Daniel Chapter 8b
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Table of Contents
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Daniel Chapter 10
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Daniel Chapter 9
A Prophetic Yardstick
Spans the Centuries
Verse 1 In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of
the Chaldeans; 2 in the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
The vision recorded in the preceding chapter was given in the
third year of Belshazzar, 538 B.C. The events narrated in this
chapter occurred in the first year of Darius. Since Belshazzar was the
last ruler of Babylon and Darius the first ruler of Medo-Persia, probably
less than one year elapsed between the events of these two chapters.
Seventy Years of Captivity.—Although Daniel, as prime minister
of the foremost kingdom on the earth, was cumbered with cares and burdens,
he did not let this deprive him of the privilege of studying into things of
higher moment—the purposes of God revealed to His prophets. He understood
by books, that is, the writings of Jeremiah, that God would accomplish
seventy years in the captivity of His people. This prediction is found in
Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10. The knowledge of it, and the use that was made of
it, show that Jeremiah was early regarded as a divinely inspired prophet;
otherwise his writings would not have been so soon collected, and so
extensively copied. Though for a time contemporary with him, Daniel had a
copy of his works which he carried with him in his captivity. Though he
was so great a prophet himself, he was not above studying carefully what
God might reveal to others of His servants.
The seventy years of captivity must not be confused with the seventy
weeks that follow. Dating the period of the seventy years of captivity
from 606 B.C., Daniel understood
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that they were now drawing to their close, and that God had even begun
the fulfillment of the prophecy by overthrowing the kingdom of Babylon.
Verse 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to
seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Because God has promised, we are not released from the responsibility
of beseeching Him for the fulfillment of His word. Daniel might have
reasoned in this manner: God has promised to release His people at the end
of seventy years, and He will accomplish this promise; I need not therefore
concern myself at all in the matter. Daniel did not thus reason; but as
the time drew near for the accomplishment of the word of the Lord, he set
himself to seek the Lord with all his heart.
How earnestly he engaged in the work, even with fasting, and sackcloth,
and ashes! This was probably the year when Daniel was cast into the lions’
den. The reader will recall that the decree approved by the king had
forbidden all his subjects to ask any petition of any god except the king,
on pain of death. But regardless of the decree, Daniel prayed this prayer
three times a day with his windows open toward Jerusalem.
Verse 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
Daniel’s Remarkable Prayer.—We here have opening of Daniel’s wonderful prayer, a prayer expressing such humiliation and contrition of
heart that one must be without feeling who can read it unmoved. He begins
by acknowledging the faithfulness of God, who never fails in any of His
engagements with His followers. It was not from any lack on God’s part in
defending and upholding them, that the Jews were then in captivity, but
only on account of their sins.
Verse 5 We have sinned, and have committed
iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from
Thy precepts and from Thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which
spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our
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fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord,
righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at
this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the
countries whither Thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that
they have trespassed against Thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth
confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers,
because we have sinned against Thee. 9 To the Lord our God belong
mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him; 10
neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws,
which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing,
that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us,
and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God,
because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He hath confirmed his
words, which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by
bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been
done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the
law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer
before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and
understand Thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the
evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his
works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
To this point Daniel’s prayer is employed in making a full and
heartbroken confession of sin. He vindicates fully the course of the Lord,
acknowledging the sins of his people to be the cause of all their
calamites, as God had threatened them by the prophet Moses. He does not
discriminate in favor of himself. No self-righteousness appears in his
petition. Although he had suffered long for others’ sins, enduring seventy
years of captivity for the wrongs of his people, he lived a godly life, and
received signal honors and blessings from the Lord. He brings no
accusations against anyone, pleads no sympathy for himself as a victim of
others’ wrongs, but classes himself with the rest, saying We have
sinned, and unto us belongs confusion of face. He acknowledges that
they had not heeded the lessons God designed to teach them by their
afflictions.
Verse 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast
brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and
hast gotten Thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done
wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I
beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city
Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain:
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because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers,
Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and
his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is
desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 18 O my God, incline Thine ear,
and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which
is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee
for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies. 19 O Lord,
hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own
sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.
The prophet now pleads the honor of the Lord’s name as a reason why he
desires his petition to be granted. He refers to the fact of the
deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and the great renown that had accrued to
the Lord’s name for all His wonderful works manifested among them. All
this would be lost, should He now abandon them to perish. Moses used the
same argument in pleading for Israel. (Numbers 14.) Not that God is moved
with motives of ambition and vainglory; but when His people are jealous for
the honor of His name, when they evince their love for Him by pleading with
Him to work, not for their own personal benefit, but for His own glory,
that His name may not be reproached and blasphemed among the heathen, this
is acceptable with Him. Daniel then intercedes for the city of Jerusalem,
called by God’s name, and His holy mountain, for which He has had such
love, and beseeches Him, for His mercies’ sake, to let His anger be turned
away. Finally, his mind centers upon the holy sanctuary, God’s own
dwelling place upon this earth, and he pleads that its desolations may be
repaired.
Daniel understood the seventy years of captivity to be near their termination. From his allusion to the sanctuary, it is evident that he so far misunderstood the important vision given him in Daniel 8 as to suppose that the 2300 days expired at the same time. This misapprehension was at once corrected when the angel came to give him further instruction in answer to his prayer.
Verse 20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication
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before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had
seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched
me about the time of the evening oblation.
Daniel’s Prayer Is Answered.—We here have the result of
Daniel’s supplication. He is suddenly interrupted by a heavenly messenger.
The angel Gabriel, appearing again as he had before in the form of a man,
whom Daniel had seen in the vision at the beginning, touched him. An
important question is at this point to be determined, namely, Has the
vision of Daniel 8 ever been explained, and can it ever be understood? To
what vision does Daniel refer by the expression, “the vision at the
beginning?” It will be conceded by all that it is a vision of which
we have some previous record, and that in that vision we shall find some
mention of Gabriel. We must go back beyond this ninth chapter, for all
that we have in this chapter previous to this appearance of Gabriel, is
simply a record of Daniel’s prayer. Looking back, then, through previous
chapters, we find mention of only three vision given to Daniel. The
interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar was given in a night vision.
(Daniel 2:19.) But there is no record of any angelic agency in the
matter. The vision of Daniel 7 was explained to Daniel by “one of them
that stood by,” probably an angel, nor is there anything in that
vision which needed further explanation. The vision of Daniel 8 gives some
particulars which show this to be the vision referred to. Gabriel is there
introduced by name. Daniel had said that he did not understand it, showing
that Gabriel, at the conclusion of Daniel 8, had not completed his mission.
There is no place in all the Bible where this instruction is continued, if
it is not in Daniel 9. If therefore the vision of Daniel 8 is not the one
referred to, we have no record that Gabriel ever complied fully with the
instructions given him, or that the vision has ever been explained. The
instruction which the angel now
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gives to Daniel, as we shall see from the following verses, does
exactly complete what was lacking in Daniel 8. These considerations prove
beyond a doubt the connection between Daniel 8 and 9, and this conclusion
will be still further strengthened by a consideration of the angel’s
instructions.
Verse 22 And he informed me, and talked with me,
and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and
understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the
commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly
beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
Gabriel’s Mission.—The manner in which Gabriel introduces
himself on this occasion shows that he has come to complete some unfinished
mission. This can be nothing less than to carry out the instruction to
make this man “understand the vision,” as recorded in Daniel 8.
He says, “I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.”
As the charge still rested upon him to make Daniel understand, and as he
had explained to Daniel in chapter 8 all that he could then bear, and yet
he did not understand the vision, he now comes to resume his work and
complete his mission. As soon as Daniel began his fervent supplication,
the commandment came forth; for Gabriel received instruction to visit
Daniel, and impart to him the requisite information.
From the time it takes to read Daniel’s prayer down to the point at
which Gabriel made his appearance upon the scene, the reader can judge of
the speed with which this messenger was dispatched from the court of heaven
to this servant of God. no wonder that Daniel says he was caused to fly
swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these celestial beings
to a flash of lightning. (Ezekiel 1:14.)
“Understand the matter,” he says to Daniel. What matter?
Evidently that which he did not before understand, as stated in the last
verse of Daniel 8. “Consider the vision.” What vision? Not the
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s image, nor the vision of Daniel 7, for
there was no difficulty with either of these; but the vision of Daniel 8,
in reference to which his
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mind was filled with astonishment and lack of understanding. “I
am come to show thee,” also said the angel.
Daniel had no difficulty in understanding what the angel told him about
the ram, the he-goat, and the little horn, symbolizing the kingdoms of
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Nor was he mistaken in regard to the ending
of the seventy years’ captivity. But the burden of his petition was in
respect to the repairing of the desolations of the sanctuary, which lay in
ruins. He had undoubtedly drawn the conclusion that the time when the end
of the seventy years’ captivity came was the time for the fulfillment of
what the angel had said in regard to the cleansing of the sanctuary at the
end of the 2300 days. Now he must be set right. This explains why at this
particular time, so soon after the previous vision, instruction was sent to him.
The seventy years of captivity were drawing to their close. Daniel was
acting upon a misunderstanding. He must not be suffered longer to remain
ignorant of the true import of the former vision. “I am now come
forth to give thee skill and understanding,” said the angel. How
could the connection between the former visit of the angel and this one be
more distinctly shown than by such words at such a time from such a person?
Daniel Greatly Beloved.—One expression seems worthy of notice before we leave verse 23. It is the declaration of the angel to Daniel, “For
thou art greatly beloved.” The angel brought this declaration direct
from the courts of heaven. It expressed the state of feeling that existed
there in regard to Daniel.
Think of celestial beings, the highest in the universe,—the Father,
the Son, the holy angels,—having such esteem for a mortal man here upon
earth as to authorize an angel to bear the message to him that he is
greatly beloved! This is one of the highest pinnacles of glory to which
mortals can attain. Abraham reached another, when it could be said of him
that he was the “friend of God;” and Enoch another, when it could
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THE 2300 DAYSPage 201
be said of him that he “walked with God.” Can we arrive at
any such attainments? God is no respecter of persons; but He is a
respecter of character. If in virtue and godliness we could equal these
eminent men, we could move the divine love to equal depths. We, too, could
be greatly beloved—could be friends of God, and could walk with Him. We
must be in our generation what they were in theirs.
There is a figure used in reference to the last church which denotes
the closest union with God: “If any man hear My voice, and open the
door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:20. To sup with the Lord denotes an intimacy equal to being
greatly beloved by Him, walking with Him, or being His friend. How
desirable a position! Alas for the evils of our nature, which cut us from
this communion! O for grace to overcome these, that we may enjoy this
spiritual union here, and finally enter the glories of His presence at the
marriage supper of the Lamb!
Verse 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the most Holy.
Seventy Weeks. —These are the first words the angel uttered to
Daniel in imparting to him that instruction which he came to give. Why did
he thus abruptly introduce a period of time? We must again refer to the
vision of Daniel 8. We have seen that Daniel, at the close of that
chapter, says that he did not understand the vision. Some parts of that
vision were at the time clearly explained. It could not have been these
parts which he did not understand. We therefore inquire what it was that
Daniel did not understand, or what part of the vision was left unexplained.
In that vision four prominent things are brought to view: the ram, the
he-goat, the little horn, and the period of 2300 days. The symbols of the
ram, the he-goat, and the little horn were explained, but nothing was said
respecting the period of
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time. This must therefore have been the point that he did not
understand. The other parts of the vision were of no avail while the
application of this period of 2300 days was left in obscurity.
Says the learned Dr. Hales, in commenting upon the seventy weeks, “This chronological prophecy . . . was evidently designed to explain the
foregoing vision, especially in its chronological part of the 2300 days.”
[1]
If this view of the subject is correct, we should naturally expect the
angel to begin with the point which had been omitted, namely, the time.
This we find to be true in fact. After citing Daniel’s attention to the
former vision in the most direct and emphatic manner, and assuring him that
he had now come forth to give him understanding, he begins with the very
point there omitted: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people
and upon thy holy city.”
Cut Off From the 2300 Days. —But how does this language show any connection with the 2300 days, or throw any light upon that period? We
answer: The language cannot be intelligently referred to anything else.
The word here rendered “determined” signifies “cut off,”
and no other period is given in the vision here referred to from which the
seventy weeks could be cut off, except the 2300 days. How direct and
natural, then, is the connection. “Seventy weeks are cut off.”
Cut off from what? —The 2300 days, most assuredly.
The word “determined” in this clause is a translation of the
Hebrew {Hebrew- RH^h]g]} nechtak, based on a primitive root defined by Strong as meaning “to cut
off, (i.e., fig.) to decree —determine” (the latter by
implication). The Authorized Version employs the remoter definition, and
makes it read, “seventy weeks are decreed [i.e., allotted]
upon thy people.” Taking the basic and simpler definition, we have “seventy
weeks are cut off for thy people.”
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If cut off, it must be from some whole larger than itself —in this case
from the twenty-three hundred years of prophecy heretofore discussed. It
may be added that Gesenius gives the same definition as Strong: “to
cut off, . . . to divide, and so to determine, to decree.”
He then refers to Daniel 9:24, and translates the phrase, “are
decreed upon thy people.” Davidson also gives exactly the same
definition, and refers likewise to Daniel 9:24 as an example.
Why, then, it may be asked, did our translators render the word “determined,”
when it so obviously means “cut off?” The answer is, They
doubtless overlooked the connection between the eighth and ninth chapters,
and considering it improper to render it “cut off,” when nothing
was given from which the seventy weeks could be cut off, they gave the word
its figurative instead of its literal meaning. But, as we have seen, the
definition and context require the literal meaning, and render any other
inadmissible.
Seventy weeks, then, or 490 days of the 2300, were allotted to
Jerusalem and the Jews. The events which were to be consummated within
that period are briefly state. The transgression was to be finished, that
is, the Jewish people were to fill up the cup of their iniquity, which they
did in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. An end of sins, or of sin
offerings, [*] was to be made. This
took place when the great offering was made on Calvary. Reconciliation for
iniquity was to be provided. This was accomplished by the sacrificial
death of the Son of God. Everlasting righteousness was to be brought in,
the righteousness which our Lord manifested in His sinless life. The vision
and prophecy were to be sealed, or made sure.
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By the events which were to occur in the seventy weeks, the prophecy is tested. By this the application of the whole vision is determined. If the
events of this period are accurately fulfilled, the prophecy is of God, and
will be accomplished. If these seventy weeks are fulfilled as weeks of
years, then the 2300 days, of which these are a part, are so many years.
Day for a Year in Prophecy. —As we enter upon the study of the seventy weeks, or 490 days, it will be well to remind ourselves of the fact
that in Scripture prophecy a day represents a year. On page 144 we have already submitted evidence of the acceptance of the year-day principle;
however for the benefit of the reader, we present two further quotations as follows:
“In the same way it was opened up to Daniel in what way the last
reviling would be after the sanctuary shall have been cleansed and the
vision shall have been fulfilled; and this after 2300 days from the hour of
the going forth of the commandment, . . . according to the predicted number
by resolving a day into a year, according to the unfolding made to Ezekiel.”
[2]
“It is a singular fact that the great mass of interpreters in the
English and American world have, for many years, been wont to understand
the days designated in Daniel and in the Apocalypse, as the
representatives or symbols of years. I have found it difficult to
trace the origin of this general, I might say almost universal, custom.”
[3]
The year-day principle numbers among its supporters such names as
Augustine, Tichonius, Primasius, Andreas, the Venerable Bede, Ambrosius,
Ansbertus, Berengaud, and Bruno Astensis, besides the leading modern
expositors. [4] But what is more
conclusive than all else is the fact that the prophecies have been
fulfilled on this principle —a demonstration of its correctness from which
there is no appeal. This will be found in the prophecy of the seventy
weeks throughout, and
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all the prophetic periods of Daniel 7 and 12, and Revelation 9, 12, and
13.
Thus the events of the seventy weeks, calculated in this rational way,
furnish a key to the whole vision.
“To Anoint the Most Holy.” —According to the prophecy
the “most holy” was to be anointed. The Hebrew phrase {Hebrew- sv]d]q* vd]q} qodesh qadashim, here translated “most
holy,” is a term used freely through the Levitical books to
characterize things and places, but is nowhere applied to
persons, unless by exception in this verse. While it is used in
the Old Testament and its Greek equivalent in the New, to distinguish the
most holy place in the tabernacle, it is by no means confined to this use.
It is employed also to characterize many articles connected with the holy
service of the sanctuary, such as the brazen alter, the table, the
candlestick, the incense, the unleavened bread, the sin offering, the
trepass offering, every devoted thing, and the like, but never to persons
connected with that service. (See Exodus 29:37; 30:10, 29, 36;
Leviticus 6:17, 29; 7:1; 27:28.)
On the other hand, in the case of anointing for service, the
term is applied to the tabernacle itself, as well as to all its vessels.
(Exodus 30:26-29.) In Daniel 9:24, a case of anointing is
specified in the prophecy. Consistent with the uses of “most holy”
pointed out above, there is every reason to believe that in this verse the
anointing of the heavenly tabernacle is predicted. The tabernacle was
anointed for the typical service; and true to pattern, it is most
appropriate that the heavenly tabernacle should be anointed for the
antitypical, or real, service as our High Priest enters upon His gracious work of ministering in behalf of sinners.
In the examination of the sanctuary in comments on Daniel 8:14, we saw that a time came when the earthly sanctuary gave place to the heavenly, and
the priestly ministration was transferred from the one to the other.
Before the ministration in the earthly sanctuary began, the tabernacle and
all the holy vessels were to be anointed. (Exodus 40:9, 10.)
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Picture on this page.
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The last event of the seventy weeks here brought to view,
therefore, is the anointing of the heavenly tabernacle for the opening of
the ministration there.
Verse 25 Know therefore and understand, that
from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27
And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst
of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for
the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Seventy Weeks Subdivided. —The angel now relates to Daniel the event which is to mark the beginning of the seventy weeks. They were to
date from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build
Jerusalem. Not only is the event given which determines the time of the
commencement of this period, but also those events which take place at its
close. Thus a double test is provided by which to try the application of
this prophecy. But more than this, the period of seventy weeks is divided
into three grand divisions. One of these is again divided, and the
intermediate events are given which were to mark the termination of each
one of these divisions. If we can find a date which will harmonize with
all these events, we have beyond a doubt the true application, for none but
that which is correct could meet and fulfill so many conditions.
Let the reader now take in at one view the points of harmony to be
made, that he may be the better prepared to guard against a false
application. We are to find at the beginning of the period a commandment
going forth to restore and build Jerusalem. To this work of restoration
seven weeks are allotted. As we reach the end of this first division,
seven weeks from the beginning, we are to find Jerusalem restored in its
material aspect, the work of building the street and the
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wall fully accomplished. From this point sixty-two weeks are measured
off. As we reach the termination of this division, sixty-nine weeks from
the beginning, we are to see the manifestation of Messiah the Prince before
the world. One week more is given us, completing the seventy. In the
midst of this week the Messiah is to be cut off, and to cause the sacrifice
and oblation to cease. At the expiration of that period which was allotted
to the Jews as the time during which they were to be the special people of
God, we naturally look for the going forth of the blessing and work of God
to other people.
Beginning of the Seventy Weeks. —We now inquire for the initial
date which will harmonize with all these particulars. The command
respecting Jerusalem was to include more than mere building. There was to
be restoration. By this we must understand all the forms and regulations of
civil, political, and judicial society. When did such a command go forth?
At the time these words were spoken to Daniel, Jerusalem lay in utter
desolation, and had thus been lying for many years. The restoration
pointed to in the future must be its restoration from this desolation. We
then inquire, When and how was Jerusalem restored after the seventy years’
captivity?
There are four events which can be taken as answering to the
commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. These are:
1. The decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the house of God, 536
B.C. (Ezra 1:1-4.)
2. The decree of Darius for the prosecution of that work which had
been hindered, 519 B.C. (Ezra 6:1-12.)
3. The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, 457 B.C. [**] (Ezra 7.)
4. The commission to Nehemiah from the same king in his twentieth
year, 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 2.)
Dating from the first two of these decrees, the seventy weeks, or 490
literal years, would fall many years
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short of reaching even to the Christian Era. Besides this, these
decrees had reference principally to the restoration of the temple and the
temple worship of the Jews, not to the restoration of their civil state and
polity, all of which must be included in the expression, “To restore
and to build Jerusalem.”
These two decrees made a beginning of the work. They were preliminary
to what was afterward accomplished. But of themselves they were altogether
insufficient to meet the requirements of the prophecy, both in their dates
and in their nature. Thus falling short, they cannot be brought into the
discussion as marking the point from which the seventy weeks are to begin.
The only question now lies between the decrees which were granted to Ezra
and to Nehemiah respectively.
The facts between which we are to decide here are briefly these: In
457 B.C., a decree was granted to Ezra by the Persian emperor
Artaxerxes Longimanus to go up to Jerusalem with as many of his people as
were minded to go with him. The commission granted him an unlimited amount
of treasure, to beautify the house of God, to procure offerings for its
service, and to whatever else might seem good to him. It empowered him to
ordain laws, set magistrates and judges, and execute punishment even unto
death; in other words, to restore the Jewish state, civil, and
ecclesiastical, according to the law of God and the ancient customs of that
people. Inspiration has seen fit to preserve this decree; and a full an
accurate copy of it is given in Ezra 7. This decree is recorded not in
Hebrew, like the rest of the book of Ezra, but in the official Chaldaic, or
Eastern Aramaic. Thus we are referred to the original document by virtue
of which Ezra was authorized to restore and build Jerusalem.
Thirteen years after this, in the twentieth year of the same king, 444
B.C., Nehemiah sought and obtained permission to go up to
Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2.) Permission was granted him, but he have no
evidence that it was anything more than oral. It pertained to him
individually, since nothing was said about others going up with him. The
king asked him how long
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a journey he wished to make, and when he would return. He received
letters to the governors beyond the river to help him on his way to Judea,
and an order to the keeper of the king’s forest for timber.
When he arrived at Jerusalem, he found rulers and priests, nobles, and
people, already engaged in the work of building Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:16.) They were, of course, acting under the decree given to Ezra thirteen
years before. Finally, after arriving at Jerusalem, Nehemiah finished in
fifty-two days the work he came to accomplish. (Nehemiah 6:15.)
Now which of these commissions, Ezra’s or Nehemiah’s, constitutes the
decree for the restoration of Jerusalem, from which the seventy weeks are
to be dated? It hardly seems that there can be any question on this point.
Reckoning from the commission to Nehemiah, 444 B.C., the date
throughout are entirely disarranged; for from that point the troublesome
times which were to attend the building of the street and wall did not last
seven weeks, or forty-nine years. If we reckon from that date, the
sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, which were to extend to the Messiah the
Prince would bring us to A.D. 40; but Jesus was baptized of John
in Jordan, and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven declaring Him
His Son,
A.D. 27, thirteen years before. [5]
According to this calculation, the midst of the last or seventieth week,
which is marked by the crucifixion, is placed in A.D. 44, but the
crucifixion took place in A.D. 31, thirteen years previous. And
lastly, the seventy weeks, or 490 years dating from the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes, would extend to A.D. 47, with absolutely nothing to
mark their termination. Hence if that be the year, and the grant to
Nehemiah the event, from which to reckon, the prophecy has proved a
failure. As it is, it only proves that the theory to be a failure which
dates the seventy weeks from Nehemiah’s commission in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes.
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It is thus evident that the decree granted to Ezra in the seventh year
of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C., is the point from which to date the
seventy weeks. That was the going forth of the decree in the sense of the
prophecy. The two previous decrees were preparatory and preliminary to
this. Indeed they are regarded by Ezra as parts of it, the tree being
taken as one great whole. For in Ezra 6:14 we read: “They builded,
and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and
according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
Persia,” It will be noticed that the decrees of these kings are
spoken of as one,—”the commandment [margin, “decree,”
singular number] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes,” showing that
they are all reckoned as a unit, the different decrees being but the
successive steps by which the work was accomplished. This decree could not
be said to have “gone forth” as intended by the prophecy, until
the last permission which the prophecy required was embodied in the decree,
and clothed with the authority of the empire. This point was reached in
the grant given to Ezra, but not before. Here the decree assumed the
proportions and covered the ground demanded by the prophecy, and from this
point its “going forth” must be dated.
Harmony of the Subdivision. —Will these dates harmonize if we
reckon from the decree to Ezra? Let us see. Our starting point then is
457 B.C. Forty-nine years are allotted to the building of the
city and the wall. On this point, Prideaux says: “In the fifteenth
year of Darius Nothus ended the first seven weeks of the seventy weeks of
Daniel’s prophecy. For then the restoration of the church and state of the
Jews in Jerusalem and Judea was fully finished, in that last act of
reformation, which is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, from
the twenty-third verse to the end of the chapter, just forty-nine
years after it had been first begun by Ezra in the seventh year of
Artaxerxes Longimanus.” [6] This
was 408 B.C.
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So far we find harmony. Let us apply the measuring rod of the prophecy
still further. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, were to extend to Messiah
the Prince. Dating from 457 B.C., they end in A.D. 27.
What event then occurred? [***] Luke
thus informs us: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to
pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a
voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am
well pleased.” Luke 3:21, 22. After this, Jesus came “preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,
The time is fulfilled.” Mark 1:14, 15. The time
here mentioned must have been some specific, definite, and predicted
period; but no prophetic period can be found terminating then except the
sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy of Daniel, which were to extend to Messiah
the Prince. The Messiah had now come, and with His own lips He announced
the termination of that period which was to be marked by His manifestation.
[+]
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Here, again, is indisputable harmony. But further, the Messiah was to
confirm the covenant with many for one week. This would be the last week
of the seventy, or the last seven years of the 490. In the midst of the
week, the prophecy informs us, He should cause the sacrifice and oblation
to cease. These Jewish ordinances, pointing to the death of Christ, could
cease only at the cross. There they did virtually come to an end when the
veil of the temple was rent at the crucifixion of Christ, though the
outward observance was kept up until the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D.
70. After threescore and two weeks, according to the record, the Messiah
was to be cut off. It is the same as if it had read: After threescore and two weeks, in the midst of the seventieth week, shall Messiah be cut off, and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Now, as the word midst here means middle, the crucifixion is definitely located in the middle of the seventieth week.
Date of the Crucifixion. —It now becomes an important point to
determine in what year the crucifixion took place. It is not to be
questioned that our Saviour attended every Passover that occurred during
His public ministry, and we have mention of only four such occasions
previous to His crucifixion. These are found in the passages: John 2:13;
5:1; 6:4; 13:1. At the last-mentioned Passover He was crucified. From
facts already established, let us then see where this would locate the
crucifixion. As He began His ministry in the autumn of A.D. 27,
His Passover would occur the following
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spring, A.D. 28; His second, A.D. 29; His third,
A.D. 30; and His fourth and last, A.D. 31. This gives us three
years and a half for His public ministry, and corresponds exactly to the
prophecy that He would be cut off in the midst, or middle of the seventieth
week. As that week of years began in the autumn of A.D. 27, the
middle of the week would occur three and one half years later, in the
spring of 31, when the crucifixion took place. Dr. Hales quotes Eusebius,
A.D. 300, as saying: “It is recorded in history that the
whole time of our Saviour’s teaching and working miracles was three years
and a half, which is the half of a week [of years]. This, John the
evangelist will represent to those who critically attend to his Gospel.”
[7]
Of the unnatural darkness which occurred at the crucifixion, Hales thus
speaks: “Hence it appears that the darkness which ‘overspread the
whole land of Judea’ at the time of our Lord’s crucifixion was
preternatural, ‘from the sixth until the ninth hour,’ or from non till
three in the afternoon, in its
duration, and also in its time, about full moon, when the
moon could not possibly eclipse the sun. The time it happened, and the
fact itself are recorded in a curious and valuable passage of a respected
Roman Consul, Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, about A.D. 514. ‘In
the consulate of Tiberius Caesar Aug. V and AElius Sejanus (U.C.
784, A.D. 31), our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, on the 8th of the
Calends of April (25th of March), when there happened such an eclipse of
the sun as was never before nor since.’
“In this year, and in this day, agree also the Council of Caesarea, A.D. 196 or 198, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Maximus Monachus, Nicephorus Constantinus, Cedrenus; and in this year, but on different days, concur Eusebius and Epiphanius, followed by Kepler, Bucher,
Patinus, and Petavius, some reckoning it the 10th of the Calends of April, others the 13th.” (See comments on Daniel 11:22.) [8]
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Here, then, are thirteen creditable authorities who locate the crucifixion of Christ in the spring of A.D. 31. We may therefore set this down as a fixed date. This being in the middle of the last week, we have simply to reckon backward three and a half years to find where sixty-nine of the weeks ended, and forward from that point three and a half
years to find the termination of the whole seventy weeks. Thus going back
three and a half years from the crucifixion in the spring of A.D.
31, we come to the autumn of A.D. 27, when, as we have seen, the
sixty-nine weeks ended, and Christ began His public ministry. Going
forward from the crucifixion three and a half years, we are brought to the
autumn of A.D. 34, as the grand terminating point of the whole
period of the seventy weeks. This date is marked by the martyrdom of
Stephen, the formal rejection of the gospel of Christ by the Jewish
Sanhedrin in the persecution of His disciples, and the turning of the
apostles to the Gentiles. These are the events which one would expect to
take place when that specified period cut off for the Jews and allotted to
them as a peculiar people, should fully expire.
From the facts above set forth, we see that, reckoning the seventy
weeks from the decree given to Ezra in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, 457
B.C., there is perfect harmony throughout. The important and
definite events of the manifestation of the Messiah at His baptism, the
commencement of His public ministry, the crucifixion, and the rejection of
the Jews and the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, with the
proclamation of the new covenant —all come in in their exact place, sealing
the prophecy and making it sure.
End of the 2300 Days. —With the seventy weeks we are now through; but there remains a longer period, and other important events are to be considered. The seventy weeks are but the first 490 years of the 2300-year period. Take 490 from 2300, and there remains 1810. The 490, as we have seen, ended in the autumn of A.D. 34. If to this date we now add the remaining 1810 years, we shall have the termination of the
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whole period. So to A.D. 34, autumn, add 1810, and we have
the autumn of A.D. 1844. Thus speedily and surely do we find the
termination of the 2300 days, when once the seventy weeks have been located.
Why in 1844? —The query may here arise how the days can be
extended to the autumn of 1844 if they began in 457 B.C., as it
requires only 1843 years, in addition to the 457, to make the whole number
2300. Attention to one fact will clear this point of all difficulty: It
takes 457 full years before Christ, and 1843 full years after, to
make 2300; so that if the period began with the very first day of
457, it would not terminate till the very last day of 1843. Now it
will be evident to all that if any part of the year 457 passed away before
the 2300 days began, just so much of the year 1844 must pass away before
they would end. We therefore inquire, From what point in the year 457 are
we to begin to reckon? From the fact that the first forty-nine years were
allotted to the building of the street and wall, we learn that the
period is to be dated not from the starting of Ezra from Babylon, but the
actual beginning of the work at Jerusalem. This beginning could hardly be
earlier than the seventh month (autumn) of 457, as he did not arrive at
Jerusalem until the fifth month of that year. (Ezra 7:9.) The whole
period would therefore extend to the seventh month, autumn, Jewish time, of
1844.
The momentous declaration made by the angel to Daniel, “Unto two
thousand and three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,”
is now explained. In our search for the meaning of the sanctuary and it
cleansing, and the application of the time, we have found only that this
subject can be easily understood, but lo, the event is even now in process
of accomplishment. Here we pause a brief moment to reflect upon the solemn
position into which we are brought.
We have seen that the sanctuary of the Christian Era is the tabernacle
of God in heaven, the house not made with hands, where our Lord ministers
in behalf of penitent sinners, the place where between the great God and
His Son Jesus
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Christ the “counsel of peace” prevails in the work of
salvation for perishing men. (Zechariah 6:13; Psalm 85:10.) We have
seen that the cleansing of the sanctuary consists in the removing of the
sins from it, and is the closing act of the ministration performed in it;
that the work of salvation now centers in the heavenly sanctuary; and that
when the sanctuary is cleansed, the work is done. Then the great plan of
salvation devised at the fall of man is brought to its final termination.
Mercy no longer pleads, and the great voice is heard from the throne in the
temple in heaven, saying, “It is done.” Revelation 16:17. What
then? All the righteous have the gift of everlasting life; all the wicked
are doomed to everlasting death. Beyond that point, no decision can be
changed, no reward can be lost, and no destiny of despair can be averted.
The Solemn Judgment Hour. —We have seen (and this is what
brings the solemnities of the judgment to our own door) that that long
prophetic period which was to mark the beginning of the final work in the
heavenly sanctuary, has met its termination. In 1844 the days ended.
Since that time the final work for man’s salvation has been going forward.
This work involves an examination of every man’s character, for it consists
in the remission of the sins of those who shall be found worthy to have
them remitted, and determines who among the dead shall be raised. It also
decides who among the living shall be changed at the coming of the Lord,
and who of both dead and living shall be left to have their part in the
fearful scenes of the second death. All can see that such a decision as
this must be rendered before the Lord appears.
Every man’s destiny is to be determined by deeds done in the body, and
each one is to be rewarded according to his works. (2 Corinthians 5:10;
Revelation 22:12.) In the books of record kept by the heavenly scribes
above, every man’s deeds will be found recorded. (Revelation 20:12.) In
the closing sanctuary work these records are examined, and decisions are
rendered in accordance with the findings. (Daniel 7:9, 10.) It would be
natural to suppose that the work would
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begin with the first members of the human race, that their cases would
be first examined, and decision rendered, and so on with all the dead,
generation by generation, in chronological succession, until we reach the
last generation — the generation of the living, with whose cases the work
would close.
When the cases of all the dead have been examined, and when the cases
of the living have been reached, no man can know. But since the year 1844
this solemn work has been going forward. Light from the types, and the
very nature of the work, forbid that it should be of long continuance. In
his sublime views of the heavenly scenes, John saw millions of attendants
and assistants engaged with our Lord in His priestly work. (Revelation 5.)
Thus the ministration goes forward. It ceases not, it delays not, and it
must soon be forever finished.
Here we stand then, with the last, the greatest, and the most solemn
crisis in the history of our race immediately impending. The plan of
salvation is about finished. The last precious years of probation are
almost finished. The Lord is about to come to save those who are ready and
waiting, and to cut asunder the careless and unbelieving. The world —alas!
What shall we say of it? Deceived with error, crazed with cares and
business, delirious with pleasure, and paralyzed with vice, the inhabitants
have not a moment to spare for listening to solemn truth, nor a thought to
bestow upon their eternal interests. Let the people of God, with eternity
in view, be careful to escape the corruption that is in the world through
lust, and prepare to pass the searching test when their cases shall come up
for examination at the great tribunal above. Let them be diligent in
warning sinners of the wrath to come, and in pointing them to a loving
Saviour who intercedes in their behalf.
To the careful attention of every student of prophecy we commend the
subject of the sanctuary and its service. In the sanctuary is seen the ark
of God’s testament, containing His
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Picture on this page.
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holy law. This suggests a reform in our obedience to that great
standard of morality. The opening of this heavenly temple, or the
beginning of the service in its second apartment, marks the commencement of
the sounding of the seventh angel. (Revelation 11:15, 19.) The work
performed therein is the foundation of the third angel’s message of
Revelation 14, —the last message of mercy to a perishing world. This
subject of the sanctuary renders harmonious and clear past prophetic
fulfillments which are otherwise involved in impenetrable obscurity. It
gives a definite idea of the position and work of our great High Priest,
and brings out the plan of salvation in its distinctive and beautiful
features. It reins us up, as no other subject does, to the realities of
the judgment, and shows the preparation we need to be able to stand in the
coming day. It shows us that we are in the waiting time, and puts us upon
our watch, for we do not know how soon the work will be finished, and our
Lord appear. Watch, lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.
After stating the great events connected with our Lord’s mission here
upon the earth, the prophet in the last part of Daniel 9:27 speaks of the
soon- following destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman power; and finally of
the destruction of that power itself, called in the margin “the
desolator.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1] William Hales, A New Analysis of Chronology, Vol. II, p. 517.
[2] Nicholas von Cusa, Conjectures of Cardinal Nicholas von Cusa Concerning the Last Days, p. 934.
[3] Moses Stuart, Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecy, p. 74.
[4] See Edward B. Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 234, notes 2-6.
[5] See S. Bliss, Analysis of Sacred Chronology, pp. 180, 182; Karl Wieseler, A Chronological Synopsis of the Four Gospels, pp. 164-247.
[6] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connect in the History of the Jews, Vol. I, p. 322.
[7] William Hales, A New Analysis of Chronology, Vol. I, p. 94.
[8] Ibid., pp. 69, 70.
[*] The Hebrew word, {Hebrew- haf]h]} chattath, translated “sins” in Daniel 9:24, denotes either sin or sin offering. Leviticus 4:3 is an example of its use in both senses in the same verse: “Let him bring for his sin . . . a young bullock . . . for his sin offering,” the same Hebrew word being used in both instances. This is a common usage through the Levitical books including Leviticus 16 and elsewhere in the Old Testament. It can therefore clearly be used in the sense of sin offerings in Daniel 9:24, for an end of sin offerings was actually made at the cross. —Editors.
[**] The years of Artaxerxes’ reign are among the most easily established dates of history. The Canon of Ptolemy, with its list of kings and astronomical observations, the Greek Olympiads, and allusions in Greek history to Persian affairs all combine to place the seventh year of Artaxerxes at 457 B.C. beyond successful controversion. See Sir Isaac Newton, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, pp. 154-157. —Editors.
[***] There is abundance of authority for A.D. 27 as the date of Christ’s baptism. See S. Bliss, Analysis of Sacred Chronology, p. 180; New International Encyclopedia, art. “Jesus Christ;” Karl Wieseler, A Chronological Synopsis of the Four Gospels, pp. 164-247.
[+] Luke declared that Jesus “began to be about thirty years of age” at the time of His baptism (Luke 3:23); and almost immediately after this He entered upon His ministry. How, then, could His ministry begin in A.D. 27, and He still be the same age named by Luke? The answer to this question is found in the fact that Christ was born between three and four years before the beginning of the Christian Era, that is, before the year called A.D. 1. the mistake of dating the Christian Era somewhat over three years this side of the birth of Christ, instead of dating it from the year of His birth, as it was designed to be, arose on this wise. One of the most important of ancient eras was reckoned from the building of the city of Rome —ab urbe condita— expressed by the abbreviation A.U.C., or more briefly, U.C. In the year which is now numbered A.D. 532, Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian by birth, and a Roman abbot, who flourished in the reign of Justinian, invented the Christian Era. According to the best evidence at his command, he placed the birth of Christ U.C. 753. But Christ was born before the death of Herod; and it was afterward ascertained on the clearest evidence that the death of Herod occurred in April, U.C. 750. Allowing a few months for the events recorded in Christ’s life before the time of Herod’s death, his birth is carried back to the latter part of U.C. 749, a little more than three years before A.D. 1. Christ was therefore thirty years of age in A.D. 27. “The Vulgar [common] era began to prevail in the West about the time of Charles Martel and Pope Gregory II, A.D. 730; but was not sanctioned by any public Acts or Rescripts till the first German Synod, in the time of Carolomannus, Duke of the Franks, which, in the preface, was said to be assembled ‘Anno ab incarnatione Dom. 742, 11 Calendas Maii.’ But it was not established till the time of Pope Eugenius IV, A.D. 1431, who ordered this era to be used in the public Registers: according to Mariana, and others.” —William Hales, “A New Analysis of Chronology,” Vol. I, p. 84. (See also Samuel J. Andrews, Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth, pp. 29, 30.) The Christian Era had become so well established before the mistake above referred to was discovered, that no change in the reckoning has been attempted. It makes no material difference, as ti does not interfere at all with the calculation of dates. If the era began with the actual year of Christ’s birth, the number of years B.C. in any case would be four years less, and the years A.D. four years more. To illustrate: If we have a period of twenty years, on half before and the other half in the Christian Era, we ay that it began 10 B.C. and ended A.D. 10. But if we place the era back to the real point of Christ’s birth there would be no change of either terminus of the period, but we should then say that it began 6 B.C. and ended A.D. 14; that is four years would be taken from the figures B.C. and added to those of A.D. Some have so far misapprehended this subject as to claim that the current year should have four years added to it, to denote the real year of the Christian Era. This would be true, if the reckoning began from the actual date of Christ’s birth. But this is not the case, the starting point being between three and four years later. —Editors.
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