The Prophecy of the Four 'Sevens' in the Bible, by Witness Lee

I. JOHN AND DANIEL BEING ONE

In my study of the Bible in the past, I did not realize as I do today how John the apostle was so one with Daniel the prophet. During Daniel’s time, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and captured the Jews in 606 B.C. About seventy years later, Daniel received the revelation of the seventy weeks (cf. Dan. 9:2). About A.D. 100, John wrote the book of Revelation, so the time between the writing of Daniel and the book of Revelation is about six hundred years. Despite such a long period of time, their writings are one in their prophecy concerning the end of the present age.

A. The Apostle John and the Prophet Daniel
Being One in the Prophecy concerning
the Consummation of the Present Age

The apostle John and the prophet Daniel were one in the prophecy concerning the consummation of the present age.

1. The "a Time, and Times, and Half a Time"
in Revelation 12:14 Being
a Quotation from Daniel 7:25 and 12:7

The "a time, and times, and half a time" in Revelation 12:14 is a quotation from Daniel 7:25 and 12:7. "A time" is one year, "times" is two years, and "half a time" is half a year. John’s quoting of Daniel in this way shows us that he was one with Daniel and that his prophecy was given based upon Daniel.

2. The Beast in Revelation 13:1
Corresponding with the Fourth Beast
in Daniel 7:7

Another evidence of John being one with Daniel is that the beast in Revelation 13:1 corresponds with the fourth beast in Daniel 7:7. In Revelation 13 there are two beasts. The first beast, referred to in verse 1, is the Antichrist, and the second beast is the false prophet. In Daniel 7 there are four beasts. These four beasts correspond to the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. This fourth beast, which signifies the Roman Empire, is mentioned in Revelation 13 as the beast with seven heads and ten horns, signifying the coming ten kings of the revived and restored Roman Empire.

3. The Ten Horns, the Ten Kings,
and the Beast in Revelation 17:12
Corresponding with the Ten Horns,
the Ten Kings, and the Beast
in Daniel 7:23-24

The ten horns, the ten kings, and the beast in Revelation 17:12 correspond with the ten horns, the ten kings, and the beast in Daniel 7:23-24.

4. The Text of John 5:28-29
Corresponding with That in Daniel 12:2

John and Daniel’s being one in their prophecy can also be seen by the fact that the text of John 5:28 and 29 corresponds with that in Daniel 12:2. John 5:28 and 29 speak of the two resurrections. The resurrection of life is the resurrection of the saved believers before the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thes. 4:16), and the resurrection of judgment is the resurrection of the perished unbelievers after the millennium (Rev. 20:5, 12). Daniel 12:2 also speaks of these two resurrections. One is unto everlasting life, and the other is unto shame and everlasting contempt. This again shows the oneness of Daniel and John.

(The Prophecy of the Four 'Sevens' in the Bible, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)