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THE PROPHET DANIEL
At the close of the history of Hezekiah, the
noble king of Judah, as reported by the prophet
Isaiah, is found a significant prophecy.
Hezekiah, like so many other good men before and
after him, had fallen into the crime of the devil,
pride (1 Timothy 3:6), and the Lord through the
prophet Isaiah announced therefore the future
judgment upon the royal house of David: "Behold
the days come, that all that is in thine
house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in
store until this day shall be carried to Babylon,
nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And
of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which
thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of
Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good
is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.
He said, moreover, For there shall be peace
and truth in my days" (Isaiah 39:6-8).
About one hundred years after this startling
prophecy was literally fulfilled. The opening
verses of the book of Daniel introduce us to
this. The Babylonian king came and besieged
the city of Jerusalem and conquered it. Among
those carried away was Daniel and his companions.
Daniel, as we learn from the third verse
of the first chapter, was of princely descent.
This young man, the captive in Babylon,
became, through the marvellous providence of
God, one of the leading figures and prominent
actors in the great Babylonian empire, under
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. He was made, in
spite of his youth, a great man--the prime
minister of Babylon.
Of his personal history, his character and
remarkable experiences we know more than of
any of the other prophets of God. As a mere
lad he was brought to the strange land as a
captive. We behold him and his companions,
true to Jehovah, maintaining their God-given
place of separation. He honored Jehovah and
Jehovah honored him. Soon the Lord used the
young captive by revealing unto him the
forgotten dream of Nebuchadnezzar and the
interpretation of the dream. Then followed the
exaltation of the obscure captive; and
afterwards he seemed to have been the close
companion of the great Gentile monarch, who
acknowledged finally the Lord-God of Israel as
his God. Then God honored him by giving him
the great visions of the future, so remarkable
in their scope. The Lord appeared unto him; he
talked with angels, and the messenger Gabriel
addressed him as "the man greatly beloved."
As an old man he had been quite forgotten
during the reign of the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar,
Belshazzar; only the queen mother, the
aged wife of Nebuchadnezzar, remembered him.
In that memorable night when Babylon fell the
old prophet interpreted the handwriting on the
wall, though old in years, still young in his faith.
Under the reign of Darius he was cast among
the lions, on account of his devotion to Jehovah,
and wonderfully delivered.
What a man of prayer he was we learn from
the ninth chapter. He reached a very old age,
continuing even into the reign of Cyrus, and
when his great work was done, ere the Lord
called him home, he received the promise: "But
go thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest,
and stand in thy lot at the end of days" (12:13).
In the great faith chapter of the Hebrew Epistle
his name is not mentioned, but his deeds are
there. "Who through faith subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions" (Hebrews 11:33).
The Authenticity of Daniel
Perhaps no other book of the Bible has been
so much attacked as the book of Daniel. It is a
veritable battlefield between faith and unbelief.
For about 2,000 years, wicked men, heathen
philosophers and infidels have hammered away
against it; but the book has proved to be the
anvil upon which the critics' hammers have
been broken into pieces. The book has survived
all attacks, and we need not fear that the weak
and puerile critics, the most subtle infidels of
Christendom in our day, can harm the book. It
has been denied that Daniel wrote the book
during the Babylonian captivity. Kuenen and
Wellhausen and their imitating disciples like
Canon Farrar, Driver and others of inferior
calibre, claim that the work was not written in
the Exile, but centuries later. Daniel had nothing
to do with the book at all; a holy and gifted
Jew wrote it instead, and it is avowed fiction.
Such are a few of the infidel statements made
against this sublime book. These critics follow
the wicked assailant of Christianity of the third
century, Porphyr, who contended that the book
of Daniel is a forgery, that it was written during
the time of the Maccabees, after Antiochus
Epiphanes, so clearly foretold in this book, had
appeared. The whole reasoning method of the
destructive Bible-criticism may be reduced to
the following. Prophecy is an impossibility, there
is no such thing as foretelling events to come.
Therefore a book which contains predictions
must have been written after the events which
are predicted. But how could the man who
committed such a forgery be a pious Jew? No,
the book of Daniel is either divine or it is the
most colossal forgery and fraud. No middle
ground is possible.
We give a few of the evidences which answer
the infidel attacks upon this great fundamental
prophetic book.
It should be enough for every Christian that
our Lord, the infallible Son of God, mentions
Daniel by name in His great prophetic discourse
delivered on Olivet (Matthew 24:15).
There can be no question that our Lord at least
twice more referred to the book of Daniel. When
He speaks of Himself and His coming again in
the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man, He
confirms Daniel's vision in chapter 7:13, and
when He speaks of the stone to fall in Matthew
21:44, He confirms Daniel 2:44-45. How does
the critic meet this argument? He tells us that
our Lord accommodated Himself to the Jewish
views current in His day. They say, perhaps He
knew better, and some say that He did not
know. In other words, they deny the infallibility
of our Lord, and with this invention that He
accommodated Himself against His better knowledge,
they accuse our Lord of something worse.
When the Lord uttered the words, "Daniel the
prophet" He put at once His unimpeachable
seal on both the person and the book of Daniel.
But there are other evidences. The heathen
Porphyr declared that the book was written
during the days of the Maccabees; as stated
above the modern critics have echoed the opinion
of that lost heathen soul. But the Septuagint
version of the Old Testament, which was made
before the time of the Maccabees, contains the
book of Daniel. It was in the hands of the learned
Hebrews, who translated in the third century
before Christ the Hebrew Scriptures into the
Greek. The book therefore antedates the time
of Antiochus Epiphanes.
Furthermore during the days of the Maccabees
a book was written, the first book of the
Maccabees, a historical account of those eventful
days. This Maccabean work not only presupposes
the existence of the book of Daniel,
but shows actual acquaintance with it, and
therefore gives proof that the book must have been
written long before that period (1 Macc. 1:54,
compare with Daniel 9:27; 2:49 and Daniel 3).
The reliable Jewish historian Josephus also
furnisheth historically an evidence for Daniel.
He tells us that when Alexander the Great, who
is mentioned in Daniel's prophecy (chapter 8),
came to Jerusalem in the year 332 B.C., Jaddua
the high priest, showed him the prophecies of
Daniel, and Alexander was greatly impressed
with them.
Then we have the testimony of another
prophet of the exile, the prophet Ezekiel. He
speaks twice in the highest terms of Daniel,
whose contemporary he was. (See Ezekiel 14:14-
20 and 28:3.)
Daniel also betrays such an intimate
acquaintance with Chaldean customs and history, as
well as their religion, such as none but one who
lived there and was an eye-witness could have
possessed. For instance, the description of the
Chaldean magicians perfectly agrees with the
accounts found in other sources. The account
of the insanity of Nebuchadnezzar is confirmed
by the ancient historian Berosus.
Then there has been a most striking
vindication of this book through the Babylonian
excavations, tablets, cylinders and monuments.
Into this we cannot fully enter, but we cite but
one of the most striking.
The name of Belshazzar furnished for a long
time material to the infidels to reject the
historical accuracy of the book. The father of
Belshazzar was Nabonnaid, who was not a son of
Nebuchadnezzar at all. How then could
Belshazzar be a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar? This
objection is seemingly strengthened by the fact
that no ancient historians include in the list of
Babylonian kings the name of Belshazzar.
Berosus, who lived about 250 years after the
Persian invasion, gives the following list of
Babylonian monarchs:
Nabuchodonosar (Nebuchadnezzar). Evil
Marudak, who is the Evil Merodach of the Bible.
Neriglissor. Laborosoarchod. Nabonnaid. Cyrus,
the Persian conqueror.
Different attempts were made to clear up
this difficulty, but they failed. Now, if Daniel
wrote his book he must be correct. But the
critics are ever ready to put the doubt not on
the side of history, but on the side of the Bible.
So they said Berosus was not mistaken and that
if Daniel really had written the book which
bears his name he would have been historically
correct. This is how matters stood up to 1854.
In that year Sir Rawlinson translated a number
of tablets brought to light by the spade from
the ruins of the Babylonian civilization. These
contained the memorials of Nabonnaid, and in
these the name of Bil-shar-uzzar appeared
frequently, and is mentioned as the son of
Nabonnaid and sharing the government with him.
The existence of Belshazzar and the accuracy of
Daniel were at once established beyond the
shadow of a doubt.
Daniel was promised by Belshazzar to become
the third ruler in the kingdom (Dan. 5:16).
Why the third and not the second? Because
Nabonnaid was the first, Belshazzar his son was
the second and vice-regent. Nabonnaid had a
daughter of Nebuchadnezzar for wife and therefore
Belshazzar from his mother's side was the
grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.
But have the critics learned by this complete
defeat? Have they profited by this experience
and will they leave the Bible alone? Not by any
means. They will continue to look for flaws in
the infallible Book. Some day they will discover
the seriousness of their work.
The Important Prophetic Message of
Daniel
It is impossible to overestimate the
importance of the book of Daniel. It is the key
to all prophecy; without a knowledge of the great
prophecies contained in this book the entire
prophetic portion of the word of God must
remain a sealed book. One of the reasons why
so few Christians have a correct knowledge of
the prophetic forecast in the Bible is the neglect
of the book of Daniel. The great prophetic
portions of the New Testament, the Olivet
discourse of our Lord (Matthew 24 and 25), and
above all the great New Testament book of
prophecy, the book of Revelation, can only be
understood through the prophecies of Daniel.
To both, the Babylonian king and God's
prophet, were revealed the political history of
the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). The
rise and fall of the great monarchies, Babylonia,
Medo-Persian, Graeco-Macedonia and the
Roman, are successively revealed in this book.
The appointed end of these times and what will
follow the times of the Gentiles is made known.
Our generation lives in the very shadow of that
end. Then there are prophecies relating more
specifically to Jerusalem and the Jewish people,
showing what will yet come for that city and
the nation.
It will be impossible in our brief annotations
to do justice to all the details of this prophetic
book. The larger work on the prophet Daniel
by the author of The Annotated Bible should be
carefully studied with the accompanying pages.
The Division of Daniel
The book of Daniel is written in two
languages, in the Hebrew and in the Aramaic, the
language of Chaldea. The first chapter is written
in Hebrew, in style closely allied to the
Hebrew used in the book of Ezekiel. Chapters
8-12 are likewise written in the Hebrew
language. But chapters 2:4-7:28 are written in
the Aramaic language. This gives an additional
argument for the authenticity of the book. The
author was conversant with both languages, an
attainment exactly suited to a Hebrew living in
exile, but not in the least so to an author in the
Maccabean age, when the Hebrew had long
since ceased to be a living language, and had
been supplanted by the Aramaic vernacular
dialect. Daniel was led to employ both languages
for a specific reason. What concerned these
great monarchies, Babylonia and Medo-Persia,
was written in the language with which they
were familiar. What concerned the Jewish people
was written for them in Hebrew. We shall
not follow the linguistic division of the book.
We find in the book two main sections:
I. DANIEL IN BABYLON,
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM,
AND HISTORICAL EVENTS
Chapter 1. Daniel and His Companions in Babylon
Chapter 2. The Great Prophetic Dream of Nebuchadnezzar.
Chapter 3-6. Historical Events
II. THE GREAT PROPHECIES OF DANIEL
Chapter 7. The Night Visions of Daniel
Chapter 8. The Vision of the Ram and the He-Goat
Chapter 9. The Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks
Chapter 10. Preparation for the Final Prophecy
Chapter 11. The Wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucidae
Predicted and the Coming Events of the End
Chapter 12. The Great Tribulation and Israel's Deliverance
Analysis and Annotations
I. DANIEL IN BABYLON,
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM, AND
HISTORICAL EVENTS
CHAPTER 1
Daniel and His Companions in Babylon
1. The introduction (1: 1-2)
2. The king's command (1:3-5)
3. Daniel and his companions (1:6-21)
Verses 1-2. Divine judgment, which had
threatened so long, had finally fallen upon
Jerusalem. It was executed by the divinely chosen
instrument, Nebuchadnezzar. Three times he came
against Jerusalem. In 606 B.C. he appeared the
first time. This is the visitation mentioned here.
In 598 he came again and carried away more
captives, including Ezekiel. In 587 he burned
the city and the temple.
Verses 3 - 5. As already stated in the
introduction the young captives of the king's
seed and of the princes (both of Judah) was in
fulfillment of prophecy. They were to be added
to the king's court and to receive special royal
favors, instructions in the wisdom and language
of the Chaldeans and have the privileges of the
king's table.
Verses 6-21. Daniel means, "God is my
judge"; Hananiah, "Beloved of the Lord";
Mishael, "Who is as God"; Azariah, "The Lord is
my help." These beautiful names were soon
changed into names of heathen meaning, to
blot out the very memory of Jehovah. Daniel
becomes Belteshazzar (Bel's prince); Hananiah
is named Shadrach (illumined by the sun-god);
Mishael is called Meshach (who is like Shach--
Venus); and Azariah is changed to Abednego
(the servant of Nego).
The purpose of the four expressed their
loyalty to the God of their fathers and their
obedience to His law. The Lord rewarded them for
their loyalty and faithfulness, as He is still
the rewarder of all who trust in Him and walk in
separation.
CHAPTER 2
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream and Its Interpretation
1. The forgotten dream (2:1-13)
2. The prayer meeting in Babylon and the answer (2:14-23)
3. Daniel before the king (2:24-28)
4. The revelation and interpretation of the dream (2:29-45)
5. The promotion of Daniel and his companions (2:46-49)
Verses 1-13. The king had a dream which
was occasioned by thinking concerning the future
(verse 29). God answered his desire by this
dream, which made a great impression on him. But
he had forgotten the dream. The soothsayers,
wise men and magicians, who were kept by
him to interpret dreams, were unable to reveal
the forgotten dream: they confessed their utter
helplessness. The king condemned them to
death. Inasmuch as Daniel and his companions
were counted among the wise men, "they sought
Daniel and his companions to be slain."
Verses 14-23. And now Daniel steps to the
front. But there is no haste and no hurry
connected with it, for "He that believeth shall
not make haste." He is brought before the king and
promises to the king the meaning of that dream.
It was the language of faith; he had confidence
in God. He knew that the same Jehovah who
had given another captive wisdom, Joseph in
Egypt, was his God also. Then there was a
prayer meeting in Babylon. While the condemned
wise men, the astrologers and magicians
trembled for fear of death, Daniel and his
companions asked "mercies of the God of
heaven concerning this secret." The prayer was
speedily answered.
Verses 24-28. After Daniel had praised the
God of heaven he requested an audience with
the king. How beautiful he is in the presence of
the mighty monarch! What an opportunity to
glorify himself. But he hides himself completely
and gives God all the glory. Then he tells the
king that in the dream he is about to relate God
has made known unto him "what shall be in
the latter days."
Verses 29-45. Daniel then told to the king
the forgotten dream:
Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image.
This great image, whose brightness was excellent,
stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his
arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his
legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without
hands, which smote the image upon his feet that
were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and
the gold broken to pieces together, and became like
the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the
wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them; and the stone that smote the image became a
great mountain, and filled the whole earth (verses
31-35).
The great man image is the prophetic symbol
of the "times of the Gentiles." This expression
"The times of the Gentiles" is not found in
the book of Daniel, but it is a New Testament
phrase. Our Lord used it exclusively. In that
part of His prophetic discourse which is
reported in the Gospel of Luke and which relates
to the fall of Jerusalem and the dispersion of
the nation, our Lord said: "And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be
trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles shall be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Now,
the times of the Gentiles did not begin when
Jerusalem rejected the Lord from heaven. Our
Lord does not say that the times of the Gentiles
were then ushered in. The times of the Gentiles
started with the Babylonian captivity by
Nebuchadnezzar. The glory of the Lord departed
from Jerusalem. The other great prophet of the
captivity, Ezekiel, beheld the departure of the
Shekinah. "Then did the Cherubim lift up their
Wings, and the wheels beside them; and the
glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
And the glory of the Lord went up from the
midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain
which is on the east side of the city" (Ezek.
11:22-23). But before that Jeremiah recorded a
remarkable word. These are the words of Jehovah
concerning Nebuchadnezzar:
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that
are upon the ground, by My great power and by My
outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it
seemed meet unto Me. And now have I given all
these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the
field have I given him also to serve him. And all
nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's
son, until the very time of his land come: and then
many nations and great kings shall serve themselves
of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and
kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar
the king of Babylon, and that will not put their
neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that
nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword,
and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I
have consumed them by his hand (Jeremiah 27:5-8).
Jerusalem had been supreme because the
throne and the glory of Jehovah was there.
Though Assyria, Egypt and Babylon had tried
repeatedly to overthrow Jerusalem, they were
held in check by the power of God and divine
intervention, but when the measure of the
wickedness of Jerusalem was full, Nebuchadnezzar
was chosen to become the first great
monarch of the times of the Gentiles. The
dominion was then taken away from Jerusalem
and transferred to the Gentiles.
Therefore the golden head in this prophetic
man-image represents Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonian empire. The chest of silver, according
to divine interpretation, stands for an inferior
monarchy which was to follow the Babylonian
empire. This second world empire is the Medo-
Persian. The belly and thighs of brass represent
the third great monarchy, the Graeco-Macedonian.
The fourth great monarchy which was to
rise during the times of the Gentiles, represented
by the two legs of iron, is the iron empire,
Rome. Here, then, is history pre-written.
God, who knows the end from the beginning,
revealed in this dream the course of the times
of the Gentiles, beginning with the Babylonian
monarchy and followed by three more: The
Medo-Persian, the Graeco-Macedonian and the
Roman. Notice the process of deterioration as
indicated in the composition of this image: Gold,
silver, brass, iron, and finally the iron getting
less and clay taking a prominent place. It shows
that politically the times of the Gentiles are not
improving.
Everything which this image represents has
been fulfilled, except the last portion, when a
stone falls out of heaven and strikes the ten toes
and the clay, so that the whole colossal figure
goes to pieces, the different constituent
metals become like the chaff on the summer
threshingfloor and the striking stone becomes a
mountain and fills the whole earth.
The fourth Empire, the Roman, has not yet
fulfilled its history. The final form, and with it
the final form of the times of the Gentiles is yet
to pass into history. This final form is
symbolically seen in the ten toes and the clay,
in the feet of the image. The territory which
constituted the now extinct Roman empire will in
the near future undergo a political revival. It
will reappear in a confederated Europe, except
certain countries which never belonged to the
Roman empire. In that confederacy will be
kingdoms to the number of ten; the clay represents
democracies, the rule by the people and for the
people. The late great war has brought such a
political combination into our times. Such is the
future and end of the times of the Gentiles, as
foretold in the feet of the image.
But what does the smiting stone represent,
the stone which abolisheth the image and becomes
itself a great mountain filling the whole earth?
The Stone is Christ. That the stone
represents Christ is seen from the Scriptures.
"Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a
tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation" (Isa. 28:16). Zechariah speaks of
this stone with seven eyes upon it and engraven.
We read of Him in the New Testament as the
foundation stone of the church, the cornerstone,
the stone rejected by the builders. Most
interesting is His own word in the Gospel of
Matthew: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone
shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall
fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matt. 21:44).
Here we have Israel's sin and judgment and the
fate of the Gentiles. Israel stumbled against this
stone; for them He was a stumblingstone and
rock of offense. In consequence they were broken
as a nation. But the Gentile world, rejecting
Him, will be broken when the stone falls. They
will be ground to powder by the falling stone.
Our Lord must have had the dream of Nebuchadnezzar
in mind when he spake these words. The
falling stone of which He speaks and the
striking stone in the dream mean the same
Person, Himself
The stone doing its work in smiting the image
is a prophecy of the second coming of our Lord.
The mountain filling after that the earth
foreshadows that kingdom which will be
established with the return of Christ and His
enthronement as King of kings.
Verses 46-49. The heathen monarch then
acknowledged Daniel's God in a threefold way:
The God of Gods (the Father); the Lord of Kings
(God the Son); the Revealer of Secrets (God the
Holy Spirit). Daniel is lifted from the place of
humiliation to a place of exaltation. He did not
forget his companions; they share honor and
glory with him. It is a beautiful picture of that
day when our Lord will receive the throne and
when His own will not be left behind in sharing
with Him His glory.
Historical Events (3-6)
The four chapters which follow the great
dream of Nebuchadnezzar are of a historical
character. They do not contain direct prophecies,
but record certain events which transpired
during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, his successor
and grandson Belshazzar, and Darius, the
Mede. On the personal history of these three
persons and where they are found in profane
history we have little to say, as a deeper
examination of this subject would lead us too far
and would be tedious. But this much must be said
that the criticism which charged Daniel with
being incorrect has been completely silenced
by the Babylonian cylinders of Cyrus and Nabonnaid
and the so-called annalistic tablets, the
very records of those days. It is true the
personality of Darius the Mede has not yet been
definitely located historically. However, we do
not believe the Bible because its historical
statements can be verified from profane history.
We believe the Bible because its records are
divinely inspired and therefore correct. What
would we know of the genuineness of these ancient
tablets and cylinders covered with cuneiform
inscriptions if it were not for the Bible? These
witnesses from the stones, which indeed cry
out, do not verify the Bible, they are rather
declared genuine and correct by the Word of God.
These four chapters then give us historical
events. Each has a prophetic meaning, though
direct prophecy is not found in them.
These chapters describe the moral conditions
which held sway during the two first world
empires; they indicate prophetically the moral
conditions which continue to the end of the
times of the Gentiles. Five things may be traced
in these four chapters: The moral characteristics
of the times of the Gentiles; what will happen
at the close of these times; the faithful
remnant in suffering; their deliverance and the
Gentiles acknowledging God, as King and the
God of heaven.
CHAPTER 3
The Image of Gold
1. The image of gold (3:1-7)
2. The faithful three (3:8-18)
3. The miraculous deliverance (3:19-25)
4. The worshipping king (3:26-30)
Verses 1-7. He had an immense statue of
gold made, the image of a man, no doubt, and
he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province
of Babylon. It was idolatry and the deification
of man. Idolatry and the deification of man are
then the first moral characteristics mentioned
which are to prevail during the times of the
Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles produce a
religion which is opposed to the God of heaven.
The image was sixty cubits high and six broad.
Seven is the divine number and six is the number
of man. Sixty cubits and six reminds us of
that familiar passage in the book of Revelation,
where we have the number of a man given, that
mysterious number "six hundred three-score
and six," that is 666. The image then represents
man, but the climax of man was not yet reached.
However, the beginning foreshadows the end
of the times of the Gentiles. That end is
described in chapter 13 of Revelation.
The civil power tried to force this universal
religion upon the people. The great governors,
judges, captains and rulers had to appear for
the dedication of the image. But then the whole
thing had a religious aspect. Listen, after
looking at this great awe-inspiring image of gold--
the sweetest music--the cornet, the flute, the
harp, the sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer and all
kinds of music sounds forth. No doubt the
Chaldean priests approached chanting some sweet
Babylonian song. Why all this? To stir up the
religious emotions and aid in this way the worship
of an idol. It is intensely interesting that
the ancient Babylonian worship, with its
ceremonials and chanting is reproduced in Rome,
which is called in Revelation, Babylon. (The
book by Alexander Hyslop, The Two Babylons,
gives reliable and important information on
this fact.)
Verses 8-18. The companions of Daniel refused
to worship the image and were cast into the fiery
furnace. Notice their wonderful trust in God.
Verses 19-25. The very men who cast them
down were consumed by the flames. But when
the king looked towards the furnace he beheld
to his great astonishment not three men bound
and burning up, but four men loose and actually
walking in the fire. "They have no hurt and
the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
And when they brought up from the fiery furnace,
no smell of fire was about them, not even a
hair was singed, only the bands which had
bound them were burned off. The fire had set
them free but it could not touch them. But did
the king speak true when he beheld the fourth
like the Son of God? Little did he know what
he said or what it meant, but assuredly he saw
in that fire the Son of God, Jehovah, for He had
promised His people, "When thou walkest
through the fire thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle on thee." The
faithful Lord kept His promise to His trusting
servants.
And has not all this been repeated throughout
the times of the Gentiles especially during
the Roman Empire? Pagan Rome persecuted
the true worshippers of God and in great
persecutions multitudes suffered martyrdom. But
think of what is worse, Papal Rome, that Babylon
the Great, the mother of harlots. There we
find the images and the sweet music, the
prostrations and political power enforcing unity
of worship. The fiery furnaces were there, the
stake, the most awful tortures for those who were
faithful to God and to their Lord. Think of the
story of the Waldensians and Huguenots. And
while for these noble martyrs, for whom there
is a martyr's crown in the coming day of Christ,
there came no deliverance and their bodies were
consumed by the fire, yet the Son of God was
with them and with praising hearts and a song
upon their lips, He carried them through the
fire.
And during the great tribulation will a
faithful remnant of Jews suffer under the man of
sin, as these three Hebrews suffered; but they
will likewise be delivered.
Verses 26-30. Once more Nebuchadnezzar
acknowledged God and made a decree that
severe punishment should be the lot of all who
say anything amiss against the God of Daniel's
companions.
CHAPTER 4
The Tree Vision of Nebuchadnezzar
1. The king's proclamation (4:1-3)
2. The king relates the tree vision (4:4-18)
3. Daniel interprets the vision (4:19-27)
4. The tree vision fulfilled, the king's abasement and
his restoration, (4:28-37)
Verses 1-3. This chapter is in form, at least in
part, of a proclamation. This proclamation must
have been written after the king had passed
through the experience recorded in this chapter.
Verses 4-18. Read carefully the vision the king
had and compare with Ezekiel 31:3 and Matthew
13, the parable of the mustard seed. In
each case the great big tree is the symbol of
pride and self-exaltation.
Verses 19-27. The prophet's interpretation of
this dream needs no further comment. A careful
reading will make it clear in its meaning.
Verses 28-3 7. Twelve months later he walked
in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. Then
with a haughty mien he utters the fatal words:
"Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for
the house of the kingdom by the might of my
power and for the honor of my majesty." Notice
the personal pronoun. But while he yet
uttered these words a heavenly voice was heard
which announced that the kingdom is departed from
him. What Daniel had said in his interpretation
is repeated from heaven. The same hour was
the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar and
he was driven from men and did eat grass as
the oxen, and his body was wet with the dew
of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles
feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. And
after the seven times had passed over him his
understanding returned unto him and he blessed
the Most High.
The great characteristic here is pride and
self exaltation. As judgment came upon the great
monarch in the beginning of the times of the
Gentiles, so judgment will yet fall upon this
proud and self exalting age of the Gentiles. That
great big, political and religious tree will some
day be hewn down and be destroyed.
And Nebuchadnezzar's great humiliation in
becoming a beast for seven times (seven years),
points us to the end of this Gentile age once
more. (The attempt to ascertain from this "seven
times" the length of the times of the Gentiles
as some do lacks the support of Scripture. The
seven times mean seven years.) Apostasy from
God will be the great characteristic of that end.
There will be no more looking up to God, but
the attitude of the beast will be the attitude of
the nations. We see much of this already. They
mind earthly things and become the "earth
dwellers" so frequently mentioned in the book
of Revelation. Madness and bestiality will seize
upon the Gentiles, after the One who hinders,
the Holy Spirit is removed. Then proud and
apostate Christendom will believe the lie and
follow the beast with its lying wonders. This
will last seven times, that is, seven years.
The stump of the great tree which remains
in the field suggests the fact that the judgments
which fall upon the nations in the time of the
end will not completely destroy all nations. Many
of them will be swept away. For those who
wilfully rejected the gospel and turned away
from the truth, there is no hope. But there are
others which will be left and when these
judgments are in the earth, the nations learn
righteousness.
The millennium is also seen in this chapter
in the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar and in the
praise He gives to the Most High. In the previous
chapter the three friends of Daniel speak of
"our God," but in this chapter we hear of "the
Most High." It is the millennial name of God. We
see then in the fourth chapter the pride and self
exaltation of the Gentiles, and how the Gentiles
will be humiliated and judged. First there is self
exaltation, that is followed by judgment, and then
follows restoration and the acknowledgement
of the Most High.
That nothing more is now reported of
Nebuchadnezzar, that the last which we hear of him
in Scripture is his acknowledgment of the Most
High, is also not without meaning. It foreshadows
the universal acknowledgment of God in
the kingdom which the God of heaven will set
up, when the stone fills as the mountain the
whole earth.
CHAPTER 5
Belshazzar's Feast
1. Belshazzar's licentious feast (5:1-4)
2. The writing on the wall (5:5-9)
3. Forgotten Daniel (5:10-16)
4. The message of Daniel (5:17-31)
Verses 1-4. This feast of wickedness and
blasphemy needs no further annotations. But it
shows the great decline morally in the great
Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt,
had handled the golden vessels of the house of
the Lord most carefully. He had stored them
away, fearing to misuse them. The grandson
sent for these vessels to drink out of them wine
with his harlots and to praise his idols.
Verses 5-9. A mysterious finger then wrote
over against the candlestick on the wall. The
king saw plainly the part of the hand that wrote.
The feast of licentiousness became suddenly a
feast of gloom and consternation. Nor could
the astrologers and wise men read the writing
which had appeared on the wall.
Verses 10-16. At this point the queen, the aged
widow of Nebuchadnezzar, appeared on the
scene and called attention to an old man, who
played such an important part during the reign
of her husband. Daniel is sent for.
Verses 17-31. Daniel refused the honors of the
king. He knew that ere long the blaspheming
king would be no more. And Daniel was more
than an interpreter of the handwriting on the
wall. He is God's prophet and messenger, as a
reading of this portion of the chapter shows.
This chapter reveals the blasphemous
character of the end of the Babylonian monarchy.
Blasphemy, rejection of God's truth are about
us on all sides. There is a "Mene, Mene, Tekel"
for apostate Christendom and for that final phase
of Babylon as revealed in Rev. 17 and 18.
CHAPTER 6
Under Darius the Mede and Daniel in the Lion's Den
1. The decree of Darius (6:1-9)
2. Daniel's faith and steadfastness (6:10-15)
3. Daniel cast into the lion's den and the deliverance (6:16-24)
4. The Decree of Darius (6:25-28)
Verses 1-9. From the opening of this chapter
we learn that Daniel also held a very high
position in the beginning of the second monarchy,
which had conquered Babylonia. He was preferred
above all the other presidents and princes.
This created jealousy. They devised a very
cunning plan and made the king sign a decree,
which they were sure Daniel would break. Inasmuch
as the law of the Persians and Medes was
irrevocable they were sure that the hated old
man would be cast into the lion's den.
Verses 10-15. It is a beautiful scene. When
Daniel knew the decree had been signed, he
went calmly back into his house and with his
windows open towards Jerusalem he prayed
and gave thanks to the Lord. He looked away
from earthly circumstances and looked to the
Omnipotent One. The accusation followed. The
king now discovers that he is in a desperate
condition. His law demands that Daniel be cast
to the lions, but his heart filled with love for
Daniel would have liked to save him, but he
found no way of delivering him.
Well may we think here of another law and
another love. God, a holy and righteous God
and a God of love, found a way to save man.
God's holy law condemns man, who is a sinner
and the curse of the law rests upon him. God's
love is set upon the world, and He "so loved the
world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth on Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life." The curse of the law
came upon Him who knew no sin and who was
made sin for us, and therein is love manifested.
Daniel is cast into the lions' den as our blessed
Lord was given to the lion (Psalm 22:21), and
a stone is laid upon the mouth of the den and
it is sealed with the king's signet. He is so to
speak in a grave, as good as dead in the eyes
of the world, for who has ever heard of hungry
lions not devouring a man. And all this brings
before us that other place, the tomb in the
garden, where He was laid and the stone before
it, which bore the seal of the Roman world
power. But as Daniel could not be hurt by the
lions, so He who went into the jaws of death
could not be holden by death. The tomb is
empty and He is victor over death and the
grave. All this is blessedly foreshadowed in this
experience of God's prophet.
The Lord in whom Daniel trusted and whom
he served delivered him from the lions. His
accusers and their families were given to the
ferocious beasts, which devoured them at once.
Verses 25-28. King Darius also acknowledged
the God of Daniel.
The final characteristic of the times of the
Gentiles is man worship. The heads of these
empires including the Roman Caesars claimed
divine honors. Papal Rome also puts up man as
the viceregent of the Lord. And all about us we
find the deification of man. Finally there comes
the head of all this apostasy, the son of
perdition, the man of sin, who demands worship
for himself (2 Thessalonians 2).
II. THE GREAT PROPHECIES OF DANIEL
CHAPTER 7
1. The night vision of the three beasts (7:1-6)
2. The night vision of the fourth beast (7:7-8)
3. The judgment vision (7:9-12)
4. The son of man and His kingdom (7:13-14)
5. The interpretation of the visions given (7:15-28)
Verses 1-6. The sea in the vision is the type of
nations (Rev. 17:15). The three first beasts he
saw represented the same great monarchies
which were shown to Nebuchadnezzar in his
dream by the gold, silver and brass. The lion
Daniel saw first rising out of the sea stands for
the Babylonian empire symbolized by the lion
(Jer. 4:7). The plucking of the wings and the
man's heart must refer to Nebuchadnezzar's
insanity and restoration (chapter 4). The bear
is the emblem of the Medo-Persian monarchy
(corresponding to the chest of silver in the image).
One side of the bear was raised up, higher than
the other, because the Persian element was the
strongest. The three ribs denote the conquest
of three provinces by this power. The leopard
with four heads and wings is the picture of the
great Alexandrine empire, the Graeco-Macedonian
(corresponding to the belly and thighs of
brass in the image).
The four wings denote its swiftness, the four
heads the partition of this empire into the
kingdoms of Syria, Egypt, Macedonia and Asia
Minor. It is seen in the next chapter as the
rough he-goat with a notable horn (Alexander
the Great) and the little horn (Antiochus
Epiphanes). The fourth beast was not seen in the
first vision. Before we turn to the second night
vision of the prophet we call attention to the
fact that in the selection of beasts to represent
these world powers who domineer the times of
the Gentiles, God tells us that their moral
character is beastly. The lion devours, the bear
crushes, the leopard springs upon its prey.
Verses 7-8. This represents Rome, corresponding
to the two legs of iron and the ten horns with
the little horn between has the same meaning
as the ten toes on the feet of the image. The
little horn we find more fully mentioned in
another portion of this chapter. Thus the prophet
beheld the same monarchies revealed in the
second chapter under the emblem of ferocious
beasts. Such the nations are and in their
standards and national emblems they have borne
witness to their beastly characters. Notice also
here the same process of deterioration as in the
image. The monarchies degenerate from lion
to bear, from bear to leopard and then into a
great nondescript.
Verses 9-12. This vision brings us to the close
of the times of the Gentiles. When the fourth
beast with the ten horns and the little horn, the
last thing spoken of this world empire, is in full
swing, then the end comes. It is a great
judgment scene which is here before us. How
different the end of this age as revealed in the
Word and as it is believed in Christendom. The
great mass knows nothing whatever about this
age coming to an end. It will go on indefinitely,
so they believe, and its future is world progress,
better times and the triumph of the Christian
civilization. But others concede that a judgment
must come and they think of the judgment here
as the universal judgment, the great white throne
judgment. This judgment is not the last judgment
at all. It is a judgment which precedes the
final judgment by 1,000 years. This judgment
here must be read in connection with passages
like Matthew 25:31-46 and Rev. 19:19-21. In
reading the last passage no one can doubt that
we have the same judgment here revealed to
Daniel. But who is the one who occupies the
central place in this vision of judgment? There
can be but one answer. It is our ever blessed
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. John 5:22 gives
the conclusive answer: "For the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto
the Son." The Ancient of Days is the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is still more demonstrated if we turn
to John's great Patmos vision.
Verses 13-14. These words are so plain that
every Christian knows what they mean. They
describe the second coming of Christ and the
kingdom He then receives from the Father's
hands. If this passage were more considered,
Christians would stop speaking about the kingdom
now. No kingdom till Christ comes again.
Both the judgment vision and the vision of His
coming to receive the kingdom correspond to
the stone which smites the image and as a
mountain fills the whole earth.
Verses 15-28. First, Daniel hears about the
four beasts. But there is a significant statement
in verse 18, the saints of the Most High
receiving the kingdom.
Who are the Saints of the Most High? The
fact that the term "Most High" is in the plural
and may also be translated with "the most high
or heavenly places" has led some expositors to
say that the saints are the same who are seen
in the Epistle to the Ephesians in which "the
heavenly places" are repeatedly mentioned: in
other words, the saints which compose the
Church. It is true the Church will be with the
Lord in Glory and "we shall reign over the
earth," but this does not necessarily mean that
the saints here represent the Church. There are
other saints besides "Church saints." The saints
of whom Daniel was thinking were his own
beloved people. To that people is promised a
kingdom in the days of the Messiah. With Him,
the Lord in glory, there is a heavenly people,
so as Messiah and the Son of Man in connection
with the earth He has an earthly people,
saints which will receive and possess with Him
that kingdom which will fill the whole earth.
These saints are the Godfearing Jews, who pass
through the great tribulation and inherit the
blessings and promises which God gave through
their own prophets.
Another important matter is the little horn
of whom now Daniel hears more fully. The ten
horns are kings and the little horn in their midst
will be the final imperial head of the revived
Roman empire, that world domineering person
of whom we read repeatedly in the Word of
God. He must be distinguished from another
one, the personal anti-Christ, the man of sin
and son of perdition. In Revelation the revived
Roman Empire is seen in chapter 13:1-10, and
the second beast which John saw rising from
the sea is the false Christ having two horns like
a lamb but speaking like a dragon (Rev. 13:11,
etc.) A closer study of these coming leaders of
the end time is needed to understand the details;
here we but point the way. Our larger work on
Daniel will give help on all these chapters.
CHAPTER 8
The Ram and the He-Goat
1. The vision (8:1-14)
2. The interpretation of the vision (8:15-27)
Verses 1-14. Beginning with this chapter to
the end of the book prophecy will lead us mostly
upon Jewish ground. While some of these prophecies
were fulfilled in the past, most of them are
related to the future when the great end
fulfillment takes place before the coming of the
Son of Man in the clouds of heaven to receive the
kingdom. The phrases "the latter times," "the time
of the end," "in the last end of the indignation,"
appear several times in these chapters. These
phrases describe the same period of time
mentioned in the seventh chapter, "a time, times
and dividing of times; " the 1,260 days or 42
months in the book of Revelation. It is the great
tribulation which is recorded in the last chapter
of this book.
The time and place of the vision in this
chapter are given in the beginning. The ram,
according to divine interpretation (verses 15,
etc.), is the Medo-Persian monarchy--the silver
kingdom, the kingdom also typified by the bear.
The he-goat with a notable horn is the Graeco-
Macedonian monarchy and the notable horn is
Alexander the Great. In 334 B. C., Alexander
leaped like a swift he-goat across the Hellespont
and fought his successful battles, then pushed
on to the banks of the Indus and the Nile and
then onward to Shushan. The great battles of
the Granicus, Issus and Arbella were fought,
and he stamped the power of Persia and its
King, Darius Codomannus, to the ground. He
conquered rapidly Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus,
Tyre, Gaza, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia. In 329 he
conquered Bactria, crossed the Oxus and Jaxaitis
and defeated the Scythians. And thus he
stamped upon the ram after having broken its
horns. But when the he goat had waxed very
great, the great horn was broken. This predicted
the early and sudden death of Alexander
the Great. He died after a reign of 12 years and
eight months, after a career of drunkenness
and debauchery in 323 B.C. He died when he
was but 32 years old. Then four notable ones
sprang up in the place of the broken horn. This
too has been fulfilled, for the empire of
Alexander was divided into four parts. Four of the
great generals of Alexander made the division
namely, Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and
Ptolemy. The four great divisions were, Syria,
Egypt, Macedonia and Asia Minor.
Then a little horn appeared out of one of
these divisions; it sprung up out of Syria. This
little horn is of course not the little horn
mentioned in the previous chapter, for the little
horn in Daniel 7 has its place in connection
with the fourth beast (Rome), while this one
comes from a division of the third beast, the
Graeco-Macedonian monarchy.
History does not leave us in doubt of how
and when this great prophetic vision was fulfilled.
This little horn is the eighth king of the Seleucid
dynasty. He is known by the name of Antiochus
Epiphanes; after his wild and wicked deeds
he was called Epiphanes, the madman. Long
before he invaded the pleasant land (Israel's
land), Daniel saw what he would do. He
conquered Jerusalem. He took away the daily
sacrifice in the temple and offered a swine and
swine's blood upon the altar. He introduced
idol worship, devastated the whole land and
killed some 100,000 Jews.
In verses 13-14 is an angelic conversation.
The 2,300 days (literal days) cover just about
the period of time during which Antiochus did
his wicked deeds. When they were ended Judas
Maccabaeus cleansed the sanctuary about
December 25, 165 B.C.
We believe these 2,300 days are therefore
literal days and have found their literal
fulfillment in the dreadful days of this wicked
king from the north. There is no other meaning
attached to these days and the foolish speculations
that these days are years, etc., lacks scriptural
foundation altogether. Such views and fanciful
interpretations bring the study of prophecy
into disrepute. We have special reference
to the Seventh Day Adventist delusion. They
teach the abominable falsehood that the Lord
Jesus Christ did not enter into the Holiest till
the year 1844 had been reached, because this
is according to their reckoning 2,300 years after
Cyrus had issued the command to build the
temple. That this is a denial of the gospel itself
and satanic is self-evident.
Verses 15-27. Gabriel is the interpreter of the
whole vision. It should be carefully studied. It
points to a future fulfillment.
Gabriel told Daniel that the vision has a
special meaning for the time of the end. Four
different expressions are used to denote the
time of the final fulfillment of the vision: (1)
"The time of the end" (8:17); (2) "The last end
of the indignation" (8:19); (3) "The latter time
of their kingdom" (8:23); (4) "When the
transgressors are come to the full" (8:23).
Once more, at the close of the age, before the
Lord comes in visible glory, in the days of the
great tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble,
an invasion from the north takes place. Israel's
land will once more undergo the horrors of a
devastation, foreshadowed by Antiochus
Epiphanes. The king of the north, as he is also
called in Isaiah's prophecy, "the Assyrian," will
do this work. For details and other prophecies
relating to this coming event see our exposition
of Daniel, pages 102-118.
CHAPTER 9
The Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks
1. The time and occasion of Daniel's prayer (9:1-2)
2. The prayer (9:3-19)
3. The answer and the prophecy of the seventy weeks (9:20-27)
Verses 1-2. It was in the first year of Darius,
of the seed of the Medes, that Daniel understood
by the sacred writings of his people, especially
by the prophecy of Jeremiah, that the end
of the years of the captivity was at hand. The
promises in the Word of God led him at once
to seek the face of the Lord and he poured out
a wonderful prayer in His presence.
Verses 3-19. It has three parts: Verses 4-10:
Confession of the failure of his people and
acknowledgment of God's covenant mercies.
Verses 11-14: The deserved curse as written in
the law of Moses. Verses 15-19: Pleadings for
mercy to turn away His anger and to remember
His city, Jerusalem and His people. Throughout
this prayer we read how completely he
identified himself with the sins, the failure, the
shame and the judgment of the people of God.
This is remarkable. As we have seen from the
first chapter, he was brought to Babylon when
quite young and belonged even then to the
believing, God fearing element of the nation. Yet
he speaks of the nation's sins, their rebellion,
their transgressions of the law and their
wicked deeds as if they belonged to him. Of all
the Bible characters Daniel appears as the
purest. The failures of Abraham, Moses, Aaron,
David and others are recorded, but Daniel
appears with no flaw whatever in his character. As
far as the record goes he was a perfect man. Of
course he too was "a man of like passions" as
we are, and as such a sinner. Yet this devoted
and aged servant with such a record of loyalty
to God and to His laws confesses all the people's
sins and the curse and shame, which came
upon them, as His own.
Verses 20-27. The prayer was not ended. How
near heaven is may be learned from verses
20-32. Heaven is not far away, for there is no
space and no distance with God. When Daniel
began his confession and humiliation the Lord
called Gabriel and instructed him what he should
tell the praying prophet, and then Gabriel was
caused to fly swiftly through the immeasurable
space, and before Daniel ever reached the
"Amen" the messenger stood before him and
stopped his prayer. What blessed assurance!
The moment we pray in the Spirit and in His
Name our voices are heard in the highest heaven.
We give a corrected text of the great
prophecy, perhaps the greatest in the entire
prophetic Word.
Seventy weeks are apportioned out upon thy people
and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression
and to make an end of sins, and to cover iniquity, and
to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal
the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of
holies. Know therefore and understand: From the
going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild
Jerusalem unto Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street and the wall
shall be built again, even in troublous times. And
after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and
shall have nothing; and the people of the prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,
and the end thereof shall be with overflow, and unto
the end war, the desolations determined. And he
shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week,
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease and because of the protection
of abominations there shall be a desolator, even
until the consummation and what is determined shall
be poured out upon the desolator (verses 24-27).
The literal translation of the term "seventy
weeks" is "seventy-sevens." Now, this word
"sevens" translated "weeks" may mean "days" and
it may mean "years." What then is meant here,
seventy times seven days or seventy times seven
years? It is evident that the "sevens" mean year
weeks, seven years to each prophetic week.
Daniel was occupied in reading the books and in
prayer with the seventy years of Babylonian
captivity. And now Gabriel is going to reveal to
him something which will take place in
"seventy-sevens," which means seventy times seven
years. The proof that such is the case is
furnished by the fulfillment of the prophecy itself
Now seventy-seven years makes 490 years.
What is to be accomplished. Verse 24 gives
the great things which are to be accomplished
during these seventy-year weeks or 490
years. They are the following: (1) To finish the
transgression; (2) To make an end of sins. (3) To
cover iniquity, (4) To bring in the righteousness
of ages; (5) To seal the vision and prophet; (6)
To anoint the Holy of Holies.
It must be borne in mind that these things
concern exclusively Daniel's people and not
Gentiles but the holy city Jerusalem. It is clear
that the finishing of transgression, the end of
sins and the covering of iniquity has a special
meaning for Israel as a nation.
Now, these seventy year-weeks are divided
into three parts. The first part consists in seven
weeks, that is seven times seven, 49 years.
During these 49 years the street and the wall of
Jerusalem was to be rebuilt and the complete
restoration accomplished. The reckoning of this
time begins in the month Nisan, 445 B.C.,
when the command was given (Nehemiah 2).
Then follows the second division consisting of
62 weeks of years, that is sixty-two times seven,
434 years. At the close of these 434 years, or
483 years reckoned from the month Nisan in
445 B. C., Messiah the Prince should be cut off
and have nothing. Messiah the Prince is none
other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Here then is
a startling prediction of the death of Christ, the
Messiah rejected by His people and not receiving
the kingdom which belongs to Him as the Son
of David. The sixty-two weeks, or 434 years,
expired on the day our Lord rode into Jerusalem
for the last time; during that week He was
crucified. (For full proof see The Coming Prince,
by Anderson, and our book on the Prophet
Daniel.)
Then we have a remarkable prediction
concerning the fate of Jerusalem after the nation
rejected the Lord Jesus Christ: "And the people
of the prince that shall come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with an overflow, and unto the end
war, the desolations determined." Who is "the
prince that shall come?" Expositors have erred
seriously in making of this prince the Lord Jesus
Christ. This prince is not our Lord. It is the little
horn predicted in Daniel 7 to rise out of the
Roman Empire in the time of the end, when the
Roman Empire is revived politically and has its
ten horns. Therefore "the people of the prince
that shall come" are the Roman people. Here
then is a prediction that the Romans were to
take the city and burn the sanctuary. How literally
this has been fulfilled! And all this was
revealed when the Roman Empire was not yet
in existence. Such are the marvels of divine
prophecy. After that there are to be wars and
desolations for Jerusalem and the Jewish people.
It is the same that our Lord predicted when
He said: "They shall fall by the edge of the
sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations" (Luke 21:24).
But all this leaves seven years, that is one
week, unaccounted for. We have up to now 483
years, and there are to be 490 years. The last
week of seven years is still future. The course
of the Jewish age was interrupted. It is an
unfinished age. Between the 483 years which
ended when the nation rejected the Lord of
Glory and the beginning of the last seven years
of the Jewish age, this last year-week is this
present age, the unreckoned period of time
during which God does His great work in sending
forth the gospel of His grace to the Gentile
nations, to gather out of them a people for His
Name. This age of grace is still on but it will end
some day when God's purpose is accomplished.
Then the true Church will be gathered
home to glory and the Lord will turn again to
His people Israel and the last week of Daniel
will pass into history. During these seven years
the Prince that shall come, the little horn of
Daniel 7, will enter into a covenant with the
Jewish people. Not with all of them, for there
is a remnant of godly Jews who will not accept
this one (indicated by the expression the
many"--see correct translation). In the middle
of the week he breaks that covenant and the
result will be the great tribulation, the time,
times and half of a time, 1,260 days, 42 months
of Daniel 7 and Rev. 13. When this great
tribulation ends the Lord Jesus Christ comes back
and the great things mentioned in verse 24 will
be accomplished.
CHART
THE SEVENTY PROPHETIC YEAR WEEKS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY
(Chart reformatted into chronological order. A *
[asterisk] denotes the title of each of the sections.)
* Seven Weeks
49 years later the street and wall built
Artaxerxes in the month Nisan gives edict to
rebuild Jerusalem 445 B.C.
* Sixty-two Weeks--434 Years
From the word to restore and build
Jerusalem seven weeks and sixty-two weeks
(483 years) till Messiah the Prince
The 69 weeks, or 483 years, expired in
A.D. 32
In the week they expired Christ died on
the cross as predicted. Messiah shall be cut
off and shall have nothing
End of 69th Week, April 10, A.D. 32
* The Great Unreckoned Period
The Romans under Titus destroy
the city and sanctuary, 70 A.D.
Jews are scattered among all nations
Jerusalem trodden down
Desolations till the end
The mystery hid in former ages made
known (the Church)
Worldwide preaching of the gospel
Apostasy of Christendom
Part of the Jewish nation returns to
the land in unbelief (Zionism)
The coming of the Lord for His saints.
Dead saints raised and living saints changed
(1 Thess. 4:13-18)
* The Last Week--7 Years
First half, 3-1/2 years, 1260 days
Roman prince (little horn, Dan. 7) makes
a covenant with the Jews
Jewish people fully restored and temple
worship resumed
Many other predicted events in prophets
and Revelation fulfilled
The covenant broken
* The Middle of the Week
Second half, 3-1/2 years, 1260 days,
The Great Tribulation
Sacrifices and oblations cease
Antichrist in Jerusalem
Image set up and its worship demanded
Great tribulation
Jerusalem in distress
The little horn (Dan. 8), the king with
fierce countenance
The Lord appears to deliver His people
* The end of the seventieth week brings in the
Righteousness of Ages through the second coming of
the Lord. The kingdom established. All vision and
prophecy fulfilled. Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Universal peace. Nations learn war no more.
CHAPTER 10
The Preparation for the Final Prophecy
This chapter contains the preface to the final
great prophecies as found in the last two
chapters of this book. The certain man who
appeared unto Daniel at the banks of the river
Hiddekel (Tigris) was the Lord. Compare with
Revelation 1, where John, the beloved disciple,
beheld Him in a vision of glory. Daniel's vision
is a pre-incarnation vision of the same One
whom John beheld after His resurrection and
in His glorified humanity.
The delayed answer by the angelic messenger
is explained by the power of darkness. A
powerful demon-prince, a satanic agency, having
control over Persia, so that he claimed the
title the prince of Persia, kept back the answer.
Then the prophet was strengthened.
CHAPTER 11
The Wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucidae Predicted
The Coming Events of the End
1. The wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucidae (11:1-35)
2. The time of the end and the man of sin (11:36-45)
Verses 1-35. Here we have history pre-written
and the greater part of this chapter (verses 2-35)
is fulfilled historically. So accurate are these
predictions and their subsequent fulfillment that
the enemies of "the Scripture of truth" have
declared that it could never have been written
by Daniel several hundred years before these
persons came into existence and fought their
battles. The pagan Porphyry in the third century
in his "Treatise against Christians" bitterly
attacked the belief that Daniel wrote these
predictions. He argued that all was written after
the events had taken place. The same arguments
are used by the critics. Such is this most
subtle infidelity that it can make use of the
statements of a poor heathen in opposition to
the divine revelation.
The prophecies given here were minutely
fulfilled during the years 301 B.C., to 168 B.C.
History verifies everything. The history covers
a good part of the Persian and Graeco-Macedonian
Empires, but mostly the wars of the Ptolemies
and Seleucidae. Artaxerxes, Darius,
Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Lagris, the King
of the South, Ptolemy Euergetes, Seleucus
Calinicus, Ptolemy Philopater, Antiochus Epiphanes,
even the Roman fleet (the ships of Chittim), all
enter into this prophecy. A detailed exposition
of the prophecy and its fulfillment would fill
many pages.
Before we pass on we desire to say again that
all in these verses we have briefly followed has
been historically fulfilled. We point out a
mistake in which some have fallen. In verse 31 we
read of "the abomination that maketh desolate."
Our Lord in His Olivet discourse (Matthew
24:15) said: "When ye therefore shall see
the abomination of desolation, spoken by Daniel
the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso
readeth let him understand)." Some believe that
when our Lord spoke these words he referred
to Daniel 11:31, and that this is the abomination
of desolation. This is not quite correct. The
abomination that maketh desolate of verse 31
is past and happened in the days of the
atrocities committed by Antiochus Epiphanes. The
abomination of desolation to which our Lord
refers is mentioned in chapter 12:11, and it
points, as we shall find later, to the abomination
set up by the Antichrist, the second beast,
in the middle of the week. The typical meaning
of Antiochus Epiphanes and his crimes in the
land of Judea and against Jerusalem we have
already learned in connection with chapter 8.
Verses 36-45. The time of the end is
mentioned in verse 35. What is to befall Daniel's
people in the latter days as Daniel was told in
chapter 10:14 is now revealed. Between verses
35 and 36 we must put a long and unreckoned
period of time. Antiochus Epiphanes and the
victorious Maccabees end the historical fulfillment
of the predictions of the great prophecies
in the first part of this chapter, and since then
over 2,000 years have come and gone and the
fulfillment of verses 36-45 have not yet been.
First we read of a wilful king. Who is this king
so fully pictured in verses 36-45?
Many expositors of Daniel apply this passage
to Antiochus Epiphanes because they see not
the important interval which exists between
verses 35 and 36. However, a closer examination
of the description of this king shows that
he cannot be Antiochus. He is another person
altogether, and as we shall see later, will be a
Jew and assume kingly honors in the midst of
the Jewish people. Antiochus was a Gentile.
Others again identify this King with the first
beast in Revelation 13, and say that the head
of the revived Roman Empire, one like Napoleon
the First is meant, while others see here a
reference to the pope in Rome. And whether the
head of the Roman power, or the pope, or
perhaps Mohammed, the term "Antichrist" is
freely applied to each. Those who see the
papacy here and the Romish corruption make some
startling applications which are extremely
fanciful.
The wilful king is the Antichrist. The Jewish
people rejected their King, the Messiah, who
came to His own, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
Lord told the Jews: "I am come in My Father's
name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive"
(John 5:43). This other one has not yet come.
We have his photograph here. He appears in
Israel's land in the time of the end as a
counterfeit Messiah and takes also the place of
king in their midst. This wilful king, the personal
Antichrist who deceives the apostate mass of the
Jewish people, is repeatedly mentioned in the
Old Testament prophetic Word. Isaiah speaks
of him and his end (Isa. 30:33, 57:9). Zechariah
calls him "the idol shepherd" (Zech. 11:15-17).
He is repeatedly mentioned in the Psalms as
"the wicked man"--"the man of the earth"--
"the bloody and deceitful man." In the book of
Revelation he appears as the second beast out
of the land (Palestine) (Rev. 13:11-17). The two
horns like a lamb as he is described there show
clearly that he imitates Christ. He has the spirit
of the dragon and appears as a religious leader,
for this reason he is also called "the false
prophet" in the book of Revelation (chapters
16:13, 19:20, 20:10).
In the New Testament he is called in the
writings of John "the Antichrist". (See 1 John
2:18-22, 4:3; 2 John 7). Another great prophecy
of the same person is found in 2 Thess. 2,
where he is called "the man of sin, the son of
perdition." The early Church believed that this
evil person will be a real man, a Jew, and be
energized by Satan. That he is the papal system
or something else was invented later.
In verses 40-45 we have a prophecy of the
wars and conflicts during the time of the end.
The false king, Israel's false Messiah, the
Antichrist, plays an important part in these
conflicts. Then there are the kings of the south
and of the north. The king of the south comes out
of Egypt. His antagonist is the king of the north.
The king of the south will be overthrown by the
powerful king of the North, the same who is typified
by the Antiochus Epiphanes. (Read about this
invasion in Joel 2 and Zechariah 14.)
While the king of the north and his proud
hosts are thus overthrown by the army of the
Lord, what becomes of the wilful king, the
Antichrist in the city? The king of the north
cannot touch him. But the Lord Himself will deal
with that wicked one. "Whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2
Thess. 2:8). Thus ends the great conflict of the
time of the end. The eternal abode of the satanic
instruments of the time of the end, the beast,
that coming prince, the Antichrist and the king
of the north will be the lake of fire.
CHAPTER 12
The Great Tribulation and Israel's Deliverance
"And at that time." What time? The time of
the end, the time of trouble such as never was
before; the same time to which our Lord refers
in Matthew 24:21.
Michael, the great prince which standeth for
the Jewish people, is now also mentioned again.
He will stand up and take a leading part in the
events of that time. From the book of Revela-
tion we learn (chapter 12) that there will be war
in heaven, that is where Satan has his dominion
now as the prince of the power of the air.
Michael, assisted by his angels, will cast out the
great dragon, the devil and his angels. They
will be forced down to the earth. Then when
Satan and his angels are cast out the great
tribulation will be instituted (Rev. 12:12). Michael
will stand up in another sense and take a definite
part in the deliverance of Daniel's people. It is
not fully revealed what that will be.
The deliverance of which we read in these
verses and the awakening of those "who sleep
in the dust of the earth" has likewise been grossly
misinterpreted. Because expositors have not seen
the application of all this to the Jews in their
future history in the land, they have read the
church in here, and even what they term a
general resurrection on a general judgment day.
But we shall see now what is meant by the
deliverance of Daniel's people.
Physical resurrection (as so often stated: a
general resurrection) is not taught in the second
verse. Physical resurrection is used as a figure
of the national revival of Israel in that day.
They have been sleeping nationally in the dust
of the earth, buried among the Gentiles. But at
that time there will take place a national
restoration, a bringing together of the house of
Judah and of Israel. It is the same figure as used
in the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. This
vision is employed by the men, who have invented
the theory of a second chance and larger hope
for the wicked dead to back up their evil teaching,
but anyone can see that it concerns not the
Gentiles but the Jewish people and that it is not
a bodily resurrection, but a national revival and
restoration of that people. Their national graves,
not literal burying places, will be opened and
the Lord will bring them forth out of all the
countries into which they have been scattered.
There will be two classes, the godly and the
ungodly. The ungodly accept the false Messiah,
and in their national revival, shame and
everlasting contempt awaits them, while the others,
the godly, will enjoy life in the kingdom. The
wise in verse 3 are the Jewish teachers and
witnesses in the end time, those which compose
the godly remnant. A special reward will be
theirs during the kingdom, they shall shine as
the stars forever. The same holds good, only in
a higher sense for all those who are witnesses
for Him during this age, who are faithful to
Christ.
Then Daniel is addressed and beholds angels
once more, as well Him who appeared clothed
in linen, none other than the Lord. Then Daniel
asked his final question.
Verses 11-12 have puzzled many readers of
the book. Different theories are given.
But what is the meaning of these 1,290 and
1,335 days? Can there be anything plainer than
the fact that these 1,290 and 1,335 days are
literal days? Who authorizes us to make of these
days years? By what process of exposition are
we to arrive at the conclusion that "days" mean
"years?" It is worse than folly to do that.
Now, the great tribulation lasts for 1,260 days.
But here we have 30 days or a whole month
added. The Lord will be manifested at the close
of the great tribulation of 1,260 days, 3-1/2 years.
Matthew 24:29-31 teaches us this. The extra
month will in all probability be needed to make
possible certain judgment events especially with
the overthrow of the nations which came against
Jerusalem and the judgment of nations as given
in Matthew 25:31. We cannot speak dogmatically
on all this. But certain it is that 1,335 days
after the Antichristian abomination had been
set up in Jerusalem, that is, 75 days, or 2-1/2
months beyond the time of the great tribulation,
the full blessing for Israel and the establishment
of the glorious rule of Israel's King, the
once rejected Lord Jesus Christ, will have
come, for it is written, "Blessed is he that
waiteth and cometh to the thousand, three
hundred and five and thirty days." This is as far
as any teacher can safely go, and here we would
rest.