Purpose Five: To Seal Up Vision and Prophecy Home


Galatians 2:21 KJV
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Often dispensational scholars point out that since this prophecy has to do with Israel, then ALL vision and prophecy will be "sealed up" or fulfilled at the end of the seventieth week. Thus they assert by taking this view that by the end of the Seventieth week, all biblical vision and prophecy will be fulfilled for national Israel.

This fifth prophetic declaration, like the previous can only refer to a future time when all prophecy will be fulfilled relating to Israel. There are yet hundreds of future prophecies relating to Israel and Jerusalem that await a future fulfillment. (Thomas Ice, The Seventy Weeks of Daniel, (Paper) p. 10)

This is the position the majority of dispensationalist hold on this issue. However, as Allan MacRae and others conclude, there "is no Scriptural warrant for saying that the functions of the Old Testament vision and prophecy came to an end at the time of Christ’s first advent or that these terms do not also include visions and prophecies of the New Testament."38 (38 Allan A. MacRae, The Prophecies of Daniel (Singapore: Christian Life Publishers, 1991), p. 188.)

Of course this should point out the problem for the popular theology as a whole! Since they state that this includes all vision and prophecy for national Israel, then all prophecies in the New Testament must be included. The complete book of Revelation is a prophecy in and of itself (e.g., "and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy..." [cf. Revelation 22:19]).

Since all of Revelation is a prophecy, Prophecy could not come to an end until the start of eternity in what is ironically called New Jerusalem. (cf. Revelation 21:2) Dispensationalist Thomas Ice points to prophecy pertaining not just to national Israel but to Jerusalem as well. Even the name itself gives itself National Israel connotations.

For vision and prophecy as a whole to be sealed up or fulfilled whether for just Israel or for prophecy as a whole, all the happenings in the Book of Revelation must be fulfilled; as the whole book of Revelation is one big prophecy given by Christ Himself. With one of the last pieces to that prophecy being that of the New Jerusalem, and the start of Eternity.

Dispensationalist believe that the Millennial kingdom like the tribulation primarily deals with the nation of Israel. So for this prophecy which also has national Israel Old Testament roots, to be sealed up or fulfilled, the millennial kingdom must come to a completion as well.

So to take the stance that all vision and prophecy will be fulfilled after the Tribulation would be an incorrect and unscriptural one, since dispensationalists believe that the prophecy in Revelation takes us past the tribulation, the millennial kingdom, the white throne judgment, and even to the start of eternity.

Since all events put forth in this prophecy must be fulfilled within these seventy weeks that where determined one must seek a different interpretation. Thomas Ice who sees the fulfillment as yet future, speaking of the six purposes of the seventieth week states:
"These clauses are prophetically important, because if they are descriptive of items that have yet to be fulfilled, then the seventy weeks of Daniel have yet to be fulfilled. This means that the final (70th week) has to be future to our day since all of the purposes must be brought to completion by the end of the prescribed time period." (Emphasis Mine)
If we are to believe that "all of the purposes must be brought to completion by the end of the prescribed time period", then "to seal up vision and prophecy" can not pertain to vision and prophecy as a whole. In fact, no matter what view you hold on Daniels seventy weeks, it is impossible to state that all Prophecy has been fulfilled by the end of the seventieth week, unless you see the fulfillment at the start of eternity.

Therefore we must conclude that this is not referring to the "sealing up" or fulfillment of prophecy and vision as a whole for Israel, but rather that all of the six purposes that where determined must and will be fulfilled by the end of the seventy weeks.

I believe a good parallel to this is Daniel 8:26. Pertaining to this verse Feinberg states "in Daniel 8:26 the thought was to seal up the prophecy and make a permanent record of it, so that when it is fulfilled the event can be compared to the prophecy to show how completely the one corresponds to the other." (Charles Lee Feinberg, Daniel: The man and his visions (Chappaqua, NY: Christian Herald Books, 1981), p. 128.)

The idea behind the sealing up of prophecy spoken of in Daniel 8:26 did not refer to prophecy as a whole, but rather only for that which was prophesied in that particular instance. Finally, it makes no sense to say that 490 years or "seventy weeks" are determined to fulfill this prophecy, and then not have it be fulfilled in 490 years. This specifically debunks any gap theories.