Not to eat the king's food
Recommendation:
That a ten-day diet be conducted
Reward:
Daniel graduates ten times smarter
Jesus Christ
• The frustration of the Babylonians: the king's aides cannot interpret his dream and are sentenced to death.
• The revelation of the Lord: God reveals the dream to Daniel.
• The interpretation of the prophet: Daniel explains the dream.
• The prostration of the king: upon hearing their interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar falls down and worships Daniel.
In Daniel 7 the same four nations are described, but from a heavenly view, which looks upon them as four wild animals.
WORLD POWER DESCRIPTION
Babylon Lion
Persia Bear
Greece Leopard
Rome Monster
(2) Seleucus—who took Syria. From here came the notorious Antiochus Epiphanes IV (176-163 b.c.)
(3) Cassander—who took Greece and Macedonia.
(4) Lysimachus—who ruled Asia minor.
Rome (key dates: 58 b.c. to a.d. 476).
a. The traditional date for the founding of Rome is April 21, 753 b.c. Cicero says the name came from its founder, Romulus. He ruled for thirty-nine years and then mysteriously disappeared, having been supposedly taken up into heaven.
b. By the year 338 b.c. Rome controlled central Italy.
c. Then came the historic Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage, with the latter being destroyed in 146 b.c.
(1) First war (264-241 b.c.)
(2) Second war (218-202 b.c.):
Hannibal appeared during this war. He terrified the Romans when he marched a herd of elephants over the Alps in 218 b.c. and defeated two large Roman armies. He also routed his enemy at Cannae in 216 b.c. Finally a Roman general named Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 b.c. Rome then became the mistress of the Mediterranean.
(3) Third war (149-146): The city of Carthage was taken and burned.
d. Pompey, the famous Roman General, conquered Palestine in 63 b.c. This was followed by a period of civil wars and uncertainty.
e. The empire was then saved and consolidated by Julius Caesar during his famous Gallic wars (58-51 b.c.). On the Ides of March, 44 b.c., Caesar was assassinated in Rome.
f. The empire was then taken over by Octavius (also known as Augustus) Caesar. He defeated Brutus and Cassius (two of the rebels who murdered Julius Caesar) at Philippi in 42 b.c. In 31 b.c. Octavius defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, and made Egypt into a Roman province. The Roman empire now entered its zenith of power and glory. It was during Octavius' rule that our Lord was born (Lk. 2:1). Octavius ruled from 31 b.c. to a.d. 14.
g. Octavius was succeeded by Tiberius Caesar (a.d. 14-37). The ministries of both John the Baptist and the Savior took place at this time.
h. Caligula (a.d. 37-41), also known as Little Boots. He became a ruthless maniac and was assassinated. Caligula was in power during the early part of the book of Acts.
i. Claudius (41-54) was poisoned by his own wife. Paul conducted his great missionary trips during his reign.
j. Nero (54-68)—after a normal eight-year reign Nero degenerated into an insane
monster. He had Rome burned and murdered many Christians by falsely blaming them for the fire. Peter and Paul were martyred during his reign. In a.d. 68 Nero committed suicide.
k. The Roman General Vespasian (68-79) became ruler. He ordered his son Titus to destroy Jerusalem. This was done in a.d. 70.
l. Upon his death, Titus took the throne. He ruled from 79-81. During his rule Pompeii was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius.
m. In 81 Domitian ascended into power. He banished John the apostle to the Isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:9).
n. The ten or more Roman emperors had one thing in common—they all hated Christians.
o. Finally in 284 Diocletian came into power. He is known as the last emperor to persecute believers, but also the most ruthless. Diocletian separated the Eastern empire from the Western and appointed a man named Maximian to rule the eastern part. In 305 he resigned.
p. When Diocletian left the throne two men immediately began contending for it. One was the son of Maximian, and the other was Constantine. The issue as to who would rule Rome was settled in 312 just outside the city at a place called Mil- vian Bridge. Here Constantine soundly defeated his rival to power.
q. In 313 Constantine issued the famous Edict of Toleration which in effect made Christianity his state religion. He also presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325.
r. Julian the apostate, the nephew of Constantine, became ruler after the death of his uncle. He attempted to replace Christianity but failed. His dying words on a battlefield in 363 were: "Oh Galilean, thou hast conquered at last!"
s. Theodosius the Great (378-395), a champion of Christianity, once more divided the empire into Eastern and Western sections (as Diocletian had previously done).
t. During the years of 450-455 Attila the Hun and the Vandals plundered Italy and Rome.
u. In 476 Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman Emperor, was dethroned.
D. The prostration of Nebuchadnezzar (2:46-49).
1. The king bows down to Daniel and commands his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him (2:46).
2. He acknowledges the God of Daniel as being "God of gods" (2:47).
3. He elevates Daniel to the highest office in Babylon, as chief magistrate in the king's court (2:49).
III. A Fiery Furnace.
A. The king's command (3:1-7).
1. Nebuchadnezzar constructs a golden statue ninety feet high and nine feet wide. This is set up in the Plain of Dura near Babylon.
The king’s command: That all his leaders fall down and worship a ninety-foot golden image. Reasons for this:
1. To elevate his person
2. To consolidate his empire
The Hebrews stand: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to kneel and are thrown into the fiery furnace.
The Lord’s own man: Christ himself joins the trio and delivers them out unhurt.
The tree (Nebuchadnezzar) corrupted through vanity
1. Nebuchadnezzar relates his dream to Daniel
2. Daniel reveals the dream to Nebuchadnezzar
The tree (Nebuchadnezzar) corrected through insanity
1. The pride of Nebuchadnezzar
2. The punishment of Nebuchadnezzar
3. The praise from Nebuchadnezzar
The Ball daniel 5:i The Gall dan. 5:2-4
The Wall dan. 5:5,6
(writing)
A plan is instigated by some jealous Chaldeans to trap Daniel by his daily prayer life.
Daniel continues to pray and is cast into a den of hungry lions.
Daniel is delivered by God’s angel, who shuts the mouths of the lions.
There were several reasons behind this project.
a. To elevate Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel had designated Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold as he explained the meaning of his statue dream in chapter two. But the vain king wanted to be the whole thing! Bible teacher Bob Thieme writes the following:
"Let us assume for a moment that the image was half as thick as it was wide, or four and a half feet. Using these three dimensions (90 X 9 X 4 V 2 ), we find the volume to be 3645 cubic feet or 4,400,000 pounds! Even at the preinflation price of $33 an ounce, this spectacular statue would have cost about $2,315,000,000! Not only does this give us an idea of the fantastic wealth of Nebuchadnezzar's empire, but it reveals the extent of his egomania." (Daniel, p. 3)
b. To consolidate his empire through a common religion. This is the second of three great attempts of man to institute a one-world religion. The first occurred at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11) and the last will take place in Jerusalem during the tribulation (Rev. 13).
2. The king then requires every VIP in all the empire to assemble in the Plain of Dura on a scheduled day (3:2).
3. When dedication day arrived, an orchestra was on hand (3:5).
4. At the sound of the music, all those assembled were commanded to fall down and worship the statue (3:4, 5).
5. Failure to comply would result in instant death by being thrown into a burning furnace. There is little doubt that the entire crowd could see this furnace and watch it belch forth its fierce yellow and orange flames high into the Babylonian sky. The Romans executed criminals through crucifixion, the Jews by stoning, and the Babylonians by burning. (See Jer. 29:22.) This doubtless was the most persuasive altar call of all times— bow or burn.
B. The Hebrews' stand (3:8-23).
1. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remain standing during the "invitation." This was immediately reported to the king by some jealous petty Babylonian officials (3:8-12).
2. The three young men are brought to Nebuchadnezzar himself and offered a final chance to bow down. (Daniel apparently was not present at the dedication service. His duties as prime minister doubtless required him to travel extensively.) All three refuse, saying:
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer 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" (3:16-18).
Especially noteworthy are the words "our God ... is able." This phrase is often found in the New Testament. (See Heb. 7:25; 2:18; Jude 1:24; Eph. 3:20; 2 Tim. 1:12.) Their testimony was similar to that of Job. (See Job 13:15.)
The three youths were no doubt aware of the many excuses available to them for bowing down at this private meeting.
For example:
a. Why not join the system. You can't fight city hall!
b. We'll cooperate with old Neb and win him to Christ!
c. A living dog is better than a dead lion— better red than dead! "He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day!"
d. Daniel our leader is not here to make the right decision for us.
All these excuses could have been used. But they weren't, for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been brought up on the Ten Commandments of Moses. Especially burned in their minds was the second law:
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them ..." (Ex. 20:4, 5).
3. In an insane rage Nebuchadnezzar (who has now totally lost control of himself) orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter and the three Hebrew heroes bound and cast in (3:19-21).
4. The horrible decree is done, resulting in the deaths of those soldiers who are accidentally burned themselves while throwing the three men in (3:22).
5. All three are seen falling headlong into the hellish fires.
C. The Lord's own man (3:24-30).
1. Finally the furnace has cooled down somewhat and the angry monarch sees something that nearly shocks him senseless. In utter amazement he turns and asks his counselors. "Did not we cast three men, bound, into the midst of the fire?" (3:24).
Upon being immediately assured that this is indeed the case, the baffled Babylonian then exclaims:
"Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God" (3:25).
Here we note the following:
a. He sees them walking. Thus the only thing the fire burned was their shackles, for they were all bound when thrown in.
b. He sees one like the Son of God, or literally, "One like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar was unaware of the Trinity, but he was looking upon the Son of God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV. A Tree in Turmoil.
A. The tree (Nebuchadnezzar) corrupted through vanity (4:1-27).
1. Nebuchadnezzar relates his dream to Daniel (4:1-18)
a. This chapter could rightly be entitled "Nebuchadnezzar's Tract," as it contains his personal testimony of those events which led him to repentance.
b. The tree-dream of Nebuchadnezzar occurred probably during the thirtieth and thirty-fifth year of his reign. Daniel was around forty-eight at the time. Some twenty-eight years had elapsed since the fiery furnace event.
c. "I thought it good" (v. 2), literally, "It was beautiful before me." The king wanted all to know what had happened. (See Isa. 52:7.)
d. I . . . was at rest (v. 4). The Hebrew here is raan, and is an idiom for prosperity. It literally means, "to grow green, to be covered with leaves."
e. It was during this peaceful time that he experienced this fearful dream. The main features are as follows:
(1) He saw a large and leafy tree increasing in size until it reached the heavens and was viewed by all. The wild animals and birds were shaded and sheltered by its leafy branches and the entire world was fed from its generous fruit supply (4:10-12).
(2) Suddenly a heavenly figure appeared and ordered the tree cut down and its fruit scattered. Only the stump was to be left, banded with a chain of iron and brass. This felled tree represented a man who would be given the mind of an animal and remain in this pitiful condition for seven years (4:13-16).
(3) This all was to be done so the entire world might know that "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men" (4:17).
2. Daniel reveals the dream to Nebuchadnezzar (4:19-27).
a. The interpretation was so frightful that Daniel observed an hour of shocked silence (4:19).
b. He then revealed the details:
(1) The tree indeed stood for a man, and that man was Nebuchadnezzar. (Compare Dan. 4:22 with 2 Sam. 12:7.) Often in the Bible trees symbolize various things. A tree can represent a man (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8; Isa. 56:3). It can represent Christendom (Mt. 13:31, 32). It can represent judgment (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 12:2; 1 Pet. 2:24).
(2) The heavenly visitor was a reconnaissance angel which pronounced
judgment upon the tree. (Compare 4:23 with Mt. 3:10; Lk. 13:7.)
(3) The destruction, however, was not to be total, for the tree was ordered banded about with iron and brass. In the ancient world this was done to keep the stump of a felled tree from splitting, thus making it possible for the tree to grow again. God still had a purpose for Nebuchadnezzar.
(4) The king would nevertheless suffer a seven-year period of insanity for his pride. During this time he would act and think like a wild animal. This mental illness is not uncommon and is known as zoanthropy or lycanthropy. Often the victim pictures himself as a wolf. As has already been observed, this psychosis would last seven years. The word "times" (Dan. 4:25) is used for units of years both in Daniel (7:25; 12:7) and in Revelation (12:14).
(5) This affliction would only end when Nebuchadnezzar realized "the powers that be are ordained of God." (Compare 4:25 with Rom. 13:1.)
c. Daniel then begs the proud monarch to "break off thy sins," but all to no avail (4:27).
B. The tree (Nebuchadnezzar) corrected through insanity (4:28-37).
1. The pride of Nebuchadnezzar (4:28-30). a. Twelve months after the dream the king is strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon. We note his arrogant boast. "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?" (4:30).
Certainly the ancient city of Babylon was all this, as the following description (taken from Lehman Strauss and others) will bear out:
Babylon was founded by Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:8-10). Surviving a series of conflicts, it became one of the most magnificent and luxurious cities in the known world. Superbly constructed, it spread over an area of fifteen square miles, the Euphrates River flowing diagonally across the city. The famous historian Herodotus said the city was surrounded by a wall 350 feet high and eighty-seven feet thick—extending thirty-five feet below the ground to prevent tunneling, and wide enough for six chariots to drive abreast.
Around the top of the wall were 250 watchtowers placed in strategic locations. Outside the huge wall was a large ditch, or moat, which surrounded the city and was kept filled with water from the Euphrates River. The large ditch was meant to serve as an additional protection
against attacking enemies, for any attacking enemy would have to cross this body of water first before approaching the great wall. Within this wall were one hundred gates of brass. But in addition to being a bastion for protection, Babylon was a place of beauty. The famous hanging gardens of Babylon are on record yet today as one of the seven wonders of the world. Arranged in an area 400 feet square, and raised in perfectly cut terraces one above the other, they soared to a height of 350 feet. Viewers could make their way to the top by means of stairways, which were ten feet wide.
From a distance these hanging gardens presented an imposing sight. The tower itself sat on a base 300 feet in breadth and rose to a height of 300 feet. The great temple of Marduk, adjoining the Tower of Babel, was the most renowned sanctuary in all the Euphrates Valley. It contained a golden image of Bel and a golden table which together weighed not less than 50,000 pounds. At the top were golden images of Bel and Ishtar, two golden lions, a golden table forty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and a human figure of solid gold eighteen feet high. Babylon was literally a city of gold! (See Isa. 14:4.) The city had fifty-three temples and 180 altars to Ishtar.
2. The punishment of Nebuchadnezzar (4:31-33).
a. Even while the king spoke his proud words, the judgment of God fell from heaven and he was driven from the palace (4:31).
b. We note the sad results of his vanity:
“He was driven from men, and did eat grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like bird claws" (4:33).
In spite of his helpless condition, he was not harmed during those years of insanity. This was doubtless due to the divine protection of God. In addition to this, it was considered bad luck in the ancient world to kill an insane person. Nebuchadnezzar's malady protected him from physical injury, just as David's feigned madness at Gath spared his life. (See 1 Sam. 21:10-15.)
c. The king's insanity is corroborated by history. Josephus quotes from a Babylonian historian named Berasus who mentions a strange malady suffered by the king. There is also the testimony of Aby- denus, the Greek historian of 268 b.c.
3. The praise of Nebuchadnezzar (4:34-37). Nebuchadnezzar humbles himself and receives the manifold blessings of God. Note these heavenly gifts.
a. His reason returns ("my reason returned").
b. His reign is returned ("the glory of my kingdom").
c. His reputation is returned ("mine honor").
d. His resplendence is returned ("mine . . . brightness").
e. His rapport is returned ("my counselors sought unto me").
f. His rhetoric is returned ("now I, Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honor").
g. His redemption is accomplished. (Was Nebuchadnezzar a saved man? The three words praise, extol, and honor are active verbs, indicating continued action. In other words, Nebuchadnezzar continued praising and glorifying God long after his restoration. This would hardly be the action of a pagan.)
V. A Heavenly Hand.
A. The ball (5:1).
1. Belshazzar the king stages a huge dinner and drinking party and invites his top 1000 officers to attend. For many years the historical fact of Belshazzar's very existence was doubted by historians. According to the known records, the last king of Babylon was Nabonidus. But recent findings have definitely authenticated Belshazzar's reign over Babylon. Here are the findings of archaeologist Sir Herbert Rawlinson who confirmed Belshazzar's existence in a.d. 1854.
a. Nebuchadnezzar's only son Amel-Mar- duk (also called Evil-Merodach in 2 Ki. 25:27; Jer. 52:31-34) succeeded him in 562 b.c.
b. He was murdered by his brother-in-law Nergal-Sharezer (Jer. 39:3, 13) in August of 560 b.c.
c. Nergal-Sharezer died and was succeeded by his young son Labashi-Marduk in 556 b.c.
d. This boy was murdered shortly after his ascension by Nabonidus. Nabonidus married one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters. Belshazzar was bom of this union. Nabonidus, who ruled from 556-539 b.c., for some reason chose not to make Babylon his capital, but left that dazzling city and resided in Tema of Arabia. Belshazzar was thus made the co-regent of Babylon by his father. This fact is brought out several times in Daniel 5 when Belshazzar offers to elevate Daniel to third ruler in the kingdom (see 5:7, 16, 29).
2. His feast was ill-timed, to say the least, for Babylon had been under attack by the Medes and Persians for some time. Perhaps the feast was to build morale.
B. The gall (5:2-4).
1. Belshazzar sits at his table, drunk, depraved, and demon-possessed. Suddenly he is seized with a wild and wicked idea. He is reminded of the gold and silver cups taken by his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar from the Jerusalem Temple. He orders them brought to
the feast and proposes to his guests that they drink wine from them and praise the Babylonian gods.
2. These sacred vessels were originally made by Solomon (1 Ki. 7:48-51), shown by Hezekiah (2 Ki. 20:13), and taken by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chron. 36:10).
C. The wall (5:5, 6).
1. Suddenly in the midst of this drunken toast, they see the fingers of a man's hand writing on the wall next to the king's table. Belshazzar is terrified! We are told: "Then the king's countenance was changed" (5:6). This is, literally, "his brightness changed." In other words he immediately turned from a drunken pink to a frightened white!
2. Belshazzar "cried aloud" (literally, "in great earnest") for some kind of help, but it was already too late. He would soon experience the fearful warning of Proverbs 1:24-27. Some ten centuries before this a group of Egyptian magicians had testified concerning this heavenly hand in connection with the terrible plagues which had befallen them.
We read:
"Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God!" (Ex. 8:19).
D. The call (5:7-23).
1. In his hour of great need, Belshazzar turns to astrology. How little human nature has changed. The United States alone has over fifteen million serious students of astrology.
2. But Belshazzar soon discovers that astrology is no balm in Gilead. No horoscope ever written can heal the hurt in the human heart. His wise men could not help him. This marks their third failure in the book of Daniel.
3. Finally at the suggestion of the queen (probably his mother, Nitocris) Belshazzar summons Daniel (5:10-15).
4. The king offers him the third ruling position if he will interpret the mysterious writing (5:16).
5. Daniel agrees to do so, but spurns the king's bribe. However, before he interprets the message, the aged prophet reviews Belshazzar's wicked past.
a. Belshazzar's grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, had set a good example for his young grandson when he turned to God after his period of insanity (5:18-21).
b. Belshazzar knew all this, but had deliberately rejected and hardened his heart (5:22, 23). (See also Prov. 29:1.)
c. Belshazzar was thus gambling with his immortal soul, for the very air he breathed came from this God he had so recklessly spurned (5:23).
E. The scrawl (scroll) 5:24-29.
1. The writing contained a threefold message from God to Belshazzar.
a. "Mene, Mene"— God has numbered your kingdom and finished it! His number was up. Belshazzar had not followed the wise advice of Moses when he prayed: "So
teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Ps. 90:12). Belshazzar's sad end here should be contrasted to Paul's thrilling testimony before his death. (See 2 Tim. 4.)
b. "Tekel "—You are weighed in the balances, and found wanting. Again, by way of contrast, see David's testimony in Psalm 23:1. The words "found wanting" mean literally "found too light." Belshazzar' s morality didn't weigh enough!
c. "Peres" (" Upharsin" is the plural of this word)—your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
F. The fall (5:30, 31).
1. The Greek historian Herodotus tells us that the Babylonian armies at first moved north to challenge the advancing Persian troops, but were soon driven back behind the walls of Babylon. Cyrus then proceeded to divert the Euphrates River from its normal bed, under the walls of the city, channeling the waters to a nearby reservoir he had dug. Another Greek historian, Xenophon, states that entrance was made into the city at a time when the Babylonians were feasting at a drunken orgy.
2. Belshazzar is slain that very night and the city is ruled by a sixty-two-year-old Mede named Darius.
3. The prophet Isaiah predicted the fall of Babylon over two hundred years in advance. (See Isa. 21:1-10.)
VI. The Lions and the Lion-hearted.
A. An evil plan (6:1-9).
1. Darius, the Mede, immediately sets about to reorganize and consolidate his fantastic new kingdom called Babylon. He divides the kingdom into 129 provinces, each under a governor. These governors are accountable to three presidents, with Daniel being one of the three. There has been some historical question raised concerning the identity of Darius. Three main explanations have been offered:
a. That he was really Cyrus under a different name.
b. That he was Cambyses, the son of Cyrus.
c. That he was a special "presidential assistant" named Gubaru, who was appointed by the great Persian king, Cyrus, to rule over this city for him. The third view seems the most logical one.
2. Daniel, now over eighty, was still blessed with so much skill and ability that Darius was considering elevating him over the other two presidents (6:3).
3. This so infuriated both the presidents and the governors that they plotted to take away his life (6:4).
4. Being unable to see the slightest flaw in his secular life, they determine to trap him in his religious life (6:5).
5. Darius is tricked into signing a thirty-day decree which says that all praying during that time is to be directed to the king himself (6:6-9).
B. A kneeling man (6:10-20).
1. Daniel learns of this and doubtless immediately sees through its clumsy effort to trap him. But the old warrior continues worshiping God as before. We note:
a. He kept his windows opened. To close them would have been cowardly. To open them (had this not been his custom) would have been foolhardy.
b. He continued praying three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.
c. He knelt down. This is perhaps the most common prayer posture depicted in the Bible.
d. He faced Jerusalem. Solomon had given this procedure in his dedicatory prayer of the Temple. (See 1 Ki. 8:44-48; 2 Chron. 6:36-39.)
2. Those vicious hunters who had set their trap now see the prey inside and gleefully rush to Darius to deliver the death blow. Darius realizes he has been had and desperately seeks to find a loophole in the immutable law of the Medes and Persians, but all to no avail (6:11-15).
3. Daniel is arrested and thrown down into a den of hungry man-eating lions. In the Bible the devil is often likened to a lion. (See Ps. 10:9; 57:4; 2 Tim. 4:17; 1 Pet. 5:8; Dan. 6:16.)
4. After sealing the mouth of the den with his own signet ring, Darius returns and spends a sleepless and miserable night in the royal palace (6:17, 18).
5. At daybreak the next morning he rushes to the den, orders the cap stone removed, and calls out in anguish:
"O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" ( 6 : 20 ).
C. A heavenly ban (6:21-28).
1. Out of the blackness of that den of doom there comes a cheerful and clear voice:
"O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt" (6:21, 22). Peter and Paul doubtless had this thrilling event in mind when they later wrote:
"Who, through faith, subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions" (Heb. 11:33).
"Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Pet. 4:19).
That same heavenly messenger who had saved Daniel's three friends in the furnace now protected the prophet in the den.
2. The king's reaction to all this was twofold; he was both glad and mad!
a. He rejoiced at the salvation of Daniel and issued a decree ordering all the citizens of his kingdom to consider this almighty Judean God (6:23, 25-27).
b. He took immediate vengeance upon those who had tricked him in the first place and ordered them along with all their families thrown into this same den. Their bodies were instantly tom apart by the lions (6:24). Persian law was much more cruel than Hebrew law. (See Ezek. 18:20; Deut. 24:16; 2 Ki. 14:6; 2 Chron. 25:4; Jer. 31:29, 30.)
VII. Godless Kingdoms and the Kingdom of God.
A. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian lion (7:4)—also the head of gold in 2:32.
1. In this vision Daniel sees the same four godless kingdoms and the final kingdom of God that Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of in chapter 2. But he sees it from an entirely different viewpoint. As has already been brought out, man may see his kingdoms as gleaming metals such as gold and silver, but God looks upon them as wild and ravenous beasts.
2. Daniel sees a great storm on a mighty ocean with four winds blowing from every direction. (See Rev. 7:2; Eph. 2:2; 6:12.) These winds may indicate satanic forces.
3. The first beast symbolized Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon
a. It was like a lion. (See Jer. 4:7; 49:19; 50:17, 43, 44.)
b. It had eagle's wings. (See Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Lam. 4:19; Ezek. 17:3; Hab. 1:8.) Nebuchadnezzar showed these wings at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 b.c.
c. Those wings were plucked. See Daniel 4:33 (Nebuchadnezzar's wings), and Daniel 5:31 (Babylon's wings).
B. Cyrus, the Persian bear (7:5)—also the silver breast and arms in 2:32.
1. This bear raised itself up on one side, probably referring to the stronger Persian part of the Mede and Persian dual alliance.
2. It had three ribs in its mouth, a reference to Babylon, Egypt, and Lydia, three nations Persia had just conquered
3. It would devour much flesh. The Persian King Xerxes led a force of over one and one half million men and 300 ships into Greece alone.
C. Alexander, the Grecian leopard (7:6)—also the bronze stomach and thighs of 2:32.
1. It was like a leopard. Alexander traveled faster and conquered more land than any other man in all recorded history.
2. It had four heads. After his untimely death at 32, his kingdom fell to four of his generals.
D. Little horn, the Roman monster (7:7, 8)—also the iron legs and clay and iron feet of 2:33.
1. In a.d. 476 this monster "retired" to its den for awhile to hibernate.
2. It will awaken in the form of ten nations during the tribulation by the little horn, who is none other than the antichrist! He is called
the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4 and the sea beast in Revelation 13:1.
3. The antichrist will defeat three of these ten kingdoms (horn) in his rise to power (7:8).
4. He will have a universal rule during the final three-and-a-half years of the tribulation (7:25). (See also Rev. 13:5; Mt. 24:21.)
5. He will shed blood upon his earth in an unprecedented manner (7:7, 19).
6. He will wear out the saints of God (Israel) (7:25). (See also Rev. 12:13.)
7. He will attempt to change seasons and laws (7:25).
8. He will blaspheme God (7:25). (See also Rev. 13:5, 6.)
9. He will be defeated at the coming of Christ and his body given over to the flames of hell (7:11).
E. Jesus Christ, the King of kings (7:13, 14)—also
the smiting Stone of 2:34.
1. He comes in the clouds to claim his rightful earthly inheritance (7:13). Our Lord warned Israel's wicked high priest of this very coming during the unfair trial that led him to Calvary. (See Mk. 14:61, 62.)
2. He is given his universal and eternal throne by his Father, the Ancient of Days (7:9, 13, 14). This is the only description of the Father in the Bible, and corresponds to John's description of Jesus in Revelation 1:9-18. Both David (Ps. 2:6-9) and the angel Gabriel (Lk. 1:32) predict this throne Christ receives from his Father.
3. Daniel sees a continuous river of fire gushing from the throne (7:10). This stream of judgment (Heb. 12:29; Isa. 66:15,16; 2 Thess. 1:8) will later turn into a fountain of blessing after the Great White Throne Judgment is completed. (See Rev. 22:1.)
4. Millions of angels stand and minister to the Ancient of Days and his Son (7:10). (A similar immense number of angels is mentioned in Rev. 5:11; Ps. 68:17; Heb. 12:22.)
5. Hundreds of millions stand before him ready to be judged and the books are opened (7:10). (See also Rev. 20:11-15.)
VIII. The Homs of the Heathen.
A. A two-homed ram (Persia, as represented by Darius III) (8:1-4).
1. In this vision Daniel sees himself in the fortress of Shushan (or Susa), a city some 230 miles east of Babylon and 120 miles north of the Persian Gulf.
2. He sees a victorious ram, coming from the east, and pushing its way westward, northward, and to the south. This, of course, represented the Persian conquests which included Syria (west), Armenia (north), and Egypt (south). Marcellinus, a fourth-century historian, states that the Persian ruler bore the head of a ram as he stood in front of his army.
B. A one-horned goat (Greece, as represented by
Alexander the Great) (8:5-8).
1. Daniel then sees a goat from the west which rushes toward the ram, smashes it to the ground, and stomps it to pieces.
“And four great beasts came up from the
Sea. . . " (7:3)
‘Behold, one like the Son of man came with
the clouds... | ’ (7:13) | |
KINGDOM | SYMBOL | REPRESENTATIVE |
BABYLON 7:4(2:37,38) | A LION | Nebuchadnezzar |
PERSIA 7:5(2:39) | A BEAR | Cyrus |
GREECE 7:6(2:39) | A LEOPARD | Alexander the Great |
ROME 7:7,8(2:40-43) | A ONE-HORNED MONSTER WITH TERRIBLE TEETH | HISTORICAL: Roman Caesars PROPHETICAL: Antichrist |
EVERLASTING KINGDOM 7:9-14(2:44,45) | THE SON OF MAN | The Lord Jesus Christ |
2. This prophecy of the ram and goat places a microscope down on the conflict between the second and third world empire in the straggle of East and West, of Orient and Occident, of Asia and Europe. Historical drawings have been discovered which depict a onehorned goat as the symbol for the ancient Greek armies.
3. We are told the goat was "moved with cho- ler" against the ram. The driving energy and holy crusade of Alexander was to crash the hated Persian who had invaded Greece. As we have previously seen, he totally routed the Persians on three separate occasions:
a. at Granicus, in 334 b.c.
b. at Issus, in 333 b.c.
c. at Arbela, in 331 b.c.
An interesting footnote of history may be added here. Josephus tells us that Alexander was met outside Jerusalem by Juddua, Israel's high priest, who came dressed in all his magnificent apparel, and showed the Greek conqueror how a Hebrew prophet, Daniel by name, had predicted his defeat over the Persians some 225 years ago. The high priest then proceeded to read Daniel 8, whereupon Alexander fell down and worshiped him.
4. Daniel sees this powerful horn suddenly broken and its might divided fourfold. Alexander died in Babylon during a drunken orgy at the age of thirty-two, in 323 b.c. His kingdom was then divided among his four leading generals.
a. Ptolemy took the southern part, Egypt
b. Seleucus, the eastern section, Syria
c. Cassander, the western division, Greece
d. Lysimachus, the northern area, Asia Minor
C. Two little-horned kings (Syria and the revived Roman Empire and represented by Antiochus Epiphanes and the antichrist) 8:9-27. We note that the archangel Gabriel interpreted all this to Daniel. This is the first mention of him in the Bible. (See also 9:21; Lk. 1:19, 26.)
1. The historical little horn—Antiochus Epiphanes.
a. He was a Syrian.
b. He came to the throne in 175 b.c. and ruled until 164 b.c.
c. He was anti-Semitic to the core. He assaulted Jerusalem, murdering over 40,000 in three days, and selling an equal number into cruel slavery. It is thought that on September 6, 171 b.c., he began his evil actions toward the Temple.
d. On December 15, 168, his Temple desecration reached its ultimate low, for on that day this idolater sacrificed a giant sow on an idol altar he had made in the Jewish Temple. He then forced the priests to swallow its flesh, made a broth of it, and sprinkled all the Temple. He finally carried off the golden candlesticks, table of shrewbread, altar of incense, various other vessels, and destroyed the sacred books of the Law. A large image of Jupiter was placed in the Holy of Holies. All this was termed by the horrified Jews as "the abomination of desolation," and is referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24:15 as a springboard to describe the activities of the future antichrist.
e. All through Palestine altars to Jupiter were set up and the Jews were forced to
sacrifice on them. But at a little Jewish town called Modin (seventeen miles northwest of Jerusalem) there lived a Jewish priest named Mattathias, of the House of Hasmon. He had five sons and this brave old man not only refused to worship Antiochus' idols, but boldly slew the king's religious ambassador. The Jewish revolt was on. One of his sons was named Judas and he was called the Mac- cabee (meaning, the hammer).
For the next few years Judas successfully led an army of Jews against the Syrians. Their brave exploits are described in two Apocrypha books, first and second Maccabees. On December 25, 165 b.c., the Jewish patriots cleansed and rededicated the Temple Antiochus had defiled. This later became a Jewish holiday known as the Feast of Dedication (see Jn. 10 : 22 ).
Note: In 8:14 there is a time period of 2300 days mentioned. This apparently began on September 6, 171 b.c. and ended on December 25, 165 b.c. It was, however, on the basis of this period that William Miller, founder of the modem Seventh Day Adventist movement, went astray. He made the days stand for years and arrived at the date of October 22, 1844, for the return of Christ!
f. Antiochus died in Babylon in 164 b.c. after being soundly defeated in battle.
2. The prophetical little horn—the antichrist. The future enemy of Israel will do all his forerunner did and much more. The following comparisons can be seen between the two:
a. Both would conquer much (Dan. 8:9; Rev. 13:4).
b. Both would magnify themselves (Dan. 8:11; Rev. 13:15).
KINGDOM MEDESANO PERSIANS | SYMBOL A TWO¬ HORNED RAM 8:1-4, 20 | REPRESENTATIVE Darius III |
GREECE | A ONE¬ HORNED GOAT 8:5-8, 21,22 | Alexander |
PAST | ||
SYRIA | TWO LITTLE | Antiochus |
HORNED KINGS 8:9-20, 23-27 | Epiphanes | |
FUTURE | ||
REVIVED | Antichrist |
ROMAN
EMPIRE
Some 250 years in advance, Daniel predicts the resounding defeat of Darius III at the hands of Alexander in 332 B.C.
At Alexander’s death (age 32) his kingdom was divided by his four generals.
Lysimachus ASIA MINOR
Cassander_Seleucus
GREECE SYRIA
Ptolemy
EGYPT
Both to conquer much (Dan. 8:9; Rev. 13:4)
Both to magnify themselves (8:11; Rev. 13:15)
Both deceitful (8:25; 2 Thess. 2:10)
Both offer a false peace program (8:25; 1 Thess. 5:2) Both hate and persecute Israel (8:25; Rev. 12:13)
Both profane the Temple (8:11; Mt. 24:15)
Both energized by Satan (8:24; Rev. 13:2)
Both active in Middle East for seven years (8:14; 9:27) Both to speak against God (8:25; 2 Thess. 2:4)
Both to be destroyed by God (8:25; Rev. 19:19, 20)
c. Both would be masters of deceit (Dan. 7:25; 2 Thess. 2:10).
d. Both would offer a false "peace program" (Dan. 8:25; 1 Thess. 5:2, 3).
e. Both would hate and persecute Israel Pan. 8:25; Rev. 12:13).
f. Both would profane the Temple Pan. 8:11; Mt. 24:15).
g. Both would be energized by Satan (Dan. 8:24; Rev. 13:2).
h. Both would be active in the Middle East for about seven years Pan. 8:14; 9:27).
i. Both would speak against the Lord God Pan. 8:25).
j. Both would be utterly destroyed by God Pan. 8:25) (Rev. 19:19, 20).
LX. The Secret of the Seventy Sevens
A. Daniel—the prayer of a prophet (9:1-19).
1. This is one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible. It has a double theme, that of prayer and prophecy. At this time Daniel was about eighty-five.
2. Daniel was reading from the book of Jeremiah (the old prophet had probably become the official custodian of various Old Testament books after the destruction of the Temple) and was reminded that God had determined Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. (See Jer. 25:11; 29:10.)
3. He then began an intense and prolonged prayer to God, concerning both his personal sins and those national sins of Israel which had caused the captivity in the first place. His prayer was accompanied by fasting, sackcloth, and ashes (9:1-3). These three actions were customary for the day when genuine contriteness of heart was felt. (See Ezra 8:23; Neh. 9:1; Est. 4:1, 3, 16; Job 2:12; Jonah 3:5, 6 .)
4. He reminds God of his covenants (9:4), possibly thinking of the Abrahamic Covenant (which promised Israel the land of Palestine forever) (Gen. 12:7; 13:14,15-17; 15:7; 18-21; 17:8), and the Davidic Covenant (which guaranteed Israel an everlasting king and kingdom) (2 Chron. 13:5; 2 Sam. 7:12-16; 23:5).
5. He contrasts the grace and goodness of God with the immorality and idolatry of Israel (9:5, 7, 8, 9).
6. He mentions Judah's kings (9:8). Two of them had been carried off into the Babylonian captivity along with the Jewish people.
7. He fully agreed that Judah had gotten just what she deserved and that God meant just what he said when he warned them about disobedience and punishment (9:12-14). (See Lev. 26.)
8. He ends his prayer by throwing both himself and his people completely upon the manifold grace of God:
"For we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies" (9:18).
B. Gabriel—the prophecy of an angel (9:20-27). Even while Daniel was praying, God sent Gabriel the archangel to both minister to him and ex¬
plain the most important, the most amazing, and the most profound single prophecy in the entire Word of God! For another example of God answering even while his child was praying, see Genesis 24:15. Note the message of this mighty angel in 9:24-27. We will now consider this prophecy by asking and attempting to answer six key questions.
1. To whom does this prophecy refer? It refers to Israel.
2. What is meant by the term "seventy weeks"? In his correspondence course on the book of Daniel, Dr. Alfred Martin of Moody Bible Institute writes the following helpful words:
"The expression translated 'seventy weeks' is literally 'seventy sevens.' Apart from the context one would not know what the 'sevens' were. One would have to inquire, 'seven' of what? This expression in Hebrew would be as ambiguous as if one were to say in English, 'I went to the store and bought a dozen.' A dozen of what? One of the basic principles of interpretation is that one must always interpret in the light of the context, that is, in the light of the passage in which a given statement occurs. As one searches this context, remembering that the vision was given in answer to the prayer, one notes that Daniel had been reading in Jeremiah that God would 'accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem' (Dan. 9:2). This is the clue. Daniel is told in effect, 'Yes, God will accomplish seventy years in the captivity; but now He is showing you that the whole history of the people of Israel will be consummated in a period of seventy sevens of years.'" ( Daniel, the Framework of Prophecy, pp. 85, 86)
To further clarify the meaning of the seventy weeks, it should be noted that Israel had in its calendar not only a week of seven days (as in Ex. 23:12) but also a "week" of seven years (Lev. 25:3, 4, 8-10; Gen. 29:27, 28). In other words, God is here telling Daniel that he would continue to deal with Israel for another 490 years before bringing in everlasting righteousness.
To summarize this particular point:
a. Israel was to allow its land to remain idle every seventh year (Lev. 25:1-4).
b. This command was disobeyed (Lev. 26:33-35; Jer. 34:12-22; 2 Chron. 36:21).
c. Finally, over a total period of 490 years, the nation had built up a land rest debt of seventy years.
d. Daniel knew of all this and was praying about it. He recognized that the seventy years of captivity represented seventy sevens of years in which those violations had transpired.
e. Gabriel now tells him that another period, similar in length (490 years) to that which had made the exile necessary, was coming in the experience of the people.
3. When was the seventy-week period to begin? It was to begin with the command to
rebuild Jerusalem's walls. The first two chapters of Nehemiah inform us that this command was issued during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' accession. The Encyclopedia Bri- tannica sets this date on March 14, 445 b.c.
4. What are the distinct time periods mentioned within the seventy-week prophecy and what was to happen during each period?
DANIEL: THE PRAYER OF A PROPHET
TIME OF THE First year of Persian rule 538 B.C. PRAYER (9:2)
OCCASION Daniel’s understanding of Jeremiah’s
FOR THE prophecy (9:2)
PRAYER
BASIS FOR THE The promise of God (9:4)
PRAYER
The mercy of God (9:9,18)
CONFESSION “We have sinned!” (9:5, 8, 9,11, IN THE 15,16)
PRAYER
REQUESTS IN THE PRAYER
ANSWER TO PRAYER
That God would bring them out of Babylon as he once did out of Egypt
(9:15)
That God would forgive (9:19)
That God would allow the Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem (9:16,17)
“Yea, while I was... in prayer... Gabriel... touched me .. ■” (9:21).
GABRIEL: THE PROPHECY OF AN ANGEL
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
TO WHOM Israel (9:24)
DOES THE
PROPHECY
REFER?
WHAT ARE They refer to seven years of years, or
THE SEVENTY 490 years.
WEEKS?
WHEN WOULD At the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. THIS PERIOD March 14, 445 B.C.
BEGIN?
WHAT ARE Seven THE THREE “weeks” TIME PERIODS ° r WITHIN THE forty-nine SEVENTY years WEEKS? WHAT HAPPENED Sixty-two DURING EACH "weeks " PERIOD? 40 4
years
FROM 445-396 B.C.
Walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt in troublous times.
FROM 396 B.C. TO 32 AD.
Messiah to be crucified
CHURCH AGE
One From rapture to
“week" Armageddon
or
seven Ministry of antichrist
years and return of true Christ.
(Taken from Daniels Prophecy of The Seventy Weeks, By A. J. McClain pages 30-31)
a. First period.
Seven weeks (forty-nine years), from 445 b.c. to 396 b.c. The key events during this time were the building of the streets and walls of Jerusalem "even in troublous times." This literally took place! (See Neh. 2-6.)
b. Second period.
Sixty-two weeks (434 years), from 396 b.c. to a.d. 30. At the end of this second period the Messiah was crucified! (See Mt. 27; Mk. 15; Lk. 23; Jn. 19.)
The brilliant British scholar and Bible student. Sir Robert Anderson, has reduced the first two periods into their exact number of days. This he has done by multiplying 483 (the combined years of the first two periods) by 360 (the days in a biblical year, as pointed out in Gen. 7:11, 24; 8:3, 4).
The total number of days in the first sixty-nine weeks (or 483 years) is 173,880. Anderson then points out that if one begins counting on March 14, 445 b.c., and goes forward in history, these days would run out on April 6, a.d. 32.
It was on this very day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem! Surely our Lord must have had Daniel's prophecy in mind when he said: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes" (Lk. 19:42).
Of course, it was on this same day that the Pharisees plotted to murder Christ (Lk. 19:47).
Thus Daniel, writing some five and one-half centuries earlier, correctly predicted the very day of Christ's presentation and rejection.
c. Third period—one week (seven years) from the rapture until the millennium. At the beginning of this period the antichrist will make his pact with Israel and will begin his terrible bloodbath. At the end of the last week (and of the entire seventy-week period), the true Messiah will come and establish his perfect millennium.
5. Do the seventy weeks run continuously? This is to say, is there a gap somewhere in these 490 years, or do they run without pause until they are completed?
Dispensational theology teaches that these "weeks" do not run continuously, but that there has been a gap or parenthesis of nearly 2000 years between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week. The chronology may be likened to a seventy-minute basketball game. For sixty-nine minutes the game has been played at a furious and continuous pace. Then the referee for some reason calls time out with the clock in the red and showing one final minute of play. No one knows for sure when the action will start again, but at some point the referee will step in and blow
his whistle. At that time the teams will gather to play out the last minute of the game.
God has stepped in and stopped the clock of prophecy at Calvary. This divine "time out" has already lasted some twenty centuries, but soon the Redeemer will blow his trumpet and the final "week" of action will be played upon this earth.
6. Does the Bible offer any other examples of time gaps in divine programs? It does indeed. At least three instances come to mind in which gaps of many centuries can be found in a single short paragraph.
a. Isaiah 9:6, 7.
In the first part of verse 6 a gap of at least twenty centuries is separated by a colon. The phrase "unto us a son is given" refers to Bethlehem, while the words "and the government shall be upon his shoulder" look forward to the millennium.
b. Zechariah 9:9, 10.
Verse 9 is a clear reference to the triumphal entry of our Lord, but verse 10 looks ahead to the millennium.
c. Isaiah 61:1, 2.
In verse 2 of this passage Christ's earthly ministry (to "proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord") and the tribulation (the "day of vengeance of our God") are separated by only a comma. It is extremely important to note that when Jesus read this passage during his sermon in Nazareth, he ended the reading at this comma, for "the day of vengeance" was not the purpose of his first coming. (See Lk. 4:18, 19.)
As a final brief review of the seventy weeks, we may note:
7. The six main accomplishments of the seventy weeks.
a. To bring to an end all human transgressions and sins, especially those of the nation Israel (Acts 3:13-16; 28:25-31; Ezek. 37:23; Rom. 11:26, 27).
b. To make reconciliation for iniquity. This was done at Calvary when the Messiah was cut off (2 Cor. 5:18-20).
c. To vindicate by fulfillment all true prophets and their prophecies.
d. To prove the inability of the devil to rightfully rule this world.
e. To destroy him and his chief henchman, the antichrist (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).
f. To usher in the millennium (Ps. 45:3-7; Isa. 11:3-5; Jer. 23:3-8).
8. The three main time-periods of the seventy weeks (490 years).
a. First period—(forty-nine years, or seven weeks) from 445 to 396 b.c.
b. Second Period—(434 years, or sixty-two weeks) from 396 b.c. to a.d. 32.
c. A time out period (which has already lasted almost twenty centuries). This time gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week was unrevealed and therefore unknown to the Old Testament
prophets. (See Eph. 3:1-10; 1 Pet. 1 : 10 - 12 .)
d. Third period (seven years, or one week) from the rapture until the millennium.
9. The two main individuals of the seventy weeks.
a. Messiah—the Lord Jesus Christ.
b. The prince that shall come—the wicked antichrist.
X. The Conflict Above the Clouds.
A. A man in mourning (10:1-4).
1. Daniel had set aside a period of three weeks to be alone with God. During that time, he refrained from eating food, drinking wine, and anointing himself. The latter was usually done daily with oil to guard oneself against the fierce desert sun.
2. There may have been several reasons which prompted this season of sorrow.
a. because of the sins of his people
b. because of the long period (490 years) of suffering his people must still go through (chapter 9)
c. because of the paltry few (around 40,000) Jews who had elected to return under Ze- rubbabel. Some two years had already gone by since Cyrus issued his decree (Ezra 1:1-4) allowing them to return to Jerusalem.
d. because of the hardships those returning Jews were experiencing.
Note: God had apparently denied Daniel this opportunity to return. This was due perhaps to his advanced age (around ninety) and also the fact that his high governmental position could be used in helping the returning remnant.
B. An angel in attendance (10:5-21).
1. The description of the angel (10:5-9).
a. Daniel immediately grows pale and weak with fright at such a dazzling sight. Some believe this angel to have been Jesus.
• Daniel had been fasting and praying for three weeks on the banks of the River Tigris.
• Several possible reasons for this:
1. Because so few were elected to go back to Jerusalem.
2. Because of the heartaches of those who did go back.
3. Because of Israel’s future sufferings, implied in the seventy-week prophecy.
•The description of the angel (10:5-9)
• The declaration of the angel (10:10-17)
1. He had been hindered by the prince of Persia.
2. He had been helped by the archangel Michael.
• The duty of the angel (10:18,19) —to strengthen and to encourage Daniel.
• The determination of the angel (10:20, 21) —to again fight against the prince of Persia.
A MAN GREATLY BELOVED
A MAN CLOTHED IN LINEN
While a similar description is found in Revelation 1:12-16, it would not appear that the angel in Daniel can be identified with Christ. In 10:13 the angel had to call upon Michael, another angel, to help him. It is obvious that the Savior would have needed no help.
b. The men with Daniel were also filled with terror, although they did not actually see the vision as did Daniel (10:7). (See a similar event in Acts 9:7, 8.)
2. The declaration of the angel (10:10-19).
a. He had been hindered by the prince of Persia (10:13). Who was this prince? We quickly note that:
(1) He was powerful—he singlehand- edly blocked one of heaven's mightiest angels for twenty-one days.
(2) He was perverted—he withstood God's divinely appointed messenger. Thus, he must have been a high ranking demon assigned by Satan to Persia to control the demonic activities in that kingdom. (See also Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Mt. 9:34; 12:24; Isa. 24:21.)
b. He had been helped by the archangel Michael (10:13). This is the other archangel mentioned in the Bible. He is mentioned three times in the Old Testament (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1) and twice in the New Testament (Jude 1:9; Rev. 12:7). This was a mutual thing, however, for the angel here had once helped Michael. (See Dan. 11:1.)
Here the veil is momentarily lifted upon the heavenly warfare which believers, demons, and angels are engaged in. (See the following passages: 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:12; Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; 3:10; Col. 2:15.)
This angel then proceeds to comfort, reassure, strengthen, and instruct Daniel concerning the end times.
3. The duty of the angel (10:18,19).
4. The determination of the angel (10:20, 21). As he returned to God, the angel was aware that not only would he be once again confronted by the Persian demon, but also the demon of Greece. Apparently Satan was throwing in new support by sending into battle his future appointee over the Grecian
, empire. But the angel was confident, know¬
ing he could again count on the help of Michael.
XI. A Chronology of Christless Kings. This chapter gives the most detailed account of history in all the Bible. It covers events occurring from approximately 529 to 164 b.c. It also describes many things which will yet transpire during the future tribulation. But the amazing thing is that Daniel wrote it all down in 540 b.c.
A. Alexander the Great (11:1-20), including his predecessors and successors.
1. Four Persian kings would rule after Cyrus (who was ruling when Daniel wrote this) and the fourth would be the richest of all. This happened (11:2).
a. Cambyses (529-522)
b. Smerdis (522-521)
c. Darius Hystaspes (521-486)
d. Xerxes (486-465) (He was by far the richest, see Est. 1:1-12)
2. After this, a mighty king would rule (11:3). This was Alexander the Great (336-323).
3. This king would suddenly die in his prime. His kingdom would not be given to his posterity, but would be divided up by outsiders into four sections (11:4). This is what happened. Shortly after his death, Philip, his half-brother; Alexander II, his legitimate son; and Hercules, his illegitimate son, were all three murdered and Alexander's four generals took over.
4. One of the generals, Ptolemy, would begin a southern dynasty in Egypt, and another general, Seleucus, would do the same through a northern dynasty in Syria. Ptolemy ruled from 323-283 b.c. and Seleucus from 304-281 b.c. (11:5).
5. These two kings would fight but later their countries would enter into an alliance (11:6). Egypt and Syria did make an alliance in 250 b.c. It happened after both generals had died when Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283-246), the son of Ptolemy I, gave his daughter Bernice in marriage to Antiochus II Theos (262-246), the grandson of Seleucus.
6. Two years later her father, Ptolemy II, died, and her husband Antiochus divorced her and remarried his former wife, whose name was Laodice.
7. Laodice, still bearing a grudge, poisoned Antiochus and had Bernice murdered. She then appointed her son, Seleucus II to become King of Syria.
8. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Bernice's brother, Ptolemy III, succeeded his father on the throne. He ruled from 246-221 b.c.
9. Ptolemy III invaded Syria and revenged his sister's death by executing Laodice. Seleucus II hid out in Asia Minor during this Egyptian invasion.
10. Ptolemy III then carried away much Syrian loot, including 40,000 talents of silver, and 2500 precious vessels (11:8-11).
11. In 240 b.c. Seleucus II attempted unsuccessfully to counterattack Ptolemy III in Egypt. Seleucus died and was succeeded by his son Antiochus III (also known as the Great). Antiochus ruled Syria from 223-187 b.c.
12. Ptolemy III died and was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy IV Philopaton (221-204).
13. These two kings (Antiochus III and Ptolemy IV) met head on in a crucial battle at Raphia in 217 b.c. This battle, where both sides used massive elephants, was won by Ptolemy IV.
14. In 203 b.c. Ptolemy IV died and was succeeded by Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203-181).
15. In 198 b.c. Antiochus the Great wrestled control of Palestine from Ptolemy V at a battle outside Sidon.
16. In 193 Antiochus the Great gave his daughter Cleopatra to marry Ptolemy V. (Note: This was not the famous Cleopatra of history, for
she would not come along until 69 b.c.) The reason for this marriage was to keep Egypt off his flank when he pursued warfare against Rome. Antiochus the Great also hoped Cleopatra would foster Syrian interests in Egypt, for he still secretly planned to conquer Egypt. But Cleopatra turned out to be a loyal wife.
17. Antiochus the Great was at this point joined by the renowned self-exiled Hannibal from Carthage. Together they invaded Greece, but in 188 b.c. were completely driven out of that part of the world by Rome.
18. Antiochus' grandiose plans failed utterly. He died in 187 b.c. (11:19).
19. His older son, Seleucus IV Philopator (187-176), then ruled, but was later murdered by his own prime minister (11:20).
B. Antiochus Epiphanes (11:21-35).
1. He was the youngest son of Antiochus the Great and is immediately classified as a vile (or contemptible) person by the Word of God (11:21).
2. He was nicknamed "Epimanes" ("madman") by those who knew him best.
3. He practiced deceit and pretended to be a second century Robin Hood (1 Macc. 3:29-31).
4. In 170 he defeated the Egyptian King Ptolemy Philometor (181-145) at a battle just east of the Nile delta. This young king was his own nephew, for his mother, Cleopatra, was Antiochus' sister.
5. Ptolemy lost this battle because he was betrayed by some of his friends who sat at his own table (11:26).
6. Antiochus then took his young nephew to Syria and pretended to befriend him. But neither the uncle nor the nephew trusted each other (11:27).
7. Antiochus had hoped to capture Egypt, but was stopped coldly by the mighty Romans (11:30).
8. He took out his insane rage on the city of Jerusalem (11:28-35).
C. Antichrist (11:36-45).
1. He shall do everything according to his own selfish will (11:36). (See also Rev. 13:7; 17:13.)
2. He shall magnify himself and malign God (11:36). (See also 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:6.) The word meaning "marvelous things" in this verse is literally "astonishing, unbelievable." The antichrist will scream out unbelievable blasphemies against God, insults no one else could ever think of, or would dare say if they could!
3. He will be allowed by God to prosper (given full rope) during the tribulation (the indignation) 11:36. (See also Rev. 11:7; 13:4, 7, 10.) The phrase "that which is determined shall be done," however, reminds us that God is still in absolute control, even during the terrible reign of this monster.
4. He will not regard "the gods of his fathers" (11:37). The word for God is plural. The antichrist will carry out a vendetta against all organized religion. In fact it is he who will
destroy that great harlot, bloody Babylon, which is the super world church. (See Rev. 17:5, 16.)
5. He will not have the desire for (or of) women (11:37). Here three theories are offered to explain this phrase.
a. the normal desire for love, marriage, sex (see 1 Tim. 4:3)
b. those things characteristic of women, such as mercy, gentleness, and kindness
c. that desire of Hebrew women to be the mother of the Messiah (1 Tim. 2:15)
DANIEL 11:1-20
Alexander and Predecessors
This amazing chapter contains no less than thirty-eight fulfilled prophecies. Some are as follows:
The rule of four Persian kings (v. 2)
The war of the fourth with Greece The rise and fall of Alexander (v. 3, 4)
The fourfold division of his empire (v. 4)
The eventual alliance of two of these two kingdoms (v. 6) The Egyptian plunder of Syria (v. 8)
The unsuccessful retaliation of Syria (v. 9)
The civil war in Egypt (v. 14)
The Syrian occupation of Palestine (v. 16)
The Temple desecration by a Syrian king (vs. 31,32)
The Maccabean revolt (v. 32)
The eventual defeat of the Maccabeans (v. 33)
DANIEL 11:21-35
Antiochus Epiphanes
He was a cruel, Jew-hating Syrian king who occupied Jerusalem for awhile, ruling from 175-164 B.C.
On September 6, 171 B.C., he began his blasphemous actions against the Temple.
The supreme insult took place on December 15, 168, when he sacrificed a huge sow on the Jewish Temple altar.
In three days he murdered over 40,000 Jews.
On December 25, 165 (2300 days after the September 6, 171, date; see Dan. 8:9-14) some Jewish heroes called the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and the Syrian occupation ended.
DANIEL 11:36-45
Antichrist
Will be totally self-willed
Will magnify himself and malign God
Will prosper for awhile
Will not regard the gods of his fathers
Will have no desire for women
Will honor the god of fortress
Will be attacked by two southern and northern kings
Will occupy the Holy Land
Will occupy Egypt
Will hear frightful news while in Egypt Will return to the Holy Land and wage war Will be destroyed by Christ on Mt. Zion
~ WILLMINGTON'S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE-
6. His god will be the god of fortresses (11:38). The antichrist will spend all his resources on military programs.
7. In the latter days of the tribulation, he shall be attacked by the king of the south (Egypt) and the king of the north (Russia—11:40). According to Ezekiel (38-39) these two nations, especially Russia, are destroyed upon the mountains of Israel by God himself.
8. After the defeat of Russia, the antichrist will occupy Palestine (11:41). Edom and Moab will not be occupied by him. Some believe God will not allow him dominion over these areas, because Petra is located there, the mountainous city where the Jewish remnant will take shelter from the antichrist during the last part of the tribulation. (See Rev. 12:14.)
9. Upon establishing control in Palestine, the antichrist marches into Egypt and controls that land (11:42, 43).
10. While he is in Egypt he hears alarming rumors from the east and the north (11:44). The exact nature of these rumors is uncertain. Several suggestions have been offered:
a. This concerns a report about a Jewish uprising. Dr. Leon Wood advocates this position in his book, A Commentary on Daniel (p. 313).
b. It concerns an invasion of a vast horde of some 200,000,000 warriors from the far east (Rev. 9:16) under the leadership of "kings of the east" (Rev. 16:12), who now challenge him for world leadership. These nations would include China, India, and others. Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost suggests this possibility (Things to Come, p. 356).
c. It concerns a report that thousands of Jews are escaping Jerusalem and fleeing into Petra. This theory is offered as a possibility by the author.
11. He quickly returns and in great fury destroys many (11:44). Here again the identity of those who are destroyed cannot be dogmatically stated.
12. He apparently successfully deals with the threat and establishes his worldwide headquarters on Mt. Zion. Here he remains until his total destruction by the King of kings at the end of the tribulation (11:45). (See also Rev. 19:11-21.)
XII. Closing Conditions.
A. The ministry of Michael (12:1).
1. Michael is Israel's guardian angel.
2. He will help deliver Israel through the worst period of human history since the creation of the world. Jesus quoted this verse when he spoke of that future hellish hour. (See Mt. 24:21, 22.) It is Michael who will cast Satan out of the heavenlies during the middle of the tribulation (Rev. 12:7), and then this heavenly hero apparently helps the escaping one-third Israelite nation into Petra. (See Zech. 13:8, 9; Rev. 12:14.)
3. These Israelites already have their names in
the Lamb's Book of Life. (See also Ex. 32:32; Ps. 69:28; Lk. 10:20; Mt. 24:22; Rev. 20:12.)
B. The two resurrections (12:2, 3). Other Old Testament and New Testament passages make it clear that these two resurrections are not at the same time, but rather are separated by a period of 1000 years. Neither resurrection here refers to the rapture.
1. The resurrection of those to eternal life. This will occur at the beginning of the millennium and will include all Old Testament and martyred tribulational saints. (See Job 19:25, 26; Ps. 49:15; Isa. 25:8; 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Heb. 11:35; Rev. 20:4, 6.) The reward of all righteous soul-winners is mentioned in Daniel 12:3.
2. The resurrection of those to shame and everlasting contempt. This will transpire after the millennium and will include all unsaved people who have ever lived. (See Rev. 20:5.) Our Lord summarizes these two resurrections in John 5:28, 29.
C. The two prophecies (12:4).
"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."
After reading this passage many years ago, the great scientist (and Christian), Sir Isaac Newton, is reported to have said:
"Personally I cannot help but believe that these words refer to the end of the times. Men will travel from country to country in an unprecedented manner. There may be some inventions which will enable people to travel much more quickly than they do now."
This was written around a.d. 1680. Newton went on to speculate that this speed might actually exceed fifty m.p.h. Some eighty years later, the famous French atheist, Voltaire, read Newton's words and retorted:
"See what a fool Christianity makes of an otherwise brilliant man! Here a scientist like Newton actually writes that men may travel at the rate of 30 or 40 m.p.h. Has he forgotten that if man would travel at this rate he would be suffocated? His heart would stand still!"
One wonders what Voltaire would have said had he known that some two centuries after he wrote this, an American astronaut, Edward H. White, on June 3, 1965, would climb out of a space craft a hundred miles in the sky and casually walk across the continental United States in less than fifteen minutes, strolling along at 17,500 m.p.h.? Or that during the moon landings, man exceeded a speed some twelve times faster than a twenty-two-caliber rifle bullet travels? In this same prophecy, Daniel predicted an intensification of knowledge. Our country is just over two hundred years old. Yet, during this time, we have developed the public educational system from absolutely nothing to its present level. We have now over sixty million students in America alone, attending some 72,000 public elementary schools, 27,000 secondary schools, and 1200 colleges and universities. Each year we spend thirty- six billions of dollars to finance all this.
~ DANIEL~
D. The three time periods (12:5-13).
1. 1260 days ("a time, times and a half." See 12:7.)
a. Daniel sees two other angels who had been listening to this private prophecy conference the mighty angel was conducting for the old statesman. Angels are very much interested in God's program of salvation (1 Pet. 1:12) and one of the two suddenly asks how long this terrible tribulational period will last (12:6). Neither of these angels had apparently overheard the details of the seventy-week vision in 9:24-27.
b. The mighty angel informs them that the duration of this final horrible half of the tribulation will last as long as it takes for the pride and power of the Jews to be broken, or three-and-a-half years (12:7).
2. 1290 days (12:11). This period refers to the same as mentioned above, but includes an additional thirty days. Although we cannot be dogmatic, it would seem reasonable to conclude that an additional month will be needed here to carry out the sheep and goat judgment mentioned in Matthew 25:31-46.
3. 1335 days (12:12). Here again a period of time is added, forty-five days. What will be the need of these forty-five days? It may be the time necessary for setting up the governmental machinery for carrying on the rule of Christ. Dr. Franklin Logsdon has written the following helpful words concerning the seventy-five additional days beyond the three- and-a-half year period.
"We in the United States have a national analogy. The President is elected in the early part of November, but he is not inaugurated until January 20. There is an interim of 70 plus days. During this time, he concerns himself with the appointment of cabinet members, foreign envoys and others who will comprise his government. In the period of 75 days between the termination of the Great Tribulation and the Coronation, the King of Glory will likewise attend to certain matters." ( Profiles in Prophecy, p. 81)
E. The four final conclusions
1. The mighty angel raises both hands into heaven as he attests to the veracity of all this (12:7). The regular gesture of raising one's hand to heaven showed solemnity and importance (see Gen. 14:22; Deut. 32:40), but here both hands are raised. (See also Rev. 10 : 1 - 6 .)
2. Many shall be cleansed (saved) during the tribulation (12:1); this includes both Jews and Gentiles. (See Rev. 7:1-17.)
3. The wicked, however, will continue their evil ways (12:10). (See Rev. 9:20, 21; 11:9, 10.)
4. Daniel was to carefully preserve his writings (12:4), but all their meaning would not be revealed to him until that glorious day when he would stand alongside the righteous awaiting his inheritance lot (12:9, 13).
" ■ •. A time of trouble, such as never was ..." (12:1)
• THE HELPER IN THE TRIBULATION
• THE LENGTH OF THE TRIBULATION
1260 DAYS (12:7)
A reference to the final and worst part of the tribulation, some three-and-a-half years.
1290 DAYS (12:11)
A reference to the first time period plus thirty days.
This time may be needed to conduct the various Jewish, Gentile, and angelic judgments.
1335 DAYS (12:12)
A reference to the second time period plus forty-five days. This may be spent in preparing for the millennial government.
• THE INTEREST CONCERNING THE TRIBULATION
• THE SALVATION DURING THE TRIBULATION
• THE SIGNS PRECEDING THE TRIBULATION
• THE RESURRECTIONS FOLLOWING THE TRIBULATION (12:2, 3)
At the Beginning of the Millennium Resurrection of Old Testament and tribulation saints At the End of the Millennium Resurrection of all unsaved dead