In the final chapter of the book of Daniel, it is said that Daniel was told separately by an angel and by the LORD that the words given to him are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Daniel 12:4
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Daniel 12:9
Some people assume this means the whole book of Daniel has been sealed until the time of the end. This is not so.
Daniel 8, for instance, was a dream (ref. Daniel 8:1, 8:18) given to Daniel. Shortly thereafter, the angel Gabriel (ref. Daniel 8:16) was sent by the LORD to give Daniel understanding about the matter.
And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
Daniel 8:16
And so verses Daniel 8:20-21 actually make clear the meaning of the dream about the ram and the he-goat: the fall of the empire of Medo-Persia and the rise of empire of Alexander the Great; in other words, the end of the second beast and the start of the third beast.
In that same chapter, it is explained that the third beast will eventually break into four kingdoms, and that at the time of the end, yet another beast, “the fourth beast” of Daniel 7, will rise up out of one of these four kingdoms (ref. Daniel 8:22-23). Just as the second gave way to the third, so too the third will give way to the fourth.
So, except for the identity of the fourth beast, Daniel 8 is not sealed, or unexplained. Except for Daniel 8:23-25 (ref. Daniel 8:27), the vision was made clear to Daniel by the angel Gabriel.
Even in Daniel 9, the Bible reads that the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and gave him further understanding, specifically Daniel 9:23-27, some of which pertain to the birth and life and crucifixion of the Son of man, the First Coming of Jesus Christ, and some to the time of the end, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
Daniel 9:21-22
In Daniel 10, yet again an angel appeared to Daniel to explain things. This angel had to fight against the prince of Persia (a demon) for twenty-one days, until the archangel Michael came and helped him.
And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
Daniel 10:11-14
So, that leaves Daniel 11, which of course precedes chapter 12, the very moment when Daniel is told to seal the words (ref. Daniel 12:4, 12:9).
It must be chapter 11, or at least some part of it, that has been sealed until the time of the end.
Today, all of the verses of Daniel 11:1-28 have been fulfilled. It is possible to go through the key moments and turning points of the history of Seleucus and Ptolemy, two of the four kingdoms that came after Alexander, and identify each prophecy spoken in Daniel 11:1-28.
So now only Daniel 11:29-45 is left. This part prophecies the time of the end, the days that lead up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is this part of the book of Daniel that was sealed. It is this part that Daniel could not possibly understand, because here the identities of the king of the north and the king of the south are different from what they were a few verses earlier.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
Daniel 11:29
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Daniel 12:8-9
Some might argue that the entire book of Daniel, including chapter 11, will simply unseal itself as events come to pass.
I disagree. The other chapters of Daniel, the other prophecies given to Daniel, some of which came to pass after Daniel’s day, were all explained to him and thus to Christians generally by an angel from the LORD. This suggests that the section of Daniel that was sealed will be unsealed when the time is right.
I am sure I am correct about this because, believe it or not, I am the one through whom Daniel 11:29-45 has been unsealed.
First, the identity of the Assyrian, the leader of the fourth beast, the one who is to be the king of the north (ref. Daniel 11:40), and who will speak marvellous things about the God of gods (ref. Daniel 11:36), and who will enter into the glorious land (ref. Daniel 11:41) and plant the tabernacles of his palace there (ref. Daniel 11:45). In 2019, I identified the prophesied Assyrian as Abdullah Kardash, 666, the current leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS. I was the first to do so. Even today in 2021, few if any actually believe me about this.
Next, the identity of the king of the south, or the Negev as it is in the original Hebrew. Long ago, the south was the kingdom of Ptolemy. Some time after that the Negev came to be in the hands of Egypt. However, since 1948, the nation of Israel has been sovereign over the Negev. Today in 2021, the Negev has become a stronghold for the IDF. All this means, Daniel 11:40 is a prophecy of the Assyrian, who leads the fourth beast, fighting against Israel before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Daniel 11:40
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints [Israel], and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Daniel 7:21-23
More recently, I covered news about Ethiopia, the war in Tigray between the Pentecostal PM Abiy Ahmed Ali (ref. Daniel 11:43) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. I have also pointed out that NATO’s toppling of Gaddafi in 2011 made Libya very Islamic as Daniel 11 prophesies (ref. Daniel 11:43).
… and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Daniel 11:43
Last but not least, I was the first to revealed to the world the identity, and side, of “the kings of the east”, or as it is put in Daniel 11:44, the one “out of the east” and the other “out of the north” that shall trouble the Antichrist, respectively China and Russia. Until this year, 2021, nobody figured China and Russia would even align together militarily.
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
Daniel 11:44
Now, why did I say earlier that I was the one through whom Daniel 11:29-45 has been unsealed? Names!
In the Bible, there are plenty of occasions when someone is named by the LORD.
In Hosea 1, the LORD names the children of Hosea in a very meaningful way: Jezreel, Loruhamah, Loammi (ref. Hosea 1:4-10).
In Isaiah 45, the LORD explains that it is he who surnamed Cyrus, even though Cyrus did not know him (ref. Isaiah 45:4-6).
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou has not known me. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isaiah 45:4-6
Incidentally, for those of you wondering why is it that I am so confident about what I have said about China, my surname Lian 练 is the same in meaning as the surname Xi 习 of Xi Jinping, the current president of China.
It is also clear from the Bible that an angel told Zacharias and Elisabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, to name their son John (ref. Luke 1:13-17).
But the angel said unto him, Fear not Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1:13
Likewise, it was also an angel, the angel Gabriel, that told Mary to name the one that she will conceive in her womb Jesus, for he will be the Christ.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke 1:30-33
When naming a baby, an angel does not have to appear in front of the parents. The angel can simply put a thought into their head. After all, angels are meant to be messengers, and even ministering spirits.
So, clearly, names are sometimes from God, and consequently names can be meaningful.
In fact, even the Antichrist is to have a birth name that is to sum in gematria to 666, so that Christians might identify him.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Revelation 13:18
All that said, in 2012 it struck me that my name, and the names of those around me, allude to Christian theology and also eschatology.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2
When I realised this curious thing about names in 2012, I started to carefully study the Bible, so that I might be a “great light” 伟 光 which is actually a part of my full name.
In 2013, I began to cover Bible prophecy online.
… shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Daniel 12:4
One year later, in 2014, ISIS suddenly emerged and seized Mosul, which is in Nineveh province, Iraq.
The burden of Nineveh… There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
Nahum 1:1-11
The way it happened was even supernatural. The Iraqi army in Mosul at the time simply dropped their weapons and fled. That news confirmed to me that this is the time of the end.
Remember, in 2014, almost everyone said a renewed Roman Empire would be the fourth beast, meaning the Antichrist would come out of Europe. I was among the few that pointed out that it has to be an Islamic Caliphate, the people “round about” Israel (ref. Zechariah 12:2).
Though the names thing struck me in 2012, the particular name that convinced me that this is truly happening happened in 2011. The name that I am talking about is Daniel.