The Significance of Daniel 12:4

Daniel 12:4 is a verse that most people who study Bible prophecy are aware of. The verse states that “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

“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)

Many views of Daniel 12:4’s statement exist. In this article, I will share my view of the statement: “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Daniel 12:4 Overview

I believe the phrase “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” means that people over time will gain more knowledge about God’s end time plans by continually studying Scripture. More specifically,

  • The “run to and fro” aspect refers to the process of searching back and forth through Scripture to find how a verse/passage/chapter relates to another.
  • The “knowledge” aspect relates to understanding of God’s end time plans.
  • God controls when knowledge shall increase and the rate of its increase.

Solving the Ultimate Puzzle

Bible prophecy is the ultimate puzzle. There are so many pieces (verses/passages/chapters) that we must account for to gain a full understanding of God’s future plans.

I have no doubts that God is the allowing us to better understand how these pieces fit together as we approach the end times. Also, we live in an era where advances in technology help us to gain knowledge faster than ever before.

Advances in Technology

The Mark of the Beast System

Recent advances in technology help us to envision how certain end time events can take place. For instance, people 100 years ago may have found it difficult to envision how the Mark of the Beast system could arise in a short amount of time.

We know now that the Mark of the Beast system could arise quickly with global communication systems ready to tell people how to get the mark, global databases in place to ensure that only those eligible can buy or sell, and a wide-array of technologies available to install whatever the Mark of the Beast may resemble in/on people.

Technology to Aid Bible Prophecy Study

The Internet enables us to share ideas and access the works of Bible prophecy teachers who came before us. This enables us to gain knowledge with speed.

The advent of Bible software enables us to

  • Speed up the process of comparing verses
  • Study how certain words are used in the Bible.

This then speeds up our ability to find out how different parts of the Bible relate to each other.

  • I rely a lot on Bible software to conduct my research. I prefer to use software since it is often too time consuming for me to flip through physical pages to find the verses and search terms I’m looking for.

Final Thoughts

Daniel 12:4 is true. I am definitely learning more as time progresses.

I hope you are learning more as well. I hope the information on this website will help you to increase your knowledge of Bible prophecy.

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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.

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  1. It without mistake says that Knowledge shall be INCREASED, so to me that rather clearly implies that people will be turning away from the bible and to more appropriate literature….like anything that isn’t your interpretation of the bible or any organized religion, which is what got this world into the state that it’s in. Those of us that know TRUTH are now here to clean up your mess….with pleasure.

  2. Wow, is this proof that the scriputre call Another testment of Jesus Christ is legit? That would be interesting.

  3. Your assumption that this verse is referring to people studying scripture is utterly asinine and completely illogical.

    • The context of the Daniel 12 is about the end time plan of God, so it is definitely about studying scriptures about the end times. The understanding of the scriptures begins by having Spiritual knowledge, Intellectual knowledge is just a tool or a database or the methodology. To have spiritual knowledge is to have a personal knowledge of our God, to know His heart, His will, His principles.

      Running to and Fro is like being a Berean, examining scriptures and views of prophecy researchers if theirs is in tuned with God’s heart and will for His people and those that are not His. We had been spoon-fed by various so-called Bible teachers by their views learned from various Bible seminaries respectively for so many years now. There are only a few who decided to study on their own with the help of the Holy Spirit and they are the ones now who are contesting their views. That is why today among christian circles there are many disagreements and arguments and it is not healthy for the body of believers. But it is an indication that there are people who stand up and contend for the truths of the faith. The Catholic leadership discouraged their followers not to study the scriptures on their own to avoid this kind of conflict because they have seen the results of it. But Jesus said in Luke 12:51, He did not come to unite but to divide when it comes to the things of God.

      Like in the case of a Pretib Rapture View it does not aligned with the principle of God on how He subject His people to the process of making them pure, spotless, and blameless, which God had been consistent all throughout the scriptures.

  4. Ummm… When did I say that a person needed college degrees to figure out Bible prophecy? Actually, it’s my experience from watching television shows about Bible prophecy that it is the college professors who ironically know the least about the topic. I was just responding to someone attacking me; implying that I was someone with no legitimate education. If someone says something about me which isn’t true I will defend myself.

    I mention my degrees to give people the understanding of what my background is whenever I write about current event topics that may not be purely related to Bible prophecy itself.

    • I’m glad I found this site. I enjoyed this article. I just checked if you have any YouTube videos and you do so I will be a follower there!
      I agree you do not have to go to bible school to have a relationship with God. I’ve experienced much when I started a deep study of the bible. The deeper you go, the more He tells you. It’s amazing.
      I found you by wanting to see what other people thought of Daniel 12:4. While most verses about knowledge appear to be talking about gaining it by reading the bible and most people seem to think it’s about knowledge of God increasing. Maybe, but I also thought about how knowledge went from increasing every 100 years to 25 years from the 20’s until around 1947, which was about the same time as Israel became a state in 1948, then increased faster and faster (the last I read about that it was predicted that it would increase every 12 minutes by 2020). Some eschatologists believe that could be have been the beginning of the end times. While I believe if you are right with God, it doesn’t really matter if you see the end times or not, but I became much more curious about prophecy when all of a sudden I started running into verses talking about the end times, Isaiah 5:20-23 was actually a little scary as it sounded like the double speak we hear today from the democratic party. (if you’re a democrat, I’m sorry if I offended you) I also discovered that God has a huge distinction between right and left. I’m wondering what you think about that. Again, so glad I found you.

      • Hi Dori,

        One of the things we have to be careful with is linking today’s events as direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy. People for generations probably looked at Isaiah 5:20-23 and think of how the passage applied at their time in history.

        People have different worldviews. People live in different realities shaped by their background, experience, upbringing, the way their mind was designed, etc. As a result, some may view “good” as something another thinks as “evil” and vice versa.

        You brought up Isaiah 5. I think the last part of the chapter actually has direct end time implications. I wrote an article about that passage at this link:

        https://www.prophecyproof.org/isaiah-5-fulfilled-end-times/

  5. God gives intelligence to those who need it. You will never figure out prophecies with your degrees. You can only do that with God, through prayer. Just like God said to moses that He will give him the words to say. Your just imaging that you need degrees to understand the bible which is TOTALLY wrong

  6. Andy, I have legitimate degrees from prestigious universities and I graduated at the top of my class. I don’t know your educational background, but the way you’re trying to troll me I suspect my educational background far exceed yours.

    • Stay strong my brother. I have a small platform in a local site publication. The criticism is rough. I know I’m doing Gods work and love those who come at me in such a belligerent manner. I want to encourage you and prop you up and pray for you to “keep the course “.