 |
In an age of religious unrest, wars between different ideologies begin to unravel "in conjunction with the glorious incarnation of Christ." These wars started as wars of words between churches and civil states, ultimately leading to many separations from the Roman Catholic church and the transition to schools of thought. Knuston analyzes these historical occurrences in relation to the prophecies of Daniel 11:20-45.
The book's organizational style is phenomenally well done. The author takes a passage he is analyzing, such as Daniel 11:20, and then puts that scriptural passage in boldface in the first lines of the chapter, a technique that lets readers know it is the subject of the analysis. He then proceeds to compare and explore every single word of that passage in relation to historical events. Knuston goes as far as redefining words that would have a different context in history through the use of the Macropaedia of the Encyclopedia Britannica and other sources. He also uses multiple translations of the Bible to determine any similarities or contrasting evidence between languages and printings. This process is essential in an interpretation because of the personal beliefs he is imposing. Without historical references and research, the presentation would possibly not come across as valid.
Knutson analyzes the prophecies of Daniel from the viewpoint that the "wars between the north and south are understood as 'wars of words.'" These prophecies are argued by the author to be the "persecution" of the Middle Ages and the move from religious faith to philosophical reason. This title is an excellent read for anyone who enjoys theological interpretations as well as history.