CHAPTER X
MICHAEL THE GREAT PRINCE. THE TIME OF TROUBLE. MANY AWAKENING. MANY RUNNING
TO AND FRO. KNOWLEDGE INCREASED. HOW LONG THE END?
The first four verses of Daniel 12 should not be disconnected from chapter
11, for they are an integral part of the prophecy, there being no break
at all at the place where the chapter division has been made. These concluding
verses of the prophecy read as follows:
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of
trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time;
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book.
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And they that be wise (lit. cause to be wise) shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars
for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the
book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased."
These are the last words of the long prophecy, and they bring it to an
appropriate climax. They tell what will happen "at that time, "
emphasizing this by repetition. This expression connects the passage directly
with verse 40 of the preceding chapter, where the words "at the time
of the end" occur. The same words are repeated in verse 4 of chapter
12, just quoted. There is, therefore, no room to doubt that the events
here foretold were to occur during the very last stage of "the latter
days" of Jewish history. Moreover, the statement of verse 7, that
when the power of the holy people should be scattered, then all these
things should be finished, absolutely confines the fulfilment of the entire
prophecy to the period anterior to the capture of Jerusalem by Titus.
We specially ask attention to the great oath recorded in this verse, and
trust that our readers will not miss the meaning of it.
Four things are specified in the passage last quoted. They are: First.
The standing up of Michael, the great prince who stands for the children
of Daniel’s people.
Second. A time of trouble such as never was, at which time those found
written in the book were to escape.
Third. Many to awake from the dust of the earth, some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt, in which connection is given
a great promise to those who cause to be wise, and who turn many to righteousness.
Fourth. Many to run to and fro, and knowledge to be increased.
MICHAEL THE PRINCE
Many able and sound expositors hold that Michael is one of the names of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and hence that this part of the prophecy was fulfilled
by His first coming. But the reasons that have been advanced in support
of this view do not seem to us sufficient to establish it. This prophecy
makes several references to great angelic beings, which are deeply interesting.
Thereby it appears that national destinies are in some way presided over,
and shaped, by mighty angels; and that Michael is specially charged to
care for the interests of the people of God.
Jude speaks of "Michael the archangel" as contending with the
devil about the body of Moses (#Jude 9); and in (#Re 12:7), Michael is
again seen in conflict with the devil. Paul mentions the archangel (without
naming him) as having to do with the resurrection of the saints (#1Th
4:16).
In Daniel there are three references to Michael, all in this prophecy
given by the angel who appeared to Daniel on the banks of the Tigris.
The first reference is in (#Da 10:13, ) where the angel says that the
prince of the kingdom of Persia had withstood him, but Michael, one of
the chief princes, came to his aid. Again in the same chapter (#Da 10:20,21)
are the words: "And now I will return to fight with the prince of
Persia; and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come
.... And there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael
your prince."
From these words it appears that the political destinies of the great
heathen nations of earth are presided over by mighty beings, who are rebels
against the authority of God, high potentates in the Kingdom of Satan.
None of those angelic beings stands for God "in these things"—i.e.,
the affairs of the world—except Michael, the archangel. This is in
accord with the words of the Lord Jesus who speaks of the devil as "the
prince of this world" (#Joh 14:30, etc.).
Commenting upon Daniel 10:20, 21, Dr. Taylor says:
“"Then resuming his former theme, the heavenly revealer indicated
that he had to return to fight again with the Persian evil angel, and
that while he was going forth for (or continuing) that conflict, the prince
of Grecia would come, and a new battle would begin with him, in which
the representative of God’s people would be left to his own resources,
with the single exception of the assistance of Michael.”
“This description of the conflicts in the spirit world between the
rival angels foreshadows the opposition encountered by Zerubbabel, Ezra,
Nehemiah and their compatriots during the reigns of the Persian kings
Darius Hystaspes, Xerxes and Artaxerxes, and also that which, at a later
time, the descendants of the restorers of Jerusalem met with at the hands
of the Syrian representatives of the Greek Empire. It prepares the way,
therefore, for the literal statements which follow (in the eleventh chapter)
and from which we learn that, while the Persian kingdom lasted, the enmity
of the World power to the people of God would be largely restrained, and
the monarchs would be either positively favourable to them, or at least
indisposed to harm them. But with the Grecian Empire, especially in one
of the four divisions into which it was to be broken up, a different course
would be pursued, and the descendants of Israel would be reduced by it,
for a season, to the most terrible extremities."”
There is no revelation of the precise part taken by Michael, the great
prince, in the affairs of God’s people in the critical days to which
this part of the prophecy relates, that is to say, the beginning of New
Testament times; for Michael is not mentioned by name in the Gospels or
Acts. But it was a time of manifest angelic activity; and we may be sure
that Michael had a leading part in the events which were connected with
the coming of Christ into the World. Moreover, we read that "the
angel of the Lord" appeared several times to Joseph; that "the
angel of the Lord" came to the shepherds on Bethlehem’s plain,
announcing the birth of the Saviour; that "the angel of the Lord"
opened the prison doors, setting the apostles free (#Ac 5:19), and again
released Peter from the prison, into which he had been cast by Herod Agrippa
I (#Ac 12:7); that the same "angel of the Lord" smote that king
upon his throne when, upon a great public occasion, he gave not glory
to God (#Ac 12:23); and the same angel came to Paul at the time of the
great shipwreck with God’s message of deliverance (#Ac 27:23). If
this "angel of the Lord" was Michael, then we have many instances
of his "standing up, " in behalf of the people of God "at
that time." But especially at the great crisis of danger—the
siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, which was particularly and definitely
revealed to Daniel—would there be need of intervention by those celestial
beings who "excel in strength, " and no doubt Michael then "stood
up" for the deliverance of Daniel’s people, even on behalf of
"as many as were found written in the book."
It should be stated, in this connection, that the expression "written
in the book" had been known since the days of Moses (#Ex 32:32) as
a figurative description of those whom the Lord acknowledges as His own.
A TIME OF TROUBLE SUCH AS NEVER WAS
The prediction of "a time of trouble such as never was since there
was a nation even to that same time, " is the last thing in the chain
of national events revealed in this prophecy; and in perfect agreement
with it is the well known fact that the Jewish nation came to its end
with a time of tribulation, distress and sufferings, of a severity beyond
anything that was ever heard since the world began. Of this period of
unparalleled tribulation Josephus says, in the introduction of his Wars
of the Jews:—
“It had come to pass that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher
degree of felicity than any other city under the Roman government, and
yet at last fell into the sorest of calamities again. Accordingly it appears
to me that the misfortunes of all men from the beginning of the world,
if they be compared to those of the Jews, are not so considerable as they
were.”
The sufferings of the Jews had this peculiar characteristic, namely, that
they were mostly inflicted upon themselves by the warring factions within
the city, concerning whom Josephus says in another place:—
“It is impossible to go distinctly over every instance of these men’s
iniquity. I shall, therefore, speak my mind here at once briefly: That
neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age
ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from
the beginning of the world (Wars V. 10:5).”
This "great tribulation" is commonly in our day assigned to
the future; and this view was held by the present writer himself until
he made a personal study of the question. Our observations on this point,
however, belong to the second division of our subject, the Lord’s
Prophecy on Mt. Olivet (#Mt 24), so we will only say at present that so
conclusive to our mind is the proof that the "great tribulation"
of Matthew 24:21 was the then approaching siege of Jerusalem, that we
are bound to believe that competent teachers who relegate it to the future
have never examined and weighed the evidence.
Mr. Farquharson on this point says as follows:
“"Our Saviour certainly referred to the tribulations attendant
on the fearful destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish
people by the Roman arms under Titus; and when we understand Daniel’s
time of trouble as belonging to the same events, … then the whole
of his prophecy in this twelfth chapter can be easily demonstrated to
have received a signal and complete fulfilment in the Advent of Christ,
in the deliverance wrought by Him, … in the awakening of men from
the death of sin, … in the prophecy itself not being understood until
explained by Christ (and then not understood by the unbelieving Jews,
but understood by the Christian converts), in the continued impenitence
and increasing wickedness of the unbelieving Jews, in the judgments at
last sent upon them in the Roman war, in the duration of that war, and
in the immediate abatement of the sufferings attending it upon Titus’
getting unexpected possession of the last strongholds of Jerusalem."”
In the last clause of the above quotation the author had in mind the words
of Christ "and except those days should be shortened there should
no flesh be saved" (#Mt 24:22), upon all of which deeply interesting
matters we hope to comment in the second part of our work.
MANY AWAKENING OUT OF THE DUST
The words "and many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
" etc. are commonly taken as referring to the bodily resurrection
of the dead, and this is one reason why the entire passage is frequently
relegated to the future. But there is nothing said here about either death
or resurrection. On the other hand, it can be abundantly shown that the
words "sleep" and "awake" are common figurative expressions
for the condition of those who are at first oblivious to the truth of
God, but who are aroused by a message from Him out of that condition.
Isaiah describes the people of Israel as being under the influence of
"the spirit of deep sleep" (#Isa 29:10); and again he says,
"the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined" (#Isa 9:2), which words are declared by the evangelist to
have been fulfilled by the personal ministry of Christ in Israel (#Mt
4:14-16). Paul paraphrases another word of Isaiah (#Isa 60:1) as having
the meaning, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light" (#Eph 5:14). And the Lord Himself
declared that the era of this spiritual awakening had come, when He said,
"The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live"(# John 5:25). In
both these last two passages the reference is to those who were spiritually
dead, as all would agree.
The whole nation of Israel was "awakened" out of a sleep of
centuries through the ministry of John the Baptist, followed by that of
the Lord Himself, and lastly by that of the apostles and evangelists,
who "preached the gospel unto them with the Holy Ghost sent down
from heaven." It will be observed that the prophecy does not indicate
that those who are "awakened" shall all be saved. On the contrary,
it says that for some the awakening would be "to everlasting life,
" and for others "to shame and everlasting contempt." In
agreement with this is the fact which the Gospels so clearly set forth
that, although multitudes came to John’s baptism, and "all men
mused in their hearts concerning him, " and while multitudes also
followed Christ because of the miracles done by Him, and for the sake
of the loaves and fishes, yet the outcome was that Israel was divided
into two classes, those who "received Him, " and those who "received
Him not." Thus "there was a division because of Him." His
own words distinguish the two classes: "He that believeth on Him
is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed on the Name of the only begotten Son of God"
(#Joh 3:18). The former class awoke to "everlasting life" (#Joh
3:16), and the latter "to shame and everlasting contempt" (#Joh
3:36).
To the same effect the apostle John writes: "Nevertheless, among
the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.
For they loved the praise of men, more than the praise of God" (#Joh
12:42,43). These, though awakened, refused to meet Christ’s simple
conditions of salvation by confessing Him (#Mt 10:32); therefore they
awoke unto "shame, " even as He Himself declared, when He said:
"For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, of him shall
the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in
His Father’s, and of the holy angels" (#Lu 9:26).
The next verse of the prophecy strongly confirms the view we are now presenting;
for there we have mention of the reward of those who "cause to be
wise, " and who "turn many to righteousness." What class
of persons could possibly be meant but those who spread the truth of the
gospel? There are none others, and never will be others, who cause their
fellows to be "wise" unto salvation, and "who turn many"
from sin "to righteousness." Seeing, therefore, that we have
the awakening foretold in verse 2 connected closely with a clear reference
to those who preach the gospel of Christ, we have good reason to conclude
that the passage had its fulfilment in that great and wonderful era of
Jewish national existence, "the time of the end" thereof, during
which Christ was announced and manifested, was rejected and crucified,
was raised up and glorified, and finally was preached to the whole nation
in the power of the Holy Ghost.
The nature of the reward promised to those "who cause to be wise"
and "who turn many to righteousness" helps also to illustrate
the meaning of the passage. These are to shine as the brightness of the
firmament, and as the stars forever and ever. This reminds us that the
people of God are to let their light shine before men, and that they are
"the light of the world." In holding forth the word of life
they "shine as lights in the world." Once they were darkness,
but now are they "light in the Lord; " and their reward shall
be to shine as the stars for ever and ever; for as "one star differeth
from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead"
(#1Co 15:41,42).
MANY SHALL RUN TO AND FRO
Various meanings have been assigned to the words "many shall run
to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." These words bring
the prophecy to an end; and it is not difficult to see the resemblance
they bear to the final words of the first Gospel, "Go ye, teach (or
make disciples of) all nations." Another Gospel records their obedience
to this command; for it is written that "They went forth, and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them" (#Mr 16:20).
The word "run" in Daniel 12:4 is not the usual word for the
action of running. Strong’s Concordance says it means primarily to
push, hence to travel or go about. What helps fix the meaning is that,
in nearly all its occurrences in the Bible, it is joined, as here, with
the words "to and fro, " which signify a complete covering of
the ground. Thus, the prophet said to King Asa, "The eyes of the
Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth" (#2Ch 16:9). Jeremiah
says, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see
now, and know, and seek, " &c. (#Jer 5:1); and again, "Lament,
and run to and fro by the hedges" (#Jer 49:3). Amos says, "They
shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find
it" (#Am 8:12), this being just the reverse of the Word of the Lord
seeking after them. Zechariah also has the expression, "They are
the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth"
(#Zec 4:10), signifying His discerning presence in every place.
By these scriptures, therefore, it appears that the words we are considering
are most appropriate to describe that world wide activity in spreading
the truth of the gospel which the Lord specially pressed upon His disciples,
and to which the apostle Paul refers in the words, "How shall they
believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without
a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and
bring glad tidings of good things" (#Ro 10:14,15, quoting #Isa 52:7).
The gospel messenger is frequently figured as one who runs, because of
the urgency of the tidings he bears (#Hab 2:2,3).
And what was the purpose, and what the result of this going forth of the
disciples to every part of the world with the gospel? It was the increase
of knowledge; and certainly, in such a prophecy, it is the knowledge of
the true God that is spoken of (#Joh 17:4; 1Co 15:34; Col 1:10). The world
lay in the darkness of ignorance. Paul describes those times as "the
times of this ignorance, " wherein even the cultivated Athenians
erected an altar to "the Unknown God" (#Ac 17:23-30); and God
Himself had said, even of the Jews, "My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge" (#Ho 4:6). Thus we see the direct relation of
the two clauses, "Many shall run to and fro, " and "knowledge
shall be increased, " and how both are clearly fulfilled in the activities
of the first gospel preachers.
As to this Mr. Farquharson remarks:
“The Divine ’knowledge, ’which the apostles and first Christians
ran to and fro to communicate to all nations, maintains, and ever will
maintain, a lofty and unapproachable superiority over all the knowledge
that man can discover for himself .... In this way then the prediction
of Daniel was literally fulfilled. The day spring of true knowledge from
on high waited upon the footsteps of the apostles of Christ, as they traversed
the Gentile world, dispelling darkness, and doubt and fear, and diffusing
light, and confidence and joy over every condition of human life.”
Thus understood, the words "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased, " bring the prophecy to a most appropriate conclusion,
and one that is strictly in keeping with its announced purpose, and with
its purport as a whole; whereas, to make those words refer to the multiplication
of rapidly moving conveyances, as rail road trains, automobiles, etc.,
and to the spread of "education" by means of schools, colleges,
and books, is to introduce into the prophecy an element that is incongruous,
almost to the point of absurdity.
HOW LONG THE END?
With verse 4 of chapter 12 (#Da 12:4), the long prophecy, which had proceeded
without interruption, and without passing over any important event in
the history of "the latter days" of the Jewish people, comes
to an end. But a remarkable incident follows, and it affords help to the
understanding of this part of the prophecy. At this point Daniel looked
and beheld two others besides the one clothed in linen, which two were
standing the one on the one side, and the other on the other side of the
bank of the river (the Tigris). And thereupon one of these two put to
the man who was clothed in linen a question, to which evidently it was
desired that special attention be paid. Furthermore, the reply was given
by the man in linen in the most solemn and impressive manner; for in replying
he held up both hands to heaven, and sware by Him Who liveth for ever.
This further goes to show that we have here a matter of exceptional importance.
Let us then give special heed to it.
The question was, "How long the end of these wonders?" In quoting
it thus we have omitted the words, "shall it be to, " which
the translators have supplied, and which materially change the sense.
We have seen that the expression "the time of the end" means,
not the actual termination, but the period of time at the very end, the
last stage of the entire era of the renewed national life of Israel. Evidently
it is the duration of that "time of trouble, " spoken of in
verse 1, and concerning which the Lord Himself when on earth was so deeply
distressed and grieved, as we shall point out more particularly hereafter.
It is the same period as that to which He was referring when He said,
"these be the days of vengeance that all things that are written
may be fulfilled" (#Lu 21:22); and again, "And except those
days be shortened there should no flesh be saved, but for the elects’
sake those days shall be shortened" (#Mt 24:22). So it is concerning
the duration of those days of unparalleled distress for Israel that the
question was asked.
Let us then note carefully the reply of the one clothed in linen, which
was in these words, "that it shall be for a time, times, and a half
(or a part, marg.); and when He shall have accomplished to scatter the
power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished" (v.
7).
Here we have information, very clearly stated, which, if we give heed
thereto, will make perfectly plain to us the time when this entire prophecy
was to be fulfilled. For the celestial messenger, in answering the question,
made known first what would be the duration of the closing period of "trouble
such as never was, " and second what was to be the end of the whole
series of events, "all these things, " predicted in the entire
prophecy. The words are clear and precise. They tell us that the last
act of all was to be the scattering of the power of the holy people, and
that when God had accomplished that, then would "all these things
be finished." To the same effect are the words of Christ, Who, in
telling His disciples what the very end of those "days of vengeance"
would be, said that "they shall be led away captive into all nations"
(#Lu 21:24).
This makes it certain that the entire prophecy spoken to Daniel by the
one clothed in linen, including the time of trouble such as never was,
and the awakening of many from the dust of the earth, was fulfilled at
and prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the scattering of the power
of the holy people by the Romans in A. D. 70. It also affords substantial
help in understanding the Lord’s discourse on Mount Olivet, to which
we will shortly come.
A TIME, TIMES AND A PART
But before the scattering of the holy people—a judgment which Moses
had predicted (see #De 28:49-68, and particularly the words, "And
the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the
earth even to the other, " v. 64) a certain period of extreme distress,
" the days of vengeance, " was to run. This is given by the
angel as "a time, times, and a part, " which is understood by
nearly all expositors to be three full years and a part (not necessarily
the half) of a fourth. But no event was mentioned from which this era
of three years and a fraction was to run. So Daniel says, "I heard,
but I understood not; " and therefore he asks, "What shall be
the end of these things? (#Da 12:6)
In replying to this question the one clothed in linen gave information
additional to that asked for; but we will notice first what he said in
direct reply to Daniel’s question. This is found in verses 11, 12,
(#Da 12:11,12) where we read: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,
there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that
waiteth (i.e., survives, or endures) and cometh to the thousand three
hundred and five and thirty days."
It is to be noted that the two measures of time here given, 1290 days
and 1335 days, both fall within the period of three years and a part,
given in verse 7 as the full measure of the time of the end. This tends
still further to confirm the view that by "a time, times, and a part"
is meant three full rounds of the annual feasts of the Jews, and part
of a fourth.
It will further be seen from this answer that Daniel’s question had
reference to the very last epoch of Jewish history; for it was in that
very last stage of their national existence that the daily sacrifice was
caused to cease, which was by them regarded (when it came to pass in the
days of the siege of Jerusalem, as we shall presently show) the harbinger
of some dire calamity.
THE TAKING AWAY OF THE DAILY SACRIFICE
We take the marginal reading (which is the more literal) as giving the
sense, the words of the margin being "and to set up the abomination,
" &c. This reading would make the 1290 days the measure of time
between the two specified events. But we have lately seen an interpretation,
based on the text of the A. V., which makes the taking away of the daily
sacrifice, and the setting up of the abomination that maketh desolate,
simultaneous events, both governed by the preposition "from."
But this obviously leaves the verse without meaning; for it gives a measure
of time from two specified events,
without stating to what that measure brings us.
The "daily sacrifice" was the sacrifice of a lamb every morning
and evening. This was to be kept up by the children of Israel throughout
all their generations, and a special promise was given upon condition
that this offering be continued (#Ex 29:38-45). (It should be observed
that the causing of the sacrifice and oblation to cease, as foretold in
(#Da 9:27), is a very different thing.)
Now, as a matter of historic fact, the daily sacrifice was taken away
during the siege of Jerusalem; and this was counted by the Jews an event
of such importance, and such a portent of approaching disaster, that Josephus
has recorded the very date on which it occurred, saying:
“And now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to
dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make a ready passage
for his army to come up, while he himself had Josephus brought to him;
for he had been informed that, on that very day, which was the seventeenth
day of Panemus, the sacrifice called ’the daily sacrifice’ had
failed, and had not been offered to God for want of men to offer it; and
that the people were grievously troubled at it" (Wars, VI. 2.1.).”
The Roman army, which, by comparison of the Lord’s words in (#Mt
24:15,16 Lu 21:20,21, ) is clearly seen to be "the abomination which
maketh desolate, " encompassed Jerusalem before the failure of the
daily sacrifice; whereas it might appear from the wording of the prophecy
that those events occurred in the reverse order. But Mr. Farquharson shows
that "there is nothing whatever in the verbs of the sentence to indicate
which of the events should precede the other; the interval of time between
them only is expressed."
The first approach of the Roman armies under Cestius is described by Josephus
in his book of Wars, II 17, 10. This was in the month corresponding to
our November, A.D. 66. The taking away of the daily sacrifice was in the
month Panemus, corresponding to the Hebrew Tammuz, and our July, A.D.
70 (Hartwell Horne’s Chronological Table). Thus the measure of time
between the two events was three years, and part of a fourth.
But more than this: the measure 1290 days is exactly 43 great months (30
days each, according to the Hebrew method of reckoning), and inasmuch
as their practice was to reckon by even weeks, months, and years the fulfilment
of this part of the prophecy is seen in the fact that it is just 43 even
months between the two events, ignoring the parts of the two months in
which the events severally occurred.
In verse 12 those are pronounced "blessed, " or happy, who survive
a further period of 45 days, and thus come to the 1335 days. In correspondence
with this is the recorded fact that, about a month and a half after the
daily sacrifice failed, the siege was ended by Titus’ getting sudden
and unexpected possession of the upper city, the last stronghold of the
besieged. This last action took place, according to Josephus, the seventh
day of the Hebrew month Elul, answering to our September; so that the
further duration of the siege after the failure of the daily sacrifice
was approximately one month and a half (Wars, VI 8, 4, 5).
That those days were "shortened" (as the Lord had promised)
by some Divine interference, is indicated by the abrupt and unexpected
manner in which the last stronghold fell. Josephus tells how the "tyrants"
(the dominant faction in the city)
“Did now wholly deprive themselves of the security they had in their
own power, and came down from those very towers of their own accord, wherein
they could never have been taken by force. * ** They left those towers
of themselves; or rather they were ejected out of them by God Himself.
*** The Romans, when they had gotten on the last wall without any bloodshed,
could hardly believe what they found to be true" (ibid).”
As regards the promised blessing of verse 12 (#Da 12:12), it may be observed
that Titus immediately extended clemency to the survivors and he set free
those who had been bound by the tyrants (Wars, VI, 9,1).
But we agree with Farquharson that blessing of a higher sort is here intended.
For we would recall words of like import spoken by the Lord when, referring
to the same period of unequalled distress, He said, "But he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (#Mt 24:13).
As to this Mr. F. says:
“Unquestionably this is His promise to the faithful and persevering
and obedient in all ages of His Church; but, as being comprehended in
His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, it has special reference
to those who should endure under the trials peculiar to the last great
war, in which that city was to be trodden down. Those trials, He intimated,
would be very severe. He said, ’There shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’.”
But to those who should endure all those trials there was the assurance
of special blessing.
In concluding our comments under this heading we would observe that, in
Daniel’s deep concern regarding this time of "the end, "
as to which he inquired with such anxiety, we see a further and a convincing
reason for the view that the period in question was that of the unparalleled
calamities which were to accompany the extinction of his nation and the
destruction of the beloved city, as foretold also in the preceding prophecy
of the Seventy Weeks. It is most unlikely that Daniel would have evinced
such concern regarding the end of some far off Gentile dispensation characterized
by the wide diffusion of secular knowledge, and by the many automobiles
and other swiftly moving conveyances of this present time. Daniel had
the spirit of the Lord Himself in showing acute sorrow because of the
unequalled distresses which were to befall his people and their holy city
and temple.
THE PERIOD OF THREE AND A HALF YEARS
In commenting upon the period of three and a half years, and upon the
various theories to which it has given rise, Dr. Taylor says:
“We cannot pass this note of number without remarking on the singular
coincidences presented by its frequent occurrence both in history and
prophecy. The drought in the days of Elijah lasted three years and six
months. The little horn which appeared on the head of the fourth beast
was to have the saints given into his hands ’until a time, and times,
and the dividing of time.’ The public ministry of the Messiah was
to continue for half a week (or heptad) of years; that is, for three years
and a half. His Gospel was to be preached to the Jews after His ascension
for another half heptad before it was proclaimed to the Gentiles. Then,
in the Book of Revelation, it is said that the woman shall be nourished
in the wilderness ’for a time and times and a half a time, ’and
that the holy city should be trodden under foot forty and two months,
which are three and a half years. {a}”
“Now all these are marvellous coincidences, and they point to the
existence of some hidden harmony which has not yet been discovered. I
might add that three and a half is the half of the number seven, which
(found in the week) has been recognized as the symbol of completeness.
The sacred lamp has seven branches; the seventh was the Sabbatic year;
and at the end of seven sevens came the Jubilee. So also the seventy years
of the captivity were made the basis of the seven seventies of years which
were to run their course from the time when the edict to rebuild Jerusalem
went forth until the appearance of the Messiah upon the earth. I do not
know what to make of all this. I frankly acknowledge that it baffles me
to find a reason for it. I merely state the fact, and leave you to ponder
it for yourselves, that you may learn how much there is, not only in prophecy,
but also in history, which lies beyond our ken ***”
“If any choose to regard all this as being not only applicable to
Antiochus, but also through him, as typical of the New Testament Antichrist,
and should take the days of the history of the one for years in the history
of the other, I have only to say that I find nothing, either here or in
the New Testament, to sanction such a procedure. For me, the interpretation
which I have endeavoured to give is sufficient. They who go further leave
the domain of certainty for that of speculation, and the very number of
their conflicting opinions is a warning to every expositor not to venture
beyond his depth into these dark waters. For myself, I am content to stand
upon the shore and wait, like him to whom were first addressed these reassuring
words, ’Go thy way; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at
the end of the days.’ ”
{a} Also God’s two witnesses (#Re 11:3) are to prophecy a thousand
two hundred and threescore days ( the same period stated in terms of days):
and of the ten-horned Beast it is said that power would be given unto
him to continue forty and two months. (#Re 13:5)
Index - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - Appendix
