Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

By Isaac Newton

Book Overview

Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John By Sir Isaac Newton The End of Days The Book of Daniel is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. It is notable for its changes from Hebrew to Aramaic and back. The first part of the book, comprising six chapters, is the story of Daniel set in the courts of Babylonian and Achaemenid Empire during the time of the Babylonian captivity. The remainder of the book contain three visions and their interpretation. There are differences between the fundamentalist view of Daniel and the scholarly consensus. Conservative Biblical scholars and evangelical commentators hold that its stories tell of real events and real prophecies written during and shortly after the Babylonian captivity by a real Daniel living in the late sixth century BCE. The scholarly consensus is that the Book of Daniel (or at least the last three chapters) was written after Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the altar of the Temple of Jerusalem around 167 BCE. In this view, Daniel was written in reaction to that incident and the final redaction of the work dates to the second century BCE. For secular scholars, the issue was settled over a century ago, but many Christians do not accept this line of reasoning, looking to Jesus' implicit approval of the book by quoting from it in his teachings.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0942487028
• ISBN13: 9780942487022
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: Oregon Inst Science & Medicine
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Obscure But Relevant

Newton's obscure but relevant observations on Daniel and Revelation is an astounding work. I was not aware it existed and was rewardeed by reading it. Many of his insights are novel; some are rather shopworn. The work is well worth reading.

Head and Shoulders Ahead of Bible Students of His Day

The views expressed in this book are those of a meticulous student of history and the Bible. Newton believed that the Creator and sustainer of the universe is both the God of science and the God of the Bible. This book surveys some of the leading prophecies of Daniel and Revelation in the light of history, demonstrating that God caused to have recorded, largely in symbolic representations, historical events long before they actually transpired. Isaac Newton brought forward what later writers, notably Charles Russell in Studies in the Scriptures, have presented much more comprehensively, after time and events had elapsed to bring Newton's views into clearer focus. Not only are Isaac Newton's prophetic views far more substantial than the mainline religionists of his day, but his theology as a whole is more thoughtful, studied, and substantiated.

A Newton Buff

No study of Newton would be complete without reading his book on the prophecy in Daniel and Revelation. It is amazing to think that Newton believed the Jewish people had to be back in the land of Israel for these prophecies to be fulfilled. This was at a time when many scoffed at the mere idea, and viewed the church as replacing the nation of Israel. People who doubt the reality of the bible and prophecy should take note.

An suprisingly exciting book!

While I had originally bought this book to satisfy my own curiosity, it has now become my 8 yo daughter's favorite history book that we use in our home school lessons. While I don't hold Newton's "historicist" view of the prophecies, I do enjoy his scholarship of church history, which my daughter and I have been discovering together. Beware that significant passages are written in Latin because Newton assumes if you are educated enough to read, you can read Latin, too. This is another subject we are studying and we are working together to decipher these passages. In all, it is an intriguing book.

One of humanity's greatest minds brought to bear on Prophecy

The mastermind of Sir Isaac Newton yields results just as brilliant when studying Bible prophecy as when he turned his attention to the physical universe! There is in this book a consistency of interpretation in all the details of the prophecies of Daniel and of Revelation that I have not seen in any of the works of modern-day scholars. Isaac Newton seems to be completely true to the message of the Bible when providing his own thoughts on the Antichrist, the Beast, the Woman called "Babylon", and the "Great Tribulation". The integrity of Newton's scholarship and skills of exegesis give the reader a distinct impression that, unlike most writers on end-times prophecy today, when faced with a detail of interpretation that conflicted with his existing views, Newton would have gladly given up his prejudices in exchange for something better: the Truth. He presents an excellent example--perhaps the best I have read--of what is known as Premillennial Historicism. This is essentially the same view held by H. Grattan Guinness, E.B. Elliott, Matthew Henry, and Charles Spurgeon. In my opinion every pastor or teacher who preaches or teaches on the subject of the Last Things should have a copy of "Observations..." on his or her desk.