DANIEL COMMENTARY
A LOOK INTO THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL
Daniel is one book in the Bible, which has merited controversy and debate. According to scholars, Daniel did not write the book of Daniel in the sixth century B.C. but in the first-second centuries B.C. They base this on the fact that there was no documented account of Daniel the person other than the Bible and the prophecies contained in the book about Persia, Greece, Rome are so accurate that they think that it had to have been written after the events prophesied occurred.
However, I believe there was a Daniel and that he wrote his book in the sixth century B.C. for several reasons: Jesus Christ alluded to Daniel in his ministry, Daniel was in the Septuagint (Greek Translation of the Old Testament) when it was completed in 285 B.C. Josephus (Jewish historian in the first century A.D.) alluded to the fact that the book of Daniel was written in 573 B.C. Jaddua the High Priest in 332 B.C. showed the prophecy in Daniel about Alexander the Great to Alex the Great and he spared the city (Jerusalem). Finally, Ezekiel (a contemporary of Daniel) mentioned Daniel in EZEKIEL 14:14,20; 28:3. A more detailed analysis of the historical authenticity of Daniel will be provided on the site later and to anyone who requests it.
Daniel is a book of twelve chapters. The first six chapters are historical while second six chapters are prophetical. There is however three important prophesies in the historical part of the book of Daniel. So those three prophecies and the second half of Daniel will be looked at in this exposition of the prophecies of Daniel.
The first prophecy in Daniel is King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He had a dream that troubled him and in a daring move which no king ever done, he asked the seers to tell him what he dreamed and to interpret it. Even the seers themselves said that this is an impossible task and that no man can do this only the gods who don't live among men. Of course this angers the king but then Daniel later says that there is a God in heaven the Almighty God who can reveal mysteries. Here is the dream:
You
looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue - an enormous,
dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of
pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its
legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you
were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the
statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the
clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time
and became like chaff on a threshing flour in the summer. The wind swept
them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue
became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. DANIEL 2:31-35
The large statue symbolizes THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. There are four important world empires that come on the scene. The Book of Daniel talks about the commencement, character, course and consummation of the Times of the Gentiles. This is what the large statue portrays. To summarize briefly, the gold head stands for Babylon, the chest and arms of silver stands for Media-Persia, belly and thighs of bronze stands for Greece, and the legs of iron stand for Rome. Some people might ask, "How come each part of the statue which stands for the next successive kingdom which conquered the former, the latter is inferior to the former kingdom? This is because though the military strength in the next kingdom is obviously better (because they conquered them), the government of the latter is inferior to the former kingdom. I'll explain.
Babylon's government was an absolute monarchy in which a sovereign ruler ruled over all the people. Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute monarch. He had unlimited power. He wasn't responsible to a senate, parliament, jury, or judge and he had the power of life and death. So Babylon was likened unto gold.
The Media-Persia kingdom was that of a limited monarchy. The laws of the land limited the king. Look at Darius and Esther's husband Ahasuerus (Xerxes). They couldn't touch or change the law only counteract with a new law. Nobles were equal to the king in rank not in office. So Persia was likened unto silver, which is inferior to gold.
Greece's government was a military government, which was divided amongst four military generals. Alexander the Great ruled Greece not because of his nobility (he didn't have "divine right" nor was he noble) but because of his power, influence, and military genius. So Greece was likened unto bronze, which is inferior to gold and silver.
Rome's government was that of a dictatorship. The emperor was chosen by a popular, military election. The emperor was not of nobility but would rise up from the ranks of the common people. But those emperors ruled with an iron rod. So Rome was likened unto iron, which is inferior to gold, silver, and bronze.
It is worth noting that Babylon was a single (unit) empire, Media-Persia was a dual empire, Greece was a quadruple empire, and Rome in its final form will be a ten-kingdom empire. This is evident by the ten toes mixed of iron and clay. The iron and clay signify that the revived Roman Empire will be a democratic dictatorship. Iron stands for dictatorship rule while clay represents the will of the people or democracy. Democracy is a great form of government if godly people run it but when evil people run it, then democracy (freedom and liberty) is in the hands of the devil and gives rise to sin and all of its constituents doing their own thing not God's will. This is what will happen in the Seven Year Tribulation that is to come. This revived Roman Empire can only come when the INFLUENCE of the Holy Spirit through the church is taken away in the Rapture. The Holy Spirit cannot be taken away for he is God and is omnipresent and how would the Holy Spirit save anyone through the witnessing of the Tribulation Saints and the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists and the conviction of the sinner during the Tribulation?
A comforting thought is that God will come and set up a kingdom, which will never pass away. The smiting stone is Jesus Christ himself who will end THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES and the stone will become a mountain and fill the whole earth. Jesus Christ will rule as the ruler of his millennial kingdom and the government will be a THEOCRACY. A theocracy is a government in which God is recognized as the supreme ruler. It will perfect and no corruption will exist.
The second prophecy in the historical section of Daniel deals again with Nebuchadnezzar. After all, this is his second dream.
Daniel 4:9-17
9
I said, "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.
10
These are the visions I saw while lying in my bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.
11
The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth.
12
Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13
"In the visions I saw while lying in my bed, I looked, and there before me was a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven.
14
He called in a loud voice: `Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches.
15
But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. "`Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth.
16
Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.
17
"`The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.'
Nebuchadnezzar had another dream in which it troubled him so he called Daniel and he told the dream to Daniel. After this, Daniel would give his interpretation. The dream was that he saw a tree and it was enormous and everything about it was beautiful. But one day, the tree was cut down with its leaves and its stump was chained to the ground. And it will live among animals for seven times (or seven years). Daniel interpreted the dream in Daniel 4:19-27 and he said that the tree is King Nebuchadnezzar and that his power and greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. One day, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom will be taken away from him and he will live like an animal for seven years if he doesn’t repent of his sins and pride. Only when Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges that God is in control of all the kingdoms of the earth and gives them to anyone he wishes then his kingdom would be restored to him. Twelve months later, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Verse 30) Then a voice came from heaven and told him that his royal authority has been taken away from him and that he will live with wild animals for seven years. There is lived and even looked like an animal by his long hair, long nails and eating grass. But then Nebuchadnezzar realized his sin and praised God and acknowledged him as being sovereign over the nations and does as he pleases with them. When he came to a realization that God ultimately is in control, God had grace and forgave him and restored his kingdom to him and became even greater than before as the scriptures says.
Daniel 5:25-28
25
"This
is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
26
"This
is what these words mean:
Mene:
God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27
Tekel:
You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28
Peres:
Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
King Belshazzar
held a feast of great magnitude and even dared to use the instruments of the
Jewish Temple to drink out of. This
was pride on the part of the King and a lack of regard for the Most High God
that even his grandfather King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged as supreme.
Then they praised all of their gods, and though it is not mentioned in
scripture, they were probably praising their gods for the glory of Babylon and
the nation’s power in bringing all other nations and gods under their feet.
But God will not
be subordinate to any idol or nation for he stretched out his hand and wrote,
“Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.” (Verse 25)
This frightened every guest at the banquet and the King’s knees knocked
together and his legs gave way. The
words meant that the reign of King Balshezzar has been numbered and that it will
be given to the Medes and Persians. Despite
the fact that King Balshezzar put a purple robe and a gold chain on Daniel and
made him the third highest in the kingdom, that very night the King was slain
and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom of Babylon.
Daniel 7
1
In the first year of
Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his
mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
The first part of Daniel is historical
while the last half is prophetical. This
prophecy was given around the time of Daniel 4 – 5 but was put in chapter 7 by
Daniel to express the division of the book of Daniel – first six chapters are
historical while the last six chapters are merely prophetical.
We are then told that Daniel has a dream.
2
Daniel said: "In
my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven
churning up the great sea.
The great sea in scripture can mean a
multitude or even the Mediterranean Sea. In
this sense it is the Mediterranean Sea and we can see that something is brewing
for the four winds of heaven are churning up the great sea.
Why? Because its going to
introduce the four great beasts, which are world empires that are to come upon
the scene. The four winds of heaven
could also represent the providences of God allowing us to believe that God is
ultimately in control of all the kingdoms and nations of this world and gives to
whom he wishes. Other people say
that the four winds refers to Satan who rules over the Powers of the Air, which
cause unrest among the nations of the earth and that the sea is the nations and
the waves of it the unrest and tumult of the nations.
3
Four great beasts, each
different from the others, came up out of the sea.
This vision is identical to the dream
that King Nebuchadnezzar had in Daniel 2 with the same theme – THE FOUR WORLD
EMPIRES but with different views. The
Statue in Daniel 2 represented what natural man thinks of empires and
government. The King’s vision
represented the empires as noble, stately, and magnificent.
Daniel on the other hand being a spiritual man saw it from God’s own
viewpoint. God sees empires as
beast, ravenous and monstrous depicting the moral character of the nation.
Remember: God’s ways are not man’s ways.
For example when we are without Christ, we are blinded by our sin but
when we turn to Christ, he opens our eyes and lets us see that us sinning was
really hurting ourselves and God. It
is through the conviction of the Holy Spirit that we can see our sin and be
sorry and ask forgiveness from Jesus Christ, our mediator.
4
"The first was
like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were
torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a
man, and the heart of a man was given to it.
The first beast that looked like a lion
was Babylon. The wings of an eagle
and the lion is a perfect fit for Babylon since if you look at old pictures of
Babylon, you see the winged lions, caved in stone, which symbolically guarded
ancient Babylon. The lion is
ferocious as well as majestic. It
is also swift in conquering other nations and its power reaches even the sky.
The fact that its wings was torn off is symbolic of Babylon’s decline
after Nebuchadnezzar was driven in the fields where for seven years he lived as
an animal. But it was lifted from
the ground and it stood and the heart of a man was given to it refers to the
fact that Nebuchadnezzar in his remorse over his sin praised God and
acknowledged him as ruler and in control and God by grace gave and restored
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom to him.
5
"And there before
me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its
sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, `Get
up and eat your fill of flesh!'
The second beast, which looks like a
bear is Medo-Persia. It was raised
up on one of its sides refers to the fact that the larger and stronger of the
two – Persia dominated the Medes. Clarence
Larkin in his book DANIEL explains the three ribs stood for the three kingdoms
of Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt, who formed a triple alliance to check the
Medo-Persian power. But
unfortunately they were destroyed and soon it devoured much flesh. You notice that with each successive beast, it becomes
inferior to the former just like in the vision of Daniel 2 in terms of
government, wealth and magnificence. But
with each successive beast, the later is much more stronger and terrible in
terms of military strength and brute and terror than the former.
6
"After that, I
looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.
And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four
heads, and it was given authority to rule.
The third beast, which looked like a
leopard was Greece. The four wings
of a bird probably symbolizes the speed of conquest since Alexander the Great
conquered much of the world by the time of his death at the young age of
thirty-three. The four heads
symbolize that the Grecian Empire after the death of Alexander the Great was
divided into four by his four generals – Cassander (Macedonia and Greece),
Lysimachus (Thrace and Bithynia), Ptolemy (Egypt), and Seleucus (Syria).
Notice that the leopard is inferior to the bear and the bear is inferior
to the lion but not in terror for as these beasts progress, they become more
terrible.
7
"After that, in my
vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast--terrifying and
frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured
its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all
the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
The fourth beast, which has no identity
with a beast because it is so terrible that it is indescribable, represents the
Roman Empire. Notice that more
verses are devoted to this last terrible beast than to the other ones.
During the reign of the Roman Empire they devoured its victims and
trampled underfoot whatever was left. They
wouldn’t tolerate rebellion so they crushed and brought every nation to its
knees and burned cities and treated its subjects living in other lands like
Judea like dirt. They subjugated all to obey their laws and worship their gods
or death. The killed a great deal
of Christians and those that didn’t get killed lived a life of a fugitive.
They burned the Temple and the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the city
of Carthage in Africa along with many others not mentioned.
Just look at a history book and you’ll see this prophecy about Rome
fulfilled.
This beast had ten horns.
There are obviously two phases in the Roman Empire. There will be a
future Roman Empire called the Revived Roman Empire.
The ten horns are the ten kings that will rule the Revived Roman Empire
in the End-Times. Revelation
17:12,13 identifies the ten horns as ten kings who have not received a kingdom
but for one-hour rule with the Antichrist until they give their power and
authority to the beast (i.e. the Antichrist).
8
"While I was
thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which
came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This
horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
The little horn that sprang up from the
ten horns is the Antichrist. Evidence
of this lies in the fact that he speaks boastful words and in Revelation 13:5 it
says, “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to
exercise his authority for forty-two months.” The three horns that are uprooted will object to the rise of
the Antichrist and they will be removed and probably killed.
This little horn is the same person as the rider on the white horse in
the first horseman of the apocalypse in the first seal judgment.
9
"As I looked,
"thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His
clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His
throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
The Ancient of Days is none other than
Jesus Christ for this is clearly a judgment scene. Remember: Scriptures says that the Father has committed all
of the judgment unto the Son. This
means that Jesus Christ is doing the judging.
How do I know because in Revelation 1:14, Christ has hair as white as
snow and he has a robe. Daniel 7:9
is similar in language to that of Revelation 1:13-18 revealing the glorified son
of man – Jesus Christ. This
judgment is the end of the TIMES OF THE GENTILES.
Instead of man ruling, it will be God with his church, which by the way
was not seen by Daniel but revealed to us by Jesus Christ.
10
A river of fire was
flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the
books were opened.
This is the Judgment of the Nations
after the Glorious Appearing. Jesus
describes this judgment in Matthew 25:31-46.
11
"Then I continued
to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking
until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing
fire.
Evidence that this is not the GREAT
WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, which is after the Millennium, is this verse.
We see that the little horn, which is the Antichrist, is saying boastful
things until he is slain, his body destroyed and thrown into a blazing fire.
This verse goes along with Revelation 19:20,21.
In this verse in Revelation, the Antichrist was thrown alive in the Lake
of Fire, which corresponds to “the blazing fire.”
Remember: Revelation reveals many of the things that are in the Book of
Daniel. Daniel is a SEALED book
while Revelation is a book of REVELATION or revealing the events in the future
– Church Age, Tribulation, Millennium, and New Heaven and Earth.
12
(The other beasts had
been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of
time.)
We can see that after the final beast
– the Revived Roman Empire, there is Judgment but not so with the other
beasts. Babylon, Persia, Greece,
and Rome (the first Roman Empire not the Revived Roman Empire) are not around
today but their culture, gods in other forms, literature, and law are still
around. Even though these beasts
were stripped of their authority when conquered, they were allowed to live a
short time. Evidence of this lays
in the next few proofs. Daniel even
though Babylon was conquered still lived in Babylon.
Babylon was still a city in New Testament times because Peter preached
there. Persia wasn’t destroyed
fully because Zoroaster, a pagan prophet, influenced many people and his
influence is seen today in the religion of Zoroastrianism or Parsis in India.
Greece was still around in Roman times and its people taught the Romans
their gods and influenced their government and taught the people to read and
write. Greek democracy is still
seen today in the United States and Greek philosophers like Philo, Socrates,
Plato, and more will live in the hearts of many so-called enlightened people.
And the stories of the Odyssey and the Iliad by Homer still captivate
people. Rome was destroyed from
within and the outside. The
uncivilized Germanic peoples were a threat but the Roman Catholic Church
survived Rome and the Holy Roman Empire with King Charles V Occupied much of
Europe in the Renaissance until it was dismantled by independence.
Only the Revived Roman Empire (ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT OF THE ANTICHRIST)
will be judged and not allowed to survive for a time.
13
"In my vision at
night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the
clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his
presence.
Daniel looked and saw and saw the Son of
Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He
approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
WAIT! If The Ancient of Days
in verse nine is Jesus Christ then how can Jesus be approaching himself?
This can only be solved by the fact that the ANCIENT OF DAYS in verse
thirteen is God the Father. Still
Not Convinced? Jesus said in John
10:30, “I and my Father are ONE.”
14
He was given authority,
glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language
worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away,
and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
In this scene we see that God the Father
is giving his authority and throne to his Son, Jesus Christ who is the Son of
Man. Evidence of this is in Luke
1:32 where he will give Jesus the throne of David, Psalms 2:6 where the Son is
placed upon the Holy Hill of Zion, and Psalm 110:1 where God the Father will
make Jesus Christ’s enemies his footstool.
The Millennium is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and it will not be
destroyed though Satan will attempt to do so after he is released after 1000
years. It will be great seeing
people of every nation, culture, and language worship Jesus Christ.
Glory be to God.
15
"I, Daniel, was
troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.
If I was in Daniel’s shoes, I would be
troubled and confused at these visions because of their majesty (Son of Man),
terror (Four beasts), and Judgment (Nations).
I would have asked someone for his or her interpretation and that is
exactly what Daniel does when he approaches an angel that was standing there.
16
I approached one of
those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this. "So he
told me and gave me the interpretation of these things:
God is so good that he doesn’t want us
to be confused so he provides someone, an angel to interpret the visions that
Daniel saw.
17
`The four great beasts
are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth.
The four kingdoms are Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome (in two phases – Rome and the future Revived
Roman Empire)
18
But the saints of the
Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever
and ever.'
The saints of the Most High are
obviously Jews for Daniel is concerned about the future of the Jews and he
doesn’t foresee the Church. The
saints of the Most High are the God-fearing Jews that escape destruction by the
Antichrist during the LAST half of the Tribulation. They will be head of the nations during the Millennium
(Deuteronomy 28:13).
19
"Then I wanted to
know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the
others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws--the beast that
crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left.
Daniel also wanted to know about the
last beast, which no doubt perplexed, confused, and scared him.
So he sought the interpretation and the true meaning of this
indescribable beast. This is
obviously referring to the Old Roman Empire of antiquity and history.
20
I also wanted to know
about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before
which three of them fell--the horn that looked more imposing than the others and
that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Daniel was confused about this last
beast because it had ten horns, another horn rose up, and then three horns fell.
This is obviously referring to the future Revived Roman Empire.
The ten horns are kings and the little horn is the Antichrist.
Three horns that fall are three kings that rebel because of probably
jealousy over the power of this little horn and they will be removed by probably
death. The Antichrist will also
speak boastfully saying that he is GOD and deceive many.
21
As I watched, this horn
was waging war against the saints and defeating them,
The Antichrist will rage war against the
saints, which I identified them earlier as Jews who have faith in God and Jesus
Christ. Many will be killed but
many will survive in hiding (remember the vision of Revelation 12 where the
woman – Israel is protected for 1260 days).
Since Daniel did not foresee the Church, he probably did not foresee the
Tribulation Saints that are Gentile.
22
until the Ancient of
Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and
the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
The Ancient of Days here is Jesus
Christ. This is describing the
Judgment of the Nations where Jesus will separate the Sheep (Good nations) with
the Goat Nations (Bad nations) and ask them whether they dealt with the Jews
(Saints of the Tribulation) in a right way.
Then after this the Jews will possess the kingdom.
Once again, Daniel did not foresee the Church, to whom God the Son
promised that we will reign with him in his kingdom.
23
"He gave me this
explanation: `The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It
will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth,
trampling it down and crushing it.
This I referring to the Roman Empire,
which ruled the world from 146 BC to AD 476.
24
The ten horns are ten
kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise,
different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.
This is referring to the future Revived
Roman Empire.
25
He will speak against
the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the
laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
The Antichrist will say that he is God
and will curse the Most High and say that he is above him.
This reminds me of those Lucifer passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel.
He will try to change the set times and the laws refers to that he will
break his covenant with Israel (Daniel 9:27) at the midpoint of the Tribulation.
SET TIMES AND LAWS refers to the Festivals and the Hebrew Sabbaths
(Times) and (Laws) the Levitical Law. The
Antichrist will confirm a covenant with Israel guaranteeing them protection and
a right to their land. The Temple
will be already built by the time of the midpoint of the Tribulation.
During the FIRST half, Jews will sacrifice to God the way they did in the
Old and New Testament before Rome destroyed the Temple in AD 70.
The priests will be set up and the instruments placed and the Sabbath and
the Festivals reinstituted. At the
midpoint, the Antichrist will proclaim that he is God and perform the
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION. Out of
his hate for Israel, he will cease sacrifices, stop the Sabbath, and attempt to
annihilate all Jewish institutions. He
will also kill many saints (Jews but the Tribulations Saints that were Gentile
were not foreseen here) for three-and-a-half-years.
26
"`But the court
will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.
The court is Jesus Christ and the
Antichrist’s power will be taken away from him and be completely destroyed
forever. No traces of the
Antichrist’s kingdom will be found anywhere in the Millennium.
27
Then the sovereignty,
power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over
to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting
kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
The people of the Most High are the Jews
and they will lead the nations in the millennium according to Deuteronomy 28:13.
Jesus’ kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all the rulers will
worship and obey him.
28
"This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself."
Daniel was troubled and his face turned pale but he kept the matter to himself. This reminds me of Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” This also shows that Daniel was troubled because of the future of his people – Israel!
Daniel 8
1
In the third year of
King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already
appeared to me.
This vision should be placed between
Daniel 4 – 5 and after Daniel 7. Here
is the proper order of all the chapters in Daniel according to the dating of
each:
DANIEL 1,2,3,4,7,8,5,9,10,11,12,6
But Daniel separated the first six
chapters that are historical and the last six that are prophetical to indicate a
division within the Book of Daniel. This
vision is after the vision in Daniel 7 as I said earlier.
2
In my vision I saw
myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was
beside the Ulai Canal.
In this vision, Daniel was transported
from Babylon to Persia into its capital Susa, which is in the province of Elam,
which is beside the Ulai canal.
3
I looked up, and there
before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns
were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.
Daniel sees a ram with two horns, one of which is longer than the other. The Ram represents Medo-Persia. The two horns symbolize two kingdoms – Media and Persia. The longer horn, which grew later, is Persia while the shorter horn, which grew earlier, is Media. Some people say that the shorter horn is Darius the Mede while the longer horn is Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II). Darius was a Mede while Cyrus was ultimately Persia though he had a Mede mother. So both these kings represent their respective kingdoms – Media and Persia!
4
I watched the ram as he
charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand
against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and
became great.
The ram (Medo-Persia) charged toward the
west, north, and south. Why not the
east? Because Media-Persia came
from the east. The triple alliance
being destroyed is proof of this verse for the ram charged toward the west
(Lydia), the north (Babylon), and the south (Egypt).
No animal can stand against him refers to kingdoms since earlier in
Daniel 7 we saw kingdoms as beasts in God’s eyes. So “animal” has to refer to other nations and kingdoms,
which could not stand against the brute of Medo-Persia. Further proof that the ram is Medo-Persia is that the emblem
of Persia was a ram and Persian coins were discovered depicting rams.
Persia did as he pleased and became great.
5
As I was thinking about
this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west,
crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
Now Daniel sees a goat with a prominent
horn. The goat is Greece and proof
of this lies in the fact that the national emblem of Macedonia (Greece) was the
goat, the goat was found on the coins of that country, the city Aegae was called
goat city while the adjacent Aegean Sea was called Goat Sea.
Alexander the Great’s son by Roxana was called Aegus, the Son of a
goat. The prominent horn is
Alexander the Great and crossing the whole earth without touching the ground
could refer to the fact that Alexander never saw defeat but brought the entire
world under his rule. A horn on a
goat will never touch the ground unless he falls down or is sleeping but we see
from history that Greece under Alexander the Great never falls down (gets
defeated from the outside) or falls asleep (defeated from the inside).
Further proof that the goat is Greece is that it comes from the west and
that is where Greece is – to the west (of probably Persia where Daniel was at
the time of the vision).
6
He came toward the
two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great
rage.
He refers to either Alexander the Great
or the goat, which is Greece. It is
probably Alexander for he defeated Persian forces with rage.
Here are the important battles he fought with Persia:
1.
Alexander at the banks of the Granicus defeated a Persian army in 334 BC.
2.
Alexander at Issus defeated the Persian army led by Darius III in 333 BC.
3.
Alexander at Arbela defeated the Persian army again in 331 BC.
Alexander from 330 BC
to 327 BC seized the cities of Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana as well as the
rest of the outlying provinces of the Persian Empire. So you can see that verse six is fulfilled in history, which
is why many people view these prophesies of Daniel were written much later after
these events were fulfilled.
7
I saw him attack the
ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was
powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled
on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power.
If you look at history, you will see
that Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in three distinct battles and
Persia was powerless against the goat and its prominent horn.
No one could rescue Persia because there was no kingdom that could stand
up to the Grecian Empire and its prominent horn – Alexander the Great.
8
The goat became very
great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its
place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
In this verse you see the large horn,
which is the same as the PROMINENT HORN in verse five was broken off.
This is true when you look at history.
At the height of Alexander’s career and conquest, he died in Babylon
because of a fever (probably marsh fever), exhaustion, intemperance and
dissipation. He died at the young
age of thirty-three. In his place were four prominent horns. These were his four generals who divided up the empire among
them. As I said earlier, Cassander
took Macedonia, Thessaly, and Greece; Lysimachus took Thrace, Cappadocia, and
Asia Minor; Seleucus took Syria, Babylonia, and Media-Persia; and Ptolemy took
Egypt and Cyprus. Note that
Macedonia is the west; Thrace is the north; Syria is the east; and Egypt is the
south so the four prominent horns did in fact GREW UP TOWARD THE FOUR WINDS OF
HEAVEN.
9
Out of one of them came
another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east
and toward the Beautiful Land.
Daniel sees another horn that comes out
from the four prominent horns. Some
people view this as a prophecy for Antiochus IV Epiphanes but I don’t see this
because this horn started small. Antiochus
IV was the son of Antiochus III so this would hardly seem that Antiochus IV
started small for he succeeded his father.
Even though Antiochus IV probably fits some of the descriptions in verses
9 – 14, it is clear that these verses talk about the Antichrist.
Even though some of these verses were fulfilled in Antiochus IV, he is
clearly a type of the Antichrist even though the context of these verses point
to the Antichrist. So the
Antichrist will start small and grow in power to the south, east, and toward the
beautiful land, Israel.
10
It grew until it
reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to
the earth and trampled on them.
The Antichrist’s power will grow (the
fact that the horn is growing in verse nine reaches its climax in verse ten)
until it reached the host of the heavens (God himself).
If you turn to Daniel 8:24, you’ll see that the Antichrist will become
very strong but not by his own power. He
will be empowered by Satan, the master conspirator in the End-Times.
He will seek out the man who is going to be the Antichrist and probably
offer him all the kingdoms of the world if he only worship him just what Satan
used to tempt Jesus. But Jesus was
more wise and said to Satan to only worship God.
Thus the False Christ will not be wise as Jesus for he will seek out a
kingdom and when he bows to Satan, he will go forth and conquer as Revelation
6:2. IT THREW SOME OF THE STARRY
HOST DOWN TO THE EARTH AND TRAMPLED ON THEM reminds me of Revelation 12 where
the dragon (Satan) swiped a third of the stars from the sky and flung them to
the earth (Revelation 12:4). When
Satan is thrown from heaven, he indwells the wounded Antichrist and performs a
counterfeit Resurrection in which the Antichrist will rise from the dead.
Satan can do this because he is capable of performing signs and wonders
to deceive as you can see with the False Prophet.
The Antichrist with Satan in his body literally just like Judas Iscariot
will perform the Abomination of Desolation where we see the Antichrist proclaim
himself to be God. This brings us
to the next verse.
11
It set itself up to be
as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him,
and the place of his sanctuary was brought low.
The Antichrist will try to say and
appear that he is greater than the Messiah, Jesus for he will claim that he is
God in the Abomination of Desolation. The
place of his sanctuary was brought low because the Antichrist performs the
Abomination of Desolation. What is
the Abomination of Desolation? At
the midpoint of the Tribulation when the Antichrist rises from the dead, he will
enter the rebuilt temple of Jerusalem and proclaim that he is God and will even
put an idol in the Most Holy Place. This will be an abomination to God for God is a jealous God
and only he should be worshipped as the True God.
It is also an abomination because he defiled the Temple of his chosen
people Israel. Isn’t it ironic
that on two occasions Jesus Christ cleansed the Temple by driving out all the
dealers, tax collectors, brokers, bankers, and marketers and yet the Jews
rejected him for they though he was causing trouble.
Jesus Christ meant well but the Antichrist will do the opposite –
defile the Temple while Jesus cleansed it.
After the Abomination, daily sacrifice will cease because of the
defilement of the Temple. After the
Antichrist pollutes the Temple, no one can perform sacrifices until the True
Messiah, Jesus Christ cleanses the Temple again and reconsecrates it.
The Antichrist takes away the daily sacrifice could also mean that
because he changes the set times and laws, he attempts to abolish all the Jewish
institutions and even try to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth, which
Hitler tries to do. But the Antichrist will be worse than Hitler for Hitler hated
the Jews and wasn’t afraid to hide it. But
the Antichrist will be like Judas Iscariot.
He will be the best of friends with Israel just like Judas to Jesus but
when Satan entered Judas’ body, he betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the same way, Satan will enter the Antichrist’s body and he will
betray the Jews and show his hatred for them.
12
Because of rebellion,
the host [of the saints] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It
prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
The rebellion refers to the open
defiance of God by the Antichrist and the saints and the daily sacrifice were
given over to it. The Jews will be
at the merciless hands of the Antichrist and many will be killed.
Revelation 13:7 says, “He was given power to make war against the
saints and to conquer them.” The Antichrist will be successful to a large degree even
though many Jews will escape into the wilderness and the mountains for he will
kill many saints as well – Jew and Gentile.
TRUTH WAS THROWN TO THE GROUND. Many
people will be deceived by the Antichrist and worship the image of the beast
(Antichrist) and take his mark (666). II Thessalonians 2 speaks of a great falling away, a
rebellion. During the Tribulation
many will feed their own lusts and participate in anything that is contrary to
God. It will be as in the Days of
Noah where people were drinking, killing, committing adultery, fornicating,
homosexuality, orgies, and fits of rage, drunkenness, and addictions.
Revelation 18:2 says, “She has become a home for demons and a haunt for
every unclean and detestable bird.” Chapter
18 of Revelation describes the capital city of the Antichrist – Rebuilt
Babylon and many of her inhabitants will perform many abomidible acts before
God. If you thought New York, the
Liberal capital of the world is bad, the future CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, Babylon
will be worse! You can see that in the LAST half, the truth will be thrown
to the ground.
13
Then I heard a holy one
speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long will it take for the
vision to be fulfilled--the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion
that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that
will be trampled underfoot?"
Daniel saw two angels talking for holy
one refers to angels. An angel was
speaking first then another angel asked him, “How long will it take for the
vision to be fulfilled?” Daily
Sacrifice refers to when the Jews start sacrificing in their Rebuilt Temple.
The rebellion that causes desolation refers to the Abomination of
Desolation by the Antichrist. The
host that will be trampled underfoot either refers to saints that the Antichrist
will conquer or it refers to Daniel 8:10 and Revelation 12.
14
He said to me, "It
will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be
reconsecrated."
The other angel said to Daniel, 2300
evenings and mornings then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.
The sanctuary is the Rebuilt Temple.
G.H. Pember in his book THE GREAT PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE GENTILES, THE
JEWS, AND THE CHURCH OF GOD (Page 104) says, “The words of the angel in regard
to the two thousand three hundred days are mysterious.
The literal Hebrew expression is, not “days,” but “evenings
mornings,” which proves that actual days of four-and-twenty hours are
intended. And we should note that
seven full prophetic years would contain two thousand five hundred and twenty
days; that is, that the time mentioned by the angel is two hundred and twenty
days short of seven years.” So
2300 days is intended in this verse even though some people believe it to be
2300 years as the Millerites and the Seventh Day Adventists uphold or 1150 days
(half of 2300 days). After 2300
days, the Temple will be reconsecrated.
15
While I, Daniel, was
watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who
looked like a man.
Daniel was trying to comprehend the
vision and while he was there, he saw a person that looked like a man.
16
And I heard a man's
voice from the Ulai calling, "Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the
vision."
Another person is speaking with a
man’s voice asking the man in verse 15 who in verse 16 is identified as
Gabriel. The person that speaks
with a man’s voice is either an angel or the Son of Man himself, Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. I think it might be
Jesus for he commands Gabriel to speak the meaning of the vision unto Daniel.
17
As he came near the
place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. "Son of
man," he said to me, "understand that the vision concerns the time of
the end."
Gabriel approached Daniel and he was
terrified and fell prostrate on his knees.
Gabriel said, ‘Son of man, understand that the vision concerns the time
of the end.” This is further
proof that the prominent horn that came out of the four horns of the He-goat is
not Antiochus IV but the Antichrist for this vision deals with the End-Times.
You ask me how is the Antichrist going to come out of the four prominent
horns of Greece? Daniel in chapter 7 spoke of the ten horns, which are the ten
kings that give their authority over to the Antichrist (little horn).
This is just a theory but the four horns that were the four divisions of
the Grecian Empire after Alexander’s death will appear in the End-Times again
as the four of the ten kings during the end of the days.
These four kings today in terms of world geography are going to be from
Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt. These
nations are independent countries right now and we can see a preview of what is
about to transpire in the End-Times. It
is no accident that Egypt, Israel, Turkey, India, and other countries under
British, French, and Russian rule became independent countries in the 20th
century. The stage is set and we
can probably see some of these prophecies come into play.
The BIG QUESTION is who are the other six horns?
That is the question; I’d like to know.
18
While he was speaking
to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and
raised me to my feet.
Daniel was probably so terrified that
when he fell prostrate before Gabriel, he fell asleep.
God probably made Daniel fall asleep temporarily in order to calm his
fears and prepare him to receive the interpretation of the vision.
Then Gabriel touched Daniel and helped Daniel to his feet.
19
He said: "I am
going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the
vision concerns the appointed time of the end.
The time of wrath is obviously the
Tribulation period, which in Daniel 9:27 it is revealed that it is going to be
seven years. The above vision
represents the time of the end, proving that the events are still future even
today in the year 2000 for Antiochus IV never was in a time of wrath.
The horn in the last few verses overcame the saints but Antiochus IV,
though he set up an idol in the Temple, defiled it and killed many Jews, was
stopped by Judas Maccabees.
20
The two-horned ram that
you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The ram represents Medo-Persia with the
longer horn Persia and the shorter Media.
21
The shaggy goat is the
king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
The goat represents the kingdom of
Greece and its first king was none other than Alexander the Great.
22
The four horns that
replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge
from his nation but will not have the same power.
The four horns are provinces or kingdoms
of which was divided into after Alexander died (broken off).
They are – Macedonia, Thrace, Syria, and Egypt.
It is clear that no one in Greece that arose that ever was as great as
ALEXANDER THE GREAT. They will not
have the same power is fulfilled in history.
23
"In the latter
part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced
king, a master of intrigue, will arise.
Just like the vision of the fourth
beast, which has two phases – the OLD ROMAN EMPIRE of history and the REVIVED
ROMAN EMPIRE, the vision of the goat, which is Greece, has two phases.
The first phase is Alexander the Great and the four provinces, which
constitute the Empire of Greece. The
second phase is “in the time of the end.”
The Antichrist will be a stern-faced king and a master of intrigue.
He will intrigue everybody and as you can see from Revelation 6, the
Antichrist will conquer by negotiation and his charm. Notice in the first horseman of the apocalypse, the one on
the white horse has a bow but no arrows so he will conquer peacefully.
The moral condition will deteriorate so much that there will be a need
for a stern-faced king who will bring order to the world after the perilous
times and the mass disorder after the rapture.
Note that before the revealing of the Antichrist, there will be a great
falling away or rebellion.
24
He will become very
strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will
succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.
The Antichrist will become very strong
but not by his own power, which suggests that he will be empowered by someone
else. Now who could empower such an
evil and deceptive being – Dana Carvey who used to be on Saturday Night Live
and did the Church Lady said it best. IT’S
S-A-T-A-N, SATAN! Satan will
empower the Antichrist and he will make this human being the FULL EMBODIMENT OF
EVIL AND DECEPTION for he will be SATAN INCARNATE.
He will perform the Abomination of Desolation and wreck havoc on Judea
and many Jews will flee to the mountains and the wilderness.
Many Gentile Christians will have to form an underground network and
black market of food and supplies because they can’t buy or sell with the MARK
OF THE BEAST! But of course Daniel
did not have the Church or Gentile Christians in view in this vision.
The Antichrist will even be permitted to conquer some of the saints
(Revelation 13:7). The holy people
are the Jewish saints and the mighty men, I’m not sure, is probably
politicians or even angels for Satan knocks a third of them out of the sky in
Revelation 12 and in Daniel 8:10, they were trampled upon.
25
He will cause deceit to
prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will
destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be
destroyed, but not by human power.
Under the Antichrist, the moral
condition will deteriorate. Just
look at the sinful condition of Babylon the city in Revelation 18 and the
condition during the days of Noah of all the sinful people. He will consider himself superior for he will mouth boastful
words and will proclaim himself to be God.
Israel will feel secure but the Antichrist will break his covenant and
destroy many Jews – faithful and unfaithful.
He will take his stand against Jesus Christ when he sees THE SON OF GOD
descending with his holy ones (the Church).
He will make war against him but the word of God, which is sharper than
any double edged sword, which comes out of the mouth of Jesus will destroy all
who oppose Christ in the Battle of Armageddon.
The Antichrist will be destroyed but not by human power for he will be
defeated by Christ and thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE.
26
"The vision of the
evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision,
for it concerns the distant future."
The vision of the 2300 days (evenings
and mornings) is true according Gabriel so he wishes Daniel to seal up the
vision (preserve for the future) for the time of the end is not at hand in
Daniel’s time for it is the distant future for it is THE END TIMES!
Christ even revealed that the Abomination of Desolation is future so the
prominent horn of Daniel 8 is not Antiochus IV but the SON OF PERDITION, THE
ANTICHRIST!
27
I, Daniel, was
exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's
business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Daniel, just like in the previous vision
in Daniel 7, was exhausted and lay ill for several days (though not to the same
degree in Daniel 7 for his face was pale). Then after his illness, Daniel went up and went and did his
job. He was still appalled by the
vision for it was beyond understanding.
Daniel
9
1
In the first year of
Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian
kingdom—
The first year of Darius is probably
after he conquered Babylon and its king Belshazzar. This puts Daniel 9 after the events of Daniel 5.
2
in the first year of
his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of
the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would
last seventy years.
Daniel the prophet also had the
scriptures and he studied them for he was concerned about the future of Israel.
He turned to the prophet Jeremiah for he prophesied that the desolation
of Jerusalem would last seventy years. Jeremiah
25:11 says, “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment;
and these nations (Judah and the surrounding nations) shall serve the King of
Babylon SEVENTY YEARS.” Jeremiah
29:4-10 also says that Israel will go into captivity for seventy years. The seventy years was almost to an end and Daniel wanted to
know the plans that God had for Israel (Jeremiah 29:11).
3
So I turned to the Lord
God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth
and ashes.
Daniel turned to God and prayed and
fasted in petition. He put on
sackcloth and ashes. This shows
that Daniel was concerned about his people and its future.
Note: Daniel FIRST prayed to God. Prayer
is very important and God does hear our prayers.
4
I prayed to the LORD my
God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his
covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,
God never breaks a promise and always
keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey him.
He is also a great and awesome God.
Remember the song, OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME, HE REIGNS FROM HEAVEN ABOVE,
WITH WISDOM POWER AND LOVE, OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!
5
we have sinned and done
wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your
commands and laws.
Daniel acknowledges that Israel had done
wrong in the sight of God and that they rebelled.
They even turned away from God’s laws and commands.
Daniel is including himself in there for he is a Jew and as a part of the
nation and as such, he associates himself with the sinning Israel.
In any case, Daniel acknowledged his own dependence on God by humbly
identifying with the sins of those around him – i.e. Israel.
By looking at this prayer, we can see an order to which we pray.
First there is the PRAISE (Great and awesome God), then the PROVISION
(keeps his covenant of love meaning that he will take care of his people by
keeping his promises), then the CONFESSION (we have sinned and done wrong).
We see this order in the LORD’S PRAYER.
The Praise is OUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME, YOUR
KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
The asking of Provision is GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
The Confession is FORGIVE US OUR TRESSPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO
TRESSPASS AGAINST US. The next
three orders of prayer after the confession is DELIVERANCE, WORSHIP, and THE
AGREEMENT! In the Lord’s Prayer,
the asking of Deliverance is LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIVER US FROM THE
EVIL ONE. The Worship is FOR THINE
IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER.
The Agreement is AMEN! So
here is the ORDER OF PRAYER:
PRAISE then PROVISION then CONFESSION
then DELIVERANCE then WORSHIP then the AGREEMENT.
6
We have not listened to
your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and
our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
Daniel identifies and associates himself
with Israel who has not listened to the prophets and their warnings.
The Prophets went boldly before the kings, princes, fathers, and people
of Israel and yet most of them did not even listen to God’s servants – the
Prophets!
7
"Lord, you are
righteous, but this day we are covered with shame--the men of Judah and people
of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you
have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.
WORSHIP. Daniel is worshipping God and proclaiming he is righteous.
Back to CONFESSION! Israel
is covered with shame because of their unfaithfulness to God, which has wrought
the scattering of God’s people – Israel for their sins.
8
O LORD, we and our
kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned
against you.
Again, Daniel says that Israel is
covered with shame because they have sinned against God.
Sin separates us from God and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit,
we as sinners see our sin and we are brought to shame.
That is what conviction does – it causes us sorrow and shame.
But through this sorrow and shame, we turn to God asking forgiveness of
our sins and we repent and ask him to change us.
That is what Daniel is doing here.
9
The Lord our God is
merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;
Daniel is asking for forgiveness in the
previous verses and then he says that God is merciful and forgiving even though
Israel sinned. This reminds me of
two verses. The first is I John
1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The second verse is Romans 5:8, which says, “But God demonstrated his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinner, Christ died for us.”
10
we have not obeyed the
LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.
Daniel again says that Israel (we) did
not obey God or kept the laws through the prophets.
11
All Israel has
transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. "Therefore the
curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have
been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.
Israel have sinned against the law,
which is the law God gave to Moses. If Israel does not follow these laws then
all the curses and swore judgments written in the Law of Moses will be poured on
the disobedient Israel because they sinned against God.
12
You have fulfilled the
words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great
disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been
done to Jerusalem.
The prophets warned Israel that if they
disobeyed God then God would punish them and bring disaster upon them at the
hand of the Babylonians. Under the
whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem
refers to when in 588 BC, Nebuchadnezzar’s armies laid a siege to Jerusalem
for eighteen months. Jerusalem was
eventually looted. The Palace and
Temple that Solomon built were burned and the walls and fortifications were
burned also leaving the city no defense. Daniel
calls this in verse 2 the desolation of Jerusalem.
13
Just as it is written
in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought
the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to
your truth.
Daniel just like in verse 11 refers to
the Law of Moses and the judgments and curses that accompany should Israel
disobey God by worshipping idols and turning away from God.
Daniel acknowledges the fact that despite the warnings from the Prophets
and in the Law of Moses, Israel still did not turn from their sins and
recognizing the truth until it was too late.
14
The LORD did not
hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in
everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
God never hesitates in bringing disaster
among his elect in order to chastise and cause them to see the error of their
ways. The Lord is righteous in
everything he does for he is God and he is perfect. Despite his warnings, Israel still disobeyed God.
15
"Now, O Lord our
God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for
yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.
The Lord did many wonders when he
brought his people out of Egypt but however the people of Israel still done
wrong. Many times in Israel’s
history they got into a comfort shell causing them to be complacent even though
God has done so much for them. God
made a name for himself means that God kept showing Israel his provision.
This was not enough for Israel still sinned and done wrong.
16
O Lord, in keeping with
all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem,
your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made
Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
Daniel now asks God to remove his wrath
from Jerusalem even though the sins and iniquities of Israel made Jerusalem and
Israel an object of scorn and ridicule.
17
"Now, our God,
hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with
favor on your desolate sanctuary.
Daniel now asks God to hear his prayer
and to look with favor on Jerusalem, God’s desolate sanctuary.
Daniel could have meant Israel as God’s desolate sanctuary also.
18
Give ear, O God, and
hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We
do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great
mercy.
Daniel asks God to hear and see the
desolation of Jerusalem. Daniel
also talks humbly when he says that we (Israel) don’t make requests (prayers)
because of their righteousness (because Israel wasn’t righteous and even if
they were righteous their righteousness was as filthy rags) but because of
God’s mercy on the sinful Israel.
19
O Lord, listen! O Lord,
forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because
your city and your people bear your Name."
Daniel asks God not to delay for Israel
and Jerusalem bear His name meaning that they belong to God.
20
While I was speaking
and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my
request to the LORD my God for his holy hill—
Daniel was speaking and praying and
confessing his sin and Israel’s sins and making a request to God for to
restore his holy hill, Zion and the city that stands on it – Jerusalem.
While he was doing this he sees a man in verse 21.
Daniel is building up to the next scene.
21
while I was still in
prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift
flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
While Daniel was in prayer, Daniel sees
the same man he saw in Daniel 8 – the angel, Gabriel. The earlier vision is the one he saw in Daniel 8.
Gabriel came to him in swift flight to Daniel indicates that God answers
prayers and he sent Gabriel as soon as possible to bring understanding and
revelation to the future of Daniel’s people – Israel and its holy city,
Jerusalem.
22
He instructed me and
said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
Gabriel was sent to bring insight and
understanding to Daniel about the future of Daniel’s people.
23
As soon as you began to
pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly
esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
As soon as Daniel started praying, God
answered his prayer by sending Gabriel to bring insight and understanding (verse
22). Daniel is highly esteemed by
God for he seeks understanding by searching the scriptures (verse 2) and praying
to God (verses 4 – 19 and Daniel 6:10) daily. Daniel’s delight was blessed because as the Psalmist said
in Psalms 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he
meditates day and night.”
24
"Seventy `sevens'
are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put
an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
This
prophecy is called the SEVENTY-WEEKS PROPHECY, which has caught a great deal of
attention from students of prophecy. What
the Seventy-Weeks Prophecy is is a timeline of future events in Israel’s
program. The “Seventy Weeks”
are weeks of years not days that is why seventy-weeks is rendered in the NIV
“Seventy-sevens.” At the
end of this timeline, Gentile rule will end.
The last Gentile ruler will be the Antichrist and his kingdom will end
with the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ to defeat the Antichrist and
establish his millennial reign of peace and righteousness.
Jesus in Luke 21:24 says, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Daniel 9:24-27 talks about the end of the TIMES OF THE GENTILES and the
relationship of the TIMES OF THE GENTILES to God’s people – Israel. God promises Israel two sets of three accomplishments
that will highlight the end of the age. The first set deals with sin:
1.
To finish transgression
2. To put an end to sin
3. To atone for wickedness
Israel's
sins as a Nation will be ended when they repent and turn back to God.
Revelation 1:7 says, “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye
will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will
mourn because of him. So shall it
be! Amen.” They will see their
Messiah whom they have pierced and a fountain will be opened for the house of
David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1 says, “On that day a fountain will be opened
to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin
and impurity.” The Messiah will
return to finish what he stated and will cleanse Israel from her sins as a
nation and draw them back to Him. This is God's purpose in these three future
accomplishments - redeem Israel. The second set of accomplishments deal with
righteousness:
1.
To bring in everlasting righteousness
2. To seal up vision and prophecy
3. To anoint the Most Holy
This
second set of accomplishments cannot occur until the first set has occurred.
After that happens the Lord shall confirm a "New Covenant" with
the House of Israel. Jeremiah
31:33-34 says, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord. I
will put my law in their minds and write it in their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying
‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to
the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins
no more.” The transgression of
Israel will end and there will be communion with God so there will no longer be
a need for vision and prophecy.
The
Most Holy is the new temple, which will be consecrated and will be the center of
worship in the millennial kingdom (Ezekiel 40 – 48).
Some people say that the Most Holy is the Messiah but it can be rendered
as Most Holy Place or Most Holy One. The
probable is Most Holy Place for this Most Holy will be put into place during the
Millennium. It can’t be the
Messiah for the verse says TO ANOINT THE MOST HOLY.
We see in verse 25 that the Messiah is already anointed (probably when
baptized by John the Baptist). The
MOST HOLY’S anointing is STILL future while the Messiah was already anointed
in verse 25. So the Most Holy is
the Most Holy Place or the MILLENNIAL TEMPLE.
25
"Know and
understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens,' and
sixty-two `sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times
of trouble.
Then
the Seventy-Weeks Prophecy goes into the beginning of the timeline. The first
point of the timeline is the "issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem." We have to look for a command from a ruler to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem. Here are four possible decrees:
1.
Cyrus - 536 BC - Ezra 1:1-4 & 2 Chronicles 36:22-23
2. Darius - 519 BC - Ezra 6:1-12
3. Artaxerxes - 458 BC - Ezra 7:11-22
4. Artaxerxes - 445 BC - Nehemiah 2:1-8
The
first decree by Cyrus gave Israel the right to rebuild the temple. The second
decree by Darius reaffirmed the Cyrus decree to rebuild the temple without any
difficulties or dangers. The third
decree by Artaxerxes gave Ezra the command to collect Gold and Silver to
purchase bullocks, rams, and lambs for offerings in the Temple.
The fourth decree by Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah the command to rebuild the
walls. The fourth decree is the
winner. 445 BC is our starting
point. After seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks after 445 BC (decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem), the
Messiah will come. Since the
Seventy weeks is rendered as seventy-sevens (490 years) it would be safe to
assume that after seven sevens and sixty-two sevens (49 and 434 years) the
Messiah will come. So after
sixty-nine weeks (7 + 62 = 69 X 7 = 483 years) the Messiah will come.
The meaning of "Messiah will come" will be explained later.
Where do we get a week being seven years?
From Numbers 14:34 where it says
After
the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day
for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities even forty years (KJV).
This
judgment was literally fulfilled for the Children of Israel wandered in the
wilderness for forty years, a year for every day that the spies searched out the
land of Canaan. See also Ezekiel 4:6. God
says to Ezekiel, “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on
your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah.
I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.”
So if a day is a year then it is safe to assume in this prophecy that
seven days (one week) is seven years.
We
know the starting point for the seventy weeks but what about the end of the
sixty-nine weeks. The event most associated with the presentation of the
Messiah is found in Zechariah 9:9.
Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King
is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey,
a colt, the foal of a donkey.
So
we now do a mathematical calculation. The
starting date is March 14, 445 BC. According
to Jewish tradition, that decree to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes was done on the first
day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which is the first month of the religious
Jewish year (They have two calendars – one political, one religious). So
the first day is the Jewish New Year – Nisan 1 or March 14.
So the corresponding date is March 14, 445 BC!
A prophetic year is 360 days so 360 days X 483 years = 173,880 days.
When we divide 173,880 days by 365.24219879 (an earth year today) or
365.25 days, we get 476 solar years. So
476 years from 445 BC is AD 32, which was the year Jesus was crucified.
Note that for this first explanation we turn to Sir Robert Anderson’s
classic book on the 70 weeks THE COMING PRINCE for these calculations.
So: 476 years X 365 days = 173,740 days.
Between this period there are 116 days coming as a result of leap years.
173,740 days + 116 days = 173,856 days.
Then when we add 24 days to get to 173,880 days, we have the date April
6, 32 AD. So 173,740 days + 116
days + 24 days = 173,880 days or 483 prophetic years or sixty-nine weeks.
Note: Sir Robert Anderson in his book counts 1 BC and AD 1 as one year
not two. So the Messiah is none
other than JESUS CHRIST for he is the only one around that time to have ridden
on a donkey!
In
Luke 19:41-44, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem after His Triumphal Entry saying
(I’m paraphrasing here but it doesn’t take away from the meaning) "If
you only knew on this day the things that make for your peace."
Jesus wept because the people didn’t recognize the significance of this
day – The Triumphal Entry, which was a fulfillment of Daniel’s Seventy-Weeks
prophecy. The same Jews who praised Him on that day would cry that
Jesus be crucified. And for this
Jerusalem’s utter destruction was divine judgment for failure to recognize
that DAY. Jesus said in verse 24,
"They did not know the hour of my visitation."
Five days later on Good Friday, Jesus was crucified or cut off but not
for Himself. But on Sunday, He
resurrected from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the Father
awaiting the day He will lead the armies of heaven and destroy the armies of the
Antichrist (See Daniel 7:13,14 & Revelation 19:11-16).
Jesus dying on the cross brings us to verse 26.
26
After the sixty-two
`sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The
people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The
end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations
have been decreed.
After
this presentation, the Messiah will be cut off or suffer a death penalty.
The text says, "The Anointed One (or Messiah) will be cut off and
will have nothing." This could
mean that since the Jews rejected him and wanted him crucified then the Messiah
wasn’t going to have kingdom just yet. Paul
himself said in II Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you
through his poverty might become rich.” Other
texts say THE MESSIAH WILL BE CUT OFF BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF.
This is another clue, which points us to Jesus Christ.
Jesus died not for Himself but for the sins of mankind.
He died for us. The streets,
walls, and the Temple will be still standing.
After the Messiah is cut off, the "people of the prince who is to
come" will destroy the Temple. These
are the Romans. This is another
proof that the Jesus is the Messiah for he died before the Temple was destroyed
in AD 70. I’m now focusing on the
events between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks.
The seventieth week hasn’t started yet so after the sixty-ninth week,
there is a gap of almost 2000 years. Verse
26 shows us this gap. Verse 26
tells us about the Temple being destroyed.
In AD 70, Prince Titus led the Roman legions and destroyed Jerusalem
because they rebelled. Jesus spoke
of this event in His famous Olivet Discourse speech.
Jesus says:
But
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is
near. Then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and
let not those who are in the country enter her.
For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled. But woe to those
who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into
all nations. And Jerusalem will be
trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke
21:20-24).
Look
closely at the last sentence in verse 24: "And Jerusalem will be trampled
by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."
When you look closely at history, Jews were scattered around the world
and were often persecuted by Catholics and Protestants as well as other races
and religions. Rome, Muslim Arabs,
Crusaders, the Ottoman Turks, and Britain have trampled on Jerusalem.
The Jews never had a foothold in Jerusalem or Israel until May 14, 1948
when under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion; Israel belonged to the Jews.
It may seem that the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled because Israel
is a nation again. But remember
that Arab have a foothold and are currently in control of some of the city of
Jerusalem so its not fulfilled yet. The
TIMES OF THE GENTILES will be fulfilled after the SEVENTIETH WEEK. It’s only a matter of time before the seventieth week
begins.
27
He will confirm a
covenant with many for one `seven.' In the middle of the `seven' he will
put an end to sacrifice and offering. And
on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation,
until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
THE
SEVENTIETH WEEK is still future. The
gap is the church age and it’s almost 2000 years and counting.
Daniel did not foresee the Church age.
The deadline for the seventieth week is approaching.
In Luke 4, Jesus read Isaiah 61 in the Synagogue and he omitted the GREAT
AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD while leaving TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF
THE LORD'S FAVOR. The Lord's favor
is the dispensation of grace (the Church). That’s why Jesus omitted the later part of the Isaiah 61
verse for the time of salvation was at hand because Jesus (being the Messiah)
was going to die for the sins of the world and resurrect and usher in the church
age when he sends his Holy Spirit. The
Seventieth week is for Israel so the church must not be around because that will
be conflicting with Israel's program. Remember:
In Daniel 9:24 it says that the 70 weeks are for Israel and Jerusalem ONLY.
I don’t see the Church for Daniel did not foresee the Church.
"Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering (NKJV)." The person ("he") is none other than the Antichrist. The same prince in verse 26 is the same person in verse 27. Verse 26 is ironclad proof that the Antichrist is Roman descent because it says "the people of the prince who is to come." The people – the Romans – destroyed Jerusalem. Many people think that the prince is Titus but the prince who is to come is still future. So the Antichrist is of Roman descent. The Antichrist will enter into a covenant with Israel. As soon as it is signed the seventieth week will start. The texts say "confirm" so a covenant already exists. This is logical because in order for a covenant to be confirmed, some form of the covenant has to exist. The covenant is God’s protection of Israel, which He has done because the Jews still exist. No one can successfully wipe off all the Jews because he or she will fail for GOD WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS ISRAEL AND CURSE THOSE WHO CURSE ISRAEL. So by confirming the covenant, the Antichrist is assuming God’s responsibility and role in the protection of Israel. The Jews will rely on a human being that is the personification of evil for their protection rather than God. The Antichrist will deceive many including Jews. The Jews will believe their Savior and Messiah had come.
But in the middle of the week (7 years / 2 = 3½ years) or after 3 years and 6 months passed, the Antichrist will turn his back on the Jews and bring an end to sacrifice and offering. If there is no Temple now then there will be a new Temple built in Jerusalem by order of the Antichrist because for sacrifice and offering to cease, there will have to be a Temple to already exist. So in addition to Israel’s protection, the Antichrist will throw in a bonus – a new Temple to the gift package, which is the "confirmed covenant." In the middle of the seventieth week, the Antichrist will have an indwelling of Satan himself. After he suffers a head wound, which kills him, he will resurrect and will be EVIL. He will be Satan incarnate. He will set up an idol of himself in the rebuilt Temple and will perform the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION! He will proclaim to be God Almighty. The Antichrist will cause abomination against the Jewish religion by putting an idol in the Temple. The wings of abomination are an expression of protection in an idol or system. Many people will be deceived and worship the idol so that they won’t die by Guillotine. Another wing of abomination would be the MARK OF THE BEAST – 666. Many will be deceived and because of their fear of starvation will take the mark in order to buy or sell. The Mark would be a protection but these two "WINGS OF ABOMINATION" lead to HELL. It’s not worth taking it. Jesus said that those who try to save themselves will lose their life and whoever loses his life will gain it. 666 IS A FALSE SECURITY.
Many will flee to the mountains (Ancient City of Petra) where God will protect with His angels for 1,260 days or 3½ years during the "GREAT TRIBULATION." During this time God will release His Vials of Wrath to punish the unsaved and the partakers of the Mark of the Beast. This is the "consummation which is poured on the desolate" in verse 27. But Jesus will come back as King and as the Messiah. The Jews will look upon Him whom they pierced and will repent as a nation and Jesus will make a new covenant with Israel. The seventieth week is approaching and the only way to escape it is to let Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him Lord of your life. That way of escape is Jesus and His passage to escape is through the "BLESSED HOPE," which is the rapture of the church.
Daniel 10
1
In the third year of
Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called
Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The
understanding of the message came to him in a vision.
The Revelation that Daniel was going to
get was concerning a great war. It
was in the form of a vision. It was
given to him in the third year of Cyrus. So
we can assume that Daniel is a retired man for in Daniel 1:21 he says, “And
Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”
This means that Daniel was a ruler or advisor until the first year of
Cyrus. He worked for
Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus.
Cyrus in 536 BC lets the Jews go and rebuild their temple according to
Ezra 1, which was in the first year of Cyrus.
But Daniel didn’t go with the 42,360 people that went (Ezra 2:64)
probably because of old age (he was about ninety years old) or because God had
more revelations to show Daniel so he was restrained from going.
2
At that time I, Daniel,
mourned for three weeks.
Daniel mourned for three weeks.
3
I ate no choice food;
no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three
weeks were over.
He refrained from eating the best foods
in his Jewish diet but he still ate. This
was a partial fast diet and he used no lotion, which probably he used to moisten
his skin for he was an old man and his skin was old.
This was his expression of mourning.
4
On the twenty-fourth
day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the
Tigris,
The first month is Nisan, which is
around March – April. The
twenty-fourth day is probably in April for Nisan starts towards the middle of
March. The year was 533 BC.
He was standing near the great river Tigris when he saw a man.
5
I looked up and there
before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his
waist.
Daniel was probably praying then I can
only guess that he felt someone there looking at him. Daniel looks up and sees a man dressed in linen with a belt
of gold around his head.
6
His body was like
chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and
legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a
multitude.
The man’s body was like chrysolite,
his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like
the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of the multitude.
This man is very similar to the description of the Son of Man in
Revelation 1:12-18. Here is a chart
comparing the two people:
7
I, Daniel, was the only
one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror
overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.
Daniel was the only one who saw the
vision for the men with him fled in fear and hid even though they didn’t see
THE MAN. The men with him are
probably Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; his three friends are they could be
his other friends or even prayer partners or bodyguards or anybody close to him
that he knows.
8
So I was left alone,
gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale
and I was helpless.
Daniel was the only one to see the
vision and he was alone. He had no
strength left probably because of his partial fast diet taking a toll on him for
his ninety and his face was pale and was helpless.
Don’t get me wrong fasting is good.
It denies your flesh and it makes you spiritually stronger.
But the flesh will be weakened. That
is why after Jesus fasted for forty days and was tempted, the angels came,
helped and comforted him. Daniel
was helpless when he saw this man!
9
Then I heard him
speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the
ground.
Daniel heard the man speaking and as he
listened to him and Daniel fell into a deep sleep with his face to the ground.
10
A hand touched me and
set me trembling on my hands and knees.
A hand touched Daniel and set him
trembling on his hands and knees. We
can see that the man who is the Lord of Glory, the Son of Man is not alone for
Gabriel is with him. Look at verse
11.
11
He said, "Daniel,
you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to
you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this
to me, I stood up trembling.
I said earlier that this man bears a
similar resemblance to the glorified Son of Man in Revelation 1.
Some believe that this man is Gabriel for in verse 13, he was detained by
the king of Persia and was helped by Michael.
I believe there are two people besides Daniel here.
This is the same scenario as in Daniel 8:16, which says, “And I heard a
man’s voice from the Ulai calling, ‘Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of
the vision.’” In that vision
there were two people there – the man commanding Gabriel to tell the meaning
of that vision and Gabriel himself. This
could be the same scenario for the man in Daniel 10:4-6 bears the same
resemblance to Jesus in Revelation 1. The
man in this verse is Gabriel for in Daniel 9:23 he tells Daniel that he is
highly esteemed while in this verse he says the same thing.
There are two people intended here.
12
Then he continued,
"Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to
gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were
heard, and I have come in response to them.
Gabriel said to Daniel and reminded him
that ever since Daniel set his mind and prayed for understanding in the visions
he received, God answered his prayer and sent Gabriel to him.
God always answers prayer even though it always comes in God’s time.
But the urgency of the situation, God responds quickly and sends Gabriel
to speak understanding to the Prophet, Daniel.
13
But the prince of the
Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
The Prince of the Persian Kingdom
resisted Gabriel for 21 days. How
can a prince of Persia resist an angel? The
only logical answer is that that prince is an agent of Satan – a demon who is
the guardian demon of Persia so to speak. The
Bible teaches that Satan rules as King in the Kingdom of Darkness (Matthew
12:24-30) and that his kingdom consists of principalities, powers, and rulers of
this dark world (Ephesians 6:12). Satan
in Ephesians 2:2 is the Prince of the powers of the air and the God of this
world (age). This is why Satan
offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world when he tempted Jesus.
But in the end, Jesus would not submit to Satan.
So Satan has an organized kingdom where he has agents counteracting the
plans of God. He sent the prince of
Persia to stop Gabriel from delivering the message to Daniel until Michael the
Archangel came to help Gabriel.
14
Now I have come to
explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision
concerns a time yet to come."
Gabriel now has come to Daniel to
explain to him what will happen concerning Daniel’s people in the future.
This is Daniel 11 where the vision concerning Israel’s future is going
to be told to him.
15
While he was saying
this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.
While Gabriel was speaking, Daniel bowed
his face toward the ground and was speechless.
16
Then one who looked
like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to
the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the
vision, my lord, and I am helpless.
Gabriel touched Daniel’s lips and he
began to speak. He reveals that he
was overcome with anguish because of the vision and is helpless.
Daniel says my lord with a lower case lord so the man has to be Gabriel
who was accompanied by the Lord of Glory just like Daniel 8.
17
How can I, your
servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly
breathe."
Daniel reveals that he can’t talk for
he is overcome and weak because of the sight of Gabriel and the man he is with.
His strength is gone and he can hardly breathe.
18
Again the one who
looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
Again Gabriel touched Daniel and gave
him strength.
19
"Do not be afraid,
O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be
strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my
lord, since you have given me strength."
Gabriel reassures Daniel to be strong
and to not be afraid. When Gabriel
comforted Daniel, he was strengthened and told him to speak.
Once again Gabriel says that Daniel is highly esteemed.
20
So he said, "Do
you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince
of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;
Gabriel asks Daniel if he knows why he
came to him. Soon Gabriel will
return to fight against the Prince (demon) of Persia but the Prince of Greece
will come soon also proving that the time is soon coming that Greece is going to
be the next Empire.
21
but first I will tell
you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them
except Michael, your prince.
Before Gabriel does this, he will tell
Daniel what is written in the Book of Truth.
It is worthwhile to note that Daniel 10 – 12 are the same vision.
The Book of Truth is Daniel 11, which foretell some events of the future
of Greece and the End-Times. It is
a pre-written history of the Kings of the North and the kings of the South.
We also learn that Michael is the guardian angel of the nation of Israel.
He is the one who supports Gabriel and helps him when he has trouble
fighting against them – the Princes of Persia and Greece who will probably
gang up on Gabriel in the future but Michael will support him and help him.
They are co-workers against the satanic powers.
Daniel 11
1
And in the first year
of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)
It was through this co-operation of
Michael and Gabriel that the fall of Babylon was brought about in the first year
of Darius the Mede who conquered Babylon in Daniel 5.
2
"Now then, I tell
you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who
will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth,
he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
The three kings that will appear in
Persia are Ahasuerus (Cambyses), Artaxerxes (Pseudo-Smerdis), and Darius (Darius
Hystaspes) (Ezra 4:1-24). The
fourth king is Xerxes (Esther’s husband) and used his vast riches to put vast
armies into the field. In 480 BC,
he invaded Greece but he didn’t conquer it.
3
Then a mighty king will
appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.
The mighty king is Alexander the Great.
The mighty king is the notable horn in Daniel 8, which was broken off.
Alexander did as he pleased, ruled with great power, and conquered the
world.
4
After he has appeared,
his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven.
It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised,
because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
When Alexander the Great died, his
kingdom was divided into four. His
generals who were not related to him divided his kingdom.
Alexander’s family never succeeded him and within fifteen years, his
family was extinct. Scripture was
true because history proves it.
5
"The king of the
South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger
than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.
This prophecy focuses on THE KING OF THE
NORTH AND THE KING OF THE SOUTH. The
south was Egypt and the King of the South was Ptolemy Soter.
One of his commanders was Seleucus Nicator and he became the ruler of
Syria. He was stronger than Ptolemy
and ruled his kingdom with great power.
6
After some years, they
will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of
the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his
power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her
royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.
There was peace between Syria and Egypt
and they became allies. The
daughter of the king of the South (Ptolemy Philadelphus who succeeded Ptolemy
Soter) is Berenice who married Antiochus Theus (Theus succeeded his father
Antiochus Soter who succeeded Seleucus Nicator) so that they (Syria and Egypt)
would make the alliance through this marriage.
Before this there was war between the two kingdoms for Ptolemy
Philadelphus’ half-brother Magas married a daughter of Antiochus Soter.
Then Magas induced Soter to declare war on Egypt.
Theus succeeded his father and continued to have war against Egypt before
the marriage – alliance was made. This
marriage was allowed on the condition that Antiochus Theus declare his previous
marriage with Laodice void and her two sons illegitimate.
SHE WILL NOT RETAIN HER POWER refers to the fact that her father Ptolemy
Philadelphus died and her husband put her away and took back his former wife,
Laodice. He and his power will not
last refer to the fact that Laodice will poison Antiochus Theus, her husband.
Laodice will set her son, Seleucus Callinicus as king.
She would have him assassinate Berenice (she will be handed over), her
child (royal escort who is the heir to the throne), and those who supported
Berenice.
7
"One from her
family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king
of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be
victorious.
Berenice’s brother (one from her
family line), Ptolemy Euergetus, will avenge her death. He is now the king of Egypt having succeeded Ptolemy
Philadelphus. He invaded Syria (he
will attack the forces of the king of the North) and the fortress city of
Seleucia (and enter his fortress). He
put Laodice to death. He was
victorious even though he did not conquer Syria (he would have done it but there
was an insurrection in Egypt so he had to hasten back).
8
He will also seize
their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold
and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North
alone.
Ptolemy Euergetus did not return to
Egypt empty-handed for he took their gods, metal images, valuable articles of
silver and gold back with him to Egypt. It
was this accomplishment that the Egyptian Priests called him Euergetus (meaning
Benefactor) for he returned the gods that were stolen from Egypt by Ahasuerus,
king of Persia, which then ended up in Syria, and now the BENEFACTOR brought
them back to Egypt. For some years
he (Ptolemy Euergetus) will leave the king of the north (Seleucus Callinicus)
alone. The NKJV states that the
king of the south (Ptolemy) will outlive the king of the North (Seleucus) by a
few years.
9
Then the king of the
North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own
country.
Seleucus Callinicus would attempt to
recover the stolen items but will retreat to his country.
10
His sons will prepare
for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible
flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.
The King of the North’s sons is
Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus (Magnus the Great). Seleucus Ceraunus succeeded his father and assembled a large
army. But he proved to be a weak
prince unable to discipline his army. After
two – three years of reigning Syria, he was poisoned by two of his generals.
His brother, Antiochus the Great who with his brother assembled the large
army, succeeded his brother. Syria
is preparing for war. Which will
sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress
refers to in 218 BC, Antiochus the Great seized Tyre and Ptolemais, overflowed
and passed through Palestine (now Israel), and marched against the fortress of
the king of the South, Gaza.
11
"Then the king of
the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who
will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.
The king of the South is now Ptolemy
Philopater who succeeded the BENEFACTOR (Ptolemy Euergetes).
He was in a rage for Antiochus the Great marched against Gaza.
He assembled a great army and defeated Antiochus the Great near Gaza at
Raphia in 217 BC.
12
When the army is
carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter
many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant.
The king of the South, Ptolemy
Philopater defeated Antiochus the Great and then went back to Egypt feeling
pride. He slaughtered thousands in
the battle but he will not remain triumphant.
13
For the king of the
North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years,
he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.
After this battle in verses 12-13, there
was thirteen years of peace between the two kingdoms.
During this time, Antiochus the Great will strengthen himself by making a
larger army than his first one and fully equip his forces.
14
"In those times
many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own
people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success.
Many will rise against the king of the
South refers to alliances between Philip, king of Macedonia who entered into an
alliance with Antiochus the Great against Ptolemy. Wicked Jews (violent men among your people) will rebel and
seek the favor of Antiochus the Great but he will crush them (without success).
15
Then the king of the
North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The
forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not
have the strength to stand.
Antiochus the Great will capture the
fortified city of Sidon and though the armies of the king of the South will try
to relieve the city, even their best troops will not succeed.
To get to Egypt, Antiochus the Great had to conquer the GLORIOUS LAND –
Palestine.
16
The invader will do as
he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself
in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.
Antiochus the Great will do as he
pleases and no one will stand against him (compare verse 15 with 16).
I said earlier, to get to Egypt, Antiochus the Great had to conquer the
GLORIOUS LAND – Palestine. So he
took possession of Palestine and will have the power to destroy it (or conquer
it, which he did).
17
He will determine to
come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the
king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to
overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.
Antiochus the Great had plans to conquer
Egypt with the might of his entire kingdom but decided to make peace instead for
Egypt was seeking the help of the Romans who were rising in power.
So he had to be diplomatic with Egypt.
He would give his daughter Cleopatra (not the famous Cleopatra) to marry
the infant king of Egypt, Ptolemy Epiphanes who was only seven years old.
Cleopatra was young herself for she was still under the care of her
mother and nurse. He did this so
she can help him overthrow the kingdom but the plans will not work for Cleopatra
will side with her husband.
18
Then he will turn his
attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put
an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him.
Antiochus the Great will turn his sight
to the Romans. He sent out 300
vessels and assailed the coasts and isles of Asia Minor (Turkey today).
He was defeated at Magnesia in 190 BC.
The commander in this prophecy is Scipio Asiaticus.
19
After this, he will
turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to
be seen no more.
Rome imposed a tribute (1000 talents) of
Antiochus’ land west of the Taurus. Antiochus
needed to raise money to pay the tribute so he attempted to plunder the Temple
of Jupiter at Elymais by night. He was slain with his soldiers by the insurrection by
Elymais’ inhabitants.
20
"His successor
will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years,
however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
His successor is Seleucus Philopater,
his son. He was hard-pressed for
money for he needed to pay off Rome’s Tribute so he sent his tax collector,
Heliodorus to Jerusalem to confiscate the treasures of the Temple.
Within a few years, Seleucus Philopater was poisoned so he was destroyed
not in anger or in battle.
21
"He will be
succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty.
He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it
through intrigue.
ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES will succeed him.
He was his brother and the son of Antiochus the Great.
He was not given the honor of royalty refers to the fact that he was not
the rightful heir for his nephew, Demetrius was the rightful heir.
He with the help of King Eumenes of Pergamum and his brother Attalus will
invade Syria by flatteries.
22
Then an overwhelming
army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be
destroyed.
His enemies will be swept away and the
prince of the covenant will be destroyed. The
prince is High Priest Onias III, who was assassinated.
23
After coming to an
agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will
rise to power.
He will break the alliance he had with
Eumenes and Attalus and persuade the Romans to recognize him and that he had a
small following. But he will rise
to power with only a few people while deceitfully tricking the Romans.
24
When the richest
provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his
fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth
among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses--but only for a
time.
Antiochus will invade Egypt and
successfully take Memphis, Naucratis, and Pelusium. He will not take Alexandria.
He will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did –
successfully take part of Egypt. He
plundered Egypt and distributed the spoils to his followers.
He will plot the overthrow of Alexandria.
25
"With a large army
he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king
of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not
be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.
Antiochus will send a large army to go
against the king of the South, Ptolemy Philometer, Cleopatra’s son.
An equally large army of Egypt met Antiochus’ army but Ptolemy’s army
will fall because of plots against him by his own men.
26
Those who eat from the
king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many
will fall in battle.
Ptolemy fell into the hands of Antiochus
for those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him.
Antiochus will defeat his army and many will die in battle.
Ptolemy’s brother Physcon will succeed him.
27
The two kings, with
their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but
to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.
The two kings are Antiochus and Ptolemy.
They will sit at the same table and try and make peace but will actually
conspire against each other. Ptolemy
will conspire with his brother, Physcon and form a joint sovereignty and was
received into Alexandria. They both
will declare war on Syria.
28
The king of the North
will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set
against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his
own country.
Antiochus will return to Syria with the
spoils of war. He heard rumors
going around that Antiochus himself died. Jason
the High Priest was to blame for he was deprived of his high priestly office and
attacked Jerusalem to recover his office by force.
Angered by the praise of the Jews over this false rumor, Antiochus went
into Jerusalem and killed 40,000 of its inhabitants, sold many as slaves,
carrying off treasure from the Temple worth 1800 talents and then marched off to
Antioch in his own country Syria.
29
"At the appointed
time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different
from what it was before.
In 168 BC, Antiochus led his troops to
Egypt again in order to defeat the TWO BROTHERS. He did not have the same success as before for they went to
Rome for help.
30
Ships of the western
coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and
vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those
who forsake the holy covenant.
Ships of the Roman fleet came and
Antiochus was meet by Popilius Laenas who had a document signed by the Roman
Senate to leave Egypt alone and be content with his own kingdom.
Antiochus accepted and retreated and took his anger out on the Jews by
his massacres, persecutions, and pollutions of the Temple.
31
"His armed forces
will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily
sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
He will repair the walls and towers of
the City of David and garrisoned them with soldiers. He commanded that all his subjects should have one religion
and one law. This was called the
Hellenization of Judah This way
they will be united. The Temple was
profaned by putting an idol over the Alter of Jehovah and sacrificed pigs under
the idol. This is the abomination
that causes desolation not the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION! Antiochus later went into Persia and gaining many victories
there. He retreated to Babylon and
died a natural death in 164 BC at Tabae.
32
With flattery he will
corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God
will firmly resist him.
The people who know their God are
Mattathias, a priest and his sons known as the Maccabees who from 166 BC – 47
BC sought to restore the life of Israel. After
that Herod the Great and the Herod family ruled Judea with the Romans.
33
"Those who are
wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be
burned or captured or plundered.
Compare this verse with Luke 21:24.
This refers to the Jews being scattered throughout the centuries for the
Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. Note
that the Jews have fallen but not exterminated.
34
When they fall, they
will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.
The Jews will receive a little help and
even have Israel attain nationhood by the United Nations in 1948.
35
Some of the wise will
stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time
of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
In the End-Times many wise Jews will be
deceived (stumble) but they will be refined, purified, and made spotless until
the time of the end. The
Tribulation’s main job is to purify a holy remnant of Israel that turn to
Christ and that will be his in the Millennium.
Verses 32-33 talk about the period between Antiochus Epiphanes and the
Messiah, Jesus. Verses 33-35 talk
about the Gap between Messiah the Prince and the Time of the End (Tribulation).
36
"The king will do
as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say
unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time
of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.
Verses 36-45 talk about the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will do as he pleases.
He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of
things against the God of gods refers to the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION where the
Antichrist will proclaim himself to be GOD ALMIGHTY.
He will be successful until the time of wrath (the Tribulation) is
completed.
37
He will show no regard
for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard
any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
Some people say that he will be a Jew
for in some translations it says he will have no regard for the God of his
fathers. He could be a Jew even
though other people have objections about this theory. How could any Jew accept a Messiah that is not a Jew?
I have more confidence saying that the False Prophet will be a Jew rather
than the Antichrist being a Jew. The
one desired by women is referring to Jewish women’s desire to be the mother of
the Messiah. The Antichrist will
ignore this desire for he will not regard the Son of God, the Messiah, Jesus
Christ. Other people say that women
refer to pious women training their children to honor the God of their fathers.
This could be true for the Antichrist for he will not allow anyone to be
honored or worshipped except him. Other
people believe that the Antichrist will not seek sexual intercourse with women.
That’s highly improbable for the man of sin will take part in sexual
immorality that will be rampant in the Tribulation. He will exalt himself over every god by saying that he is GOD
ALMIGHTY when the Abomination of Desolation occurs.
38
Instead of them, he
will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with
gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
The only god that he will honor is SATAN
who offered him the kingdoms of the world in Revelation 13:2.
39
He will attack the
mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those
who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will
distribute the land at a price.
The mightiest fortresses are the cities
of the Ten Federated Kingdoms. He
will attack and seize them and shall garrison them with Imperial troops to
maintain peace and concord. He will
do this with the help of Satan (a foreign god) and he will honor those who
acknowledge him. He will make them
rulers and divide the land for a profit.
40
"At the time of
the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the
North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of
ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.
The king of the South is Egypt, which
will be one of the Ten-Federated Kingdoms.
He will probably be one of the three horns that fall (Daniel 7:20).
The king of the North is the Antichrist and will punish Egypt and defeat
him swiftly as well as other countries.
41
He will also invade the
Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of
Ammon will be delivered from his hand.
He will invade Israel and many countries
will fall. It is worthy to note
that Edom, Moab and Ammon will escape from the Antichrist’s grasp for this is
the place where God will protect the woman (Israel) according to Revelation 12.
42
He will extend his
power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.
He will extend his power over many
countries. In fact he will be the
ruler of the ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT. Egypt
will not escape for it will be his.
43
He will gain control of
the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans
and Nubians in submission.
The Antichrist will gain all the
treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, Libya, and the Nubians
(Ethiopia) who are in submission to the Antichrist.
44
But reports from the
east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to
destroy and annihilate many.
The events in verses 40-45 take place in
the GREAT TRIBULATION. Many nations
will grow tired of the Antichrist’s iron rule so they will seek to attack him.
The east is Asia and the prominent countries in Asia are China and Japan
who will probably form an alliance with Russia (the north).
Reports of this alliance will alarm the Antichrist.
This is the same time where in the sixth vial where the three frog
spirits will gather the armies of the earth for battle.
The Antichrist will seek the help of the European nations and the United
States to help him defeat the insubordinate east and north nations.
They will all gather for battle against each other.
45
He will pitch his royal
tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his
end, and no one will help him.
He will assemble his armies in Armageddon and that is where he will come to his end. When the nations are going to fight each other, they see Christ in the air with his Church and they turn their battle to the Lord and they unite to fight him on the white horse whose name is faithful and true. The Antichrist will come to his end. No one will help him for the moment Christ speaks the word, all of the armies are dead and left for the birds to eat. This is what the Bible calls THE WINEPRESS OF THE NATIONS. The Antichrist after will be put alive in the Lake of Fire.
Daniel 12
1
"At that time
Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a
time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until
then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the
book--will be delivered.
Michael, the Archangel is the great
prince that protects Israel. This
event is referring to Revelation 12 where the Dragon (Satan) will be cast out of
heaven. After this there will be a
time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of time for Satan
will indwell the Antichrist then he will go and start his reign of terror.
The time of distress is the GREAT TRIBIULATION.
Those are delivered are the godly Remnant of Israel, which hides in the
wilderness.
2
Multitudes who sleep in
the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and
everlasting contempt.
This verse is referring to a National
Resurrection of Israel. There are
righteous Jews and unrighteous Jews. The
righteous Jews will inherit the kingdom and stay in Israel while the unrighteous
will awake to everlasting contempt and shame.
3
Those who are wise will
shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to
righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
The wise (Jewish Remnant) will shine
like the brightness of the havens and those who lead many to righteousness
(144,000 and Tribulation Saints) like the stars forever.
4
But you, Daniel, close
up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here
and there to increase knowledge."
Daniel was told to seal up the book in
contrast to John who was told not to seal the book. The Book of Daniel is a sealed book but not to the Christian
believer. There will be a time
where Jews will run to the book of Daniel and their knowledge of it will
increase. Many refers to the Jews
(compare with Daniel 9:27 – the many in 9:27 is Jews also).
Knowledge shall be increased not only refers to increased knowledge of
the apocalyptic scripture but of technology today.
The twentieth century has wrought numerous inventions that changed our
lives like television, computers, radios, airplanes, cars, and much more.
From transportation to appliances, our world is in a technological
revolution. Unfortunately Satan
knows this and will use technology to his advantage (i.e. THE MARK OF THE
BEAST).
5
Then I, Daniel, looked,
and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on
the opposite bank.
Daniel looked and saw two other angels
on opposite sides of the banks of the River Tigris.
6
One of them said to the
man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will
it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?"
One of them asked the man in linen
(remember the man Daniel saw in Daniel 10 who is the Son of Man) how long will
it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled? It is also worthy to note that the man in linen is standing
above the waters of the river as if either floating over the waters or walking
on them.
7
The man clothed in
linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left
hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying,
"It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the
holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed."
The man in linen said a time, times and
half a time, which is three-and-a half years.
He also says when the power of the holy people has been finally broken,
all these things will be completed. This
means when the Antichrist has scattered the Holy Remnant of Israel, this things
will be completed.
8
I heard, but I did not
understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?
Daniel did not understand so he asked
the man in linen what will the outcome of this be?
9
He replied, "Go
your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of
the end.
He replied to Daniel that he goes his
way for the words are closed and sealed until the time of the end when knowledge
shall be increased.
10
Many will be purified,
made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of
the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.
The righteous ones of Israel will be
purified made spotless and refined. The
wicked are those who don’t heed the message of the 144,000 but turn to the
Antichrist. The wicked will not
understand but the wise will (the faithful remnant of Israel).
11
"From the time
that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation
is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
This scripture talks about thirty days
after the Tribulation. Within these
30 days, the Judgment of the Nations will commence and end.
12
Blessed is the one who
waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
This scripture talks about an additional
45 days after the 30 days, which is after the 1260 days (THE GREAT TRIBULATION).
13
"As for you, go
your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will
rise to receive your allotted inheritance."
After this the Old Testament Saints will
resurrect and the Tribulation Saints also. This is after the 1335 days.
They will receive their inheritance – the kingdom.
Copyright © 2001 by STAT