DANIEL---EXPLOITS IN EXILE
INTRODUCTION
1. Daniel gives us a “prophetic history” of the Gentile world power from the beginning of the Babylonian Empire to its end at the close of the Great Tribulation Period.
2. World empires of the book:
A. Babylonian---(625-536 B.C.) with Nebuchadnezzar as the leading king and the one who carried Israel away captive.
B. Medo-Persian---(536-330 B.C.) which became a world power through Cyrus, under whom the Jews returned to Jerusalem.
C. Grecian---(330-150 B.C.) which under the leadership of Alexander the Great subdued the entire Persian world. It was a short-lived empire due to the death of Alexander at the age of 32. The empire was then divided.
D. Roman---(150 B.C.-500 A.D.) was anticipated by and grew out of the Syrian
Empire. “Fragments of the Ancient Roman Empire have never ceased to exist.”
--New Scofield, p. 1364; note 4 (Rev. 13:3)
It reached the zenith of its power during the time of Christ and then steadily declined but never died.
3. To Daniel was given some of the most far-reaching and detailed prophecies of the Word of God.
A. The four great world powers of Gentile dominion (chs. 2 and 7)
B. The coming of the time of trouble upon the earth known as the Tribulation (9:24-27)
C. The coming of a man to head up the last great Gentile world power before the coming of Christ, known as the Antichrist (7:8; 8:9-14; 8:23-25; 11:21-45)
D. The time of the Seventy Weeks of Israel that sets the stage for the Tribulation (9:24-27)
4. The period of Daniel’s prophetic visions is known as:
A. “The times of the Gentiles”. (Luke 21:24) “The times of the Gentiles is that long period that began with the Babylonian captivity of Judah, under Nebuchadnezzar, and is to be brought to an end by the destruction of Gentile world power by the ‘stone cut out without hands’ (Dan. 2:34-35,44), i.e. the coming of the Lord in glory. Until then Jerusalem will be, as Christ said, ‘trodden down by the Gentiles’”.
--New Scofield, p. 1368; note 2 (Rev. 16:19)
B. The time period ranges from 606 B.C. to the present, and for at least another seven years, through the conclusion of the Tribulation to the glorious return of Christ to set up His kingdom.
5. Daniel is to the O.T. what the book of Revelation is to the N.T.
A. In fact, we cannot understand one without the other.
B. The Revelation, the only prophetic book of the N.T., would ever be a sealed book, if we had not the prophecies of Daniel, and the prophecies of Daniel would in part remain sealed if we had not Revelation. (Dan 12:9)
DANIEL IN THE CRITICS’ DEN
1. “No other book has been so much attacked as the book of Daniel. For about 2000 years wicked men, heathen philosophers and infidels have hammered away against it, but the book of Daniel has proven to be an anvil upon which the critic’s hammers have been broken into pieces.” --Gaebelein
2. These critics are followers of the wicked assailant of Christianity of the third century, Porphory, who contended that Daniel was a forgery, and that it was written during the times of the Maccabees after Antiochus Epiphanes, so clearly foretold in this book, had appeared.
3. The whole reasoning method of the destructive Bible criticism may be reduced to the following: Prophecy is an impossibility; there is no such thing as foretelling events to come. Therefore, a book which contains predictions must have been written after the event which are supposedly predicted.
4. Answers to its authenticity:
A. The Septuagint version of the O.T. (a translation into Greek) was made before the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian enemy who became governor over Israel and defiled the temple. Inasmuch as the Septuagint contains the book of Daniel, it antedates the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.
B. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that when Alexander the Great, who is mentioned in Daniel’s prophecies, came to Jerusalem in 332 B.C. Jaddua, the high priest, showed him the prophecies of Daniel.
C. The highest authority for the authenticity of this book is the Lord Jesus. He speaks of “Daniel the Prophet”. (Matt. 24:15) He uses some of Daniel’s terminology. (Mark 13:14)
D. Dead Sea Scrolls - 125 B.C.
DANIEL THE MAN
1. Carried away captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign (2 Kings 23:36) in 606 B.C. at the age of 16, eight years before Ezekiel
2. It is believed that he belonged to a family of high rank because he was carried away in the first deportation.
3. His whole life was spent in Babylon. In a vile court he lived a saintly life, so much so that he is referred to as a model of righteousness.
A. Testimony of Ezekiel, his contemporary (Ezek. 14:14,20; 28:3)
B. Testimonies of Gabriel and other angels (9:23; 10:11,19)
4. Became a high government official (1:3-6; 6:1-3)
A. He was trained for such a position.
B. He served under four rulers: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus.
C. He lived under three dynasties: Babylonian, Median, and Persian.
D. As a prophet:
1) In the sense that God gave prophetic revelation through him.
2) He was not a preaching prophet.
3) He was a prophet to the nations of the world rather than being limited to the house of Israel.
E. He was carried to Babylon in 606 B.C. and remained there through at least the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, which was 534 B.C. Daniel must have lived in Babylon no less than 72 years. He was at least 80 years old when cast into the lion’s den!
KINGDOMS IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL---there are six different kingdoms identified in the book:
1. Babylon---------head of gold (Ch. 2, vs. 36-38) lion with eagle’s wings (Ch. 7 v. 4)
2. Media-Persia---arms and chest of silver (v. 39)bear with three ribs (v. 5)
3. Greece-----------thighs of brass (v. 39) leopard with four heads (v. 6)
4. Rome------------legs of iron (v. 40) dreadful beast (v. 7)
5. Antichrist’s-----10 toes of iron and clay (vs. 41-43) little horn (v. 8)
6. Christ’s---------Stone that smites (vs. 44-45) Ancient of Days (vs. 9-14)
A. “From the head of gold (2:38) to the iron of the fourth kingdom there is a deterioration in fineness, but increase in strength (v. 40). Then comes the deterioration of the fourth kingdom in that very quality of strength.
1) Deterioration by division: the kingdom is divided into two, the legs (eastern and western empires), and these are again divided into kingdoms, the number of which, when the Stone smites the image, will be ten (toes, v. 42, cf. 7:23-24).
2) Deterioration by admixture: the iron mixed with clay.
---New Scofield, p. 899; note 3 (Dan. 2:41)
B. The monarchy vision of Nebuchadnezzar covers the same order of fulfillment as Daniel’s beast vision, but with this difference: Nebuchadnezzar saw the imposing outward power and splendor of “the times of the Gentiles”, whereas Daniel saw the true character of Gentile world government as rapacious and warlike, established and maintained by force. It is remarkable that the heraldic insignia of the Gentile nations are all beasts or birds of prey.” --New Scofield, p. 907; note 2
MESSAGES OF THE BOOK
1. Concerning right living---One can do and live right in spite of his surroundings.
2. Concerning human governments---God sets up and destroys nations.
THE SEVENTY WEEKS
In Daniel 9 we find one of the most notable predictions in the Bible. In verses 24-27 Daniel is told that “seventy weeks (or sevens) are determined” on his people. From the going forth of the “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” to the time when the Messiah should be “cut off” would be “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks”, or sixty-nine weeks in all; that is 483 years. The seventieth week is treated as distinct. In it an evil ruler violates a covenant with the Jews and desecrates Jerusalem.
To understand this prediction we must ascertain when the “command to restore Jerusalem” was issued, so as to know the starting-point of the 483 years. We must also know whether the years are solar or lunar or lunisolar. Three decrees affecting Jerusalem are mentioned in Ezra---that of Cyrus in 536 B.C., that of Darius Hystaspis about 519 B.C., and that of Artaxerxes Longimanus about 458 B.C. (1:1; 6:3; 7:11). None of these can be the decree foretold to Daniel, for all three related only to the temple and worship. The one edict in history for the rebuilding of the city itself is that which was issued by Artaxerxes at the appeal of Nehemiah---”That thou wouldst send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, THAT I MAY BUILD IT” (Neh. 2:5).
Nehemiah himself gives the date---”the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes” (2:1). This, then, is the starting-point: Nisan, 445 B.C. Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year. The first of Nisan is New Year’s Day. As Nehemiah names no other day, the prophetic period must be reckoned according to common Jewish custom from the New Year’s Day. Now as the Jewish year was regulated by the Paschal moon, the date of any Nisan can be definitely calculated in relation to our own Julian dating. In his book, THE COMING PRINCE, Sir Robert Anderson has shown, with the corroboration of the Astronomer Royal, that Nehemiah’s date was the 14th of March, 445 B.C.
And now, what kind of years are we to reckon? We are not left in doubt. The interrelation of Daniel’s visions and those of John is patent to all; and a comparison of the two will settle it that the prophetic year is a lunisolar year of 360 days. Both Daniel and John speak of “a time, and times, and half a time” (that is 3 1/2 “times”); and both make it clear that 3 1/2 “times” are 3 1/2 years (Compare Dan. 7:25; 9:27; Rev. 12:14; 13:5). But John goes further and splits up the 3 1/2 years into days (compare Rev. 11:2,3; 12:6,14), showing us that the 3 1/2 years equal 1,260 days. This settles it that the prophetic year is one of 360 days.
So then, from the edict to rebuild Jerusalem down to the cutting off of the Messiah was to be 483 years of 360 days each. Was the prophecy fulfilled? It was. Once only did our Lord offer Himself publicly and officially as Israel’s Messiah. It was on that first, memorable “Palm Sunday”. Sir Robert Anderson rightly emphasizes the significance of this. “No student of the Gospels can fail to see that the Lord’s last visit to Jerusalem was not only in fact but in intention the crisis of His ministry. From the time that the accredited leaders of the nation had rejected His Messianic claims, He had avoided all public recognition of those claims. But now His testimony has been fully given, and the purpose of His entry into the capital was to proclaim openly His Messiahship, and to receive His doom. Even His apostles themselves had again and again been charged that they should not make Him known; but now He accepted the acclamations of the ‘the whole multitude’ of the disciples. And when the Pharisees protested He silenced them with the indignant rebuke, ‘I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out’. These words can only mean that the Divinely appointed time had arrived for the public announcement of His Messiahship, and that the Divine purpose could not be thwarted.” It was on this day that our Lord looked on Jerusalem and exclaimed, “If thou also hadst known even on this day, the things that belong to thy peace...!” (See R.V.). And we are expressly told that this day was the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 (Matt. 21:4, 5). Such concentrated emphasis on this day surely cannot be mistaken. This was the predicted day of His public offer to the nation; and which directly occasioned His being “cut off”. Here then we find the terminus of the 483 years, emphasized too clearly to be misunderstood.
See now how exactly Daniel 9 was fulfilled. No date of history is made clearer than the commencement of our Lord’s public ministry. Luke tells us that it was “the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar” (3:1). Now the reign of Tiberius began 19th August A.D. 14, so that the fifteenth year of his reign, when our Lord commenced His public ministry, was A.D. 29; and the first Passover of our Lord’s ministry was in the month Nisan of that year. Three Passovers after this, in A.D. 32, our Lord was crucified. We give a final quotation from Sir Robert Anderson: “According to Jewish custom, our Lord went up to Jerusalem on the 8th Nisan (John 11:55; 12:1; and Josephus, Wars, book, 6 chapter 5, paragraph 3), which, as we know, fell that year upon a Friday. And having spent the Sabbath at Bethany, He entered the Holy City the following day, as recorded in the Gospels. The Julian date of the 10th Nisan was Sunday the 6th April, A.D. 32.” What then was the length of time between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and this climactic public advent of Christ---between the 14th March, 445 B.C. and the 6th April, A.D. 32? Sir Robert tells us that it was EXACTLY 173,880 DAYS, THAT IS, 483 PROPHETIC YEARS OF 360 DAYS! Again, if this is not evidence of Divine inspiration, then nothing is.
What about that seventieth week? It is yet to be. Between the Messiah’s being “cut off” and that seventieth week, the whole of the present Church Age intervenes. As we have said before, the church of the present dispensation is nowhere the subject of direct prediction in the Old Testament. It was the “secret” kept “hidden” during preceding ages (Eph. 3). Again and again in the Old Testament we find both advents of Christ foretold in the same verse or passage, but with no light given as to the intervening of the present age between them (see Gen. 49:10; Isa. 53:11,12; Mic. 5:3; Isa. 61:1,2, with Luke 4:17-19; Zech. 9:9,10; Mal. 3:1; I Pet. 1:10,11).
We cannot here go further into Daniel’s prophecies; but we hope that our brief study of these two basal passages may serve as a useful beginning to some for further investigation. Meanwhile, with that seventieth week in view, we await the trumpet blast from heaven, the voice of the archangel, the descent of the Lord, the opening of the graves, the resurrection of the saints, the possessing of the kingdom, and the glory that shall follow.
Explore the Book by J. Sidlow Baxter, Vol. 4, pp. 83-86
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
I. THE PERSONAL MINISTRY OF DANIEL (1-6)
A. Maintaining his godly walk (1)
B. Interpreting the image dream (2)
C. Friends in the fiery furnace (3)
D. Interpreting the tree vision (4)
E. Interpreting the handwriting on the wall (5)
F. In the lion’s den (6)
II. THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF DANIEL (7-12)
A. His vision of the four beasts (7)
B. His vision of the ram and he-goat (8)
C. His vision of the seventy weeks (9)
D. His vision of the future (10-12)