^^y Of PmcifS;^ •Cj^OiOfilCAL StWk\^ The Prophet Daniel A KEY TO the VISIONS AND PROPHECIES OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL By A. C. GAEBELEIN Editor of "OUR HOPE"; Author of '^EXPOSITION OF MATTHEW," -HARMONY OF THE PROPHETIC WORD," '«THE LORD OF GLORY," Etc. PUBLICATION OFFICE '*OUR HOPE" 456 FOURTH AVENUE NEW YORK, N. Y. Copyright 1911. by A. C. Gaebelein PriBtiog by FRANCIS E. FITCH, Inc. 47 Broftd Street. New York CONTENTS PAGE Introduction . ...... . . . i CHAPTER I Daniel and His Companions in Baby- lon II II Nebuchadnezzar's Dream .... 17 III-VI The Moral and Religious Condi- tions of the Times of the Gentiles 39 III The Image of Gold 42 IV Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Vision, His Insanity and Restoration ... 48 V Belshazzar's Feast and the Fall of Babylon , 54 VI The Decree of Darius the Mede, Dan- iel in the Lion's Den and His De- liverance 62 VII Daniel's Night Visions and Their Meaning 71 VIII The Vision of the Ram and He-Goat . 92 IX The Great Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks 119 X The Preparation for the Final Pro- phecy 151 i ii CONTENTS XI The Wars of the Ptolemies and Seleu- ciDAE Predicted. The Coming Events of the Time of the End . i66 XII The End of the Prophecy. The Great Tribulation and Israelis Deliver- ance. JsLE Epilogue . ,.^ . > 196 THE PROPHET DANIEL Introduction The Book of Daniel with its great prophecies, both fulfilled and unfulfilled, is one of the most interesting portions of God's Holy Word. Before we follow this blessed book in a series of studies a few general remarks on Prophecy and its import- ance may be in order. Prophecy is history prewritten. The center of all Prophecy and the goal as well is the Lord Jesus Christ. His sufferings and His Glory, His two Comings, as Man of Sorrows to suffer and to die, as King of Glory to reign were beheld and written in advance by the holy men of God through the power of God's Spirit. The entire history of the chosen people Israel is written in the prophetic Word. All their sufferings and wanderings, what has befallen them in the past; their present lot, scattered among all the nations of the earth ; what | is yet to come upon them in tribulation and judg- ment, as well as blessing and peace, are found pre- written in the Bible. The history of nations, the times of the Gentiles, the present age in which we live, its course and end, the coming glories in a future age, all this and much more God has been 3 THE PROPHET DANIEL pleased to reveal to us in His Word. By far the greater part of the Bible is Prophecy. In view of such a marvellous Book with divine and infallible predictions concerning this earth and its future, the destiny of nations, one can hardly understand why the professing church of to-day should almost completely ignore and neglect the study of Prophecy. Yet such is the case. The study of a Book like Daniel, or the great New Testament prophetic book, the Revelation, is frowned upon by many. The great majority of professing Christians have little desire to know what God has said concerning the future. They rather listen to the theories or dreams of the human mind than to God's plan, how He is going to bring this earth to a knowledge of Himself. This rejec- tion of what God says about the future appears strange and inconsistent, when one thinks of the natural eagerness and curiosity of the human heart to know the future. Thousands of fortune tellers, astrologers, demon possessed mediums, who ask the dead, make a fine living throughout Qiristen- dom and profit greatly by the desire of thousands to know a little about the future. It is said that the great rulers of Europe, the rulers of the so-called Christian nations, employ and have employed clairvoyants and mediums. And here in the Bible God has uncovered the future, but a few of His people pay any attention to it. We say it is strange indeed. But behind this fact looms up the dark shadow of the enemy of the Truth, Satan. THE PROPHET DANIEL 3 And this almost absolute neglect of the study of Prophecy has avenged itself. On account of it Christendom has sunk into the deplorable condi- tion in which it is to-day. The denial of the in- spiration of the Bible has become widespread. If Prophecy were intelligently studied such a denial could not flourish as it does, for Prophecy gives the clearest and most conclusive evidence, that the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God. Because the study of Prophecy has been set aside scepticism has come in. One of the most powerful answers to infidelity is Prophecy. The prophetic Word neglected leaves man igno- rant of God's plan and the future and man becomes the easy prey of lying inventions and delusive theories. For this reason we see about us among Christians an unscriptural optimism, which holds in theory and practice, the very opposite from what the Bible teaches; an optimism, which has no use for the solemn declarations of the Word, that this age is an evil age and that it will close with apostasy and judgment. All the present evil condi- tions, the denial of the faith, the indifference and worldliness of professing Christians are the result of ignoring Prophecy. And if we. His people, have learned to "love His appearing" and know of the coming manifestation of our ever blessed Lord, the consummation to which all prophecy points, we too must beware of neglecting Prophecy. It is the lamp, which shineth in a dark place till the Day dawn. Never before is there such need of this lamp as now. The dark 4 THE PROPHET DANIEU place, the present age, becomes darker. The darker the night, the more the lamp is needed and the brighter shine its rays. When the Daydawn, with the blessed Morningstar comes, then we do not need the lamp any more. But now we are cast upon that lamp ; we cannot do without it. We need to turn more to the sure Word of Prophecy. Many of God's people had a far greater interest in Prophecy years ago. We have grown somewhat cold in the study of it and have advanced but little in it. Such neglect must result in spiritual loss. The prophetic Word puts before our hearts "things not yet seen." As we look in faith upon these un- seen and future things we shall estimate present things in their light and that will determine our character and conduct as Christians. We shall walk then in separation from that which is ripening for judgment and our service will be rendered with God's purposes in view. At the present time we behold a world progress, a progress in civilization, an extension of commerce as well as great religious movements on a large scale, which the age has never witnessed before. These very things are used by the "god of this age" to blind the eyes to the real conditions of the age. We too, dear friends, shall share this blind- ness in a certain degree, if we neglect a closer study of Prophecy. But a continued study of Prophecy is impossible unless we are separated from the world and live in the real enjoyment of our fellowship with Grod. And the continued prayerful study of Prophecy THE PROPHET DANIEL 5 must result in separation and in the enjoyment of the nearness of God, and that is what we all want. The statement one hears sometimes from good Christian people, "I have not much use for Prophecy," is a bad testimony for the spiritual con- dition of the one who speaks thus. The Importance of the Book of Daniel. The im- portance of the Book of Daniel in many ways can- not be overestimated. Sir Isaac Newton said, "to reject Daniel is to reject the Christian religion." We might say to ignore the great prophecies, which were given to this wonderful man of God, leaves us without any knowledge of the prophetic Word con- cerning "things to come." These prophecies, which were given at a time when Israel was set aside nationally when the times of the Gentiles be- gan, give a vista of the centuries down to the end, when God resumes His relation with His earthly people and sets up His own Kingdom from above. Our Lord refers to Daniel in His great prophetic Olivet Discourse. Hence that discourse can only be correctly i nderstood in the light of the Book of Daniel. The 1 .st Book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, the only prophetic Book of the New Testament, would ever be a sci'ied Book, if we had not the prophecies of Daniel, ai. d the prophecies of Daniel would in part remain sealed if we had not Revelation. Both books, the one written by the man greatly beloved and the other by the beloved disciple, must be studied together and are the keys to the entire prophetic Word. The Authenticity of the Bo^k, No other book 6 THE PROPHET DANIEL has been so much attacked as the Book of Daniel. It is fitted to be the battlefield between faith and unbelief; such it has been. For about 2,000 yearar wicked men, heathen philosophers and infidels have hammered away against it; but the Book of Daniel has proven to be an 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 Wellhau- sen 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 state- ments made against this sublime book. These critics follow the wicked assailant of Christianity of the thirr' Century, Porphyry, who contended that the Book of Daniel is a forgery, that 'c was written during the time of the Maccabees, after Antiochus Epphanes, so clearly foretold in this book, had ap- peared. The whole ^'easoning method of the de- structive Bible-Critic om may be reduced to the fol- lowing: Prophecy v an impossibility, there is no such thing as foretelling events to come. There- fore a book which contains predictions must have been written after th( events which are predicted. But how could the man who committed such a forgery be a pious J^w? No, the Book of Daniel is THE PROPHET DANIEL 7 either Divine or it is a colossal forgery and im- posture. No middle ground is possible. To follow all the arguments for the authenticity of Daniel would be impossible. However we men- tion a few. The so-called Septuagint version of the Old Testament (a translation into Greek) was undoubt- edly made before the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian enemy who fell into Israel's land and defiled the temple. Inasmuch as the Septuagint contains the Book of Daniel, it antedates the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. The great Jewish historian Josephus tells us that when Alexander the Great, who is also mentioned in Daniel's Prophecies, came to Jerusalem in the year 332 B. C. Jaddua, the high priest, showed him the prophecies of Daniel. Alexander was greatly impressed with it. But the highest authority for the authenticity of this Book is our Lord. He speaks of "Daniel the Prophet" (Matthew xxiv. 15). No other witness is needed. Whosoever sets aside the Book of Daniel, rejects the infallible testimony of the Son of God. The Division and Analysis of the Book. The Book of Daniel is composed of tw^o parts and it is written in two languages. We may therefore divide the Book in a twofold way. The first six chapters form the first part of the Book. These chapters do not contain prophecies by Daniel. We see the Prophet as the divinely chosen interpreter of what had been revealed to 8 THE PROPHET DANIEL Nebuchadnezzar in dreams. In the great dream in the second chapter the period of time is revealed which in Scripture is called "The Times of the Gentiles." These extend from the time God with- drew from Jerusalem, where His Glory dwelt, until His Throne is once more established upon the earth. Then the times of the Gentiles are ended. Chap- ters iii-vi reveal in histories in which the Prophet and his associates are concerned, the moral conduct of the great world powers; what the times of the Gentiles are morally and religiously is here made known. All has likewise a specific meaning in con- nection with the "time of the end." The Second part of the Book comprises Chapters vii-xii. In this part are recorded the communi- cations which God made to Daniel. Here we find no longer dreams but visions. These visions also concern tl^e times of Gentiles. In the seventh chapter the same ground is gone over which is covered by the second chapter, only much more is added. Then we find the relationship of these nations to Israel and what is to happen in "the time of the end," that is the few years which pre- cede the complete overthrow of the dominion of the Gentiles and the establishment of the Kingdom of heaven on the earth. The "time of the end," this prophetic period, has not yet come, nor can it come as long as the church is on earth. In this part we find the revelations concerning the two little horns, and the Anti-christ. But we must also consider the fact that the Book of Daniel was written by the Prophet in two Ian- THE PROPHET DANIEL 9 guages. The first chapter is written in Hebrew and so are chapters viii-xii. But chapters ii. 4-vii. 28 are written in Aramaic, the language of these eastern empires. The reason for this is very- simple. What concerns these empires is written down in their own language and what concerns the Jews is written in Hebrew. Both languages are evidences that Daniel wrote the Book. The Hebrew especially is the same in style as the Hebrew of Ezekiel. The Personality of Daniel. We know more of the personal history of Daniel, of his character, than of any of the other Prophets. What a man of faith he was! In the great Faith chapter of the New Testament, in the cloud of witnesses, his name is not mentioned, but his deeds are there. " Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought right- eousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions (Hebrews xi. 33). Who is able to describe this truly great man? As a mere lad he was brought from Jerusalem to Babylon. In a short time he rose to the highest position in the empire. He continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus. What faithfulness is exhibited in his life. His depend- ence on God, His deep piety and humility are men- tioned in nearly every chapter of the Book. He was a great man of prayer. He talked with angels and the angel Gabriel addressed him thrice as " the man greatly beloved." The Lord appeared unto him and he had the visions of God. He outlived the captivity of seventy years and was a very old man when Jehovah, whom he knew so well and lo THE PROPHET DANIEL whom he had so greatly honored by his faith, gave him the promise. " But go thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the «nd of the days " (Chapter xii. 13). CHAPTER I Daniel and His Companions in Babylon This chapter forms the introduction to the Book. In the foreground stands the sad history of Jeru- salem. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoia- kim king of Judah into his land, with part of the ves- sels of the house of God ; which he carried in the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. Divine judgment so long threatened and for so many years announced by God's holy Prophets came at last upon Jerusalem. The instrument chosen by God to execute His judgments was 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 took away a larger number of peo- ple, including Ezekiel. In 587 he completed the work and burned the City. Jehovah had His glor- ious dwelling place in Jerusalem in the midst of His 11 12 THE PROPHET DANIEL people till they had completely failed, and when Nebuchadnezzar appeared Jerusalem was given over to the Gentiles and the times of the Gentiles began. The characteristic of the times of the Gen- tiles is that Jerusalem is trodden down. But as the times of the Gentiles had a definite beginning so will they have a definite end and then Jerusalem will no longer be trodden down, but become the city of the great King. How the times of the Gen- tiles end we shall find in Daniel's great prophecies. In the command of the king to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs to bring of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed and of princes to Babylon for a thorough Chaldean education, we have the fulfillment of another prophecy. It is written in Isaiah xxxix. 7. " 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." Among these cap- tives were the four lads with their significant names, names full of hope and assurance. Daniel (God is my Judge) ; Hananiah (Beloved of the Lord) ; Mishael (Who is as God) and Azariah (The Lord is my help). But their pleasant names were changed. And what horrible names they received instead: Daniel becomes Belteshazzar, which means " Bel's Prince " as Nebuchadnezzar said himself " according to the name of my god " (iv. 8). Hananiah is named Shadrach. Rak was the name of the Sungod and the name means " Illumined by the Sungod." Mishael was called Meshach. It will be seen that the last syllable in his name " El " THE PROPHET DANIEL 13 which means God, was changed into Shach. This in all probability is the name of a goddess like Venus. So they changed his name from " Who is as God " to " Who is like Venus." Azariah became Abednego " the servant of Nego," another false god. Behind this change of names stands a satanic attempt to wipe out the memory of Jerusalem and to have these noble young men give up their separa- tion and become assimilated by the Gentiles. But Babylon had not reckoned with the faithful God of Israel. He overshadowed with His grace the poor, lonely captives, and the next we read is that Daniel takes a positive stand. Thus the great prophet is introduced. He was perhaps about 14 years old. First he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with that which accord- ing to the Law of God was unclean. No doubt this fixed purpose came to the lad by meditation on the Law and through communion with God. He thus manifested a complete separation from the world and its ways. The next step was that he made this purpose known. And when he had acted in faith he discovered that God had gone before. It was God who had brought him in favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. Then came the test. They are put on their simple diet of pulse and water and after ten days (ten is in Scripture the number of testing and trial) their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh, than the children who ate the king's meat. But God does always more than we can ask or think and so besides giv- ing them bodily strength and fairness He gave 14 THE PROPHET DANIEL them much more spiritually. " As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understand- ing in all visions and dreams." Daniel and his companions witness to the fact that God has a faithful remnant among His people even in the days of apostasy and judgment. These faithful ones headed by Daniel are types of the faithful remnant of Jews, suffering and bearing witness during the time of the end, the great trib- ulation. Of this we shall hear more later. But this chapter has also blessed lessons for us. We as God's people are in the midst of a world which is antagonistic to God and His Truth. This great Babylon presses upon us and would, if it were possible, blot out every phase of Divine truth and rob us of all our joy and peace. How well this great enemy of God succeeds ! Look about and see the thousands and thousands of God's people who instead of being transformed are conformed to this world. They have fallen in line with this present evil age and instead of being separated, they walk in its ways and hence they are barren in spiritual things. Our constant danger is that we give up our separation and go along with the world. And let us not think so much of the pleasures of this world, the attractive things for the senses, the world spirit which reaches out in coveteousness after the possession and enjoyment of earthly things; that no doubt is included. But think of what is called the " great religious world." That is Babylon in the true sense of the word — confusion. THE PROPHET DANIEL 15 In the religious world we have the confusion of tongues. From what man has made, what man has built up, the traditions and commandments of men, from all which is contrary to His Word and His Will, we are called to separate. Do we desire a deeper knowledge of His Word and of Himself? Are we craving for a more real enjoyment of the things of God? Do we want more spiritual wis- dom and understanding? The way is plain. We must be separated from that which is evil. We too must take a positive stand and dare to stand alone and cast ourselves upon a faithful Lord. It is this which is taught in the beginning of the xii chap- ter of the Epistle to the Romans. " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- ceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world (age), but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God." We must " cease from evil " and then we can learn and understand. The lack of power and enjoyment, the indifference of which we are so often conscious, the little true heart knowledge we possess of the things of the Lord, the little real communion with Himself is the result of being conformed to this age. Surely God calls us in these closing days, as He does all His people, to separation from that which is evil. But as it was with the Jewish lad Daniel, so it must be with us. Meditation on the Word and com- munion with the Lord must occupy the first place. i6 THE PROPHET DANIEL Then after the heart has purposed, the decisive stand and faith laying hold on God for strength .will follow. Then we shall find Him true as it was the case with Daniel. The faithfulness of the Lord becomes a blessed reality in the path of separation. We too shall find an increase in true wisdom, in heart knowledge and progress in the truth. Spiritual knowledge cannot be learned, but it is the gift of God. If we acknowledge our weakness and emptiness, and cast ourselves upon Him, He will give that knowledge we need. But notice also that while Daniel and his com- panions refused to be defiled by the King's meat and drink, they did not go without eating and drinking. That would have meant starvation. They ate pulse and drank water. Pulse means some kind of a vegetable. It was a simple fare on which they fed. And this likewise has a mean- ing. While we turn away from the world and its ways we have something to feed on, which makes up for all. Our food is Christ Himself and we have the water, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And as we feed on Christ and are led by His Spirit we shall increase in knowledge and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His power will keep us in an evil day. CHAPTER II Nebuchadnczzar*s Dream The second chapter introduces us to the first great prophetic unfolding. It may well be called one of the great pivotal chapters of the Bible. It is the foundation of all the other visions which fol- low in this Book. The same revelation we find here is given in another form in the seventh chap- ter, only more fully. Let us remind ourselves that with the 4th verse of this chapter Daniel used the Aramaic — Babylonian language. It is used by the Prophet to the end of the Seventh Chapter. After that he writes in Hebrew. This in itself is a strong argument for the genuineness of the Book for after the Babylonian captivity Aramaic became the lan- guage of the Jewish people. If an impostor had written the book he would have written it exclu- sively in Aramaic. But as already stated the chap- ters written by Daniel in Aramaic concern the great empires which used this language and the other chapters concern the Jewish people. Now, if we divide these prophecies with this fact in mind we have at the beginning of the Aramaic portion the great dream of Nebuchadnezzar and at the close the vision of Daniel, so that the heathen King and 17 i8 THE PROPHET DANIEL the Prophet of God received both communications concerning the great world monarchies, the one by a dream and the other in dream visions. But if we divide the Book in the other way, that is, make the First part, Chapter i-vi and the second from Chap- ter vii-xii, then we find that each portion (leaving out the first chapter which is introductory) has for its heading the times of the Gentiles. 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 Jeru- salem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled " (Luke xxi. 24). Now, the times of the Gentiles did not begin v/hen 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 de- parted 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 THE PROPHET DANIEL 19 on the east side of the city" (Ezekiel xi. 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 out- stretched 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 xxvii. 5-9). Jerusalem had been supreme because the throne and the glory of Jehovah was there. Though As- syria, 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. For the sake of clearness we mention briefly an- other phrase which occurs likewise only once in the 20 THE PROPHET DANIEL New Testament " the fullness of the Gentiles." The times of the Gentiles and *' the fullness of the Gentiles " do not mean the same thing. The fullness of the Gentiles mentioned in Romans xi., that great chapter touching the status of Israel, is to come in first before that blindness which has happened to Israel in part is removed. " Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. xi. 25). This is one of the mysteries Paul makes known. The fullness of the Gentiles means the full number of that people taken out from among the Gentiles (the church). The fullness of the Gentiles coming in, means the re- moval of the church from the earth. With that event Jewish history will be resumed and God in His Grace will call the remnant for their work dur- ing the " time of the end." The prophecies in Daniel concern the times of the Gentiles. Of God's purpose in this present age, the calling out of the church, Daniel heard and knew nothing. That is a mystery which was not known in Old Testament times. (Eph. iii.) The prophecies of Daniel are therefore somewhat differ- ent from the prophecies of the other Prophets. In the land the Prophets prophesied concerning their own people, warned against impending judgments and predicted the glorious future of Jerusalem ; out- side of the land Daniel had visions touching the Gentiles and the Gentile events which will precede the setting up of the future Kingdom in the midst of His people. The Forgotten Dream of Nebuchadnezzar. We THE PROPHET DANIEL 2i divide this chapter into five parts. 1. The forgot- ten Dream of the king. 2. The Prayer meeting and the Divine answer. 3. Daniel before the King. 4. The Revelation and Interpretation of the dream. 5. The effect upon Nebuchadnezzar and the promo- tion of Daniel and his companions. King Nebuchadnezzar had a great dream, which caused him much trouble. Later Daniel revealed that which had occasioned the dream of the King. " As for thee, O King, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what shall come to pass here- after ; and He that telleth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass " (29th verse). How much the King knew of what had been spoken through Jeremiah concerning the dominion God had given him, we do not know. He had returned successfully from Jerusalem; what others had not accomplished He had, and now he thought on the future of his empire, of what should be hereafter, after he has passed away. God answered this de- sire by a dream. It is one of the great dreams of the Bible, in which God reveals His purposes. The dream made a tremendous impression upon the King. He called his wise men and told them about his troubled spirit. The Chaldeans were quite ready to tell the King what the dream meant. But the King had forgotten the dream. It was gone from him. The King demanded that the wise men tell him first the dream; twice they demand to know the dream and then they would give the in- terpretation. The King realized that his wise men were miserable deceivers who prepared corrupt and 22 THE PROPHET DANIEL lying words. They in turn confessed their utter helplessness. The Chaldeans answered before the King, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the King's matter; therefore, there is no king, lord nor ruler that asked such a thing at any magicians, or as- trologers, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing the King requireth, and there is none other that can show it be- fore the King, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh (verses lO-ii). Upon this bold language, in which the wise men confessed their helplessness and exposed the unrea- sonableness of the King's request, they were con- demned to die. " And they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain." They had received in- structions in the Chaldean mysteries, and were reckoned with the wise men. The Prayer Meeting and the Divine Answer. And now our Daniel steps upon the scene. And it is a scene of the greatest calmness and faith. It is refreshing to see how the man of faith acted. There is no hurry, no haste connected with it whatever. ** He that believeth shall not make haste." It is seen from the text that Arioch had gone forth on his mission to slay the wise men, and this captain of the King's guard came to Daniel. He answered him with counsel and wisdom. Brought before the King he gave him the assurance that if the King would give him time he would show the King the interpretation. But notice he did not know the dream then. He was as ignorant about that dream as the Chaldeans were and yet he told the King positively THE PROPHET DANIEL 23 that he would make known the interpretation. This was the language of faith. He had confidence in God. He knew the God of heaven was able to make known that dream to him, for God gave the dream. Perhaps Daniel looked back in faith to the history of another captive, another Hebrew lad who was in a strange land and to whom God gave wis- dom, Joseph. Would God disappoint the youthful Daniel in his absolute confidence in God? God never disappoints faith. Oh! that we who know that the mighty power of God is towards us, might also act and walk more in faith, our most blessed privilege! When Daniel came to the house where his three friends were, he told them what had hap- pened. Perhaps they were amazed at his faith. But Daniel got them on their knees *' that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concern- ing this secret." What a scene it was! The four young men on their knees, acknowledging their utter helplessness to the God of heaven, the God of their fathers and asking from Him mercies, that He may make known the dream. It was a prayer meeting in Babylon and the leader was Daniel. What a man of faith and prayer he was! Three times a day, we read later, he had his windows open towards Jerusalem. He and his companions knew of no other way but the way of prayer. United prayer is one of the greatest needs of God^s people in our day. Per- plexities and difficulties continually increase. The host of demons and their work, the wiles of the devil are about us on every hand. While these 24 THE PROPHET DANIEL wicked powers cast themselves upon that which professes the name of the Lord, God's people should cast themselves unitedly upon God. What more pleasant occupation could wt think of than coming together as His dearly beloved people " to desire mercies " from Him, whom we do not address as " The God of Heaven " but " The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is waiting for the prayers and requests of His people. We have so little, so little true ministry in the power of the Spirit, so little insight into God's purposes and ways, so little advance in spiritual things, because we are so little on our knees " desiring mercies." And the lack of united prayer amongst us is but the result of little real prayer in secret. And in that night the answer came. Not to the three friends of Daniel was the secret made known, but God made it known to Daniel in a night vision. So to speak he dreamt over the dream of the King. God honored Daniel, because he had honored Him. And upon this followed one of the most simple and beautiful outbursts of praise we have in the Bible. Read it and see how Daniel ascribes everything to God. It is a sevenfold praise. L Wisdom and might are His. 2. He changeth the times and the seasons. 3. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. 4. He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. 5. He revealeth the deep and the secret things. 6. He knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with Him. 7. He gives praise for the revelation of what had been asked. How perfect THE PROPHET DANIEL 25 was this praise to God concerning Himself and His wonderful ways. Daniel before the King. After this outburst of praise, giving God the Glory, Daniel went again to Arioch, who had been commissioned to destroy the wise men and with no timid request he appeared be- fore him. He spoke with authority as the mes- senger of God. And Arioch rushed into the King's presence, as if he deserved the credit for having dis- covered the man, who will give the interpretation. But how beautiful is Daniel in the presence of the King. He stands before the mighty monarch. What an opportunity to be elevated and glorify self. But Daniel does hide himself completely. His God he puts into the foreground and himself all out of sight. He tells the King that there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. Nebuchadnezzar is to know the power of God and his dependence on Him. Then he tells the King that God has made known to him " what shall be in the latter days." This is an important phrase. It corresponds to " the time of the end " in the second half of Daniel. And before he makes known the dream he speaks of himself and disclaims all honor in connection with what he is about to say to the King. " But as for me this secret is not revealed unto me for any wis- dom that I have more than any living to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the King and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart." What humility breathes in these words. Daniel puts himself away completely and magnifies God. True spiritual knowledge and sL 26 THE PROPHET DANIEL deeper insight in God's ways and purposes should always be accompanied by humility. Think of the great Apostle Paul to whom the mystery concern- ing the church was made known, a mystery which was hidden in former ages. In the chapter in which he speaks of it he calls himself " less than the least of all the Saints." We all should beware of knowledge which puffeth up, which makes us think more highly and better of ourselves; it is a dangerous thing. But if we really walk and live in the truth we shall be kept from this great spiritual danger. Nothing is so sweet and attrac- tive as a real knowledge of the truth and humility .with it. The Revelation and Interpretation of the Dream. And now we hear Daniel speak to the King: 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 saw- est 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 sum- mer 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). What astonishment must have come over Nebuchadnezzar as he heard his dream from the THE PROPHET DANIEL 27 lips of the young captive. The whole dream came * back to his memory. But greater astonishment must have been his when Daniel interpreted the dream. The great image, the form of a man, is the prophetic image of the times of the Gentiles. That an image of a man was chosen, an image of great dimensions, is significant: In the New Testament the Apostle Paul speaks of " Man's Day ; " 1 Cor. iv. 3, see margin.) Man's Day describes the times of the Gentiles and it is still Man's Day and Man's Day will continue till the Lord's Day begins. The great image was composed of four different kinds of metal, gold, silver, brass and iron and the two feet with their ten toes were iron and clay. These four metallic parts of the great man-image, according to divine interpretation, represent four great world empires, which were to appear on earth successively. Here, indeed, we have history written in advance, one of the great evidences of the supernatural origin of the Bible. Four great kingdoms, world powers, should appear, beginning with Nebuchad- nezzar down to the end when the dominion is to be taken from the Gentiles and the rule of the Most High to be established on the earth. These four great world empires have appeared in exactly the way as it was shown to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream and revealed to Daniel. The youthful prophet pointed to Nebuchadnezzar and said " Thou art this head of gold." Nebuchad- nezzar, the great head of the Babylonian world-em- 28 THE PROPHET DANIEL pire, is represented by the head of gold. But this does not mean that morally the king was like fine gold. Gold is the type of Divinity. Nebuchad- nezzar had received the authority and the dominion direct from the God of heaven and this is why gold, the most precious metal, is mentioned in connection with the Babylonian empire. The Kingdom which followed the Babylonian and which is represented by the chest and the arms of the image, silver being its metallic value, is the Medo-Persian world monarchy. We do not trace this historically. There is no need for it for every- body has knowledge of it. In the Fifth Chapter the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire is an- nounced. " Peres, thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Darius, the Mede, comes then upon the scene. Its great king had been named by the Prophet Isaiah over 100 years before he (Cyrus) appeared. Here we have another fact of Prophecy. This is the reason why the critics have tried to discredit Isaiah, for they cannot believe that the Spirit of God could give the very name and history of an unborn being. The third great Monarchy which supplanted the preceding one is the Graeco-Macedonian. In the Seventh Chapter we read the story of how the King of Persia was broken by the King of Greece. It was a great empire. It is represented by the thighs and belly of brass. Alexander the Great, its founder, wept because he feared there might be no more world to be conquered. His great ambition, THE PROPHET DANIEL 29 like that of Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar, was world rule and dominion over all nations and languages. The fourth Monarchy during the times of the Gen- tiles is represented by iron ; it is the iron Kingdom, -♦ Rome. This Monarchy is described in one point of superiority; it is to be strong. For as iron breaketh to pieces and subdueth all things, so this kingdom shall break in pieces. This is a perfect description of that strong empire, Rome, and we need not to explain this further. Equally clear is it that that Kingdom was divided into two parts, represented in the legs of the image. It was divided into the East Roman and West Roman Em- pire. The legs are the longest parts of this image and by it the fact is represented that this Roman Empire is to be in existence longer than any of the previous ones. Iron and clay are to be the material which compose the feet. We behold then that the last form of Gentile world power is represented by ten toes, ten kingdoms in the Roman Empire and they are of iron and clay, which do not mix. Before we proceed with the interpretation of the dream let us notice the important truth brought out in the composition of this dream image. It tells of deterioration. From the most precious metal gold, it goes down to silver, brass, iron, and iron and clay. This surely does not tell of progress and improve- ment in the affairs of the times of the Gentiles. The second is inferior to the first. The word " inferior " means earthly. The third too is inferior to the second and the fourth is superior by its brute force and power to crush. According to the 30 THE. PROPHET DANIEL modern day conception of the times of the Gen- tiles, this image should have been constructed in this wise: First a head, composed of the meanest good for nothing stuff, earth mixed with particles of iron. Gradually the clay gives way and becomes iron, the inferior parts are expelled. Then the re- fining process continues and iron is changed to brass and brass to silver, then coming to the enlightened days of the Nineteenth Century and the great Twentieth Century with its civilization, we reach the fine gold. Well, this is a dream too, but it is not a dream given of God, but the dream which the Father of lies has inspired. Nebuchadnezzar's dream is of God and gives the process of deteriora- tion going on during the times of the Gentiles. The Final Form of the Times of the Gentiles. The ten toes of iron and clay represent the final form of the times of the Gentiles. They are typical of ten kings. Thus Daniel interpreted the ten toes for he said " In the days of these kings " (Verse 44). In Chapter vii, we shall find an additional vision concerning the future of the last monarchy, the Roman Empire. The fourth beast has ten horns and the ten horns are ten kings. Finally, if we turn to our great New Testament Book of Prophecy, the Revelation, we find the ten horns and the kings they represent there. " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast" (Rev. xvii. 12). There can be no doubt whatever what these ten toes represent. But has this division of the Fourth THE PROPHET DANIEL 31 Monarchy been reached? Have we anything in history which corresponds to the ten toes in the dream image and the catastrophe which is connected with it? The Roman Empire as such does not exist at all. Europe, the greater part of which with Egypt, Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa com- posed the Roman Empire, is in a divided condition. The iron and the clay are there. The iron repre- sents the monarchical form of government. We have " the great powers," kings and emperors ruling within the territory of the Roman world. But what does the clay represent? Clay is of the earth. It stands for that which does not belong to the great statue at all, a foreign ingredient brought in. The metals represent monarchies, but • the clay stands for democratic rule, the rule by the people. This is exactly what we behold in our day. There is a strong current towards democratic rule, the rule by the people, the exaltation of the people. Socialism and its kin. Anarchism, are looming up on all sides. What then will come yet upon the territory of the Roman Empire? The empire will be revived and established once more and in that monarchy will be ten kingdoms in which the clay is prominently present. We see indica- tions of this already, for the people are more or less dictating to kings ; the kings are ruled over by the popular elements. The ten-toe division of the i' times of the Gentiles does not yet exist. First, the Roman empire has to be revived and then the ten kingdoms come into existence. How this is to be brought about, we do not know; but we see 32 THE PROPHET DANIEL indications on all sides that such a condition may soon be reached. The Stone cut out of the Mountain. We follow the interpretation of the dream. Next comes a great catastrophe. Nebuchadnezzar beheld a stone falling out of heaven and that stone struck the ten toes, not the head, but the ten toes of iron and clay. Suddenly the whole image collapsed and all the metals represented in the image including the clay became pulverized like the chaff on the sum- mer threshing floor. Then came the wind and carried it away. Nothing whatever was left of the great colossus. It must have been this part of the dream which inspired Nebuchadnezzar with great terror. And what became of the smiting stone? It became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Instead of an image filling the earth, it was a mountain. And Daniel said to the King, In the days of these kings (the ten toes), shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom .which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people (it shall not be followed by other kingdoms), but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king- doms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain with- out hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain and the interpreta- tion thereof is sure (verses 44, 45)' Thus the King had his desire answered to know what shall be hereafter and we likewise have an THE PROPHET DANIEL 33 answer here to the question, what is going to be the end of all what we behold now in this present Gentile age. 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 corner stone, a sure foundation " (Isaiah xxviii, 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 whomso- ever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew xxi, 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 stumbling stone and rock of offence. In conse- quence 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. When does the Stone Strike? It is strange that so simple a prophecy should be misinterpreted. But such is the case. Post-millennialists have labored to interpret all this as meaning the first Coming of Christ. In doing so they have not only 34 THE PROPHET DANIEL miserably failed, but have taken great liberties with the Word of God and read into it, what is not here at all. Some say that the birth of Christ was the beginning of the striking of the heathen world. Others think of the day of Pentecost, of the des- truction of Jerusalem and other historical events, like the edict of Constantine the Great. They speak of a spiritual kingdom, which began with the Lord Jesus Christ and they actually talk of this stone here, which comes down with a crash, as a rolling stone, which began with Christ and ever since is rolling along throughout the centuries, and as it keeps rolling becomes bigger and bigger and bye and bye the rolling stone has rolled itself into a great mountain, filling the whole earth. Gradually, post-millennialism teaches, the kingdom spreads over the whole world through the agency of the church and gradually heathendom gives way. At present we hear much of that kingdom to be ex- tended by the Laymen's missionary movement, the rolling stone is helped along by immense sums of money, to bring in the kingdom. But all this is wrong. It makes havoc with the entire Word of God; it leads to confusion worse confounded. The Lord Jesus Christ in His first coming did not give the command that Gentile do- minion should be broken through the Gospel, nor did He attack the Roman Empire, which was then in full control. Indeed the Roman Empire was of- ficially the means of His blessed death on the cross. He did not smite the image; the image, so to speak, smote Him. THE PROPHET DANIEL 35 Now the stone strikes the feet and on the feet the ten toes. Hence, before the stone can smite there must be ten toes to smite. But when our Lord came the first time the Roman Empire was a unit. The division into the East and West Roman Empire, seen in the two legs of the image, had not yet taken place. If no legs were then in existence and no feet and nothing seen of the ten toes, how then could the first coming of Christ be the fulfillment of this dream? All this is very simple. The stone strikes the image, when the ten toes, the final ten kingdom division of the Roman Empire, are in existence. A Great Catastrophe. And anyone can see that the striking stone cannot mean the peaceful exten- sion of a spiritual kingdom, or the preaching of the Gospel, but that it is a great catastrophe. It is a crushing, destructive blow which this stone de- livers. And notice it is AFTER the stone has done its smiting work, after the great image has been pulverized, that the stone becomes a great moun- tain filling the whole earth. The stone which falls from above is the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, His Coming in great power and Glory. When the ten kingdoms are in existence, iron and clay, a tremendous and awful apostasy from God will be in the earth. The great Gentile civilization, though it calls itself " Christian," as do the nations which compose it, will have become thoroughly anti-christian. The opening part of the Second Psalm will then be fulfilled. Rebellion against God and against His anointed will be in order. Then 36 THE PROPHET DANIEL the destructive blow will come. That which is looked for the least, interference from above, will take place. The God of Heaven will establish the Kingdom of Christ and set His King upon the holy- hill of Zion. But the first act of God will be the complete overthrow and judgment of the last and final form of Gentile world dominion. What an awful act of judgment it will be! Then military Christendom will find its end and man's day with its boasted progress and civilization and its deifica- tion of man will close. Its sun will set in the dark clouds of judgment. The hurricanes of divine dis- pleasure and wrath will sweep away that which defied God and rejected His greatest gift. To the natural man and the religious man too all this sounds very pessimistic. They often ask, but is it possible that all this should come true? No matter what man thinks, it is written in the Scrip- ture of Truth, the infallible Word of God. Every other part of Nebuchadnezzar's dream found its literal fulfillment. The crushing stone cut out of the mountain without hands, smiting the ten toes and pulverizing the entire image, the complete passing away of the times of the Gentiles and their dominion, will likewise be literally fulfilled. God grant that the modern day progress, a progress without God and Christ, may not obscure the fact of the true end of this age and its seeming glory. But there is a bright side to this dark picture. The stone which executes judgment becomes also a great mountain filling the whole earth. It is the picture of the introduction of the Kingdom of our THE PROPHET DANIEL 37 Lord Jesus Christ. Then the true Kingdom of Christ, a Hteral Kingdom, will be set up and all the nations of the earth will be brought under the glorious and peaceful rule of the Son of Man. Then He will come to His own and rule over all nations and languages. Then, and not before, the glorious visions of God's Holy Prophets concerning the Kingdom will be gloriously fulfilled. The Effect of the Interpretation upon Nebuchad- nezzar. Not a word had come from the lips of the astonished King. But now we see him falling on his face and worshipping Daniel, the divine instru- ment in making the dream and its meaning known to him. The King acknowledged Daniel's God as the God of gods, the Lord of kings and a Revealer of secrets. God is owned by him in a three-fold way. The God of gods, as God the Father and the Lord of kings, such is our Lord Jesus Christ and the Revealer of secrets, the Holy Spirit. Daniel receives an exalted position and by re- quest his three friends share his promotion. This is typical of the blessing which the faithful Jewish remnant will receive some day. We must also think of Him, who prayed " The Glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them." When the day of His exaltation comes, when He is manifested, we shall be manifested with Him in Glory. As Daniel did not leave His friends behind so our ever blessed Lord will remember us and give us a place with Him on His throne. And how long before this final stage of Nebuchad- nezzar's dream is to be fulfilled? Let the present 38 THE PROPHET DANIEL day conditions among the nations give the answer. Surely it cannot be much longer. Everything seems to hasten on towards the close. The end of the times of the Gentiles cannot be far off. Before that end comes the shout of our Lord will call all His Saints into His own presence. For this let us w^ait and pray. CHAPTERS III-VI The Moral and Religious Conditions of the Times of the Gentiles The four chapters which follow the great dream of Nebuchadnezzar are of a historical charac- ter. They do not contain direct prophecies, but re- cord certain events which transpired during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, his successor and grand- son 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 sub- ject 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 be- cause its records are divinely inspired and there- fore correct. What would we know of the genuine- 39 40 THE PROPHET DANIEL ness of these ancient tablets and cylinders covered with cuneiform inscriptions if it were not for the Bible? These witnesses from the stones, which in- deed 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. Analysis of the Four Chapters. We give first of all an analysis of these four chapters before we comment on them briefly. Chapter HI. The golden image Nebuchadnezzar erected. The fiery furnace and the miraculous de- liverance of the faithful captives. Chapter IV. Nebuchadnezzar's proclamation. His dream vision. Daniel's interpretation. The Mania of the King and his restoration. Chapter V. Belshazzar's feast. The handwrit- ing on the wall. Daniel interprets. The fall of Babylon. This happened in 538 B. C. or 68 years after Daniel had been brought to Babylon. Chapter VI. The decree of Darius the Medc. Daniel's faithfulness; how God delivered him out of the lion's den. The proclamation of Darius. This must have happened in the same year when Babylon fell. The pictures one sees sometimes showing Daniel as a young man standing amid lions are not correct. If Daniel was 14 years old when he was brought to Babylon he was over 80 years of age when they cast him into the lion's den. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in guiding the pen of Daniel in this manner, reporting first these THE PROPHET DANIEL 41 historical happenings, is not difficult to discover. These chapters describe the moral conditions pre- vailing during two of the great world empires. But they also indicate the moral conditions which will continue to the very end of the times of the Gentiles. We may trace in them the following five things which are prophetically foreshadowed: 1. The moral characteristics of the Times of the Gentiles. 2. What shall happen at the close of the Gentile age. 3. The faithful remnant of His people in suffer- ing. 4. Their deliverance. 5. The Gentiles acknowledge God as the King and God of Heaven. CHAPTER III The Image of Gold Nebuchadnezzar had heard from Daniel's lips, "Thou art this head of gold." The poor king be- came puffed up and in the pride of his heart at- tempted to unify the religious worship of his vast empire. 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 dur- ing 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 (^. The image then represents man, but the climax of man was not yet reached. However, the beginning fore- shadows the end of the times of the Gentiles. That end is described in the xiii chapter of Revelation. This chapter leads us upon the ground of the re- stored Roman Empire, when the ten kingdoms are established. Then a great Roman emperor, of +2 JHE PROPHET DANIEL 43 whom we hear later as the little horn in Daniel's vision, will appear and will make a covenant with the Jews, which permits them to resume their wor- ship. He will break that covenant. Another beast, the second beast in Revel, xiii, the personal Anti- christ, equally energized by Satan like the head of the restored Roman Empire, will put up an image, the image of the beast and demand its worship. Then the idolatry and deification of man has reached its full height. The Antichrist and the image will be worshipped ; he will sit in the temple of God and show that he is god. We see from this brief review how the act of Nebuchadnezzar clearly points to the time of the end. 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— to 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 re- produced in Rome, which is called in Revelation, Babylon.* ♦The Book by Mr. Hislop "The Two Babylons," gives reliable and important information on this fact. 44 JHE PROPHET DANIEL And do we not find here lessons likewise for our day? We hear from many sides the cries for a new religion, for a universal religion. It will surely come; yea, it is almost upon us. The age will not run out irreligiously. The false worship, the Cain- cult is all about us. It is the bloodless religion, the religion which exalts man. And there you may even now go and hear the sweetest music, the finest operatic airs from well trained singers, often taken from the playhouses of the world. And the magnificent ceremonies and rituals — all great helps to worship — yes, but what kind of worship? A sensuous, soulical worship, but not the worship in Spirit and in truth. The true worship in the Spirit does not need the sweet music of the world. The Faithful Three. The proclamation had been made and when the sweet music was heard all nations and languages fell down and worshipped. And whosoever did not follow the King's demand was to be cast into a fiery furnace. Then came the Chaldeans and accused the three friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury com- manded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the King. Ne- buchadnezzar spake and said unto them. Is it true O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego do not ye serve my gods nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the JHE PROPHET DANIEL 45 midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the King, O, Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to an- swer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up (verses 13-18). Nebuchadnezzar finds out that the accusation is true. Here are three men who refuse to worship the image of gold. And Nebuchadnezzar, whom we saw bowing before Daniel and acknowledging God, the Lord of Kings and the Revealer of secrets, can say now in an arrogant way " Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" But in that dark hour the Grace and Strength of God covered the three friends of Daniel. What gracious words they were permitted to speak! No exciting note nor any fear whatever can be discovered in their answer to the King. They breathe calmness and determination. They were men of faith, and faith is seen here in its perfection. They know that the God whom they serve is an omnipotent God; He is able to deliver them. And then they add " and He WILL deliver us out of thy hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods." What victorious language this was! The raging King stood helpless in the presence of these men, with their holy separation and determination, born of faith. The furnace is heated seven times more, the 46 THE PROPHET DANIEL most mighty men are commissioned to cast the three into the furnace heat. The very men who cast them down were consumed by the flames. But when the King looked towards the furnace he be- held 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 were 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, Je- hovah, 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, mul- titudes 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 fur- naces are 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 JHE PROPHET DANIEL 47 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 dying lips, He carried them through the fire. It is interesting to read in expositions of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, written in the 16th and 17th centuries, how the expositors saw in papal Rome the Antichrist. But a great fulfillment of all this is yet to come under the domineering little horn, the beast out of the sea. The Remnant of the Time of the End. When Antichrist terrorizes Jerusalem and the image is set up we read that all who do not worship the image of the beast shall be killed. And in that time of fiery trial, the great tribulation, there will be sL faithful Jewish remnant. They will refuse to wor- ship the image and many of them will suffer martyr- dom while others will be miraculously kept by the Lord's mighty power and pass through the greai tribulation without being harmed by it. The blessed application in connection with olllf trials, the furnace experiences of God's people, we cannot enter into now. But blessed be God, what- ever the trial may be, whatever the fiery heat, One is always there with His believing trusting children, our blessed Lord, the Son of God. In all our trials and sorrows the Son of God is with us. And the fire but burns off our bands and sets us free. Once more the king, acknowledged the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. CHAPTER IV Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Vision. His Insanity and Restoration The fourth chapter is in the form of a procla- mation from the King. He relates his experience. A time of peace had been reached by him and he yvas flourishing in his palace, when once more he was disturbed by a dream. He saw in his dream a high tree in the earth. The tree grew and reached unto heaven. It was a fair tree giving fruit and shelter. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heavens dwelt there. But all at once a watcher and an holy One, an angel, for the angels are the holy watchers, came down from heaven with a message. " He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches : nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's 48 THE PROPHET DANIEL 49 heart be given unto him ; and let seven times pass over him." Once more Daniel interprets through the wisdom of God and once again he points to the King. " It is thou O King, that art grown and become strong." He then announced to him his coming fate. They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwell- ing shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree ; thy kingdom shall be sure imto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. All this came upon the King Nebuchadnezzar (verses 22-28). 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 pro- noun. 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 cat grass as the oxen, and his body was wet so THE PROPHET DANIEL 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 last verse of this chapter sums up the whole experience of the King, " Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works arc truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase." The meaning of this is not difficult to find. A great tree in Scripture is the symbol of man with great power and influence on earth. The Prophet Ezekiel, for instance, had a vision concerning the Assyrian and he beheld him as a cedar of Lebanon with fair branches and of high stature (Ezek. xxxi, 3). Israel is spoken of as a vine brought out of Egypt and God expected fruit from it, but when it failed and brought forth the sour grapes (Isaiah v), then the Gentiles began to flourish and became the big tree with its branches spreading everywhere. And we find the tree in the New Testament. In the third parable in Matthew xiii, our Lord speaks of the mustard tree with its roots in the field, the world, and its branches extending far and wide [while the birds find shelter there. This tree tells us of the development of Christendom as a vast earthly institution with power and influence. But connected with this growth and influence in the earth of Gentile dominion is self-exaltation and pride. This was the great sin of Nebuchadnezzar. He spoke of the Great Babylon which I have built, THE PROPHET DANIEL 51 my power and my majesty. This pride and self- exaltation is the work of Satan as pride is the crime of the Devil and it must result in Divine judgment. So an holy watcher announced that judgment and we see the proud king a beast, no longer looking up, but down and living like a beast, wandering about as a beast till seven times had passed over him, then he acknowledged the Most High and is restored. The last we hear of Nebuchadnezzar is this pleasant record of his restoration, praising God. And so judgment will come upon this proud and self-exalting age of the Gentiles, both political and religious. That great big tree will some day be hewn down and destroyed, though the root will be left. We must also remember the parable of the good and the wild olive tree in Romans xi. The good Olive tree is Israel ; branches were broken off on account of unbelief. The wild Olive tree are the Gentiles. They are grafted upon the good Olive tree. But God warns against self-exaltation. He threatens judgment if the grafted in branches are high-minded. He tells these high-minded branches that He will cut them out of the good Olive tree. This is spoken not concerning the church, but Gentile Christendom is in view, the great big mustard tree. To-day we behold a boast- ing and high-minded Christendom. The crime of the devil has never before been so apparent as now. Judgment will come, when the tree will be de- stroyed. Oh how we should beware in these evil days of pride and self-exaltation. With this the 52 THE PROPHET DANIEL child of God steps upon the territory of the enemy. May we not seek great things and be in that which feeds our proud hearts, but lowly at his feet, be clothed with humility. And Nebuchadnezzar's great humiliation in be- coming a beast for seven times (seven years),* points us to the end of this Gentile age once more. 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 atti- tude 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 re- jected 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 attempt to ascertain from this "seven times" the length of the times of the Gentiles as some do lacks the sup- port of Scripture. The seven times mean seven years. THE PROPHET DANIEL 53 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 humili- ated and judged. First there is self-exaltation, that is followed by judgment and then follows restoration and the acknowledgment of the Most High. That nothing more is now reported of Nebuchad- nezzar, 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 V Belshazzar's Feast and the Fall of Babylon The history of this chapter is so well known that we need not to relate it in full. It was in the year 538 B. C. that this happened. The end of the Babylonian captivity was almost reached and Bel- shazzar was reigning over the empire. He was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and vice-regent of the empire; his father's name was Nabonnaid. Critics have stated that Nebuchadnezzar could not be the grandfather of Belshazzar for Nabonnaid, Belshazzar's father, was not a son of Nebuchad- nezzar. This objection is seemingly strengthened by the fact that no ancient historian gives the name of Belshazzar, from which the critics concluded that he must be a myth. Berosus, who lived about 250 years after the Persian invasion, gives the fol- lowing list of Babylonian monarchs : Nabuchodonosar (Nebuchadnezzar) . Evil Marudak, who is the Evil Merodach of the Bible. Neriglissor. Laborosoarchod. Nabonnaid. Cyrus, the Persian conqueror. 54 THE PROPHET DANIEL 55 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 Baby- lonian 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. v, 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 there- fore 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 continue to look for flaws in the infallible Book. Some day they will discover the seriousness of their work. 56 THE PROPHET DANIEL Daniel writes of Belshazzar as the " son " of Nebuchadnezzar. This is no discrepancy at all for the Semitic languages have no word for " grand- father " or " grandson." Matters have gone from bad to worse in the em- pire. A great feast is held, which was perhaps an annual aflFair. What splendor was exhibited! A thousand lords and princes with their wives and con- cubines! Luxuries and licentiousness were seen at that feast. When it was at its height an awful blasphemy was committed by Belshazzar. He com- manded that the precious vessels which Nebuchad- nezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought that they might all drink out of them. Then they blasphemed God and praised their idols. It was an open blasphemy and defiance of God. Over against the candlestick on the plaster of the wall, all at once a man's hand appeared and the King beheld the hand that wrote. The whole feast came at once to an end. The joy gave way to fear. The King be- came pale and his knees shook; the laughter gradu- ally died out as one after another beheld the mysterious words which had been written on the wall. Once more the Chaldeans and astrologers are called and once more they are unable to read the writing and give the interpretation. Then the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, the aged queen, appears upon the scene. She evidently had no sympathy with the feast. She calls attention to the forgotten Daniel. There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father, light THE PROPHET DANIEE if and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdonl of the gods, was found in him; whom the King Nebuchad- nezzar, thy father, the King, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the King named Belteshazzar : now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation (verses 11-12). Then Daniel is introduced. He was, as pre- viously stated, an old man. Years and years had passed since he had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream and sat in the gate of the King, but Bel- shazzar had no knowledge of him. Patiently he must have waited in seclusion for other service His God might give him. The fact that Daniel was no longer remembered and neglected is a vvitness of the degeneracy of Babylon. Daniel refused the honors of the King, he has to offer. He knew that ere long, but a few hours more, and the blaspheming King would be no more. And Daniel is more than an interpreter of the handwriting on the wall. He is God's Prophet and messenger. Listen to his sublime words: Then Daniel answered and said before the King, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to an- other; yet I will read the writing unto the King, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou King, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and S8 THE PROPHET DANIEL languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly- throne, and they took his glory from him : An/i he was driven from the sons of men ; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast Hfted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them ; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in whose . hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified (verses 17-23). Then followed the reading of the letters on the wall. Mene, Mene, " Numbered - Numbered " ; Tekel—'* Weighed"; Upharsin "and divided."* It was the solemn announcement of the impending judgment. In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans slain. How the Persians took the city by diverting the river Euphrates, which ran through the city is well known from history. But what are the lessons here? The last days of Belshazzar were days of the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. Impiety reached its climax in open defiance and opposition to the God of ♦Lit divides. THE PROPHET DANIEL 59 Israel. Babylon was glorying and boasting in her own gods and achievements. What does Babylon represent? In its final form it is the great religious world system which flourishes immediately after the church has been called away. This final Baby- lon is a great ecclesiastical system, the center of which is Rome. Such a system, a universal church full of corruption, will be in existence during the time of the end, but it will not last to the end. According to Revelation that final Babylon will be overthrown by the ten horns before the seven years are accomplished, with which the Gentile age closes. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Rev. xvii. 16-17). A political power overthrew the literal Babylon and a political power will overthrow the ecclesiasti- cal Babylon. But though we do not yet see this final, great ecclesiastical system, because the hour for it has not yet come, the material for it is present. We are living in the days of Laodicea, the days of boasting and vainglory. The days in which we hear on all sides, " I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing." What we hear mostly to- day is of the great strides we are making, the glori- ous times we are living in and the still better times 6o THE PROPHET DANIEi: which are coming. But what is underneath it all? An impiety and blasphemy even greater than the impiety and blasphemy in the banqueting hall of Belshazzar. Hear some of the blasphemies of present day Christendom: The Bible is not the Word of God, God's holy Word is but a book like other books containing numerous errors, myths, and legend. Is not this a great blasphemy making God a liar? And worse than that, that worthy Name, the Name which is above every other name, is blasphemed. He is rejected as God's holy Son; His virgin birth is sneered at; the blessed death on the cross and its meaning for a lost world is set aside; every article of the faith is denied. Are these not greater blasphemies than taking golden vessels which were dedicated to Jehovah and make them profane in a banqueting hall? Yea, the best which God could give, the finest gold, His own blessed Son, has been and is blasphemed. God will not stand this boasting, self-glorying, Christ-blaspheming and Christ-rejecting age forever. And the moral de- clension is as prominent as the doctrinal departure. Luxuries and lusts hold sway on every hand. The days of Lot, filled with licentiousness, are becoming more evident. The material for the final Babylon, the great apostasy is present with us in our day. The well deserved judgment to fall upon Christen- dom will surely come and not linger. And the handwriting on the wall? The same hand which wrote on the plaster, over against the candlestick in Belshazzar's hall, has written the judgment and the doom of apostate Christendom THE PROPHET DANIEL 6i on the pages of the Bible. There is a " Mene, Mene Tekel " for the present day conditions of Christen- dom. Mene, Mene, "numbered." The days are numbered. They cannot extend beyond the time appointed by the God of heaven. We do not know when they will expire. God knows that and all attempts to find ou t the year or the times will meet with failure and bring dishonor upon God's Word. The time is near, that is what many of God's people feel in their hearts. Daniel having been forgotten with his God-given interpretations has also its lesson. So have the words of God, the revelations in the Prophetic Word been forgotten. Some day they will be brought back, but then it will be too late for repent- ance, as it was too late for Belshazzar. This moral condition of the first empire, Babylon, immediately before the judgment came upon it, at the close of the 70-year captivity of the Jews, is thus described in this chapter. It foreshadows the moral condi- tions of the time of the end, when Israel's long dispersion is almost ended and when God will cut out the ingrafted branches, the Gentiles, and put back Israel upon their own olive tree. May we hear God's call to separation from that which is evil. Babylon — confusion is all about us and God wants His people to be separated from that which hates and despises His truth. In the midst of in- creasing corruption and apostasy we must ever honor Christ more in our hearts and lives, be oc- cupied with His Word and do His will, so that we are not partakers of her sins. CHAPTER VI The Decree of Darius the Mede. Daniel in the Lions' Den and His Deliverance In this chapter we are on the ground of the second world empire, the Medo-Persian, repre- sented in the dream image of Nebuchadnezzar by the chest and arms of silver. It is therefore inferior and continues in the downward tendency. And this comes out in this chapter. Daniel is seen in the highest position of the empire, the first of three presidents over the whole kingdom, and Darius the Mede intended to give him a still greater place of honor. Most likely Darius heard of what hap- pened in that eventful night when Belshazzar was feasting and when the enemy entered the dried-up river bed and took Babylon. But this condition did not prevail very long. The old Prophet, over 80 years of age, is soon envied by other presidents and princes. But they cannot dis- cover anything whatever in him concerning the kingdom. A plan is concocted by them which, ac- cording to their mind, will surely rid them of the hated Daniel. The plan reveals the cunning of the Serpent. With lying tongues they come to Darius 62 THE PROPHET DANIEL 63 to inform him that all the presidents have consulted together to establish a royal statute. But as Daniel was one of the presidents and had not been con- sulted nor agreed to it, they plainly told a falsehood. The decree to be established was that for 30 days no one in the realm of the empire is to ask a peti- tion of any God or man, save Darius. In other words, the King is to take the place of God. And he who does not do according to this royal statute is to be cast into the den of lions. The King is well pleased with this proposition for it flatters him. He signs the writing and the decree and the laws of the Medes were irrevocable, so that it had to be carried out. Beautiful it is to see Daniel's steadfastness, how; the man of faith, whose first steps in the life of faith are recorded in the beginning of this book, now acts. " Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." The aged man of prayer, in sweet communion; with God, continues thrice daily to pray and to give thanks. Faith looks away from earthly cir- cumstances to an omnipotent Lord. The accusa- tion soon follows. The King now discovers that he is in a hopeless position. His law demands that Daniel be cast before the lions, his heart filled with love towards Daniel demands that he be saved. But though his heart .was set on delivering Daniel 64 THE PROPHETj DANIEL and he labored till the going down of the sun he found no way to deliver him. Well may >ye 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 xxii, 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 fore- shadowed in this experience of God's prophet. After a restless and sleepless night, Darius, who kad such regard for Daniel, went very early in the «ax)rnmg to the lions' den and cried with a lament- able voice unto Daniel. " O Daniel, servant of the Rvfaig God, is thy God whom thou servest con- THE PROPHET DANIEL 65 tinually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" Then came the answer which filled the heart of the King with joy. Daniel was alive. His accusers and their families are given to the lions, which claimed them at once. Then followed the proclamation of the King: " Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth ; peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel : for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." In this historical incident we behold almost the same characteristic as in the third chapter. There was set up the image of gold to be worshipped, the deification of man; and here a man is put in the place of God, honor and worship is demanded for him. That this once more directs our attention to the time of the end, when the times of the Gen- tiles come to a close, needs hardly to be stated. It is significant that the same deification of man is mentioned in the second empire, which was shown in the Babylonian. It is the characteristic feature of every one of these world empires. Nebuchad- nezzar and Darius took the lead. In the one which followed, the Graeco-Mace- donian, we find Antiochus Epiphancs, .who took 66 THE PROPHET DANIEL the same place. In the Roman Empire we have emperors and others, like Herodes, claiming divine honors ; in papal Rome the popes claim infallibility. And in apostate Protestantism the deification of man appears likewise. But all points to the end, when the man of sin, the Son of perdition will appear, the final Anti-Christ " who opposeth and exalteth him- self against all that is called God or worshipped; so that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God " (2 Thessal. ii, 4). Of the same person we read also in this Book: " And the King shall do according to his will ; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished : for that that is deter- mined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself above all" (xi, 36, 37). The deliverance of Daniel once more foreshadows the deliverance of the faithful Jewish remnant. It is strange that expositors and teachers put the church into this time of the end. The church, according to the testimony of the New Testament Scriptures, will no longer be on earth when this predicted time of the end comes. We have then seen that these four chapters foreshadow the moral characteristics of the times of the Gentiles, down to the end, when the stone smites the image and it will forever pass away. Self exaltation, the pride and deification of man, impiety, blasphemy, JHE PROPHET DANIEL 67 hatred, persecution, cruelty, man putting himself in the place of God are the leading features. Even so it is. But we must not pass over the last verse of the sixth chapter. " So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." It tells of the prosperity of the man of faith even as the delivered remnant will prosper. But here is another prophetic type. Isaiah had announced the birth and work of this same Cyrus over a hundred years before he was born. Let us read what Isaiah said of him. That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shall be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates ; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name : I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me (Is. xliv. 28; xlv. 1-4). This is the remarkable word. What Isaiah had announced happened, for under Cyrus the remnant returned. God calls Cyrus " my shepherd " and m THE PROPHET DANIEL "my anointed." In this he is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here then is the application. When the time comes, when a man, the Anti-Christ claims divine honor and worship and when the remnant of His people is delivered out of the lion's mouth, then another Cyrus appears upon the scene, one greater than Cyrus, one who will gather the scat- tered sheep of the house of Israel, even our Lord Jesus Christ. THE SECOND PART OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL The seventh chapter takes us back to the first year of Belshazzar's reign. Daniel,^ as we saw from the fifth chapter had been set aside; no dreams had occurred after Nebuchadnezzar's insanity and restoration and there was no need for his interpretation. How blessed the years must have been for him when he could be alone with God. While Belshazzar and his kingdom were rushing on towards the great overthrowing judg- ment, God gave to Daniel wonderful communica- tions. These came to him in dream visions. These visions likewise cover the times of the Gentiles; they reveal mostly the relation of the Gentiles to the Jewish people, the conflict between the world powers and the people of Israel. Much of that which Daniel beheld was fulfilled in past history, but all points also to " the time of the end," that is, to the closing scenes of the times of the Gentiles. The great struggle of this end time, the appearance of the little horns and the Anti-christ, the great trib- ulation with its unparalled persecutions, the com- plete overthrow of the enemies of Israel, and the es- tablishment of the kingdom on earth, are some of the sublime revelations we find here. 69 70 THE PROPHET DANIEL Perhaps some of the revelations contained in this part of the book will never be fully grasped and appreciated till that time of the end has arrived. The seventh chapter may be looked upon as the introduction to this second part of the Book, as the second chapter is the introduction to the first part. The eighth chapter contains the vision of the ram, the he-goat and the vision of the little horn. The vision of the seventy weeks is found in the ninth chapter and the last three chapters give the closing vision of the Book. CHAPTER VII Danicrs Night Visions and Their Meaning In the second chapter we learned that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar was occasioned by the desire of that Monarch to know what should come to pass hereafter. The visions of Daniel must have been given to him for a similar reason. He too desired knowledge about these great events of the future. The question which agitated Daniel's mind must have been the question about his own, dear people and their future in the midst of all the up- heavals he saw in the King's dream, when the stone smote the image and it passed away. Nothing whatever had been made known in that dream about his beloved city Jerusalem. He had the writings of former Prophets; as we shall find in chapter ix, he studied them diligently. He had the Psalms of David likewise, though they may not yet have been collected in a book. In all these he learned of the future of God's people and the glories promised to them in the latter days. He also read in the Prophecies of the past that Israel's enemies were to be judged and overthrown. No doubt the Prophet in deep soul exercise, such as we find later in the ninth and tenth chapters turned to God " desiring mercies from the God of heaven." Whether his three friends were united 71 72 THE PROPHET DANIEL with him in this we do not know. After the fiery furnace experience we read nothing more of Shad- rach, Meshach and Abed-nego. There are four visions in the seventh chapter. I. The night vision of the three beasts (verses 1-6). II. The night vision of the fourth beast with the ten horns and the little horn (verses 7-8). III. The Judgment vision (verses 9-12). IV. The Son of Man and His Kingdom (verses 13-14). Then follows the divine interpretation of these four visions. This interpretation may be divided into three parts. I. A general interpretation (verses 15-18). II. Daniel's desire to know more about the fourth beast (verses 19-22). III. The detailed interpretation given (verses 23-28). The First Night Vision. The Prophet saw in his vision the four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea, that is the Mediterranean sea. It was a scene of storm which he beheld. The sea in the Word ©f God is the type of nations. " The waters which thou sawest * * * are peoples, and multi- tudes, and nations and tongues" (Revel, xvii, 15). " Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas ; and to the rushing of nations, like the rushings of mighty waters" (Isaiah xvii, 12). The beloved disciple in the isle of Patmos, alone with God as Daniel the man greatly beloved was alone with Him, John, THE PROPHET DANIEU 73 " stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea." The sand of the sea stands for the multitudes of people while the sea itself presents the people in their agitation. Then John saw a beast rising out of the sea, a vision which is closely linked with this chapter as we shall find later. But Daniel beheld in his first night vision three beasts, one diverse from the other rising from the sea. A lion with eagles wings, a bear, raised up on one side with three ribs and a leopard with four wings and four heads. These three beasts* represent the first three world empires. A brief word on each sufficeth : " The first was like a lion, and had eagles wings : I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it." As gold is the most precious metal, so the lion IS the king among the beasts of the forest. The gold in the dream image and the first beast repre- sent the Babylonian empire. In the beginning it was a lion with wings, but they were plucked out; it lost its strength and though it had a man's heart, it was a beast still. This may also have connection with Nebuchadnezzar's insanity experience.f * In Revelation iv. and v. we read in the A. V. of " beasts " but the words there should be translated "living ones"; they are the cherubin of Ezekiel's vision. t Even before this Nebuchadnezzar had been described as a lion. "The lion is come up from his thicket, and the de- stroyer of the Gentiles is on his way" (Jerem. iv. 7). Else- where he is spoken of as an eagle. 74 THE PROPHET DANIEL "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it : and they said unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." The bear stands for the Medo-Persian empire, the empire seen as of silver, the chest and arms. One paw is lifted up, because the Persian element was stronger than that of the Medes. The bear had three ribs in its mouth, because Susiana, Lydia and Asia Minor had been conquered by this power. In the eighth chapter this Medo-Persian empire is represented by the ram with two horns. "After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl ; the beast had also four heads ; and do- minion was given to it." The leopard, with four wings and four heads, is the picture of the Graeco-Macedonian empire, cor- responding to the thighs of brass in the image of Nebuchadnezzar. The four wings denote its swift- ness, 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 THE PROPHET DANIEL 75 its prey. The next, the fourth and last world em- pire is so beastly that no beast on earth is found to describe its true character. The great nations of Christendom, the nations which will be included in the future revival of the Roman empire in its ten kingdom aspect, testify unconsiously to their devouring, beastly, ferocious nature. The emblem of not one of these nations is the dove or any other harmless creature. But you find the lion, the bear, the unicorn, the eagle and sometimes a monstrosity, an eagle with two heads. Their standing armies, their ever increasing navies both on the sea and now even of the air, tell us beforehand that some coming day in the near future, the dogs of war will be let loose and the beasts will do their most dreadful work. The Second Night Vision After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceed- ingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots : and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things (verses 7-8). Here then we have the fourth world empire, the iron one, Rome. It is described in a way as none of the others are. It is dreadful, terrible, ex- ^6 THE PROPHET DANIEL ceeding strong ; it has great iron teeth. It devours, breaks in pieces and stamps down. It has ten horns and in their midst rises up a little horn with eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Inasmuch as Daniel received more light on this beast and the interpretation of this vision was given him, we shall not now enter into a description of this fourth beast, the meaning of the ten horns and the little horn. But we shall do so when we reach the second half of the chapter. The Third Night Vision I beheld till the thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him : thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thou- sand times ten thousand stood before him; the judg- ment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time (verses 9-12). This vision bring 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 THE PROPHET] DANIEi: 77 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 judg- ment here as the universal judgment, the great white throne judgment. This judgment is not the last judgment at all. It is a judgment which pre- cedes the final judgment by 1000 years. This judg- rnent here must be read in connection with passages like Matthew xxv, 31-46 and Rev. xix, 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 v, 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. " And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned I saw seven golden candle- sticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man clothed with a gar- ment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire." (Rev. i, 12-14) 78 THE PROPHET DANIEL The judgment falls upon the fourth beast and the little horn, which had risen from amidst this fourth beast, and had acted together as one. This judgment upon them is complete and final. The former beasts had been judged too in their time, their supremacy had been taken away but their lives had been spared. The Fourth Night Vision. Then there is a fourth vision which is closely connected with this vision of the Ancient of Days and the judgment of the fourth beast. I saw in the night vision and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near be- fore him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his dominion is an ever- lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (verses 13-14). Our Lord appears now as Son of Man to receive the earthly kingdom. The stone which smote the image, as beheld by Nebuchadnezzar now becomes the mountain filling the whole earth. The Ancient of Days represents in this vision God, who gives to Him who is the Son of Man the Kingdom. He .who is the Ancient of Days, the Eternal Son of God, the Mighty God, Jehovah, is also Son of Man. The vision is in harmony, with other vision God's prophets saw, and fully confirmed by the testimony of the Lord and the Holy Spirit in the New Testa- ment as well as by the Book of Revelation. A THE PROPHET DANIEL 79 kingdom is to be set up on this earth, a kingdom into which all people and nations will be gathered, a kingdom over which one great and glorious King will sway His scepter, whom all nations and langua- ges shall serve. This is the kingdom for which the Lord taught His disciples to pray " Thy kingdom come." He Himself is the King of glory. That kingdom is not now on earth. It cannot be here till the fourth beast with its ten horns and the eleventh little horn with all its blasphemies have been on the earth. It cannot come until He comes again. The second Coming of Christ terminates Gentile rule and establishes the kingdom on the earth. In other words the vision here is an expan- sion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream concerning the smiting stone, crushing first then filling the whole earth as a mountain. The Interpretation. The effect of these visions on Daniel was a troubled spirit. Then we read : I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever (verses 16-18). One stood by and Daniel turned to that One, who possessed higher knowledge than he possessed. A brief but perfect answer follows. First he told Daniel what the four beasts represent but he also reveals to him, what in Nebuchadnezzar's dream So THE PROPHET DANIEL nor in his own dream visions had not been seen, namely, that the Saints of the Most High shall re- ceive the kingdom, and possess it forever and ever. In the vision the Son of Man was seen taking the Kingdom but the interpreting One tells Daniel that the Saints of the Most High shall receive it with Him. 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 neces- sarily 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 con- nection 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. But the interpretation concerns mostly the ten THE PROPHET DANIEL 8i horns on the fourth beast and the eleventh little horn. Daniel Desires Knowledge About the Fourth Beast. Daniel was very anxious to know more about the fourth beast, that was diverse from the others, with its iron teeth and nails of brass. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dread- ful, whose teeth were of iron; and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the res- idue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom (verses 19-22). The eleventh horn, that had eyes and the boast- ing mouth, seemed to perplex his spirit the most, for he saw that this horn made war with the Saints and prevailed over them. The Prophet's heart was so fully identified with his people and concerned about them that he wants to know the truth about all he had seen. The Wish Granted. The interpretation of the vision in a more complete way follows upon this expressed desire of the Prophet. In the 23d verse Daniel hears that this fourth kingdom is to devour the whole earth. It is, of course, the Roman Em- pire, and in its final uprising it will extend its in- 82 THE PROPHET DANIEL fluence over the whole earth. It is wrong to limit this word to the land of Israel or to Europe. The influence of the last great head of the revived Roman Empire will extend beyond the boundaries of what used to be the Roman Empire. It could not be otherwise in a day when nations are brought in such close contact and the ends of the earth are brought together. America will no doubt be involved in all this. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise : And another shall rise after them ; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws : and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time (verses 24-25). The Ten Horns are Ten Kings. The ten horns on the fourth beast correspond to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's dream image ; they are ten kings. The Roman empire has never existed in this form, as we have already stated in connection with the second chapter. The Roman empire must therefore some day be revived politically. It will be one great world power, an undivided empire, yet in it there will be ten kingdoms. When the Roman em- pire is thus revived and divided into ten kingdoms, another horn will spring up for 1260 days, for a time and times and dividing of time, that is three years and a half, this little horn will be in power over this empire and act in the awful way revealed in this interpretation. THE PROPHET DANIEU $$ As this revived Roman empire and the little horn is one of the most important revelations in this book and in the entire prophetic Word we must become clear on it. The last book in the New Testament, the Revela- tion will help us much in this. In the thirteenth chapter we find that which corresponds to this vision of Daniel. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was Hke unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speak- ing great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. xiii. 1-7). The beast which John saw rising out of the sea is the Roman Empire.* The ten horns with crowns * The leopard, the bear and the lion are mentioned by John. This beast out of the sea is an amalgamation of the three pre- vious beasts, or world empires. The preceding ewes arc 84 THE PROPHET DANIEL (or diadems) are identical with the ten horns on the fourth beast. Of the same beast we read in Rev. xvii, 8 " the beast that thou sawest was and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition." This means that the Roman Empire was and is not. It ceased existing in 476 A. D. It will come into existence again, when the times of the Gentiles come to their end. That end will cover twice three years and a half, a truth made known to Daniel likewise in the ninth chapter. First the Roman Empire will be revived politically in the beginning of these last seven years. This revival is stated in the vision of John when he saw the beast rising out of the sea. But it will also descend out of the bottomless pit, the dragon will give him his power and his seat and great authority. This is the Santanic occupation of the empire ; it will be energized by Satan himself. This awful phase will be reached in the middle of the seven years. For three years and a half, for 42 months 1260 days, the " time of the end " Satan's power will be mani- fested in this revived Roman Empire. In the twelfth chapter of Revelation we read that Satan absorbed by the last. It is noteworthy that the order is re- versed. First the leopard (the Grecian Empire) then the bear (the Medo-Persian) then the lion (the Babylonian). Daniel beheld them in their future rise ; John looks back over their existence. The revived Roman empire will combine all that which has been during the times of the Gentiles in one great monster. The seven heads of the beast and other features brought out in the Book of Revelation we do not enter into for it would necessitate a closer analysis of the entire third part of the Book of Revelation. THE PROPHET DANIEL 85 will be cast out of heaven and at once in the thir- teenth we see a manifestation of his power on the earth. The casting out of Satan takes place in the middle of the seven years and then it is when satanic power will be manifested in the revived empire. It will center in a person and that person is identi- cal with the " little horn " Daniel saw coming up between the ten horns. After the Roman Empire has been reconstituted and divided into ten king- doms, a person will come upon the scene who will be the head, and that head will be endued with supernatural, satanic power, so that all the world will wonder after this beast. The head will be an emperor. One of the heads was healed of the deadly wound. This no doubt has reference to the imperial power, a form of government in the Roman Empire, which ceased, but which will come out of death, so to speak. We only need to com- pare what is said to Daniel in the divine interpreta- tion and what John saw to find that the little horn and the beast out of the sea have the same characteristics. Daniel Revelation Daniel saw the fourth John beholds a beast out beast, a great nondescript, of the sea, with ten horns with ten horns. crowned (ten kings) and The little horn "had eyes seven heads, and a mouth that spake very To the beast "was given great things." a mouth speaking great The little horn : " He shall thing and blasphemies." speak words against the The beast : " He opened his Most High." mouth in blasphemy against The little horn: "He shall God." 86 THE PROPHET DANIEL wear out the Saints of the The Beast: "And it was Most High." given to him to make war The little horn's time of with the Saints and to over- domineering power is "a come them." time and times and dividing The Beast has power for of times." 42 month (35^ years). We see from this parallel that the same things are said of the beast in Revelation xiii which are said of the little horn. They must therefore be identical. But how can we harmonize this if Reve- lation xiii, the beast out of the sea, means the resurrected Roman Empire? There lived a French King, Louis XIV, and in a famous speech he made the declaration " I am France." The little horn will possess such domineering powers, given to him by- Satan, that he too can say " I am the Empire." He ;will control the entire political sphere of the em- pire and that gives to it his own Satanic God-defy- ing character. In Daniel we see the same lesson, only in another setting. The empire will, fall in judgment on account of the little horn. The Three Great Actors of the Time of the End, This little horn, the head of the revived Roman Empire is frequently called the Antichrist. We shall find in the next chapter another little horn mentioned. Some teachers of the Word identify the little horn in chapter viii with the little horn in the seventh chapter and do not at all distinguish between the two. In other parts of the Word predictions are made concerning a false king, a Wicked One, the Man of Sin, the idol shepherd, the head over many countries, etc. These are ofteti JHE PROPHET DANIEL 87 classed as one and the same person and called by one name, the final Antichrist. But this only works confusion and mixes up the prophetic Word in such a way that its meaning becomes beset with difficul- ties. The Book of Daniel speaks of three great actors of the time of the end, all three will be ener- gized by Satan and endued with his power. The Head of the Roman Empire. The first to come upon the scene will be the little horn of Daniel's vision, the beast out of the sea, the nations. He will be a Gentile. That he is Satan's man is seen not alone in this book, but also in Revelation. He acts out Satan's part and takes control of the political affairs, but he also gives attention to re- ligious things. He is called in the ninth chapter of Daniel " the prince that shall come.'' His origin is given there likewise as we shall find when we reach the chapter. He will be friendly to the Jews who have returned in part to the land, but his friendliness is only assumed. He will enter into a covenant with the Jews. This covenant he will break and in league with the Antichrist he will institute the great tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble. The true character of this Roman Head will come out in the middle of the week, when Satan actually possesses him. In the beginning of the Nineteenth Century a man was upon the scene who was friendly towards the Jews and whose aim was a united empire and world conquest, Napoleon I. Some time in the Twentieth Century a similar political leader may appear and assume the rule of an emperor, President of the world, king 88 THE PROPHET DANIEL of all the kings or some such name. He will come surely in the garb of an angel of light, practising deception, till his true character will be manifested. The Perjonal Antichrist. Another person is the personal Antichrist. The little horn in Daniel vii anH in Daniel viii must not be identified with this person. The Antichrist, he of whom we read in 2 Thessal. ii is mentioned only once in the Book of Daniel. In chapter xi, 36, etc., we find his portrait.. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accom- plished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. He is the same whose coming our Lord predicted in John v, " I am come in My Father's Name, and ye received Me not; if another come in his own name, him ye will receive." He comes with a flat- tering tongue and the Jews will receive him and hail him as their long looked for deliverer. He will take the place of a king amongst them. Isaiah XXX, 33; Ivii, 9; Daniel xi, 36. He is seen in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation as the second beast out of the earth. He has two horns like a lamb, but speaks like the dragon. He imitates Christ. He possesses all the power of the first beast, which is Satanic power. He has power to work wonders and make fire to fall out of heaven in the sight of men. Then he deceives them that dwell on the [THE prophet: DANIEL 89 earth by the means of those miracles. It is a ful- fillment of 2 Thessal. ii, 9-12. Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all de- ceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. His sphere will extend beyond the Jews in Pales- tine. He will be the accepted false Christ of the Jews and the Antichrist for apostate Christendom. He will demand of those who dwell on the earth that they make an image of the first beast, the little horn in chapter vii. Then he gives life to the image that it should speak. All who refuse to worship are killed. In Rev. xvi, 13 and xix, 20 he is called the false prophet, because he is a religious leader. The Psalms and other portions of the Scriptures contain references to this second one, who takes such a prominent part in the time of the end. The King of the North. The third person is the king of the North. He is the little horn of chapter viii and is typified by Antiochus Epiphanes. Ac- cording to Daniel xi he emanates from the North and enters into the glorious land where he shall find a miserable end. He is the Assyrian in the prophets Isaiah and Micah, the one from the North in Joel's prophecy. He is the great external foe of the restored Jewish people. These three great actors during the time of the 90 THE PROPHET DANIEU end appear in the prophecies of Daniel and if the reader does not distinguish between them the prophecies will not be intelligible. The Work of the Little Horn. Having ascer- tained who is represented by this little horn, the head and leader of the revived Roman Empire, let us see what his satanic work will be. We find exactly five things mentioned: (1) He shall subdue three kings. He will do away with three of the kingdoms, so that seven are left. (2) He shall speak great words against the most High. He is a wicked one blaspheming God and defying His Word. He will suit perfectly apostate Christendom with its higher critics and sneering infidels, who deny inspiration, prophecy and jniracles. (3) He makes war with the Saints and prevails against them. Under his regime those who still hold to God and His Word will suffer great perse- cution. (4) He shall wear out the Saints of the most High. The Jewish remnant especially .will be the object of his satanic hatred. (5) He thinks of changing times and laws. This 3;vas done during the great French revolution. It will be done on a larger scale by the little horn. He will overthrow all existing order and laws, therefore he is the lawless one. The times and laws will be given into his hands, not the Saints of the most High, as some expositors have stated. The End of the Little Horn. The rule of this satanic head of the Roman Empire will last a THE PROPHET DANIEL 91 time, times and dividing of times, that is one year, two years and a half a year. This makes exactly 1260 days or 42 months. (See Rev. xi, 2-3 and xii, 6, 1.) At the end of that time the Son of Man appears, the stone falls. " But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Verses 26-27) The Kingdom from above will be set up and the Saints of the most High receive the Kingdom and the kingdoms of this earth will become the king- doms of God and His Christ. Satan had his throne on the earth and gave that throne to the beast, the little horn. The little horn will then be dethroned and the true King of kings enthroned upon the holy hill of Zion. Deep soul exercise followed from this vision for the prophet. His thoughts troubled him and his countenance was changed. No doubt prayer and supplication as well as earnest study of the Word of God he possessed in part followed. The Lord grant to us such exercise as well, especially in a day when we stand upon the threshhold of the fulfillment of these visions. But before the beast can rise, before the little horn will appear on the scene, the Lord will call His own to be with Him- self. CHAPTER VIII The Vision of the Ram and He-Goat We remind the reader once more of the fact that beginning with the seventh chapter to the end of the Book of Daniel the language employed is Hebrew. The reason for this change has been stated before. From now on we are led in prophecy mostly upon Jewish ground and events are revealed, which will take place at the close of the times of the Gen- tiles. These events will be enacted in the holy land and in the city of Jerusalem. The phrases "the latter time "—" the time of the end "— " in the last end of the indignation " appear several times in these chapters. They describe the same period of time we found in the seventh chapter, " a time and times and dividing of time " that is three years and a half, the prophetic 1260 days or 42 months in the Book of Revelation, It is the great tribulation, with which the times of the Gen- tiles close. This great tribulation is the time of Jacob's trouble (Jerem. xxx, 4). Our Lord in Matthew xxiv in that part of the Olivet discourse, which describes the end of the age, calls attention to the Prophet Daniel and immediately after He said " for then shall be great tribulation such as 92 THE PROPHET DANIEL 93 was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be/' Jerusalem will be the great storm center of that predicted tribulation. The prophecies of the eighth and ninth chapters have found a partial fulfillment in the past. But they also relate to the time of the end, in which the final fulfillment will be accomplished. The awful invasion of the land of Israel and wickedness of Antiochus Epiphanes 168 B. C. is a prophetic type of another invasion during the last end of the indig- nation. Then once more another King of the North will invade the land and lay siege to Jerusalem. The great prophecy contained in the ix chapter is likewise in greater part fulfilled. Only the last week remains unfulfilled. This last week of seven years includes " the time of the end." It will help the reader to link chapters vii and ix together and chapters viii and xi. In chapters vii and ix the West, that is the Roman Empire, is prominently in the foreground. The little horn in chapter vii corresponds to "the prince that shall come" in chapter ix. In chapters viii and xi we are in the East, and the little horn of chapter viii and the " King of the North " who enters the glorious land as predicted in chapter ^i are the same person. If the reader holds this clearly in mind, it will prove helpful in understanding this part of the book. Daniel viii-xii should be divided into three parts, for it contains three great visions. First, the vision of the Ram and the He-goat. Chapter viii. Second, the vision of the Seventy weeks. Chapter ix. Third, the great final vision. Chapters x-xii. 94 THE PROPHET DANIEL The Time of the Vision of the Ram and He-Goat. The vision of the viii chapter was given to the Prophet in the third year of the reign of the grand- son of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar. It was the year when the feast of blasphemy was held and Babylon fell. Then God took His faithful servant aside and revealed to him new things concerning the future. The Prophet was in Babylon when he received this vision. But in spirit, in the vision he was transported to Shushan, the chief city of Elam, which became one of the capitals of the Medo- Persian empire. This city is also mentioned as the home of faithful Nehemiah and the entire story of the Book of Esther happened there. In spirit he finds himself " near the fortress " (not in the palace) by the river of Ulai. The Vision Itself. The vision concerns the second and third empires. These were represented in Nebuchadnezzar's dream image by the chest of silver and the thighs of brass and in Daniel's vision by the bear with the three ribs and the leopard with the four wings and four heads. The Medo- Persian empire and the Grecian are before us in the vision. The Medo-Persian appears as the ram with two horns, one higher than the other and the higher one came last (verse 3). The second empire was composed of two powers the Medes and the Persian, the latter arose to superiority and became the domineering element. This is indicated by the one horn higher than the other and corresponds to the bear in Daniel's vision with one side lifted up. Here indeed is history prewritten for all was re- THE PROPHET DANIEL 95 vealed when the Babylonian empire was still flour- ishing. No wonder higher critics and kindred in- fidels have tried their very best to break down the authenticity of this book and have invented their clever schemes by which they try to show that all was written after the Medo-Persian empire had come into existence. Then Daniel beheld the rapid conquest made by the second empire. It pushed itself in three directions, westward, northward, and southward. In Daniel's vision the bear had three ribs in its mouth. Thus all corresponds. All at once a he-goat came rushing from the west. Its speed was so great that it did not touch the ground and the he-goat had a notable horn. This he-goat in its swift advance is the leopard empire with the four wings as Daniel saw it, the Grecian world power. The notable horn is none other than its King, Alexander the Great. Then follows a deadly conflict. The he-goat rushes into the ram. The result was disastrous for the ram, the Medo-Persian empire. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand (verse 7). 334 B. C. the notable horn, Alexander, in goat- like fashion, leaped across the Hellespont and fought successful battles, then pushed on to the banks of the Indus and the Nile and from there to Shushan. The great battles of the Granicus 96 THE PROPHET DANIEL (334 B. C), Issus (333 B. C), and Arbella (331 B. C.) were fought and with irresistible force he stamped the power of Persia and its King, Darius Codomannus, to the ground. He conquered rapidly Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Pyre, Gaza, Egypt, Baby- lonia, 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 pre- dicted 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 de- bauchery in 323 B. C. He died when he was but 32 years old. Then four notable ones sprung 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. The Little Horn. Out of one of these divisions Daniel beheld a little horn coming up. It sprung out of Syria. This little horn which now comes into prominence pressed down upon " the pleasant land," which is Palestine and its fearful action there and in Jerusalem are described. Let us see what it says. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And THE PROPHET DANIEL 97 it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered (verses 9-12). History does not leave us in doubt about the identity of this wicked king. He is the eighth king of the Seleucid dynasty, who took the Syrian throne and is known by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes and bore also the name of Epimanes, i. e., " the Mad- man." He was the tyrant and oppressor of the Jews. His wicked deeds of oppression, blasphemy and sacrilege are fully described in the book of the Maccabees. Long before he ever appeared Daniel saw him and his wicked work in his vision. The host of heaven towards whom this little horn waxed great and the stars which he cast to the ground and stamped upon them, are symbols of the people Israel and those who held positions of authority and responsibility among the Jews such as the princes, the priests, and rabbis. But he was to do more than that. His action agamst the sanctuary of the Lord is also propheti- cally pictured. A mistranslation must here be cor- rected. He magnified himself to, or rather against the prince of the host that of course is the Lord but not "by him," that is Antiochus, the daily sacrifice was taken away, but " from him," that is from the prince of the host, the daily sacrifice was 98 THE PROPHET. DANIEL taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And it, the little horn, cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered. And all this has been fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes. When he had conquered Jerusalem he sacrificed a sow upon the altar of burnt offer- ings and sprinkled its broth over the entire build- ing. He corrupted the youths of Jerusalem by introducing lewd practices ; the feast of tabernacles he changed into the feast of Bacchus. He auc- tioned off the highpriesthood. All kinds of infamies were perpetrated by him and the most awful ob- scenity permitted and encouraged. All true wor- ship was forbidden and idol worship introduced especially that of Jupiter Olympus. The whole city and land was devastated and some 100,000 pious Jews massacred. Such has been the remark- able fulfillment of this prophecy. In chapter xi his doings are once more revealed. An Angelic Conversation Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanc- tuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me. Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (verses 13-14). The word " Saint " means " a Holy One." We have here an angelic conversation. The certain Holy One or angel is called " Palmoni " which THE PROPHEIj DANIEL 99 means *' the wonderful numberer."* We are given another glimpse of the occupation of angels. The book of Daniel tells us much of these great and wonderful beings and their service. In the fourth chapter we found them to be the holy watchers, the sleepless sentinels of heaven, as one has called them, who take a deep interest in all the affairs of the earth. Here we hear them conversing about the awful horrors committed by the little horn. The rationalistic critics have charged the writer of the book of Daniel of having derived his belief in angels from Zoroastrianism. Such an assertion is too weak for any refutation. Daniel overhears their conversation, 2300 days (lit: evenings morn- ings) shall the affliction last and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. These 2300 days cover about the period of time during which Antiochus Epiph- anes did his wicked deeds. The chronology of these 2300 days is interesting. Judas Maccabaeus cleansed (lit. justified) the sanctuary from the abomination about December 25th, 165 B. C. An- tiochus died a miserable death two years later. Going back 2300 days from the time Judas the Maccabee cleansed the defiled temple brings us to 171 B. C. when we find the record of Antiochus' *For several years a set of books has been advertised in England written by a Captain Crossley. They are called " a great revelation " and reference is made to the passage before us, as if he had discovered the secret of numbering. These books are confusion worse confounded. Much of it instead of being revelation is hallucination of the worst kind. Be- ware of such foolish attempts to solve divine mysteries. 100 THE PROPHET DANIEL interference with the Jews. Menelaus had bribed Antiochus to make him highpriest, robbed the tem- ple and instituted the murder of the highpriest Onias HI. The most wicked deeds in the defilement of the temple were perpetrated by the leading gen- eral of Antiochus, Apollonius, in the year 168 B. C. We believe these 2300 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 in disrepute. We have special reference to the Seventh Day Adventist delusion. They teach the abominable untruth that the Lord Jesus Christ did not enter into the Holiest till the year 1844 had been reached, because this is accord- ing to their reckoning 2300 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. The Two Horns not Identical. Before we follow; the divinely given interpretation, given in answer to Daniel's request, we call attention once more to the fact that the two little horns in chapters vii and viii are not identical. Even some good exposi- tors and Bible teachers have made the mistake in teaching that they are one and the same person. How can they be? The little horn in chapter vii springs from the Roman Empire when it is in existence in its final form. As we have seen this THE PROPHET DANIEL) loi horn represents the great head of the revived Roman Empire, who will assume the role of an emperor over the nation and who will work in conjunction with the personal Antichrist, the false king and false Messiah. The little horn in chapter viii springs not from the western empire at all, but from a division of the eastern, the Grecian Empire. The little horn in chapter vii is the political leader of the nations and hater of the Jews, but the little horn in chapter viii comes exclusively from the North against the pleasant land. His chief work is the invasion of Israel's land as oppressor of the Jews. Whom the little horn represents in our chapter we shall now learn from the interpretation. The Interpretation Sent Through Gabriel And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me one as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to under- stand the vision. So he came near where I stood ; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground ; but he touched me, and set me up- right. And he said. Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation. 102 THE PROPHET DANIEL but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true : wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it (verses 15-27). Gabriel is seen here for the first time in this Book. He appeared in the form of a man and a man's voice commands Gabriel to *' make this man to understand the vision." We pass over the in- terpretation of the vision of the ram and he-goat, which has been already given and devote our atten- tion to the five last verses of this chapter. 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 " viii, 17. (2) " The last end of the indig- nation " viii, 19. (3) "The latter time of their kingdom " viii, 23. (4) " When the transgressors are come to the full." Verse 23. From these terms v^^e learn then definitely that JHE prophet; DANIEL 103 when the period of time comes, elsewhere called " the great tribulation," the time of the end, the last end of the indignation, a king of fierce counten- ance will stand up once more and do the wicked deeds mentioned here and he shall be broken with- out hand. First of all we desire to emphasize that all that is written here concerns the Jewish people and their land. To read the church into all this, as it is so often done, produces confusion. The church was not revealed to Daniel. Nor did he behold in these vi- sions the present Christian age nor does he know anything of the great purpose, which God carries out since the rejection of the Messiah by His own people. All this is unrevealed in this book. Daniel beheld first in his great visions in the sev- enth chapter the political history of the times of the Gentiles, how they will end in judgment, followed by the establishment of the Kingdom of the Son of Man on this earth. Then in our present chapter, after the history of the Persian and Grecian em- pires and their fate were historically predicted, the great hater and persecutor of the Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes is announced. He came, as already stated, several hundred years later and acted his part. After this we are carried at once to the last stage of the history of the Jewish people, a time, which it is hardly necessary to say, has not yet been reached. Significant are two phrases used to describe that time. The Last End of the Indignation. The first is I04 THE PROPHET DANIEL contained in verse 19. " Behold I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indigna- tion; for at the time appointed the end shall be." The last sentence is better rendered by *' it belongeth to the appointed time of the end." The indignation, which is here mentioned in its final form, is repeat- edly spoken of in the Old Testament. It will help us much if we consider some of the passages in which this indignation is predicted. It is God's indignation against His earthly people and their land on account of their disobedience and apostasy. We turn first to the tenth chapter in the Book of Isaiah. The great Assyrian invasion under Senna- cherib is the subject of this chapter. The Assyrian enemy was permitted to come into the land because His people had sinned and departed from God. In the 5th verse this Assyrian is addressed. " O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in whose hand is mine indig- nation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil and take the prey and to tread them down like the mire of the street." God used the Assyrian as an instrumerv;t to carry out His indignation. Then elsewhere in the same chapter the promise is given to the faith- ful people in Israel who were terrified by that invasion " for yet a very little while and the in- dignation shall cease, and mine anger in their de- struction " (verse 25). We shall ask the attention of the reader to this passage again in the course of the exposition. In chapter xiii, 5 invading forces THE PROPHET DANIEL 105 are again called " the weapons of His indignation to destroy the whole land." In Isaiah xxvi, 20 there is a significant exhorta- tion. Isaiah xxiv-xxvii have rightly been called " Isaiah's little Apocalypse." These chapters pre- dict the great judgments and upheavals of the day of Jehovah. The pious in Israel are addressed in the above passage " Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as if it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." According to this there is to be an indignation to come for that land. The indignation is also mentioned in Isaiah xxx, 30-31 ; here too in connection with the Assyrian. The judgment which came upon Israel through Babylon is termed " the indignation " (Jeremiah 1, 25). And in Zechariah i, 12 we hear the inter- ceding angel of Jehovah using the same word about the Babylonian captivity. " O Lord of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation, these three score and ten years." God announces indignation upon His people through Ezekiel likewise. " And I will pour out mine in- dignation upon thee" (Ezek. xxi, 31). We find it used in the Ixix Psalm. This Psalm is a messianic Psalm and we read in the first part of it the sufferings of Christ. The nation re- jected Him whom God sent in their midst and He had to say " I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." Then follows an announcement of the I06 THE PROPHET DANIEL jucfgment which was to come upon the nation. "Let their table become a snare before them and a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake." Romans xi. quotes these words in teaching the setting aside of the nation and the judgment which rests upon them during the present age. Then fol- lows this word in the Sixty-ninth Psalm, "Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them" (verse 24). After they rejected Christ indignation was to be poured out upon them. Even so it has been. They have been scattered over the face of the earth; their history has been one of sorrow and tears. The Jewish people are in the days of the indignation on account of their disobedience. But this indignation will end. There will be according to our chapter "the last end of the indignation." And that last end will bring great calamities upon the people and the land and one person, the king of fierce countenance, will be the chief actor in it. Who he is we shall dis- cover later. When the Transgressors are Come to the Full. "When the transgressors are come to the full" (verse 23) is another significant term used to de- note the time when this prophecy is to be fulfilled. It has been applied to the time when there is uni- versal apostasy in the earth. That the Scriptures predict the complete apostasy for the end of the age is very true. However this is not in view here. The transgressors are the apostates among the Jewish people. This people, according to the THE PROPHET DANIEL 107 prophetic Word, are getting further away from God and their transgressions become full. Their latter end will be worse than their former state. The Lord predicted this. (Matthew xii. 43-45.) He also said "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in His name, him ye will receive." (John v. 43.) A false Christ, the false King will appear some day in their midst and the great mass of the people will receive the devil's counterfeit. When this great end apostasy of the Jewish people is reached, when they are once more back in their land by their own schem- ing, their money and political influence, then the time before us will have come. That the Jewish people are approaching such a time "when the transgressors are come to the full" is very evident at this time. The great majority are casting the faith of their fathers to the winds and in arrogant pride they lift themselves up. What other evils are found among them needs not to be mentioned here. Who is the King with, the Fierce Countenance? And now we must look at the personality of this king as described in verses 23-25. He is to arise out of their kingdom, that is the kingdoms into which the Grecian empire divided and the deeds of this king with the fierce countenance are described. The last act reported of him is, that he shall stand up against the Prince of princes and when he has reached this climax in his career, then "he shall be broken without hands." This King is not identical with the Antichrist as io8 THE PROPHET DANIEL it is so often taught, nor can Antiochus Epiphanes be meant, for this King with the fierce countenance is to appear during "the last end of the indigna- tion." Antiochus is the type in some measure of this coming King, the destroyer of the people. Those who identify this King with the fierce countenance with the Antichrist lay much stress on the fact that Antiochus defiled the temple and that Antichrist will do this very thing. But they overlook the fact that while Antiochus defiled the temple as predicted in the verses 9-12, no such state- ment is made conqerning the King who is de- scribed in verses 23-25. The King who is to appear as the great oppres- sor of the Jewish people is the same person, who is designated in other parts of the prophetic Word as "the Assyrian" the King of the North. We find this wicked persecutor and his work described in the books of Isaiah, Micah, Joel and in the Psalms. God used the Assyrian invader in the past to punish His disobedient people. But another Assyrian is to appear in "the time of the end" and do the pernicious work of destroying the people, tak- ing Jerusalem and practice all the vile things written of him. He will come like a whirlwind from his northern dominion into Israel's land, just as Antio- chus Epiphanes entered the pleasant land. This invasion will take place after the Jewish people have gained once more a foothold in their land and the hopes of present day Zionism have been real- ized. Their restoration and reoccupation of the land will be effected by the power of the little horn THE PROPHET DANIEL 109 of Daniel vii. That coming prince will make a covenant with them, as we shall learn from the ninth chapter of Daniel, and the restored Jews will trust themselves in his hands for protection. When this is accomplished then this King with the fierce countenance, the Assyrian, King of the North, makes his appearance and rushes against the people and their cities. He is the enemy of the Head of the restored Roman Empire and as the hater of Judah, he persecutes the nation, while the beast, the little horn of Daniel vii. persecutes the Saints. The head of the revived Roman Empire and the Anti- christ (the first and the second beast of Rev. xiii.) are in league together, but the Assyrian, this King pictured in the closing verses of Daniel viii., opposes their plans. We may gain further light by briefly pointing to a few other prophecies which speak of this same person and his destructive work as well as his end. The Assyrian in Isaiah. In the prophet Isaiah we read much about the Assyrian the enemy whom Isaiah predicted was to come into the land in the immediate future, and who is there likewise de- scribed as the great foe of the Jews in the last days, He is announced in chapter viii. 7-^. Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come tip over all his channels, and go over all his banks. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over; he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. no THE PROPHET DANIEU This is one of the first predictions that this powerful enemy was to come into Immanuel's land, but a great real more is said of him in Isaiah x. 5-34. We would suggest to the reader a very close read- ing and prayerful study of this very interesting chapter. That this prophecy goes beyond the days of Isaiah and predicts more than the coming of Sennacherib against Jerusalem is easily discovered. Notice especially what has been mentioned before, the statement made that the indignation is to cease, when this Assyrian lifts up his staff against His people after the manner of Egypt (verses 24-25). Now the indignations is God's displeasure with His earthly people. His judgment which rests upon them. Up to now the indignation has not yet ceased and there is yet to be, as we learned from verse 19 in Daniel viii., "the last end of the indignation." That end of the indignation will mean the deliver- ance of the Jews and complete overthrow of the last Assyrian. This is even more clearly taught in verse 12 of Isaiah x. Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that, when the Lor5 •hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. The whole work which the Lord performs is His punitive work upon Jerusalem. When that is com- pleted, the King of Assyria will be punished. But that necessitates that such a powerful enemy like the Assyrian must trouble the Jews then. This portion in the Prophet Isaiah begins with a state- THE PROPHET DANIEL iii ment which defines the purpose of the invasion of the Assyrian, both the first Assyrian and the final one at the time of the end. O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in whose hand, is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets (verses 5-6). God uses him to execute His indignation against His people. He comes into Israel's land as the great external enemy because the greater part of the nation follow the beast. But God' also deals with him in judgment because he lifts himself up. All this is seen in the tenth chapter of Isaiah. Notice the six divisions of Isaiah x. 5-34. 1. A description of the Assyrian. He is the in- strument which God uses to punish Israel. God sends him against a hypocritical nation. Verses 5-11. 2. The punishment of the Assyrian is announced. That time will be when the Lord has performed His whole work upon Jerusalem. It is therefore future. Verses 12-15. 3. The punishment itself. It shall be suddenly and complete. Verses 16-19. 4. The return of the remnant of Israel is prom- ised. Verses 20-23. 5. The Word of Comfort to the troubled rem- nant. Verses 24-27. 6. A vivid description of the advance of the Assy- 112 THE PROPHET DANIELI rian against Jerusalem and the intervention from above. Verses 28-34. The great final fulfillment of all this will come, when the King with the fierce countenance appears and devastates the land and stands up against the Prince of princes, the Lord Jesus Christ. The reader will also notice that Isaiah xi. has much to say of the coming King, our Lord, and His Kingdom, which comes immediately after the power of the Assyrian has been broken. Isaiah xiv. speaks first of the King of Babylon and the judgment which will fall upon him and upon "the golden city" (verse 4). The King of Babylon is prophetically the last great king, who holds the power over the Roman Empire (that is the little horn of Daniel vii.). But in the same chapter the Assyrian of the end is like- wise mentioned. The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders , (verses 24-25). It is significant that in this chapter Babylon with its King and judgment meted out to him stands first and the Assyrian is mentioned after Babylon. This is the prophetic order. Historically the Assy- rian came first and Babylon second. When the age closes and the time comes revealed to Daniel by THE PROPHET DANIEL 113 Gabriel's interpretation, the Roman Empire will rise first with its King and the Assyrian comes after. In chapter xxx, the miserable end of the Assyrian is revealed, corresponding to what is said in Daniel of his sudden judgment. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps; and in battles of shaking will he fight with It. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king also it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it (Is. xxx; 31-33). Tophet is the name for the place of punishment, the lake of fire. The Assyrian will be cast in there, where he will find his two enemies, the Emperor of the Roman Empire, called the beast, and the Anti- christ. The true rendering is "for the King also" showing that not alone is the Assyrian cast there but also the false King. Micah v., 1-7. A careful study of the first seven verses of the v chapter of Micah reveals the same personage. Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Beth- lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thou- sands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his 114 THE PROPHET DANIELl brethern shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lx)rd, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof : thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometli into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men." The second verse predicts the birth of our Lord. The third verse reveals the fact that His own to whom He came and who received Him not, were to be given up. Even so it has come to pass. But the giving up of the nation is not to be forever: it is "until" the travailing time i. e., when the nation passes through the birth pangs during the great tribulation, when the remnant of His people will be born and the national deliverance achieved. The fourth verse shows the Lord Jesus Christ through whom at His second coming the national restoration and blessing will be brought about. In the verses which follow we hear that the Assyrian will then be in the land and the Lord wHl be their peace in that day; "thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian v/hen he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders." This is future. It is the same invader and desolator revealed to Daniel. THE PROPHET DANIEL 115 Joel's Prophecy. The second chapter in, Joel gives a vivid description of the invasion of a great army, which comes from the North, called "the Northern army." The desolation which this northern army works is compared to the devastation of locusts. The nation is called to repentance on ac- count of this final indignation and they call upon Jehovah, who appears and overthrows the invading forces and delivers His land and His people. The blessings, including a great outpouring of His Spirit, which follow these events are described in the clos- ing verses of this chapter. The northern army is the Assyrian. We refer the reader to our exposi- tion of the book of Joel.* Some Prophetic Psalms. In the Psalms likewise this Assyrian enemy of the end time and his dread- ful work is mentioned. Zechariah contains a de- scription of the last siege of Jerusalem and how the Lord comes and fights against the Assyrian (chapter xiv.). In the Psalms we have some details of the desolations which the Assyrian works when he is in the land and is conquering Jerusalem. In Psalm Ixxiv. we find such a prophetic de- scription of what is yet to be. It is the outpouring of the heart of the pious Jews in that day, those who do not side with the two beasts. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased *The Prophet Joe..;. An exposition. Seventy-five cents postpaid. Publ. office "Our Hope," 456 Fourth Ave., New York City. ii6 THE PROPHET DANIEL of old) the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations, even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? (Psalm Ixxiv; l-io), Still greater is the sad complaint in Psalm Ixxix. which also describes that enemy in the midst of the city. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire? These are Asaph's Psalms and Asaph the holy singer in Israel is a prophetic type of the pious remnant of the Jews during the time of the end. THE PROPHET DANIEL 117 Without quoting other Scriptures we have had sufficient evidence that in the period of time speci- fied in Daniel's prophecies as "the time of the end" ; "the last end of the indignation," that is the few years which precede the visible and glorious ap- pearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, a powerful enemy will invade Israel's land. He will come against the people who have gathered back to the country. He comes from the North as Antiochus Epiphanes came from the North. In chapter xi. he goes by the name of the King of the North. He is identical with the Assyrian in Isaiah and Micah. The personal Antichrist and the northern invader, that other Antiochus Epiphanes, are therefore not the same being. The personal Antichrist, the man of sin, will be a Jew, He takes his seat in the temple when the first beast breaks his covenant with the Jews; he works lying miracles. He is the false Messiah, claiming to be the King over the Jewish people, a very incarnation of Satan. He demands divine worship. But the one described in Daniel viii. 23-26 is an external foe. And who will he be? From where will he rise? One must guard against making predictions in ex- pounding prophecy. Many have erred in this re- spect and have done harm by predicting certain persons as being Antichrist or this King from the North. The prophecy in the chapter before us makes it plain that this desolator will arise from one of the divisions of the Grecian empire. That territory is held now by Turkey. When the time of the end comes the greatest upheavals will take ii8 THE PROPHET DANIED place both in Asia Minor and in the surrounding countries. What changes will then take place, whether a great Russian Czar or some other one will accomplish the great eastern confederacy re- mains as a secret with God. But it seems clear that the King with the fierce countenance will act under the instructions of a superior for we read "his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." As we shall find more of him in Daniel's final prophecy we leave this chapter with this. CHAPTER IX The Great Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks The previous chapter closed with the effect of the vision and its interpretation upon the holy seer. He famished and became sick. Great astonishment filled his soul and none understood it. This should dispel the idea, which some people seem to have, as if the prophets were simply in a passive state and the visions they had and prophecies they received came to them in a mechanical way. The prophets were holy men of God and they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. i. 21). It is true they did not completely understand their visions; they had to search themselves and much was mysterious and hidden to them, yet they believed (1 Pet. i. 10-12). Daniel shows how deeply moved he was after these visions. We read of him how each vision was con- nected w^ith the deepest soul exercise, with fasting and prayer as well as the reading of those portions of the Word of God he possessed. Especially in the present chapter do we find that the greatest revelation he received was an answer to prayer. And here we may well think of the same neces- sity for us. We too cannot advance in the knowl- 119 I20 THE PROPHET DANIEL edge of the revelation of God unless it is through prayer and soul exercise. The lessons are many and precious which we gather especially from the great prayer the man greatly beloved uttered and the still greater spiritual experience which followed the divine, heaven-sent answer (chapter x.). The Time of Daniel's Prayer. Before we examine the occasion of the prayer of Daniel and the prayer itself we consider the time when the Prophet prayed. In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem, From this we learn that this chapter takes us into the first year of the reign of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes. Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus is still un- known by name to history and to the monuments, but that in itself is no argument against the book of Daniel. Belshazzar's name was likewise unknown to history and to the ancient monuments, till the discovered memorials of Nabonnaid confirmed so fully the correctness of Daniel's writings. But the poor critics have not yet learned their lessons and they will continue to doubt the Word of God, till some day to their eternal loss they will find out the complete defeat as well as wickedness of their de- structive work. Another objection has been made THE PROPHET DANIEL! 121 that the names "Darius, son of Ahasuerus" are not Median, but Persian. But this objection likewise falls to the ground, for the language of the Persians was almost identical with that of the Medes. What led Daniel to Pray. It was a critical time for Daniel's people, when Darius the Mede began his reign. Babylon which had been the instrument of the captivity had fallen and the 70 years, which God had announced should be the duration of the punishment, had also expired. We see Daniel oc- cupied with the reading of the Word of God. Besides the Pentateuch and other historical books, he possessed most of the Psalms and the former Prophets, the books of Isaiah, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Amos, Jeremiah, and others. In these oracles of God he read of a better day, which was to come for his beloved people and that God had promised them great mercies and a glorious future. Being a prophet himself he understood the promises of bless-- ing. We see him especially occupied with the prophet Jeremiah. "I Daniel, understood by books* the number of the years, where of the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Je- rusalem." What presumption it is when the puny critics of the present day deny that the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and the other prophets, when so great a man as Daniel knew that the Word of the Lord did come to them as well as to himself. It was by turning to the Word that he became so deeply interested. Though he was a prophet, highly * Hebrew "Hassephorim, "The Books." 122 THE PROPHET DANIEL favored of the Lord, he felt the need of perusing what other prophets before him had said. And God's own Word led him close to God and revealed to him God's thoughts and God's purposes. He did not need a special communication concerning the duration and termination of the Babylonian cap- tivity. God had given a revelation already on this question as well as on the mercy in store for Jeru- salem. The Prophet therefore did not turn to the Lord for a new revelation, but he read His revelation as given in the Books. This is an important prin- ciple. There have been and there are misguided people who believe that God gives still revelations and that they receive them. But God has given to us a complete revelation concerning Himself, our- selves, and the future, the things to come and He expects us now to study that completed revelation and to believe it. From His Word we learn His purposes and living, as we do, in a critical time, when God vv^ill soon fulfill His promises and carry out His purposes how diligent we ought to be to read and understand. Daniel after reading in the books and in Jeremiah about God's gracious promises to Jerusalem (see Jeremiah xxiv. 5-10) drew near to God. He might have announced his discovery to the people, but he turned to the Lord in prayer. He knew Babylon had been conquered and that Cyrus the Persian was the King who was to give the command that Jerusalem should be built (Isaiah xliv. 2S to xlv. 4) and the next was that, prophet like, he sought the face of God to intercede for His people, whom he THE PROPHET DANIEL 123 so deeply loved. True prayer must have for its foundation the Word of God. The Prayer. It is one of the greatest prayers of the Bible, which Daniel prayed. In reading it one feels still its great warmth, and its earnest plead- ings, deep humility, confession of sin and failure touch every spiritually minded believer. We think it well to quote the entire prayer. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his command- ments; we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by department from thy precepts and from thy judgments: neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kins, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him; neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have ^transgressed thy law, even by department, that they might not obey thy voice ; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of 124 THE PROPHET DANIEL Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. There- fore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us : for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth : for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day: we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, accord- ing to all they righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, hearken and do : defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name (verses 5-19), In deepest humiliation the great man of God ap- proached the Lord his God. The first thing we read is that he made his confession. *T prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession." THE PROPHET DANIEU 125 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. We have sinned — we hearkened not unto thy servants — we have rebelled against thee; — neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God; — we have sinned and done wickedly; these are some of the expressions he uses in his prayer of confession. The confusion of face, the shame and reproach, the curse and the anger he also takes upon himself. Well may we see in him a type of the Lord Jesus Christ who took the sins of His people upon himself and confessed them as His own. Daniel loving his people and knowing the cause of all the confusion of face, the reproach and anger resting upon them, takes his place with them in all 126 THE PROPHET DANIEL they had done and all which came upon them. Their sin is his sin, their failure his failure, their confusion of face and reproach, he makes his own. Instead of exempting himself from any blame of what the nation did and what came upon them as a result of their apostasy, he takes his place right with them. Such a spirit pleases God. From all this we may profit likewise. Instead of boasting, as it is so often heard, among believing Christians, "that we are the people" or little narrow circles of fellowship, claim- ing to be "the church of God on earth" in which no failure is found, we too like Daniel should con- fess the failure in which we all have a share and part and in deep humiliation seek the face of God, confessing our sins. This is the way to blessing. Daniel pleads for the nation, for Jerusalem, the sanctuary, for the desolate city called by the name of the Lord. He reminds Him that they are His people. His city, His sanctuary and appeals to Jehovah that His anger and fury be turned away, to cause his face to shine on His sanctuary, to in- cline His ears, to open His eyes, to forgive and not delay. It is a great prayer of confession and inter- cession. As our chief purpose in this book is to explain the prophetic visions and revelations, we do not enter into greater detail, but point out briefly the scope of the prayer. It may be divided into three parts. (1) Verses 4-10. Confession of the failures of the nation and acknowledgment of God's covenant mercies. (2) Verses 11-14. The deserved curse as written in the law of Moses. (3) Verses 15-19. Pleadings for THE PROPHET DANIEL' 127 mercy to turn away His anger and to remember His city Jerusalem and Plis people. The Interrupted Prayer. Daniel was not per- mitted to finish his prayer. When he poured out his heart and said "defer not for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name" he was suddenly interrupted. Before him stood once more the heavenly messenger, the man Gabriel. But we shall first of all read DanieFs own words on what took place. And while I was speaking, and praying, and confess- ing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy sup- plications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: there- fore understand the matter, and consider the vision (verses 20-23). Twice Daniel tells us that whilst he was speak- ing in prayer he was interrupted by the same one, whom he had seen in the previous vision and that he touched him. The prayer was cut short for Gabriel had come to bring him the answer. The man Gabriel appeared at the time of the evening oblation, that is at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. But was there a time of the evening oblation in Babylon? 128 THE PROPHET DANIEIi Certainly not. The temple had been consumed by fire almost 70 years before and the Jews then as now in their greater dispersion, had no altar and no sacrifices left. It is one of the evidences of faith in Daniel. Though there was no temple and no evening oblation, yet he remembered the time and the memories of the past filled his soul. The mes- senger had been caused by God's own power to fly swiftly. He informs Daniel that he had come to give him skill and understanding. He addresses him as "greatly beloved" and tells Daniel that when he began his supplications with deep humilia- tion and confession, he, Gabriel, received the com- mand to fly swiftly and bring Daniel the answer to his prayer. How Near Heaven Is. How far is heaven from earth? How long does a message take from God's dwelling place in the third heaven to reach this earth? Astronomy tells us of the immeasurable depths of the universe with its mighty and innumer- able bodies called stars and its wonders. But be- yond the most distant constellation there is the Heaven of the heavens, there is the throne of God and all His Glory. And yet heaven is not far away. It took the man Gabriel just a few minutes, being caused to fly swiftly, to reach Daniel and acquaint him with the secrets of God. As long as it takes to utter the words Daniel prayed, so long it took Gabriel to reach the intercessor's side. This is an inconceivable speed. But why should it be thought impossible with God? Puny man on earth, which as a globe in the mighty universe is in size the THE PROPHET DANIEL, 129 least of all these great bodies, like a small grain of sand on the shore of the ocean, and yet man has discovered to cast his thoughts through space in an invisible way. Heaven is not far away. There is no space and distance for God. What an encourage- ment to prayer this ought to be to God's people. The moment we pray in the Spirit and in His name our voices are heard in the highest heaven. The Answer. A Great Prophecy. The message Gabriel brought to Daniel contains more than an answer to his prayer. It was an answer to his re- quests concerning the people, the holy city and the sanctuary, but at the same time it is a great apoca- lypsis of the entire future of Israel from the end of the Babylonian captivity to the time of the end, when the Roman Prince shall make a covenant with many of the Jews, when the desolator shall invade the land and when the final great and glorious deliverance of Daniel's people shall come. The prophetic message Gabriel brought from the throne of God to Daniel is perhaps the most im- portant not only in the Book of Daniel, but in the whole Bible. The clear understanding of it is in- dispensable to every reader of God's Word, who wants to know God's purposes concerning the fu- ture. In the few verses which contain the words of Gabriel, events relating to Jewish future history are predicted. The return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, the rebuilding of the city in time of distress, the coming of Christ in humilia- tion, His death, the destruction of the temple and the city by the Romans, the desolations and wars 130 THE PROPHET DANIEU which were to follow, all this is prewritten in this great prophecy. The final end of the time of the Gentiles, the great eventful week of seven years is revealed in the last verse. A Corrected Text of the Prophecy. The author- ized version is somewhat incorrect. We give there- fore first of all a corrected translation. 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 an 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). What are the Seventy Weeks? To many readers of the Book of Daniel it is not quite clear what the expression "seventy weeks" means and when it is stated that each week represents a period of seven years, many Christians do not know why such is the case. A brief word of explanation may there- THE PROPHET DANIEL 131 fore be in order. 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 the 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. Now it must be borne ia 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. The foundation upon which this future work of Grace for His earthly people rests is the death of Christ. Our blessed Lord "died for that nation" as He also died for us who are sinners of the 132 THE PROPHET DANIEL Gentiles (John xi. 50). Up to now the transgression of the Jewish people is not yet finished nor is for them an end made of sins. The death of Christ has made this possible for the nation, but before it be- comes a reality this period of time, 490 years, must have passed, and when they are accomplished the transgression of His people will be finished and all the other blessings will come upon them. That will be according to other Scriptures when the times of the Gentiles end and when the Son of Man, the rejected One, appears the second time. Then "He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" and "will take away their sins" (Rem. xi. 26-27). Many passages in the prophetic Word reveal the same promises of national cleansing and forgive- ness, into which we cannot enter more fully. We see at once that the blessings promised here to Daniel's people and to the holy city refer us to the time when the Son of Man is manifested, the time when the remnant of the nation shall look upon Him whom they have pierced (Zech. xii.). At the same time when God will be merciful to His people and cover their iniquity "the righteous- ness of the ages" will be brought in. This means the beginning of that age of blessing, which in the New Testament is called "the dispensation of the fullness of times" (Ephes. i. 10) in which the King shall reign in righteousness. Then righteousness will be established upon this earth and the holy city, as Gabriel calls Jerusalem, will not only be a sharer of the blessings and glory, but will herself be righteous. It is written of Jerusalem "afterward THE PROPHET DANIEL 133 thou shalt be called, The City of righteousness" (Isaiah i. 26). Still greater is Jeremiah's word he received from the Lord concerning that day when the righteousness of the ages has come. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah xxxiii, 14-16), The vision and prophet will be sealed, that is accredited, because their final accomplishment has been reached in these events of blessing for God's earthly people. Also the Holy of Holies will be anointed, a statement which many have applied to our Lord. It has nothing whatever to do with Him, but it is the anointing of the Holy of Holies in an- other temple, which will stand in the midst of Jerusalem. Of this great millennial temple the prophetic Word is not silent. The other great prophet of the captivity, Ezekiel, had a great vision of this temple and its worship. It is of the greatest importance to grasp the thought that these things have nothing to do with Gentiles or with the church. They concern Daniel's people, the Jevs^s and Jerusalem. If this had been understood the learned commentators would not have invented that misleading, blundering interpre- 134 THE PROPHET DANIEL tation of the seventy weeks prophecy which is so universally taught in our day. We shall touch upon these errors in the course of our exposition. The Division of the Seventy Weeks. After the general announcement of the seventy sevens and what is to be accomplished for Jerusalem and Daniel's people when this prophetic period of time expires, Gabriel gives further information to the Prophet. This information is introduced by the exhortation to know and to understand or to dis- criminate. What follows is the division of the seventy weeks into three parts. The first part consists of seven year weeks, that is 49 years. The second part consists of sixty-two weeks or 434 years, then there is one week, the seventieth, left, which gives us the third part. The Beginning of the Seventy Weeks. We have to ascertain in examining the prophetic history of lihese different divisions when the sev. _c y c a t, S CL P B First half. 3 '2 years, 1260 days. e!^ o'-i;i ii:i! ill .1 c re «i o a lli Second half, 3 32 years, 1260 days. TTie Great Tribulation. >^ a (0 & s S .1 < i -n 1 1 (0 V. u r! 3 c 2 •1 .22 S 1 3 (9 3 CO lO 3 CO S V .2 "5 1 E -T3 .2 1 g c 1 .9 B 0) 1 II 1 ^ -h c i .s 13 n: c CO • S ^ "S a -3 ■5 ii W.4 .s CO 51 -0 CO 4> £ Q «2 y z f^ L-, CO f; V "S. ,JM g ^ ^ H ^ e "TJ w VI a -C Z r« c F 1^ a "■o 1 > 'S D ^ _c » •J;; 3 10 (; v ^ t> _c (/] & e CO « a C «ij 3 R Jc *. .2P a: u V ~o a ^ ^ u (1) u. V i^ i -C -0 c 3 •JS CO 4^ V •-5 ■5 V < ~0 -i f! CO 8 End of 69th week, April 10, 32, A. D. 3 4J C •« 4J CO -c TJ -c C (0 £ <0 J8 £> .JK 2 ti $. 'f '^ , ^ 5 c ^ ^ > t ^ „ H ^ S -SJ CO u. 2 ^ ^ "Xi "^ «] -0 -s "tt ^ •c ,2 « g* >= :5 ■^ .?1 Tl V CO >., -c « "^ — -fl D. CO -^ 1 S •^ s s CO 4) *±J -C y .w 3 ^ u 3 « .2 49 years later the street and wall built. Artaxerxes in the month Nisan gives edict to rebuild Jerusalem 445 B. C. CHAPTER X The Preparation for the Final Prophecy The three remaining chapters in the Book of Daniel belong together. They contain the last great vision given to the aged prophet, a vision, which in some respects is even more striking than the preceding one. The tenth chapter contains the account of the deep soul exercise through which the prophet passed and how supernatural Beings ap- peared and talked to the man greatly beloved. It is the preparation for the vision itself contained in the eleventh chapter, continued in the twelfth, which forms a kind of an epilogue. The chapter before us is of great interest, because it gives information which is of m.uch value about the unseen spirits, good and evil, while other even more helpful spiritual lessons are to be found here. The Third Year of Cyrus. The first verse tells us of the exact time when Daniel received this last great revelation. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshaz- zar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long :* and he understood the thing, and had under- standing of the vision. *This phrase is a faulty translation; the literal Hebrew is "even great warfare." 151 152 THE PROPHET DANIEL Cyrus, the great King of Persia, was already in the third year of his reign. In his first year Cyrus had published the great proclamation in which he had given the astounding information that "the Lord God of heaven" had charged him to build him a house in Jerusalem (Ezra i.). That he was the divinely chosen instrument for this purpose we learned before from Isaiah's great prophecy in which long before his birth he had been named and his work predicted. Daniel, however, had not made use of the decree to return and he still re- mained in the scene of captivity. Probably he held no longer any high office in connection with the gov- ernment. The last verse in the first chapter seems to indicate this. There it is stated that he con- tinued unto the first year of King Cyrus; it must mean in practical association with the affairs of the Persian Kingdom. Why Daniel stayed behind is not stated. Though the decree had gone forth that the house should be built, there was a feeble response and a small number only returned. No doubt Daniel looking for new revelations concerning the time of the end, had waited on the Lord and had received the direction to tarry in the land of the Gentiles. The Lord had still some important visions for him in store relating to His own people. Now the thing, which was made known unto him was "the great warfare" (the literal Hebrew) and that great warfare in the near future and what is to take place in the distant future when Daniel's people should be delivered (xii. 1) is the subject of this final vision given to Daniel before he went to his THE PROPHET DANIEL 153 rest. As we shall find the vision stands in closest relation with that contained in Chapter viii. It is an expansion of that vision, containing the prophetic record of the overthrow of the Persian empire by Greece and the minutest details of the wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucidae, springing up out of the divided Grecian empire. Now while at the close of Chapter viii. it is written that Daniel fainted and "none understood," here we find that he had the understanding given to him. May it not be that Daniel continued in prayer after God had so won- derfully answered his former prayer in the preced- ing chapter? As none understood the vision in Chapter viii., Daniel must have asked the Lord for the understanding and then it was revealed to him. We read furthermore that for three weeks he was mourning in connection with his earnest seeking for the meaning of the vision and he also fasted. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. The weeks mentioned here are not "year weeks," but the Hebrew distinguishes them by associating with them days, literally "weeks of days." For three weeks he remained in that condition and there was no answer. What delayed the answer for three full weeks we shall discover in the course of this chapter. In the fourth verse the time and the place are specified, when and where all this took place. On 154 THE PROPHET DANIEL! the twenty-fourth day of the first month Daniel was by the side of the great river Hiddekel. Hiddekel (arcadian, Iddiklat) is the river Tigris and on its banks the prophet was bodily present. The Appearance of "A Certain Man." It was at that time when Daniel, verbose eyes had been down- cast, lifted them up and beheld a supernatural Being in his presence. And on the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and beheld a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz : His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me : for my comeli- ness was turned in me to corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground (verses 4-9). The question is who was this "certain man,'* or as it reads literally in Hebrew, "a man of desires"? Some believed it was Gabriel who appeared once more, as he had come to Daniel in Chapters viii. and ix. Others have taught it was another mighty angel. While a few expositors of this chapter THE PROPHET DANIEL 155 have taught that it was none other than the Lord Himself who paid a visit to the Prophet, just as He came in the form of a Man to Abraham (Genesis xviii). We incline to this view and believe that the greatly beloved man was favored with a Theophany. Those who object to this view point to the thir- teenth verse where one declares that he was hin- dered and needed the help of the archangel Michael. But it is not necessary at all to identify the speaker of verse 13 with the one who at first appeared unto Daniel. If it were the same who tells Daniel that he had to call upon Michael for help, He certainly could not have been the Lord; He needs no help from any creature, though he be the archangel. However, it is quite clear that the appearing of the Being described by Daniel in verses 4-9 is no longer in view in the tenth verse. The one who touches Daniel and addressed him is no longer He whose form He beheld, in whose presence He stood alone, before whom he laid prostrate in the dust and whose voice he had heard when he had fallen in a deep sleep. The evidence that we have here an appearing of God the Son before His incarnation, in the form of a Man, a great Christophany, is very convincing. Daniel was blessed as the man greatly beloved with a manifestation of the Lord of Glory, just as the beloved disciple John, over 600 years later, was likewise permitted to see the same Lord of Glory. There is only one difference. Daniel saw Him be- fore His incarnation and John beheld Him in the island of Patmos after His death, triumphant resur- 156 THE PROPHET DANIEL rection and ascension into Glory. Both, however, are strikingly alike. In Revelation i. 12-17 we find the manifestation, which is so much like the one Daniel had on the river banks of Hiddekel. Any- one comparing this Scripture with Daniel's record of what he saw must feel convinced that it is one and the same person. And there is also a hint in connection with that vision of Glory, which Saul of Tarsus had on the road to Damascus. The men that were with Daniel saw not the vision, but a great fear came upon them and they fled. The com- panions of Saul were likewise filled with terror ''hearing a voice, but seeing no man" (Acts ix. 7). The effect of this great manifestation upon Daniel was the same which happened to John. "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead" (Revel, i. 17). Daniel also was on his face toward the ground and his comeliness was turned in him into corruption. The deep sleep which overcame him corresponds to the term "as dead" in John's experience. What lessons there are for us here. We may see here the blessedness of the faith life in its prog- ress. Daniel began as the lad, the young captive in Babylon with the simple purpose of faith. God sustained him and blessed him with wisdom and un- derstanding. This was the lesson concerning faith we found in the first chapter. Then when Neb- uchadnezzar had forgotten his dream, Daniel acted in faith, when he promised to make the dream known and wHen he and his companion cast them- selves upon the Lord, the dream was revealed unto him, God thus honored his faith. Then he talked THE PROPHET DANIEL 157 with angels. Visions came to him. Gabriel ap- peared next and afterwards was sent ''flying swiftly" with the great message to Daniel. And now after Daniel's prayer and fasting, the Lord Himself appeared to the Prophet, who had been so faithful. Thus he went "from Glory to Glory." Yet though he was the man greatly beloved and enjoyed the favor of the Lord to a high degree, though he had been such a faithful servant for so many years and honored the Lord as but few of the great men of God have done, when he comes face to face with the Lord of Glory, he utterly collapses and sinks into the dust in His holy and glorious pres- ence. And that is the place which belongs to every saint, even the most advanced in spiritual knowl- edge and the most self-sacrificing in service. In His presence we must own our utter nothingless and unworthiness. The Mystery of the Delayed Answer. And now other angelic beings under the Lord of Glory are manifested and speak to Daniel, one of them, no doubtj was Gabriel. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty 158 THE PROPHET DANIEU days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb (verses 10-15). Without following every detail of the experience, which Daniel here records, we turn at once to that which is the important information in these words. The heavenly visitor who addressed Daniel as a "man greatly beloved" and before whom he stood trembling, still shaking on account of the One he had beheld at the river bank, now brings him in- telligence concerning the delayed answer. Three weeks before Daniel had begun to chasten and set himself to understand, three weeks he had sought the answer to his prayer, but no answer reached him. The heavens seemed to be closed. How dif- ferent it was from his experience in the preceding chapter. Then he was not even permitted to finish his prayer. His prayer of humiliation and confes- sion was suddenly answered by the man Gabriel. And now three full weeks had gone and there had been no answer to his prayer. The same messenger now tells Daniel that as soon as he had begun his exercise on earth, his words, that is, his prayers were heard. Blessed comfort there is in this assuring word! As soon as we ap- proach the throne of Grace and approach it now in this present dispensation in "that worthy Name," our words are heard. And should that not be suffi- cient? May it not be the very best after all not to THE PROPHET DANIEL 159 trouble ourselves so much about the answer to prayer as some Christians do? We can leave the answer with Him "who does all things well," and acts as it pleases Him. "Thy prayer is heard" is sweet to faith. And the messenger assured Daniel that he has come with the answer. But why was he three full weeks late in transmitting to Daniel the message? The answer was delayed by the Prince on the King- dom of Persia, who withstood him for exactly three full weeks and so great was the power of the Prince of Persia that the help of the mighty archangel Michael was needed to help him through. Who then is the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia? Certainly no one would believe that the Prince of Persia here means Cyrus.* Who could for a mo- ment think that a mere human being, though a mighty prince, could intercept a spirit being with a message from above! But if it is not the actual Prince of Persia, who then is it who withstood God's messenger? It was a powerful wicked spirit, who *However some of the so-called learned commentators claim that Cyrus is meant. Here is Adam Clarke's comment: I think it would go far to make a legend, or a precarious tale, of this important place, to endeavor to maintain that either a good or evil angel is intended here. Cyrus alone was the prince of Persia, and God had destined him to be the deliverer of His people: but there were some matters, of which we are not informed, that caused him to hesitate for some time. Fearing probably the greatness of the work, and not being fully satisfied of his ability to execute it; he therefore for a time resisted the secret inspirations which God had sent him. The opposition might be in reference to the building of the Temple. i6o THE PROPHET DANIEIj controlled as a messenger of Satan the affairs of the Kingdom of Persia. Satan is the head of innumer- able fallen angels. As the "god of this age" he controls the affairs of the Kingdoms of this world and the wicked spirits in the heavenly sphere are his agents by whom he effects this control. Satan is not omnipotent, nor omniscient nor omnipresent, but through the wicked spirits, who are under him, he is well nigh omnipresent and omniscient. In Ephesians vi. 12, they are called "the world rulers of this darkness" (this age). Satan did not speak an untruth when he told our Lord on the moun- tain of temptation, that he had the Kingdoms of the world in his power, that they were his. They are still in his mighty grasp, till some day he will be stripped of these possessions. Now over each Kingdom he puts some evil spirit to exercise his influence. He himself as the prince of the power in the air is above them all and stands behind all these agencies. This is seen from other Scriptures. For instance in Ezekiel xxviii. 11-19, we have a word addressed to the King of Tyrus. In connection with that King a description is given of another being, who stood behind that King as the controlling power, and that description fits only one, Satan. The power and domain of Satan is in the heavens, right above the earth and upon the earth as well. From above and through the evil angels he still has hold on the Kingdoms of the earth. And so it was that over the Kingdom of Persia a fallen angel, one who belongs to the principalities and powers men- THE PROPHET DANIEL i6i tioned in Ephesians, had charge. This being with- stood the messenger for three weeks. There was conflict in the air. The great archangel Michael (as we know from the New Testament the only arch- angel of the Bible) had come to the assistance of the messenger. This is the first time we find Michael mentioned in the Bible. It is not the first time that he acted, for from the Epistle of Jude we know, that when Moses had died, Michael was pres- ent and faced the devil then. We find him gen- erally in connection with the Jewish people. He is, so to speak, the guardian angel of Israel. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of Thy people" (Dan. xii. 1). This passage tells that at some future time this mighty Archangel will stand up for the Jewish people. When that will be we shall find when we read the last chapter of this Book. A great conflict in the heavenlies will yet take place when Michael and his angels will fight the dragon and the evil angels associated with him (Revel, xii.). Some teach that Michael (his name means *'who is like God?") is our Lord. But this cannot be maintained in the light of the Epistle of Jude (see verse 9). What power Satan must possess when he was enabled through a demon prince to hold God's messenger in check and keep back God's message 1"^ Here are some mysterious things. Why he is still allowed to do this work in Kingdoms, *We recommend to our friends a very helpful book on "Satan and His Power," by F. C Jennings. Publ. by "Our Hope/' 8o Second Street, N. Y. i62 THE PROPHET DANIEL is responsible for the bloody wars among the nations and for the abominable things in idolatrous heathen- dom, we do not fully understand now. But the pas- sage gives us a hint how in our individual lives as believers, he too does interfere and with his many adversaries attacks and harasses. On the other hand there is the comfort that there are the good angels, who keep and defend those who are the Lord's. " Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? " (Hebrews i. 14). Some day in the pres- ence of the Lord we shall fully know the secret things of the unseen spirits, both good and evil. An Important Statement. An important state- ment is made by the messenger when he declares that he has come to tell Daniel and make him under- stand " what shall befall Thy people (the Jews) in the latter days (or : the end of days) ; for the vision is yet for many days (or : for those days) " (verse 14). This ought to settle once and for all the scope of this final vision. While it has for a prelude, as 5ve shall find, the wars which were fought by the Ptolemies and otheis and we behold a still more minute description of Antiochus Epiphanes, yet the vision concerns the Jewish people in the time of the end (the seventieth week, more correctly the last 3y2 years). What is to befall them at that time is brought out. If this had been understood expositors would never have fallen into the fanciful and erroneous interpretations, which claim that it concerns the church and that the papacy is the Anti- christ. THE PROPHET DANIEL! 163 When the messenger had concluded we behold the venerable prophet with face toward the ground and speechless. It is the attitude of deep humility and his willingness to listen only. The Prophet Strengthened to Receive the Vision. Messengers of God appear now and they strength- ened the aged servant and prophet. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me. And said, O man greatly be- loved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said. Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince (verses 16-21). First the prophet's lips are touched (compare with Isaiah vii. 6-7) and then he is enabled to speak. The first utterance which comes from these opened lips since the great vision had passed before him, is the expression of his great weakness and that he retained no strength. He was overwhelmed with holy awe so that no strength was left in him. And i64 THE PROPHET DANIEL this place of utter weakness is the place of blessing. Again he is touched. The first touch meant the opening of the prophet's lips and after his confes- sion of weakness the second touch by which he was strengthened. And if a servant of God like Daniel needed such exercise how needful it is for us. Then he received the message of peace and com- fort. Fear not ; Peace be unto thee, be strong, yea be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I ^\^as strengthened. His mind and heart was brought to rest and all his fears were silenced. Such per- fect rest and quietness was needed for Daniel to receive the prophecy and to understand the vision. It is needed by all who desire to lay hold of the things of God relating to the future. The child of God who is in unrest and is not close to the Lord is unfitted to understand the prophetic Word. And this is one of the reasons, why there is so little desire to know what God has revealed concerning the future. The heart which does not enjoy the peace of God cannot enjoy the blessed things God has made known in prophecy. Daniel, like young Samuel, said " let my Lord speak." The messenger intimates that he will re- turn to fight with the prince of Persia and then the prince of Grecia was likewise to follow. He an- nounces that he will now show the prophet what is noted in " Kitab Emeth," the " Scriptures of Truth." This remarkable expression refers not to some unwritten book, as some have taken it, but to an actual writing, as the Hebrew expresses it, " Writing of Truth." It is the name given by this THE PROPHET DANIEL 165 messenger of God to the Book which under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was written by- Daniel. In what light the critics appear, who are denying the inspiration of this book and who class its sublime revelations with myths and legends ! Persia and Greece being mentioned by the angel directs us to the vision itself as contained in chapter xi. From the conflict which is indicated between the evil spirits and God's messengers and Michael, the defender of the Jewish people, we may gather again what is going on in the unseen world in con- nection with the struggles on earth. CHAPTER XI The Wars of the Ptolemies and Seleucidae Pre- dicted. The Coming Events of the Time of the End If there is to be a division into chapters at all, it is evident that the first verse of the eleventh chapter belongs to the preceding one. There should be no break whatever. With the second verse the great prophecy begins. Here we have indeed his- tory prewritten and the greater part of this chapter (verses 2-35) is fulfilled historically. So accurate are these predictions and their subsequent fulfill- ment that the enemies of " the Scripture of Truth " have declared that it could never have been written by Daniel several hundred years before these per- sons 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. 166 THE PROPHET DANIEL 167 If we were to enter into the details of each verse and show the most remarkable historical fulfillment we would have to fill a hundred or more pages. This we cannot do. But our exposition would not be complete if we were to pass it over entirely. We shall therefore quote the text and show opposite each verse a brief statement on how the predictioij was fulfilled. Prophecy Given B.C. 534 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. (Verse 2.) Fulfillment See Ezra iv. 5-24. The three kings were : Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes and Darius, Known in history as Cam- byses, Pseudo Smerdis and Darius Hystaspis (not Darius the Mede). The fourth one was Xerxes, who, as history tells us was im- mensely rich. The invasion of Greece took place in 480 B. c. And a mighty king shall ^tand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do ac- cording to his will. (Verse 3.) And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his pos- The successors of Xerxes are not mentioned. The mighty king in this verse is the notable horn seen by Daniel on the he-goat in chapter viii, Alexander the Great. 335 b. c. B. c. 323. Alexander died young. The notable horn was broken. His kingdom was divided into four parts (four winds) after the battle i6g THE PROPHET DANIEL Prophecy Given B.C. 534 terity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up even for others besides those. (Verse 4.) And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion. (Verse 5.). And in the end of years they shall join themselves to- gether ; for the king's daugh- ter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. (Verse 6.) Fulfillment of Ipsus 301 B. c. His pos- terity did not receive the kingdom, but his four gen- erals, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Seleucus Nicator and Cass- ander. Not one of these division reached to the glory of Alexander's dominion. Asia and Greece are not followed but Syria and Egypt become prominent, be- cause the King of the North from Syria, and the King of the South, Egypt, were to come in touch with the Jews. The holy land be- came involved with both. The King of the South was Ptolemy Lagus. One of his princes was Seleucus Nica- tor. He established a great dominion, which extended to the Indus. Here is another gap. This verse takes us to 250 b. c. The two who make an alli- ance are the Kings of the North (Syrian division of the Grecian Empire) and of the South (Egypt). This alliance was effected by the marriage of the daughter of the King of the South, the Egyptian Princess Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy U., to Antiochus Theos, the King of the North. The agree- THE PROPHET DANIEL 169 Prophecy Given B.C. 534 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall pre- vail. (Verse 7.) And shall also carry cap- tives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of sil- ver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. (Verse 8.) So the King of the South shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. (Verse 9.) Fulfillment ment was that Antiochus had to divorce his wife and make any child of Berenice his heir in the kingdom. The agreement ended in calamity. When Ptolemy died Antiochus Theos in 247 called back his former wife. Berenice and her young son were poisoned and the first wife's son, Callinicus, was put on the throne as Seleu- cus II. The one out of her roots (Berenice, who had been murdered) was her own brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, who avenged her death. He conquered Syria. He dealt against Seleucus II, King of the North and slew the wife of Antiochus Theos, had Berenice poisoned, seized the fortress, the port of Antioch. Ptolemy Euergetes did exactly as predicted. He re- turned with 4000 talents of gold and 40,000 talents of silver and 2500 idols and idolatrous vessels. Many of these Cambyses had taken to Persia. In 240 B. c. Seleucus Cal- linicus the King of the North invaded Egypt. He had to return defeated. His who He I70 THE PROPHET DANIEL Prophecy Given B.C. 534 (Literal translation) : " and the same (King of the North) shall come into the realm of the King of the South, but shall return into his own land." But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall as- semble a multitude of great forces: and one shall cer- tainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. (Verse 10.) Fulfillment fleet perished m a storm. And the King of the South shall be moved w^ith choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the King of the North: and he shall set forth a great multi- tude but the multitude shall be given into his hand. (Verse ii.) And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. (Verse W.) The sons of Seleucus Cal- linicus were Seleucus III and Antiochus the Great. Seleu- cus (Ceraunos) III began war against Egyptian Prov- inces in Asia Minor. He was unsuccessful. The other son Antioch invaded Egypt and passed through because Ptolemy Philopater did not oppose him. b. c. 218 Antiochus continued his warfare and took the fort- ress Gaza. In 217 B. C. Ptolemy aroused himself and fought Antiochus the Great with an immense army. He defeated Antiochus. The multitude was given into the hands of Ptolemy Philopater. The people of Egypt rose up and the weakling Ptolemy became courageous. His vic- tory is again referred to. It was won at Raphia. He might have pressed his vic- tory. But he did not make use of it but gave himself THE PROPHET DANIEL 171 Prophecy Given B.C. 534 (Literal: "And the multi- tude shall rise up and his courage increase,") For the King of the North shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. (Verse 13.) Fulfillment up to a licentious life. Thus "he was not strengthened by it." About 14 years later 203 B. C Antiochus assembled a great army, greater than the army which was defeated at Raphia and turned against Egypt. Ptolemy Philopater had died and left an infant son Ptolemy Epiphanes. And in those times there shall many stand up against the King of the South: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to es- tablish the vision; but they shall fall. (Verse 14.) So the King of the North shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not with- stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. (Verse 15.) But he that cometh against him shall do according to his Antiochus had for his ally Phillip, King of Macedon. Also in Egypt many rebels stood up. And then there were, as we read in Josephus, wicked Jews, who helped Antiochus. These " robbers of thy people" established the vision. They helped along the very things which had been predicted, as to trials for them. All this was fulfilled in the severe struggles, which fol- lowed. The invasion of the glori- ous land by Antiochus fol- \*J2 THE PROPHET DANIEL Prophecy Given B.C. 534 own will, and none shall stand before him : and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. (Verse i6.) He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and an agreement shall be made with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupt- ing her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. (Verse 17.) After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many : but a prince (literally: Captain) for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own re- proach he shall cause it to turned upon him. (Verse 18.) Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. (Verse 19.) Fulfillment lowed. He subjected the whole land unto himself. He also was well disposed towards the Tews because they sided with Antiochus the Great against Ptolemy Epiphanes. This brings us to the years 198-195 B. C. Antiochus aimed to get full possession of Egypt. An agreement was made. In this treaty between Antiochus and Pto- lemy Epiphanes, Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus was espoused to Ptolemy. Why is Cleopatro called " daugh- ter of women?" Because she was very young and was under the care of her mother and grandmother. The treaty failed. A few years later Antio- chus conquered isles on the coast of Asia Minor. The captain predicted is Scipio Asiaticus. Antiochus had reproached the Romans by his acts and he was de- feated. This defeat took place at Magnesia 190 b. c. Antiochus returns to his own land. He came to a miserable end trying to plunder the temple of Belus in Elymais. THE PROPHET DANIEL 173 Prophecy Given B.C. 534 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom : but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. (Verse 20.) And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom : but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (Verse 21.) And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. (Verse 22.) And after the league made with him he shall work de- ceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. (Verse 23.) He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province ; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his Fulfillment This is Seleucus Philo- pater b. c. 187-176. He was known as a raiser of taxes. He had an evil reputation with the Jews because he was such an exactor among them. His tax-collector Heliodorus poisoned him and so he was slain " neither: in anger, nor in battle." This vile person is none other than Antiochus Epiph- anes. He had no claim on royal dignities being only a younger son of Antiochus the Great. He seized royal honors by trickery and with flatteries. He is the little horn of Chapter viii. He was successful in de- feating his enemies. The prince of the covenant may mean his nephew Ptolemy Philometor. He also van- quished Philometor's gen- erals. He feigned friendship to young Ptolemy but worked deceitfully. To allay suspi- cion he came against Egypt with a small force but took Egypt as far as Memphis. He took possession of the fertile places in Egypt under the pretense of peace. He took Pelusium and laid siege to the fortified places Nau- 174 THE PROPHET DANIEL Prophecy Given B.C. 534 father's fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his de- vices against the strong holds, even for a time. (Verse 24.) And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the King of the South with a great army; and the King of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall fore- cast devices against him. (Verse 25.) Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain. (Verse 26.) And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mis- chief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time ap- pointed. (Verse 27.) Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he Fulfillment cratis and Alexandria. This King of the South is Ptolemy Physcon, who was made king after Philometor had fallen into the hands of Antiochus. He had a great army but did not succeed be- cause treason had broken out in his own camp. Additional actions of An- tiochus and * warfare, in which he was successful, fol- lowed. The two kings are Antio- chus Epiphanes and his as- sociate Philometor. They made an alliance against Ptolemy Euergetes II also called Physcon. But they spoke lies against each other and did not succeed in their plans. In 168 B. c. he returned from his expedition and had great riches. Then he marched through Judea and THE PROPHET DANIEL 175 Prophecy Given B.C. 534 shall do exploits, and return to his own land. (Verse 28.) At the time appointed he shall return, and come to- ward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. (Verse 29.) For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have in- dignafion against the holy- covenant : so shall he do ; he shall even return, and have intelligenct with them that forsake the holy covenant. (Verse 30.) Fulfillment did his awful deeds. A re- port had come to his ears that the Jewish people had reported him dead. In the first and second book of the Maccabees we read of his atrocities. Then he retired to Antioch. He made still another at- tempt against the south. However he had not the former success. The ships of Chittim are the Roman fleet. When within a few miles of Alex- andria he heard -that ships had arrived. He went to salute them. They delivered to him the letters of the sen- ate, in which he was com- manded, on pain of the dis- pleasure of the Roman peo- ple, to put an end to the war against his nephews. Antio- chus said, " he would go and consult his friends;" on which Popilius, one of the legates, took his staff, and instantly drew a circle round Antiochus on the sand, where he stood ; and commanded him not to pass that circle, till he had given a definite answer. As a grieved and defeated man he returned and then he fell upon Judea 176 THE PROPHET DANIEL Prophecy Given B.C. 534 And arms shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomina- tion that maketh desolate. (Verse 31.) And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries : but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall in- struct many : yet they shall fall by the sword, and by Fulfillment once more to commit addi- tional wickedness. Apostate Jews sided with him. This brings us to the climax of the horrors under Antiochus Epiphanes. The previous record of it is con- tained in Chapter viii. He sent Apollonius with over 20,000 men to destroy Jeru- salem. Multitudes were slain and women and chil- dren led away as captives. He issued a command that all people must conform to the idolatry of Greece. A wicked Grecian was sent to enforce the word of Antio- chus. All sacrifices ceased and the God-given cere- monials of Judaism cam.e to an end. The temple was pol- luted by the sacrifices of swine's flesh. The temple was dedicated to Jupiter Olympius. Thus the predic- tion was fulfilled. These verses describe the condition among the Jewish people. There were two classes. Those who do wick- edly against the covenant, the apostate and those who know God, a faithful rem- nant. The apostates sided with the enemy and the peo- ple who know God were THE PROPHET DANIEL 177 Prophecy Given B.C. 534 Fulfillment flame, by captivity, and by strong. This has reference spoil, many days. to the noble Maccabees. Now when they shall fall, There was also suffering and they shall be holpen with a persecution, little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of un- derstanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end : because it is yet for a time appointed. (Verses 32-35-) What a most remarkable evidence we have here before us of the fact of prophecy! Only God can v^rite history in advance in the v^ay it is done here. At the same time it is evident that the power behind the men, who boast of learning and who can side with the arguments of a pagan like Porphyry, is the spirit of darkness. Inasmuch as it is proven beyond any doubt that this chapter was written and was in existence before any of these events took place, it must be a wilful unbelief, which rejects the wonderful evidence of revelation. We fear much of the present day destructive criti- cism is nothing less than that. How wonderfully has God fulfilled His Word! How literally every- thing has come to pass. And, dear reader, God will soon fulfill the great prophecies, which are still unfulfilled. The next number on His programme will be, when His blessed Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, comes into the air, and when all His Saints together with those who have died in Christ will 178 THE PROPHET DANIEL be caught up in clouds to meet Him in the air. And after that the great judgments will sweep over the earth and wrath will be poured out. Before we pass on we desire to sa}^ 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 xxiv. 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 xi. 31 and that this is the abomination of desolation. This is not quite correct. The abomination that maketh deso- late 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 xii. 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 con- nection with chapter viii. The Time of the End Introduced. From chapter X. 14 we learned that Daniel was to understand by this final prophecy what should befall his people in the latter days. Now if such is the case then there must be a break somewhere in this eleventh chapter where the predicted events, which have THE PROPHET DANIEU 179 found their fulfillment cease and where we are led into the future days, the time of the end. This break occurs at verse 35. We have seen that the predictions in verses 2-35 have all been fulfilled. However Antiochus Epiphanes with his wicked deeds is typical of that final King of the North, when greater persecution and tribulation will sweep over Israel's land, in the time of the end. Now it is very clear that verse 35 introduces this time of the end. " And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end ; because it is yet for the time appointed." The last chapter in Daniel which is wholly taken up with the time of the end, the last 3^ years of the seventieth week has a similar statement, which reminds us of verses 32-35 in chapter xi. " Many shall be purified and made white, and tried ; but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." Therefore with verse 35 our attention is called to that time of the end and with the verse which follows we are transported at once into that time. Between verse 35 and 36 we must put a long, unreckoned period of time. Anti- ochus Epiphanes and the victorious Maccabees end the historical fulfillment of the predictions of this great prophecy and since then over 2000 years have passed and the fulfillment of verses 36-45 has not yet come. It corresponds somewhat to the similar gap (which is of course of less duration) between the 69th and the beginning of the 70th week. While there is no difficulty to prove the historical i8o THE PROPHET DANIEL fufillment of verses 2-35 it is impossible to locate anything in history which corresponds to verses 36-45. This in itself is noteworthy and an evidence that these closing verses of our chapter await a future fulfillment. Some have tried to make the King, v/ho is first described, to be Antiochus Epiph- anes, but the description does not fit him at all. The King, who is to Come. Here in the fore- ground of the time of the end is a prediction of a wicked king, a most interesting and important prophecy, which differs materially from the pre- dictions about the little horn in chapter vii. and the other little horn in chapter viii. This King has been identified with both, the head of the Roman world power and with the King of the North. We shall find that he is an entirely dififerent one, indeed he has not yet been mentioned in this book before. And the king shall do according to his will : and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accom- plished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces : and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whoso acknowledges him will he increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a reward (verses 36-39). THE PROPHET DANIEL i8i Many expositors of Daniel apply this passage to Antiochus Epiphanes, because they see not the im- portant interval which exists between verse 35 and 36. However a closer examination of the descrip- tion 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 xiii. and say that the head of the revived Roman Empire, one like Napoleon I. 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 corrup- tion make some startling applications which are extremely fanciful. We insert here by way of illustration what Adam Clark says on part of this passage. Others have followed in the same foot- steps. On the description that the King shall not regard the desire of women the statement is made as follows: " Both the Greek and Latin church in their Anti- christian enactments, have discouraged, and in several cases proscribed, marriage, under the pre- tence of greater chastity, to the discredit of God's ordinance, and Christianity itself. Nor regard any god. For the mandates and de- crees of that church have been often in defiance of God and His word ; for it has magnified itself above i82 THE PROPHET DANIEL all power and authority in heaven and on earth. It professes to hold the keys, and to open and shut heaven at pleasure, both to states and individuals. Shall he honour the god of forces which is mduzzim, or gods protectors, as in the Margin; worshipping saints and angels, as guardians and protectors, and mediators; leaving out, in general, the true God, and the only Mediator, Jesus Christ. And a god whom his fathers knew not for these gods guardians, the Virgin Mary, saints, and angels, were utterly unknown, as mediators and invocable guardians, in the primitive apostolic church. Shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones. How literally does this apply to the church of Rome ! See the house of our lady at Loretto ; the shrines of saints ; the decorated images, costly apparel, gold jewels, etc., profusely used about images of saints, angels, and the blessed virgin, in different Popish churches. This super- stition began to prevail in the fourth century; and was established in 787, by the seventh general council, for in that the worship of images was enacted." But enough of this. If these commentators had only reckoned with the fact that this King is to come in the time of the end and be manifested in the land of Palestine in the midot of Daniel's people (the Jews) they would have escaped such far- fetched interpretations. Others, as already stated, identify this King with the little horn in Daniel vii. and also with that other THE PROPHET DANIEL 183 little horn in chapter viii. To show that the King described in xi. 36-39 is a different person we shall put the records concerning these three persons be- fore us once more. The Little Horn Daniel vii. 25. Comes forth out of the ten horns of the Fourth Beast. (Roman Empire.) The Head of the restored Roman Power. He shall speak great words against the Most High — Shall wear out the Saints of the Most High. Think to change times and Laws. These shall be given into his hands — For ZY2 years. He is "the Prince that shall come." Dan. ix. 26. Makes a covenant with the many. Covenant broken in the midst of the week. The Little Horn Daniel viii. 9-12. Arises out of a division of the Third Kingdom— the Grecian Empire. Antiochus Epiphanes pre- dicted. The type of the King of the North. He understands dark sen- tences. His power shall be mighty but not by his own power. Shall destroy wonderfully. Shall practice and prosper. Destroy the mighty and holy people. He shall magnify himself in his heart and by peace destroy many. He shall stand up against the Prince of princes. He shall be broken with- out hand. He is the desolator — the King of the North — the As- syrian of the time of the end. 'i84 THE PROPHET DANIEL The Wilful King Daniel xi, 36-39. Nothing is said about the origin of this king. He does not arise from the Gentiles at all; therefore he must be a Jew. He shall do according to his will. He shall exalt himself. Magnify himself above every God. Shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods. He prospers till the in- dignation is past. He does not regard the God of His fathers (the Jews). Nor the desire of women. Nor regard any god. He shall magnify himself above all. He shall honor the god of forces. A god whom his fathers know not he shall honor with gold, etc. Whoso acknowledges him will he increase with glory. He shall cause them to rule over the many. He shall divide the lancj for reward. A close comparison of the origin of these three wicked persons and what they do during the time of the end, the last end of the indignation proves conclusively that they cannot be one person, or two, but they are three distinct persons. Who then is the King, who is described in chapter xi. 36 as coming up as the wilful king in the time of the end? 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 v. 43). This other one has not yet come. We have his photo- graph here. He appears in Israel's land in the time THE PROPHET DANIEL 185 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 (Isaiah xxx. 33 ; Ivii. 9). Zechariah calls him "the idol shepherd" (Zech. xi. 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 Revela- tion he appears as the second beast out of the land (Palestine) Revel, xiii. 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 xvi. 13; xix. 20; XX. 10). In the New Testament he Is called in the writings of John "the Antichrist." See 1 John ii. 18-22; iv. 3 ; 2 John 7. Another great prophecy of the same person is found in 2 Thessel. ii. where he is called " the man of sin, the son of predition." 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. A question may arise here in the mind of the reader. The passage in Daniel has to do exclu- sively with Daniel's people. The wilful King is to arise in their midst and do his dreadful work in the land of Israel. How is it that he is also predicted to i86 THE PROPHET DANIEL be the deceiver of Christendom? What has he to do with Gentile Christendom if he is to be the false Messiah — King of the Jews? The answer is very simple. As the time of the end approaches a wide- spread apostasy from God and His Word will be- come universal. It will be as pronounced among the Jews as it will be in nominal Christendom. Be- fore it can come to its full head the true church, composed of all who are the Lord's, will be removed from this earth. The great mass of unsaved nominal Christians will be left behind. Then Jewish and Christian Apostasy will coalesce and center in that one person. For the apostate Jewish masses, re- stored in unbelief to their land, he will be the false Messiah-king; for the apostate Christian masses, he >vill be the Antichrist. Even to-day we see how re- formed Jews and liberal Christians, the adherents of the " New Theology " make common cause and can meet together in what they call " worship." It is worship, not true worship but the Cain-cult. The whole apostate mass of humanity, Jews and Gentiles, v/ill receive this wilful King. The Jews, iwith the exception of the believing remnant, will hail him as their Messiah-King and the Gentiles, those :who received not the love of the truth, will accept the strong delusion, the lying signs and wonders, >vhich this man of sin will do. A Brief Analysis of His Person, Character and Work. We can give only a few hints in connection with the divinely given photograph of this wicked one. He is called the King who *' shall do accord- ing to his own will." He will be self-willed, which THE PROPHET DANIEL 187 means that in wilfullness he will go as the man of sin the full length of opposition against God and let sin work in him to the uttermost extent. In 1 Tim. iii. 6 we read that the crime of the devil is pride. This wilful King is the devil's man and Satan's character is fully developed in him. His character will be self-exaltation. First in self- will he exalts himself and then against God himself. In this self-exaltation and exaltation above God, he will prosper till the indignation is accomplished, till the Lord comes and slays him with the breath of his lips and the brightness of His coming. Here we may consult 2 Thess. ii. Of the man of sin, this wilful King, Paul writes : *' who opposeth and exalteth him- self above all that is called God, showing himself that he is God." Because the temple of God is mentioned here and that temple has erroneously been inter- preted as meaning the church, many hold that it means popery. But the temple is the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Now the Jews do not possess a temple. During the last seven years, the final prophetic week, when the prince of the Roman power makes a covenant with the Jews, they will build a temple in Jerusalem. In the middle of the week this wilful King will come and take his seat in that temple and claim divine worship. Then Satan will be working in great power, signs and lying wonders. This wilful King deceives them that dwell on the earth (Rev. xiii. 14) by the means of those miracles. Apostate Jews and Gentiles will believe the lie, and thus hasten on to the judgment i88 THE PROPHET DANIEL which is prepared for them when God's true King appears out of the opened heavens. The King, Antichrist, shall not regard the God of his fathers. Here his Jewish descent becomes evident. It is a Jewish phrase '' the God of his fathers " and besides this, to establish his fraudu- lent claim to be the King Messiah, he must be a Jew. Else the Jews would not own him as such. Still more interesting is the statement " he shall not regard the desire of women." The Lord Jesus Christ is here in view. Pious Jewish women in Pre-messianic times had one great desire, they wanted to be mothers, with a view to Him, who is the promised seed of the woman. His birth was desired by these godly mothers of Israel. This King then hates God and hates His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. " Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is the Anti- christ, that denieth the Father and the Son " (1 John ii. 22). Verse 38 speaks of another whom he will honor. It is strange that so very few teachers have con- nected this verse with what is spoken of the Anti- christ in Revel, xiii. 11-17. The one whom he will honor is none other than the first beast, the little horn. The two will work together and the Anti- christ will have an image made of the first beast, the little horn. Perhaps that image will be of gold, sil- ver and precious stones, mentioned in verse 38. That image is to be worshipped and whosoever re- fuses to do so will be killed. Then the great trib- ulation will sweep through the city and the land THE PROPHET DANIEL 189 with all its satanic horrors. The little horn, the Prince over the Roman Empire, will work corre- sponding atrocities in his Gentile domain. Another statement we must explain. " Whoso acknowledges him will he increase with Glory ; and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for glory." He imitates in this the true Christ. He anticipates (as Satan always does) jvhat the coming King will do. When the Lord comes His own faithful people will receive their rewards. This is not only the teaching of the New Testament but also that of the Old. " Behold His reward is with Him " (Isaiah xl. 10). "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh, behold His reward is with Him and His work before Him" (Isaiah Ixii. 11). ** Thy people also shall be righteous, they shall in- herit the land forever " (Isaiah Ix. 21). Other pass- ages could be quoted. When Israel's true King, the Lord Jesus Christ appears, he will give Glory to His land and to the faithful remnant of His people. He will give them dominion over many, over the nations and He will divide the land for faithful service. We speak here exclusively of the faithful remnant of Israel. The church has her re- ward over the earth. When the counterfeit of Satan, the false Messiah, the Antichrist is in the land, he will imitate the coming King in these matters of reward. Those who acknowledge him and are true to this dread- ful being, he will give them earthly glory and dominion and divide the land for reward. But it I90 THE PROPHET DANIEL will not last long. The King of the North sweeps into the land and antagonizes the doings of the Antichrist and then God's appointed King will ap- pear and be enthroned upon the holy hill of Zion. Why is Antichrist Mentioned only once in Daniel? But if this false King is so prominent then in Jeru- salem how is it that we have but one description of him in the prophecies of this book? The promi- nence of this wilful King in connection with the Jews has led many teachers to identify him with Antiochus Epiphanes. But there is a good reason why the Antichrist is mentioned but once and that at the end of the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is chiefly occupied with the times of the Gentiles and how they will end. The Gentile enemies of His people are therefore accorded the leading place, as we have seen, the coming Prince out of the Roman world and the King of the North are Gentiles. The Antichrist arising out of the people themselves is mentioned last. A Practical Word. Plow near all these events are to our times! We see the shadow of both, the coming Prince, the first beast, and the Antichrist in our times. The Gentile nations await a great political leader. Religiously the apostates in Juda- ism and Christendom are ready to receive their man and follow him. How true the Word of God given through John applies to our times. " Little children it is the last time, and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time" (1 John ii. 18). Many Antichrists were al- [THE PROPHET DANIEL 191 ready present in the days ot the Apostle John. The great Gnostic movement with its intellectual philo- sophical denials of the Person and work of Christ was troubling the church as well as other move- ments. But as the age has gone on all has become more pronounced and as never before there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that the Anti- christ is near. As never before the Antichristian ele- ments are gathering in systems and movements which gain in strength. Higher criticism is Anti- christian, it may well be called the forerunner of all antichristian teachings. To the many Anti- christs in our day belongs the " Christian Science " movement (a revival in a powerful way of the Gnosticism of John's day), the Millennial Dawn system (the most subtle Antichristianity), Spiritism, demon power revealed, The New Theology, the bloodless, Christless Gospel, the Theosophical move- ment; we also mention Bahaism, Mormonism, Re- formed Judaism, New Thought and a number of other " isms." Of course the Romish " church," the mother of harlots, is in the foreground and will ere long take a very prominent part in the religious affairs of drifting Christendom. These system are the harbingers of the final, personal Antichrist. He cannot be far away. Be- loved readers! while Satan is gathering his forces and preparing the material for the final struggle, we must as God's people live in separation from these evil things and keep close to our ever blessed Lord. God's call to us now is separation. May He help all those .who name that worthy Name to be 192 THE PROPHET DANIEL separated from every form of Antichristianity. We too shall be against Christ if we are not out and out for Him. Let us give Him in all things the Pre- eminence. The Conflicts at the Time of the End. And now the phrase " the time of the end " is introduced once more. The verses which follow the description of the willful King are the conflicts, which will take place in Palestine during the last half of the seven- tieth week and which will terminate with the com- ing of the King. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown : but these shall es- cape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries : and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him (verses 40-45.) In verse 39 we read that the Antichrist acting as the false King will divide the land, which is Im- manuel's land. At that time two kings will push at him and threaten the Antichrist. The King of THE PROPHET DANIEL 193 the South and the King of the North appear now upon the scene. Their doings were foreshadowed in the Kings of the South and North in the first part of this chapter. The King of the South, stirred up by the arrogant doings of the false King in Israel's land, comes first. Who is the King of the South? A King which rises out of Egypt. It would be a mistake if we were here to leave the path of expounding prophecy and make a guess at who this King might be. Not a few instead of explaining prophetic revelations have turned proph- ets themselves. This proved in every case to be simple guesswork and often harmful to the study of the Word. This King of the South however will have not much success with his operations. The prominent person is his antagonist, the King of the North. He is, as we have seen, the King with the fierce countenance, typified by Antiochus Epiphanes, the little horn of chapter viii. the Assyrian of the / time of the end. He is now stirred up by what the (Antichrist is doing in the land. He comes like a whirlwind with chariots and horsemen and with many ships. His mighty army, their large numbers and orderly march as well as their destructive work is vividly described in Joel's prophecy (chapter ii.). "He shall enter into the glorious land." As the desolator he comes now against Jerusalem. He also conquers other countries. Edom, Moab, and the children of Amnion only escape.* But from *It is often stated that these countries are now no longer flourishing. Their territory still exists and people live there. At the time of the end all these countries come up again. 194 THE PROPHET DANIEL Isaiah xi. 14 we learn that restored Israel will lay their hand upon these, which escaped the devasta- tion of the King of the North and be forced into obedience. And Egypt will not escape his hand. He will have power over the treasures of gold and silver which are stored up in that land and even the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. When he is in the South certain tidings reach him ; they come from the East and out of the North and they trouble him. What these tidings are we are not told. We need therefore not speculate what these tidings will be. But this is certain that the tFdings are connected with the Jewish people and the events, which transpire in their land. With great fury he now turns back to the land. His great aim is to destroy and to make away with many. The climax then is reached. " He shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations (associated with the King of the North), as when he fought in the day of battle (Zech, xiv. 3). The interference will be by the personal, visible manifestation of the Lord, for " His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives" (Zech. xiv. 5). Thus the King of the North will be broken " without hands " (Dan. viii. 25) and " that determined shall be poured upon the desolator " (chapter ix. 27). The overthrow of the past Assyrian Sennacherib and his army of 185,000 men was a faint type of the end of the last Assyrian, the King of the North. Great THE PROPHET DANIEL ^95 will be the slaughter on the battlefield before Jeru- salem Then too the delivered remnant of the peo- ple Israel will go forth and share in that victory *Hhey will gather together, gold and silver and apparel in great abundance" (Zech. xiv. 14). Pages upon pages might be filled with further scriptures and their explanations relatmg to this final great conflict, as well as that which happens to the western power. One question remains. While the King of the North and his proud hosts are thus overthrown by the Army of the Lord, what becomes of the will- ful King, the Antichrist in the City? The King of the North cannot touch him. But the Lord Him- self 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 com- ing" (2 Thess. ii. 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. May we praise God that in His infinite Grace He has delivered us from so great a death. CHAPTER XII The End of the Prophecy. The Great Tribulation and Israel's Deliverance. The Epilogue How closely this chapter is connected with the events, which we have just left in the closing verses of chapter xi. is seen by the first words with which the final chapter in Daniel starts in. " And at that time." What time? The time when the willful King domineers over the Jews and commits his evil deeds in Jerusalem and when the King of the North has entered the glorious land. The Time of Trouble and Israel's Deliverance. This is the subject of the first two verses. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and ever- lasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (verses 1-3). 196 THE PROPHET DANIEL 197 Important prophetic truths are here brought into view. As stated above it relates altogether to the time of the end, the last 3^ years. The informa- tion is now given that this time will be for Daniel's people " a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time." And this statement is repeated by our Lord in Matthew xxiv. in that part of His Olivet discourse, which relates to the Jewish people and contains His prophecy touching the seventieth week. Then our Lord saith " then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew xxiv. 21). In verse 15 of the same chapter our Lord mentions Daniel and the abomination of desolation. This according to our Lord's words introduces the time of trouble, the great tribulation, the time of the end. What harmony is here! And still more signifi- cant it is that in Daniel xii. this abomination is mentioned (see verse 11). Now there are such who teach that all our Lord said in Matthew xxiv. speaks exclusively of what happened to Jerusalem in the year 70. In fact this is the general interpretation of our Lord's discourse. But it is completely dis- proven by the twelfth chapter in Daniel. As w^e shall see with the time of trouble there is associated the deliverance of Daniel's people and their restora- tion. Now were the Jews delivered and restored in the year 70 when the Romans took the city? No. As we sav/ from chapter ix. the city and sanct- uary were destroyed. The nation itself was scat- tered. 198 THE PROPHET DANIEU But there is also another erroneous view taught. It is claimed that the church is to be on earth during that time of trouble. Thus the church is read into the xxiv. chapter of Matthew. But the time of trouble is not for the church, but for Daniel's people. To put the church into the time of the end is a teaching, which works confusion. When the seven- tieth week beg-ins, the true church has left the earth. 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 Revelation we learn (chapter xii.) that there will be war in heaven, that is where Satan has his dominion now as the prince of the pov/er 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. xii. 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 misinter- preted. Because expositors have not seen the appli- cation 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. ** At that time thy people shall be delivered every THE PROPHET DANIEL 199 one that shall be found written In the book." Daniel's people are the objects of the deliverance in that time of trouble, however there is a further description; not all of Daniel's people, but those only "that shall be found written in the book." These are the godly Jews, the believing remnant of the time of the end. For them the Lord will send help and they will be saved out of that time of trouble. For their sake the days will be shortened. "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's* sake those days shall be shortened" (Matth. xxiv. 22). Their de- liverance means a deliverance out of the dreadful conditions of the time of the end and after their faithful endurance to the end (Matthew xxiv. 13) they will enter into the Kingdom, which will then be established. The great apostate mass of Jews will be swept into the judgment and be cut off as other Scriptures teach us. "And it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die ; but the third shall be left therein" (Zech. xiii. 8-9). That third part will be carried through the fire, the time of trouble and to them the Lord, their King, will say "It is my people and they shall say. The Lord is my God." The evil doctrine that "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. xi. 26) means not alone the literal salvation of all the wicked Jews who have sided with Anti- christ, but also all the Jewish generations, which continued wilfully in unbelief, is in this passage and others as well completely answered. ♦Not the church but the elect remnant. j300 THE PROPHET DANIEL Physical resurrection is not taught in the second verse of this chapter, if it were the passage would be in clash with the revelation concerning resur- rection in the New Testament. There is no general resurrection, but there will be the first resurrection in which only the righteous participate and the second resurrection, which means the raising of the wicked dead for their eternal and conscious punish- ment. Between the two resurrections is a space of 1000 years (see Revel, xx). We repeat the passage has nothing to do with physical resurrection. Physical resurrection is how- ever used as a figure of the national revival of Israel in that day. They have been sleeping nation- ally 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 xxxvii. 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. The same dis- tinction holds good, which we have already pointed out. The great mass of Jews, who cast their belief ♦Millennial Dawnism especially misapplies this passage. THE PROPHET DANIEL 201 in God and His Word to the winds, who accepted the man of sin and acknowledged the wicked King, will face everlasting contempt, but the remnant will possess all things promised to them and become the heirs of that Kingdom, which is prepared from the foundation of the world. And besides the national blessing which they receive, they will be in possession of everlasting life, for they are born again. The wise which are mentioned in verse 3 and those who turn the many to righteousness (lit: teach righteousness) shall then have their reward. These are Jewish witnesses, Jewish teachers, whom God's Spirit enlightens in the time of the end and who render a great service in the witnessing to the truth, most likely the truths concerning the great events which take place and the exhortation with it to repent and walk in righteousness. They are mentioned elsewhere in prophecy. A special reward will be theirs in occupying a prominent place In the Kingdom indicated by the words "shine as the stars forever and ever." The reward of the church saints and those who bear a testimony now, teaching that better right- eousness and declaring the whole counsel of God, is not taught here. But we know it will be a far greater reward in the heavenly Jerusalem above the earth, than the reward in the earthly Kingdom. What an incentive this ought to be to be loyal to an absent, but soon coming Lord ! Daniel Addressed. After this prophecy concern- ing the time of the end, the great tribulation, the 202 THE PROPHET DANIELi national resoration, the judgment of the apostates and the blessings for the faithful part of the nation, the Man greatly beloved is addressed in verse 4. 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. The sealing of the book means that for the use at that time, the prophecy was like a closed book. What a contrast with the Revelation in the New Testament, where John the Penman is expressly told not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. To Daniel much was unintelligent, his great book was to be sealed, but in New Testament times nothing is sealed or shut up. The Holy Spirit has come. We have a complete revelation. The great New Testament book of Prophecy, "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," is an unveiling and through its great message we can un- derstand, as God in His infinite Grace has permitted us in a little measure in these pages, the visions and prophecies of Daniel, concerning the time of the end. We often hear people say it is no use to read Revelation or the Book of Daniel, for these are sealed books. Even preachers and Christian teachers speak thus. If it is not ignorance, such language expresses sheer laziness to turn with dili- gence to what God has given and what God is will- ing to unfold to our hearts. Yet to Daniel's people the Book is still shut up and sealed, not to us as Christians. When the time of the end comes the wise among them will see and THE PROPHET DANIEL 203 understand. And that will be the time when "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." This is true in a certain sense now and is a sign of the times. But the fulfillment comes when the time of the end is reached. Daniel Beholds Angels. The Man Clothed in Linen. Daniel's Question. And now the great book draws to its close. It is the epilogue of this great Book. Then I Daniel looked^ and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in Hnen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly : and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand (verses 5-10), We do not enter fully into these words. The river is the same mentioned in the tenth chapter, the river Hiddekel. Two angels are there and the Man clothed in linen. There can be no doubt that the man in linen is the same, who appeared to 204 THE PROPHET DANIEL Daniel in the beginning of this final great vision. (Chapter x. 5.) It is the Lord Himself. One of the angels addresses a question to Him. "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" In other words, how long shall this time of trouble last. We may read here Revel, x. 1-6. And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud : and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write : and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea, and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven. And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. Here we have the same person in the form of a mighty angel. This mighty angel is an uncreated Being and the description and action recorded here fit only one and that is our Lord. He answers the question Daniel heard asked of Him. These things shall last "time, times and a half," that is 3^ years or 42 months, the duration of the great tribulation during which the little horn (see Daniel vii. 25) and the Antichrist under Satanic power will domineer and the King of the North THE PROPHET DANIEL 205 enters Israel's land. The duration of this great trouble is therefore announced once more, and when the wicked little horn will be through with his part of the work. And Daniel heard all these words and he had to add, though all these great things had been witnessed by him and he was so near to the Lord, *T understood not." All was mystery to him once more. How far better is our lot in possessing the com- pleted Word of God and the Holy Spirit, who has come down from heaven as the indwelling and abiding guest, to show us "things to come." Then Daniel addresses His Lord. "O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And Daniel, the highly favored prophet, receives a loving word from the Lord. "Go, thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." The tenth verse applies to the time of the end and not to our times at all. Two classes will then exist, as seen before, among Daniel's people. Many, who believe ; these will be purified, made white and tried. They will be brought through the fire. These will understand in those dreadful days. The unbelieving mass will do wick- edly and they will be blinded. Similar conditions prevail in Christendom. May all, who are the Lord's have indeed understanding. Alas ! the great mass is blinded by the god of this age and do not understand. The End of these Things. The 1290 and 1335 Days. Daniel had received a loving answer from the Lord and at the same time his question is an- swered. ^o6 THE PROPHET DANIEL And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (verses 11-12). For many readers of Daniel these words have been very puzzling. One might truly say, that the expositors whose commentaries are mostly used have only darkened this final word addressed to Daniel. One of these wrote in 1825 the following: "Adrian's temple, built in the place of God's Temple at Jerusalem, the church of St. Sophia turned into a Mohammedan mosque, etc., etc., may be termed abominations that make desolate. Per- haps Mohammedanism may be the abomination; which sprang up, A. D. 612. If we reckon one thou- sand two hundred and ninety years, ver. 11, from that time, it will bring us down to A. D. 1902, when we might presume, from this calculation,, that the religion of the false prophet will cease to prevail in the world. Which, from the present year 1825, is distant only seventy-seven years." But his calculations have proven incorrect. He makes the building of the mosques of Moham- medanism the abomination. We have seen what the abomination is which will happen in Jerusalem in the middle of the week, when Antichrist mani- fests his full power and the other Beast breaks the covenant. Others by not comparing Scripture with Scripture and not understanding what "the abomin- ation that maketh desolate" is, have given other THE PROPHET DANIEL 207 years as the probable date when the Lord comes. They have all failed. And if others arise, as no doubt they will, and make other speculative asser- tions concerning the time, they will likewise fail. But what is the meaning of these 1290 and 1335 days? Can there be anything plainer than the fact that these 1290 and 1335 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 1260 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 1260 days, 3^ years. Mat- thew xxiv. 29-31 teaches us this. The extra month will in all probability be needed to make possible certain judgment events especially with the over- throw of the nations, which came against Jeru- salem and the judgment of nations as given in Mat- thew XXV. 31. We cannot speak dogmatically on all this. But certain it is that 1335 days after the Antichristian abomination had been set up in Jeru- salem, that is 75 days, or 1^ 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. And Daniel, the man greatly beloved, the loyal 2o8 THE PROPHET DANIEL servant of God, the faithful Daniel, the blessed Daniel, the seer of the greatest visions, next to the visions of the beloved disciple John — what about Daniel? "But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Thrice blessed word! He has entered into his rest, the rest of the Saints of the Lord. In that blessed day, which may soon be here, when the Lord descends from heaven with a shout and the dead in Christ will be raised, Daniel will share in that coming Glory. What a glorious lot will be his, when the day of Glory comes for all the Saints of God! Our task is finished. Humbly we lay this little, imperfect exposition of the Book of Daniel, at the feet of our ever gracious and blessed Lord. May it please Him to use what we have written in depend- ence upon Himself, to encourage His people in their waiting for Himself. The time is near. Never be- fore has there been such a need to study the won- derful prophecies of Daniel and the corresponding prophetic book, the Revelation, as now. A little time is left to do so. And may it please God, that all His redeemed people may walk in closer fellow- ship with the Lord and manifest in their lives the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. THE END THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL The following are the more important of the argu- ments which evidence the genuineness of the book. 1. The existence and authority of the book are most decidedly testified by the New Testament. Christ himself refers to it (Matt. xxiv. 15), and gives him- self (in virtue of the expression in Dan. vii. 13) the name of Son of Man; while the Apostles repeatedly appeal to it as an authority {ex. gr., 1 Cor. vi. 2; 2 Thess. ii. 3; Heb. xi. 33, sq.) To the objection that Christ and the writers of the New Testament are here no real authority, inasmuch as they accommodate themselves to the Jewish notions and views, we reply that the genuineness of the book of Daniel is so closely connected with the truth of its contents — in other words, that the authenticity of the book is so imme- diately connected with its authority — that it is im- possible to doubt the genuineness, without suspecting at the same time a wilful fraud and cheat in its con- tents; so that the accommodation in this case to na- tional views wlould be tantamount to wilfully con- firming and sanctioning an unpardonable fraud. 2. The period of the exile would be altogether in- comprehensible without the existence of a man like Daniel, exercising great influence upon his own people, and whose return to Palestine was effected by means 209 210 APPENDIX of his high station in the state, as well as through the peculiar assistance of God with which he was favored. Without this assumption, it is impossible to explain the continued state of independence of the people of God during that period, or to account for the inter- est which Cyrus took in their affairs. The exile and its termination are indicative of uncommon acts of God towards highly-gifted and favored men ; and the appearance of such a man as Daniel is described in that book to have been, is an indispensable requisite for the right understanding of this portion of the Jewish history. 3. An important hint of the existence of the book in the time of Alexander is found in Josephus, Antiq., xi. 8, 4, according to which the prophecies of Daniel had been pointed out to that king on his entrance into Jerusalem. It is true that the fact may have been somewhat embellished in its details by Josephus; yet is it historically undeniable that Alex- ander did bestow great favors on the Jews, a circum- stance which is not easily explained without grant- ing the fact recorded by Josephus to be true in the main. 4. The first book of the Maccabees, which is al- most contemporary with the events related in it, not only pre-supposes the existence of the book of Daniel, but actually betrays acquaintance with the Alexan- drian version of the same ( i Mace. i. 54 ; comp. Dan. ix. 2y; ii. 59; oomp. Dan. iii.) — a proof that the book must have been written long before that period. 5. If the book had been written in the Maccabsean period, there would probably have been produced in APPENDIX 211 that period some similar prophetic and apocalyptic productions, composed by Palestine Jews. Of such, however, not the slightest trace can anywhere be found ; so that our book — if of the Maccabsean time — thus forms an isolated enigmatic phenomenon in the later Jewish literature. 6. The reception of the book into the canon is also an evidence of its authenticity. In the Maccabsean age the canon had long been completed and closed; but even doubting that point, it is not likely that, at a time when so much scrupulous adherence was shown towards all that was hallowed by time and old usage, and when Scriptural literature was already flourish- ing — it is not probable, we say, that a production then recent should have been raised to the rank of a canoni- cal book. 7. We have an important testimony for the authen- ticity of the book in Ezekiel xiv. 14, 20; xxviii. 3. Daniel is tJiere represented as an unusual character, as a model of justice and wisdom, to whom had been allotted superior divine insight and revelation. This sketch perfectly agrees with that contained in our book. 8. The book betrays such an intimate acquain- tance with Chaldaean manners, customs, history, and religion, as none but a contemporary writer could fairly be supposed to possess. Thus, ex. gr., the de- scription of the Chaldaean magians and their regula- tions perfectly agrees with the accounts of the classics respecting them. The account of the illness and in- sanity of Nebuchadnezzar is confirmed by Berosus (in Joseph, c, Apion. i. 20). The edict of Darius 212 APPENDIX the Mede (Dan. v.) may be satisfactorily explained from the notions peculiar to the Medo-Persian reli- gion, and the importance attached in it to the king, who was considered as a sort of incarnate deity. 9. The religious views, the ardent belief in the Messiah, the purity of that belief, the absence of all the notions and ceremonial practices of later Juda- ism, etc., the agreement of the book in these respects with the genuine prophetic books, and more especially with the prophets in and after the exile, — all this tes- tifies to the genuineness of Daniel. 10. The linguistic character of the book is most decisive for its authenticity. In the first instance, the language in it, by turns Hebrew and Aramaean, is particularly remarkable. In that respect, the book bears a close analogy to that of Ezra. The author must certainly have been equally 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 Maccabsean age, when the Hebrew had long since ceased to be a living language, and had been sup- planted by the Aramaean vernacular dialect. The Hebrew in Daniel bears, moreover, a very great affin- ity to that in the other later books of the Old Testa- ment; and has, in particular, idioms in common with Ezekiel. The Aramic, also, in the book differs mate- rially from the prevailing dialect of the later Chal- daean paraphrastic versions of the Old Testament, and has much more relation to the idiom of the book of Ezra. — Kitto's Encyclop. QUESTIONS ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL. We suggest to our readers who desire to study the book of Daniel in a thorough way that they first read through this exposition as they would read any other book. Then give it a second careful reading, study- ing every chapter in its details. After this is done to refresh the memory these questions may be taken up. The answers to the questions are found, follow- ing this catechism. 1. What is Prophecy? 2. What has resulted from the neglected study of the prophetic Word ? 3. Why is the study of Daniel of such im.portance? 4. What does Higher Criticism claim ? 5. Whom do most critics follow in rejecting the authenticity of this book? 6. What is the Highest authority that Daniel wrote this book ? 7. Give the Divisions of the Book ? 8. In how many languages is it written ? 9. What is the First Chapter? 10. Who was chosen to take Jerusalem? 11. How often did he come against the City? 12. When did the times of the Gentiles begin ? 13. Give a leading characteristic of the times of the Gentiles ? 14. Through whom was the work and calling of the King of Babylon announced? 213 214 THE PROPHET DANIEL' 15. Is the church mentioned in Daniel and why not? 16. What occasioned the dream of Nebuchadnezzar? 17. How was the forgotten dream revealed? 18. What does the phrase 'latter days" mean ? 19. How many parts were to the dream image? 20. What happened to the image ? 21. What does the image represent? 22. Give a corresponding term of this age found in the New Testament? 2^. Give the prophetic meaning of the different metals ? 24. What lesson does it teach ? 25. What is to be the final form of the times of the Gentiles? 26. Has this been reached ? 27. What does the clay represent? 28. What is to be the end of the times of the Gentiles ? 29. Who is represented by the stone? 30. Give a N. T. passage which verifies this ? 31. Why is the striking stone not the type of the First Coming of Christ? 32. What has to be before the stone can smite the image ? 33. Could the stone mean the peaceful extension of the kingdom? 34. When does the kingdom come? 35. How did Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge God? 36. WTiat happened to Daniel and his companions ? 37. State the typical meaning of Chapters iii-vi ? THE PROPHET DANIEL 215 ^8. Give the dimensions of the image of gold the king set up? 39. According to Revelation will this be repeated ? 40. When and how? 41. Has the ancient Babylonish worship been re- produced on Gentile ground? 42. Who refused to worship the image ? 43. What does the fiery furnace foreshadow? 44. Will this be repeated in the end of the age? 45. Wh2it is reported in Chapter iv? 46. What happened to Nebuchadnezzar? 47. Why was he humbled ? 48. What do the seven times mean ? 49. What is the moral characteristic foreshadowed in this chapter ? 50. What is the last record about Nebuchadnezzar? 51. Who was Belshazzar? 52. What did the critics claim and how wore they defeated ? 53. Why is he called the son of Nebuchadnezzar? 54. What did Daniel announce in ipferpreting the handwriting on the wall ? 55. When did it happen? 56. What characteristic is foreshadowed in this event? 57. What decree was made by Darius the Mede? 58. WTiat position did Daniel receive and what was his age? 59. What does Daniel in the lions* den and his deliverance foreshadow ? 60. What is the characteristic of the sixth chapter? 2i6 THE PROPHET DANIEL 6i. Has this been repeated? 62. Will it find a repetition in the future ? 6^. What does Daniel's deliverance also fore- shadow ? 64. Who came then upon the scene ? 65. Who had announced this king a hundred years before his birth ? 66. Give the second part of the Book of Daniel. Gy. How many visions does it contain ? 68. How many visions are found in Chapter vii ? 69. Name them ? 70. What did Daniel see again? 71. What additional revelation Avas given to Daniel? '/2. Who is the Ancient of days? y:^. What judgment is here revealed? 74. Who is the Son of Man ? 75. When w^ll the kingdom be established? ';^6. Who is the little horn ? yy. What has to happen first before this horn can appear ? 78. Where else is this revealed ? 79. Name the three great actors of the end time? 80. What will happen to the little horn ? 81. Who will receive the kingdom? 82. What vision is found in the eighth chapter ? 83. Who is the Ram? 84. Name the corresponding characteristics with the second beast in Chapter vii ? 85. Who is the he-goat ? 86. Name the corresponding characteristics with the third beast in Chapter vii ? THE PROPHET DANIEL 217 87. Who is the notable horn ? 88. What happened to his empire ? 89. Out of what division did a httle horn come forth? 90. Is this Httle horn the same as in Chapter vii ? 91. Why not? 92. What is the fulfillment ? 93. What do the 2,300 days represent? 94. Is there to be a future fulfillment ? 95. When? 96. Who is the King with the fierce countenance? 97. What other portions of Prophecy confirm this? 98. From where will this King of the North arise? 99. In what other chapter do we find this king mentioned ? 100. What was Daniel's occupation in the first year of Darius? loi. What did he discover. 102. Give the leading characteristic of his prayer. 103. What else did he express ? 104. How was his prayer interrupted ? 105. What did Gabriel bring to him? 106. What was announced in this prophecy? 107. What does the term "Seventy weeks" mean? 108. What is to be accomplished in this period of time? 109. Has this anything to do with the church ? no. Give the division of these seventy weeks. 111. When did the Seventy weeks begin ? 112. When was the rebuilding of the City of Jeru- salem accomplished ? 2i8 THE PROPHET DANIEI] 113. What have the critics invented to deny the revelation in this chapter? 114. When was Messiah to be cut off? 115. How do we know that the term "Messiah the prince" means Qirist? 116. When did the 483 years expire? 117. How was the prediction of the destruction of the city fulfilled? 1 18. Who is the Prince that shall come ? 119. What else was predicted? 120. What interrupted the course of these seventy weeks? 121. Wliat is the unreckoned period between the 69th and 70th week ? 122. Who confirms a covenant during the last week? 123. Why can it not mean Christ? 124. When will the prince break the covenant? 125. By what other name is the last half of the 70th week called ? 126. What is the abomination? 127. Who is the desolator? 128. What is that which is determined upon him 129. What does the tenth chapter contain? 130. Where was Daniel? 131. For how long did he mourn and fast without receiving an answer? 132. Who is the certain man clothed in linen? 133. With what other vision does this correspond? 134. What is the mystery of the delayed answer? 135. Who is the prince of the kingdom of Persia? THE PROPHET DANIEL 219 136. Who is Michael? 137. What is the important statement in the angelic message? 138. What happened to Daniel ? 139. What are the contents of Chapter xi :2-35? 140. Have these prophecies been fulfilled? 141. When were they fulfilled? 142. Where in Chapter xi is the time of the end introduced ? 143. Who is the wilful King? 144. Why is he not Antiochus, or the two little horns ? 145. Where has this king his seat? 146. What N. T. prophecy describes this king? 147. Where is he described in the Book of Revela- tion? 148. What is yet to be fulfilled? 149. Who is the King of the North? 1 50. What will be his end ? 151. What period of time is before us in Chapter xii? 152. Who will act in behalf of the people Israel? 153. What does the rising from the dust mean? 154. What two classes of Israelites are described? 155. What else will happen in this time of the end? 156. What are the 1290 days and the 1335 days? THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. 1. Prophecy is history typewritten. 2. A most powerful weapon against infidelity has been lost and an unscriptural optimism as well as worldliness of the professing church has resulted. 3. Because the Book of Daniel is the key to God's purposes concerning the earth. 4. That Daniel did not write this Book during the captivity, but that the author was a pious Jew, who wrote after Antiochus had appeared. 5. Porphyry, a pagan philosopher. 6. The Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew xxiv:i5. 7. First Part: Chapters i-vi. Second Part: Chap- ters vii-xii. 8. In two languages : Aramaic and Hebrew. 9. The Introduction to the Book. 10. Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon. 11. Three times. The first time in 606 B. C. 12. With his first coming against Jerusalem. 13. Jerusalem being trodden down by the Gentiles. 14. Through Jeremiah, Chapter xxvii:5, etc. 15. No. Because the church was not revealed in former ages. Ephes. iii. 16. He thought upon the future and what should come to pass. 17. After the prayer of Daniel and his companions. 18. The end of the times of the Gentiles. 19. Four parts. The image composed of Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron and in the feet iron and clay mixed together. 220 THE PROPHET DANIEL 221 20. It was destroyed by a stone which fell out of heaven. 21. The Times of the Gentiles. 22. Man's Day. Margin of i Corinth. iv:3. 23. Gold : The Babylonian Empire. Silver : The Medo-Persian. Brass: The Graeco-Macedonian. Iron: The Roman Empire. 24. The lesson of deterioration. The times of the Gentiles do not improve. 25. Ten toes representing ten kingdoms. 2.6. Not yet. 27. The rule of the people in opposition to the iron rule, the monarchical form of government. 28. A great judgment catastrophe. 29. The Lord Jesus Christ. 30. Matthew xxi 144. 31. Because when the Lord came the first time the Roman Empire was a unit and the division into the East Roman and West Roman empire had not yet taken place, nor were there the ten toes in existence. 32. The ten kingdoms and a revival of the Roman Power. 33. No. For the stone smites the whole image and tinder its powerful blow it collapses completely. 34. After the stone has done its smiting work. 35. He acknowledged God in a three-fold way. 36. They were promoted. 37. The moral and religious characteristics of the times of the Gentiles are foreshadowed in these chapters. 38. Sixty cubits high and six cubits broad. 223 THE PROPHET DANIEU 39. Yes. See Revelation xiii. The second beast sets up an image. 40. During the time of the end, the great tribulation. The number of the Antichrist is 666. 41. Yes, in the Romish church. 42. The three companions of Daniel. 43. The tribulations and persecutions of Saints under pagan and papal Rome, the other Babylon. 44. Yes, during THE great tribulation. 45. Another dream of Nebuchadnezzar. 46. He was degraded and became a beast 47. On account of his pride. 48. Seven years. 49. Great pride and self-exaltation. 50. He praised God. 51. Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchad- nezzar; his father was Nabonnaid and his mother a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. 53. They denied for a long time his existence. The annalistic tablets of Nabonnaid silenced them. 53. Because the Aramaic language has no word for grandson or grandfather. 54. The doom of Babylon. 55. That very night when Balshazzar died and Babylon w^s taken hy the Medes. 56. Impiety and blasphemy. 57. That he should be addressed in prayer for 30 days. 58. One of the presidents. He was over 80 years of age. THE PROPHET DANIEL 223 59. The blessed Gospel and Him who went into death as well as the tomb, which was sealed. 60. Man-worship. 61. Yes, throughout the times of the Gentiles. 62. Yies, during the great tribulation. The Anti- christ will demand worship for himself. 62 • The deliverance of the Jewish remnant of the future. 64. Cyrus, the Persian. 65. The Prophet Isaiah. Chapters xliv and xlv. 66. Chapters vii-xii. 6y. Pour. The visions of the seventh chapter. The Ram and He-goat vision in Chapter viii. The prophecy of the seven other weeks and the final vision. 68. Four visions. 69. The vision of the three beasts. The vision of the fourth beast. The vision of the Ancient of days and the vision of the Son of Man and His kingdom. 70. The Times of the Gentiles in their political his- tory. This corresponds to Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 71. He saw a little horn on the fourth beast, the Roman Empire. 72. The Son of God. 73. Not a universal judgment, but the judgment of the nations at the second coming of Christ. 74. The Lord Jesus Christ. 75. After He has come the second time. y6. The head of the reconstructed Roman Empire. 77. The church to leave the earth and the Roman Empire must be revived. 224 THE PROPHET DANIEL 78. In Revelation xiii. 79. The head of the Roman Empire, the Antichrist and the King of the North. 80. He will be broken to pieces. 81. The Saints of the Most High. 82. The vision of the ram and the He-goat. 83. The Medo-Persian Empire. 84. The bear had one paw higher, like the one horn of the ram, which was stronger. The three ribs the bear had denote the three directions in which that empire conquered. 85. The Graeco-Macedonian empire. 86. The leopard had wings, denoting the swiftness of the he-goat, which touched not the ground. The four heads on the leopard correspond to the four-fold division of the territory of the he-goat empire. 87. Alexander the Great. 88. It was divided among his four generals. 89. Out of Syria. 90. No. 91. Because this little horn comes out of one of the divisions of the Graeco-Macedonian empire, while the little horn in Daniel vii comes forth out of the ten horns on the fourth, beast, the Roman Power. 92. Antiochus Epiphanes fulfilled the description and predictions in this part of the chapter. 93. Literal days and NOT years. The days of the tribulation under Antiochus. 94. Yes. The second half of the chapter proves this. 95. During the end of the indignation, when the THE PROPHET DANIEL. 225 transgressors are come to the full, that is, during the great tribulation, the time of the end. 96. The final Assyrian or King of the North. 97. Isaiah x, Micah v, Joel ii, and some of the Psalms. 98. 'Out of a part of the territory of the former Grecian empire, the country which is now ruled over by Turkey. 99. In Chapter xi. 100. He read in books concerning the promises of God concerning the end of the captivity. loi. That the time had almost expired. 102. Humiliation and confession of sin. 103. He identified himself with the sin and failure of his people. 104. By the appearing of the man Gabriel. 105. A great Prophecy. 106. The exact time of the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, the coming of Messiah the Prince, His death on the cross, the destruction of the city and the temple by the Romans, the miseries which should come upon the nation, the final events of the great tribulation. 107. Seventy times seven years, that is, 490 years. 108. See Verse 27, Chapter ix. 109. Nothing whatever. It concerns ''Daniel's people." 1 10. Seven weeks — sixty-two weeks — and one week. In years : 49 years — 434 years and 7 years. 111. In the year 445 B. C. When Artaxerxes in i^ THE PROPHET DANIEL the 20th year of his reign gave the command to re- build the city. 112. 49 Years after. 113. That it has nothing to do with Christ, but Onias HI., the high priest is Messiah the Prince. 114. Immediately after the 69 year weeks. 115. We know it from the remarkable fulfillment of this prophecy. 116. They expired on the day the Lord Jesus en- tered into Jerusalem. A few days later He died on the cross and there was nothing for Him in connec- tion with the nation and the earthly kingdom. 117. By the Romans in the year 70. 118. The little horn on Daniel vii. The head of the Roman Empire. 119. The dreadful history of the Jewish people down to the end of the times of the Gentiles. 120. The rejection and death of Christ. 121. The present Christian age. 122. The Prince that shall come; the little horn of Daniel vii. 123. Nowhere else is a statement made that Christ should make a covenant wiith the many for seven years. 124. In the middle of the week, after 1260 days or 42 months have passed. 125. The Great Tribulation. 126. The setting up of idols and idol worship. 127. The King of the North, the final Assyrian. 128. His judgment by the Coming of the Lord. 129. The introduction to the final vision. THE PROPHET DANIEL 227 130. At the banks of the River Hiddekel. 131. For three full weeks. 132. The Son of God. 133. With the vision the Apostle John had in the isle of Patmos. 134. The prince of the kingdom of Persia kept the heavenly messenger back. 135. A powerful demon prince. 136. The Archangel with special mission in connec- tion with Israel. 137. That the vision concerns the latter days. 138. He fainted and then was strengthened. 139. The predictions of the great wars of the Pto- lemies and the Seleucidae. 140. Yes. 141. During the centuries which followed Daniel's vision and up to the coming of Antiochus Epiphanes. 142. With Verse 36. 143. The personal Antichrist. 144. Because he is totally different from the other persons. 145. In Jerusalem. 146. Second Thessalonians ii:i-7. 147. In the thirteenth Chapter, the second half. The second beast out of the land. 148. The closing verses of Chapter xi. 149. The final Assyrian; the King with the fierce countenance of Daniel viii. 150. He will be broken by the coming of Christ 151. The great tribulation. 152. Michael, the prince of Daniel's people. 238 THE PROPHET DANIEL 153. The national restoration of the people Israd. 154. The Apostates and the faithful remnant. 155. The rewards will be given to the faithful rem- nant and there will be much running to and fro and knowledge will be increased. 156. Literal days. BS1556.G127 The prophet Daniel : a key to the Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1012 00117 5019 DATE DUE y.^^^,..,,^^ ^ ^ ^m^^^^'^^''- -J- -'^ '^•'-iM^. GAYLORD #3523PI Printed in USA