The Book of Daniel Unlocked

NOTE A

DARIUS, OR CYAXARES. [DANIEL V. 31.]

“And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.” In the first verse of the 9th chapter we are told that Darius was the son of Ahasuerus, the same Assuerus spoken of in the 15th verse of the 14th chapter of Tobit, the Astyages of Median history. Astyages was king of the Medes and reigned for 35 years from B.C. 593-558. His son Cyaxares [Josephus X. 11, 4.] succeeded him on the throne and his daughter Mandané married Cambyses of Persia. Their offspring was Cyrus the Great, who thus represented the Royal houses of both Media and Persia. Cyaxares therefore was the uncle of Cyrus. As a boy Cyrus was brought up by his grandfather and accompanied his uncle on shooting expeditions. A very strong attachment was formed with the latter so that in after years when Cyrus deposed his grandfather, in B.C. 558, he made his uncle the king of Media. Still later when Cyrus took Babylon and pacified the inhabitants he made his uncle Cyaxares king pro tem, who occupied the throne from B.C. 538-536. Cyrus of course continued to be, as the annalistic tablet relates, “the powerful king, the king of Babylon, ‘the king of Sumar and Akkad’ – the king of the four zones.” But the laws of Persia as outlined by Herodotus [VII. 1. 2. and III. 66] made it necessary for him to appoint a successor before starting out to war, who would govern during his absence. So we find, “after Gobryas the governor of the country of Ararat and the soldiers of Cyrus, without fighting entered Babylon,” the country became submissive and attention could be directed elsewhere; that “when in the course of their march they arrived in the Median territory Cyrus turned off to visit Cyaxares; and after they had embraced each other, Cyrus first told Cyaxares that there were domestics and palaces set apart for him in Babylon, that when he came thither he might have what was his own to come to.” [Xenophon VIII.] It is hard to imagine how Cyrus could have paved the way more perfectly for the reign of his uncle Cyaxares in Babylon, whom we believe was Darius the Mede of Scripture. His reign was of short duration, but it came at a critical period in the history of the Jews. Only two years remained to complete the Babylonian captivity and Divine influences were at work for the return of the chosen people. [Daniel X. 13.] More than a century previous to that time the Scriptures had named Cyrus as the “shepherd,” [Isaiah XLV. 1, 3.] and when Cyrus placed his uncle temporarily on the throne of Babylon, a heavenly messenger was sent to Darius who “stood to confirm and strengthen him.” [Daniel XI. 1.] This gave the Jews a friend at court who paved the way for that celebrated emancipation proclamation which Cyrus issued on his return to Babylon. Naturally such a document belonged among the state papers and should have been found “in the house of the rolls where the treasures were laid up in Babylon,” but diligent search proved of no avail. [Ezra VI. 1.] However, as the document was dated in the time of Darius the Mede, official attention was next directed to “the palace that is in the province of the Medes,” where a careful search proved successful. [Ezra VI. 2.] There they found the original “roll” stowed away among the royal documents and forwarded it to King Darius Hystaspes. The king promptly ratified the decree of Cyrus and added, “Let it be done with speed.” The history of Darius the Mede is therefore one of peculiar interest in the life of the Jewish people.

NOTE B

“THE SUM OF THE MATTERS.” [DANIEL VII. 1. AND 25.]

The vision of the four great beasts is now complete and we have reached the sum of the matters in verse 25. Already in chapter II. the same subject was summarized by the following language: “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … and it shall stand forever.” The present summary differs from the first in that it localizes the endless kingdom, and tells the year when it would be set up. Whenever we send a telegram and wish to conceal our meaning from the public we employ single words to express conditions and quantities. Twice, Daniel was told by his heavenly visitor: – “shut thou up the vision,” it is therefore proper to infer that the word TIME was used to express a certain number of years and TIMES to express a greater number of years. But what heavenly measure of time do we find in the Bible, associated with the punishment of nations, that can be taken as the unit period for measuring seasons of God’s displeasure? Turn to Zech. I. 12th and we read: – “Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years.” For other examples, see Note D. If then the word TIME was inserted in the heavenly message as a symbol for 70 years, and the numeral 7 conveyed to the Jewish mind the idea of a perfect quantity, then a week of TIME, or 7 times 70 might very naturally be symbolized by the word TIMES. We find in Gen. II. 4. that the 7 DAYS of creation are spoken of in the singular as, “the DAY the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” Besides every 7th year was a Sabbatic year. So that whatever the word TIME means in the singular, we may reasonably take the word TIMES to mean a 7 fold quantity in the plural. We find another measure in Matt. XVIII. 22. where the Divine idea of forgiveness is expressed in numerals. The apostle Peter thought that he did well in fixing the unit of forgiveness at 7 fold, but he was told to multiply his scant number by 70 before he could attain to the Divine standard. If now we substitute these values for their symbols in the formula: “Time, Times and Half-time” we shall obtain, 70 plus 490, plus 35, equals to 595 years. Verse four supplies the initial date for this series of years. From it we learn that the “sum of the matters” started with the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, who united in his own person the blood of both royal houses and became king in B.C. 558. From this date to the Christian era was 557 years and from the era to A.D. 39 was 38 years more, making a total of 557 plus 38, or 595 years. From which we learn that the “sum of the matters” or the full time arrived for the setting up of the kingdom in A.D. 39. The prophecy therefore gives us the year, and we shall find that the 12th verse of the 12th chapter supplies the day when “all these things” were finished. The apostle Peter in describing the events of that day said: – “Forasmuch then as God gave them (the Gentiles) the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also on the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Acts XI. 17, 18.

The admission of the Gentiles was deemed a matter of so great importance that the formula has been repeated in the 7th verse of the 12th chapter, also material has been given in the 12th verse of the same chapter by which the very day itself can be computed. The passages stand to each other in the relation of demonstration to proof.

NOTE C

“DAYS.”

In searching for symbolic numbers we found that number 49 stood both for the Jubilee year and for the Feast of Weeks: – Concerning the Jubilee it was said: – “And thou shalt number 7 sabbaths of years unto thee, 7 times 7 years: and the space of 7 sabbaths of years shall be unto thee 49 years.” Leviticus XXV. 8. – Concerning Pentecost it was said: “And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God” – “Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the 7 weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.” Deu. XVI. 9, 10. The feast was to be kept in a fourfold manner with the offering of a tribute, with rejoicing, with remembrance, and with obedience. For more than 3600 years has this beautiful custom been observed among the Jews, so that 49, the number of days, comes to us with special emphasis. With such a prominent place assigned to it in the Jewish ritual, no wonder if it found a place in the symbolic language of the heavenly visitor. We have discovered that such was the case and accordingly have made calculations for the three periods represented by “2300 days,” “1290 days” and “45 days” (1335 less 1290) on the basis that each prophetic “day” equals 49 ordinary days of 24 hours each. They stand for 112,700 ordinary days; 63,210 days and 2205 days. In reducing these days to years the sidereal year was taken as the Standard year. A sidereal year, or time in which the earth makes one revolution, the point of reference being a fixed star, amounts to 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 96/10 seconds, expressed decimally it equals 365.2563611 days. By dividing each period of ordinary days by the number of days in a sidereal year we obtain the actual length of each prophetic period. In arranging these periods, the starting point was May 4th B.C. 141, or day on which the Temple precincts were cleansed by Simon Maccabeus. The 1290 days carries us directly to May 24th A.D. 33, which was the day of Pentecost “that great and notable day of the Lord” when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples at Jerusalem. It is interesting to note in this case how very precise is the language of Scripture. The passage reads: – “When the day of Pentecost was FULLY come.” After their return from Babylon the Jews were accustomed to devote two days, instead of one, to the observance of the feast, and as Pentecost that year fell on May 23rd and 24th, the day of Pentecost was FULLY come on the day indicated by our chart. The event therefore happened precisely as foretold by the heavenly visitor, who said to Daniel, “the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is TRUE,” and it came about with that degree of exactness with which astronomers become familiar in their study of the heavenly bodies. The chart clearly proves that the “1290 days” is a perfect fit between two well-known dates. The other periods give us two extremely important dates heretofore absolutely unknown to Bible students.

THE ONLY KEY TO DANIEL’S PROPHECIES.

The Holy Spirit’s appearance to the Gentiles in the Summer of A.D. 39 was at a time peculiarly favorable for the conversion of Cornelius. The persecution of A.D. 36, following the dismissal of Pilate, was succeeded by a period of rest and rapid growth among the infant churches. There was, then, neither the marching of armies, nor even the rumor of war. True, these all came in the Fall of A.D. 40, when Petronius was sent to Syria with instructions to place the images of the Romans in the Temple at Jerusalem. It may be said in passing, that the expedition landed in Ptolemais and there wintered. But in the Spring of A.D. 41 the attitude of the Jews was so determined, that Petronius sent to Rome for additional instructions. The Emperor, however, died quite suddenly, and the expedition was finally abandoned. The year A.D. 39 was a time of peace and good order; a time most favorable to the all-important mission of the Holy Spirit.

NOTE D

“TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DAYS.” [DANIEL VIII. 14.]

In the vision of “the evening and the morning” it is evident that 2300 days must end with a complete cleansing of the sanctuary, and unquestionably this was accomplished by Simon Maccabeus on May the 4th B.C. 141. [I Mac. XIII. 51]; but at what time they should begin to count is not so evident. The 19th verse tells us: “I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation.”

We ask: what indignation? When was the first end? When the middle? and When the last end?

We note first, that the speaker was the angel Gabriel, consequently the indignation referred to was of Divine origin. The word indignation stands for “sore displeasure” [Zech I. 2]. It arose in the year B.C. 590, the seventh of the captivity, at which time Israel was cast off and Nebuchadnezzar prepared to wage war against them. It was announced in the following words: – “As I live saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you” [Ezek. XX. 3]. The indignation lasted just 70 years [Zech. I. 12] and ended by a promise of pardon made in the eighth month, which according to the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II. (Idan Olamim of J. L. Sossnitz) began October 25th B.C. 520 [Zech. I. 1 and 3]. We note in passing that although Cyrus put an end to the Babylonian captivity in B.C. 536 and the people returned to the land of Judea, yet they encountered insuperable obstacles which held up their work [Ezra V. 3] until the year B.C. 520, which was the end of 70 years’ indignation. From these passages we learn what were the limitations in one case of “sore displeasure.” But Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would receive of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins [Isa. XL. 2]. Jeremiah also spoke in the same vein “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double” [Jer. XVI. 18]. When we reach B.C. 433 we find that Nehemiah dreaded a still further return of God’s sore displeasure and warned the nobles of Judah against profaning the Sabbath day. [Neh. XIII. 16, 18.] As the first indignation ended with the 8th month of B.C. 520, a double period ought to end with the 8th month of B.C. 450, that is, with October 2nd of that year. But you object, how could a period be truly 70 years in length, when it began with October 25th and ended with October the 2nd? This question admits of easy explanation. According to the Jewish calendar the eighth month comes and goes with the phases of the moon, just like our Easter occurs at different seasons, hence we must take the average of these dates, viz: October the 14th as our representative day. We have already alluded to the delays experienced by the Jews when freed by Cyrus and desire at this point to draw attention to the fact that Zerubbabel’s temple was not completed until B.C. 515, JUST 5 YEARS after the indignation period expired, in B.C. 520; and that in like manner Nehemiah’s temple was not completed until B.C. 445, JUST 5 YEARS after the next indignation period expired, in B.C. 450. We might also add that from the time when the Jews first worshipped in Babylon as captives in B.C. 585, to the time when they worshipped in Zerubbabel’s temple as free men in B.C. 515 was another instance of a period 70 years long. This frequent recurrence of 70-year periods shows that as a numeral 70 may justly be regarded as one of the units of TIME in the dispensation of God’s providence, and therefore to be reckoned with in the study of prophecy.

But returning to our representative day, October 14th B.C. 450, we realize that when the first and the second indignation had passed, the time came for “the last end of the indignation” spoken of in the 19th verse, and known as the “2300 days.” By the calculations given in Note C, we find that 2300 prophetic days exactly fill the interval between Oct. 14th B.C. 450 and May the 4th B.C. 141. Having thus brought out the limitations of the “2300 days” we would add, that Daniel’s eleventh chapter gives in outline a complete history of the period under consideration, so that the Jews had it in their power to tell the prophetic time of day at any moment between B.C. 450 and B.C. 141.

“DAYS.”

NOTE E

THE EXODUS FROM PERSIA. [DANIEL IX. 25.]

Ezra gives a full account of this great event in his history of the Jews, in the VIIIth and VIIth chapters of his book, where he says, they “began to go from Babylon” on the 1st day of the 1st month in the 7th year of king Artaxerxes, also that they were not fairly under way until the 12th day of the 1st month, which was within two days of the Passover. After a journey of 4 months they arrived at the city of Jerusalem.

In fixing the date of the Exodus from Persia we must determine the boundaries of the 7th year of Artaxerxes. First, as to the year itself, it has been well established that his reign began in B.C. 465. Then as to the month, the statement found in Neh. I. 1. and II. 1. render a commencement impossible between the months of November and March, while the statement made in Ezra VII. 7, 8 and 9 preclude the interval from March to August following. This narrows the field for the commencement of Artaxerxes’ reign down to the months of August, September and October. Although there is no possible way of distinguishing between the relative claims of these three months, yet from the wording of Nehemiah I. 1. we shall decide in favor of the last, viz: the month of October.

It follows that: —

Whence by reference to the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II. [IDAN OLAMIM of J. L. Sossnitz], we derive the following dates for the

EXODUS FROM PERSIA:

In conclusion we observe, that the real start of the Jews under the commandment, viz: their “going forth” took place: April 5th B.C. 458, and as Christ rose from the dead on April 5th A.D. 33, the interval between dates amounted to 490 years, or SEVENTY WEEKS, exactly as foretold by the angel Gabriel in Daniel IX. 24.

NOTE F

DATE OF THE CRUCIFIXION. [DANIEL IX. 26.]

Since the prophecy of Daniel points directly to the time when Messiah would be cut off and not to the date of Christ’s birth, it is evident that neither the natal day nor the length of his life on earth are necessary to a complete understanding of the prophecy. What we need most to know are the day and the year in which Messiah was crucified. Happily these points can be determined by data found in the Bible. Turn to Luke III. 1 and 23 and we learn that Jesus “began to be about 30 years of age” in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. Not that Jesus attained the age of 30 in the 15th year of Tiberius, but that when the last day of the 15th year arrived, viz: Aug. 18th A.D. 29, Jesus was VERY NEAR 30 years old. His birthday anniversary therefore comes in the Fall of the year. From that time on, we count 3½ years to his crucifixion in A.D. 33. We learn from the parable of the barren fig tree, also from Daniel’s prophecy that Messiah’s ministry would last one-half a prophetic week, or 3½ years. The parable itself accounts for 3 years: “Behold these three years I come seeking fruit and find none;” and since the parable was given, about the time of the harvest home, or feast of tabernacles, another half year was necessary to carry the time over from the feast of tabernacles to the following Passover. When this was completed his ministry ended. At the very outset of our Lord’s ministry he spoke of the work before him and proclaimed God’s good pleasure in sending him, to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised. [Luke IV. 18.] With this ministry expressive of God’s favor, He then contrasted the ministry of Elias, expressive of God’s displeasure “when the heaven was shut up 3 YEARS AND SIX MONTHS, when great famine was throughout the land.” This reference seems to have been a sign as to the exact length of time Christ’s ministry would continue on earth, precisely as the experience of Jonah in the fish was a sign of the length of time Christ would remain “in the heart of the earth.” [Matthew XII. 40.] But the strongest evidence is furnished by the 4 Passovers which were celebrated during the period of said ministry.

The years therefore ran as follows: —

As regards the exact date of the fourth Passover we know by astronomy that there was a full moon at 4.15 P.M. on Friday April 3 A.D. 33. On that day therefore Messiah was “cut off.”

At this point let us glance backward 490 years, or 70 weeks to the Passover of B.C. 458, and we shall meet the children of Israel making their Exodus from Persia [Ezra VIII. 31] “going forth” under the leadership of Ezra, by “commandment” of Artaxerxes ordering them “to restore and to build Jerusalem.” In view of this marvellous fulfilment of prophecy, how frivolous do seem the charges of those who claim that the Book of Daniel is – “a bundle of loose leaves” – “a consolatory political pamphlet” – and “written as historic fiction in 168-165 B.C.” Pretty good fiction, is it not? for one writing in B.C. 168 to make declaration that a certain event, figured from a given starting point, would positively take place at the end of 490 years! We have many writers of historic fiction in our own day, but none so venturesome as “the chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” Those who call the predictions found in the Book of Daniel – “historic fiction” – simply destroy the meaning of words and pour contempt upon the Word of God.

Our explanation robs the IXth chapter of Daniel of all its mystery and shows why the LORD called him “Daniel the PROPHET.”

CHRONOLOGY

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

Christ was born in the year B.C. 2. In support of this announcement we do not propose to give a table of dates, setting forth the ideas of the Christian Fathers who wrote prior to the 5th century. Nor those of Dionysius Exiguus, of the Venerable Bede, or of Roger Bacon, all of whom wrote between the 5th and the 14th centuries. Neither shall we give those of Archbishops Usher and Lloyd in the 17th century, nor those of Dr. Hales and of Sir Isaac Newton in the 18th century, nor those of Prideaux and of the talented chronologist H. Fynes Clinton in the 19th century. We find our authority in Eusebius the “father of ecclesiastical history” [A.D. 325] and give with it a 20th century Chart in proof of the accuracy of his statement.

Of course back of Eusebius lay Jewish tradition, which in modern times has found expression in the “Jewish Calendar” of E. H. Lindo; London, 1838. Under the title of the “Book of the Generations,” that noted chronologist states that the Christian Era began with the year A.M. 3760, in other words with the 30th day of August B.C. 2 as shown in the diagram.

LOCATION OF CHRISTIAN ERA

Eusebius, who as Bishop of Caesarea, spent most of his life in Judea, possessed rare opportunities for verifying Jewish tradition. It is very significant that his scholarly research led him to accept and endorse a date for the commencement of the Christian Era, which is identically the same as that preserved by the Jews.

The New Testament plainly declares that Christ was born shortly prior to the death of Herod the Great. The most perfect history we possess of Herod’s life is found in the works of Flavius Josephus, who acknowledged indebtedness to the “Commentaries of King Herod,” and to the works of “Nicolaus of Damascus, the historiographer of Herod.” It should be remembered that for his facts Josephus depended entirely on others, because Herod died almost 40 years before Josephus was born and therefore, however accurate Josephus might be individually, he was liable to be mistaken by the error of others. Let us turn to the XIVth book of his “Antiquities,” because it contains a statement of more than ordinary precision which bears directly on the date of Herod’s death and may rightly be regarded as the corner stone of Josephus’ calculations regarding Herod’s reign. It is there recorded that Hyrcanus began to rule in the “3d year of the 177th olympiad” [B.C. 70/69]. At first sight, one cannot help being pleased, that in so important a matter, Josephus took special pains to be exact, for nowhere else in all his writings does he give the year of any olympiad. It was his custom simply to announce the olympiad and leave the reader to guess in which one of four years the event took place. However, in this one instance he gave the year and left nothing to be supplied. This apparent accuracy has led many readers astray, for they have lost sight of the fact that his statement is not historically correct.