{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_46165/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_46165","id":"gutenberg_46165","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46165","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Daniel -- Prophecies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"The Book of Daniel Unlocked\n\nBY\n\nW. S. AUCHINCLOSS, C.E.\n\nAUTHOR OF \"LINK AND VALVE MOTIONS\" (PUBLISHED IN BERLIN AS,\nSCHEIBER-UND COULISSENSTEURUNGEN. PUBLISHED IN HOLLAND\nAS, STOOMSCHUIF-EN SCHAARBEWEGINEN). AUTHOR OF\n\"NINETY DAYS IN THE TROPICS,\" ALSO OF\n\"WATERS WITHIN THE EARTH AND\nLAWS OF RAINFALL\"\n\n\nINTRODUCTION BY\n\nA. H. SAYCE, LL.D.\n\nQUEEN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD, ENGLAND\n\n\nNEW YORK\n\nFOR SALE BY\n\nD. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY\n\nSCIENTIFIC BOOK PUBLISHERS\n\n23 MURRAY STREET\n\n1905\n\n\n\n\nCOPYRIGHT, 1905\n\nBY\n\nW. S. AUCHINCLOSS\n\n\nDORNAN, PRINTER,\n\nPHILADELPHIA\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: (Autographed) Dedicated to:--M. T. K. Auchincloss.]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Queen's College Seal with motto:\n    \"REGIN\u00c6 ERUNT NUTRICES TU\u00c6\"]\n\nQUEEN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD.\n    SEPTEMBER 4, 1902.\n\nMr. Auchincloss has asked me to prefix a few words of introduction to\nhis book:\n\nThere is little to say, as the book tells its own tale--clear and to\nthe point.\n\nHe has very rightly taken the sidereal year as the basis of\nhis calculations; any other system of computation ends only in\ndifficulties.\n\nBut the reader will find other novelties, not the least among them\nbeing the fact that the prophecies of Daniel are made to end with\nthe beginning of the history of the Christian Church, instead\nof lengthening out into a still unknown future; this is a great\nadvance on previous interpreters. And he will doubtless be struck by\ncalculations according to which the 1290 Days of the Hebrew Prophet\nterminated in A.D. 33.\n\n[Illustration: signature of A. H. Sayce. ]\n\n\n\n\nASSOUAN, EGYPT,\n    JANUARY 17, 1905.\n\nThus far I had written in 1902. Since then the public has shown that\nit can appreciate good work by the rapidity with which copy after\ncopy of Mr. Auchincloss' little book has been called for. It is now\nissued once more with additions and improvements, but otherwise in\nan unchanged form.\n\nThere is one paragraph in it to which the Assyriologist is now able\nto add a few words. Mr. Auchincloss draws attention to the sense of\ncompleteness and perfection which is associated in the Old Testament,\nnot only with the number seven, but also with the number ten. It\nhas long been known that the Babylonians possessed a week of seven\ndays. But it is only recently that I have pointed out that they\nalso possessed a week of five days. Besides the week of five days,\nhowever, there was a double week of ten days, the month consisting\nof thirty days and being divided into three equal parts.\n\n[Illustration: signature of A. H. Sayce. ]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\nThis study of the Book of Daniel is based on the conviction, that\nits word is in very deed the Word of God. In approaching the subject\nwe have brought to the solution of its problems only such numerals\nas were known to the ancient Hebrews and to the writers of the New\nTestament. Numerals that were symbolized in their feasts and were\ncurrent before times of rejoicing. But towering over all, we have\nbrought God's own standard of time, viz: the sidereal year, which the\ngreatest of modern astronomers Laplace and Herschel tell us has not\nvaried the 1/100 part of a second of time in the last 2000 years. We\ndid so under the conviction that if the Book of Daniel was of human\norigin, a piece of historic fiction, it could not stand this severe\ntest, yet if it was truly the Word of God it would be found resting\non that bed rock, viz:--a year whose length was\n\n    365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9-6/10 seconds\n\na period unknown to the ancients but given to us by modern science.\nThe Book has stood the test and its true character comes out in bold\nrelief.\n\nWithout a perfectly fitting key, the tendency of its readers is to\ntreat the Book lightly, call in question its statements and smile at\nits prophecies. Time, however, vindicates the statements of Daniel\nand fixes on them the seal of truth. Also, newly-found inscriptions\nboth on rocks and tablets, together with ancient writings composed\nin those times, bring to confusion adverse criticism.\n\nThe Book of Daniel is a most important part of the Word of God,\nand is set like a gem among jewels. Its words of warning were\nsounded 600 years before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Its\nprophecies are like mile-stones along the highway of Jewish history,\neach one bringing the observer nearer to Messiah's kingdom, to that\n\"Great and Notable day of the Lord\"--Pentecost of A.D. 33--when the\nHoly Spirit was manifested to the Jews, also nearer to A.D. 39, the\nyear of the manifestation to the Gentiles. Daniel alone of all the\nprophets received Divine illumination regarding these dates. They\nmark the remotest boundary of his book, and therefore bar the way to\nfanciful conclusions in regard to later times. Read aright, Daniel's\nwords have no uncertain sound, they are definite and exact like the\nforecast of an astronomer.\n\nViewed from every standpoint the grand old President of the Chaldean\nCourt had a character of rare beauty and symmetry, that will continue\nto shine throughout the ages. He will stand in his lot to the end\nof the days; the noblest example of human courage coupled with\nunquestioning faith, the typical companion, the nobleman, courtier,\nseer and Prophet;--A MAN GREATLY BELOVED!\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n                                                    PAGE\n  Introduction by Prof. A. H. Sayce, LL.D.             7\n  Preface                                              9\n\n\n  The Book of Daniel, with interpretation.\n  Part  I.  Historic Section                       17-49\n  Part II.  Prophetic Section                      53-85\n\n\nNOTES.\n\n  Notes. Jewish Independence Day                      91\n\n        A.  Darius, or Cyaxares                       95\n        B.  The Sum of the Matters                    99\n        C.  Days                                     103\n        D.  Two Thousand and Three Hundred Days      107\n        E.  The Exodus from Persia                   113\n        F.  Date of the Crucifixion                  115\n\n\nCHRONOLOGY.\n\n  The Birth of Christ. [See accompanying Chart]      121\n  Years in the Life of Christ                        127\n  Years in the Life of Herod                         129\n  Asmonean Dynasty                                   131\n  Reigns of the Chaldean and Medo-Persian Kings      133\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK OF DANIEL.\n\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\nHISTORIC SECTION.\n\n\nCHAPTER I. [WRITTEN IN HEBREW].\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 606.]\n\n1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came\nNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.\n\n    --This siege took place in B.C. 606. Verse 5 says that\n    Daniel and the royal captives received 3 years' training\n    and verse 18 shows that at the end of 3 years they\n    graduated. This brings us to the year B.C. 603 which\n    chapter 2 verse 1 says was the 2nd of Nebuchadnezzar's\n    reign, consequently Nebuchadnezzar began to reign in\n    B.C. 605. This date agrees with the figures given in the\n    Almagesta of Ptolemy, also with the statements of Berosus.\n    Besides it harmonizes perfectly the Bible account of\n    the first 5 years in Jehoiakim's reign, as set forth in\n    Jeremiah XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXXV, XXXVI, XLV, XLVI, and\n    II Kings XXIV. Still further a draughtsman can plot it\n    on a chart, with the same accuracy that a surveyor can\n    map a piece of land, provided he governs his work by that\n    remarkable group of locking-dates set forth in Jeremiah\n    XXV. 1. 2. 3. and Ezekiel XL. 1, also takes full account\n    of the historic events which happened in the 1st, 7th,\n    8th, 18th, and 19th years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. It\n    thus will become manifest that Daniel and his companions\n    were taken captive in the Summer of B.C. 606.\n\n2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part\nof the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of\nShinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the\ntreasure house of his god.\n\n    As foretold in Jeremiah XXIX. 10. the captivity of Judah\n    lasted 70 years, B.C. 606 to B.C. 536, when the Lord\n    stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to proclaim freedom to the\n    captives. Ezra 1st. chap. Isaiah XLIV. 28.\n\n3. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that\nhe should bring _certain_ of the children of Israel, and of the\nking's seed, and of the princes;\n\n4. Children in whom _was_ no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful\nin all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science,\nand such as _had_ ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and\nwhom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.\n\n    --Precisely as foretold by the prophet Isaiah, more than a\n    century prior to the event. Isaiah XXXIX. 7.\n\n5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat,\nand of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that\nat the end thereof they might stand before the king.\n\n6. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah,\nMishael, and Azariah:\n\n7. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto\nDaniel _the name_ of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and\nto Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.\n\n8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself\nwith the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he\ndrank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he\nmight not defile himself.\n\n    --\"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were\n    in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their\n    righteousness.\" Ezekiel XIV. 14. Note in passing, that\n    by order of birth these names should be read Noah, Job\n    and Daniel. However, according to a custom common among\n    the writers of Scripture, the line of Divine favor was\n    followed in preference to the order of birth. For example,\n    Japheth, Ham, Shem was the order of birth; but the records\n    stands: \"These are the generations of the sons of Noah;\n    Shem, Ham and Japheth.\" So too we read of \"Abram, Nahor,\n    and Haran\" when the order of birth was Haran, Nahor and\n    Abram. Also of \"Aaron and Moses and Miriam,\" when the true\n    order was Miriam, Aaron and Moses.\n\n9. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the\nprince of the eunuchs.\n\n10. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord\nthe king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should\nhe see your faces worse liking than the children which _are_ of your\nsort? then shall ye make _me_ endanger my head to the king.\n\n11. Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had\nset over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,\n\n12. Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give\nus pulse to eat, and water to drink.\n\n    The Scriptures everywhere associate a sense of\n    completeness and perfection with the numeral 7, also with\n    the numeral 10. The Mosaic Law teems with instances of\n    this sort. A Sabbatic period covered 7 years. Sprinklings\n    were administered 7 times, feasts lasted 7 days, priests\n    carried 7 trumpets, Jericho was compassed 7 times, Naaman\n    bathed 7 times in the Jordan, a servant bowed 7 times\n    to his lord and so on. As to the numeral 10, the Law\n    had 10 commandments, the tabernacle had 10 curtains,\n    10 pillars, 10 sockets. After the Israelites had tempted\n    the Lord 10 times, they were condemned to die in the\n    wilderness. Ten plagues were inflicted on the Egyptians.\n    In the matter of taxation, the herd was divided into\n    10 parts and one part set aside for the Lord.\n\n    When Nebuchadnezzar tested Daniel and his companions, \"he\n    found them 10 times better than all the magicians and\n    astrologers.\" Thus we see plainly that the numerals 7 and\n    10 conveyed the idea of completeness and perfection to the\n    Hebrew mind.\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 603.]\n\n13. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the\ncountenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's\nmeat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.\n\n14. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.\n\n15. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and\nfatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of\nthe king's meat.\n\n16. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine\nthat they should drink; and gave them pulse.\n\n17. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in\nall learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions\nand dreams.\n\n    --\"Behold art thou wiser than Daniel.\" Ezekiel XXVIII. 3.\n\n18. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should\nbring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before\nNebuchadnezzar.\n\n    --At the end of the 3 years spoken of in verse 5.\n\n19. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found\nnone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood\nthey before the king.\n\n20. And in all matters of wisdom _and_ understanding, that the\nking enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the\nmagicians _and_ astrologers that _were_ in all his realm.\n\n21. And Daniel continued _even_ unto the first year of king Cyrus.\n\n    Cyrus began to reign, as king of Persia in B.C. 558, just\n    twenty years prior to his conquest of Babylon in B.C. 538.\n    The verse of course refers to the first year of his reign\n    as king of Babylon. In the following chapter the narrative\n    goes back to B.C. 603 which as already explained was the\n    2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar's individual reign. His father\n    Nabopolassar was still on the throne in B.C. 606, but on\n    his death in B.C. 605 Nebuchadnezzar returned at once to\n    Babylon and was made king, with full authority.\n\n\nCHAPTER II. [HEBREW AND SYRIAC.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 603.]\n\n1. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,\nNebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and\nhis sleep brake from him.\n\n2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the\nastrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the\nking his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.\n\n3. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit\nwas troubled to know the dream.\n\n    From this point to the end of the VI chapter Daniel wrote\n    in the Syriac language. The rest of the book was written\n    in Hebrew. In our own day men of affairs converse and\n    write in several languages. Evidently one who was fitted\n    to preside over 120 princes had many languages at his\n    command.\n\n4. Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live\nfor ever; tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the\ninterpretation.\n\n5. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone\nfrom me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the\ninterpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses\nshall be made a dunghill.\n\n6. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall\nreceive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me\nthe dream, and the interpretation thereof.\n\n7. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the\ndream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.\n\n8. The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain\nthe time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.\n\n9. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, _there is but_\none decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words\nto speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me\nthe dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation\nthereof.\n\n10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not\na man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore\n_there is_ no king, lord, nor ruler, _that_ asked such things at any\nmagician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.\n\n11. And _it is_ a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is\nnone other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose\ndwelling is not with flesh.\n\n12. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded\nto destroy all the wise _men_ of Babylon.\n\n13. And the decree went forth that the wise _men_ should be slain;\nand they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.\n\n14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the\ncaptain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise\n_men_ of Babylon:\n\n15. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why _is_ the\ndecree _so_ hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to\nDaniel.\n\n16. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give\nhim time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.\n\n17. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to\nHananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:\n\n18. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning\nthis secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the\nrest of the wise _men_ of Babylon.\n\n19. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then\nDaniel blessed the God of heaven.\n\n20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and\never: for wisdom and might are his:\n\n21. And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and\nsetteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to\nthem that know understanding:\n\n22. He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what _is_ in\nthe darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.\n\n23. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast\ngiven me wisdom and might and hast made known unto me now what we\ndesired of thee: for thou hast _now_ made known unto us the king's\nmatter.\n\n24. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained\nto destroy the wise _men_ of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him;\nDestroy not the wise _men_ of Babylon: bring me in before the king,\nand I will shew unto the king the interpretation.\n\n25. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said\nthus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will\nmake known unto the king the interpretation.\n\n26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name _was_\nBelteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which\nI have seen, and the interpretation thereof?\n\n27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret\nwhich the king hath demanded cannot the wise _men_, the astrologers,\nthe magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;\n\n28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh\nknown to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.\nThy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:\n\n29. As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came _into thy mind_ upon\nthy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth\nsecrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.\n\n30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for _any_ wisdom\nthat I have more than any living, but for _their_ sakes that shall\nmake known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest\nknow the thoughts of thy heart.\n\n31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image,\nwhose brightness _was_ excellent, stood before thee; and the form\nthereof _was_ terrible.\n\n32. This image's head _was_ of fine gold, his breast and his arms of\nsilver, his belly and his thighs of brass,\n\n33. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.\n\n34. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which\nsmote the image upon his feet _that were_ of iron and clay, and brake\nthem to pieces.\n\n35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold,\nbroken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer\nthreshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was\nfound for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great\nmountain, and filled the whole earth.\n\n36. This _is_ the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof\nbefore the king.\n\n37. Thou, O king, _art_ a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath\ngiven thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.\n\n38. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the\nfield and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and\nhath made thee ruler over them all. Thou _art_ this head of gold.\n\n39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee\n\n    --the Medo-Persian--\n\nand another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all\nthe earth\n\n    --the Macedonian.\n\n40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron:\n\n    --the Roman Empire--\n\nforasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as\niron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.\n\n41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay,\nand part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be\nin it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron\nmixed with miry clay.\n\n42. And _as_ the toes of the feet _were_ part of iron, and part of\nclay, _so_ the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.\n\n43. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall\nmingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one\nto another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.\n\n44. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a\nkingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be\nleft to other people, _but_ it shall break in pieces and consume all\nthese kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.\n\n    The birth of Christ took place in B.C. 2, in the palmiest\n    days of the Roman Empire. The angel Gabriel declared,\n    thou \"shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and\n    shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God\n    shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and\n    he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of\n    his kingdom there shall be no end.\"--Luke I. 31.--The\n    right of taxation is the prerogative of sovereign power.\n    When therefore Augustus Caesar began to enroll the Jews\n    for purposes of taxation in B.C. 2 the power of the holy\n    people was at an end and the full time of prophecy had\n    arrived. It was then that Christ was born in Bethlehem\n    of Judea. \"The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor\n    a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and\n    unto him shall the gathering of the people be.\"--Genesis\n    XLIX. 10.\n\n45. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the\nmountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the\nbrass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made\nknown to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream\n_is_ certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.\n\n46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped\nDaniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet\nodours unto him.\n\n47. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth _it is_, that\nyour God _is_ a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of\nsecrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.\n\n48. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great\ngifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and\nchief of the governors over all the wise _men_ of Babylon.\n\n49. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach,\nand Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but\nDaniel _sat_ in the gate of the king.\n\n\nCHAPTER III. [SYRIAC.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 593.]\n\n1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height _was_\nthreescore cubits, _and_ the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up\nin the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.\n\n    --The dream described in the previous chapter, seems to\n    have touched the inventive genius of king Nebuchadnezzar in\n    a way, that inspired him to produce a mechanically perfect\n    image--a casting of gold of priceless value--especially\n    strong in every part, and one in which there were no planes\n    of weakness whatever. An image that seemed to bid defiance\n    to the course of events foreshadowed by the prophet Daniel.\n\n2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes,\nthe governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the\ncounsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to\ncome to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had\nset up.\n\n    --Doubtless it was in response to this invitation that\n    Zedekiah visited \"Babylon in the 4th year of his reign.\"\n    Jer. LI. 59 to 64.\n\n3. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the\ntreasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the\nprovinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image\nthat Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the\nimage that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.\n\n4. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people,\nnations, and languages,\n\n5. _That_ at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp,\nsackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down\nand worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.\n\n    --A monarch so wealthy and whose sway covered so many\n    lands, must have had at his command musicians, highly\n    skilled in the use of a great variety of musical\n    instruments, gathered both from Europe and Asia.\n\n6. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be\ncast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.\n\n7. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of\nthe cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick,\nall the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down, _and_\nworshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.\n\n8. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused\nthe Jews.\n\n    At the time of the Babylonian captivity the Hebrews began\n    to be known as Jews, or inhabitants of Judea.\n\n9. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for\never.\n\n10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall\nhear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and\ndulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the\ngolden image:\n\n11. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, _that_ he should be\ncast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.\n\n12. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of\nthe province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men,\nO king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship\nthe golden image which thou hast set up.\n\n13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in _his_ rage and fury commanded to bring\nShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before\nthe king.\n\n14. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, _Is it_ true,\nO Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor\nworship the golden image which I have set up?\n\n15. Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the\ncornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds\nof musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made;\n_well_: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into\nthe midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who _is_ that God that\nshall deliver you out of my hands?\n\n16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king,\nO Nebuchadnezzar, we _are_ not careful to answer thee in this matter.\n\n17. If it be _so_, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from\nthe burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver _us_ out of thine\nhand, O king.\n\n18. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve\nthy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.\n\n19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage\nwas changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: _therefore_\nhe spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven\ntimes more than it was wont to be heated.\n\n    --Or, 8 times as hot as the usual temperature. The\n    numeral 7 expressed the utmost intensity known to the king.\n\n20. And he commanded the most mighty men that _were_ in his army to\nbind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, _and_ to cast _them_ into the\nburning fiery furnace.\n\n21. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their\nhats, and their _other_ garments, and were cast into the midst of the\nburning fiery furnace.\n\n22. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the\nfurnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took\nup Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.\n\n    --This seems to have been what is technically called\n    \"back-draught,\" which those who are skilled in feeding\n    furnaces are careful to guard against, but which a soldier\n    knows nothing about.\n\n23. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down\nbound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.\n\n24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste,\n_and_ spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men\nbound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the\nking, True, O king.\n\n25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the\nmidst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth\nis like the Son of God.\n\n26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery\nfurnace, _and_ spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye\nservants of the most high God, come forth, and come _hither_. Then\nShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.\n\n27. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's\ncounsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose\nbodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed,\nneither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed\non them.\n\n28. _Then_ Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed _be_ the God\nof Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and\ndelivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the\nking's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor\nworship any god, except their own God.\n\n29. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and\nlanguage, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach,\nMeshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses\nshall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can\ndeliver after this sort.\n\n30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the\nprovince of Babylon.\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. [SYRIAC.]\n\n1. Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages,\nthat dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.\n\n2. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God\nhath wrought toward me.\n\n3. How great _are_ his signs! and how mighty _are_ his wonders! his\nkingdom _is_ an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion _is_ from\ngeneration to generation.\n\n4. I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my\npalace:\n\n5. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed\nand the visions of my head troubled me.\n\n6. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise _men_\nof Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the\ninterpretation of the dream.\n\n7. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and\nthe soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not\nmake known unto me the interpretation thereof.\n\n8. But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was\nBelteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom _is_ the\nspirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, _saying_,\n\n9. O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that\nthe spirit of the holy gods _is_ in thee, and no secret troubleth\nthee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n10. Thus _were_ the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold\na tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof _was_ great.\n\n11. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached\nunto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:\n\n12. The leaves thereof _were_ fair, and the fruit thereof much, and\nin it _was_ meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under\nit, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all\nflesh was fed of it.\n\n13. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a\nwatcher and an holy one came down from heaven;\n\n14. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his\nbranches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts\nget away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:\n\n15. Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with\na band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let\nit be wet with the dew of heaven, and _let_ his portion _be_ with the\nbeasts in the grass of the earth:\n\n16. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be\ngiven unto him; and let seven times pass over him.\n\n    In view of the fact that Nebuchadnezzar's probation lasted\n    for 12 months, see verse 29, it is reasonable to suppose\n    that his dementia lasted for 7 months, or until the moon\n    had passed over him 7 times, a period long enough to\n    permit a rank growth of both hair and nails and yet short\n    enough for a regency to hold his kingdom together without\n    losing hope of his final recovery. Besides the events in\n    the years of his reign are too well known to admit of a\n    much longer season of affliction.\n\n17. This matter _is_ by the decree of the watchers, and the demand\nby the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know\nthat the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to\nwhomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.\n\n18. This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou,\nO Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all\nthe wise _men_ of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the\ninterpretation: but thou _art_ able; for the spirit of the holy gods\n_is_ in thee.\n\n19. Then Daniel, whose name _was_ Belteshazzar, was astonied for\none hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said,\nBelteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof,\ntrouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream\n_be_ to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine\nenemies.\n\n20. The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose\nheight reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the\nearth;\n\n21. Whose leaves _were_ fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it\n_was_ meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and\nupon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:\n\n22. It _is_ thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy\ngreatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the\nend of the earth.\n\n23. And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down\nfrom heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave\nthe stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron\nand brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with\nthe dew of heaven, and _let_ his portion _be_ with the beasts of the\nfield, till seven times pass over him;\n\n24. This _is_ the interpretation, O king, and this _is_ the decree of\nthe most High, which is come upon my lord the king:\n\n25. That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be\nwith the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass\nas oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven\ntimes shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth\nin the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.\n\n26. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots;\nthy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known\nthat the heavens do rule.\n\n27. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and\nbreak off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing\nmercies to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.\n\n28. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.\n\n29. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the\nkingdom of Babylon.\n\n30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have\nbuilt for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for\nthe honour of my majesty?\n\n31. While the word _was_ in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from\nheaven, _saying_, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The\nkingdom is departed from thee.\n\n32. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling _shall be_\nwith the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as\noxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the\nmost High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever\nhe will.\n\n33. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and\nhe was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was\nwet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles'\n_feathers_, and his nails like birds' _claws_.\n\n34. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes\nunto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me and I blessed\nthe most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever,\nwhose dominion _is_ an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom _is_\nfrom generation to generation:\n\n35. And all the inhabitants of the earth _are_ reputed as nothing:\nand he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and _among_\nthe inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto\nhim, What doest thou?\n\n36. At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory\nof my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my\ncounsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my\nkingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.\n\n37. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of\nheaven, all whose works _are_ truth, and his ways judgment: and those\nthat walk in pride he is able to abase.\n\n\nCHAPTER V. [SYRIAC.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 538.]\n\n1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords,\nand drank wine before the thousand.\n\n    --According to the Almagesta of Ptolemy, Nabonadios the\n    father of Belshazzar ruled Babylon for 17 years. During\n    the last 3 years of his reign the court and the army were\n    under the control of his son who became acting king. The\n    three tablets of Belshazzar fully establish his identity\n    and the annalistic tablet of Cyrus throws much light on\n    the affairs of the Chaldean court during the last years of\n    the joint-reign. It reads like a nice piece of detective\n    work.\n\n2. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the\ngolden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken\nout of the temple which _was_ in Jerusalem; that the king, and his\nprinces, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.\n\n    --Belshazzar's mother was a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar\n    and the word Father is used in the sense of grandfather,\n    exactly as in II Samuel 19. 24. Mephibosheth is spoken of\n    as the son of Saul, when in fact he was the grandson of\n    Saul.\n\n3. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the\ntemple of the house of God which _was_ at Jerusalem; and the king,\nand his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.\n\n4. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of\nbrass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.\n\n5. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote\nover against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the\nking's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.\n\n6. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled\nhim, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote\none against another.\n\n7. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans,\nand the soothsayers. _And_ the king spake, and said to the wise\n_men_ of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the\ninterpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple,\n\n    --R.V.--\n\nand _have_ a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third\nruler in the kingdom.\n\n    --First Nabonadios, second Belshazzar, his son, and third\n    the Interpreter.\n\n8. Then came in all the king's wise _men_: but they could not read\nthe writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.\n\n9. Then was the king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance\nwas changed in him, and his lords were astonied.\n\n10. _Now_ the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords\ncame into the banquet house: _and_ the queen spake and said, O\nking, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy\ncountenance be changed.\n\n    --This queen was the wife of Nabonadios and mother of\n    Belshazzar. Her death is recorded on the annalistic\n    tablet of Cyrus. Her funeral rites were conducted by\n    Cambyses in the \"Temple of the Sceptre of the world,\" and\n    his free will offerings aggregated \"Ten times the usual\n    amount,\" a most appropriate tribute to the daughter of\n    Nebuchadnezzar, that wonderful warrior, engineer and man\n    of letters.\n\n11. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom _is_ the spirit of the\nholy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and\nwisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king\nNebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, _I say_, thy father, made master\nof the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, _and_ soothsayers;\n\n12. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and\nunderstanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences,\nand dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the\nking named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew\nthe interpretation.\n\n13. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. _And_ the king spake\nand said unto Daniel, _Art_ thou that Daniel, which _art_ of the\nchildren of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought\nout of Jewry?\n\n14. I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods _is_ in\nthee, and _that_ light and understanding and excellent wisdom is\nfound in thee.\n\n15. And now the wise _men_, the astrologers, have been brought\nin before me, that they should read this writing, and make known\nunto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the\ninterpretation of the thing:\n\n16. And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations,\nand dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make\nknown to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with\npurple,\n\n    --R.V.--\n\nand _have_ a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third\nruler in the kingdom.\n\n17. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be\nto thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the\nwriting unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.\n\n18. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a\nkingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:\n\n19. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and\nlanguages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and\nwhom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he\nwould he put down.\n\n20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride,\nhe was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from\nhim:\n\n21. And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made\nlike the beasts, and his dwelling _was_ with the wild asses: they\nfed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of\nheaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of\nmen, and _that_ he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.\n\n22. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart,\nthough thou knewest all this;\n\n23. But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they\nhave brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy\nlords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and\nthou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood,\nand stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose\nhand thy breath _is_, and whose _are_ all thy ways, hast thou not\nglorified:\n\n24. Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was\nwritten.\n\n25. And this _is_ the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL,\nUPHARSIN.\n\n26. This _is_ the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath\nnumbered thy kingdom, and finished it.\n\n27. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.\n\n28. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and\nPersians.\n\n29. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple,\n\n    --R.V.--\n\nand _put_ a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation\nconcerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.\n\n30. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.\n\n31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, _being_ about threescore\nand two years old.\n\n    --After Cyrus entered Babylon and pacified its inhabitants\n    he started on other expeditions and temporarily placed on\n    the throne his uncle Cyaxares, king of the Medes, who was\n    known as Darius among his new subjects, a name less liable\n    to be confused with that of his illustrious nephew. It is\n    a well known fact, that expediency often determines the\n    choice of an official name for the sovereign. Thus the\n    present king of England might have been known as Albert I,\n    instead of Edward VII. For full explanation see NOTE A.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. [SYRIAC.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 538.]\n\n1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty\nprinces, which should be over the whole kingdom;\n\n2. And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel _was_ first: that\nthe princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have\nno damage.\n\n3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes,\nbecause an excellent spirit _was_ in him; and the king thought to set\nhim over the whole realm.\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 537.]\n\n4. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against\nDaniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor\nfault; forasmuch as he _was_ faithful, neither was there any error or\nfault found in him.\n\n5. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this\nDaniel, except we find _it_ against him concerning the law of his God.\n\n6. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king,\nand said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.\n\n7. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes,\nthe counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to\nestablish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever\nshall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee,\nO king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.\n\n8. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it\nbe not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which\naltereth not.\n\n9. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.\n\n10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went\ninto his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward\nJerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed,\nand gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.\n\n11. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making\nsupplication before his God.\n\n12. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the\nking's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that\nshall ask _a petition_ of any God or man within thirty days, save of\nthee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered\nand said, The thing _is_ true, according to the law of the Medes and\nPersians, which altereth not.\n\n13. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which\n_is_ of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee,\nO king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition\nthree times a day.\n\n14. Then the king, when he heard _these_ words, was sore displeased\nwith himself, and set _his_ heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he\nlaboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.\n\n15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king,\nKnow, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians _is_, That no\ndecree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.\n\n16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast _him_\ninto the den of lions. _Now_ the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy\nGod whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.\n\n17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and\nthe king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his\nlords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.\n\n18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting:\nneither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep\nwent from him.\n\n19. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste\nunto the den of lions.\n\n20. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice\nunto Daniel: _and_ the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel,\nservant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually,\nable to deliver thee from the lions?\n\n21. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.\n\n22. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that\nthey have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in\nme; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.\n\n23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that\nthey should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up\nout of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he\nbelieved in his God.\n\n    --Hebrews XI. 32, 33.\n\n24. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had\naccused Daniel, and they cast _them_ into the den of lions, them,\ntheir children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of\nthem, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the\nbottom of the den.\n\n25. Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages,\nthat dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.\n\n26. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble\nand fear before the God of Daniel: for he _is_ the living God,\nand stedfast for ever, and his kingdom _that_ which shall not be\ndestroyed, and his dominion _shall be even_ unto the end.\n\n27. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in\nheaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the\nlions.\n\n28. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign\nof Cyrus the Persian.\n\n    Here ends the historical portion of the book of Daniel.\n\n\n\n\nPART II.\n\nPROPHETIC SECTION.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII. [HEBREW.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 541.]\n\n1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream\nand visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, _and_\ntold the sum of the matters.\n\n2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold,\nthe four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.\n\n    --The known world.--\n\n3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from\nanother.\n\n    --Symbolical of Four powerful dynasties.--\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 490.]\n\n4. The first _was_ like a lion, and had eagle's wings:\n\n    --Medo-Persian empire.--\n\nI beheld till the wings thereof were plucked,\n\n    --Persia defeated by Greece at Marathon.--\n\nand it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as\na man, and a man's heart was given unto it.\n\n    --Was transformed by Greek art and civilization.\n\n5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,\n\n    --The Hellenes, or Greece and her colonies in their palmy\n    days--\n\nand it raised up itself on one side,\n\n    --faced in the direction of Persia--\n\nand _it had_ three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:\n\n    --3 columns of strength, viz:--Athens, Sparta and Thebes.\n    The vision made its appearance 21 years before the\n    Alliance was formed. The ribs therefore, had not knit in\n    place when the heavenly visitor made known the fact of\n    their future union. The alliance lasted 93 years, see\n    Thucydides III. 69.--\n\nand they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh\n\n    --destroy hundreds of thousands in your Persian and civil\n    wars.\n\n6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,\n\n    --The Macedonian Empire--\n\nwhich had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had\nalso four heads; and dominion was given to it.\n\n    Philip king of Macedon subjugated the disunited Greek\n    States at the battle of Chaeronea in B.C. 338, and\n    Alexander the Great conquered a kingdom extending from\n    Greece to India in B.C. 336.\n\n7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,\ndreadful and terrible,\n\n    --Roman Empire.--\n\nand strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and\nbrake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it\n_was_ diverse\n\n    --a republic, not a kingdom--\n\nfrom all the beasts that _were_ before it; and it had 10 horns.\n\n    --verse 24, the rulers following the Jugurthine war.\n\n8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them\nanother little horn,\n\n    --the family of the Caesars--\n\nbefore whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the\nroots: and, behold, in this horn _were_ eyes like the eyes of a man,\nand a mouth speaking great things\n\n    --the triumvirate ended with the battle of Actium\n    Sept. 3rd, B.C. 31. Divine honors were accorded to\n    Augustus. He took 3 censuses of the Roman Empire and\n    possessed the most intimate knowledge of its resources,\n    the last inventory was found in his own handwriting.\n    Suetonius, Aug. XVI.----Livy CXXXII.\n\n9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days\ndid sit, whose garment _was_ white as snow, and the hair of his head\nlike the pure wool: his throne _was like_ the fiery flame, _and_ his\nwheels _as_ burning fire.\n\n10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand\nthousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand\nstood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.\n\n    --Divine forbearance had reached its limit, the voice of\n    the prophets went unheeded, and the desolation spoken of\n    by Moses was about to fall on the Jews.\n\n11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the\nhorn spake: I beheld _even_ till the beast was slain, and his body\ndestroyed, and given to the burning flame.\n\n12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion\ntaken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.\n\n13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, _one_ like the Son of\nman came with the clouds of heaven,\n\n    --\"while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud\n    received him out of their sight,\" Acts I. 9--\n\nand came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.\n\n    --\"I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing\n    on the right hand of God.\"--Acts VII. 55.\n\n14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that\nall people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion\n_is_ an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his\nkingdom _that_ which shall not be destroyed.\n\n    \"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and\n    the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name\n    shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the\n    everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase\n    of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon\n    the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it,\n    and to establish it with judgment and with justice from\n    henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts\n    will perform this.\"--Isa. IX. 6 and 7.\n\n15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of _my_ body, and\nthe visions of my head troubled me.\n\n16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the\ntruth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation\nof the things.\n\n17. These great beasts, which are four, _are_ four kings, _which_\nshall arise out of the earth.\n\n18. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and\npossess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.\n\n    --The Spiritual kingdom of the Messiah.\n\n19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was\ndiverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth _were_\nof iron, and his nails _of_ brass; _which_ devoured, brake in pieces,\nand stamped the residue with his feet;\n\n20. And of the ten horns that _were_ in his head, and _of_ the other\nwhich came up, and before whom three fell; even _of_ that horn that\nhad eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look _was_\nmore stout than his fellows.\n\n21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and\nprevailed against them;\n\n    --Nero the descendant of Augustus began the first\n    persecution in A.D. 65.\n\n22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the\nsaints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed\nthe kingdom.\n\n23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon\nearth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the\nwhole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.\n\n24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom _are_ ten kings _that_\nshall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be\ndiverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.\n\n25. And he\n\n    --in the person of his descendants--\n\nshall speak _great_ words against the most High, and shall wear out\nthe saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and\nthey shall be given unto his hand until a time and times and the\ndividing of time.\n\n    --This formula summarizes that which has gone before. It\n    starts with the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, established\n    in the year B.C. 558, as typified by the lion in verse\n    four, and reaches over to the year A.D. 39 when the\n    Gentiles were admitted to Messiah's kingdom as promised\n    in verse 18. For full explanation see NOTE B.\n\n26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his\ndominion, to consume and to destroy _it_ unto the end.\n\n27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom\nunder the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints\nof the most High, whose kingdom _is_ an everlasting kingdom, and all\ndominions shall serve and obey him.\n\n28. Hitherto _is_ the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my\ncogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but\nI kept the matter in my heart.\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII. [HEBREW.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 539-8.]\n\n1. In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision\nappeared unto me, _even unto_ me Daniel, after that which appeared\nunto me at the first.\n\n2. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that\nI _was_ at Shushan _in_ the palace, which _is_ in the province of\nElam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.\n\n3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood\nbefore the river a ram which had _two_ horns: and the _two_ horns\n_were_ high;\n\n    --the Medo-Persian Empire--\n\nbut one\n\n    --Persia--\n\n_was_ higher than the other, and the higher came up last.\n\n4. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward;\n\n    --The Medo-Persian Empire embraced all the civilized\n    nations of Asia--\n\nso that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that\ncould deliver out of his hand; but he\n\n    --Cyrus, and his descendants and next of kin--\n\ndid according to his will, and became great.\n\n5. And as I was considering, behold a he-goat\n\n    --The Hellenes (Greece and her colonies)--\n\ncame from the West on the face of the whole earth, and touched not\nthe ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.\n\n6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen\nstanding before the river and ran unto him in the fury of his power\n\n    --Battles of Marathon B.C. 490, Salamis and Plataea\n    B.C. 480 and 479.\n\n7. And I saw him\n\n    --Alexander the Great, after Greece was conquered by the\n    Macedonians B.C. 334--\n\ncome close unto the ram\n\n    --Battles of Granicus and Issus.--\n\nand he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and\nbrake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand\nbefore him;\n\n    --Alexander was greatly pleased when shown this\n    prophecy--Josephus 11. 8. 5.--\n\nbut he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there\nwas none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.\n\n    --B.C. 331 Alexander defeated the Persians on the plain\n    of Babylon. He then pushed on to India and conquered the\n    Punjaub, land of the five rivers.\n\n8. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great:\n\n    --Alexander the Great also conquered Egypt, Palestine,\n    Phoenicia and Tyre. He built Alexandria and ruled from\n    Greece to the Ganges.--\n\nand when he was strong, the great horn was broken;\n\n    --Alexander died in India of intemperance and left no\n    successor.--\n\nand for it came up four notable ones toward the 4 winds of heaven.\n\n    --Alexander's kingdom fell to his 4 generals:\n          Antigonus took Persia,\n          Seleucus took Syria,\n          Ptolemy took Egypt,\n          Cassander took Macedon.\n\n9. And out of one of them\n\n    --Seleucus--\n\ncame forth a little horn\n\n    --kingdom of the Seleucid\u00e6--\n\nwhich waxed exceeding great, toward the south\n\n    --Egypt--\n\nand toward the east\n\n    --between the Hellespont and the Indus--\n\nand toward the pleasant land.\n\n    --Palestine.\n\n10. And it waxed great\n\n    --under Antiochus III, the Great--\n\neven to the host of heaven;\n\n    --the Jewish nation--\n\nand it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,\n\n    --Judah and Benjamin--\n\nand stamped upon them.\n\n11. Yea it\n\n    --under king Antiochus Epiphanes--\n\nmagnified itself, even to the Prince of the host;\n\n    --Judah, and the capital city Jerusalem--\n\nand it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place\nof his Sanctuary was cast down.\n\n    --R.V.\n\n12. And the host was given over to it together with the continual\nburnt offering through transgression;\n\n    --Antiochus also set up heathen altars in every village\n    and town, on which the Jews were obliged to sacrifice\n    swine's flesh daily--\n\nand it cast down the truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and\nprospered.\n\n    --R.V.\n\n13. Then I heard one saint speaking and another saint said unto that\ncertain saint which spake:--\n\n\"How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the\ntransgression of desolation, to give both the Sanctuary and the host\n\n    --the National government--\n\nto be trodden under foot?\"\n\n14. And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days;\nthen shall the sanctuary be cleansed.\n\n    --The period amounted to 308 yrs. 6 mos. 21 days and\n    extended from Oct. 14th B.C. 450 to May 4th B.C. 141, at\n    which time the TEMPLE was CLEANSED by Simon Maccabeus. For\n    a full explanation see NOTES C. and D.\n\n15. And it came to pass, when I, _even_ I Daniel, had seen the\nvision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before\nme as the appearance of a man.\n\n16. And I heard a man's voice between _the banks of_ Ulai, which\ncalled, and said, Gabriel, make this _man_ to understand the vision.\n\n17. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid,\nand fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man:\nfor at the time of the end _shall be_ the vision.\n\n18. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face\ntoward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.\n\n19. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the\nlast end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end _shall\nbe_.\n\n20. The ram which thou sawest having _two_ horns _are_ the kings of\nMedia and Persia.\n\n21. And the rough goat _is_ the king of Grecia: and the great horn\nthat _is_ between his eyes _is_ the first king.\n\n    --Alexander the Great who united Greece and Macedon\n    (verse 8).\n\n22. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four\nkingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.\n\n23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors\nare come to the full,\n\n    --the Jewish people--\n\na king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences shall\nstand up.\n\n    --Antiochus III, the Great, who subjected Judea and\n    greatly oppressed the Jewish people. His times were noted\n    for corruption and crime.\n\n24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he\nshall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall\ndestroy the mighty and the holy people.\n\n25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in\nhis hand; and he shall magnify _himself_ in his heart, and by peace\nshall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of\nprinces;\n\n    --the Roman Empire had no kings and therefore its rulers\n    were spoken of as Princes. It was a favorite term for a\n    king to designate himself as \"King of Kings.\" The same\n    thought could be expressed as regards the Romans, by the\n    words \"Prince of Princes\"--\n\nbut he shall be broken without hand.\n\n    --Antiochus died from intemperance.\n\n26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told _is_\ntrue: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it _shall be_ for many\ndays.\n\n27. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick _certain_ days; afterward\nI rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the\nvision, but none understood _it_.\n\n\nCHAPTER IX. [HEBREW.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 538-7.]\n\n1. In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of\nthe Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;\n\n    --by Cyrus.\n\n2. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books\nthe number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to\nJeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in\nthe desolations of Jerusalem.\n\n    --\"For thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be\n    accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my\n    good word toward you, in causing you to return to this\n    place.\" Jeremiah XXIX. 10.\n\n3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and\nsupplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:\n\n4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and\nsaid, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and\nmercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;\n\n5. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done\nwickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and\nfrom thy judgments:\n\n6. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which\nspake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to\nall the people of the land.\n\n7. O Lord, righteousness _belongeth_ unto thee, but unto us confusion\nof faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants\nof Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, _that are_ near, and _that are_\nfar off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them,\nbecause of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.\n\n8. O Lord, to us _belongeth_ confusion of face, to our kings, to our\nprinces, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.\n\n9. To the Lord our God _belong_ mercies and forgivenesses, though we\nhave rebelled against him;\n\n10. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in\nhis laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.\n\n11. Yea, all Israel have trangressed thy law, even by departing, that\nthey might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us,\nand the oath that _is_ written in the law of Moses the servant of\nGod, because we have sinned against him.\n\n12. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and\nagainst our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil:\nfor under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon\nJerusalem.\n\n13. As _it is_ written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come\nupon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we\nmight turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.\n\n14. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it\nupon us: for the LORD our God _is_ righteous in all his works which\nhe doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.\n\n15. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out\nof the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown,\nas at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.\n\n16. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let\nthine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy\nholy mountain: because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our\nfathers, Jerusalem and thy people _are become_ a reproach to all\n_that are_ about us.\n\n17. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his\nsupplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is\ndesolate, for the Lord's sake.\n\n18. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and\nbehold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name:\nfor we do not present our supplications before thee for our\nrighteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.\n\n19. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not,\nfor thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called\nby thy name.\n\n20. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and\nthe sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before\nthe LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;\n\n21. Yea, whiles I _was_ speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel,\nwhom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,\n\n    --Daniel VIII. 16--\n\nbeing caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening\noblation.\n\n22. And he informed _me_, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel,\nI am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.\n\n23. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came\nforth, and I am come to shew _thee_; for thou _art_ greatly beloved:\ntherefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.\n\n    The next four verses should be read as a whole. The burden\n    of their message is the date of Messiah's sacrifice, the\n    time when he would \"be cut off, but not for himself.\"\n    An event of supreme moment to the entire human race. In\n    making this revelation the heavenly visitor took the\n    Sabbatic period of 7 years as his standard of time. The\n    Greeks had a system of Olympiads, each 4 years in length.\n    In our day the standard measure is one year. We must\n    therefore lay aside our ordinary line of thought and in\n    reading the next 4 verses we must accustom ourselves to\n    thinking in PERIODS OF 7 YEARS EACH and remember that\n    whenever an event took place it happened in some period\n    7 years in length. So that when the angel spoke of \"the\n    going forth of the commandment\" he pointed to a Sabbatic\n    period of 7 years, not to a certain day, hour, or minute\n    of a given year, but to a group of 7 years as a whole,\n    in a word to a certain \"week,\" when therefore, he spoke\n    of more \"weeks\" to follow the additional ones came in\n    regular succession and the sum of the series must of\n    necessity equal the full time revealed. The starting point\n    was plainly the river Ahava and the time of their Exodus\n    from Persia was just 2 days prior to the Passover of\n    B.C. 458--see NOTE E. The first \"week\" therefore ended\n    in B.C. 451, the second \"week\" in B.C. 444, the third\n    in 437 and so on, until the end of the eighth week in\n    B.C. 402. Up to that time the Jews were favored by\n    the Persian government, but Persia lost her power and\n    influence at the battle of Cunaxa in B.C. 401. Then\n    followed 62 Sabbatic periods, or 434 years, ending with\n    the Passover of A.D. 33 at which time Messiah was cut\n    off. The three periods, 1 week plus 7 weeks plus 62 weeks\n    make a total of \"70 weeks\" and prove the accuracy of the\n    heavenly prediction.\n\n24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy\ncity, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and\nto make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting\nrighteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint\nthe most Holy.\n\n25. Know therefore and understand, _that_ from the\n\n    --week of the--\n\ngoing forth of the commandment\n\n    --of Artaxerxes--\n\nto restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince _shall be_\n7 weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built\nagain, and the wall, even in troublous times.\n\n    --How troublous is told by Nehemiah where he says: \"we\n    returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.\n    And it came to pass from that time forth, the half of my\n    servants wrought in the work and the other half of them\n    held both the spears, the shields, and the bows and the\n    coats of mail.\"\n\n26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but\nnot for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come\n\n    --the Romans under Petronius in A.D. 40 and under Titus in\n    A.D. 66--\n\nshall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof _shall\nbe_ with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are\ndetermined.\n\n    --or, \"it shall be cut off by desolations.\" Josephus says\n    that 1,100,000 perished in the siege and 97,000 were\n    carried away captive.\n\n27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in\nthe midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation\nto cease,\n\n    --This \"one week\" was divided into 2 parts of 3\u00bd years\n    each. The first half covered the Ministry of the Messiah\n    and therefore was embraced within the 70 weeks. The last\n    half extended beyond the 70 weeks and ended in A.D. 36.\n    It was a period of remarkable growth in the infant church;\n    Pilate however ceased to be procurator in A.D. 36 and\n    the persecution described in the VIIIth chapter of Acts\n    immediately set in.--\n\nand for the overspreading of abomination he shall make _it_ desolate,\n\n    --or, \"upon the battlements shall be the idols of the\n    desolator.\" see also Matt. XXIV. 15.--\n\neven until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon\nthe desolate.\n\n    --Jerusalem was taken by the Romans on the 2nd of Sept.\n    A.D. 70. Then the prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled:--\"I\n    will scatter thee among the heathen and disperse thee in\n    the countries.\"\n\n    REMARKS. To understand what follows, all divisions of\n    chapter and verse should be obliterated, from this point\n    to the end of the book. The subject matter should be taken\n    as descriptive of what Daniel saw and heard \"by the side\n    of the great river, which is Hiddekel\" \"in the third year\n    of Cyrus, king of Persia.\" The description reminds us\n    forcibly of the experiences of the apostle John and the\n    apostle Paul. The vision had a twofold object: first, to\n    reveal \"what shall befall thy people in the latter days,\"\n    and second, to give additional information concerning\n    Messiah's kingdom said to be distant \"many days.\" The\n    entire eleventh chapter from verse 2 to the end is devoted\n    to the days following Nehemiah's rule. In the first four\n    verses of Chapter XII. we catch a glimpse of the coming\n    kingdom, also the destruction of Jerusalem, while verses\n    5 to 13 set forth the coming of the Holy Spirit.\n\n    More than 200 years prior to Daniel's day, the prophet\n    Joel had pointed to the same great event when he\n    said:--\"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will\n    pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your\n    daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,\n    your young men shall see visions; And also upon the\n    servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour\n    out my Spirit.\" Joel II. 28, also Acts II. 17.\n\n\nCHAPTER X. [HEBREW.]\n\n[Sidenote: B.C. 536-5.]\n\n1. In the third year\n\n    --third since the conquest of Babylon, but first in the\n    personal reign over Babylon--\n\nof Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name\nwas Belteshazzar; and the thing _was_ true, but the time appointed\nwas long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the\nvision.\n\n2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.\n\n3. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth,\nneither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were\nfulfilled.\n\n4. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by\nthe side of the great river, which _is_ Hiddekel;\n\n    --Tigris is the modern name for the river Hiddekel. The\n    period of Daniel's mourning began on Saturday, March 31st,\n    B.C. 536, and continued 3 weeks until Saturday, April 21st.\n    Meantime the Passover occurred on Thursday, April 12th.\n\n5. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man\nclothed in linen, whose loins _were_ girded with fine gold of Uphaz:\n\n    --Ophir--\n\n6. His body also _was_ like the beryl, and his face as the appearance\nof lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his\nfeet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words\nlike the voice of a multitude.\n\n    --\"One like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment\n    down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden\n    girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as\n    white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and\n    his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a\n    furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.\"\n    Rev. I. 13, 14, 15.\n\n7. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me\nsaw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they\nfled to hide themselves.\n\n    --\"And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and\n    were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that\n    spake to me.\" Acts XXII. 9 also IX. 7.\n\n8. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there\nremained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into\ncorruption, and I retained no strength.\n\n9. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of\nhis words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward\nthe ground.\n\n    Daniel was completely overcome by the glory of this Divine\n    manifestation.\n\n10. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and\n_upon_ the palms of my hands.\n\n    The angel Gabriel now appears on the scene, and again\n    assures Daniel that he is greatly beloved and continues the\n    kindly offices spoken of in Daniel VIII. 16.--IX. 21, 22.\n\n11. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand\nthe words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee\nam I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood\ntrembling.\n\n    --John was the beloved apostle, John XIII. 23 and Daniel\n    the beloved prophet, Dan. IX. 23.\n\n12. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day\nthat thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself\nbefore thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.\n\n13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and\ntwenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help\nme; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.\n\n    --\"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the\n    word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be\n    accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king\n    of Persia, that he made a proclamation.\" II Chron. XXXVI. 22.\n\n14. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy\npeople in the latter days: for yet the vision _is_ for _many_ days.\n\n15. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward\nthe ground, and I became dumb.\n\n16. And, behold, _one_ like the similitude of the sons of men touched\nmy lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that\nstood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon\nme, and I have retained no strength.\n\n17. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord?\nfor as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither\nis there breath left in me.\n\n18. Then there came again and touched me _one_ like the appearance of\na man, and he strengthened me,\n\n19. And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace _be_ unto thee,\nbe strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was\nstrengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened\nme.\n\n20. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now\nwill I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone\nforth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.\n\n    --Dan. VIII. 21.\n\n21. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of\ntruth:\n\n    --the Book of future events--\n\nand _there is_ none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael\nyour prince.\n\n    --\"Michael the archangel.\" See Jude 9th verse.--\"The\n    captain of the Lord's host.\" See Joshua V. 15.--\"Michael\n    and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.\"\n    Rev. XII. 7.\n\n    The next chapter gives a bird's-eye view of the period\n    covered by the 2300 days. For a full explanation see NOTE D.\n\n\nCHAPTER XI. [HEBREW.]\n\n1. Also I\n\n    --Gabriel--\n\nin the first year of Darius the Mede, _even_ I, stood to confirm and\nto strengthen him.\n\n    --This does not indicate a change of date, it simply\n    declares that the same solicitude was now bestowed\n    on Cyrus, as had been manifested toward his royal\n    representative Darius the Mede, when first placed on\n    the throne of Babylon by Cyrus.\n\n2. And now\n\n    --\"in the third year\" since Cyrus captured the city.\n    Daniel X. 1.--\n\nwill I show thee the truth. Behold there shall stand up yet\n\n    --after the setting up of the sanctuary and the host,\n    B.C. 445, three kings in Persia, viz.: Darius Nothus,\n    Artaxerxes Mnemon, and Ochus,--\n\nand the fourth\n\n    --Darius Codomannus--\n\nshall be far richer than _they_ all: and by his strength and through\nhis riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.\n\n3. And a mighty king\n\n    --Alexander the Great--\n\nshall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according\nto his will.\n\n    --from Greece to India.\n\n4. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall\nbe divided toward the four winds of heaven;\n\n    --among his four generals;--\n\nand not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he\nruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside\nthose.\n\n5. And the king of the south\n\n    --Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt--\n\nshall be strong, and _one_ of his princes; and he shall be strong\nabove him\n\n    --Antiochus II--\n\nand have dominion; his dominion _shall_ be a great dominion.\n\n6. And in the end of the years\n\n    --in the course of time--\n\nthey shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter\n\n    --Bernice--\n\nof the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement:\n\n    --Antiochus banished his own wife Laodice and her children\n    in favor of Bernice--\n\nbut she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he\nstand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up\n\n    --Antiochus after the death of Ptolemy expelled Bernice\n    and recalled the rejected Laodice.--\n\nand they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that\nstrengthened her in _these_ times.\n\n7. But out of a branch of her roots\n\n    --Ptolemy II, called Evergetes--\n\nshall _one_ stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army,\nand shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north and shall\ndeal against them and shall prevail:\n\n    --Laodice placed her son Seleucus II on the throne.\n    Ptolemy III made an expedition against Syria, slew Laodice\n    and conquered the realm from Cilicia to the Tigris.\n\n8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their\nprinces, _and_ with their precious vessels of silver and of gold\n\n    --the booty was immense, 2500 idols, 4000 talents of gold,\n    etc.--\n\nand he shall continue _more_ years than the king of the north.\n\n9. So the king of the south shall come into _his_ kingdom, and shall\nreturn into his own land.\n\n10. But his sons\n\n    --Seleucus III and Antiochus III, the Great--\n\nshall be stirred up and shall assemble a multitude of great forces:\nand _one_ shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; then\nshall he return, and be stirred up, _even_ to his fortress.\n\n11. And the king of the south\n\n    --Ptolemy IV, was luxurious and indolent--\n\nshall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him,\n_even_ with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great\nmultitude: but the multitude shall be given into his hand.\n\n    --Ptolemy defeated Antiochus near Gaza but did not follow\n    up the victory.\n\n12. _And_ when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be\nlifted up; and he shall cast down _many_ ten thousands: but he shall\nnot be strengthened _by it_.\n\n13. For the king of the north\n\n    --Antiochus the Great--\n\nshall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the\nformer, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great\narmy and with much riches.\n\n14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of\nthe south; also the robbers of thy people\n\n    --secret enemies of the Jews--\n\nshall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fail.\n\n15. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and\ntake the most fenced cities; and the arms of the south shall not\nwithstand, neither his chosen people, neither _shall there be any_\nstrength to withstand.\n\n16. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will,\n\n    --the wars of Antiochus the Great--\n\nand none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious\nland\n\n    --Palestine--\n\nwhich by his hand shall be consumed.\n\n17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his\nwhole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he\nshall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her:\n\n    --Using marriage for political gain: Antiochus gave his\n    daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy Epiphanes,\n    hoping for benefit, but it turned out otherwise--\n\nbut she shall not stand _on his side_, neither be for him.\n\n18. After this he shall turn his face unto the Isles, and shall take\nmany: but a prince\n\n    --a Roman General--\n\nfor his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease;\nwithout his own reproach\n\n    --Antiochus said:--\"Asia did not concern the Romans and he\n    was not subject to their orders\"--\n\nhe shall cause _it_ to turn upon him.\n\n    --He was defeated by the Romans, at Magnesia.\n\n19. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land;\n\n    --pillage the temples--\n\nbut he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.\n\n    --Antiochus the Great was slain.\n\n20. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes _in_ the\nglory of the kingdom:\n\n    --his son Seleucus Philopater, who sent out Heliodorus and\n    taxed the temples as well as the people--\n\nbut within a few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in\nbattle.\n\n    --Seleucus shortly after, died in a mysterious manner.\n\n21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person,\n\n    --Antiochus Epiphanes--\n\nto whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall\ncome in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.\n\n22. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before\nhim, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.\n\n    --Onias III, the high priest was put to death by his order.\n\n23. And after the league _made_ with him he shall work deceitfully:\nfor he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.\n\n24. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the\nprovince; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor\nhis father's fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and\nspoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against\nthe strongholds even for a time.\n\n25. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king\nof the south with a great army; and the king of the south\n\n    --Ptolemy Philometer--\n\nshall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but\nhe shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.\n\n26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him,\nand his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.\n\n27. And both these kings' hearts _shall_ be to do mischief, and they\nshall speak lies at one table\n\n    --a pretended friendship--\n\nbut it  shall not prosper: for yet the end _shall be_ at the time\nappointed.\n\n28. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his\nheart _shall be_ against the holy covenant;\n\n    --the worship of Jehovah--\n\nand he shall do _exploits_, and return to his own land.\n\n29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south;\nbut it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.\n\n30. For the ships of Chittim\n\n    --the fleet of the Romans under Laenas--\n\nshall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return,\nand have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he\nshall even return, and have intelligence with them\n\n    --the Samaritans--\n\nthat forsake the holy covenant.\n\n31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the\nsanctuary of strength,\n\n    --the Temple--\n\nand shall take away the daily _sacrifice_, and they shall place the\nabomination that maketh desolate.\n\n    --Antiochus Epiphanes established idol-altars in every\n    town and village of Palestine, and ordered a daily\n    sacrifice of swine on the altars.\n\n32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by\nflatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and\ndo _exploits_.\n\n    --Mattathias and his 5 sons, the \"Maccabees.\"\n\n33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many:\nyet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by\nspoil, _many_ days.\n\n34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little\nhelp: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.\n\n    --see life of Judas Maccabeus.\n\n35. And _some_ of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and\nto purge, and to make _them_ white, _even_ to the time of the end:\nbecause _it is_ yet for a time appointed.\n\n36. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt\nhimself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak\nmarvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the\nindignation be accomplished: for that, that is determined shall be\ndone.\n\n37. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of\nwomen,\n\n    --in other words, the idol Astarte, \"the queen of heaven\"--\n\nnor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.\n\n38. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces:\n\n    --a god of castles or fortresses--\n\nand a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and\nsilver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.\n\n39. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a strange god, whom\nhe shall acknowledge _and_ increase with glory: and he shall cause\nthem to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.\n\n40. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push\nat him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a\nwhirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and\nhe shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.\n\n41. He shall enter also into the glorious land,\n\n    --Palestine--\n\nand many _countries_ shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out\nof his hand, _even_ Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of\nAmmon\n\n    --Antiochus passed them by. When, however, they tried to\n    take advantage of Judas Maccabeus, he defeated them.\n\n42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the\nland of Egypt shall not escape.\n\n43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,\nand over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the\nEthiopians _shall_ be at his steps.\n\n44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble\nhim:\n\n    --rumors of rebellion and lack of funds made him resolve\n    to go at once to Persia, restore order and collect taxes.--\n\ntherefore he shall go forth with great fury\n\n    --Threatened on his return to exterminate the Jews--\n\nto destroy, and utterly to make away many.\n\n45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas\nin the glorious holy mountain;\n\n    --he left a garrison in the Citadel adjoining the Temple--\n\nyet he shall come to his end\n\n    --B.C. 163--\n\nand none shall help him.\n\n\nCHAPTER XII. [HEBREW.]\n\n1. And at that time shall Michael\n\n    --the archangel, see Jude verse 9--\n\nstand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy\npeople: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since\nthere was a nation _even_ to that same time,\n\n    --\"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not\n    since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor\n    ever shall be.\" Matt. XXIV. 21. Josephus says 1,100,000\n    perished in the Siege.--\n\nand at that time thy people shall be delivered,\n\n    --\"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall\n    be saved.\" Matt. XXIV. 13--\n\nevery one that shall be found written in the book.\n\n    --At the time of the siege all of the Christians escaped\n    to the little town of Pella.\n\n2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,\nsome to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.\n\n    --As to the righteous:--\"the graves were opened; and many\n    bodies of the saints which slept arose. And came out of\n    the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy\n    city, and appeared unto many.\" Matt. XXVII. 52. As to the\n    wicked:--Scripture is silent.\n\n3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the\nfirmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for\never and ever.\n\n    --Witness for instance the life of the Apostle Paul and\n    the lives of a vast host of Christian saints.\n\n4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, _even_\nto the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge\nshall be increased.\n\n    --These words find special emphasis in the present\n    century, noted for its railways, steam engines,\n    automobiles, bicycles, telephones, wireless telegraphy,\n    public libraries, books, photographs, microscopes,\n    antitoxins, _x_-rays, etc.\n\n5. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one\non this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of\nthe bank of the river.\n\n    --In verses 4 and 5 of chapter X, Daniel beheld only one\n    heavenly visitor, he now looks and discovers other two.\n\n6. And _one_ said to the man clothed in linen, which _was_ upon the\nwaters of the river, How long _shall it be to_ the end of these\nwonders?\n\n7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, which _was_ upon the waters\nof the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto\nheaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that _it shall be_ for\na time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to\nscatter the power of the holy people, all these _things_ shall be\nfinished.\n\n    --Since the power of the holy people was scattered in\n    A.D. 70, all these things were finished at that time and\n    right there Daniel's prophetic work ended. The formula,\n    \"time, times, and an half\" has already been considered\n    under the head of Dan. VII. 25. See NOTE B.\n\n8. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what\n_shall be_ the end of these _things_?\n\n9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words _are_ closed up and\nsealed till the time of the end.\n\n10. Many shall be purified, and made white,\n\n    --\"And the same day there were added _unto them_ about\n    three thousand souls.\"--Acts II. 41.--\"Howbeit many of\n    them which heard the word believed, and the number of the\n    men was about five thousand.\"--Acts IV. 4--\n\nand tried;\n\n    --\"At that time there was a great persecution against the\n    church which was at Jerusalem.\"--Acts VIII. 1--\n\nbut the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall\nunderstand; but the wise shall understand.\n\n11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away\nand the abomination that maketh desolate set up\n\n    --the sacrifice of swine and pollution of the holy place\n    B.C. 168 to 141--\n\nthere shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.\n\n    In B.C. 168, these sacrifices were ordered to be made\n    DAILY, in every village and town throughout Palestine.\n    The desecration of the temple area lasted until May 4th\n    B.C. 141. Every moment of this time was part of one great\n    abomination. Counting each prophetic day as made up of\n    49 ordinary days, the 1290 days bring us to May 24th\n    A.D. 33--THE DAY OF PENTECOST--\"THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY\n    OF THE LORD\"--when the Holy Spirit was revealed to the\n    Jews, and about 3000 souls were converted.\n\n12. Blessed is he that waiteth\n\n    --THE GENTILES--\n\nand cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.\n\n    --the Gentiles did wait for six years, while the disciples\n    were busy, \"PREACHING THE WORD TO NONE, BUT UNTO THE JEWS\n    ONLY.\" Acts XI. 19.--If now we make the calculation for\n    1335 days, we shall find, that the prophecy brings us\n    direct to June 7th A.D. 39--on which day, the Holy Spirit\n    was revealed to the GENTILES.\n\n13. But go thou thy way till the end _be_: for thou shalt rest, and\nstand in thy lot at the end of the days.\n\n    Thus the heavenly visitor announced the fact of a\n    resurrection day, but gave no intimation whatever as\n    to when that day would come. In this respect also the\n    teachings of Daniel are in perfect accord with those of\n    the New Testament. \"Of that day and hour knoweth no man;\n    no, not the angels of Heaven.\" Matt. XXIV. 36.\n\n\n\n\nNOTES.\n\n\n\n\nJEWISH INDEPENDENCE DAY.\n\nThe era of the Seleucid\u00e6 among the Greeks and Eastern nations,\nsometimes called the \"era of contracts,\" dated from the capture\nof Babylon by Seleucus Nicator, Oct. 1st B.C. 312. The complete\nsubjugation of the city followed 6 months later, and therefore the\nBabylonians counted from the spring of B.C. 311. With this exception\nthe former date has been generally regarded as the true epoch. The\nyears run as below:\n\n                    YEARS OF THE SELEUCID\u00c6.\n\n      1st year began Oct. B.C. 312 and ended Oct. B.C. 311\n      2nd   \"    \"       \"     311    \"          \"     310\n      3rd   \"    \"       \"     310    \"          \"     309\n      5th   \"    \"       \"     308    \"          \"     307\n     10th   \"    \"       \"     303    \"          \"     302\n     50th   \"    \"       \"     263    \"          \"     262\n    100th   \"    \"       \"     213    \"          \"     212\n    150th   \"    \"       \"     163    \"          \"     162\n    170th   \"    \"       \"     143    \"          \"     142\n    171st   \"    \"       \"     142    \"          \"     141\n    and so on.\n\nWe pause at the beginning of the 171st year because it was a year\nof great moment in the life of the Jewish nation. The deepest\ninterest is focussed on \"the 23rd day of the 2nd month\" when Simon,\nbrother of Judas Maccabeus, \"destroyed a great enemy out of Israel,\"\nand CLEANSED the Temple of its abominations. He also ordained,\nthat the day should be observed ever after, as a National\nholiday.--I Macc. XIII. 51.\n\nWe note that the 171st year, like all others of the Seleucid\u00e6,\nbegan with the month of October, which was the first month of the\nMacedonian calendar. It was called Hyperberetaeus, the second month\nDius, the third, Apellaeus and so on. But the question that concerns\nus most is, whether the writer of First Maccabees actually reckoned\nby Macedonian months? A careful examination of the entire book shows\nthat he mentioned 4 Hebrew months by name--\"Casleu, Adar, Elul and\nSabat\"--also that he clearly located another, viz:--Tisri, but not\nin a single instance did he mention the name of a Macedonian month,\nor refer to the Macedonian calendar in any manner whatsoever. That he\ndid not regard October as being the FIRST month is plainly declared\nin I Macc. X. 21, where he says:--\n\n    \"So in the SEVENTH month of the 160th year, at the feast\n    of tabernacles, Jonathan put on the holy robe,\" etc.\n\nSept./Oct. therefore was the SEVENTH month, according to the usage of\nthe writer of the First book of Maccabees, which gives the following\nsuccession:--\n\n    B.C. 142 Sept./Oct., the SEVENTH  month TISRI\n        \"    Oct./Nov.,   \"  EIGHTH     \"   Marchesvan\n        \"    Nov./Dec.,   \"  NINTH      \"   Casleu\n        \"    Dec./Jan.,   \"  TENTH      \"   Tebeth\n    B.C. 141 Jan./Feb.,  the ELEVENTH month Shebat\n        \"    Feb./March,  \"  TWELFTH    \"   ADAR\n        \"    Mar./April,  \"  FIRST      \"   NISAN\n        \"    Apr./May,    \"  SECOND     \"   IYAR\n\nThe rest of the way is easy. We have only to follow the Jewish\ncalendar of Rabbi Hillel II and we learn that the \"23rd day of the\nSECOND month\" corresponded with the\n\n    4TH DAY OF MAY B.C. 141,\n\nthe great day of National Independence. Having thus far followed\nexclusively the years of the Seleucid\u00e6 as common among Greeks and\nOrientals, let us now turn to the system of the Babylonians. Their\nera began, as already explained, with the spring of B.C. 311.\nAccordingly, their 171st year began with the spring of B.C. 141, and\nthe SECOND month of course coincided with Apr./May, or the Jewish\nmonth Iyar. It matters not, therefore, whether you follow the system\nof the Greeks or that of the Babylonians, you will arrive at the same\ngoal, viz:--May 4th B.C. 141.\n\nOne can hardly overestimate the importance of this discovery, because\na knowledge of the National Independence day gives a fixed starting\npoint for that mysterious group of DAYS--2300, 1290 and 1335--as\nrevealed by the angel Gabriel to \"Daniel the Prophet.\"\n\n\n\n\nNOTE A.\n\nDARIUS, OR CYAXARES. [DANIEL V. 31.]\n\n\"And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and\ntwo years old.\" In the first verse of the 9th chapter we are told\nthat Darius was the son of Ahasuerus, the same Assuerus spoken of in\nthe 15th verse of the 14th chapter of Tobit, the Astyages of Median\nhistory. Astyages was king of the Medes and reigned for 35 years from\nB.C. 593-558. His son Cyaxares [Josephus X. 11, 4.] succeeded him on\nthe throne and his daughter Mandan\u00e9 married Cambyses of Persia. Their\noffspring was Cyrus the Great, who thus represented the Royal houses\nof both Media and Persia. Cyaxares therefore was the uncle of Cyrus.\nAs a boy Cyrus was brought up by his grandfather and accompanied\nhis uncle on shooting expeditions. A very strong attachment was\nformed with the latter so that in after years when Cyrus deposed his\ngrandfather, in B.C. 558, he made his uncle the king of Media. Still\nlater when Cyrus took Babylon and pacified the inhabitants he made\nhis uncle Cyaxares king _pro tem_, who occupied the throne from\nB.C. 538-536. Cyrus of course continued to be, as the annalistic\ntablet relates, \"the powerful king, the king of Babylon, 'the king of\nSumar and Akkad'--the king of the four zones.\" But the laws of Persia\nas outlined by Herodotus [VII. 1. 2. and III. 66] made it necessary\nfor him to appoint a successor before starting out to war, who would\ngovern during his absence. So we find, \"after Gobryas the governor\nof the country of Ararat and the soldiers of Cyrus, without fighting\nentered Babylon,\" the country became submissive and attention could\nbe directed elsewhere; that \"when in the course of their march they\narrived in the Median territory Cyrus turned off to visit Cyaxares;\nand after they had embraced each other, Cyrus first told Cyaxares\nthat there were domestics and palaces set apart for him in Babylon,\nthat when he came thither he might have what was his own to come to.\"\n[Xenophon VIII.] It is hard to imagine how Cyrus could have paved the\nway more perfectly for the reign of his uncle Cyaxares in Babylon,\nwhom we believe was Darius the Mede of Scripture. His reign was of\nshort duration, but it came at a critical period in the history\nof the Jews. Only two years remained to complete the Babylonian\ncaptivity and Divine influences were at work for the return of\nthe chosen people. [Daniel X. 13.] More than a century previous\nto that time the Scriptures had named Cyrus as the \"shepherd,\"\n[Isaiah XLV. 1, 3.] and when Cyrus placed his uncle temporarily on\nthe throne of Babylon, a heavenly messenger was sent to Darius who\n\"stood to confirm and strengthen him.\" [Daniel XI. 1.] This gave\nthe Jews a friend at court who paved the way for that celebrated\nemancipation proclamation which Cyrus issued on his return to\nBabylon. Naturally such a document belonged among the state papers\nand should have been found \"in the house of the rolls where the\ntreasures were laid up in Babylon,\" but diligent search proved of\nno avail. [Ezra VI. 1.] However, as the document was dated in the\ntime of Darius the Mede, official attention was next directed to\n\"the palace that is in the province of the Medes,\" where a careful\nsearch proved successful. [Ezra VI. 2.] There they found the original\n\"roll\" stowed away among the royal documents and forwarded it to King\nDarius Hystaspes. The king promptly ratified the decree of Cyrus and\nadded, \"Let it be done with speed.\" The history of Darius the Mede is\ntherefore one of peculiar interest in the life of the Jewish people.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE B.\n\n\"THE SUM OF THE MATTERS.\" [DANIEL VII. 1 AND 25.]\n\nThe vision of the four great beasts is now complete and we have\nreached the sum of the matters in verse 25. Already in chapter II.\nthe same subject was summarized by the following language: \"In the\ndays of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which\nshall never be destroyed ... and it shall stand forever.\" The present\nsummary differs from the first in that it localizes the endless\nkingdom, and tells the year when it would be set up. Whenever we send\na telegram and wish to conceal our meaning from the public we employ\nsingle words to express conditions and quantities. Twice, Daniel\nwas told by his heavenly visitor:--\"shut thou up the vision,\" it\nis therefore proper to infer that the word TIME was used to express\na certain number of years and TIMES to express a greater number of\nyears. But what heavenly measure of time do we find in the Bible,\nassociated with the punishment of nations, that can be taken as\nthe unit period for measuring seasons of God's displeasure? Turn\nto Zech. I. 12th and we read:--\"Then the angel of the Lord answered\nand said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on\nJerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou hast had\nindignation these threescore and ten years.\" For other examples, see\nNOTE D. If then the word TIME was inserted in the heavenly message\nas a symbol for 70 years, and the numeral 7 conveyed to the Jewish\nmind the idea of a perfect quantity, then a week of TIME, or 7 times\n70 might very naturally be symbolized by the word TIMES. We find in\nGen. II. 4. that the 7 DAYS of creation are spoken of in the singular\nas, \"the DAY the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.\" Besides\nevery 7th year was a Sabbatic year. So that whatever the word TIME\nmeans in the singular, we may reasonably take the word TIMES to\nmean a 7 fold quantity in the plural. We find another measure in\nMatt. XVIII. 22. where the Divine idea of forgiveness is expressed\nin numerals. The apostle Peter thought that he did well in fixing the\nunit of forgiveness at 7 fold, but he was told to multiply his scant\nnumber by 70 before he could attain to the Divine standard. If now\nwe substitute these values for their symbols in the formula: \"Time,\nTimes and Half-time\" we shall obtain, 70 plus 490, plus 35, equals\nto 595 years. Verse four supplies the initial date for this series\nof years. From it we learn that the \"sum of the matters\" started with\nthe Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, who united in his own person the\nblood of both royal houses and became king in B.C. 558. From this\ndate to the Christian era was 557 years and from the era to A.D. 39\nwas 38 years more, making a total of 557 plus 38, or 595 years. From\nwhich we learn that the \"sum of the matters\" or the full time arrived\nfor the setting up of the kingdom in A.D. 39. The prophecy therefore\ngives us the year, and we shall find that the 12th verse of the 12th\nchapter supplies the day when \"all these things\" were finished. The\napostle Peter in describing the events of that day said:--\"Forasmuch\nthen as God gave them (the Gentiles) the like gift as he did unto\nus, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could\nwithstand God? When they heard these things they held their peace,\nand glorified God, saying, Then hath God also on the Gentiles granted\nrepentance unto life.\" Acts XI. 17, 18.\n\nThe admission of the Gentiles was deemed a matter of so great\nimportance that the formula has been repeated in the 7th verse of\nthe 12th chapter, also material has been given in the 12th verse of\nthe same chapter by which the very day itself can be computed. The\npassages stand to each other in the relation of demonstration to\nproof.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE C.\n\n\"DAYS.\"\n\nIn searching for symbolic numbers we found that number 49 stood both\nfor the Jubilee year and for the Feast of Weeks:--Concerning the\nJubilee it was said:--\"And thou shalt number 7 sabbaths of years unto\nthee, 7 times 7 years: and the space of 7 sabbaths of years shall\nbe unto thee 49 years.\" Leviticus XXV. 8.--Concerning Pentecost it\nwas said: \"And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy\nGod\"--\"Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the\n7 weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the\ncorn.\" Deu. XVI. 9, 10. The feast was to be kept in a fourfold manner\nwith the offering of a tribute, with rejoicing, with remembrance, and\nwith obedience. For more than 3600 years has this beautiful custom\nbeen observed among the Jews, so that 49, the number of days, comes\nto us with special emphasis. With such a prominent place assigned\nto it in the Jewish ritual, no wonder if it found a place in the\nsymbolic language of the heavenly visitor. We have discovered that\nsuch was the case and accordingly have made calculations for the\nthree periods represented by \"2300 days,\" \"1290 days\" and \"45 days\"\n(1335 less 1290) on the basis that each prophetic \"day\" equals\n49 ordinary days of 24 hours each. They stand for 112,700 ordinary\ndays; 63,210 days and 2205 days. In reducing these days to years the\nsidereal year was taken as the Standard year. A sidereal year, or\ntime in which the earth makes one revolution, the point of reference\nbeing a fixed star, amounts to 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 9-6/10\nseconds, expressed decimally it equals 365.2563611 days. By dividing\neach period of ordinary days by the number of days in a sidereal year\nwe obtain the actual length of each prophetic period. In arranging\nthese periods, the starting point was May 4th B.C. 141, or day on\nwhich the Temple precincts were cleansed by Simon Maccabeus. The\n1290 days carries us directly to May 24th A.D. 33, which was the day\nof Pentecost \"that great and notable day of the Lord\" when the Holy\nSpirit descended upon the disciples at Jerusalem. It is interesting\nto note in this case how very precise is the language of Scripture.\nThe passage reads:--\"When the day of Pentecost was FULLY come.\"\nAfter their return from Babylon the Jews were accustomed to devote\ntwo days, instead of one, to the observance of the feast, and as\nPentecost that year fell on May 23rd and 24th, the day of Pentecost\nwas FULLY come on the day indicated by our chart. The event therefore\nhappened precisely as foretold by the heavenly visitor, who said to\nDaniel, \"the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is\nTRUE,\" and it came about with that degree of exactness with which\nastronomers become familiar in their study of the heavenly bodies.\nThe chart clearly proves that the \"1290 days\" is a perfect fit\nbetween two well-known dates. The other periods give us two extremely\nimportant dates heretofore absolutely unknown to Bible students.\n\n    THE ONLY KEY TO DANIEL'S PROPHECIES.\n\n    =2300 DAYS.=--Dan. VIII. 14.\n\n    Sidereal year = 365 days    365.0000000 days.\n                      6 hrs.      0.2500000   \"\n                      9 min.      0.0062500   \"\n                      9.6 sec.    0.0001111   \"\n                                -----------\n                                365.2563611   \"\n                                -----------\n\n                          2300 \"days.\"\n                          49\n                         -----\n                         207\n                         92\n                       ---------------\n          365.2563611 ) 112700.00000 ( 308.55041 years.\n                        109576 90833\n                        --------------\n                         31230916700\n                         29220508888\n                         -------------\n                          20104078120\n                          18262818055\n                          -------------\n                           18412600650\n         365.2563611       18262818055\n              .55041       -------------\n         -----------         14978259500\n          3652563011         14610254444\n        14610254444          ------------\n      18262818055              3680050560\n     18262818055               3652563611\n    ----------------           ----------\n    201.040763713051 days.\n    ---------------- |\n\n    =2300= DAYS equal to:\n              =308= YEARS, =6= MONTHS, =21= DAYS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =1290 DAYS.=--Dan. XII. 11.\n\n                          1290 \"days.\"\n                           49\n                         -----\n                         1161\n                         516\n                        --------------\n           365.2563611 ) 63210.00000 ( 173.0565343 years.\n                         36525 63611\n                         ------------\n                         26684 363890\n                         25567 945277\n                         -------------\n                          1116 4186130\n                          1095 7690833\n                          --------------\n                            20 649529700\n                            18 262818055\n                            -------------\n                             2 3867116450\n                             2 1915381666\n                             -------------\n                               19517347840\n          365.2563611          18262818055\n             .0565343          ------------\n          -----------           12545297850\n          10957690833           10957690833\n         14610254444            ------------\n        10957690833              15876070170\n       18262818055               14610254444\n      21915381666                ------------\n     18262818055                  12658157260\n    -----------------             10957690833\n    20.64951269533573 days.       -----------\n    -----------------\n\n    =1290= DAYS equal to:\n              =173= YEARS, =0= MONTHS, =20= DAYS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    =1335 DAYS.=--Dan. XII. 12.\n\n                          1335 \"days.\"\n                     Less 1290\n                          ----\n               Difference   45 \"days.\"\n                            49\n                          ----\n                           405\n                          180\n                         ---------------\n            365.2563611 ) 2205.0000000 ( 6.036856 years.\n                          2191 5381666\n                          --------------\n                            13 461833400\n                            10 957690833\n                            -------------\n                             2 5041425670\n                             2 1915381666\n                             ------------\n                               31260440040\n                               29220508888\n                               ------------\n                               20399311520\n                               18262818055\n                               ------------\n         365.2563611            21364934650\n             .036856            21915381666\n         -----------            -----------\n         21915381666\n        18262818055\n       29220508888\n      21915381666\n     10957690833\n    ----------------\n    13.4618884447016 days.\n    ----------------\n\n    =45= DAYS equal to:\n           =6= YEARS, =0= MONTHS, =13= DAYS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n                                      \"TEMPLE CLEANSED\"\n    =October 14 B.C. 450=    2300      =May 4 B.C. 141=     1290\n      END OF THE DOUBLE     <---->       NATIONAL DAY.     <---->\n    INDIGNATION. Note D.     Days            Note C.        Days\n\n        \"PENTECOST\"\n      =May 24 A.D. 33=        45       =June 7 A. D. 39=\n       THAT GREAT AND       <---->  THE HOLY SPIRIT BESTOWED\n     NOTABLE DAY OF THE      Days    \"ON THE GENTILES ALSO.\"\n        LORD.  Note F.                       Note C.\n\n    _Examined and Found Correct, LAWRENCE E. BROWN & CO.,\n    Public Accountants for State of Pennsylvania._\n\n    Copyright 1905, by W. S. AUCHINCLOSS.\n\nThe Holy Spirit's appearance to the Gentiles in the Summer of A.D. 39\nwas at a time peculiarly favorable for the conversion of Cornelius.\nThe persecution of A.D. 36, following the dismissal of Pilate, was\nsucceeded by a period of rest and rapid growth among the infant\nchurches. There was, then, neither the marching of armies, nor even\nthe rumor of war. True, these all came in the Fall of A.D. 40, when\nPetronius was sent to Syria with instructions to place the images of\nthe Romans in the Temple at Jerusalem. It may be said in passing,\nthat the expedition landed in Ptolemais and there wintered. But in\nthe Spring of A.D. 41 the attitude of the Jews was so determined,\nthat Petronius sent to Rome for additional instructions. The Emperor,\nhowever, died quite suddenly, and the expedition was finally\nabandoned. The year A.D. 39 was a time of peace and good order; a\ntime most favorable to the all-important mission of the Holy Spirit.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE D.\n\n\"TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DAYS.\" [DAN. VIII. 14.]\n\nIn the vision of \"the evening and the morning\" it is evident that\n2300 days must end with a complete cleansing of the sanctuary, and\nunquestionably this was accomplished by Simon Maccabeus on May the\n4th B.C. 141. [I Mac. XIII. 51]; but at what time they should begin\nto count is not so evident. The 19th verse tells us: \"I will make\nthee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation.\"\n\nWe ask: what indignation? When was the first end? When the middle?\nand When the last end?\n\nWe note first, that the speaker was the angel Gabriel, consequently\nthe indignation referred to was of Divine origin. The word\nindignation stands for \"sore displeasure\" [Zech. I. 2]. It arose in\nthe year B.C. 590, the seventh of the captivity, at which time Israel\nwas cast off and Nebuchadnezzar prepared to wage war against them.\nIt was announced in the following words:--\"As I live saith the Lord\nGod, I will not be inquired of by you\" [Ezek. XX. 3]. The indignation\nlasted just 70 years [Zech. I. 12] and ended by a promise of pardon\nmade in the eighth month, which according to the calendar of Rabbi\nHillel II. (IDAN OLAMIM of J. L. Sossnitz) began October 25th\nB.C. 520 [Zech. I. 1 and 3]. We note in passing that although Cyrus\nput an end to the Babylonian captivity in B.C. 536 and the people\nreturned to the land of Judea, yet they encountered insuperable\nobstacles which held up their work [Ezra V. 3] until the year\nB.C. 520, which was the end of 70 years' indignation. From these\npassages we learn what were the limitations in one case of \"sore\ndispleasure.\" But Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would receive of\nthe Lord's hand _double_ for all her sins [Isa. XL. 2]. Jeremiah also\nspoke in the same vein \"And first I will recompense their iniquity\nand their sin _double_\" [Jer. XVI. 18]. When we reach B.C. 433 we\nfind that Nehemiah dreaded a still further return of God's sore\ndispleasure and warned the nobles of Judah against profaning the\nSabbath day. [Neh. XIII. 16, 18.] As the first indignation ended\nwith the 8th month of B.C. 520, a double period ought to end with\nthe 8th month of B.C. 450, that is, with October 2nd of that year.\nBut you object, how could a period be truly 70 years in length, when\nit began with October 25th and ended with October the 2nd? This\nquestion admits of easy explanation. According to the Jewish calendar\nthe eighth month comes and goes with the phases of the moon, just\nlike our Easter occurs at different seasons, hence we must take the\naverage of these dates, viz: October the 14th as our representative\nday. We have already alluded to the delays experienced by the Jews\nwhen freed by Cyrus and desire at this point to draw attention to the\nfact that Zerubbabel's temple was not completed until B.C. 515, JUST\n5 YEARS after the indignation period expired, in B.C. 520; and that\nin like manner Nehemiah's temple was not completed until B.C. 445,\nJUST 5 YEARS after the next indignation period expired, in B.C. 450.\nWe might also add that from the time when the Jews first worshipped\nin Babylon as captives in B.C. 585, to the time when they worshipped\nin Zerubbabel's temple as free men in B.C. 515 was another instance\nof a period 70 years long. This frequent recurrence of 70-year\nperiods shows that as a numeral 70 may justly be regarded as one\nof the units of TIME in the dispensation of God's providence, and\ntherefore to be reckoned with in the study of prophecy.\n\nBut returning to our representative day, October 14th B.C. 450, we\nrealize that when the first and the second indignation had passed,\nthe time came for \"the last end of the indignation\" spoken of in the\n19th verse, and known as the \"2300 days.\" By the calculations given\nin NOTE C, we find that 2300 prophetic days exactly fill the interval\nbetween Oct. 14th B.C. 450 and May the 4th B.C. 141. Having thus\nbrought out the limitations of the \"2300 days\" we would add, that\nDaniel's eleventh chapter gives in outline a complete history of the\nperiod under consideration, so that the Jews had it in their power\nto tell the prophetic time of day at any moment between B.C. 450 and\nB.C. 141.\n\n    \"DAYS.\"\n\n    GRAPHIC EXHIBIT.\n\n    End of the                             October 14, B.C. 450.\n    ----------------------------++------------------------------\n    DOUBLE INDIGNATION  ^       ||             [Sabbattic year.]\n    Jeremiah XVI. 18.   |       ||\n                        |       ||\n                        |       ||\n                      2300......||.......DAYS.  [Dan. VIII. 14.]\n                        |       ||\n                        |       ||\n      TEMPLE CLEANSED;  |       ||\n         National       |       ||\n      Independence Day__v_______||______________May 4, B.C. 141.\n      I Mac. XIII. 51.          ||        ^\n                                ||        |\n                                ||        |\n                     1290.......||......DAYS. [Dan. XII. 11.]\n                                ||        |\n        \"THAT GREAT AND         ||        |\n    NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD.\"   ||        |\n          \"PENTECOST\" __________||________v_____May 24, A.D. 33.\n          Acts II. 20.   ^      ||\n                         |      ||\n                         |      ||\n                        45......||......DAYS [= 1335 less 1290].\n                         |      ||               [Dan. XII. 12.]\n    The HOLY SPIRIT      |      ||\n        bestowed         v      ||\n    ----------------------------++------------------------------\n    \"ON THE GENTILES ALSO.\"                     June 7, A.D. 39.\n           Acts X. 45.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE E.\n\nTHE EXODUS FROM PERSIA. [DANIEL IX. 25.]\n\nEzra gives a full account of this great event in his history of the\nJews, in the VIIIth and VIIth chapters of his book, where he says,\nthey \"began to go from Babylon\" on the 1st day of the 1st month in\nthe 7th year of king Artaxerxes, also that they were not fairly under\nway until the 12th day of the 1st month, which was within two days of\nthe Passover. After a journey of 4 months they arrived at the city of\nJerusalem.\n\nIn fixing the date of the Exodus from Persia we must determine the\nboundaries of the 7th year of Artaxerxes. First, as to the year\nitself, it has been well established that his reign began in\nB.C. 465. Then as to the month, the statement found in Neh. I. 1.\nand II. 1. render a commencement impossible between the months of\nNovember and March, while the statement made in Ezra VII. 7, 8\nand 9 preclude the interval from March to August following. This\nnarrows the field for the commencement of Artaxerxes' reign down to\nthe months of August, September and October. Although there is no\npossible way of distinguishing between the relative claims of these\nthree months, yet from the wording of Nehemiah I. 1. we shall decide\nin favor of the last, viz: the month of October.\n\n  It follows that:--\n\n   1st year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 465, ended Oct. B.C. 464\n   2nd    \"        \"           \"      \"   464       \"      \"   463\n   3rd    \"        \"           \"      \"   463       \"      \"   462\n   4th    \"        \"           \"      \"   462       \"      \"   461\n   5th    \"        \"           \"      \"   461       \"      \"   460\n   6th    \"        \"           \"      \"   460       \"      \"   459\n   7th year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 459, ended Oct. B.C. 458\n      and so on:\n  20th year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 446, ended Oct. B.C. 445\n      and so on:\n  32nd year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 434, ended Oct. B.C. 433\n      --Neh. V. 14. and XIII. 6.\n\nWhence by reference to the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II. [IDAN OLAMIM\nof J. L. Sossnitz], we derive the following dates for the\n\n  EXODUS FROM PERSIA:\n\n  Jews began to leave Babylon   March 25th B.C. 458\n    \"  left the river of Ahava  April  5th  \"   458\n    \"  arrived at Jerusalem      July 21st  \"   458\n\nIn conclusion we observe, that the real start of the Jews under the\ncommandment, viz: their \"going forth\" took place: April 5th B.C. 458,\nand as Christ rose from the dead on April 5th A.D. 33, the interval\nbetween dates amounted to 490 years, or SEVENTY WEEKS, exactly as\nforetold by the angel Gabriel in Daniel IX. 24.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE F.\n\nDATE OF THE CRUCIFIXION. [DAN. IX. 26.]\n\nSince the prophecy of Daniel points directly to the time when Messiah\nwould be cut off and not to the date of Christ's birth, it is evident\nthat neither the natal day nor the length of his life on earth are\nnecessary to a complete understanding of the prophecy. What we need\nmost to know are the day and the year in which Messiah was crucified.\nHappily these points can be determined by data found in the Bible.\nTurn to Luke III. 1 and 23 and we learn that Jesus \"began to be about\n30 years of age\" in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. Not that Jesus\nattained the age of 30 in the 15th year of Tiberius, but that when\nthe last day of the 15th year arrived, viz: Aug. 18th A.D. 29, Jesus\nwas VERY NEAR 30 years old. His birthday anniversary therefore comes\nin the Fall of the year. From that time on, we count 3\u00bd years to his\ncrucifixion in A.D. 33. We learn from the parable of the barren fig\ntree, also from Daniel's prophecy that Messiah's ministry would last\none-half a prophetic week, or 3\u00bd years. The parable itself accounts\nfor 3 years: \"Behold these three years I come seeking fruit and find\nnone;\" and since the parable was given, about the time of the harvest\nhome, or feast of tabernacles, another half year was necessary to\ncarry the time over from the feast of tabernacles to the following\nPassover. When this was completed his ministry ended. At the very\noutset of our Lord's ministry he spoke of the work before him and\nproclaimed God's good pleasure in sending him, to preach the gospel\nto the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to\nthe captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at\nliberty them that are bruised. [Luke IV. 18.] With this ministry\nexpressive of God's favor, He then contrasted the ministry of Elias,\nexpressive of God's displeasure \"when the heaven was shut up 3 YEARS\nAND SIX MONTHS, when great famine was throughout the land.\" This\nreference seems to have been a sign as to the exact length of\ntime Christ's ministry would continue on earth, precisely as the\nexperience of Jonah in the fish was a sign of the length of time\nChrist would remain \"in the heart of the earth.\" [Matthew XII. 40.]\nBut the strongest evidence is furnished by the 4 Passovers which were\ncelebrated during the period of said ministry.\n\nThe years therefore ran as follows:--\n\n    Christ began his ministry when 30 years old   Fall A.D. 29\n    1st Passover John II. 13                    Spring  \"   30\n    2nd    \"      \"    V.  1                       \"    \"   31\n    3rd    \"      \"   VI.  4                       \"    \"   32\n    4th    \"      \"   XI. 55                       \"    \"   33\n\nAs regards the exact date of the fourth Passover we know by astronomy\nthat there was a full moon at 4.15 P.M. on Friday April 3 A.D. 33. On\nthat day therefore Messiah was \"cut off.\"\n\nAt this point let us glance backward 490 years, or 70 weeks to the\nPassover of B.C. 458, and we shall meet the children of Israel making\ntheir Exodus from Persia [Ezra VIII. 31] \"going forth\" under the\nleadership of Ezra, by \"commandment\" of Artaxerxes ordering them\n\"to restore and to build Jerusalem.\" In view of this marvellous\nfulfilment of prophecy, how frivolous do seem the charges of those\nwho claim that the Book of Daniel is--\"a bundle of loose leaves\"--\"a\nconsolatory political pamphlet\"--and \"written as historic fiction\nin 168-165 B.C.\" Pretty good fiction, is it not? for one writing in\nB.C. 168 to make declaration that a certain event, figured from a\ngiven starting point, would _positively_ take place at the end of\n490 years! We have many writers of historic fiction in our own day,\nbut none so venturesome as \"the chief of the governors over all the\nwise men of Babylon.\" Those who call the predictions found in the\nBook of Daniel--\"historic fiction\"--simply destroy the meaning of\nwords and pour contempt upon the Word of God.\n\nOur explanation robs the IXth chapter of Daniel of all its mystery\nand shows why the LORD called him \"Daniel the PROPHET.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHRONOLOGY.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRTH OF CHRIST.\n\nChrist was born in the year B.C. 2. In support of this announcement\nwe do not propose to give a table of dates, setting forth the ideas\nof the Christian Fathers who wrote prior to the 5th century. Nor\nthose of Dionysius Exiguus, of the Venerable Bede, or of Roger Bacon,\nall of whom wrote between the 5th and the 14th centuries. Neither\nshall we give those of Archbishops Usher and Lloyd in the 17th\ncentury, nor those of Dr. Hales and of Sir Isaac Newton in the 18th\ncentury, nor those of Prideaux and of the talented chronologist\nH. Fynes Clinton in the 19th century. We find our authority in\nEusebius the \"father of ecclesiastical history\" [A.D. 325] and\ngive with it a 20th century Chart in proof of the accuracy of his\nstatement.\n\nOf course back of Eusebius lay Jewish tradition, which in modern\ntimes has found expression in the \"Jewish Calendar\" of E. H. Lindo;\nLondon, 1838. Under the title of the \"Book of the Generations,\" that\nnoted chronologist states that the Christian Era began with the year\nA.M. 3760, in other words with the 30th day of August B.C. 2 as shown\nin the diagram.\n\n    LOCATION OF CHRISTIAN ERA\n\n                                JEWISH CALENDAR.\n\n                                      ||\n     A.M. A.M.                    A.M.||A.M.           A.M.\n    +----+----+------------------+----||----+---------+----+\n    |5666|5665|..................|3760||3759|.........|  1 |\n    +----+----+------------------+----||----+---------+----+\n        |                        |    ||                   |\n        |<---------1906 yrs---------->||<----3759 yrs----->|\n        |                             ||                   |\n    ----^-----                    ----^^---            ----^---\n    Sept. 30th                    Aug. 30th            Oct. 7th\n    ----v-----                    ----vv---            ----v---\n        |                             ||                   |\n        |A.D. A.D.        A.D.    B.C.||               B.C.|B.C.\n       ++---+----+-----+---+---++----+----+----------+----++---+\n       |1905|1904|.....| 2 | 1 ||  1 |  2 |......... |3760|3761|\n       ++---+----+-----+---+---||----+----+----------+----++---+\n        |                      ||   B.C.                   |\n        |<------1904\u00be yrs----->||<--------3760\u00bc yrs------->|\n        |             CHRISTIAN CALENDAR.                  |\n        |                                                  |\n        |<---------------------5665 yrs------------------->|\n\nEusebius, who as Bishop of Caesarea, spent most of his life in Judea,\npossessed rare opportunities for verifying Jewish tradition. It is\nvery significant that his scholarly research led him to accept and\nendorse a date for the commencement of the Christian Era, which is\nidentically the same as that preserved by the Jews.\n\nThe New Testament plainly declares that Christ was born shortly prior\nto the death of Herod the Great. The most perfect history we possess\nof Herod's life is found in the works of Flavius Josephus, who\nacknowledged indebtedness to the \"Commentaries of King Herod,\" and\nto the works of \"Nicolaus of Damascus, the historiographer of Herod.\"\nIt should be remembered that for his facts Josephus depended entirely\non others, because Herod died almost 40 years before Josephus was\nborn and therefore, however accurate Josephus might be individually,\nhe was liable to be mistaken by the error of others. Let us turn to\nthe XIVth book of his \"Antiquities,\" because it contains a statement\nof than ordinary precision which bears directly on the date of\nHerod's death and may rightly be regarded as the corner stone of\nJosephus' calculations regarding Herod's reign. It is there recorded\nthat Hyrcanus began to rule in the \"3d year of the 177th olympiad\"\n[B.C. 70/69]. At first sight, one cannot help being pleased, that\nin so important a matter, Josephus took special pains to be exact,\nfor nowhere else in all his writings does he give the year of any\nolympiad. It was his custom simply to announce the olympiad and leave\nthe reader to guess in which one of four years the event took place.\nHowever, in this one instance he gave the year and left nothing to\nbe supplied. This apparent accuracy has led many readers astray,\nfor they have lost sight of the fact that his statement is not\nhistorically correct.\n\nIt is a well-established fact that Pompey took Jerusalem on the 24th\nday of May, B.C. 63, that he deposed Aristobulus and made Hyrcanus\nmonarch. According to this, the brothers reigned about 6\u00be years.\nJosephus, however, states that one reigned 3 years and 6 months\n[XIV. 6. 1], and the other reigned only 3 months [XV. 6. 4], making a\ntotal of 3\u00be years instead of 6\u00be years. Here, then, we have discovered\na huge gap of about 3 years in the reckoning of Josephus. We believe\nthis is the first time that public attention has been directed to\nthis grave error: we say grave, because it has led the Christian\nworld astray and fostered the belief that Christ was born in B.C. 5\ninstead of the year B.C. 2. Happily, Eusebius escaped this pitfall.\n\nIt is evident from the chart, that in the case of 6 reigns Josephus\nSTRETCHED HIS FIGURES and made them occupy 103 years instead of\n100 years. This proves that his figures, in part, were matters of\ncalculation and not rigid statements of historical facts. No notice\ncan be taken of the joint-rule exercised by Augustus and Tiberius\nbetween A.D. 11 and 14, because that mode of reckoning is unnatural.\nThe day of one's death is the natural dividing line between reigns,\nand as Augustus Caesar died on the 19th day of August, A.D. 14\nTiberius Caesar began to reign on the same day. Besides, to admit a\njoint-rule would hopelessly add another 3 years to Josephus' error\nand put him in the light of having carried his process for STRETCHING\nFIGURES 6 points instead of 3 points. What he did do in that line is\nbad enough, without making matters worse.\n\nIt will be observed that the work of contracting Josephus' figures\nhas been accomplished in part on the second line, but the final\nrectification appears on the last line. These results maintain the\nintegrity of all that Josephus said about the following olympiads,\nviz: the 179th, 184th, 185th, 187th, and 192nd.--They also accord\nwith the discovery of Zumpt regarding a double term in the\ngovernorship of Cyrenius. We reach a solid ground on the 15th year\nof Tiberius Caesar and arrive at last at the first Easter Sunday,\nviz: April 5, A.D. 33, the end of the SEVENTY WEEKS of the Prophet\nDaniel.\n\nIn conclusion we observe, that the life of Christ on earth covered a\nperiod of 33\u00bd years, and that\n\n    CHRIST WAS BORN IN THE FALL OF B.C. 2.\n\n\n\n\nYEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST.\n\nThe dates given herewith have been collated from the chart which\naccompanies this volume.\n\n    Birth--about time of the Feast of Tabernacles  Fall  B.C.   2\n\n    Christ in the Temple                                 A.D.  11\n\n    His baptism [Luke III. 1 and 23]             Summer   \"    29\n\n    Began his ministry                             Fall   \"    29\n\n    Purgeth the Temple                           Spring   \"    30\n\n    Disciples baptize throughout Judea                    \"    30\n\n    Spends the year in Galilee                            \"    31\n\n    John Baptist imprisoned                      Spring   \"    31\n\n    The Apostles sent out                                 \"    31\n\n    John beheaded                                Spring   \"    32\n\n    Fed the multitudes, 5000 and 4000                     \"    32\n\n    The transfiguration                                   \"    32\n\n    Feast of Tabernacles, see}       Thursday, Oct. 9th   \"    32\n      John VII. 2 and 14     }\n\n    Completed 3 years of ministry.}\n      Parable of fig-tree, barren }                       \"    32\n      for 3 years, see Luke 13, 6 }\n\n    Feast of dedication             Thursday, Dec. 18th   \"    32\n\n    The crucifixion                   Friday, April 3rd   \"    33\n\n    The resurrection                  Sunday, April 5th   \"    33\n\n    Ministry lasted 3\u00bd years, or  } Fall of A.D. 29 to Spring  33\n      \"one-half a WEEK\" of 7 years}\n\n    The Ascension                      Friday, May 15th  A.D.  33\n\n\n\n\nYEARS IN THE LIFE OF HEROD.\n\nThe dates here given are the result of a geometric plotting of the\nfacts given in the works of Flavius Josephus:--see chart with this\nvolume.\n\n    Herod the Great was born in                  B.C.   71\n\n    Made Governor of Galilee when  }\n      18 years old (not 15) and in }              \"     54\n      the 9th year of Hyrcanus II. }\n\n    Made king by the Romans                       \"     40\n\n    Married Mariamne   }\n    Captured Jerusalem }                          \"     37\n\n    Battle of Actium in 7th year of his reign     \"     31\n\n    Hyrcanus II. put to death }\n    Herod recrowned by Caesar }                   \"     30\n\n    Mariamne put to death                         \"     29\n\n    Herod afflicted with madness                  \"     28\n\n    1st year of famine                            \"     24\n\n    2nd     \"     \"                               \"     23\n\n    Herod offered to rebuild Temple               \"     21\n\n    The priests began work                        \"     19\n\n    Sanctuary dedicated                           \"     18\n\n    Cloisters finished                            \"     11\n\n    1st of Caesar's Games                         \"      9\n\n    2nd       \"       \"                           \"      4\n\n    Alexander and Aristobulus put to death        \"      4\n\n    Total eclipse of the Moon January 9th         \"      1\n\n    [See \"Eclipses Past and Future,\" by Johnson]\n\n    Death of Herod the Great           February  B.C.    1\n\n\n\n\nASMONEAN DYNASTY.\n\nThis government was founded by a priest named Mattathias, who had\nfive sons named respectively:--John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and\nJonathan. The dynasty lasted 130 years and was succeeded by the\nIdumean dynasty of Herod the Great. The dates here given result from\na geometric plotting of the facts given by Josephus and the books of\nthe Maccabees.\n\n    Mattathias began to rule in       B.C.  167\n\n    Judas Maccabeus began to rule in   \"    166\n\n    The feast of lights instituted\n        November 26th                  \"    165\n\n    Alcimus, high priest               \"    162\n\n    7 years interregnum                \"    159\n\n    Jonathan Maccabeus                 \"    152\n\n    Simon made governor                \"    145\n\n    Simon Maccabeus                    \"    143\n\n    Temple cleansed May 4th            \"    141\n\n    John Hyrcanus                      \"    135\n\n    Judas Aristobulus, king            \"    105\n\n    Alexander Janneus                  \"    104\n\n    Queen Alexandra                    \"     76\n\n    Hyrcanus II.                       \"     67\n\n    Aristobulus                        \"     67\n\n    Hyrcanus II.                       \"     63\n\n    Antigonus                          \"     40\n\n    Antigonus put to death             \"     37\n\n\n\n\nREIGNS OF THE CHALDEAN AND MEDO-PERSIAN KINGS.\n\nThese dates have been established after careful study of the works of\nHerodotus, Thucydides, Ctesias, Josephus, Berosus, Manetho, Ptolemy,\nDiodorus, Julius Africanus, Eusebius, Egibi tablets; also Annalistic\ntablet of Cyrus and \"Records of the Past.\"\n\n    MONARCHS.\n\n                                   B.C.         Reigned.\n    Nabopolassar began to reign     626           21 years\n\n    Siege of Jerusalem              606\n\n    Nebuchadnezzar                  605           43   \"\n\n    Astyages, king of Media         593           35   \"\n\n    Evil-Merodach                   562            2   \"\n\n    Nergal-sarra-utsur              560            4   \"\n\n    Cyrus the Great,\n      king of Persia                558           29   \"\n\n    Laborosoarkhodos                556         9/12 year\n\n    Nabonadios, alone         }     556  14\n    Nabonadios and Belshazzar }     541   3\n                                        ---       17 years\n\n    Babylon taken by Cyrus          538\n\n    Cyrus and Darius }              538   2\n    Cyrus alone      }              536   7\n                                        ---        9   \"\n\n    Cambyses                        529       7-5/12   \"\n\n    Gomates                         522         7/12 year\n\n    Darius Hystaspes                521           36 years\n\n    Xerxes                          485           20   \"\n\n    Artabanus (USURPER)\n\n    Artaxerxes Longimanus           465           40   \"\n\n    Xerxes II. and Sogdianus                         mos.\n\n    Darius Nothus                   425           29 years\n\n    Artaxerxes Mnemon               396           36   \"\n\n    Ochus                           360           21   \"\n\n    Arses                           339            2   \"\n\n    Darius Codomannus               337            4   \"\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes\n\nPunctuation has been standardized.\n\nItalic text has been denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal\nsigns=.\n\nCharacters in small caps have been replaced by all caps.\n\nWords printed in red in the original text have been displayed by\nindenting the block of text.\n\nRoman numerals have been standarized as capital letters.\n\nNon-Latin characters have been given an English transliteration:\n    'oe' ligature --> oe\n\nThis book was written in a period when many words had not become\nstandardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling\nvariations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been\nleft unchanged unless noted below:\n\n    Page   50 - 'Danel' replaced with 'Daniel'\n                (with a lamentable voice unto Daniel:)\n\n    Page   52 - 'ino' replaced with 'into'\n                (cast _them_ into the den of lions,)\n\n    Page   70 - 'troblous' replaced with 'troublous'\n                (even in troublous times.)\n\n    Page   70 - 'befal' replaced with 'befall'\n                (what shall befall thy people)\n\n    Page   77 - Verse # omitted in original text\n                (1. Also I)\n\n    Page   84 - 'Judus' replaced with 'Judas'\n                (take advantage of Judas Maccabeus,)\n\n    Page   96 - 'Babylonion' replaced with 'Babylonian'\n                (complete the Babylonian captivity)\n\n    Page  111 - 'Sabattic' replaced with 'Sabbattic'\n                ([Sabbattic year.])\n\n    Page  134 - 'Codomanus' changed to 'Codomannus' for consistency\n                (Darius Codomannus)","title":"The Book of Daniel Unlocked","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":24318}