Book Review: Daniel Unsealed by Dan Bruce
The Time for Understanding Daniel’s Prophecies Has Arrived
Dan Bruce’s Daniel Unsealed is a groundbreaking and provocative commentary that challenges centuries of biblical interpretation. Its central claim is as bold as it is compelling: the predictive, time-specific prophecies in the Book of Daniel were intentionally sealed by God and could not be rightly understood until a precise moment in modern history directed by God. That moment, Bruce contends, occurred on June 7, 1967, when Israeli forces reclaimed the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War, fulfilling the prophecy in Daniel 8:13-14, which reads as follows in the original Hebrew text:
“For two thousand three hundred days [literally evening-mornings]; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed [justified, restored to its righful ownership].”
Unlike traditional commentaries that have long attempted to decode these ancient visions, Bruce insists that genuine interpretation could only begin after the prophecies were divinely unsealed—as foretold in Daniel 12:4 and 12:9. According to those verses, the words were “shut up and sealed till the time of the end,” and only then “knowledge will be increased.” And, since the prophecies had been sealed by God’s command, Bruce insists that unsealing was something only God could accomplish. With this framework, he offers a new, historically anchored exegesis that sets his work apart from the theological giants of the past.
It is worth repeating: Seeing that God said that the prophecies were to remain sealed until the time of the end, Bruce maintains that any Daniel expositor must first explain that the specified “time of the end” has arrived in history. He considers that as a fundamental requirement that has to be met before any attempt can be made to interpret the prophecies. But, alas, for more than two-hundred years, the list of expositors who have ignored the time constraint ordained by God to prevent the prophecies from being prematurely understood has been growing, and includes such luminaries as Matthew Henry, Albert Barnes, John Nelson Darby, C. I. Scofield, Sir Robert Anderson, Arno C. Gaebelein, Clarence Larkin, H. A. Ironside, John F. Walvoord, Leon J. Wood, to name but a few who are well-known among conservative Bible believers. And, modern study Bibles have made the same error.
At the heart of Bruce’s analysis lies Daniel 8:14: “Unto 2,300 evening-mornings; then shall the sanctuary be restored.” Where others have interpreted this enigmatic phrase as a reference to literal days (based on an incomplete interpretation of the original Hebrew “evening-mornings”) or temple sacrifices, Bruce proposes a striking alternative—2,300 Passover nights, the ancient Jewish festival that was celebrated each year from evening until morning. This count, he argues, begins in 334 BCE with the Battle of Granicus (marking the rise of Alexander the Great as stipulated in Daniel 8:5–8 and explained in Daniel 8:21) and ends exactly 2,300 Passovers later in 1967, just weeks before Israel’s restoration of Jewish sovereignty over the Old Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. The result? A precise fulfillment—not symbolic, not approximate, but mathematically and historically exact.
What makes Daniel Unsealed especially noteworthy is Bruce’s methodological rigor. He demands that true prophecy align with both the biblical text and the documented timeline of real-world history, especially Jewish history, and do so both at thesametime. He avoids approximations and speculative allegory, and rejects the widespread practice of inserting the Church Age into Daniel’s strictly Jewish framework. Instead, Bruce keeps the focus where Daniel himself placed it: on “thy people” (the Jews) and “thy holy city” (Jerusalem).
Though Bruce’s conclusions are controversial to some, even in conservative Sola Scriptura circles, his tone remains respectful. He acknowledges the sincerity and theological intelligence of past commentators but argues that their attempts were necessarily flawed because they disregarded God’s clear command to wait until the time of the end for the meanings of the prophecies to be made manifest for understanding. Bruce says that faithfulness to what the text actually says demanded that we wait on God to achieve his purposes in his own time. And unlike earlier expositors who relied on guesswork, Bruce points to a historical event—one broadcast across the world as millions watched on television—as the fulfillment event that opened Daniel’s sealed visions meant for understanding at the time of the end and not beforehand.
For skeptics, Bruce provides an important safeguard: the Dead Sea Scrolls. These ancient manuscripts, which include Daniel 8:14, were written centuries before the events described in Daniel occurred in history, proving that the prophecy was not a fabrication or post-facto invention as many Bible scholar claim. The match between prediction and fulfillment, Bruce maintains, is too exact to be coincidence.
Despite the depth of research, Daniel Unsealed is written with clarity and accessibility. Hebrew terms are explained, key passages are unpacked, and timelines and appendices help guide the reader through complex material. It’s a rare commentary that manages to be both scholarly and devotional, intellectually rigorous and spiritually edifying.
Ultimately, Daniel Unsealed is a challenge. It invites readers—whether believers, skeptics, or students of prophecy—to reconsider long-held assumptions. It asks us to take God’s Word seriously when it says something was sealed and promises it would later be unsealed. And it claims that the time of unsealing of the Book of Daniel has come.
In the updated 2024 edition, Bruce reaffirms that no one—professional theologian or lay person—has yet refuted the book’s core thesis by using Scripture or historical documentation. That alone makes it essential reading for anyone serious about understanding biblical prophecy in the light of real history. Whether you agree with all of Bruce’s conclusions or not, Daniel Unsealed will allow you to see the Book of Daniel with open eyes.
Complete book available for free download here.
“This outstanding exegesis is a book that has yet to be discovered by Jews and Christians alike. There are several authors who claim that their exposition deserves the title ‘Unsealed.’ This one is very likely to remain unsurpassed.“—from a retired Wycliffe Bible translator