The prophet Daniel; a key to the visions and prophecies of the Book of Daniel

Contents

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Introduction i

CHAPTER

CHAPTER I Daniel and His Companions in Babylon

This chapter forms the introduction to the Book. In the foreground stands the sad history of Jerusalem.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his land, with part of the vessels of the house of God; which he carried in the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

Divine judgment so long threatened and for so many years announced by God's holy Prophets came at last upon Jerusalem. The instrument chosen by God to execute His judgments was Nebuchadnezzar. Three times he came against Jerusalem. In 606 B. C. he appeared the first time. This is the visitation mentioned here. In 598 he came again and took away a larger number of people, including Ezekiel. In 587. he completed the work and burned the City. Jehovah had His glorious dwelling place in Jerusalem in the midst of His people till they had completely failed, and when Nebuchadnezzar appeared Jerusalem was given over to the Gentiles and the times of the Gentiles began. The characteristic of the times of the Gentiles is that Jerusalem is trodden down. But as the times of the Gentiles had a definite beginning so will they have a definite end and then Jerusalem will no longer be trodden down, but become the city of the great King. How the times of the Gentiles end we shall find in Daniel's great prophecies. In the command of the king to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs to bring of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed and of princes to Babylon for a thorough Chaldean education, we have the fulfillment of another prophecy. It is written in Isaiah xxxix. 7. " And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." Among these captives were the four lads with their significant names, names full of hope and assurance. Daniel (God is my Judge) ; Hananiah (Beloved of the Lord) ; Mishael (Who is as God) and Azariah (The Lord is my help). But their pleasant names were changed. And what horrible names they received instead: Daniel becomes Belteshazzar, which means " Bel's Prince " as Nebuchadnezzar said himself " according to the name of my god " (iv. 8). Hananiah is named Shadrach. Rak was the name of the Sungod and the name means " Illumined by the Sungod." Mishael was called Meshach. It will be seen that the last syllable in his name " El "

which means God, was changed into Shach. This in all probability is the name of a goddess like Venus. So they changed his name from " Who is as God " to " Who is like Venus." Azariah became Abednego " the servant of Nego," another false god. Behind this change of names stands a satanic attempt to wipe out the memory of Jerusalem and to have these noble young men give up their separation and become assimilated by the Gentiles.

But Babylon had not reckoned with the faithful God of Israel. He overshadowed with His grace the poor, lonely captives, and the next we read is that Daniel takes a positive stand. Thus the great prophet is introduced. He was perhaps about 14 years old. First he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with that which according to the Law of God was unclean. No doubt this fixed purpose came to the lad by meditation on the Law and through communion with God. He thus manifested a complete separation from the world and its ways. The next step was that he made this purpose known. And when he had acted in faith he discovered that God had gone before. It was God who had brought him in favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. Then came the test. They are put on their simple diet of pulse and water and after ten days (ten is in Scripture the number of testing and trial) their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh, than the children who ate the king's meat. But God does always more than we can ask or think and so besides giving them bodily strength and fairness He gave them much more spiritually. "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."

Daniel and his companions witness to the fact that God has a faithful remnant among His people even in the days of apostasy and judgment. These faithful ones headed by Daniel are types of the faithful remnant of Jews, suffering and bearing witness during the time of the end, the great tribulation. Of this we shall hear more later.

But this chapter has also blessed lessons for us. We as God's people are in the midst of a world which is antagonistic to God and His Truth. This great Babylon presses upon us and would, if it were possible, blot out every phase of Divine truth and rob us of all our joy and peace. How well this great enemy of God succeeds ! Look about and see the thousands and thousands of God's people who instead of being transformed are conformed to this world. They have fallen in line with this present evil age and instead of being separated, they walk in its ways and hence they are barren in spiritual things. Our constant danger is that we give up our separation and go along with the world. And let us not think so much of the pleasures of this world, the attractive things for the senses, the world spirit which reaches out in coveteousness after the possession and enjoyment of earthly things; that no doubt is included. But think of what is called the " great religious world." That is Babylon in the true sense of the word — confusion.

In the religious world we have the confusion of tongues. From what man has made, what man has built up, the traditions and commandments of men, from all which is contrary to His Word and His Will, we are called to separate. Do we desire a deeper knowledge of His Word and of Himself? Are we craving for a more real enjoyment of the things of God? Do we want more spiritual wisdom and understanding? The way is plain. We must be separated from that which is evil. We too must take a positive stand and dare to stand alone and cast ourselves upon a faithful Lord. It is this which is taught in the beginning of the xii chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world (age), but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God." We must " cease from evil " and then we can learn and understand. The lack of power and enjoyment, the indifference of which we are so often conscious, the little true heart knowledge We possess of the things of the Lord, the little real communion with Himself is the result of being conformed to this age. Surely God calls us in these closing days, as He does all His people, to separation from that which is evil.

But as it was with the Jewish lad Daniel, so it must be with us. Meditation on the Word and communion with the Lord must occupy the first place.

Then after the heart has purposed, the decisive stand and faith laying hold on God for strength will follow. Then we shall find Him true as it was the case with Daniel. The faithfulness of the Lord becomes a blessed reality in the path of separation. We too shall find an increase in true wisdom, in heart knowledge and progress in the truth. Spiritual knowledge cannot be learned, but it is the gift of God. If we acknowledge our weakness and emptiness, and cast ourselves upon Him, He will give that knowledge we need.

But notice also that while Daniel and his companions refused to be defiled by the King's meat and drink, they did not go without eating and drinking. That would have meant starvation. They ate pulse and drank water. Pulse means some kind of a vegetable. It was a simple fare on which they fed. And this likewise has a meaning. While we turn away from the world and its ways we have something to feed on, which makes up for all. Our food is Christ Himself and we have the water, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And as we feed on Christ and are led by His Spirit we shall increase in knowledge and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His power will keep us in an evil day.

CHAPTER II Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

The second chapter introduces us to the first great prophetic unfolding. It may well be called one of the great pivotal chapters of the Bible. It is the foundation of all the other visions which follow in this Book. The same revelation we find here is given in another form in the seventh chapter, only more fully. Let us remind ourselves that with the 4th verse of this chapter Daniel used the Aramaic — Babylonian language. It is used by the Prophet to the end of the Seventh Chapter. After that he writes in Hebrew. This in itself is a strong argument for the genuineness of the Book for after the Babylonian captivity Aramaic became the language of the Jewish people. If an impostor had written the book he would have written it exclusively in Aramaic. But as already stated the chapters written by Daniel in Aramaic concern the great empires which used this language and the other chapters concern the Jewish people. Now, if we divide these prophecies with this fact in mind we have at the beginning of the Aramaic portion the great dream of Nebuchadnezzar and at the close the vision of Daniel, so that the heathen King and the Prophet of God received both communications concerning the great world monarchies, the one by a dream and the other in dream visions. But if we divide the Book in the other way, that is, make the First part, Chapter i-vi and the second from Chapter vii-xii, then we find that each portion (leaving out the first chapter which is introductory) has for its heading the times of the Gentiles.

The Times of the Gentiles. This expression " The times of the Gentiles " is not found in the Book of Daniel, but it is a New Testament phrase. Our Lord used it exclusively. In that part of His prophetic discourse which is reported in the Gospel of Luke and which relates to the fall of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the nation, our Lord said, " And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled " (Luke xxi. 24). Now, the times of the Gentiles did not begin when Jerusalem rejected the Lord from heaven. Our Lord does not say that the times of the Gentiles were then ushered in. The times of the Gentiles started with the Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. The Glory of the Lord departed from Jerusalem. The other great Prophet of the captivity, Ezekiel, beheld the departure of the Shekinah. "Then did the Cherubim lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (Ezekiel xi. 22-23). But before that Jeremiah recorded a remarkable word. These are the words of Jehovah concerning Nebuchadnezzar :

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant ; and the beasts of the field have T given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come : and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand (Jeremiah xxvii. 5-9).

Jerusalem had been supreme because the throne and the glory of Jehovah was there. Though Assyria, Egypt and Babylon had tried repeatedly to overthrow Jerusalem, they were held in check by the power of God and Divine intervention, but when the measure of the wickedness of Jerusalem was full, Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to become the first great monarch of the times of the Gentiles. The dominion was then taken away from Jerusalem and transferred to the Gentiles.

For the sake of clearness we mention briefly another phrase which occurs likewise only once in the

New Testament " the fullness of the Gentiles." The times of the Gentiles and " the fullness of the Gentiles " do not mean the same thing. The fullness of the Gentiles mentioned in Romans xi., that great chapter touching the status of Israel, is to come in first before that blindness which has happened to Israel in part is removed. " Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. xi. 25). This is one of the mysteries Paul makes known. The fullness of the Gentiles means the full number of that people taken out from among the Gentiles (the church). The fullness of the Gentiles coming in, means the removal of the church from the earth. With that event Jewish history will be resumed and God in His Grace will call the remnant for their work during the " time of the end."

The prophecies in Daniel concern the times of the Gentiles. Of God's purpose in this present age, the calling out of the church, Daniel heard and knew nothing. That is a mystery which was not known in Old Testament times. (Eph. iii.) The prophecies of Daniel are therefore somewhat different from the prophecies of the other Prophets. In the land the Prophets prophesied concerning their own people, warned against impending judgments and predicted the glorious future of Jerusalem ; outside of the land Daniel had visions touching the Gentiles and the Gentile events which will precede the setting up of the future Kingdom in the midst of His people.

The Forgotten Dream of Nebuchadnezzar. We divide this chapter into five parts. 1. The forgotten Dream of the king. 2. The Prayer meeting and the Divine answer. 3. Daniel before the King.

4. The Revelation and Interpretation of the dream.

5. The effect upon Nebuchadnezzar and the promotion of Daniel and his companions.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a great dream, which caused him much trouble. Later Daniel revealed that which had occasioned the dream of the King. " As for thee, O King, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what shall come to pass hereafter ; and He that telleth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass " (29th verse). How much the King knew of what had been spoken through Jeremiah concerning the dominion God had given him, we do not know. He had returned successfully from Jerusalem; what others had not accomplished He had, and now he thought on the future of his empire, of what should be hereafter, after he has passed away. God answered this desire by a dream. It is one of the great dreams of the Bible, in which God reveals His purposes. The dream made a tremendous impression upon the King. He called his wise men and told them about his troubled spirit. The Chaldeans were quite ready to tell the King what the dream meant. But the King had forgotten the dream. It was gone from him. The King demanded that the wise men tell him first the dream; twice they demand to know the dream and then they would give the interpretation. The King realized that his wise men were miserable deceivers who prepared corrupt and lying words. They in turn confessed their utter helplessness.

The Chaldeans answered before the King, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the King's matter; therefore, there is no king, lord nor ruler that asked such a thing at any magicians, or astrologers, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing the King requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the King, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh (verses io-il).

Upon this bold language, in which the wise men confessed their helplessness and exposed the unreasonableness of the King's request, they were condemned to die. " And they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain." They had received instructions in the Chaldean mysteries, and were reckoned with the wise men.

The Prayer Meeting and the Divine Answer. And now our Daniel steps upon the scene. And it is a scene of the greatest calmness and faith. It is refreshing to see how the man of faith acted. There is no hurry, no haste connected with it whatever. " He that believeth shall not make haste." It is seen from the text that Arioch had gone forth on his mission to slay the wise men, and this captain of the King's guard came to Daniel. He answered him with counsel and wisdom. Brought before the King he gave him the assurance that if the King would give him time he would show the King the interpretation. But notice he did not know the dream then. He was as ignorant about that dream as the Chaldeans were and yet he told the King positively that he would make known the interpretation. This was the language of faith. He had confidence in God. He knew the God of heaven was able to make known that dream to him, for God gave the dream. Perhaps Daniel looked back in faith to the history of another captive, another Hebrew lad who was in a strange land and to whom God gave wisdom, Joseph. Would God disappoint the youthful Daniel in his absolute confidence in God? God never disappoints faith. Oh! that we who know that the mighty power of God is towards us, might also act and walk more in faith, our most blessed privilege! When Daniel came to the house where his three friends were, he told them what had happened. Perhaps they were amazed at his faith. But Daniel got them on their knees " that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret."

What a scene it was! The four young men on their knees, acknowledging their utter helplessness to the God of heaven, the God of their fathers and asking from Him mercies, that He may make known the dream. It was a prayer meeting in Babylon and the leader was Daniel. What a man of faith and prayer he was! Three times a day, we read later, he had his windows open towards Jerusalem. He and his companions knew of no other way but the way of prayer. United prayer is one of the greatest needs of God's people in our day. Perplexities and difficulties continually increase. The host of demons and their work, the wiles of the devil are about us on every hand. While these

[wicked powers cast themselves upon that which professes the name of the Lord, God's people should cast themselves unitedly upon God. What more pleasant occupation could we think of than coming together as His dearly beloved people " to desire mercies " from Him, whom we do not address as " The God of Heaven " but " The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is waiting for the prayers and requests of His people. We have so little, so little true ministry in the power of the Spirit, so little insight into God's purposes and ways, so little advance in spiritual things, because we are so little on our knees " desiring mercies." And the lack of united prayer amongst us is but the result of little real prayer in secret.

And in that night the answer came. Not to the three friends of Daniel was the secret made known, but God made it known to Daniel in a night vision. So to speak he dreamt over the dream of the King. God honored Daniel, because he had honored Him. And upon this followed one of the most simple and beautiful outbursts of praise we have in the Bible. Read it and see how Daniel ascribes everything to God. It is a sevenfold praise. 1. Wisdom and might are His. 2. He changeth the times and the seasons. 3. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. 4. He giveth wisdom unto the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. 5. He revealeth the deep and the secret things. 6. He knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with Him. 7. He gives praise for the revelation of what had been asked. How perfect was this praise to God concerning Himself and His wonderful ways.

Daniel before the King. After this outburst of praise, giving God the Glory, Daniel went again to Arioch, who had been commissioned to destroy the wise men and with no timid request he appeared before him. He spoke with authority as the messenger of God. And Arioch rushed into the King's presence, as if he deserved the credit for having discovered the man, who will give the interpretation. But how beautiful is Daniel in the presence of the King. He stands before the mighty monarch. What an opportunity to be elevated and glorify self. But Daniel does hide himself completely. His God he puts into the foreground and himself all out of sight. He tells the King that there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. Nebuchadnezzar is to know the power of God and his dependence on Him. Then he tells the King that God has made known to him " what shall be in the latter days." This is an important phrase. It corresponds to " the time of the end " in the second half of Daniel. And before he makes known the dream he speaks of himself and disclaims all honor in connection with what he is about to say to the King. " But as for me this secret is not revealed unto me for any wisdom that I have more than any living to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the King and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart." What humility breathes in these words. Daniel puts himself away completely and magnifies God. True spiritual knowledge and a deeper insight in God's ways and purposes should always be accompanied by humility. Think of the great Apostle Paul to whom the mystery concerning the church was made known, a mystery which was hidden in former ages. In the chapter in which he speaks of it he calls himself " less than the least of all the Saints." We all should beware of knowledge which puffeth up, which makes us think more highly and better of ourselves; it is a dangerous thing. But if we really walk and live in the truth we shall be kept from this great spiritual danger. Nothing is so sweet and attractive as a real knowledge of the truth and humility with it.

The Revelation and Interpretation of the Dream. And now we hear Daniel speak to the King:

Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (verses 31-35).

What astonishment must have come over Nebuchadnezzar as he heard his dream from the lips of the young captive. The whole dream came back to his memory. But greater astonishment must have been his when Daniel interpreted the dream.

The great image, the form of a man, is the prophetic image of the times of the Gentiles. That an image of a man was chosen, an image of great dimensions, is significant: In the New Testament the Apostle Paul speaks of " Man's Day ; " 1 Cor. iv. 3, see margin.) Man's Day describes the times of the Gentiles and it is still Man's Day and Man's Day will continue till the Lord's Day begins.

The great image was composed of four different kinds of metal, gold, silver, brass and iron and the two feet with their ten toes were iron and clay. These four metallic parts of the great man-image, according to divine interpretation, represent four great world empires, which were to appear on earth successively.

Here, indeed, we have history written in advance, one of the great evidences of the supernatural origin of the Bible. Four great kingdoms, world powers, should appear, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar down to the end when the dominion is to be taken from the Gentiles and the rule of the Most High to be established on the earth. These four great world empires have appeared in exactly the way as it was shown to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream and revealed to Daniel.

The youthful prophet pointed to Nebuchadnezzar and said " Thou art this head of gold." Nebuchadnezzar, the great head of the Babylonian world-empire, is represented by the head of gold. But this does not mean that morally the king was like fine gold. Gold is the type of Divinity. Nebuchadnezzar had received the authority and the dominion direct from the God of heaven and this is why gold, the most precious metal, is mentioned in connection with the Babylonian empire.

The Kingdom which followed the Babylonian and which is represented by the chest and the arms of the image, silver being its metallic value, is the Medo-Persian world monarchy. We do not trace this historically. There is no need for it for everybody has knowledge of it. In the Fifth Chapter the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire is announced. " Peres, thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Darius, the Mede, comes then upon the scene. Its great king had been named by the Prophet Isaiah over 100 years before he (Cyrus) appeared. Here we have another fact of Prophecy. This is the reason why the critics have tried to discredit Isaiah, for they cannot believe that the Spirit of God could give the very name and history of an unborn being.

The third great Monarchy which supplanted the preceding one is the Graeco-Macedonian. In the Seventh Chapter we read the story of how the King of Persia was broken by the King of Greece. It was a great empire. It is represented by the thighs and belly of brass. Alexander the Great, its founder, wept because he feared there might be no more world to be conquered. His great ambition, like that of Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar, was world rule and dominion over all nations and languages. The fourth Monarchy during the times of the Gentiles is represented by iron ; it is the iron Kingdom, Rome. This Monarchy is described in one point of superiority; it is to be strong. For as iron breaketh to pieces and subdueth all things, so this kingdom shall break in pieces. This is a perfect description of that strong empire, Rome, and we need not to explain this further. Equally clear is it that that Kingdom was divided into two parts, represented in the legs of the image. It was divided into the East Roman and West Roman Empire. The legs are the longest parts of this image and by it the fact is represented that this Roman Empire is to be in existence longer than any of the previous ones. Iron and clay are to be the material which compose the feet. We behold then that the last form of Gentile world power is represented by ten toes, ten kingdoms in the Roman Empire and they are of iron and clay, which do not mix.