Section III The Hebrew Apocalypse
(A Message to the Chosen People, in Hebrew)
Daniel 8:1—12:13
Keil regards the eighth chapter as the beginning of the second part of the Book of Daniel. He gives it the title “The Development of the Kingdom of God.”1 This is in line with earlier analyses of the book (see comments on 1:1-2 and the introductory paragraph on 7:1-28).
A. DANIEL'S VISION OF WARRING EMPIRES, 8:1-27
The vision of c. 8 pictures God's people under the rise and fall of the second and third world empires foreseen in c. 7.
1. The War of the Ram and the Goat (8:1-12)
a. Occasion and place of the vision (8:1-2). In this third year of the reign of king Belshazzar two years had elapsed (cf. 7:1) since Daniel's vision of the four world-kingdoms. If Daniel's exile to Babylon occurred when he was between fifteen and twenty years of age, he would now be nearing seventy-five. He had served his age illustriously under the great Nebuchadnezzar. Under succeeding kings, Daniel seems to have gone somewhat into the shadows as far as public notice was concerned. But he was still God's man and the years had ripened him in wisdom. Now God was about to unveil to him the most treasured secrets of His plan for Israel and for humanity. The setting was at Shushan (2), the summer palace of the Persian kings, some two hundred miles east of Babylon (see map 1). The river of Ulai was a canal connecting the Kerkha and Karun rivers.
b. The Medo-Persian ram (8:3-4). In Daniel's first vision in c. 7, the beasts which symbolized world power were wild beasts. Now the temper of the vision changes and two of these same world powers appear as domesticated animals—a ram and a goat. Could it be that the Spirit of God is here depicting another important phase of human life and history, the cultural aspect? Whereas in c. 7 the emphasis was upon the political power of the nations, in c. 8 it is upon the cultural influences. If this be accepted it would be possible to conceive of the two aspects, coming through two different kingdoms, converging at one time in one culminating manifestation of evil, the Antichrist.
Whatever may be the meaning in the change of the character of the beasts, the ram and the goat were soon furiously at war. The ram first appears, pushing westward, and northward, and southward (4). Keil suggests that the direction of the pushing seems to indicate that the eastward-looking exploits were not so strategically important as the other directions. Both Cyrus and Darius led successful campaigns eastward to India. But it is their Occidental impact that most seriously affected history.2
The two-horned beast, with the second growing higher, clearly suggests Medo-Persian history. Cyaxeres the Mede was a powerful leader allied with the Chaldean Nabopolassar and his son, Nebuchadnezzar, in overturning the Assyrian empire in 612 B.C. Next to Babylonia, Media stood ascendant in its day. But with the rise of the gifted Cyrus (whom tradition says was a grandson of Astyages, king of the Medes) his prowess became so evident that he quickly climbed to the top in the Medo-Persian alliance.
The word beasts (chayywoth) signifies living creatures in general and carries no connotation of either wildness or domestication. “No living creature could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power; he did as he pleased and made himself great” (4, ht.) Became great (higddil) does not here mean “became haughty” but rather “did great things.” So in 8; cf. Ps. 126:2-3, “The Lord hath done great things for us.”3
c. The Grecian goat (8:5-12). A new factor enters history with this scene. Hitherto the center of gravity in world power was Oriental. Now for the first time the West comes into view. Behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth (5). The attack of the goat on the ram was swift and shattering. Moved with choler against him (7); i.e., “in brutal rage he butted him” (Berk.). There was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
(1) The broken horn and its four successors. At the zenith of the ram's power the great horn was broken (8) and in its place four other horns sprang up. The significance here clearly relates to four kings and their kingdoms which succeed them.
(2) The little horn that waxed great. As Daniel watched, an astonishing thing began to happen. One of the four horns sprouted a little horn, which waxed exceeding great (9). The pleasant land was “the land of Israel” (LP). The same word “became great” (gaddal) is used here as in 4 and 8. But the context describes another kind of growth, a growth in evil. The towering pride of the despicable little horn magnifies itself even against the prince of the host (11). He attempts to attack God by destroying some of the host and his stars (10; His saints).
Much diversity surrounds the identification of the prince of the host. Some have supposed it referred to the high priest, Onias, at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Some have said it was Israel's God. Could it be that here again we see the eternal, preincarnate Christ, who appeared to Joshua saying, “As captain ['prince,' margin] of the host of the Lord am I now come” (Josh. 5:14) ? Clearly the prince refers to the divine authority which rules over the saints of God. As the foreordained Anointed Prince of God's people, who could better fill this role than the Second Person of the divine Trinity?
To carry out his blasphemous purposes the little horn stops the daily sacrifice and desecrates the sanctuary (11). This was a time when the usual restraints against evil and evildoers were removed. “As a result, truth and righteousness perished, and evil triumphed and prospered” (12, LP).
2. The Meaning of the Vision (8:13-27)
a. “How long?” (8:13-14) To Daniel, God revealed through the conversation of nearby holy beings that the time of evil would not be prolonged. The question was, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? (13) The answer came, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (14). How are we to consider this symbol of numbers? Jerome gives a very simple and commonsense interpretation:
If we read the books of the Maccabees and the history of Josephus, we shall find there recorded that…Antiochus entered Jerusalem, and after wreaking a general devastation he returned again in the third year and set up the statue of Jupiter in the Temple. Up until the time of Judas Maccabaeus…Jerusalem lay waste over a period of six years, and for three of those years the Temple lay defiled; making a total of two thousand three hundred days plus three months.4
b. God's messenger Gabriel (8:15-19). The deep wonderment of Daniel at the vision he had seen quickly found an answer in the appearance of a man (15)—a special messenger sent from God. It was Gabriel (16) who appeared, announced by a man's voice. For the banks of Ulai cf. comment on v. 2.
Gabriel (Heb., “God has shown himself mighty”) is well-known in Scripture. He was God's messenger to Daniel (8:16; 9:21); and the messenger of the annunciation of John the Baptist's birth, as of the conception of Jesus himself (Luke 1:19, 26). To the aged Zacharias, Gabriel explains his office: “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19).5
In his awe at the presence of the angel, Daniel writes, “I fell on my face…while he was speaking to me I swooned face down to the ground; then he touched me and…said, ‘I am here to acquaint you with the final events…for the end comes at the appointed time’” (17-19, Berk.).
c. The interpretation (8:20-27). (1) The ram—Medo-Persia (8:20). The identification of this rampaging creature is direct and unequivocal. It is Media and Persia (20) in their two-sectioned rise to power. Cyaxeres, the great Median leader of Nebuchadnezzar's day, had led his land to power and prestige. With Lydia to the northwest, Media had been one of the victorious allies with the Babylonians in the vanquishment of Assyria. At the time of Nineveh's fall in 612 B.C., Persia was a small and little noticed land to the south and eastward of Media and Elam. But when the young genius, Cyrus the Persian, arose he moved rapidly to absorb the whole land. His allies, and relatives, were Medes.
Jerome shares what knowledge he has gleaned on the relation of the Persians and the Medes by going back to Josephus:
Now Darius who destroyed the empire of the Babylonians in cooperation with his relative Cyrus—for they both carried on the war as allies—was sixty-two years of age at the time he captured Babylon.…When Babylon was overthrown, Darius returned to his own kingdom in Media, and brought Daniel along with him in the same honorable capacity to which he had been promoted by Belshazzar. There is no doubt but what Darius had heard [of] the sign and portent which had come to Belshazzar, and also of the interpretation which Daniel had set forth, and how he had foretold the rule of the Medes and the Persians. And so no one should be troubled by the fact that Daniel is said in one place to have lived in Darius' reign, and in another place in the reign of Cyrus. The Septuagint rendered Darius by the name of Artaxeres.…And so it was under this Darius who put Belshazzar to death that the events took place of which we speak.6
(2) The rough goat of Greece (8:21-22). The rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king (21). This seems to describe Alexander the Great of Macedon. His brilliant strategy swiftly laid everything before him. At Thebes he conquered Egypt. At Jerusalem the high priest and his retinue opened wide the gates in welcome and received favored treatment for their foresight. Twice on the way northward and eastward he met the hosts of Persia. At last on the plains of Arbela in Syria he laid low Darius III and scattered his armies. Everywhere Alexander went he was welcomed either by acclaim or by easy victories, until at last he stood on the borders of India on the banks of the Indus River. At this first aggressive encounter of West against East the West had gloriously won and changed the face of history and the currents of culture for two and a half millenniums.
Alexander's empire was the most fragile and least enduring of any. Like a meteor it flashed across the sky of history and exploded into fragments. These fragments were four (22), hammered into visible kingdoms by four of his hardiest generals. Macedonia and Greece were taken by Alexander's half brother, Phillip Aridaeus. Asia Minor fell to Antigonus. Egypt went to Ptolemy, son of Lagos. The great mass of Syria, Babylonia, and all the kingdoms eastward to India became the dominion of Seleucus Nicanor.
(3) The fierce and despicable “little horn” (8:9-12, 23-25). Most interpreters have joined in noting the distinct difference between the little horn of this chapter and that of c. 7. This horn sprouts out of one of the four other horns. The little horn of c. 7 springs up among the ten and displaces three. This horn is a product of the third kingdom. That of c. 7 is from the fourth kingdom.
Almost without dissent interpreters agree that whoever the little horn of c. 7 is, Antichrist or other, the little horn of c. 8 is Antiochus Epiphanes.
But as clear as is the picture of Antiochus here, there lurks in the background, like a dim double exposure on a photographic film, another, the dread Antichrist. Jerome points out this fact and suggests that Antiochus is a type of Antichrist as Solomon was of Christ, the Anointed.
The interpretation which Gabriel gives lends support to this view. We read: At the time of the end shall be the vision (17); At the time appointed the end shall be (19); In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full (23). This latter passage reminds us of Paul's reference and his application of it to “that man of sin…the son of perdition” (II Thess. 2:3), who shall identify the end-time.
(4) Daniel's Massive Secret (8:26-27). The reaction of the prophet is revealing of the deep spiritual and emotional impact this revelation had upon him. I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days (27). In his heart there burned the secret which he must needs shut up for future times. But the call of the present day was upon this servant of God. He did not fade away into idle dreaming. I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it (27).
B. DANIEL'S INTERCESSION FOR ISRAEL, 9:1-27
Toward the close of his earthly journey we see Daniel engaged in one of the crucial battles of his life. We are reminded of Paul's declaration about the nature of prayer: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
1. The Occasion for Daniel's Prayer (9:1-3)
A change in government brought sharply to Daniel's mind the conviction that some great providential change must be imminent for the remnant of his people in exile. The kingdom of the Chaldeans had come to an end with the fall of Babylon (5:30-31). The rule of the Persians and their Median allies had displaced it. If Darius, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans (1), was indeed the aging relative of the Persian Cyrus, the political situation was nonetheless unstable. The balance of power was shifting from Media to Persia. Cyrus would within two years assume civil as well as military leadership.
But Daniel was seeing beyond the secular scene. He understood by books…the word of the Lord (2). Daniel was well aware of how minutely faithful had been the fulfillment of the warnings God had given His people. He had lived through the harrowing days of calamity graphically depicted in Lev. 26: 14-35. Even the recompense requited for neglected sabbatical years was becoming intelligible. God's promise of mercy and restoration based on the covenant with the fathers (Lev. 26: 40-45) with the requisite condition of repentance closely followed. God was waiting on the response of His people. Then Daniel came upon Jeremiah's startling prophetic reference to a series of sabbatical cycles that climaxed in those very days: “Thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jer. 29:10; cf. 29:11-13; II Chron. 36:21). He knew that the time was at hand and he saw clearly what he must do. In Jeremiah's prophecy he discovered God's design for the times in which he lived.
The earnestness of Daniel's prayer struggle is suggested in the phrases which recount it: I set my face…to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes (3).
Here was a man engaging in an extraordinary period of soul searching and seeking divine aid. Calvin remarks that “when God promises anything remarkable and valuable, we ought then to be the more stirred up and to feel this expectation as a sharper stimulus.” He goes on to point out that Daniel's use of sackcloth, ashes, and fasting were used, not as meritorious works to win God's favor, but as helps to increased ardor in praying. “Thus, we observe Daniel to have made use of fasting correctly, not wishing to appease God by this discipline, but to render him more earnest in his prayers.”7
In 9:1-3 we see “Factors in Effective Prayer”: (1) An opened heart to the word of the Lord, 2a; (2) An overpowering conviction that God's time is now, 2b; (3) Observing the disciplines of importunate prayer, 3.
2. Daniel's Prayer of Confession (9:4-14)
As Daniel entered this crucial ministry of intercession he did what every true intercessor must do. He identified himself with those for whom he was interceding. The sins of his people were his sins. Their woe was his woe. Their punishment was his punishment, fully deserved. He did not stand above his people on a superior plane, judging them from an exalted position. It is true that Daniel personally was no idolatrous rebel against God. But he went down into the valley of humiliation among his erring people and took their guilt and shame upon himself. How vividly this reflects our Saviour's estate as He took upon himself the sins of a lost world! How pointedly it suggests to all who would enter into the fellowship of His suffering that we must in some real sense become identified with the erring whom we would bear before the throne of grace!
In Daniel's approach to God, he had a clear view of the nature of the character of God, whose face he sought. God was personal and available, for Daniel addressed Him as my God (4). He was also sovereign and holy, the great and dreadful God. God was faithful, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him.
Daniel's confession was more than generalizations and platitudes. He became specific in opening up the dark horrors which were his people's sins. There is searching meaning in the four Hebrew terms with which Daniel described the evil of Israel. We have sinned (5; chata) means to make a misstep, to err from the right. We have committed iniquity ('awah) goes more deeply into motives; iniquity implies to be perverse. We have done wickedly (rasha') means to do wrong in rebellion against God. The following phrase, have rebelled (marad) even by departing from thy precepts, serves to reinforce this third term. Confusion of faces (7 and 8) means shame or shamefaced.
Israel's sin was far more serious than some superficial error. It was a deeply ingrained wickedness that controlled actions in perverse ways. It had stopped the ears and blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of king and commoner so that God's efforts to influence them through His servants the prophets had been of no avail. God is righteous and holy. Men are evil and corrupt. God is merciful and gracious. The people are rebellious and stubborn. God's judgments are just. Israel's calamity is deserved; it is simply the exact fulfilment of the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God (11). The evil of man serves but to accentuate the righteousness of God.
3. Daniel's Prayer of Supplication (9:15-19)
In the light of the undimmed holiness of God, and in the face of the unabated wickedness of his people, Daniel could only throw himself upon the divine mercy. Any hope that Israel might have for restoration or salvation could have no basis at all in merit. It must be of grace or not at all. So even before the age of grace we see the manifestations of grace breaking through. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness…let thine anger and thy fury be turned away…because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us (16).
Then Daniel's importunity breaks over all boundaries and overflows the channels of speech. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold…O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God (18-19).
Surely here was an instance where “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man” (Jas. 5:16) did avail much.
In 15-19 we see “Appropriate Approaches in Prayers of Petition.” (1) Recall God's earlier blessings, 15a; (2) Confess our own unworthiness, 15b, 16b; (3) Pray persistently, 19a; (4) Ask in the name of God's goodness and in the interests of His kingdom, 16a, 17-18, 19b (A. F. Harper).
4. God's Answer (9:20-27)
a. The angel messenger Gabriel (9:20-23). Like the bright light which illuminates the dark background of an overcharged storm cloud, God's answer broke upon Daniel in the midst of his desperate prayer. One of God's angel messengers, whose ministrations Daniel had once before experienced (8-16), came swiftly to him. This was Gabriel (21), the messenger of God's special revelations (Luke 1:19, 26).
What comfort must have overwhelmed Daniel's heart when he heard God's assurance: O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding (22). Then Gabriel informed him that from the beginning of his prayer God had been listening and answering. Already the wheels were in motion to bring to fulfilment what Daniel had been praying for—and more. Then to climax the message of personal comfort he gave Daniel a witness of personal assurance from God, Thou art greatly beloved (23). In this we are reminded of Luke's account of a greater Intercessor in a garden called Gethsemane to whom in His agony “there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” (Luke 22:43).
b. The revelation of the seventy weeks (9:24-27). Strangely, the message of understanding which Gabriel brought to Daniel seems to bear not at all upon the immediate subject of Daniel's prayer. He had been thinking of Jeremiah's prophecy of the seventy years and of the fact that the completion of this time was near at hand. This fulfillment did indeed soon come in the edict of Cyrus and the release of the Jews to return to Jerusalem. But in the message which Gabriel brought, another door of prophetic insight opens into a larger dimension of God's purpose, not only for Israel, but for the world. This larger dimension of revelation concerns the work and reign of the Messiah. This subject had been introduced in previous visions and dreams, as to Nebuchadnezzar in the great image (2:44-45) and as in Daniel's vision of the four beasts (7:13-14). But here the message comes from another angle and in greater detail.
(1) The ministry and times of the Messiah (9:24-25). Some interpreters would limit the scope of the seventy weeks and the work therein included to the people of Israel, the land of Palestine, and the city of Jerusalem. It does seem that to this land and to this people there is a special pertinence in this message, for the first clause states, Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city (24). But as the message develops, it becomes clear that the clause has an inclusive rather than an exclusive connotation. God's plan in the Messiah is indeed for Israel, and the main redemption-events transpire in Palestine and at Jerusalem. But in salvation for Israel is salvation for all (Rom. 11:1, 11-12, 25-26). For salvation is through Christ and Him alone, whether for Jew or for Gentile.
(a) The sixfold work of Messiah (24). Within the wholeness of the symbolic seventy weeks a complete work of redemption is to be done. It would seem that in extent of time this would reach even beyond the desolations, “until the consummation” (27), that is, to the end of this world. Furthermore, since the key to this passage is the Messiah, it is evident that this work is Messiah's work.
Six aspects of the Messiah's work of redemption are given in 24:
1. To finish the transgression
2. To make an end of sins
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness
5. To seal up the vision and prophecy
6. To anoint the most Holy
The first three have to do with the conquest of sin. The second three have to do with the positive aspects of the completion of redemption; to bring all things for all time under the righteous rule of God; to seal up the vision and prophecy by bringing these to fulfillment; and to anoint the most Holy, the heavenly sanctuary which is the eternal antitype of the earthly holy of holies.
Keil holds that:
we must refer this sixth statement (to anoint the most Holy) also to that time of the consummation, and understand it of the establishment of the new holy of holies which was shown to the holy seer on Patmos as “the tabernacle of God with men,” in which God will dwell with them, and they shall become His people, and He shall be their God with them (Rev. 21:1-3). In this holy city there will be no temple, for the Lord, the Almighty God, and the Lamb is its temple, and the glory of God will lighten it (vv. 22-23). Into it nothing shall enter that defileth or worketh abomination (v. 27), for sin shall then be closed and sealed up; there shall righteousness dwell (2 Pet. 3:13), and prophecy shall cease (1 Cor. 13:8) by its fulfillment.8
(b) Messiah's advent and prophetic expectation (25). However variously the words have been understood, from the going forth of the commandment…unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks, this much is well-established: At the time of Christ's first advent there was an unprecedented surge of expectancy of the Messiah. The documents of the Qumran community from the Dead Sea caves with their heightened tone of apocalyptic excitement confirm this. John the Baptist was not the first in his day to cry out for preparation. And whence, can we suppose, did the wise men from the East gather the hint that a King in Judah was to be born at that particular time? The star alone would hardly have been sufficient without some tradition or teaching that would give a basis for an approximate time of expectancy. These men came from Daniel's country, where these weeks of years were known and discussed.
So we may be sure that Gabriel's mystic message, couched in terms of times and numbers, caused eager hearts to yearn with hope and expectation long after Daniel had departed. For the Messiah-Prince, the Anointed Priest and Leader, was the Hope of Israel and of the world.
(2) The symbolic weeks (9:25-27). The seventy weeks of Daniel have been the rock on which an unending succession of systems of interpretation have broken themselves. Perhaps there is no subject of Scripture that has occasioned a greater variety of opinions.
Young outlines four principal classes of interpretation which show the divergences of views:
(a) The Traditional Messianic Interpretation. This view holds that the seventy weeks prophesies the first advent of Christ, especially His death, and culminates in the destruction of Jerusalem. Following Augustine, who first described this interpretation, its proponents have included Pusey, Wright, and Wilson. Young also supports this view.
(b) The Liberal Interpretation. This view regards the seventy weeks not so much as prophecy as description of the days of Antiochus Epiphanes and his overthrow under the Macabbees. The Messiah who was cut off is identified as the high priest Onias, who was slain for his defiance of Antiochus.
(c) The Christian Church Interpretation. In this the sevens are understood, not as exact weeks of years, but rather as symbolical numbers covering the period between the edict of Cyrus to repatriate the Jews through Messiah's first advent and death to the time of Antichrist and his destruction in the time of consummation.
(d) The Parenthesis Interpretation. Here the seventy sevens of years are divided into periods of seven sevens, sixty-two sevens, and a final seven detached from the rest by an indefinite parenthesis or hiatus. The sixty-nine sevens cover the period to Messiah's first coming and death and the destruction of Jerusalem. The final seven is the period of Antichrist in the end of the age.9
Most interpreters since the days of Jerome, except those of the liberal school, have understood the 70 sevens as weeks of years, totaling 490. Jerome wrote, “Now the angel himself specified seventy weeks of years, that is to say, four hundred and ninety years from the issuing of the word that the petition be granted that Jerusalem be rebuilt. The specified interval began in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians, for it was his cupbearer Nehemiah who…petitioned the king and obtained his permission that Jerusalem be rebuilt.”10
If we accept the year 454 B.C. as the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign and calculate the 7 plus 62 sevens, 69 sevens or 483 years, we come to the year A.D. 29. This is the climactic year of the ministry of Jesus. In the spring of that year He appeared in Jerusalem as both Messiah and Prince, riding in triumph attended by a rejoicing multitude (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5).
But Calvin insists that the reckoning must begin with the edict of Cyrus for the return of the exiles to Jerusalem, thus directly connecting Jeremiah's prophecy of 70 years to Daniel's 70 weeks.11 By this means Calvin identifies Christ's baptism as the time of His manifestation. This would mean that the total of the years would not coincide, for more than 530 years intervene between the edict of Cyrus in 536 and the birth of Jesus in 4 B.C., plus 30 additional years to His baptism. To the death of Jesus in A.D. 29 the time would be extended to 565 years. This Calvin does not think important.
Young agrees with Calvin and holds that the exact number of years is not significant since they are symbolical rather than chronological. He says:
One thing, however, should be clear. It is that, according to Daniel, the important matters are not the beginning and ending of this period but the remarkable events which took place within it.…We believe…that when the seventy sevens were completed, so also the six purposes of verse twenty-four were accomplished. And that is the important matter. When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, the mighty salvation which He came to accomplish, was actually accomplished.12
Keil also supports the symbolical view of this measure of time. “By the definition of these periods according to a symbolical measure of time, the reckoning of the actual duration of the periods named is withdrawn beyond the reach of our human research, and the definition of the days and hours of the development of the kingdom of God down to its consummation is reserved for God, the Governor of the world and the Ruler of human destiny.”13
But where Keil holds that the seventy weeks cover the history of the kingdom of God to the consummation in the end of time, Young believes that the cutting off of Messiah (26) culminates not only the sixty-nine weeks but the seventieth as well. The covenant that is confirmed with many (27) is the gospel which Christ proclaimed, and His crucifixion in the midst of the week put an end to the validity of all other sacrifice and oblation. Moreover, it rendered the Temple which was dedicated to such sacrifice an abomination. The desolation which came upon the Temple and the city of Jerusalem under the hand of Titus was but an outward enactment of the inner desolation that had already overtaken them.
But others insist that the years of the seventy weeks be taken much more literally. Pusey settles on the year 457 B.C. as the base from which he begins his calculations and interpretation of the 7 and 62 weeks, 483 years. This date he takes to be the time of the first authorization of Artaxerxes Longimanus given to Ezra to return to Jerusalem.14 This would bring us to the beginning of the year of A.D. 27, the time of Jesus' baptism at Jordan and the occasion of His anointing by the Holy Spirit. The first half of the seventieth week of years is occupied with the public ministry of Jesus. His “cutting off” comes in the middle of this crucial week after 3½ years. For 3½ years more the gospel is preached exclusively to the Jews until at the house of Cornelius the door of opportunity is opened to Gentiles and Israel's special privilege ends. In due course the destruction of the Temple and the devastation of Jerusalem follow.
Seiss, Gabelein, and others of the dispensational school also take an exact view of the seventy weeks. The particular characteristic of this interpretation is the hiatus or parenthesis between the close of the sixty-ninth week, when Messiah is cut off, and the opening of the seventieth week, which is reserved for the end of the age and the reign of Antichrist. The prince that shall come (26) is not Messiah the Prince (25), but the “little horn” of c. 7. The covenant which he confirms (27) is a perfidious treaty by which he wins the Jewish people to his side. After three and a half years, in the midst of the week, he renounces the covenant, outlaws religion, and opens the floodgates to the torrent of unrestrained evil which constitutes the “time of trouble” (12:1).
C. A HEAVENLY VISION OF EARTHLY CONFLICTS, 10:1—12:13
Most interpreters agree that the final three chapters of the Book of Daniel constitute one unit. Keil describes the contents of this section as “The Revelation Regarding the Affliction of the People of God on the Part of the Rulers of the World till the Consummation of the Kingdom of God.”15 This section is not in the nature of a dream or a vision. It is a revelation, given directly to Daniel by a glorious One who acts as the Mediator of truth. A thing was revealed unto Daniel (10:1) contains the word niglah, the passive form for the verb which means “to unveil, disclose, reveal.” This climaxing disclosure experienced by Daniel came to him on the highest level of revelation, through direct confrontation with Deity. Keil describes this experience as a theophany, a manifestation or appearance of God.
The unveiling which Daniel beheld brought a glorious realization of divine power. At the same time it opened up a scene of tragic conflict through the ages. Moffatt renders 10:1, “A revelation was made to Daniel…the true revelation of a great conflict.” The KJV gives this clause, The thing was true, but the time appointed was long.
This revelation in a special sense pertains to the people of Israel even to the end of time. In 10:14 we read, Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days.
1. Daniel's Vision of the Glorious One (10:1—11:1)
a. Daniel's vigil (10:1-3). Four years or more had passed since Daniel's experience of revelation through Gabriel. At that time Darius the Median (see comments on 6:1-28) was serving as interim king in Babylon. Now Cyrus king of Persia (1; see Chart B ) was in his third year. Daniel, who must by this time have been in his nineties, was launched in an extended prayer enterprise. Again he was giving himself not only to prayer, but to fasting. I Daniel was mourning three full weeks (2). “I ate no delicacies, I never tasted flesh or wine, and I never anointed myself” (3, Moffatt). Such importunity could not fail to open the portals to heavenly places.
b. Appearance of the Glorious One (10:4-11). What follows is an unveiling of a glorious Being to Daniel's view that reminds us of what John the Revelator saw on Patmos (Rev. 1:10-20). Here beside the river Hiddekel (4; Tigris) Daniel saw a man clothed in linen (5). There, on Patmos, John saw one like unto the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot. Both were girded with…gold. Both glowed from head to foot with supernal light. Both looked with eyes like flame for brilliance and spoke like the voice of a multitude (6). The Person John saw identified himself: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Rev. 1:18). Who could doubt that Daniel saw in a different setting the same Being, the Eternal Word?16 Daniel alone saw the vision (7), although his companions were awe-struck apparently by an accompanying light and sounds.
The effect on Daniel and on John was identical. There remained no strength in me (8), Daniel confessed. “I fell at his feet as dead” (Rev. 1:17), John recorded. The limits of human capacity to absorb heavenly wonder were surpassed in both cases. “On hearing the sound of his words I fell unconscious with my face to the ground” (9, Berk.). Though the prophet fainted at the voice of the messenger, he was aroused to full consciousness as God's message was given to him. Behold, an hand touched me (10), Daniel testified. Added to the strengthening touch was a comforting word, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved (11). What more assuring word could there be from the lips of Deity?
c. The Prince of Peace and earth's princes (10:12—11:1). Another comforting word comes from Daniel's experience. The Lord who cares takes notice of our prayers. Three weeks Daniel had been praying in holy desperation. Had God heard? The effulgent One speaks, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day…thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words (12).
Whereas John saw the Son of Man within the candlestick, the circle of the Church, Daniel saw the “man clothed in linen” involved in a struggle with earthly governments. The same eternal Christ, who came to be revealed to and through the Church, has also through the ages concerned himself with the course of human history.
Just what was the three-week struggle with the prince of the kingdom of Persia (13) and what was the eventual outcome of this struggle we may not know. It must have been difficult and intense to require the aid of Michael. Most interpreters hold that prince (sar) used in this section refers to supernatural beings who exert special influence over the affairs of nations. Since the prince of the kingdom of Persia as well as the prince of Grecia (20) are in conflict with the glorious One and His helper, Michael, it would seem evident that some of these at least are not good angels.
One of the special responsibilities of the archangel Michael is the welfare of the people of Israel. Called in 10:13 “the first” (marg.) of the chief princes, he is referred to in 10:21 as Michael your prince. Jude 9 tells us that it was “Michael the archangel,” who, “contending with the devil…disputed about the body of Moses.” Again John tells us that it is Michael and his angelic hosts who will make war upon the dragon and cast him out of the heavenly regions (Rev. 12:7-9). This prince of the highest princes of heaven, subject to the Redeemer of Israel, is destined yet to play an important role in Israel's destiny. Daniel saw him on this occasion as “one who resembled a mortal man” (16, Moffatt).
Not only does the Angel of Jehovah confess to a struggle for the will of Cyrus, and forsee a conflict with the prince of Grecia (20), but He discloses that, in the first year of Darius the Mede, He had stood to confirm and to strength him (11:1). Thus the Prince of Peace strives with the princes of earth to bring about His purposes.
In 10:2-19 we see “The Touch of God,” with the text in v.19. (1) God's touch comes to us when we earnestly seek Him, 2-3; (2) It comes to us when He becomes most real to us, 5-6, 10-12; (3) God's touch brings fresh vision for our task, 14; (4) It sends us on our way with new strength, 15-19 (A. F. Harper).
2. The Conflict of the Ages (11:2—12:3)
This section of Daniel has been a bone of contention since the days of Porphyry. Its rather amazingly detailed description of events that transpired in the years following the death of Alexander the Great have led the critics to date the whole book in the times of the Seleucid kings (312-64 B.C.), particularly in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes.
a. The struggles of Persia and Greece (11:2-4). The succession of kings briefly described in this section of the message evidently reaches from the reign of Cyrus, through the climax and fall of the Persian empire, to Alexander and the breakup of his realm.
Although twelve Persian kings in all ruled (including an impostor, Pseudo-Smyrdis), three are singled out, before the fourth king of great wealth arises. This is generally identified as Xerxes I (Ahasuerus, Esther 1:1), the husband of Esther, and one of the wealthiest of Persian monarchs. It was he who stirred up all against the realm of Grecia (2). He marshalled an immense force of infantry, cavalry, chariots, and ships. Although an estimated five million men were engaged, this flood of might was turned back by the valiant Greeks at the crucial battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. Although other expeditions followed, none equalled this, and the power of Persia declined until its overthrow under Darius III.
The identification of Alexander, the mighty king (3), who stands up and rules with great dominion, is quite clear. Daniel foresaw that his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven (4) and he would leave no posterity to follow him. Alexander's four generals divided the kingdom and carried forward the Hellenization of the lands they governed until Greek culture prevailed everywhere.
Thus this section of the prophecy is quite clearly an enlargement of the vision of c. 8. But at this point the focus changes sharply to a close-up view of conflict in the lands encompassing the land of the covenant.
b. Israel's tribulations and the nations (11:5-35). The prophecy to this point has centered largely in the Gentile kingdoms. At this juncture the people of God come sharply into focus in a time of intense suffering. The prophecies are concerned basically with the intertestamental period between the return from exile and the birth of Jesus. At first Israel is caught in the middle between opposing forces, the kings of the south and the kings of the north (5-28). Then tragically the remnant of Israel becomes the point of concentrated attack by a vile and perfidious king (29-35).
The kings of the south (5) were the Ptolemies, successors of Ptolemy Soter, Alexander's general in Egypt (see map 1). From the breakup of Alexander's empire in 323 B.C. these kings were in a struggle for power and territory with their nearest neighbors. These were the kings of the north (6), the Seleucids, successors of Seleucus I, who ruled much of Asia Minor, Syria, and the old Babylonian and Persian territories (see map 1). For 125 years Palestine and Phoenicia were under the power of the Ptolemies. The marriage of a Seleucid, Antiochus II, to the king's daughter of the south (6; Berenice, daughter of a Ptolemy) led only to more war, the murder of Berenice and her son, and the bloody revenge by her brother (7-9). The subjugation of Palestine by the Seleucids came under Antiochus III (the Great) in 198 B.C. (10-19). Later a vile person (21), Antiochus IV Epiphanes, through a subterfuge, displaced the rightful heir to the throne and took over control for himself. Verses 21-35 are understood to refer to the plots and tyrannies of Antiochus Epiphanes. With great energy and cunning he quickly expanded his power (21-24) and launched campaigns against his neighbor, Ptolemy VI Philometor (25-28).
The persecutions and insane tyrannies which Antiochus launched against the Jews and their religion (29-35) have made him one of history's monsters. His indignation against the holy covenant (30), taking away the daily sacrifice, and placing the abomination that maketh desolate (31; the image of Zeus Olympus) in the Temple are examples of his profane fury. He outlawed all Jewish laws, customs, and worship. He put to the sword the mothers and crucified the fathers who had their sons circumcised. Though he burned much of Jerusalem, slaughtered many of the men, and enslaved women and children, he did not destroy the will to resist. Though many compromised and submitted to Antiochus, many more dared to resist (32-35). An army of faithful and courageous Jews rallied to Mattathias.
When Mattathias died, his son Judas took up the leadership of the rebel army. His tactics in guerrilla warfare of sudden fierce attack and flight became famous and earned him the name of “Hammer” or Maccabee. Within three years the Maccabees had divided and conquered the Syrian armies of Antiochus and recaptured Jerusalem. The Temple was restored, the altar cleansed, and worship reinstituted, December 25, 165 B.C. TO this day the Feast of Dedication or Hannukah is observed among Jews in commemoration of the event. The house of the Maccabees, called the Hasmoneans, became the acknowledged rulers until the Romans took over Palestine under Pompey in 63 B.C.17
Through the darkness of the fearful prophetic picture given in this chapter a clear light of faith and heroism shines forth. The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits (32). Here is suggested “A Program of Action for a Godly Minority.” (1) They know…God. (2) They are strong. (3) They do exploits. They take action with a clear sense of direction. (4) Their battle is on the high plane of the spirit, a battle of holy ideas. They…shall instruct many, 33. (5) Their cause triumphs. To try them…to purge and to make them white, even to the time of the end, 35.
c. The willful king—Antichrist (11:36-45). Jerome interpreted the whole section, 11:21-45, as having a dual reference, first to Antiochus Epiphanes, second to Antichrist.18 But many conservative commentators, including Young19 and Seiss,20 hold that while verses 21-35 quite properly refer to Antiochus, and secondarily to Antichrist, verses 36-45 must refer to one greater, more profane, and more godless than even Antiochus.
The king shall do according to his will…exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods (36). Here the clear figure of Antiochus begins to fade in the gathering gloom, and the hulking form of Antichrist begins to loom up in the background shadows. We are reminded of Paul's warnings of “the man of sin” (II Thess. 2:3-4), and of John's vision of “the beast” (Rev. 13:5-8). Clearly we see reflected the “little horn” of both Daniel 7 and 8. An interesting difference appears when we compare the two little horns with this furious king of c. 11. While the little horn of c. 8 and the fierce king of c. 11 are related to the third kingdom of Daniel's prophecy, Greece, the little horn of c. 7 springs out of the fourth kingdom, Rome. Perhaps this is to remind us that Antichrist may be expected to take unto himself all the glory and power of human achievement and seek to combine in one the culture of Greece with the glory of Rome. That the culminating genius of evil should arrogate to himself all human good as well as divine worship would not be surprising.
Yet he shall come to his end (45). The amazing power and fury of the Antichrist are destined for a quick end. The “time and times and the dividing of time” (7:25), the one-half week (9:27), the “time, times and an half” (12:7) agree with Rev. 12:14 that the days of Antichrist are numbered by the Almighty. Paul declares of that “Wicked” one that “the Lord shall consume [him] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (II Thess. 2:8). So even though he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, he shall find his end in the “lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20). In the very land and place where Antichrist takes his stand, there the Christ of God shall descend in His glory. “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem” (Zech. 14:3-4; Acts 1:10-12).
d. The Great Tribulation and the Great Triumph (12:1-3). There shall be a time of trouble (1). The reign of Antichrist is everywhere in Scripture pictured as a crisis of evil. Gabriel's words succinctly describe it as a time “when the transgressors are come to the full” (8:23). A recurring theme in Scripture is the teaching that a time of great trouble climaxes the age of man's defiance against God and ushers in the culmination of the kingdom of God. Jeremiah speaks of “the time of Jacob's trouble” (Jer. 30:7). Jesus in His Olivet discourse described this time of trouble as “the days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22), and “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world…nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21; Mark 13:19-20). The futuristic interpretation regards much of the Book of Revelation as given to a depicting of this period, especially cc. 6—19.
But the Great Tribulation brings far more than the climax of evil; it ushers in the triumph of God. If the Book of Daniel teaches anything, it is that the powers of the celestial world are deeply interested and engaged in the affairs of men on earth. At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. This is the archangel summoned to the aid of the glorious One in 10:13. We see the dramatic climax in Rev. 12:7-8, “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not.”
It is clear that the people of Israel are involved in this climax of history. Again and again in Daniel the phrase appears thy people, the children of thy people. At the same time it is necessary to keep a perspective. God has a concern for all mankind. The events which mark the climax of the ages are cosmic; their impact, international and worldwide. Palestine is doubtless a stage of divine action. But the whole earth and the heavens are the scene of God's final doings in this age. The point toward which history is moving is the culmination of the kingdom of God.
Them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake (2). This is the clearest revelation of the doctrine of the resurrection in the Old Testament. It reminds us that it is Christ who “hath brought life and immortality to light” (II Tim. 1:10). Some interpreters believe that the resurrection mentioned here is a partial resurrection relating only to Jews who have died in the tribulation. Calvin insists that this narrowing of the scope is unjustified, if for no other reason than that it includes both evil and good—some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. He insists that the word many means “the many” or “all” and that the general resurrection is here intended.21
They that be wise—that turn many to righteousness—shall shine as the brightness of the firmament…and as the stars for ever and ever (3). These wise ones are blessed with the “wisdom that is from above” (Jas. 3:17). The word for wise (chappim) used most frequently in Daniel (fourteen times) means those who are wise with a worldly wisdom, the Magians. But hamaskkilim is used here from the root sakal, which means to be circumspect, intelligent, have understanding, to teach. So we see in the marginal reference, “they that be teachers.” D. L. Moody said, “It is not the great in this world who will shine the brightest. We know of Nebuchadnezzar and the rest of them scarcely anything, except as they fill in the story about these humble men of God…But the man of God shines.…This Daniel has been gone for 2500 years; but still increasing millions read of his life and actions. And so it will be to the end. He will only get better known and better loved; he will only shine the brighter as the world grows older.”22
3. The Conclusion of Daniel's Prophetic Mission (12:4-13)
a. Characteristics of the last days (12:4). The final message of the glorious Messenger to Daniel was, Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end (4). That the words have been shut and the book sealed has been evident by the vast confusion that has characterized the interpretation of this book over the past more than two millenniums. Adam Clarke writes: “The prophecy shall not be understood, but in its accomplishment: and then the depth of the wisdom and providence of God will be clearly seen in these matters.”23
But closing the book is not the end of the matter. There will come a time of intense activity in transportation, education, and communication. Then the very events of the end would drive those who are wise to seek greater wisdom in the revelation of the book. We can scarcely escape identifying Daniel's brief description with our day. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Mass transportation and speed are hallmarks of our age. Restless mobility of world peoples, almost instantaneous mass communication, insistent and universal demand for education by the masses, all these are characteristics of our times.
b. How long will it be? (12:5-13). As Daniel stood by the bank of the river (5, Tigris, see map 1), he received a final message concerning the mysteries he had seen. Fully conscious, he was seeing beyond the veil of human sight. The same glorious One, clothed in linen (7), who had appeared at the beginning of this manifestation was yet present to give comfort and understanding. Young says, “The description seems to indicate that the Majestic Person here presented is none other than the Lord Himself. The revelation therefore is a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the eternal Son.”24
One angel called to the other, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? (6) The glorious One answered with His hands lifted unto heaven (7) in a dramatic gesture of affirmation. Here was the Eternal Son swearing by the true and living God that the times were in God's hands and fixed for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all things shall be finished. The RSV renders this sentence, “When the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be accomplished.” When “the times of the Gentiles” is fulfilled, the treading down of Jerusalem and the shattering of God's covenant people will terminate. This will be accomplished in the judgment of Antichrist discussed previously.
Daniel was still puzzled, driven on by a holy curiosity that characterized him from his youth. But God would not give to His servant perfect knowledge—yet. The thousand two hundred and ninety days (11) and the forty-five days more of v. 12 are but a repetition of the time, times, and an half (7). They are God's assurance that the time of desolation is limited by God's decree. Let Daniel be content. The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end (9). God has His work among men to do. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried. True, the wicked shall do wickedly … but the wise shall understand (10). Let not those who trust in God fret. “No man knoweth the hour” (Matt. 24:36), but in God's good time, when it is required, the meaning will come clear. Blessed is he that waiteth (12).
So to Daniel came the word, Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days (13; cf. 9).
Adam Clarke gives a comforting word: “Here is proper advice for every man. 1. Thou hast a way—a walk in life, which God has assigned thee; walk in that way, it is thy way. 2. There will be an end to thee of all earthly things. Death is at the door and eternity is at hand; go on to the end—be faithful unto death. 3. There is a rest provided for the people of God. Thou shalt rest; thy body in the grave; thy soul, in the Divine favour here, and, finally in paradise. 4. As in the promised land there was a lot for each of God's people, so in heaven there is a lot for thee. Do not close it, do not sell it, do not let thy enemy rob thee of it. Be determined to stand in thy own lot at the end of the days. See that thou keep the faith; die in the Lord Jesus, that thou mayest rise and reign with him to all eternity.”25
Alexander Maclaren suggests a New Year's Message with these thoughts from v. 13. (1) The Journey—Go thy way; (2) The Pilgrim's Resting Place—Thou shalt rest; (3) The Final Home—Stand in thy lot at the end of the days.26
Daniel received a clear confirmation of his hope of immortality. Centuries, yes, millenniums, were to pass before its full realization. But at the end of the days, when the consummation comes, Daniel will be there, standing with the assembled multitudes of the redeemed on earth and from heaven. Then he will be, not a spectator of visions, but a participator in the tremendous events of the ushering in of the full glory of the kingdom of God. He shall behold in rapture the glory and wisdom and honor of Him who from the beginning ordained the outcome of history in the kingdom of God. He will join in the “Hallelujah Chorus” of the ransomed from the ages. Then shall “the kingdoms of this world…become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).