river
@@Rx_Sqx it's happened many times
@@sterlingwelch4528 it hasn’t at all, this is the first time.
@@Rx_Sqx the last reset apocalypse we had is the muddflood. Why don't your enlighten yourself and check it out. It was not that long ago. Look it up on UA-cam!! Lots of evidence for truth seekers.
I grew up with Bible teachers and pastors who were obsessed with eschatology and end times prophesy. Growing up I didn’t think I was reach the end of high school before the world ended. Your videos have been helping me pick up the pieces and piece together what actually happened in history. Thank you!
I’ve been dying to here info on the Bible presented like this and I have learned so much in just a day of binge watching. 🙏 Thanks
What an exceptional series! Far and away the best religious history series ever made on UA-cam that I’ve seen! This is incredible Matt!
There are some things about Revelation that only make sense in the context of it being a "Sequel" to the Book of Daniel. For instance, the Beast. If you remember Daniel there is that weird (and fictional) story about Nebuchadnezzar living as a beast for a few years for no reason. If you assume that Rome is meant to be the "New Babylon" in Revelation than calling Nero Caesar The Beast makes a lot of sense.
I really appreciate the fact that you bring this as neutral as you can and give multiple explanations for the verses. This really helps me to make up my own mind about it.
Thanks for this series. Given your interest in the Bible and lineage charts, I’d be interested in seeing an episode on the “lineages” of the various major Bible translations.
Same! I've seen some charts online, but an explanation video would be amazing
I would pay so much for this
This
Finally!! I didn’t know I could hold my breath for this long but seriously, thank you.
For a while now, I've been much more fascinated with interpreting Revelations from historical perspective, as symbolic way of telling common motifs in history, namely in that the Four Horsemen representing the rise and fall of Empire. The first, a Bowman riding on a White Horse, is Conquest, conquering vast swaths of territory (See: Alexander the Great, the slow conquests of the Roman Republic). The second, a Swordsman riding on a Red Horse, is War, representing the civil wars that follow (See: The Wars of the Diadochi, the Roman Civil Wars of the 1st century, BC). The third, a merchant with a scale used to measure prices on a Black Horse, is Pestilence, the disease and starvation that follows war torn areas. The final, Death, is kinda self explanatory.
Masterfully explained. I grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist and I learned the traditional explanations of Daniel and the Revelation. I am glad to hear the historical interpretation which makes more sense to me.
How long did u belong to that church?
@@EXPLOREWITHME. for over 50 years. I am now 66 years old and an atheist.
The sheer amount of nonsense that originated from misinterpretations of these two books is staggering. Thank you for helping reset the state.
Thank you! Fantastic series- I don't think anyone's summarized the entire authorship and timeline of the Bible so elegantly before. Very much look forward to your Quran episode!
He might end up with his head hanging off his neck if he try to "disrespect" Islam..
This was a great series to binge. Thank you!
I love that this episode was more focused on textual interpretation rather than who actually wrote the books. You should do more series in this vein! It’s especially interesting hearing about your former cult’s interpretation on things.
I always love how the past told us there is this genre of "apocalyptic literature" so that we can have a nice box with which to place it and store it in the attic.
Thanks, appreciate your scholarship and knowledge of theology and Biblical history. I am Christian but am open to hearing different perspectives.
I'm sorry this series is finally over, it has been fantastically put together and so very well presented. Thank you.
The thing about prophesy is you can never be sure to what events it refers even with obvious candidates. As alluded to real understanding is to appreciate the associated message and what if calls for in the here-and-now.
Loved the series. Can't wait for the next one!
I really have loved learning about the bible from a historical perspective. It's really helped with where I stand spiritually
clicked on this as soon as i saw it. I binge watched this series again yesterday because of how excited i was for this episode
I just want to say thank you for your channel. What a great accidental discovery. You're so informative, concise and true to a historical understanding of the subject. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Incredible work as always! But I can't get over the hilarity of the "Unknown Beast" being some kind of Triceratops!
It must be a Triceratops, I hear they have one at the Ark Encounter so it must be true.
Well, it'd be a decaceratops since it has ten horns!
Its amazing how many times my misunderstanding of the bible has caused me to lose faith in it. Again I stand corrected.
21:13 I’d love a video on the history/evolution of angels in the Jewish Bible
It’s a very interesting topic I got into last year. If you’ve ever heard of the Bible Project, they have a few podcast episodes about what spiritual beings are and why we eventually refer to all of them as angels (it’s implied in the Bible that angels are one type of spiritual being).
The only problem is that each episode ranges from 30 minutes to an hour, so you’d be in for a ride.
Hochelaga has some videos on this topic!
While I liked this video, I feel like it takes a reverse approach than the rest of the series: you start with when it was being written, then use that to find explanations for that in the text, instead of starting with what's in the books and using that to date them.
You are such a Divine friend. God Bless you and your family. You ROCK!!!
It feels like it’s been forever since the last video!! This has been one of my favorite series!
Thanks Matt, great video series! I have learned more about the bible watching this series than I did in the 10 years I was attending church 3 times a week.
Looking forward to checking out your charts and other videos.
I’ve been waiting so looooooong for this
Very interesting series. I remember as an early adolescent listening on the radio to Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the World Wide Church of God. I even wrote away and got some literature, but I was already a member of another cult, Mormon, so I stuck with that until I left it later
I used to listen to him before bed. Not the best way to have a peaceful night's sleep.
I'd love to hear full exposition of the meanings and symbolisms of Revelations.
The NRSV New Interpreters' Study Bible has a very excellent historical-critical commentary. It is a rather hefty purchase, but it is very worth if you are considering academic study of the Bible.
There is a lot of interpretations. The main ones are the Futurist Interpretation of the most evangelical Churchs, and the Preterist Interpretation of the sholars and catholics, there are others but they are not all that wide spread. Basically, the Futurist Interpretation says the following: Lion and Lamb refers to Jesus, the Woman of chapter 12 refers to either the Church or Israel, the Dragon refers to Satan and his spiritual Army, the Beast refers to Rome and all other evil kingdoms related to Rome (including the supposed future kingdom of the Antichrist), the second Beast refers to a False Prophet (most will say the Catholic Church), and the Woman of Babylon of chapter 17 and 18 also refers to the Catholic Church. All the seven plagues like the Seals and Chalices refers to real and literal natural disasters in the end times (the last 3,5 years of the Earth), but there is some more symbols. If you want a more in deph explanation, them is best search by yourself, but this is basically what evangelical christians believe about this.
How far you wanna go? Can take an hour or it can take a year. Depends on the depth of the rabbit hole you dig.
@@sonofcronos7831 The historicist view is the accurate view.
Check out The Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History on the streaming service Great Courses Plus
I sincerely want to thank you for these videos. I've long ago realized that the way I was taught was not as simple as I was taught, but you did an excellent job of organizing the scraps I'd learned. I will be using your video as reference in the future. I sincerely respect your wisdom.
It's still very alarming and concerning that some Christians, especially those who're the most loud from Churches in the US, still take the Revelation to St John *literally*
Absolutely fascinating series. I grew up jehovahs witness and they have their own interpretations of so much of the bible and are so literal with it. I am atheist now but I still find the history of the bible and the Abrahamic religions in general so interesting. Really looking forward to the Quran video.
As the son of a Lutheran theologian - my father said of Revelation - "no two people on this planet has ever agreed on it, Luther was right in his assessment to remove it."
Does Lutheran Bible lack Revelations?
@@kacperwoch4368 No. Martin could not find a theological reason to delete it - "other than no two people have ever agreed on it".
Luther was given to removing books that didn't agree with his theology. Protestantism very nearly lost the Book of James because of that.
@@gre8 Glad he couldn't get that removed. I've been reading the Book of James starting last week, great stuff.
@@thearea51raidwasboring Indeed. It is one of the gems of the New Testament.
Really good series. Contexualising the Bible as a mixture of theology, stories and lessons, historical accounts and interpretations - makes it a whole lot more interesting in my view. And the fact that its so intertwined with politics at the time makes it a lot more 'human' and I think that makes me respect it more?
It's so weird and funny, at same time, when Matt says "my cult", like being part of a cult is so normal and casual!
This makes me feel better, I was really scared when I heard about what is in revelations. But you have calmed me down.
Hooray for bonus content! Awesome work, man. This series has been really engaging. Thank you for all your hard work! ♥
Was raised a JW ... mind blown. Thank you. We spent so much time ingesting Daniel and Revelation that I still can't help but be frightened sometimes, but things like this video really help.
At the 9 minute mark I can summarize the first 9 minutes of your points as presenting the Issue:
"I think the authors of these prophecies were not referring to Rome because it was something they couldn't have known about"
I think the Question is incredibly fair and interesting to ask and I'm interested in researching much more, it's just that it isn't yet clear to me how we would go out about proving that they didn't have miraculous foresight warning them of the coming of Rome that they would only understand their own legends better after seeing Rome happen.
It's a very very good line of inquiry.
I grew up in a Christian church, and I never heard that Daniel's prophesy of 70 years was supposed to predict Jesus' death. Instead, there was some complicated scheme whereby prophetic weeks each got turned into 7 years and somehow it all added up (possible with a bit of time skipped over) to some time in the late 20th century when Jesus was supposed to return.
Growing up Catholic, I don't seem to recall Revelation ever attempting to be interpreted to find a doomsday or anything. Why is this something that a lot of churches fall into?
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep it is happening more in protestant church. Especially in evangelical christian with non liturgical or low churches.
@@TheTeKuZa I remember our priests talking a lot more about theological ideals and what people in the early church were thinking about. Not literally "anti-Christ this and that". I certainly didn't learn about the Nero thing though. I learned about that from, no joke, History Channel. And I'm 23 so not even when History Channel was apparently decent.
@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep i am an Indonesian Methodist christian. I must say that our ministry never preach or teach about end times, except about bodily resurrection and heaven represented by new jerusalem/new earth. But I admit that after the fall of Suharto president, a lot of christian books came and translated, all of them if not all were american origin. Our church was conservative mainline but increasingly became a charismatic evangelical (mainly because UMC is broken). I must say that in here baptists, charismatics, and pentecostal churches are all american influenced if not build by them, have substantial liberal apocalyptic interpretation like Matts cult. While evangelical sola scripturists (calvinists more than others) are pro anglo saxon west and despised eastern tradition or simply anti russia china or asian in general and increasingly like a political party than a church, and use Matt's cult intrepretation whenever needed.
I am a descendant of Abraham Senior Coronel, last exilarch of Spain. He was descendant of the exilarchs from Babylon.
You could do a chart with the succession line of the Exilarchs and Gaonims, it would be pretty interesting, since they have Davidic ancestry trough Zerubavel
This has been such a fascinating series. As someone who was raised non-religious, I've gained an entirely new perspective on Judaism, Christianity and the Bible.
I can't even imagine the hours and hours of research that went into these videos - props for your hard work!
Matt, you neglected to mention WHO scholars believe actually wrote those books. If Daniel didn’t write Daniel then who wrote Daniel? And who is John of Patmos? Was he the true author?
I think that was intentional in the case of this episode. Assessing the political context of when they were written gives us a picture of what the writer believed.
This series has been my favorite. I want more info like this. So well done!!!
Since the number of the beast in Revelation refers to Nero, why do scholars think Revelation was written under Domitian and not under Nero?
I already saved mine! Thank you very much for this series. I will definitely watch this again but in a continuous manner. Kudos to all that behind of this production. I am a Catholic but the entire information are worth the wait since I am fond with Social Sciences.
thank you for the great series !
easy to follow and extremely well done
really excited for your episode about the Quran (hopefully you narrate it yourself, I like the way you explain things)
Serendipitously, I'm on the way to Costco within the hour (or so) of this video coming out, just like the last video. You have my Costco schedule down, man.
Relieved your old church was wrong about the whole world-ending thing, Matt, so we can get more of your sweet charts and videos 👍
Another amazing video. Really cool to view Daniel and Revelation in a different way and totally makes sense using the same symbols from other books etc. to make sense of it. Love your channel.
Great video. I love the series but hate that its coming to an end.
Concerning Daniel 9, the starting point you used for the 49 years was the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. Daniel 9:25 says, “Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.” The 49 years is “from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem,” not from 605 BC. Jerusalem wasn’t even destroyed at that point.
21:49 - Some interpretations are that those four creatures are analogous to the four signs of the Assyrian/Persian Zodiac
This series of videos have been so effing amazing. Lost for words. I finally understand the Bible!
20:20 "Nero, the first Roman emperor to persecute Christians" - to be clear, did Nero do anything against Christians but try to make them the fall-guy for burning Rome? If it is the case that this was the sum total of Nero targeting Christians, then the author of Revelation (one John of Patmos, of whom little else is known) could just have picked Nero because even in his day Nero had become the type for a heinous ruler.
He didn't just "try to make them the fall guy". He literally prosecuted and found Christians "guilty" of burning Rome, meteing out punishments as having them torn apart by dogs and mass crucifixion, as recorded in Christian and Roman histories. This was obviously a local persecution to Rome, but it began the long Roman policy of at very least making Christianity an illegal religion, even if the degree to which it was actively persecuted varied over time and region. Furthermore, evidence suggests that both Paul and Peter died during Nero's persecution, a loss which would have been traumatic to the early church considering the two men's importance to the development of the religion.
Furthermore, it is important to know that Nero was actually quite popular with the common people of Rome. He has a negative image today, but that is largely based on the writings of the Christians he persecuted and aristocracy he fleeced. Amongst the soldiers, the provinces, and people he was incredibly popular, to the point that after his death, others attempted to drum up popular support for their claim to the Empire by saying they were Nero-reborn.
Considering that Revelations was likely written in the late 1st century, it seems much more likely to me that Nero was used as a byword for evil amongst the Christians specifically because of his persecution of them, rather than because of his general reputation.
The 70 years /70 weeks of years part is the most valuable moment of the video so far and I think anyone wanting to be serious should at this point notice that this is where a researcher would start seriously looking for different copies of the Bible to check these measurable claims against each other a dive deeper into linguists to be thoroughly sure that we are careful to separate literal statements from metaphorical ones.
For an even more serious look at the same conversation one would want photographs of the texts and translations to look at.
"This is the really good part."
You're tempting me to read more in the hopes of actually solving it. Maybe more can be knowable than I initially suspected.
I’ve already mentioned that I enjoyed this video. Really well researched and understood, well delivered educational resource. Well done. My only questions though are more about what wasn’t said. If Daniel was written at the time around the Maccabean revolt, then why didn’t you expand on who actually did the writing / editing. Surely there’s some well reasoned speculation out there with snippets of evidence? The other question is about the two halves of Daniel. Daniel is really two books stitched together, right? One in Aramaic and one in Hebrew. Why did was the dating of the first half not discussed, eg the narrative section…
I found you through Religion for Breakfast. Good stuff, mate. Thanks
The whole series was amazing!
Was raised as a roman catholic. Have to say your series of videos not only opened up my eyes about other realities but also did open my heart to other beliefs. Thank you for that gift. 😇
Lol
I’ve bought multiple posters of yours. I would gladly buy all your Biblical Series Posters if you created such a thing 😬👍🏼
Interesting video! Would you do a video or series on the Hindu texts the Vedas? Something similar to what you have done in this series.
1901: So what John says is that Rome is the Megazord.
This is such a balanced and factual and interesting batch of videos on this topic!
I would love to see you do a video on academic interpretation of the book of revalation!
Excellent video with clear information. Thank you! I never read either book, but I do have the Qu'ran so I am looking forward to that video
Really great video, I just picked up a book on Revelation that takes a Historical and Philosophy point of view on it and am excited to read that sometime soon. Also glad you are doing the Quaron, would still love to see you also do the Book of Mormon in 2022.
i'm going back through these videos and taking notes. I love this stuff and its so fun
Great series! Former Christian, but I still get out my Theology Student ESV when you talk about the Bible! I have an English Quran ready for your next series!
Now you are pagan r8
Everybody wants to be pagan now
I disagree with the interpretation given in this video, as I do think the books of Daniel and Revelations do talk about the past, present and future. However, the most important thing to remember is what Jesus said, "No one knows the day or time ... Only the father knows." In other words, live every day in an upright manner, and consider the possibility it may be your last (there are a few parables on this). Most importantly, don't dwell on it and make it the focus of everything, because you could die in a car accident, or a heart attack, or whatever before then.
Never heard Daniel’s Abomination of Desolation as referring to Jesus’ death. Always heard it was a prophecy of the Maccabean times and also will happen again at the End Times.
Zero mention that Revelations is about Rome destroying Jerusalem?
Exactly. And I had no idea that it could have been describing a current event, rather than a future prophecy.
Wonderful series that makes so much more sense ❤️
And thank you for addressing the question of the charts and providing a free image.
If you haven't done a video about the "lost books", plz do! 🙏🏼
Can you make the simplified chart as a poster? It may not be as detailed, but it looks nicer on the wall (when details are hard to read anyway).
Who wrote the hadith would probably be more interesting than the Quran. They have a more complex history.
Agreed
According to a certain hadith, all the copies of the Quran written before it were destroyed. It would be pretty interesting seeing how a lot of these hadiths make a lot of questionable changes over time, including scriptures that were removed and replaced by words such as these are only meant to be read by Allah.
I really want to thank you for putting together this series. It was really good and enlightening. Looking forward to more historical religious charts!
Interesting how prophercy & apocalypse changed meaning from the time these books where written and now.
What is interesting as well was how the interpretation of prophecy changed in response to historical events and the enemy of the moment in the USA.
Great series! This particular video rang a lot of bells as a former SDA (which the cult you were raised in seemingly borrowed from).
"Who wrote the Koran?" and I thought you were brave for taking on the New Testament. God bless you and shalom.
Thank you for the Bible series. This increase my knowledge about it.
Btw, did you see that video from Esoteric Thoughts about the real David & Solomon as Egyptian pharaohs? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (if you found the evidence compelling to convince and so on).
Thanks again for this Bible series. I've watched each episode several times already.
Yes, actually I did. It's an interesting hypothesis but I don't think it would actually hold up under closer scrutiny, which is why you don't see it suggested in mainstream scholarship.
I'm a Christian and watching this all the way through, gave me the type of headache that I would get after a math exam 😅. Great work. Very extensive. I save all of your videos.