“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 increase” (Daniel 12 :4).
According to the words of the prophet, there was to be a noticeable increase in knowledge that would be indicative of the “time of the end.” The end referred to must logically be the one about which Daniel had just been writing; namely the time of the resurrection of the dead and distribution of rewards. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (verse 2). This increase, like so many other signs, would serve to show to the people of God living in the last days, that the appearance of Christ, The resurrection and the life was imminent.
Some have speculated that this increase has reference to an increase in the knowledge of God and of His ways ; that there was to be an acceleration of the truth in the latter days. But this could hardly be what was intended here in view of the manner in which this subject is treated elsewhere. In 2 Timothy 4 :3-4, Paul warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears ; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” This, in itself, was to be recognised as a condition that would prevail to a great degree in the latter days. Men and women, instead of turning to God, would forsake the truth and cling to fables. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
Daniel’s reference to the increase of knowledge that should come about at the time of the end must logically have reference to man’s comprehension of nature. Many of us today can recall the time when even the automobile was considered a fantastic dream ; the airplane, an utter impossibility; while spaceships, rocket propelled missiles and the like were spoken of in the same regard as fairy tales.
It has actually been only in the past 60 years or thereabouts that these inventions have become a reality. The increase of knowledge in this century has dimmed into insignificance all the accumulated advancements in science over the past five thousand years ! Those of us living in this era find it difficult to realise just how primitive life actually was even a hundred years ago. There is hardly a living comfort today which we enjoy that has not come into being within the past 100 years. The first successful gasoline powered automobile came into being in the 1890’s, the first airplane in 1903, the motion picture machine in 1894, modern steam turbine for power in 1884, the first successful submarine in 1900, the telephone in 1876, the typewriter in 1868, the X-ray machine in 1895, etc.
Even if we were to extend the period of time to the past three hundred years to include such devices as the telephone, the adding machine, steam locomotive, friction matches, piano, electro magnet, the progress is amazing. The question may well be asked, “Why have these inventions taken so long to come into being ? Why have so many thousands of years elapsed since creation before man has been able to uncover the hidden secrets of nature ?” One significant reason, undoubtedly, is the fact that God has not permitted it. The word invention is defined by Webster as : to come upon, find. The word does not imply creation as we so often assume. It simply means discovery of something that already exists, either in fact, or in prospect. The amazing advancement in science in the days in which we live is due to man’s ability to grasp, in part, some of the wonderful properties contained in the elements that compose matter.
These remarkable properties have been there ever since creation, but it has been only in recent times that their discovery has been made. Water, when boiled and turned into steam, has always had the immense potential put into practical use in steam turbines. Oil, too, with its many by-products has always possessed the same qualities that make it such a suitable fuel. Truly, Solomon has rightly declared, “There is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, ‘See this is new?’ It hath been already of old time, which was before us” (Ecc. 1:9-10).
There is another logical reason why it has been only in recent times that man has been able to soar to such great heights in scientific knowledge. It is apparent that we have now entered into a new era of existence. We are in the nuclear age, and on the threshold of space travel ! Think of the potential significance of this fact. Conquest of the moon, inter-planetary space travel, space stations and periodical trips to the moon are now accepted as a logical sequel to the new miniature moons describing an elliptic around the earth. These possibilities are not encountering nearly the ridicule and opposition that Orville Wright did with his first airplane.
Because of the intense acceleration of knowledge, men and women have come to accept almost as inevitable the eventual conquering of space itself. But, alas, the greatest advancement, unfortunately, in the field of nuclear power has been in the ability to wage war. It is only too obvious that one of the main reasons why space travel is of such great importance today, and the subject of such intense research among the leading powers in the earth, is because of the fact that nations recognise that the first power to set up missile launching platforms on the moon will possess an overwhelming advantage over other nations. Mankind has quite outdone himself in the art of waging war, and it is admittedly well within his power to wipe civilisation off the face of the earth.
This is undoubtedly the most momentous problem facing the world today. The crisis facing mankind in this day is greater than it ever has been due to the immense strides in science. The position this places us in is obvious, when we remember that it has been only in the last 20 years that the atom has been put to practical use. It is little wonder, then, that God has waited for such a long time to open the understanding of His creation to the incredible power of matter itself. Had this been done a thousand years ago, or even a hundred, it is doubtful the world would have continued as long as it has.
Because of the inherent wickedness of human nature, scientific advancement has always realised its greatest heights in the military field. The servants of God, therefore, even in the face of such an alarming condition, take heart in the words of Daniel, and in the thought provoking remarks of Jesus Himself who, in summing up the conditions that would exist in the earth at the time of the end, said : “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved ; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One