What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
presents
THE COMING PRINCE
BY
SIR ROBERT ANDERSON
1841-1918
Includes All Charts, Tables, and Footnotes Published In "The Coming Prince"
WStS Note: The original Prefaces to the Tenth and Fifth Editions are placed at the end of the book,
for continuity's sake, in the belief that the reader will be better introduced to "The Coming Prince" by
Anderson's initial remarks in Chapter 1.
Reformatted by Katie Stewart
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: Introductory
CHAPTER 2: Daniel And His Times
CHAPTER 3: The King's Dream And The Prophet's Visions
CHAPTER 4: The Vision By The River Of Ulai
CHAPTER 5: The Angel' s Message
CHAPTER 6: The Prophetic Year
CHAPTER 7: The Mystic Era Of The Weeks
CHAPTER 8: "Messiah The Prince"
CHAPTER 9: The Paschal Supper
CHAPTER 10: Fulfillment Of The Prophecy
CHAPTER 11: Principles Of Interpretation
CHAPTER 12: Fullness Of The Gentiles
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CHAPTER 13: Second Sermon On The Mount
CHAPTER 14: The Patmos Visions
CHAPTER 15: The Coming Prince
PREFACES
APPENDICES
1. Chronological Treatise And Tables
2. Miscellaneous: Who And When
Artaxerxes Longimanus & The Chronology Of His Reign / Date Of The Nativity / Continuous
Historical System Of Prophetic Interpretation / The Ten Kingdoms / Chronological Diagram Of The
History Of Judah
3. A Retrospect And A Reply
.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY
TO living men no time can be so solemn as "the living present," whatever its characteristics; and that
solemnity is immensely deepened in an age of progress unparalleled in the history of the world. But
the question arises whether these days of ours are momentous beyond comparison, by reason of their
being in the strictest sense the last? Is the world's history about to close? The sands of its destiny, are
they almost run out, and is the crash of all things near at hand?
Earnest thinkers will not allow the wild utterances of alarmists, or the vagaries of prophecy-mongers,
to divert them from an inquiry at once so solemn and so reasonable. It is only the infidel who doubts
that there is a destined limit to the course of "this present evil world." That God will one day put forth
His power to ensure the triumph of the good, is in some sense a matter of course. The mystery of
revelation is not that He will do this, but that He delays to do it. Judged by the public facts around us,
He is an indifferent spectator of the unequal struggle between good and evil upon earth.
"I considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and, behold, the tears of the
oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but
they had no comforter." (Ecclesiastes 4:1)
And how can such things be, if indeed the God who rules above is almighty and all-good? Vice and
godlessness and violence and wrong are rampant upon every side, and yet the heavens above keep
silence. The infidel appeals to the fact in proof that the Christian's God is but a myth. [1]
The Christian finds in it a further proof that the God he worships is patient and longsuffering—
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"patient because He is eternal," longsuffering because He is almighty, for wrath is a last resource with
power. But the day is coming when
"our God shall come and shall not keep silence." (Psalm 1:3)
This is not a matter of opinion, but of faith. He who questions it has no claim whatever to the name of
Christian, for it is as essentially a truth of Christianity as is the record of the life and death of the Son
of God. The old Scriptures teem with it, and of all the writers of the New Testament there is not so
much as one who does not expressly speak of it. It was the burden of the first prophetic utterance
which Holy Writ records; (Jude 14) and the closing book of the sacred Canon, from the first chapter to
the last, confirms and amplifies the testimony.
The only inquiry, therefore, which concerns us relates to the nature of the crisis and the time of its
fulfillment. And the key to this inquiry is the Prophet Daniel's vision of the seventy weeks. Not that a
right understanding of the prophecy will enable us to prophesy. That is not the purpose for which it
was given. [2]
But it will prove a sufficient safeguard against error in the study. Notably it will save us from the
follies into which false systems of prophetic chronology inevitably lead those who follow them. It is
not in our time only that the end of the world has been predicted. It was looked for far more
confidently at the beginning of the sixth century. All Europe rang with it in the days of Pope Gregory
the Great. And at the end of the tenth century the apprehension of it amounted to a general panic. "It
was then frequently preached on, and by breathless crowds listened to; the subject of every one's
thoughts, every one's conversation." "Under this impression, multitudes innumerable," says Mosheim,
"having given their property to monasteries or churches, traveled to Palestine, where they expected
Christ to descend to judgment. Others bound themselves by solemn oaths to be serfs to churches or to
priests, in hopes of a milder sentence on them as being servants of Christ's servants. In many places
buildings were let go to decay, as that of which there would be no need in future. And on occasions of
eclipses of sun or moon, the people fled in multitudes for refuge to the caverns and the rocks." [3]
And so in recent years, one date after another has been confidently named for the supreme crisis; but
still the world goes on. A.D. 581 was one of the first years fixed for the event, [4] 1881 is among the
last. These pages are not designed to perpetuate the folly of such predictions, but to endeavor in a
humble way to elucidate the meaning of a prophecy which ought to deliver us from all such errors and
to rescue the study from the discredit they bring upon it.
No words ought to be necessary to enforce the importance of the subject, and yet the neglect of the
prophetic Scriptures, by those even who profess to believe all Scripture to be inspired, is proverbial.
Putting the matter on the lowest ground, it might be urged that if a knowledge of the past be
important, a knowledge of the future must be of far higher value still, in enlarging the mind and
raising it above the littlenesses produced by a narrow and unenlightened contemplation of the present.
If God has vouchsafed a revelation to men, the study of it is surely fitted to excite enthusiastic interest,
and to command the exercise of every talent which can be brought to bear upon it.
And this suggests another ground on which, in our own day especially, prophetic study claims
peculiar prominence; namely, the testimony it affords to the Divine character and origin of the
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Scriptures. Though infidelity was as open-mouthed in former times, it had its own banner and its own
camp, and it shocked the mass of mankind, who, though ignorant of the spiritual power of religion,
clung nevertheless with dull tenacity to its dogmas. But the special feature of the present age — well
fitted to cause anxiety and alarm to all thoughtful men — is the growth of what may be termed
religious skepticism, a Christianity which denies revelation — a form of godliness which denies that
which is the power of godliness. (2 Timothy 3:5)
Faith is not the normal attitude of the human mind towards things Divine, the earnest doubter,
therefore, is entitled to respect and sympathy. But what judgment shall be meted out to those who
delight to proclaim themselves doubters, while claiming to be ministers of a religion of which FAITH
is the essential characteristic?
There are not a few in our day whose belief in the Bible is all the more deep and unfaltering just
because they have shared in the general revolt against priestcraft and superstition; and such men are
scarcely prepared to take sides in the struggle between free thought and the thraldom of creeds and
clerics. But in the conflict between faith and skepticism within the pale, their sympathies are less
divided. On the one side there may be narrowness, but at least there is honesty; and in such a case
surely the moral element is to be considered before a claim to mental vigor and independence can be
listened to. Moreover any claim of the kind needs looking into. The man who asserts his freedom to
receive and teach what he deems truth, howsoever reached, and wheresoever found, is not to be
lightly accused of vanity or self-will. His motives may be true, and right, and praiseworthy. But if he
has subscribed to a creed, he ought to be careful in taking any such ground. It is not on the side of
vagueness that the creeds of our British Churches are in fault, and men who boast of being
freethinkers would deserve more respect if they showed their independence by refusing to subscribe,
than by undermining the doctrines they are both pledged and subsidized to defend and teach.
But what concerns us here is the indisputable fact that rationalism in this its most subtle phase is
leavening society. The universities are its chief seminaries. The pulpit is its platform. Some of the
most popular religious leaders are amongst its apostles. No class is safe from its influence. And if
even the present could be stereotyped, it were well; but we are entered on a downward path, and they
must indeed be blind who cannot see where it is leading. If the authority of the Scriptures be
unshaken, vital truths may be lost by one generation, and recovered by the next; but if that be touched,
the foundation of all truth is undermined, and all power of recovery is gone. The Christianized skeptic
of today will soon give place to the Christianized infidel, whose disciples and successors in their turn
will be infidels without any gloss of Christianity about them. Some, doubtless, will escape; but as for
the many, Rome will be the only refuge for those who dread the goal to which society is hastening.
Thus the forces are marshaling for the great predicted struggle of the future between the apostasy of a
false religion and the apostasy of open infidelity. [5]
Is the Bible a revelation from God? This is now become the greatest and most pressing of all
questions. We may at once dismiss the quibble that the Scriptures admittedly contain a revelation. Is
the sacred volume no better than a lottery bag from which blanks and prizes are to be drawn at
random, with no power of distinguishing between them till the day when the discovery must come too
late! And in the present phase of the question it is no less a quibble to urge that passages, and even
books, may have been added in error to the Canon. We refuse to surrender Holy Writ to the tender
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mercies of those who approach it with the ignorance of pagans and the animus of apostates. But for
the purpose of the present controversy we might consent to strike out everything on which
enlightened criticism has cast the shadow of a doubt. This, however, would only clear the way for the
real question at issue, which is not as to the authenticity of one portion or another, but as to the
character and value of what is admittedly authentic. We are now far beyond discussing rival theories
of inspiration; what concerns us is to consider whether the holy writings are what they claim to be,
"the oracles of God." [6]
In the midst of error and confusion and uncertainty, increasing on every side, can earnest and devout
souls turn to an open Bible, and find there "words of eternal life"? "The rational attitude of a thinking
mind towards the supernatural is that of skepticism." [7]
Reason may bow before the shibboleths and tricks of priestcraft— "the voice of the Church," as it is
called; but this is sheer credulity. But if GOD speaks, then skepticism gives place to faith. Nor is this a
mere begging of the question. The proof that the voice is really Divine must be absolute and
conclusive. In such circumstances, skepticism betokens mental or moral degradation, and faith is not
the abnegation of reason, but the highest act of reason. To maintain that such proof is impossible, is
equivalent to asserting that the God who made us cannot so speak to us that the voice shall carry with
it the conviction that it is from Him; and this is not skepticism at all, but disbelief and atheism. "It
pleased God to reveal His Son in me," was St. Paul's account of his conversion. The grounds of his
faith were subjective, and could not be produced. In proof to others of their reality he could only
appeal to the facts of his life; though these were entirely the result, and in no sense or degree the basis,
of his conviction. Nor was his case exceptional. St. Peter was one of the favored three who witnessed
every miracle, including the transfiguration, and yet his faith was not the result of these, but sprang
from a revelation to himself. In response to his confession,
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,"
the Lord declared,
"Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew
16:17)
Nor, again, was this a special grace accorded only to apostles.
"To them that have obtained like precious faith with us," (2 Peter 1:1)
was St. Peter's address to the faithful generally. He describes them as "born again by the Word of
God." So also St. John speaks of such as
"born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13)
"Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth"
is the kindred statement of St. James. (James 1:18).
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Whatever be the meaning of such words, they must mean something more than arriving at a sound
conclusion from sufficient premises, or accepting facts upon sufficient evidence. Nor will it avail to
urge that this birth was merely the mental or moral change naturally caused by the truth thus attained
by natural means. The language of the Scripture is unequivocal that the power of the testimony to
produce this change depended on the presence and. operation of God. Pages might be filled with
quotations to prove this, but two may surface. St. Peter declares they preached the Gospel
"with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;" (1 Peter 1:12)
and St. Paul's words are still more definite. "Our Gospel came not: unto you in word only, but also in
power and in the Holy Ghost." [8]
And if the new birth and the faith of Christianity were thus produced in the case of persons who
received the Gospel immediately from the Apostles, nothing less will avail with us who are separated
by eighteen centuries from the witnesses and their testimony. God is with His people still. And He
speaks to men's hearts, now, as really as He did in early times; not indeed through inspired Apostles,
and still less by dreams or visions, but through the Holy Writings which He Himself inspired; [9] and
as the result believers are "born of God," and obtain the knowledge of forgiveness of sins and of
eternal life. The phenomenon is not a natural one, resulting from the study of the evidences; it is
supernatural altogether. "Thinking minds," regarding it objectively, may, if they please, maintain
towards it what they deem "a rational attitude;" but at least let them own the fact that there are
thousands of credible people who can testify to the reality of the experience here spoken of, and
further let them recognize that it is entirely in accordance with the teaching of the New Testament.
And such persons have transcendental proof of the truth of Christianity. Their faith rests, not on the
phenomena of their own experience, but on the great objective truths of revelation. Yet their primary
conviction that these are Divine truths does not depend on the "evidences" which skepticism delights
to criticize, but on something which skepticism takes no account of. [10]
"No book can be written in behalf of the Bible like the Bible itself. Man's defenses are man's word;
they may help to beat off attacks, they may draw out some portion of its meaning. The Bible is God's
word, and through it God the Holy Ghost, who spake it, speaks to the soul which closes not itself
against it." [11]
But more than this, the well-instructed believer will find within it inexhaustible stores of proof that it
is from God. The Bible is far more than a textbook of theology and morals, or even than a guide to
heaven. It is the record of the progressive revelation God has vouchsafed to man, and the Divine
history of our race in connection with that revelation. Ignorance may fail to see in it anything more
than the religious literature of the Hebrew race, and of the Church in Apostolic times; but the
intelligent student who can read between the lines will find there mapped out, sometimes in clear bold
outline, sometimes dimly, but yet always discernible by the patient and devout inquirer, the great
scheme of God's counsels and workings in and for this world of ours from eternity to eternity.
And the study of prophecy, rightly understood, has a range no narrower than this. Its chief value is not
to bring us a knowledge of "things to come," regarded as isolated events, important though this may
be; but to enable us to link the future with the past as part of God's great purpose and plan revealed in
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Holy Writ. The facts of the life and death of Christ were an overwhelming proof of the inspiration of
the Old Testament. When, after His resurrection, He sought to confirm the disciples' faith,
"beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27)
But many a promise had been given, and many a prophecy recorded, which seemed to be lost in the
darkness of Israel's national extinction and Judah's apostasy. The fulfillment of them all depended on
Messiah; but now Messiah was rejected, and His people were about to be cast away, that Gentiles
might be taken up for blessing. Are we to conclude then that the past is wiped out for ever, and that
God's great purposes for earth have collapsed through human sin? As men now judge of revelation,
Christianity dwindles down to be nothing but a "plan of salvation" for individuals, and if St. John's
Gospel and a few of the Epistles be left them they are content. How different was the attitude of mind
and heart displayed by St. Paul! In the Apostle's view the crisis which seemed the catastrophe of
everything the old prophets had foretold of God's purposes for earth, opened up a wider and more
glorious purpose still, which should include the fulfillment of them all; and rapt in the contemplation,
he exclaimed,
"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are
His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)
True prophetic study is an inquiry into these unsearchable counsels, these deep riches of Divine
wisdom and knowledge. Beneath the light it gives, the Scriptures are no longer a heterogeneous
compilation of religious books, but one harmonious whole, from which no part could be omitted
without destroying the completeness of the revelation. And yet the study is disparaged in the
Churches as being of no practical importance. If the Churches are leavened with skepticism at this
moment, their neglect of prophetic study in this its true and broader aspect has done more than all the
rationalism of Germany to promote the evil. Skeptics may boast of learned Professors and Doctors of
Divinity among their ranks, but we may challenge them to name a single one of the number who has
given proof that he knows anything whatever of these deeper mysteries of revelation. The attempt to
put back the rising tide of skepticism is hopeless. Indeed the movement is but one of many phases of
the intense mental activity which marks the age. The reign of creeds is past. The days are gone for
ever when men will believe what their fathers believed, without a question. Rome, in some phase of
its development, has a strange charm for minds of a certain caste, and rationalism is fascinating to not
a few; but orthodoxy in the old sense is dead, and if any are to be delivered it must be by a deeper and
more thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
These pages are but a humble effort to this end; but if they avail in any measure to promote the study
of Holy Writ their chief purpose will be fulfilled. The reader therefore may expect to find the accuracy
of the Bible vindicated on points which may seem of trifling value. When David reached the throne of
Israel and came to choose his generals, he named for the chief commands the men who had made
themselves conspicuous by feats of prowess or of valor. Among the foremost three was one of whom
the record states that he defended a tract of lentiles, and drove away a troop of the Philistines. (2
Samuel 23:11, 12)? To others it may have seemed little better than a patch of weeds, and not worth
fighting for, but it was precious to the Israelite as a portion of the divinely-given inheritance, and
moreover the enemy might have used it as a rallying ground from which to capture strongholds. So is
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it with the Bible. It is all of intrinsic value if indeed it be from God; and moreover, the statement
which is assailed, and which may seem of no importance, may prove to be a link in the chain of truth
on which we are depending for eternal life.
CHAPTER 1 FOOTNOTES
[1] According to Mill, the course of the world gives proof that both the power and the goodness
of God are limited. His Essays on Religion clearly show that skepticism is an attitude of mind
which it is practically impossible to maintain. Even with a reasoner so clear and able as Mill, it
inevitably degenerates to a degrading form of faith." The rational attitude of a thinking mind
towards the supernatural" (he declares) "is that of skepticism, as distinguished from belief on
the one hand, and from atheism on the other;" and yet he immediately proceeds to formulate a
creed. It is not that there is a God, for that is only probable, but that if there be a God He is not
almighty, and His goodness toward man is limited. (Essays, etc., pp. 242, 243.) He does not
prove his creed, of course. Its truth is obvious to a "thinking mind." It is equally obvious that
the sun moves round the earth. A man only needs to be as ignorant of astronomy as the infidel is
of Christianity, and he will find the most indisputable proof of the fact every time he surveys the
heavens!
[2] Prophecy is not given to enable us to prophesy, but as a witness to God when the time
comes." — PUSEY, Daniel, p. 80.
[3] Elliott, Horae Apoc. (3rd Ed.), 1., 446: and see also ch. 3, pp. 362-376
[4] Elliott, 1., 373. Hippolytus predicted A. D. 500.
[5] I cannot refrain from giving the following extract from an article by Professor Goldwin
Smith, in Macmillian's Magazine for February 1878:
"The denial of the existence of God and of the future state, in a word, is the dethronement of
conscience; and society will pass, to say the least, through a dangerous interval before social
science can fill the vacant throne…But in the meantime mankind, or some portions of it, may be
in danger of an anarchy of self-interest, compressed, for the purpose of political order, by a
despotism of force.
"That science and criticism, acting — thanks to the liberty of opinion won by political effort —
with a freedom never known before, have delivered us from a mass of dark and degrading
superstitions, we own with heartfelt thankfulness to the deliverers, and in the firm conviction
that the removal of false beliefs, and of the authorities or institutions founded on them, cannot
prove in the end anything but a blessing to mankind. But at the same time the foundations of
general morality have inevitably been shaken, and a crisis has been brought on, the gravity of
which nobody can fail to see, and nobody but a fanatic of materialism can see without the most
serious misgiving.
"There has been nothing in the history of man like the present situation. The decadence of the
ancient mythologies is very far from affording a parallel…The Reformation was a tremendous
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earthquake: it shook down the fabric of mediaeval religion, and as a consequence of the
disturbance in the religious sphere, filled the world with revolutions and wars. But it left the
authority of the Bible unshaken, and men might feel that the destructive process had its limit,
and that adamant was still beneath their feet. But a world which is intellectual and keenly alive
to the significance of these questions, reading all that is written about them with almost
passionate avidity, finds itself brought to a crisis the character of which any one may realize by
distinctly presenting to himself the idea of existence without a God."
[6] ta logia tou theou (Romans 3:2). The old Hebrew Scriptures were thus regarded by those
who were the divinely-appointed custodians of them (ib.) Not only by the devout among the
Jews, but, as Josephus testifies, by all, they "were justly believed to be Divine," so that men
were willing to endure tortures of all kinds rather than speak against them, and even "willingly
to die for them" (Josephus, Apion, 1., 8). This fact is of immense importance in relation to the
Lord's own teaching on the subject. Dealing with a people who believed in the sanctity and
value of every word of Scripture, He never missed an opportunity to confirm them in that belief.
The New Testament affords abundant proof how unreservedly He enforced it upon His
disciples. (As regards the limits and date of closing of the Canon of Scripture, see Pusey,
Daniel, p. 294, etc.)
[7] Mill, Essays on Religion.
[8] alla kai en dunamei kai en pneumati agio (1 Thessalonians 1:5.) "But also in power, even in
the Holy Ghost." There is no contrast intended between God on the one hand, and power on the
other, nor yet between different sorts of power. To object that this referred to miracles which
accompanied the preaching is to betray ignorance of Scripture. Acts 17 represents the preaching
to which the Apostle was alluding. That miraculous power existed in Gentile Churches is clear
from 1 Corinthians 12 but the question is, did the gospel which produced those Churches appeal
to miracles to confirm it? Can any one read the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians and retain a
doubt as to the answer?
[9] God is omnipresent; but there is a real sense in which the Father and the Son are not on
earth but in heaven, and in that same sense the Holy Spirit is not in heaven but on earth.
[10] Such faith is inseparably connected with salvation, and salvation is the gift of God
(Ephesians 2:8). Hence the solemn words of Christ, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes" (Matthew 11:25).
[11] Pusey, Daniel, Pref. p. 25.
.
CHAPTER II.
DANIEL AND HIS TIMES
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"DANIEL the prophet." None can have a higher title to the name, for it was thus Messiah spoke of
him. And yet the great Prince of the Captivity would himself doubtless have disclaimed it. Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the rest, "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;" (2 Peter 1:21) but
Daniel uttered no such "God-breathed" words. [1] Like the "beloved disciple" in Messianic times, he
beheld visions, and recorded what he saw. The great prediction of the seventy weeks was a message
delivered to him by an angel, who spoke to him as man speaks with man. A stranger to prophet's fare
[2] and prophet's garb, he lived in the midst of all the luxury and pomp of an Eastern court. Next to
the king, he was the foremost man in the greatest empire of antiquity; and it was not till the close of a
long life spent in statecraft that he received the visions recorded in the latter chapters of his book.
To understand these prophecies aright, it is essential that the leading events of the political history of
the times should be kept in view.
The summer of Israel's national glory had proved as brief as it was brilliant. The people never
acquiesced in heart in the Divine decree which, in distributing the tribal dignities, entrusted the
scepter to the house of Judah, while it adjudged the birthright to the favored family of Joseph; [3] and
their mutual jealousies and feuds, though kept in check by the personal influence of David, and the
surpassing splendor of the reign of Solomon, produced a national disruption upon the accession of
Rehoboam. In revolting from Judah, the Israelites also apostatized from God; and forsaking the
worship of Jehovah, they lapsed into open and flagrant idolatry. After two centuries and a half
unillumined by a single bright passage in their history, they passed into captivity to Assyria; [4] and
on the birth of Daniel a century had elapsed since the date of their national extinction.
Judah still retained a nominal independence, though, in fact, the nation had already fallen into a state
of utter vassalage. The geographical position of its territory marked it out for such a fate. Lying
half-way between the Nile and the Euphrates, suzerainty in Judea became inevitably a test by which
their old enemy beyond their southern frontier, and the empire which the genius of Nabopolassar was
then rearing in the north, would test their rival claims to supremacy. The prophet's birth fell about the
very year which was reckoned the epoch of the second Babylonian Empire. [5] He was still a boy at
the date of Pharaoh Necho's unsuccessful invasion of Chaldea. In that struggle his kinsman and
sovereign, the good king Josiah, took sides with Babylon, and not only lost his life, but compromised
still further the fortunes of his house and the freedom of his country. (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles
35:20)
The public mourning for Josiah had scarcely ended when Pharaoh, on his homeward march, appeared
before Jerusalem to assert his suzerainty by claiming a heavy tribute from the land and settling the
succession to the throne. Jehoahaz, a younger son of Josiah, had obtained the crown on his father's
death, but was deposed by Pharaoh in favor of Eliakim, who doubtless recommended himself to the
king of Egypt by the very qualities which perhaps had induced his father to disinherit him. Pharaoh
changed his name to Jehoiakim, and established him in the kingdom as a vassal of Egypt (2 Kings
23:33-35; 2 Chronicles 36:3, 4).
In the third year after these events, Nebuchadnezzar, Prince Royal of Babylon, [6] set out upon an
expedition of conquest, in command of his father's armies; and entering Judea he demanded the
submission of the king of Judah. After a siege of which history gives no particulars, he captured the
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city and seized the king as a prisoner of war. But Jehoiakim regained his liberty and his throne by
pledging his allegiance to Babylon; and Nebuchadnezzar withdrew with no spoil except a part of the
holy vessels of the temple, which he carried to the house of his god, and no captives save a few youths
of the seed royal of Judah, Daniel being of the number, whom he selected to adorn his court as vassal
princes. (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:6, 7; Daniel 1:1, 2) Three years later Jehoiakim revolted; but,
although during the rest of his reign his territory was frequently overrun by "bands of the Chaldees,"
five years elapsed before the armies of Babylon returned to enforce the conquest of Judea. [7]
Jehoiachin, a youth of eighteen years, who had just succeeded to the throne, at once surrendered with
his family and retinue, (2 Kings 24:12) and once more Jerusalem lay at the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar.
On his first invasion he had proved magnanimous and lenient, but he had now not merely to assert
supremacy but to punish rebellion. Accordingly he ransacked the city for everything of value, and
"carried away all Jerusalem," leaving none behind "save the poorest sort of the people of the land." (2
Kings 24:14)
Jehoiachin's uncle Zedekiah was left as king or governor of the despoiled and depopulated city,
having sworn by Jehovah to pay allegiance to his Suzerain. This was "King Jehoiachin's captivity,"
according to the era of the prophet Ezekiel, who was himself among the captives. (Ezekiel 1:2)
The servitude to Babylon had been predicted as early as the days of Hezekiah; (2 Kings 20:17) and
after the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy respecting it, Jeremiah was charged with a Divine message of
hope to the captivity, that after seventy years were accomplished they would be restored to their land.
(Jeremiah 29:10) But while the exiles were thus cheered with promises of good, King Zedekiah and
"the residue of Jerusalem that remained in the land" were warned that resistance to the Divine decree
which subjected them to the yoke of Babylon would bring on them judgments far more terrible than
any they had known. Nebuchadnezzar would return to "destroy them utterly," and make their whole
land "a desolation and an astonishment." (Jeremiah 24:8-10; 25:9; 27:3-8) False prophets rose up,
however, to feed the national vanity by predicting the speedy restoration of their independence,
(Jeremiah 28:1-4) and in spite of the solemn and repeated warnings and entreaties of Jeremiah, the
weak and wicked king was deceived by their testimony, and having obtained a promise of armed
support from Egypt, (Ezekiel 17:15) he openly revolted.
Thereupon the Chaldean armies once more surrounded Jerusalem. Events seemed at first to justify
Zedekiah's conduct, for the Egyptian forces hastened to his assistance, and the Babylonians were
compelled to raise the siege and withdraw from Judea. (Jeremiah 37:1, 5, 11) But this temporary
success of the Jews served only to exasperate the King of Babylon, and to make their fate more
terrible when at last it overtook them. Nebuchadnezzar determined to inflict a signal chastisement on
the rebellious city and people; and placing himself at the head of all the forces of his empire, (2 Kings
25:1; Jeremiah 34:1) he once more invaded Judea and laid siege to the Holy City.
The Jews resisted with the blind fanaticism which a false hope inspires; and it is a signal proof of the
natural strength of ancient Jerusalem, that for eighteen months (2 Kings 25:1-3) they kept their enemy
at bay, and yielded at last to famine and not to force. The place was then given up to fire and sword.
Nebuchadnezzar "slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no
compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age; he gave them all into
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his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of
the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they
burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with
fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried
he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of
Persia: to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah." (2 Chronicles 36:17-21)
As He had borne with their fathers for forty years in the wilderness, so for forty years this last
judgment lingered, "because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place." (2
Chronicles 36:15) For forty years the prophet's voice had not been silent in Jerusalem; "but they
mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of
the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy." [8]
Such is the sacred chronicler's description of the first destruction of Jerusalem, rivaled in later times
by the horrors of that event under the effects of which it still lies prostrate, and destined to be
surpassed in days still to come, when the predictions of Judah's supreme catastrophe shall be fulfilled.
[9]
CHAPTER 2 FOOTNOTES
[1] My belief in the Divine character of the Book of Daniel will, I trust, appear plainly in these
pages. The distinction I desire to mark here is between prophecies which men were inspired to
utter, and prophecies like those of Daniel and St. John, who were merely the recipients of the
revelation. With these, inspiration began in the recording what they had received.
[2] To quote Daniel 1:12 in opposition to this involves an obvious anachronism. The word
"pulse," moreover, in the Hebrew points generally to vegetable food, and would include a dish
as savory as that for which Esau sold his birthright (comp, Genesis 25:34). To eat animal food
from the table of Gentiles would have involved a violation of the law; therefore Daniel and his
companions became "vegetarians."
[3] "Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was
Joseph's" (1 Chronicles 5:2).
[4] The disruption was in B. C. 975, the captivity to Assyria about B. C. 721.
[5] B. C. 625.
[6] Berosus avers that this expedition was in Nabopolassar's lifetime (Jos., Apion, 1. 19), and
the chronology proves it. See App. I. as to the dates of these events and the chronology of the
period.
[7] 2 Kings 24:1, 2. According to Josephus (Ant., 10. 6, Ch. 3) Nebuchadnezzar on his second
invasion found Jehoiakim still on the throne, and he it was who put him to death and made
Jehoiachin king. He goes on to say that the king of Babylon soon afterwards became suspicious
of Jehoiachin's fidelity, and again returned to dethrone him, and placed Zedekiah on the throne.
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These statements, though not absolutely inconsistent with 2 Kings 24, are rendered somewhat
improbable by comparison with it. They are adopted by Canon Rawlinson in the Five Great
Monarchies (vol. 3, p. 491), but Dr. Pusey adheres to the Scripture narrative (Daniel, p. 403).
[8] 2 Chronicles 5:16. This period is no doubt the forty years of Judah's sin, specified in Ezekiel
4:6. Jeremiah prophesied from the thirteenth year of Josiah (B. C. 627) until the fall of
Jerusalem in the eleventh year of Zedekiah (B. C. 587). See Jeremiah 1:3, and 25:3. The 390
years of Israel's sin, according to Ezekiel 4:5, appear to have been reckoned from the date of the
covenant of blessing to the ten tribes, made by the prophet Ahijah with Jeroboam, presumably
in the second year before the disruption, i. e., B. C. 977 (1 Kings 11:29- 39).
[9] The horrors of the siege and capture of Jerusalem by Titus surpass everything which history
records of similar events. Josephus, who was himself a witness of them, narrates them in all
their awful details. His estimate of the number of Jews who perished in Jerusalem is 1, 100,
000. "The blood runs cold, and the heart sickens, at these unexampled horrors; and we take
refuge in a kind of desperate hope that they have been exaggerated by the historian." "Jerusalem
might almost seem to be a place under a peculiar curse; it has probably witnessed a far greater
portion of human misery than any other spot upon the earth." --MILMAN, Hist. Jews.
.
CHAPTER III.
THE KING'S DREAM AND THE PROPHET'S VISIONS
THE distinction between the Hebrew and the Chaldee portions of the writings of Daniel [1] affords a
natural division, the importance of which will appear on a careful consideration of the whole. But for
the purpose of the present inquiry, the book will more conveniently divide itself between the first six
chapters and the last, the former portion being primarily historical and didactic, and the latter
containing the record of the four great visions granted to the prophet in his closing years. It is with the
visions that here we are specially concerned. The narrative of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters
is beyond the scope of these pages, as having no immediate bearing upon the prophecy. The second
chapter, however, is of great importance, as giving the foundation of the later visions. [2]
In a dream, King Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image, of which the head was gold, the breasts and
arms silver, the body brass, the legs iron, and the feet partly iron and partly potter's ware. Then a
stone, hewn without hands, struck the feet of the image and it fell and crumbled to dust, and the stone
became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. [3]
The interpretation is in these words:
"Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power,
and strength and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.
Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
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another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom
shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron
that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and
toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of
the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the
toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not
mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou
sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the
iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king
what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
(Daniel 2:37-45)
The predicted sovereignty of Judah passed far beyond the limits of mere supremacy among the tribes
of Israel. It was an imperial scepter which was entrusted to the Son of David.
"I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." (Psalm 89:27)
"All things shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him." (Psalm 72:11)
Such were the promises which Solomon inherited; and the brief glory of his reign gave proof how
fully they might have been realized, (2 Chronicles 9:22-28) had he not turned aside to folly, and
bartered for present sensual pleasures the most splendid prospects which ever opened before mortal
man. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image, and Daniel's vision in interpretation of that dream,
were a Divine revelation that the forfeited scepter of the house of David had passed to Gentile hands,
to remain with them until the day when "the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed." (Daniel 2:44)
It is unnecessary here to discuss in detail the earlier portions of this prophecy. There is, in fact, no
controversy as to its general character and scope; and bearing in mind the distinction between what is
doubted and what is doubtful, there need be no controversy as to the identity of the empires therein
described with Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. That the first was Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is
definitely stated, (Daniel 2:37, 38) and a later vision as expressly names the Medo-Persian empire and
the empire of Alexander as being distinct "kingdoms" within the range of the prophecy. (Daniel 8:20,
21) The fourth empire, therefore, must of necessity be Rome. But it is sufficient here to emphasize the
fact, revealed in the plainest terms to Daniel in his exile, and to Jeremiah in the midst of the troubles
at Jerusalem, that thus the sovereignty of the earth, which had been forfeited by Judah, was solemnly
committed to the Gentiles. [4] The only questions which arise relate, first to the character of the final
catastrophe symbolized by the fall and destruction of the image, and secondly to the time of its
fulfillment; and any difficulties which have been raised depend in no way upon the language of the
prophecy, but solely upon the preconceived views of interpreters. No Christian doubts that the "stone
cut out without hands" was typical either of Christ Himself or of His kingdom. It is equally clear that
the catastrophe was to occur when the fourth empire should have become divided, and be "partly
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strong and partly brittle." Therefore its fulfillment could not belong to the time of the first advent. No
less clear is it that its fulfillment was to be a sudden crisis, to be followed by the establishment of "a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed." Therefore it relates to events still to come. We are dealing
here, not with prophetic theories, but with the meaning of plain words; and what the prophecy
foretells is not the rise and spread of a "spiritual kingdom" in the midst of earthly kingdoms, but the
establishment of a kingdom which "shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms." [5]
The interpretation of the royal dream raised the captive exile at a single bound to the Grand-
Vizier-ship of Babylon, (Daniel 2:48) a position of trust and honor which probably he held until he
was either dismissed or withdrew from office under one or other of the two last kings who succeeded
to Nebuchadnezzar's throne. The scene on the fatal night of Belshazzar's feast suggests that he had
been then so long in retirement, that the young king-regent knew nothing of his fame. [6] But yet his
fame was still so great with older men, that notwithstanding his failing years, he was once more called
to the highest office by Darius, when the Median king became master of the broad-walled city. [7]
But whether in prosperity or in retirement, he was true to the God of his fathers. The years in which
his childhood in Jerusalem was spent, though politically dark and troubled, were a period of the
brightest spiritual revival by which his nation had ever been blessed, and he had carried with him to
the court of Nebuchadnezzar a faith and piety that withstood all the adverse influences which
abounded in such a scene. [8]
The Daniel of the second chapter was a young man just entering on a career of extraordinary dignity
and power, such as few have ever known, The Daniel of the seventh chapter was an aged saint, who,
having passed through the ordeal scathless, still possessed a heart as true to God and to His people as
when, some threescore years before, he had entered the gates of the broad-walled city a captive and
friendless stranger. The date of the earlier vision was about the time of Jehoiakim's revolt, when their
ungovernable pride of race and creed still led the Jews to dream of independence. At the time of the
later vision more than forty years had passed since Jerusalem had been laid in ruins, and the last king
of the house of David had entered the brazen gates of Babylon in chains.
Here again the main outlines of the prophecy seem clear. As the four empires which were destined
successively to wield sovereign power during "the times of the Gentiles" are represented in
Nebuchadnezzar's dream by the four divisions of the great image, they are here typified by four wild
beasts. [9] The ten toes of the image in the second chapter have their correlatives in the ten horns of
the fourth beast in the seventh chapter. The character and course of the fourth empire are the
prominent subject of the later vision, but both prophecies are equally explicit that that empire in its
ultimate phase will be brought to a signal and sudden end by a manifestation of Divine power on
earth.
The details of the vision, though interesting and important, may here be passed unnoticed, for the
interpretation given of them is so simple and so definite that the words can leave no room for doubt in
any unprejudiced mind. "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings" (i.e., kingdoms; compare
verse 23), "which shall arise out of the earth; but the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom
and possess the kingdom for ever." (Verses 17, 18)
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The prophet then proceeds to recapitulate the vision, and his language affords an explicit answer to
the only question which can reasonably be raised upon the words just quoted, namely, whether the
"kingdom of the saints" shall follow immediately upon the close of the fourth Gentile empire. [10]
"Then," he adds, "I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others,
exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces,
and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other
which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake
very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war
with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given
to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."
Such was the prophet's inquiry. Here is the interpretation accorded to him in reply.
"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And
the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall arise after
them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak
great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to
change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand, until a time and times and the
dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume
and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him."
(Daniel 7:19-27) [11]
Whether history records any event which may be within the range of this prophecy is a matter of
opinion. That it has not been fulfilled is a plain matter of fact. [12] The Roman earth shall one day be
parceled out in ten separate kingdoms, and out of one of these shall arise that terrible enemy of God
and His people, whose destruction is to be one of the events of the second advent of Christ.
CHAPTER 3 FOOTNOTES
[1] "The Chaldee portion of Daniel commences at the fourth verse of the second chapter, and
continues to the end of the seventh chapter." —TREGELLES, Daniel, p. 8.
[2] The following analysis of the Book of Daniel may help the study of it:
Chap. 1. The capture of Jerusalem. The captivity of Daniel and his three companions, and
their fortunes in Babylon (B. C. 606).
Chap. 2. Nebuchadnezzar's dream of THE GREAT IMAGE (B. C. 6o3-2).
Chap. 3. Nebuchadnezzar's golden image set up for all his subjects to worship. Daniel's
three companions cast into the fiery furnace.
Chap. 4. Nebuchadnezzar's dream about his own insanity, and Daniel's interpretation of
it. Its fulfillment.
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Chap. 5 Belshazzar's feast. Babylon taken by Darius the Mede (B. C. 538).
Chap. 6. Daniel is promoted by Darius; refuses to worship him, and is cast into a den of'
lions. His deliverance and subsequent prosperity (? B. C.. 537).
Chap. 7. Daniel's vision of THE FOUR BEASTS (? B. C. 54I).
Chap. 8. Daniel's vision of THE RAM AND THE GOAT (? B. C. 539).
Chap. 9. Daniel's prayer: the prophecy of THE SEVENTY WEEKS (B. C. 538).
Chaps. 10. - 12. Daniel's LAST VISION (B. C. 534).
[3] The difficulty connected with the date of this vision (the second year of Nebuchadnezzar) is
considered in App. 1. post.
[4] Cf. Daniel 2:38, and Jeremiah 27:6, 7. — The statement of Genesis 49:10 may seem at first
sight to clash With this: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between
his feet, until Shiloh come." But, as events prove, this cannot mean that royal power was to be
exercised by the house of Judah until the advent of Christ. Hengstenberg has rightly interpreted
it (Christology, Arnold's trans., Ch. 78): "Judah shall not cease to exist as a tribe, nor lose its
superiority, until it shall be exalted to higher honor and glory through the great Redeemer, who
shall spring from it, and whom not only the Jews, but all the nations of the earth shall obey." As
he points out, "until not unfrequently means up to and afterwards." (See ex. gr. Genesis 28:15.)
The meaning of the prophecy, therefore, was not that Judah was to exercise royal power until
Christ, and then lose it, which is the lame and unsatisfactory gloss usually adopted; but that the
pre-eminence of Judah is to be irrevocably established in Christ — not spiritually, but in fact, in
the kingdom of which Daniel prophesies.
[5] To believe that such a prophecy can ever be realized may seem to betoken fanaticism and
folly, but at least let us accept the language of Scripture, and not lapse into the blind absurdity
of expecting the fulfillment of theories based on what men conjecture the prophets ought to
have foretold.
[6] This appears from the language of the queen-mother, Daniel 5:10- 12. But chap. 8:27 shows
that Daniel, even then, held some appointment at the court.
[7] Daniel 6:1, 2. Daniel cannot have been less than eighty years of age at this time. See chron.
table, App. 1. post,
[8] It is improbable that Daniel was less than twenty-one years of age when placed at the head
of the empire in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar. The age to which he lived makes it equally
improbable that he was more. His birth would thus fall, as before suggested, about B. C. 625,
the epoch of Nabopolassar's era, and some three years later was Josiah's passover, the like of
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which had never been held in Israel from the days of Samuel (2 Chronicles 35:18, 19).
[9] The following is the vision as recorded in Daniel 7:2-14:
"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the
heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one
from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings
thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as
a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a
bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between
the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld,
and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the
beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night
visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the
feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I
considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before
whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn
were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till the
thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as
snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and
his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him:
thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him. the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of
the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain,
and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the
beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season
and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before
him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
[10] Certain writers advocate an interpretation of these visions which allots the "four
kingdoms" to Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece. This view, with which Professor Westcott's
name is identified, claims notice merely in order to distinguish it from another with which it has
been confounded, even in a work of such pretensions as The Speaker's Commentary (Vol. 6., p.
333, Excursus on the Four Kingdoms). The learned author of the Ordo Saeclorum (Ch. 616,
etc.), quoting Maitland, who in turn follows Lacunza (Ben Ezra), argues that the accession of
Darius the Mede to the throne of Babylon did not involve a change of empire. These writers
further urge that the description of the third kingdom resembles Rome rather than Greece.
According to this view, therefore, the kingdoms are 1st Babylon, including Persia, 2nd Greece,
3rd Rome, 4th a future kingdom to arise in the last days. But as already noticed (p. 32, ante),
the book of Daniel expressly distinguishes Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece as "kingdoms'
within the scope of the prophecy.
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[11] Daniel 7:19-27. On this vision see Pusey, Daniel, pp. 78, 79
[12] The state of Europe at or after the dismemberment of the Roman Empire has been appealed
to as a fulfillment of it, ignoring the fact that the territory which Augustus ruled included a
considerable district both of Asia and Africa. Nor is this all. There is no presumption against
finding in past times a partial accomplishment of such a prophecy, but the fact that twenty-eight
different lists, including sixty-five "kingdoms," have been put forward in the controversy, is a
proof how worthless is the evidence of any such fulfillment. In truth the historical school of
interpreters have here, as on many other points, brought discredit upon their entire system,
containing, as it does, so much that claims attention (see App. 2.) Note C).
.
CHAPTER IV.
THE VISION BY THE RIVER OF ULAI
"THE times of the Gentiles;" thus it was that Christ Himself described the era of Gentile supremacy.
Men have come to regard the earth as their own domain, and to resent the thought of Divine
interference in their affairs. But though monarchs seem to owe their thrones to dynastic claims, the
sword or the ballot-box, — and in their individual capacity their title may rest solely upon these, —
the power they wield is divinely delegated, for "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever He will." (Daniel 4:25)
In the exercise of this high prerogative He took back the scepter He had entrusted to the house of
David, and transferred it to Gentile hands; and the history of that scepter during the entire period,
from the epoch to the close of the times of the Gentiles, is the subject of the prophet's earlier visions.
The vision of the eighth chapter of Daniel has a narrower range. It deals only with the two kingdoms
which were represented by the middle portion, or arms and body, of the image of the second chapter.
The Medo-Persian Empire, and the relative superiority of the younger nation, are represented by a
ram with two horns, one of which was higher than the other, though the last to grow. And the rise of
the Grecian Empire under Alexander, followed by its division among his four successors, is typified
by a goat with a single horn between its eyes, which horn was broken and gave place to four horns
that came up instead of it. Out of one of these horns came forth a little horn, representing a king who
should become infamous as a blasphemer of God and a persecutor of His people.
That the career of Antiochus Epiphanes was in a special way within the scope and meaning of this
prophecy is unquestioned. That its ultimate fulfillment belongs to a future time, though not so
generally admitted, is nevertheless sufficiently clear. The proof of it is twofold. First, it cannot but be
recognized that its most striking details remain wholly unfulfilled. [1] And secondly, the events
described are expressly stated to be "in the last end of the indignation," (Daniel 8:19) which is "the
great tribulation" of the last days, (Matthew 24:21) "the time of trouble" which is immediately to
precede the complete deliverance of Judah. [2]
It is unnecessary, however, further to embarrass the special subject of these pages by any such
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discussion. So far as the present inquiry is immediately concerned, this vision of the ram and the
he-goat is important mainly as explanatory of the visions which precede it. [3]
One point of contrast with the prophecy of the fourth Gentile kingdom demands a very emphatic
notice. The vision of Alexander's reign, followed by the fourfold division of his empire, suggests a
rapid sequence of events, and the history of the three-and-thirty years that intervened between the
battles of Issus and of Ipsus [4] comprises the full realization of the
prophecy. But the rise of the ten horns upon the fourth beast in the vision of the seventh chapter,
appears to lie within as brief a period as was the rise of the four horns upon the goat in the eighth
chapter; whereas it is plain upon the pages of history that this tenfold division of the Roman empire
has never yet taken place. A definite date may be assigned to the advent of the first three kingdoms of
prophecy; and if the date of the battle of Actium be taken as the epoch of the hybrid monster which
filled the closing scenes of the prophet's vision — and no later date will be assigned to it — it follows
that in interpreting the prophecy, we may eliminate the history of the world from the time of Augustus
to the present hour, without losing the sequence of the vision. [5] Or in other words, the prophet's
glance into the future entirely overlooked these nineteen centuries of our era. As when mountain
peaks stand out together on the horizon, seeming almost to touch, albeit a wide expanse of river and
field and hill may lie between, so there loomed upon the prophet's vision these events of times now
long gone by, and times still future.
And with the New Testament in our hands, it would betray strange and willful ignorance if we
doubted the deliberate design which has left this long interval of our Christian era a blank in Daniel's
prophecies. The more explicit revelation of the ninth chapter, measures out the years before the first
advent of Messiah. But if these nineteen centuries had been added to the chronology of the period to
intervene before the promised kingdom could be ushered in, how could the Lord have taken up the
testimony to the near fulfillment of these very prophecies, and have proclaimed that the kingdom was
at hand? [6] He who knows all hearts, knew well the issue; but the thought is impious that the
proclamation was not genuine and true in the strictest sense; and it would have been deceptive and
untrue had prophecy foretold a long interval of Israel's rejection before the promise could be realized.
Therefore it is that the two advents of Christ are brought seemingly together in Old Testament
Scriptures. The surface currents of human responsibility and human guilt are unaffected by the
changeless and deep-lying tide of the fore-knowledge and sovereignty of God. Their responsibility
was real, and their guilt was without excuse, who rejected their long-promised King and Savior. They
were not the victims of an inexorable fate which dragged them to their doom, but free agents who
used their freedom to crucify the Lord of Glory. "His blood be on us and on our children," was their
terrible, impious cry before the judgment-seat of Pilate, and for eighteen centuries their judgment has
been meted out to them, to reach its appalling climax on the advent of the "time of trouble such as
never was since there was a nation." [7]
These visions were full of mystery to Daniel, and filled the old prophet's mind with troubled thoughts.
(Daniel 7:28; 8:27) A long vista of events seemed thus to intervene before the realization of the
promised blessings to his nation, and yet these very revelations made those blessings still more sure.
Ere long he witnessed the crash of the Babylonian power, and saw a stranger enthroned within the
broad-walled city. But the change brought no hope to Judah. Daniel was restored, indeed, to the place
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of power and dignity which he had held so long under Nebuchadnezzar, (Daniel 2:48; 6:2) but he was
none the less an exile; his people were in captivity, their city lay in ruins, and their land was a
wilderness. And the mystery was only deepened when he turned to Jeremiah's prophecy, which fixed
at seventy years the destined era of "the desolations of Jerusalem" (Daniel 9:2) So "by prayer and
supplications, with fastings, and sackcloth and ashes," he cast himself on God; as a prince among his
people, confessing their national apostasy, and pleading for their restoration and forgiveness. And
who can read that prayer unmoved?
"O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be
turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about
us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause
Thy face to shine upon Thy Sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline
Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called
by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but
for Thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for
Thine own sake, O my God; for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name" (Daniel
9:26-29.)
While Daniel was thus "speaking in prayer' Gabriel once more appeared to him, (Daniel 9:21, See
chap. 8:16.) that same angel messenger who heralded in after times the Savior's birth in Bethlehem,
— and in answer to his supplication, delivered to the prophet the great prediction of the seventy
weeks.
CHAPTER 4 FOOTNOTES
[1] I allude to the 2, 300 days of verse 14, and to the statement of verse 25, "He shall also stand
up against the Prince of Princes, but he shall be broken without hand."
[2] "And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that
same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered," — i. e., the Jews (Daniel 12:1).
[3] The following is the vision of the eighth chapter:
"And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan, in the
palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of
Ulai. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram
which had two horns. And the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other,
and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and
southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could
deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. And as I was
considering, behold, an he goat came from the west, on the face of the whole earth, and
touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came
to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto
him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved
with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no
power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped
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upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore the he
goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it
came up four notable ones, toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them
came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the
east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it
cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea,
he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was
taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him
against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the
ground; and it practiced, and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another
saint said unto that certain saint which spake. How long shall be the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host
to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel,
had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as
the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which
called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where
I stood: and' when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face' but he said unto me,
Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now, as he was
speaking with me I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched
me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the
last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou
sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the
king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that
being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the
nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and
he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty
and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his
hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall
also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the
vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; wherefore shut thou up the
vision; for it shall be for many days."
[4] It was the battle of Issus in B. C. 333, not the victory of Granicus in the preceding year,
which made Alexander master of Palestine. The decisive battle which brought the Persian
empire to an end, was at Arbela in B. C. 331. Alexander died B. C. 323, and the definite
distribution of his territories among his four chief generals, followed the battle of Ipsus B. C.
301. In this partition Seleucus's share included Syria ("the king of the north"), and Ptolemy held
the Holy Land with Egypt ("the king of the south"); but Palestine afterwards was conquered and
held by the Seleucidae. Cassander had Macedon and Greece; and Lysimachus had Thrace, part
of Bithynia, and the territories intervening between these and the Meander.
[5] The same remark applies to the vision of the second chapter, the rise of the Roman empire,
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its future division, and its final doom, being presented at a single view.
[6] i. e., the kingdom as Daniel had prophesied of it. On this see Pusey, Daniel, p. 84.
[7] Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21. To discuss what would have been the course of events had the
Jews accepted Christ is mere levity. But it is legitimate to inquire how the believing Jew,
intelligent in the prophecies, could have expected the kingdom, seeing that the tenfold division
of the Roman empire and the rise of the "little horn" had to take place first. The difficulty will
disappear if we notice how suddenly the Grecian empire was dismembered on Alexander's
death. In like manner, the death of Tiberius might have led to the immediate disruption of the
territories of Rome, and the rise of the predicted persecutor. In a word, all that remained
unfulfilled of Daniel's prophecy might have been fulfilled in the years which had still to run of
the seventy weeks.
.
CHAPTER V.
THE ANGEL' S MESSAGE
"Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. [1] Know
therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment [2] to restore and to build
Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it
shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. And after the threescore and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the Prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and his end thereof shall be with a flood,
and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm
covenant [3] with many for one week: and for the half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the
desolator." Daniel 9:24-27. R.V. (See marginal readings.)
SUCH was the message entrusted to the angel in response to the prophet's prayer for mercies upon
Judah and Jerusalem.
To whom shall appeal be made for an interpretation of the utterance? Not to the Jew, surely, for
though himself the subject of the prophecy, and of all men the most deeply interested in its meaning,
he is bound, in rejecting Christianity, to falsify not only history, but his own Scriptures. Nor yet to the
theologian who has prophetic theories to vindicate, and who on discovering, perhaps, some era of
seven times seventy in Israel's history, concludes that he has solved the problem, ignoring the fact that
the strange history of that wonderful people is marked through all its course by chronological cycles
of seventy and multiples of seventy. But any man of unprejudiced mind who will read the words with
no commentary save that afforded by Scripture itself and the history of the time, will readily admit
that on certain leading points their meaning is unequivocal and clear.
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1. It was thus revealed that the full meed of blessing promised to the Jews should be deferred
till the close of a period of time, described as "seventy sevens," after which Daniel's city and
people [4] are to be established in blessing of the fullest kind.
2. Another period composed of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks is specified with equal
certainty.
3. This second era dates from the issuing of an edict to rebuild Jerusalem, — not the temple, but
the city; for, to remove all doubt, "the street and wall" [5] are emphatically mentioned; and a
definite event, described as the cutting off of Messiah, marks the close of it.
4. The beginning of the week required (in addition to the sixty-nine) to complete the seventy, is
to be signalized by the making of a covenant or treaty by a personage described as "the Prince
that shall come," or "the coming Prince," which covenant he will violate in the middle of the
week by the suppression of the Jews' religion. [6]
5. And therefore the complete era of seventy weeks, and the lesser period of sixty-nine weeks,
date from the same epoch. [7]
The first question, therefore, which arises is whether history records any event which unmistakably
marks the beginning of the era.
Certain writers, both Christian and Jewish, have assumed that the seventy weeks began in the first
year of Darius, the date of the prophecy itself; and thus falling into hopeless error at the very
threshold of the inquiry, all their conclusions are necessarily erroneous. The words of the angel are
unequivocal: "From the issuing of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince, shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." That Jerusalem was in fact rebuilt as a fortified
city, is absolutely certain and undoubted; and the only question in the matter is whether history
records the edict for its restoration.
When we turn to the book of Ezra, three several decrees of Persian kings claim notice. The opening
verses speak of that strange edict by which Cyrus authorized the building of the temple. But here "the
house of the Lord God of Israel" is specified with such an exclusive definiteness that it can in no way
satisfy the words of Daniel. Indeed the date of that decree affords conclusive proof that it was not the
beginning of the seventy weeks. Seventy years was the appointed duration of the servitude to
Babylon. (Jeremiah 27:6-17; 28:10; 29:10) But another judgment of seventy years' "desolations" was
decreed in Zedekiah's reign, [8] because of continued disobedience and rebellion. As an interval of
seventeen years elapsed between the date of the servitude and the epoch of the "desolations," so by
seventeen years the second period overlapped the first. The servitude ended with the decree of Cyrus.
The desolations continued till the second year of Darius Hystaspes. [9] And it was the era of the
desolations, and not of the servitude which Daniel had in view. [10]
The decree of Cyrus was the Divine fulfillment of the promise made to the captivity in the
twenty-ninth chapter of Jeremiah, and in accordance with that promise the fullest liberty was granted
to the exiles to return to Palestine. But till the era of the desolations had run its course, not one stone
was to be set upon another on Mount Moriah. And this explains the seemingly inexplicable fact that
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the firman to build the temple, granted to eager agents by Cyrus in the zenith of his power, remained
in abeyance till his death; for a few refractory Samaritans were allowed to thwart the execution of this
the most solemn edict ever issued by an Eastern despot, an edict in respect of which a Divine sanction
seemed to confirm the unalterable will of a Medo-Persian king. [11]
When the years of the desolations were expired, a Divine command was promulgated for the building
of the sanctuary, and in obedience to that command, without waiting for permission from the capital,
the Jews returned to the work in which they had so long been hindered. (Ezra 5:1, 2, 5) The wave of
political excitement which had carried Darius to the throne of Persia, was swelled by religious fervor
against the Magian idolatry. [12] The moment therefore was auspicious for the Israelites, whose
worship of Jehovah commanded the sympathy of the Zoroastrian faith; and when the tidings reached
the palace of their seemingly seditious action at Jerusalem, Darius made search among the Babylonian
archives of Cyrus, and finding the decree of his predecessor, he issued on his own behalf a firman to
give effect to it. (Ezra 6)
And this is the second event which affords a possible beginning for the seventy weeks. [13] But
though plausible arguments may be urged to prove that, either regarded as an independent edict, or as
giving practical effect to the decree of Cyrus, the act of Darius was the epoch of the prophetic period,
the answer is clear and full, that it fails to satisfy the angel's words. However it be accounted for, the
fact remains, that though the "desolations" were accomplished, yet neither the scope of the royal edict,
nor the action of the Jews in pursuance of that edict, went beyond the building of the Holy Temple,
whereas the prophecy foretold a decree for the building of the city; not the street alone, but the
fortifications of Jerusalem.
Five years sufficed for the erection of the building which served as a shrine for Judah during the five
centuries which followed. [14] But, in striking contrast with the temple they had reared in days when
the magnificence of Solomon made gold as cheap as brass in Jerusalem, no costly furniture adorned
the second house, until the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, when the Jews obtained a firman
"to beautify the house of the Lord." (Ezra 7:19, 27.) This letter further authorized Ezra to return to
Jerusalem with such of the Jews as desired to accompany him, and there to restore fully the worship
of the temple and the ordinances of their religion. But this third decree makes no reference whatever
to building, and it might be passed unnoticed were it not that many writers have fixed on it as the
epoch of the prophecy. The temple had been already built long years before, and the city was still in
ruins thirteen years afterwards. The book of Ezra therefore will be searched in vain for any mention of
a "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem." But we only need to turn to the book which follows
it in the canon of Scripture to find the record which we seek.
The book of Nehemiah opens by relating that while at Susa, [15] where he was cup-bearer to the great
king, "an honor of no small account in Persia," [16] certain of his brethren arrived from Judea, and he
"asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning
Jerusalem." The emigrants declared that all were "in great affliction and reproach," "the wall of
Jerusalem also was broken down, and the gates thereof were burned with fire." (Nehemiah 1:2) The
first chapter closes with the record of Nehemiah's supplication to "the God of heaven." The second
chapter narrates how "in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes," he was discharging
the duties of his office, and as he stood before the king his countenance betrayed his grief, and
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Artaxerxes called on him to tell his trouble. "Let the king live for ever," Nehemiah answered, "why
should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and
the gates thereof are burned with fire!" "For what dost thou make request?" the king demanded in
reply. Thereupon Nehemiah answered thus: "If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor
in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto THE CITY of my fathers' sepulchers, THAT
I MAY BUILD IT." (Nehemiah 2:5) Artaxerxes fiated the petition, and forthwith issued the necessary
orders to give effect to it. Four months later, eager hands were busy upon the ruined walls of
Jerusalem, and before the Feast of Tabernacles the city was once more enclosed by gates and a
rampart. (Nehemiah 6:15)
But, it has been urged, "The decree of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes is but an enlargement and
renewal of his first decree, as the decree of Darius confirmed that of Cyrus." [17] If this assertion had
not the sanction of a great name, it would not deserve even a passing notice. If it were maintained that
the decree of the seventh year of Artaxerxes was but "an enlargement and renewal" of his
predecessors' edicts, the statement would be strictly accurate. That decree was mainly an authority to
the Jews "to beautify the House of the Lord. which is in Jerusalem," (Ezra 7:27) in extension of the
decrees by which Cyrus and Darius permitted them to build it. The result was to produce a gorgeous
shrine in the midst of a ruined city. The movement of the seventh of Artaxerxes was chiefly a
religious revival, (Ezra 7:10) sanctioned and subsidized by royal favor; but the event of his twentieth
year was nothing less than the restoration of the autonomy of Judah. The execution of the work which
Cyrus authorized was stopped on the false charge which the enemies of the Jews carried to the palace,
that their object was to build not merely the Temple, but the city. "A rebellious city" it had ever
proved to each successive suzerain, "for which cause" — they declared with truth, — its destruction
was decreed. "We certify the king" (they added) "that if this city be builded again, and the walls
thereof set up, thou shalt have no portion on this side the river." [18] To allow the building of the
temple was merely to accord to a conquered race the right to worship according to the law of their
God, for the religion of the Jew knows no worship apart from the hill of Zion. It was a vastly different
event when that people were permitted to set up again the far-famed fortifications of their city, and
entrenched behind those walls, to restore under Nehemiah the old polity of the Judges. [19] This was
a revival of the national existence of Judah, and therefore it is fitly chosen as the epoch of the
prophetic period of the seventy weeks.
The doubt which has been raised upon the point may serve as an illustration of the extraordinary bias
which seems to govern the interpretation of Scripture, in consequence of which the plain meaning of
words is made to give place to the remote and the less probable. And to the same cause must be
attributed the doubt which some have suggested as to the identity of the king here spoken of with
Artaxerxes Longimanus. [20]
The question remains, whether the date of this edict can be accurately ascertained. And here a most
striking fact claims notice. In the sacred narrative the date of the event which marked the beginning of
the seventy weeks is fixed only by reference to the regnal era of a Persian king. Therefore we must
needs turn to secular history to ascertain the epoch, and history dates from this very period.
Herodotus, "the father of history," was the contemporary of Artaxerxes, and visited the Persian court.
[21] Thucydides, "the prince of historians," also was his contemporary. In the great battles of
Marathon and Salamis, the history of Persia had become interwoven with events in Greece, by which
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its chronology can be ascertained and tested; and the chief chronological eras of antiquity were
current at the time. [22] No element is wanting, therefore, to enable us with accuracy and certainty to
fix the date of Nehemiah's edict.
True it is that in ordinary history the mention of "the twentieth year of Artaxerxes" would leave in
doubt whether the era of his reign were reckoned from his actual accession, or from his father's death;
[23] but the narrative of Nehemiah removes all ambiguity upon this score. The murder of Xerxes and
the beginning of the usurper Artabanus's seven months' reign was in July B.C. 465; the accession of
Artaxerxes was in February B.C. 464; [24] One or other of these dates, therefore, must be the epoch
of Artaxerxes' reign. But as Nehemiah mentions the Chisleu (November) of one year, and the
following Nisan (March) as being both in the same year of his master's reign, it is obvious that, as
might be expected from an official of the court, he reckons from the time of the king's accession de
jure, that is from July B.C. 465. The twentieth year of Artaxerxes therefore began in July B.C. 446,
and the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem was given in the Nisan following. The epoch of the
prophetic cycle is thus definitely fixed as in the Jewish month Nisan of the year B.C. 445. [25]
CHAPTER 5 FOOTNOTES
[1] "The expression does not in a single case apply to any person." — TREGELLES, Daniel, p.
98. "These words are applied to the Nazarene, although this expression is never applied to a
person throughout the Bible, but invariably denotes part of the temple, the holy of holies" —
DR. HERMAN ADLER, Sermons (Trubner, 1869).
[2] "From the issuing of the decree." — TREGELLES, Daniel, p. 96.
[3] Not the covenant (as in A. V.: see margin). This word is rendered covenant when Divine
things are in question, and league when, as here, an ordinary treaty is intended (C. f. ex. gr.,
Joshua 9:6, 7, 11, 15, 16).
[4] If the words of verses 24 and 25 do not themselves carry conviction that Judah and
Jerusalem are the subjects of the prophecy, the reader has but to compare them with the
preceding verses, especially 2, 7, 12, 16, 18, and 19.
[5] Literally the "trench" or "scarped rampart." — TRECELLES, DanieI, p. 90.
[6] The personage referred to in verse 27 is not the Messiah, but the second prince named in
verse 26. The theory which has gained currency, that the Lord made a seven years' compact
with the Jews at the beginning of His ministry, would deserve a prominent place in a
cyclopaedia of the vagaries of religious thought. We know of the old covenant, which has been
abrogated, and of the new covenant, which is everlasting; but the extraordinary idea of a seven
years' covenant between God and men has not a shadow of foundation in the letter of Scripture,
and is utterly opposed to its spirit.
[7] "The whole period of seventy weeks is divided into three successive periods, — seven,
sixty-two, one, and the last week is subdivided into two halves. It is self-evident that since these
parts, seven, sixty-two, one, are equal to the whole, viz., seventy, it was intended that they
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should be." — PUSEY, Daniel, p. 170.
[8] It was foretold in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, i. e., the year after the servitude began
(Jeremiah 25:1, 11).
[9] Scripture thus distinguishes three different eras, all in part concurrent, which have come to
be spoken of as "the captivity." First, the servitude; second, Jehoiachin's captivity; and third, the
desolations. "The servitude" began in the third year of Jehoiakim, i. e., B. C. 606, or before 1st
Nisan (April) B. C. 605, and was brought to a close by the decree of Cyrus seventy years later.
"The captivity" began in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar, according to the Scriptural era of
his reign, i. e., in B. C. 598; and the desolations began in his seventeenth year, B. C. 589, and
ended in the second year of Darius Hystaspes — again a period of seventy years. See App. 1.
upon the chronological questions here involved.
[10] Daniel 9:2 is explicit on this point: "I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years
whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy
years in the desolations of Jerusalem."
[11] "The law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not" (Daniel 6:12). Canon Rawlinson
assumes that the temple was fifteen or sixteen years in building, before the work was stopped
by the decree of the Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 4. (Five Great Mon., vol. 4, p. 398.) But this
is entirely opposed to Scripture. The foundation of the temple was laid in the second year of
Cyrus (Ezra 3:8-11), but no progress was made till the second year of Darius, when the
foundation was again laid, for not a stone of the house had yet been placed (Haggai 2, 10, 15,
18). The building, once begun, was completed within five years (Ezra 6:15). It must be borne in
mind that the altar was set up, and sacrifice was renewed immediately after the return of the
exiles (Ezra 3:3, 6).
[12] Five Great Mon., vol. 4., p. 405. But Canon Rawlinson is wholly wrong in inferring that
the known religious zeal of Darius was the motive which led to the action of the Jews. See Ezra
5.
[13] This is the epoch fixed upon by Mr. Bosanquet in Messiah the Prince.
[14] The temple was begun in the second, and completed in the sixth year of Darius (Ezra 4:24;
6:15.)
[15] For a description of the ruins of the great palace at Susa, see Mr. Wm. Kennett Loftus's
Travels and Researches in Chaldea and Susiana, chap. 28.
[16] Herodotus, 3, 34.
[17] Pusey, Daniel. p. 171. Dr. Pusey adds, "The little colony which Ezra took with him of 1,
683 males (with women and children some 8, 400 souls) was itself a considerable addition to
those who had before returned, and involved a rebuilding of Jerusalem. This rebuilding of the
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city and reorganization of the polity, begun by Ezra, and carried on and perfected by Nehemiah,
corresponds with the words of Daniel, 'From the going forth of a commandment to restore and
build Jerusalem'" (p. 172.) This argument is the feeblest imaginable, and indeed this reference
to the decree of the seventh year of Artaxerxes is a great blot on Dr. Pusey's book. If an
immigration of 8, 400 souls involved a rebuilding of the city, and therefore marked the
beginning of the seventy weeks, what shall be said of the immigration of 49, 697 souls
seventy-eight years before? (Ezra 2:64, 65.) Did this not involve a rebuilding? But, Dr. Pusey
goes on to say, "The term also corresponds," i. e., the 483 years, to the time of Christ. Here is
obviously the real ground for his fixing the date B. C. 457, or more properly B. C. 458, as given
by Prideaux, whom unfortunately Dr. Pusey has followed at this point. With more naivete the
author of the Connection pleads that the years will not tally if any other date be assigned, and
therefore the decree of the seventh of Artaxerxes must be right! (Prid., Con., 1., 5, B. C. 458.)
Such a system of interpretation has done much to discredit the study of prophecy altogether.
[18] i. e., Euphrates. Ezra 4:16.
[19] "This last is the only decree which we find recorded in Scripture which relates to the
restoring and building of the city. It must be borne in mind that the very existence of a place as
a city depended upon such a decree; for before that any who returned from the land of captivity
went only in the condition of sojourners; it was the decree that gave them a recognized and
distinct political existence." — TREGELLES, Daniel, p. 98.
"On a sudden, however, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah, a man of Jewish
descent, cup-bearer to the king, received a commission to rebuild the city with all possible
expedition. The cause of this change in the Persian politics is to be sought, not so much in the
personal influence of the Jewish cup-bearer, as in the foreign history of the times. The power of
Persia had received a fatal blow in the victory obtained at Cnidos by Conon, the Athenian
admiral. The great king was obliged to submit to a humiliating peace, among the articles of
which were the abandonment of the maritime towns, and a stipulation that the Persian army
should not approach within three days' journey of the sea. Jerusalem, being about this distance
from the coast, and standing so near the line of communication with Egypt, became a post of
the utmost importance." — MILMAN, Hist. Jews (3rd Ed.), 1., 435.
[20] Artaxerxes I. reigned forty years, from 465 to 425. He is mentioned by Herodotus once (6.
98), by Thucydides frequently. Both writers were his contemporaries. There is every reason to
believe that he was the king who sent Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem, and sanctioned the
restoration of the fortifications." — RAWLINSON, Herodotus, vol. 4., p. 217.
[21] The year in which he is said to have recited his writings at the Olympic games, was the
very year of Nehemiah's mission.
[22] The era of the Olympiads began B. C. 776; the era of Rome (A. U. C.) B. C. 753; and the
era of Nabonassar, B. C. 747.
[23] The seven months of Artabanus were by some added to the last year of Xerxes, and by
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others were included in the reign of Artaxerxes." — CLINTON, Fasti Hellenici, vol. 2., p. 42.
[24] It has been shown already that the accession of Xerxes is determined to the beginning of
485 B. C. His twentieth year was completed in the beginning of 465 B. C., and his death would
happen in the beginning of the Archonship of Lysitheus. The seven months of Artabanus,
completing the twenty-one years, would bring down the accession of Artaxerxes (after the
removal of Artabanus) to the beginning of 464, in the year of Nabonassar 284, where it is
placed by the canon. Note b: "We may place the death of Xerxes in the first month of that
Archon (i. e., of Lysitheus), July B. C. 465, and the succession of Artaxerxes in the eighth
month, February B. C. 464." — CLINTON, Fasti Hellenici, vol. 2., p. 380.
[25] See Appendix 2., Note A, on the chronology of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus.
.
CHAPTER VI.
THE PROPHETIC YEAR
IN English ears it must sound pedantic to speak of "weeks" in any other than the familiar acceptation
of the term. But with the Jew it was far otherwise. The effect of his laws was fitted "to render the
word week capable of meaning a seven of years almost as naturally as a seven of days. Indeed the
generality of the word would have this effect at any rate. Hence its use to denote the latter in prophecy
is not mere arbitrary symbolism, but the employment of a not unfamiliar and easily understood
language." [1]
Daniel's prayer referred to seventy years fulfilled: the prophecy which came in answer to that prayer
foretold a period of seven times seventy still to come. But here a question arises which never has
received sufficient notice in the consideration of this subject. None will doubt that the era is a period
of years; but of what kind of year is it composed? That the Jewish year was lunisolar appears to be
reasonably certain. If tradition may be trusted, Abraham preserved in his family the year of 360 days,
which he had known in his Chaldean home. [2] The month dates of the flood (150 days being
specified as the interval between the seventeenth day of the second month, and the same day of the
seventh month) appear to show that this form of year was the earliest known to our race. Sir Isaac
Newton states, that "all nations, before the just length of the solar year was known, reckoned months
by the course of the moon, and years by the return of winter and summer, spring and autumn; and in
making calendars for their festivals, they reckoned thirty days to a lunar month, and twelve lunar
months to a year, taking the nearest round numbers, whence came the division of the ecliptic into 360
degrees." And in adopting this statement, Sir G. C. Lewis avers that "all credible testimony and all
antecedent probability lead to the result that a solar year containing twelve lunar months, determined
within certain limits of error, has been generally recognized by the nations adjoining the
Mediterranean, from a remote antiquity." [3]
But considerations of this kind go no further than to prove how legitimate and important is the
question here proposed. The inquiry remains whether any grounds exist for reversing the presumption
which obtains in favor of the common civil year. Now the prophetic era is clearly seven times the
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seventy years of the "desolations" which were before the mind of Daniel when the prophecy was
given. Is it possible then to ascertain the character of the years of this lesser era?
One of the characteristic ordinances of the Jewish law was, that every seventh year the land was to lie
fallow, and it was in relation to the neglect of this ordinance that the era of the desolations was
decreed. It was to last "until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for so long as she lay desolate, she
kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years." (2 Chronicles 36:21; cf. Leviticus 26:34, 35) The
essential element in the judgment was, not a ruined city, but a land laid desolate by the terrible
scourge of a hostile invasion, (Compare Jeremiah 27:13; Haggai 2:17) the effects of which were
perpetuated by famine and pestilence, the continuing proofs of the Divine displeasure. It is obvious
therefore, that the true epoch of the judgment is not, as has been generally assumed, the capture of
Jerusalem, but the invasion of Judea. From the time the Babylonian armies entered the land, all
agricultural pursuits were suspended, and therefore the desolations may be reckoned from the day the
capital was invested, namely, the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah. This was
the epoch as revealed to Ezekiel the prophet in his exile on the banks of the Euphrates, (Ezekiel 24:1,
2) and for twenty-four centuries the day has been observed as a fast by the Jews in every land.
The close of the era is indicated in Scripture with equal definiteness, as "the four-and-twentieth day of
the ninth month in the second year of Darius. [4] "Consider now" (the prophetic word declared) "from
this day and upward — from the four-and- twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that
the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid — consider it: from this day I will bless you." Now from
the tenth day of Tebeth B.C. 589, [5] to the twenty-fourth day of Chisleu B.C. 520, [6] was a period of
25, 202 days; and seventy years of 360 days contain exactly 25, 200 days. We may conclude,
therefore, that the era of the "desolations" was a period of seventy years of 360 days, beginning the
day after the Babylonian army invested Jerusalem, and ending the day before the foundation of the
second temple was laid. [7]
But this inquiry may be pressed still further. As the era of the "desolations" was fixed at seventy years,
because of the neglect of the Sabbatic years, (2 Chronicles 36:21; Leviticus 26:34, 35) we might
expect to find that a period of seven times seventy years measured back from the close of the seventy
years of "indignation against Judah," would bring us to the time when Israel entered into their full
national privileges, and thus incurred their full responsibilities. And such in fact will be found upon
inquiry to be the case. From the year succeeding the dedication of Solomon's temple, to the year
before the foundation of the second temple was laid, was a period of 490 years of 360 days. [8]
It must be admitted, however, that no argument based on calculations of this kind is final. [9] The only
data which would warrant our deciding unreservedly that the prophetic year consists of 360 days,
would be to find some portion of the era subdivided into the days of which it is composed. No other
proof can be wholly satisfactory, but if this be forthcoming, it must be absolute and conclusive. And
this is precisely what the book of the Revelation gives us.
As already noticed, the prophetic era is divided into two periods, the one of 7+ 62 heptades, the other
of a single heptade. [10] Connected with these eras, two "princes" are prominently mentioned; first,
the Messiah, and secondly, a prince of that people by whom Jerusalem was to be destroyed, — a
personage of such pre-eminence, that on his advent his identity is to be as certain as that of Christ
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Himself. The first era closes with the "cutting off" of Messiah; the beginning of the second era dates
from the signature of a "covenant," or treaty, by this second "prince," with or perhaps in favor of "the
many," [11] that is the Jewish nation, as distinguished probably from a section of pious persons
among them who will stand aloof. In the middle of the heptade the treaty is to be violated by the
suppression of the Jews' religion, and a time of persecution is to follow.
Daniel's vision of the four beasts affords a striking commentary upon this. The identity of the fourth
beast with the Roman empire is not doubtful, and we read that a "king" is to arise, territorially
connected with that empire, but historically belonging to a later time; he will be a persecutor of "the
saints of the Most High," and his fall is to be immediately followed by the fulfillment of Divine
blessings upon the favored people — the precise event which marks the close of the "seventy weeks."
The duration of that persecution, moreover, is stated to be "a time and times, and the dividing of
time," — a mystical expression, of which the meaning might be doubtful, were it not that it is used
again in Scripture as synonymous with three and a half years, or half a prophetic week. (Revelation
12:6, 14) Now there can be no reasonable doubt of the identity of the king of Daniel 7:25 with the first
"beast" of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. In the Revelation he is likened to a leopard, a bear, and
a lion,— the figures used for Daniel's three first beasts. In Daniel there are ten kingdoms, represented
by ten horns. So also in Revelation. According to Daniel, "he shall speak great words against the Most
High, and wear out the saints of the Most High:" according to Revelation, "he opened his mouth in
blasphemy against God," "and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome
them." According to. Daniel, "they shall be given into his hand until a. time and times and the
dividing of time," or three and a half years: according to Revelation, "power was given unto him to
continue forty and two months."
It is not impossible, of course, that prophecy may foretell the career of two different men, answering
the same description, who will pursue a precisely similar course in similar circumstances for a similar
period of three and a half years; but the more natural and obvious supposition is that the two are
identical. Owing to the very nature of the subject, their identity cannot be logically demonstrated, but
it rests upon precisely the same kind of proof upon which juries convict men of crimes, and convicted
prisoners are punished.
Now this seventieth week is admittedly a period of seven years, and half of this period is three times
described as "a time, times, and half a time," or "the dividing of a time;" (Daniel 7:25; 12:7;
Revelation 12:14) twice as forty-two months; (Revelation 11:2; 13:5) and twice as 1, 260 days.
(Revelation 11:3; 12:6) But 1, 260 days are exactly equal to forty-two months of thirty days, or three
and a half years of 360 days, whereas three and a half Julian years contain 1, 278 days. It follows
therefore that the prophetic year is not the Julian year, but the ancient year of 360 days. [12]
CHAPTER 6 FOOTNOTES
[1] Smith's Bib. Dict., III., 1726, "Week." Greek and Latin philosophers too have known of
'weeks of years. '" — PUSEY, Daniel, p. 167.
[2] Encyc. Brit. (6th ed.), title "Chronology." See also Smith's Bib. Dict., title "Chronology," p.
314.
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[3] Astronomy of the Ancients, chap. 1 & 7. Are not the hundred and eighty days of the great
feast of Xerxes intended to be equivalent to six months? (Esther 1:4.)
[4] Haggai. 2:10, 15-19. The books of Haggai and Zechariah give in full the prophetic
utterances which the narrative of Ezra (4:24; 5:1-5) mentions as the sanction and incentive
under which the Jews returned to the work of setting up their temple.
[5] The ninth year of Zedekiah. See App. 1. post.
[6] The second year of Darius Hystaspes.
[7] The date of the Paschal new moon, by which the Jewish year is regulated, was the evening
of the 14th March in B. C. 589, and about noon on 1st April B. C. 520. According to the phases
the 1st Nisan in the former year was probably the 15th or 16th March, and in the latter the 1st or
2nd April.
[8] The temple was dedicated in the eleventh year of Solomon, and the second temple was
founded in B. C. 520. The intervening period reckoned exclusively was 483 years = 490
lunisolar years of 360 days. It is noteworthy that the interval between the dedication of
Solomon's temple and the dedication of the second temple (B. C. 515) was 490 years. A like
period had elapsed between the entrance into Canaan and the foundation of the kingdom under
Saul. These cycles of 70, and multiples of 70, in Hebrew history are striking and interesting.
See App. 1.
[9] Though it is signally confirmed by the undoubted fact that the Jewish Sabbatical year was
conterminous, not with the solar, but with the ecclesiastical year.
[10] The division of the 69 weeks into 7 +62 is accounted for by the fact that the first 49 years,
during which the restoration of Jerusalem was completed, ended with a great crisis in Jewish
history, the close of the prophetic testimony. Forty-nine years from B. C. 445 brings us to the
date of Malachi's prophecy.
[11] "The multitude." — TREGELLES, Daniel, p. 97.
[12] It is noteworthy that the prophecy was given at Babylon, and the Babylonian year
consisted of twelve months of thirty days. That the prophetic year is not the ordinary year is no
new discovery. It was noticed sixteen centuries ago by Julius Africanus in his Chronography,
wherein he explains the seventy weeks to be weeks of Jewish (lunar) years, beginning with the
twentieth of Artaxerxes, the fourth year of the 83rd Olympiad, and ending in the second year of
the 202nd Olympiad; 475 Julian years being equal to 490 lunar years.
.
CHAPTER VII.
THE MYSTIC ERA OF THE WEEKS
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THE conclusions arrived at in the preceding chapter suggest a striking parallel between Daniel's
earlier visions and the prophecy of the seventy weeks. History contains no record of events to satisfy
the predicted course of the seventieth week. The Apocalypse was not even written when that period
ought chronologically to have closed, and though eighteen centuries have since elapsed, the
restoration of the Jews seems still but a chimera of sanguine fanatics. And be it remembered that the
purpose of the prophecy was not to amuse or interest the curious. Of necessity some mysticism must
characterize prophetic utterances, otherwise they might be "fulfilled to order" by designing men; but
once the prophecy comes side by side with the events of which it speaks, it fails of one of its chief
purposes if its relation to them be doubtful. If any one will learn the connection between prophecy and
its fulfillment, let him read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and compare it with the story of the
Passion: so vague and figurative that no one could have acted out the drama it foretold; but yet so
definite and clear that, once fulfilled, the simplest child can recognize its scope and meaning. If then
the event which constitutes the epoch of the seventieth week must be as pronounced and certain as
Nehemiah's commission and Messiah's death, it is of necessity still future.
And this is precisely what the study of the seventh chapter of Daniel will have led us to expect. All
Christian interpreters are agreed that between the rise of the fourth beast and the growth of the ten
horns there is a gap or parenthesis in the vision; and, as already shown, that gap includes the entire
period between the time of Christ and the division of the Roman earth into the ten kingdoms out of
which the great persecutor of the future is to arise. This period, moreover, is admittedly unnoticed also
in the other visions of the book. There is therefore a strong a priori probability that it would be
overlooked in the vision of the ninth chapter.
More than this, there is not only the same reason for this mystic foreshortening in the vision of the
seventy weeks, as in the other visions, [1] but that reason applies here with special force. The seventy
weeks were meted out as the period during which Judah's blessings were deferred. In common with
all prophecy, the meaning of this prophecy will be unmistakable when its ultimate fulfillment takes
place, but it was necessarily conveyed in a mystical form in order to shut up the Jews to the
responsibility of accepting their Messiah. St. Peter's inspired proclamation to the nation at Jerusalem,
recorded in the third chapter of Acts, was in accordance with this. The Jews looked merely for a
return of their national supremacy, but God's first purpose was redemption through the death of the
great Sin-bearer. Now, the sacrifice had been accomplished, and St. Peter pointed to Calvary as the
fulfillment of that "which God before had showed by the mouth of all His prophets;" and he added
this testimony, "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there
may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send the Christ, who
hath been appointed for you, even Jesus." (Acts 3:19, 20, R.V.) The realization of these blessings
would have been the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, and the seventieth week might have run its
course without a break. But Judah proved impenitent and obdurate, and the promised blessings were
once again postponed till the close of this strange era of the Gentile dispensation.
But it may be asked, Was not the Cross of Christ the fulfillment of these blessings? A careful study of
the Angel's words (Daniel 9:24) will show that not so much as one of them has been thus
accomplished. The sixty-ninth week was to end with Messiah's death; the close of the seventieth week
was to bring to Judah the full enjoyment of the blessings resulting from that death. Judah's
transgression has yet to be restrained, and his sins to be sealed up. The day is yet future when a
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fountain shall be opened for the iniquity of Daniel's people, (Zechariah 13:1) and righteousness shall
be ushered in for them. In what sense were vision and prophet sealed up at the death of Christ,
considering that the greatest of all visions was yet to be given, (The Revelation.) and the days were
still to come when the words of the prophets were to be fulfilled? (Luke 21:22) And whatever
meaning is to be put upon "anointing the most holy," it is clear that Calvary was not the
accomplishment of it. [2]
But is it consistent with fair argument or common-sense to urge that an era thus chronologically
defined should be indefinitely interrupted in its course? The ready answer might be given, that if
common-sense and fairness – if human judgment, is to decide the question, the only doubt must be
whether the final period of the cycle, and the blessings promised at its close, be not for ever abrogated
and lost by reason of the appalling guilt of that people who "killed the Prince of life." (Acts 3:15)
There exists surely no presumption against supposing that the stream of prophetic time is tided back
during all this interval of the apostasy of Judah. The question remains, whether any precedent for this
can be discovered in the mystical chronology of Israel's history.
According to the book of Kings, Solomon began to build the temple in the 480th year after the
children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt. (1 Kings 6:1) This statement, than which none
could, seemingly, be more exact, has sorely puzzled chronologers. By some it has been condemned as
a forgery, by others it has been dismissed as a blunder; but all have agreed in rejecting it. Moreover,
Scripture itself appears to clash with it. In his sermon at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:18-21) St. Paul
epitomizes thus the chronology of this period of the history of his nation: forty years in the
wilderness; 450 years under the judges, and forty years of the reign of Saul; making a total of 530
years. To which must be added the forty years of David's reign and the first three years of Solomon's;
making 573 years for the very period which is described in Kings as 480 years. Can these
conclusions, apparently so inconsistent, be reconciled? [3]
If we follow the history of Israel as detailed in the book of Judges, we shall find that for five several
periods their national existence as Jehovah's people was in abeyance. In punishment for their idolatry,
God gave them up again and again, and "sold them into the hands of their enemies." They became
slaves to the king of Mesopotamia for eight years, to the king of Moab for eighteen years, to the king
of Canaan for twenty years, to the Midianites for seven years, and finally to the Philistines for forty
years. [4] But the sum of 8 +18+ 20+ 7+ 40 years is 93 years, and if 93 years be deducted from 573
years, the result is 480 years. It is obvious, therefore, that the 480 years of the book of Kings from the
Exodus to the temple is a mystic era formed by eliminating every period during which the people
were cast off by God. [5] If, then, this principle were intelligible to the Jew in regard to history, it was
both natural and legitimate to introduce it in respect of an essentially mystic era like that of the
seventy weeks.
But this conclusion does not depend upon argument however sound, or inference however just. It is
indisputably proved by the testimony of Christ Himself. "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and
of the end of the world?" the disciples inquired as they gathered round the Lord on one of the last
days of His ministry on earth. (Matthew 24:3) In reply he spoke of the tribulation foretold by Daniel,
[6] and warned them that the signal of that fearful persecution was to be the precise event which
marks the middle of the seventieth week, namely, the defilement of the holy place by the
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"abomination of desolation," – some image of himself probably, which the false prince will set up in
the temple in violation of his treaty obligations to respect and defend the religion of the Jews [7] That
this prophecy was not fulfilled by Titus is as certain as history can make it; [8] but Scripture itself
leaves no doubt whatever on the point.
It appears from the passages already quoted, that the predicted tribulation is to last three and a half
years, and to date from the violation of the treaty in the middle of the seventieth week. What is to
follow is thus described by the Lord Himself in words of peculiar solemnity: "Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29) That it is to the
closing scenes of the dispensation this prophecy relates is here assumed. [9] And as these scenes are
to follow immediately after a persecution, of which the era is within the seventieth week, the inference
is incontestable that the events of that week belong to a time still future. [10]
We may conclude, then, that when wicked hands set up the cross on Calvary, and God pronounced the
dread "Lo-ammi" (Romans 9:25, 26; cf. Hosea 1:9, 10) upon His people, the course of the prophetic
era ceased to run. Nor will it flow on again till the autonomy of Judah is restored; and, with obvious
propriety, that is held to date from the moment their readmission into the family of nations is
recognized by treaty. [11] It will, therefore, be here assumed that the former portion of the prophetic
era has run its course, but that the events of the last seven years have still to be accomplished. The last
point, therefore, necessary to complete the chain of proof is to ascertain the date of "Messiah the
Prince."
CHAPTER 7 FOOTNOTES
[1] See pp. 44-47, ante.
[2] All these words point to practical benefits to be conferred in a practical way upon the
people, at the second advent of Christ. Isaiah 1:26 is a commentary on "bringing in
righteousness." To take it as synonymous with declaring God's righteousness (Romans 3:25) is
doctrinally a blunder and an anachronism. To any whose views of "reconciliation" are not based
on the use of the word in Scripture, "making reconciliation for iniquity" will seem an exception.
The Hebrew verb caphar (to make atonement or reconciliation) means literally "to cover over"
sin (see its use in Genesis 6:14), to do away with a charge against a person by means of
bloodshedding, or otherwise (ex. gr. by intercession, Exodus 32:30), so as to secure his
reception into Divine favor. The following is a list of the passages where the word is used in the
first three books of the Bible: Genesis 6:14 (pitch); 32:20 (appease); Exodus 29:33, 36, 37;
30:10, 15, 16; 32:30; Leviticus 1:4; 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7, 30; 7:7; 8:15, 34;
9:7; 10:17; 12:7, 8;14:18, 19, 20, 21, 29, 31, 53; 15:15, 30; 16:6, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 27,
32, 33, 34; 17:11; 19:22; 23:28. It will be seen that caphar is never used of the expiation or
bloodshedding considered objectively, but of the results accruing from it to the sinner,
sometimes immediately on the victim's death, sometimes conditional upon the action of the
priest who was charged with the function of applying the blood. The sacrifice was not the
atonement, but the means by which atonement was made. Therefore "the preposition which
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marks substitution is never used in connection with the word caphar" (Girdlestone's Synonyms
O. T., p. 214.) Making reconciliation, or atonement, therefore, according to the Scriptural use of
the word, implies the removal of the practical estrangement between the sinner and God, the
obtaining forgiveness for the sin; and the words in Daniel 9:24 point to the time when this
benefit will be secured to Judah. "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness" ( Zechariah 13:1); that is, the blessings of Calvary will be
theirs; reconciliation will be accomplished for the people. In keeping with this, transgression
will be restrained (see use of the word in Genesis 8:2; Exodus 36:6); i. e., they will cease to
transgress; sins will be sealed up, – the ordinary word for securing a letter (1 Kings 21:8), or a
purse or bag of treasure ( Job 14:17); i. e., sins will be done with and put away in a practical
sense; and vision and prophet will likewise be sealed up, i. e., their functions will be at an end,
for all will have been fulfilled.
[3] According to Browne (Ordo Saec., §§. 254 and 268) the Exodus was on Friday the 10th
April, B. C. 1586; the passage of Jordan was the 14th April, B. C. 1546; the accession of
Solomon was B. C. 1016, and the foundation of the Temple was the 20th April, B. C. 1013. He
therefore accepts St. Paul's statements unreservedly. Clinton conjectures that there was an
interval of about twenty-seven years before the time of the Judges, and another of twelve years
before the election of Saul, thus fixing on B. C. 1625 as the date of the Exode, extending the
whole period to 612 years. Josephus reckons it 621 years, and this is adopted by Hales, who
calls the statement in Kings "a forgery." Other chronologers assign periods varying from the
741 years of Julius Africanus to the 480 years of Usher, whose date for the Exode – B. C. 1491
– has been adopted in our Bible, though clearly wrong by ninety-three years at least. The
subject is fully discussed by Clinton in Fasli Hell., vol. 1., pp. 312-313, and by Browne,
reviewing Clinton's arguments, in Ordo Scec., §. 6, etc. Browne's conclusions have much to
commend them. But if others are right in inserting conjectural periods, my argument remains
the same, for any such periods, if they existed, were obviously excluded from the 480 years on
the same principle as were the eras of the servitudes. (This subject is discussed further in App.
1.)
[4] Judges 3:8, 14; 4:2, 3; 6:1; 13:1. The servitude of Judges 10:7, 9 affected only the tribes
beyond Jordan, and did not suspend Israel's national position.
[5] The Israelites were nationally God's people as no other nation ever can be; therefore they
were dealt with in some respects on principles similar to those which obtain in the case of
individuals. A life without God is death. Righteousness must keep a strict account and sternly
judge; or grace may pardon. And if God forgives, He likewise forgets the sin (Hebrews 10:17);
which doubtless means that the record is wiped out, and the period it covers is treated as though
it were a blank. The days of our servitude to evil are ignored in the Divine chronology.
[6] thlipsis, Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1 (LXX)
[7] kai epi to hieronn bdelugma ton eramoseon, Daniel 9:27; to bdelugma eramoseos, Daniel
12:11 (LXX.); hotan oun idate to bdelugma tas eramoseos to rhathen dia Danial tou prophatou,
estos en topo hagio, Matthew 24:15. Comp. 1 Maccabees 1:54, okodomasan bdelugma
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eramoseos epi to phusiastapion. This passage in Matthew affords an unanswerable proof that all
systems of interpretation which make the seventy weeks end with the coming or death of Christ,
and therefore before the destruction of Jerusalem by Tiffits, are wholly wrong. And that that
event was not in fact the terminus of the era is plain from Matthew 24:21-29, and Daniel 9:24.
[8] Making all allowance for the contemptible time-serving of Josephus and his admiration for
Titus, his testimony on this point is too full and explicit. to admit of doubt (Wars, 6., 2, §. 4).
[9] I am aware of systems of interpretation which flitter away the meaning of all such
scriptures, but it is idle to attempt to refute them in detail. (See chap 11 post, and App. Note C.)
[10] Such was the belief of the early Church; but the question has been argued at length out of
deference to modern writers who have advocated a different interpretation of Daniel 9:27.
Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, who wrote at the beginning of the third century, is most definite
on the point. Quoting the verse, he says: "By one week he meant the last week, which is to be at
the end of the whole world; of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will take up the
half; for they will preach 1, 260 days, clothed in sackcloth" (Hip. on Christ and Antichrist).
According to Browne (Ordo Saec. p. 386, note), this was also the view of the father of Christian
chronologers, Julius Africanus. That half of the last week has been fulfilled, but the remaining
three and a half years are still future, is maintained by Canon Browne himself (§ 339), who
notices, what so many modern writers have missed, that the events belonging to this period are
connected with the times of Antichrist.
[11] i. e., the covenant mentioned in Daniel 9:27.
.
CHAPTER VIII.
"MESSIAH THE PRINCE"
JUST as we find that in certain circles people who are reputed pious are apt to be regarded with
suspicion, so it would seem that any writings which claim Divine authority or sanction inevitably
awaken distrust. But if the evangelists could gain the same fair hearing which profane historians
command; if their statements were tested upon the same principles on which records of the past are
judged by scholars, and evidence is weighed in our courts of justice, it would be accepted as a
well-established fact of history that our Savior was born in Bethlehem, at a time when Cyrenius was
Governor of Syria, and Herod was king in Jerusalem. The narrative of the first two chapters of St.
Luke is not like an ordinary page of history which carries with it no pledge of accuracy save that
which the general credit of the writer may afford. The evangelist is treating of facts of which he had
"perfect understanding from the very first;" (Luke 1:3) in which, moreover, his personal interest was
intense, and in respect of which a single glaring error would have prejudiced not only the value of his
book, but the success of that cause to which his life was devoted, and with which his hopes of eternal
happiness were identified.
The matter has been treated as though this reference to Cyrenius were but an incidental allusion, in
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respect of which an error would be of no importance; whereas, in fact, it would be absolutely vital.
That the true Messiah must be born in Bethlehem was asserted by the Jew and conceded by the
Christian: that the Nazarene was born in Bethlehem the Jew persistently denied. If even today he
could disprove that fact, he would justify his unbelief; for if the Christ we worship was not by right of
birth the heir to David's throne, He is not the Christ of prophecy. Christians soon forgot this when they
had no longer to maintain their faith against the unbroken front of Judaism, but only to commend it to
a heathen world. But it was not forgotten by the immediate successors of the apostles. Therefore it
was that in writing to the Jews, Justin Martyr asserted with such emphasis that Christ was born during
the taxing of Cyrenius, appealing to the lists of that census as to documents then extant and available
for reference, to prove that though Joseph and Mary lived at Nazareth, they went up to Bethlehem to
be enrolled, and that thus it came to pass the Child was born in the royal city, and not in the despised
Galilean village. [1]
And these facts of the pedigree and birth of the Nazarene afforded almost the only ground upon which
issue could be joined, where one side maintained, and the other side denied, that His Divine character
and mission were established by transcendental proofs. None could question that His acts were more
than human, but blindness and hate could ascribe them to Satanic power; and the sublime utterances
which in every succeeding age have commanded the admiration of millions, even of those who have
refused to them the deeper homage of their faith, had no charm for men thus prejudiced. But these
statements about the taxing which brought the Virgin Mother up to Bethlehem, dealt with plain facts
which required no moral fitness to appreciate them. That in such a matter a writer like St. Luke could
be in error is utterly improbable, but that the error would remain unchallenged is absolutely
incredible; and we find Justin Martyr, writing nearly a hundred years after the evangelist, appealing to
the fact as one which was unquestionable. It may, therefore, be accepted as one of the most certain of
the really certain things of history, that the first taxing of Cyrenius was made before the death of
Herod, and that while it was proceeding Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Not many years ago this statement would have been received either with ridicule or indignation. The
evangelist's mention of Cyrenius appeared to be a hopeless anachronism; as, according to undoubted
history, the period of his governorship and the date of his "taxing" were nine or ten years later than the
nativity. Gloated over by Strauss and others of his tribe, and dismissed by writers unnumbered either
as an enigma or an error, the passage has in recent years been vindicated and explained by the labors
of Dr. Zumpt of Berlin.
By a strange chance there is a break in the history of this period, for the seven or eight years
beginning B.C. 4. [2] The list of the governors of Syria, therefore, fails us, and for the same interval P.
Sulpicius Quirinus, the Cyrenius of the Greeks, disappears from history. But by a series of separate
investigations and arguments, all of them independent of Scripture, Dr. Zumpt has established that
Quirinus was twice governor of the province, and that his first term of office dated from the latter part
of B.C. 4, when he succeeded Quinctilius Varus. The unanimity with which this conclusion has been
accepted renders it unnecessary to discuss the matter here. But one remark respecting it may not be
out of place. The grounds of Dr. Zumpt's conclusions may be aptly described as a chain of
circumstantial evidence, and his critics are agreed that the result is reasonably certain. [3] To make
that certainty absolute, nothing is wanting but the positive testimony of some historian of repute. If,
for example, one of the lost fragments of the history of Dion Cassius were brought to light, containing
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the mention of Quirinus as governing the province during the last months of Herod's reign, the fact
would be deemed as certain as that Augustus was emperor of Rome. A Christian writer may be
pardoned if he attaches equal weight to the testimony of St. Luke. It will, therefore, be here assumed
as absolutely certain that the birth of Christ took place at some date not earlier than the autumn of
B.C. 4. [4]
The dictum of our English chronologer, than whom none more eminent or trustworthy can be
appealed to, is a sufficient guarantee that this conclusion is consistent with everything that erudition
can bring to bear upon the point. Fynes Clinton sums up his discussion of the matter thus. "The
nativity was not more than about eighteen months before the death of Herod, nor less than five or six.
The death of Herod was either in the spring of B.C. 4, or the spring of B.C. 3. The earliest possible
date then for the nativity is the autumn of B.C. 6 (U. C. 748), eighteen months before the death of
Herod in B.C. 4. The latest will be the of B.C. 4 (U. C. 750), about six months before his death,
assumed to be in spring B.C. 3." [5] This opinion has weight, not only because of the writer's
eminence as a chronologist, but also because his own view as to the actual date of the birth of Christ
would have led him to narrow still more the limits within which it must have occurred, if his sense of
fairness had permitted him to do so. Moreover, Clinton wrote in ignorance of what Zumpt has since
brought to light respecting the census of Quirinus. The introduction of this new element into the
consideration of the question, enables us with absolute confidence, adopting Clinton's dictum, to
assign the death of Herod to the month Adar of B.C. 3, and the nativity to the autumn of B.C. 4.
That the least uncertainty should prevail respecting the time of an event of such transcendent interest
to mankind is a fact of strange significance. But whatever doubt there may be as to the birth-date of
the Son of God, it is due to no omission in the sacred page if equal doubt be felt as to the epoch of His
ministry on earth. There is not in the whole of Scripture a more definite chronological statement than
that contained in the opening verses of the third chapter of St. Luke. "In the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and
his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of
Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of
Zacharias in the wilderness."
Now the date of Tiberius Caesar's reign is known with absolute accuracy; and his fifteenth year,
reckoned from his accession, began on the 19th August, A.D. 28. And further, it is also known that
during that year, so reckoned, each of the personages named in the passage, actually held the position
there assigned to him. Here then, it might be supposed, no difficulty or question could arise. But the
evangelist goes on to speak of the beginning of the ministry of the Lord Himself, and he mentions that
"He was about thirty years of age when He began." [6] This statement, taken in connection with the
date commonly assigned to the nativity, has been supposed to require that "the fifteenth year of
Tiberius" shall be understood as referring, not to the epoch of his reign, but to an earlier date, when
history testifies that certain powers were conferred on him during the two last years of Augustus. All
such hypotheses, however, "are open to one overwhelming objection, viz., that the reign of Tiberius,
as beginning from 19th August, A.D. 14, was as well known a date in the time of Luke, as the reign of
Queen Victoria is in our own day; and no single case has ever been, or can be, produced, in which the
years of Tiberius were reckoned in any other manner." [7]
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Nor is there any inconsistency whatever between these statements of St. Luke and the date of the
nativity (as fixed by the evangelist himself, under Cyrenius, in the autumn of B.C. 4; for the Lord's
ministry, dating from the autumn of A.D. 28, may in fact have begun before His thirty-first year
expired, and cannot have been later than a few months beyond it. The expression "about thirty years
implies some such margin. [8] As therefore it is wholly unnecessary, it becomes wholly unjustifiable,
to put a forced and special meaning on the evangelist's words; and by the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar he must have intended what all the world would assume he meant, namely, the year beginning
19th August, A.D. 28. And thus, passing out of the region of argument and controversy, we reach at
last a well-ascertained date of vital importance in this inquiry.
The first Passover of the Lord's public ministry on earth is thus definitely fixed by the Gospel
narrative itself, as in Nisan A.D. 29. And we are thus enabled to fix 32 A.D. as the year of the
crucifixion. [9]
This is opposed, no doubt, to the traditions embodied in the spurious Acta Pilati so often quoted in
this controversy, and in the writings of certain of the fathers, by whom the fifteenth year of Tiberius
was held to be itself the date of the death of Christ; "by some, because they confounded the date of the
baptism with the date of the Passion; by others, because they supposed both to have happened in one
year; by others, because they transcribed from their predecessors without examination." [10]
An imposing array of names can be cited in support of any year from A.D. 29 to A.D. 33; but such
testimony is of force only so long as no better can be found. Just as a seemingly perfect chain of
circumstantial evidence crumbles before the testimony of a single witness of undoubted veracity and
worth, and the united voice of half a county will not support a prescriptive right, if it be opposed to a
single sheet of parchment, so the cumulative traditions of the Church, even if they were as definite
and clear as in fact they are contradictory and vague, would not outweigh the proofs to which appeal
has here been made.
One point more, however, claims attention. Numerous writers, some of them eminent, have discussed
this question as though nothing more were needed in fixing the date of the Passion than to find a year,
within certain limits, in which the paschal moon was full upon a Friday. But this betrays strange
forgetfulness of the intricacies of the problem. True it is that if the system by which today the Jewish
year is settled had been in force eighteen centuries ago, the whole controversy might turn upon the
week date of the Passover in a given year; but on account of our ignorance of the embolismal system
then in use, no weight whatever can be attached to it. [11] While the Jewish year was the old lunisolar
year of 360 days, it is not improbable they adjusted it, as for centuries they had probably been
accustomed to do in Egypt, by adding annually the "complimentary days" of which Herodotus speaks.
[12] But it is not to be supposed that when they adopted the present form of year, they continued to
correct the calendar in so primitive a manner. Their use of the metonic cycle for this purpose is
comparatively modern. [13] And it is probable that with the lunar year they obtained also under the
Seleucidae the old eight years' cycle for its adjustment. The fact that this cycle was in use among the
early Christians for their paschal calculations, [14] raises a presumption that it was borrowed from the
Jews; but we have no certain knowledge upon the subject.
Indeed, the only thing reasonably certain upon the matter is that the Passover did not fall upon the
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days assigned to it by writers whose calculations respecting it are made with strict astronomical
accuracy, [15] for the Mishna affords the clearest proof that the beginning of the month was not
determined by the true new moon, but by the first appearance of her disc; and though in a climate like
that of Palestine this would seldom be delayed by causes which would operate in murkier latitudes, it
doubtless sometimes happened "that neither sun nor stars for many days appeared." [16] These
considerations justify the statement that in any year whatever the 15th Nisan may have fallen on a
Friday. [17]
For example, in A.D. 32, the date of the true new moon, by which the Passover was regulated, was the
night (10h 57m) of the 29th March. The ostensible date of the 1st Nisan, therefore, according to the
phases, was the 31st March. It may have been delayed, however, till the 1st April; and in that case the
15th Nisan should apparently have fallen on Tuesday the 15th April. But the calendar may have been
further disturbed by intercalation. According to the scheme of the eight years' cycle, the embolismal
month was inserted in the third, sixth, and eighth years, and an examination of the calendars from
A.D. 22 to A D. 45 will show that A.D. 32 was the third year of such a cycle. As, therefore, the
difference between the solar year and the lunar is 11 days, it would amount in three years to 33 3/4
days, and the intercalation of a thirteenth month (Ve-adar) of thirty days would leave an epact still
remaining of 3 3/4 days; and the "ecclesiastical moon" being that much before the real moon, the feast
day would have fallen on the Friday (11th April), exactly as the narrative of the Gospels requires. [18]
This, moreover, would explain what, notwithstanding all the poetry indulged in about the groves and
grottoes of Gethsemane, remains still a difficulty. Judas needed neither torch nor lantern to enable him
to track his Master through the darkest shades and recesses of the garden, nor was it, seemingly, until
he had fulfilled his base and guilty mission that the: crowd pressed in to seize their victim. And no
traitor need have been suborned by the Sanhedrin to betray to them at midnight the object of their
hate, were it not that they dared not take Him save by stealth. [19] Every torch and lamp increased the
risk of rousing the sleeping millions around them, for that night all Judah was gathered to the capital
to keep the Paschal feast. [20] If, then, the full moon were high above Jerusalem, no other light were
needed to speed them on their guilty errand; but if, on the other hand, the Paschal moon were only ten
or eleven days old upon that Thursday night, she would certainly have been low on the horizon, if she
had not actually set, before they ventured forth. These suggestions are not made to confirm the proof
already offered of the year date of the death of Christ, but merely to show how easy it is to answer
objections which at first sight might seem fatal.
CHAPTER 8 FOOTNOTES
[1] Bethlehem, "in which Jesus Christ was born, as you may also learn from the lists of the
taxing which was made in the time of Cyrenius, the first Governor of yours in Judea." – Apol.,
1., § 34.
"We assert Christ to have been born a hundred and fifty years ago, under Cyrenius." – Ibid., §
46.
"But when there was an enrollment in Judea, which was then made first under Cyrenius, he
went up from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, of which place he was, to be enrolled,"
etc. – Dial. Trypho, § 78.
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[2] Josephus here leaves a gap in his narrative; and through the loss of MSS., the history of
Dion Cassius, the other authority for this period, is not available to supply the omission.
[3] Dr. Zumpt's labors in this matter were first made public in a Latin treatise which appeared in
1854. More recently he has published them in his Das Geburtsjahr Christi (Leipzig, 1869). The
English reader will find a summary of his arguments in Dean Alford's Greek Test. (Note on
Luke 2:1), and in his article, on Cyrenius in Smith's Bible Dict.; he describes them as "very
striking and satisfactory." Dr. Farrar remarks, "Zumpt has, with incredible industry and
research, all but established in this matter the accuracy of St. Luke, by proving the extreme
probability that Quirinus was twice governor of Syria" (Life of Christ, vol. 1. p. 7, note). See
also an article in the Quarterly Review for April 1871, which describes Zumpt's conclusions as
"very nearly certain," "all but certain." The question is discussed also in Wieseler's Chron. Syn.
(Venables's trans.) In his Roman history, Mr. Merivale adopts these results unreservedly. He
says (vol. 4., p. 457), "A remarkable light has been thrown upon the point by the demonstration,
as it seems to be, of Augustus Zumpt in his second volume of Commentationes Epigraphicae,
that Quirinus (the Cyrenius of St. Luke 2.) was first governor of Syria from the close of A. U.
750 (B. C. 4), to A. U. 753 (B. C. l)."
[4] The birth of our Lord is placed in B. C. 1, by Pearson and Hug; B. C. 2, by Scaliger; B. C. 3,
by Baronius, Calvisius, Suskind, and Paulus; B. C. 4, by Lamy, Bengel, Anger, Wieseler, and
Greswell; B. C. 5, by Usher and Petavius; B. C. 7, by Ideler and Sanclementi (Smith's Bible
Dict., "Jesus Christ," p. 1075). It should be added that Zumpt's date for the nativity is fixed on
independent grounds in B. C. 7. Following Ideler, he concludes that the conjunction of the
planets Jupiter and Saturn, which occurred in that year, was the "Star" which led the Magi to
Palestine.
[5] Fasti Romani, A. D. 29.
[6] Luke 3:23. Such is the right rendering of the verse. The Revised Version renders it: " And
Jesus Himself, when He began to teach, was about thirty years of age."
[7] Lewin, Fasti Sacri, p. 53. Diss., chap. 6: The joint-principate theory of the reign of Tiberius,
elaborately argued for by Greswell, is essential with writers like him, who assign the crucifixion
to A. D 29 or 30. Sanclementi, indeed, finding "that nowhere in histories, or on monuments, or
coins, is a vestige to be found of any such mode of reckoning the years of this emperor,"
disposes of the difficulty by taking the date in Luke 3:1 to refer, not to John the Baptist's
ministry, but to Christ's death. Browne adopts this in a modified form, recognizing that the
hypothesis above referred to "falls under fatal objections." He remarks that "it is improbable to
the last degree" that Luke, who wrote specially for a Roman officer, and generally for Gentiles,
would have so expressed himself as to be certainly misunderstood by them. Therefore, though
the statement of the evangelist clashes with his conclusion as to the date of the Passion, he owns
his obligation to accept it. See Ordo Saec., §§ 71 and 95.
[8] As Dean Alford puts it (Gr. Test., in loco): "This hosei tpiakonta admits of considerable
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latitude, but only in one direction, viz., over thirty years."
[9] "It seems to me absolutely certain that our Lord's ministry lasted for some period above
three years" (Pusey, Daniel, p. 176, and see p. 177, note 7). This opinion is now held so
universally, that it is no longer necessary to set forth in detail the grounds on which it rests;
indeed, recent writers generally assume without proof that the ministry included four Passovers.
The most satisfactory discussion of the question which I know of is in Hengstenberg's
Christology (Arnold's trans., §§ 755-765). St. John mentions expressly three Passovers at which
the Lord was present; and if the feast of John 5:1 be a Passover, the question is at an end. It is
now generally admitted that that feast was either Purim or Passover, and Hengstenberg's proofs
in favor of the latter are overwhelming. The feast of Purim had no Divine sanction. It was
instituted by the decree of Esther, Queen of Persia, in the 13th year of Xerxes (B. C. 473), and it
was rather a social and political than a religious feast, the service in the synagogue being quite
secondary to the excessive eating and drinking which marked the day. It is doubtful whether our
Lord would have observed such a feast at all; but that, contrary to the usual practice, He would
have specially gone up to Jerusalem to celebrate it, is altogether incredible.
[10] Clinton's Fasti Rom., A. D. 29.
[11] "The month began at the phases of the moon…and this happens, according to Newton,
when the moon is eighteen hours old. Therefore the fourteenth Nisan might commence when
the moon was 13d. 18h. old, and wanted 1d. oh. 22m. to the full. [The age of the moon at the
full will be 14d. 18h. 22M.] But sometimes the phases was delayed till the moon was 1d. 17h.
old; and then if the first Nisan were deferred till the phases, the fourteenth would begin only 1h.
22m. before the full. This precision, however, in adjusting the month to the moon did not exist
in practice. The Jews, like other nations who adopted a lunar year, and supplied the defect by an
intercalary month, failed in obtaining complete accuracy. We know not what their method of
calculation was at the time of the Christian era" (Fasti Rom., vol. 2., p. 240); A. D. 30 is the
only year between 28 and 33 in which the phases of the full moon was on a Friday. In A. D. 29
the full moon was on Saturday, and the phases on Monday. (See Wurm's Table, in Wiesler's
Chron. Syn., Venables's trans., p. 407).
[12] Herod. 2:4.
[13] It was about A. D. 360 that the Jews adopted the metonic cycle of nineteen years for the
adjustment of their calendar. Before that time they used a cycle of eighty-four years, which was
evidently the calippic period of seventy-six years with a Greek octaeteris added. This is said by
certain writers to have been in use at the time of our Lord, but the statement is very doubtful. It
appears to rest on the testimony of the later Rabbins. Julius Africanus, on the other hand, states
in his Chronography that "the Jews insert three intercalary months every eight years." For a
description of the modern Jewish calendar see Encyc. Brit. (9th ed., vol. 5., p. 714).
[14] Browne, Ordo saec., § 424
[15] See ex. gr. Browne Ordo saec., § 64. He avers that "if in a given year the paschal moon
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was at the full at any instant between sunset of a Thursday and sunset of a Friday, the day
included between the two sunsets was the 15th Nisan; "and on this ground he maintains that A.
D. 29 is the only possible date of the crucifixion. As his own table shows, however, no possible
year (i. e., no year between 28 and 33) satisfies this requirement; for the paschal full moon in A.
D. 29 was on Saturday the 16th April, not on Friday the 18th March. This view is maintained
also by Ferguson and others. It may be accounted for, perhaps, by the fact that till recent years
the Mishna was not translated into English.
[16] Acts 27:20. Treatise Rosh Hashanah of the Mishna deals with the mode in which, in the
days of the "second temple," the feast of the new moon was regulated. The evidence of two
competent witnesses was required by the Sanhedrin to the fact that they had seen the moon, and
the numerous rules laid down for the journey and examination of these witnesses prove that not
unfrequently they came from a distance. Indeed, the case of their being "a day and a night on
the road" is provided for (ch. i., § 9). The proclamation by the Sanhedrin, therefore, may have
been sometimes delayed till a day or even two after the phases, and sometimes the phases was
delayed till the moon was 1d. 17h. old [Clinton, Fasti Rom., vol. 2., p. 240]; so that the 1st
Nisan may have fallen several days later than the true new moon. Possibly, moreover, it may
have been still further delayed by the operation of rules such as those of the modern Jewish
calendar for preventing certain festivals from falling on incompatible days. It appears from the
Mishna ("Pesachim") that the present rules for this purpose were not in force; but yet there may
have been similar rules in operation.
[17] See Fasli Rom., vol. 2., p. 240, as to the impossibility of determining in what years the
Passover fell on Friday.
[18] The following is the scheme of the octaeteris: "The solar year has a length of 365 & 1/4
days; 12 lunar months make 354 days. The difference, which is called the epact or epagomene,
is 11 & 1/4 days. This is the epact of the first year. Hence the epact of the second year = 22 &
1/2 days; of the third, 33 & 3/4. These 33 & 3/4 days make one lunar month of 30 days, which
is added to the third lunar year as an intercalary or thirteenth month (embolismos), and a
remainder or epact of 3 3/4 days. Hence the epact of the fourth year =11 & 1/4 + 3 & 3/4=15
days; that of the fifth year =26 & 1/4; of the sixth, 37 & 1/2, which gives a second embolism of
30 days with an epact of 7 & 1/2. The epact, therefore, of the seventh year is 18 & 3/4, and of
the eighth =18 & 3/4 + 11 & 1/4= just 30, which is the third embolism with no epact
remaining." – BROWNE, Ordo Saec., § 424. The days of the Paschal full moon in the years A.
D. 22-37 were as follows; the embolismal years, according to the octaeteris, being marked "E":
A. D
22 ... 5th April
23 ... 25th March
24 ... 12th April
25 ... 1st April
26 ... 21st March
27E ... 9th April
28 ... 29th March
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29E ... 17th April
30 ... 6th April
31 ... 27th March
32E ... 14th April
33 ... 3rd April
34 ... 23rd March
35E ... 11th April
36 ... 30th March
37E ... 18th April
[19] Luke 22: 2-6
[20] Josephus testifies that an "innumerable multitude" came together for the feast (Ant., 17., 9,
§ 3); and he computes that at a Passover before the siege of Jerusalem upwards of 2, 700, 200
persons actually partook of the Paschal Supper, besides the foreigners present in the city (Wars,
6., 9, § 3).
.
CHAPTER IX.
THE PASCHAL SUPPER
THE trustworthiness of witnesses is tested, not by the amount of truth their evidence contains, but by
the absence of mistakes. A single glaring error may serve to discredit testimony which seemed of the
highest worth. This principle applies with peculiar force in estimating the credibility of the Gospel
narratives, and it lends an importance that can scarcely be exaggerated to the question which arises in
this controversy, Was the betrayal in fact upon the night of the Paschal Supper? If, as is so commonly
maintained, one or all of the Evangelists were in error in a matter of fact so definite and plain, it is idle
to pretend that their writings are in any sense whatever God-breathed. [1]
The testimony of the first three Gospels is united, that the Last Supper was eaten at the Jewish
Passover. The attempt to prove that it was an anticipatory celebration, without the paschal sacrifice,
though made with the best of motives, is utterly futile. "Now on the first day of unleavened bread" (St.
Matthew declares), [2] "the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where wilt thou that we make ready for
Thee to eat the Passover?" It was the proposal not of the Lord, but of the disciples, who, with the
knowledge of the day and of the rites pertaining to it, turned to the Master for instructions. With yet
greater definiteness St. Mark narrates that this took place on the first day of unleavened bread, when
they killed the Passover. (Mark 14:12) And the language of St. Luke is, if possible, more unequivocal
still:
"Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed." (Luke 22:7)
But it is confidently asserted that the testimony of St. John is just as clear and unambiguous that the:
crucifixion took place upon the very day and, it is; sometimes urged, at the very hour of the paschal
sacrifice. Many an eminent writer may be cited to support this view, and the controversy waged in its
defense is endless. But no plea for deference to great: names can be tolerated for a moment when the
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point: at issue is the integrity of Holy Writ; and despite the erudition that has been exhausted to prove
that the Gospels are here at hopeless variance, none who have: learned to prize them as a Divine
revelation will be surprised to find that the main difficulty depends; entirely on prevailing ignorance
respecting Jewish ordinances and the law of Moses.
These writers one and all. confound the Paschal Supper with the festival which followed it, and to
which it lent its name. The supper was a memorial. of the redemption of the firstborn of Israel on the.
night before the Exodus; the feast was the anniversary of their actual deliverance from the house of
bondage. The supper was not a part of the: feast; it was morally the basis on which the feast was
founded, just as the Feast of Tabernacles was based on the great sin-offering of the day of expiation
which preceded it. But in the same way that the Feast of Weeks came to be commonly designated
Pentecost, the feast of Unleavened Bread was popularly called the Passover. [3] That title was
common to the supper and the feast, and included both; but the intelligent Jew would never confound
the two; and if he spoke emphatically of the feast of the Passover, he would thereby mark the festival
to the exclusion of the supper. [4]
No words can possibly express more clearly this distinction than those afforded by the Pentateuch in
the final promulgation of the Law: " In the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the
Lord; and in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast." [5]
Opening the thirteenth chapter of St. John in the light of this simple explanation, every difficulty
vanishes. The scene is laid at the Paschal Supper, on the eve of the festival, "before the feast of the
Passover;" [6] and after the narration or the washing of the disciples' feet, the evangelist goes on to
tell of the hurried departure of Judas, explaining that, to some, the Lord's injunction to the traitor was
understood to mean, "Buy what we have need of against the feast." (John 13:29) The feast day was a
Sabbath, when trading was unlawful, and it would seem that the needed supply for the festival was
still procurable far on in the preceding night; for another of the errors with which this controversy
abounds is the assumption that the Jewish day was invariably reckoned a nukthameron, beginning in
the evening. [7]
Such, doubtless, was the common rule, and notably in respect of the law of ceremonial cleansing. This
very fact, indeed, enables us without a doubt to conclude that the Passover on account of which the
Jews refused to defile themselves by entering the judgment hall, was not the Paschal Supper, for that
supper was not eaten till after the hour at which such defilement would have lapsed. In the language
of the law, "When the sun is down he shall be clean, and shall afterwards eat of the holy things."
(Leviticus 12:7) Not so was it with the holy offerings of the feast day, which they must needs eat
before the hour at which their uncleanness would have ceased. [8] The only question, therefore, is
whether partaking of the peace offerings of the festival could properly be designated as "eating the
Passover." The law of Moses itself supplies the answer: "Thou shalt sacrifice the Passover unto the
Lord thy God of the flock and the herd…seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith."
(Deuteronomy 16:2, 3, and compare 2 Chronicles 35:7, 8.)
If then the words of St. John are intelligible only when thus interpreted, and if when thus interpreted
they are consistent with the testimony of the three first Evangelists, no element is lacking to give
certainty that the events of the eighteenth chapter occurred upon the feast-day, Or if confirmation still
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be needed, the closing verses of this very chapter give it, for according to the custom cited, it was at
the feast that the governor released a prisoner to the people (John 18:39; Compare Matthew 27:15;
Mark 15:6; and Luke 23:17). Fearing because of the populace to seize the Lord upon the feast-day,
(Matthew 26:5; Mark 14:1, 2) the Pharisees were eager to procure His betrayal on the night of the
Paschal Supper. And so it came to pass that the arraignment before Pilate took place upon the festival,
as all the Evangelists declare.
But does not St. John expressly state that it was "the preparation of the Passover," and must not this
necessarily mean the fourteenth of Nisan? The plain answer is, that not a single passage has been cited
from writings either sacred or profane in which that day is so described; whereas among the Jews "the
preparation" was the common name for the day before the Sabbath, and it is so used by all the
Evangelists. And bearing this in mind, let the reader compare the fourteenth verse of the nineteenth
chapter of St. John with the thirty-first and forty-second verses of the same chapter, and he will have
no difficulty in rendering the words in question, "it was Passover Friday." [9]
But yet another statement of St. John is quoted in this controversy. "That Sabbath day was an high
day," he declares, and therefore, it is urged, it must have been the 15th of Nisan. The force of this
"therefore" partly depends upon overlooking the fact that all the great sacrifices to which the 15th of
Nisan largely owed its distinctive solemnity, were repeated daily throughout the festival. (Numbers
28:19-24) [10] On this account alone that Sabbath was "an high day." But besides, it was specially
distinguished as the day on which the firstfruits of the harvest were offered in the temple; for in
respect of this ordinance, as in most other points of difference between the Karaite Jews, who held to
the Scriptures as their only guide, and the Rabbinical Jews, who followed the traditions of the elders,
the latter were entirely in the wrong.
The law enjoined that the sheaf of the firstfruits should be waved before the Lord "on the morrow
after the (paschal) Sabbath," (Leviticus 23:10, 11) and from that day the seven weeks were reckoned
which ended with the feast of Pentecost. But as the book of Deuteronomy expressly ordains that the
weeks should be counted from the first day of the harvest, (Deuteronomy 16:9; and compare Leviticus
23:15, 16) it is evident that the morrow after the Sabbath should not be itself a Sabbath, but a working
day. The true day for the ordinance, therefore, was the day of the resurrection, "the first day of the
week" following the Passover, [11] when, according to the intention of the law, the barley harvest
should begin, and the first sheaf gathered should be carried to the Holy Place and solemnly waved
before Jehovah. But with the Jews all this was lost in the empty rite of offering in the temple a
measure of meal prepared from corn which, in violation of the law, had been garnered days before.
This rite was invariably celebrated on the 16th of Nisan; and thus synchronizing with the solemnities
both of the Paschal festival and of the Sabbath, that day could not fail to be indeed "an high day." [12]
The argument in proof that the death of Christ was on the very day the paschal lamb was killed, has
gained a fictitious interest and value from the seeming fitness of the synchronism this involves. But a
closer investigation of the subject, combined with a broader view of the Mosaic types, will dissipate
the force of this conclusion. The distinctive teaching of Calvinism is based on giving an exclusive
place to the great sin-offering of Leviticus, in which substitution, in its most definite and narrowest
sense, is essential. The Passover, on the other hand, has ever been the most popular of types. But
though the other typical sacrifices are almost entirely ignored in the systems of our leading schools of
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theology, they have no little prominence in Scripture. The offerings which are placed first in the book
of Leviticus have a large share in the theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews, – the new Testament
"Leviticus," whereas the Passover is not even once referred to. [13] Now these Leviticus offerings
[14] marked the feast-day, (Numbers 28:17-24) on which, according to the Gospels, "the Messiah was
cut off."
And other synchronisms are not wanting, still more striking and significant. During all His ministry
on earth, albeit it was spent in humiliation and reproach, no hand was ever laid upon the Blessed One,
save in importunate supplication or in devout and loving service. But when at times His enemies
would fain have seized Him, a mysterious hour to come was spoken of, in which their hate should be
unhindered. "This is your hour, and the power of darkness," He exclaimed, as Judas and the impious
companions in his guilt drew round Him in the garden. (Luke 22:53) His hour, He called it, when He
thought of His mission upon earth: their hour, when in the fulfillment of that mission He found
Himself within their grasp.
The agonies inflicted on Him by men have taken hold on the mind of Christendom; but beyond and
above all these the mystery of the Passion is that He was forsaken and accursed of God. [15] In some
sense, indeed, His sufferings from men were but a consequence of this; therefore His reply to Pilate,
"Thou couldst have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above." If men seized
and slew Him, it was because God had delivered Him up. When that destined hour had struck, the
mighty Hand drew back which till then had shielded Him from outrage. His death was not the
beginning, but the close of His sufferings; in truth, it was the hour of His triumph.
The midnight agony in Gethsemane was thus; the great antitype of that midnight scene in Egypt:
when the destroying angel flashed through the land. And as His death was the fulfillment of His
people's; deliverance, so it took place upon the anniversary of "that selfsame day that the Lord did
bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egpyt by their armies." [16]
CHAPTER 9 FOOTNOTES
[1] theopneustos, 2 Timothy 3:16. See Browne's Ordo Saec., §§ 65- 70, for an exhaustive
discussion of this question, in proof that "the three first Gospels are at variance on this point
with the fourth." The matter is treated of in books without number. I here deal only with the
salient points in the controversy. Arguments based upon the Sabbatical observance of the 15th
Nisan being inconsistent with the events of the morning of the crucifixion are worthless. "To
strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" was characteristic of the men who were the actors in these
scenes. If any one have doubts of it, let him read the Mishna. And points such as that the Jews
were forbidden to leave their houses on the night of the Supper, depend upon confounding the
commands given for the night of the Exodus with the law relative to its annual celebration. As
well might it be urged that the Lord sanctioned and took part in a violation of the law because
He reclined at supper, instead of standing girded and shod as enjoined in Exodus 12.
[2] Matthew 26:17 (Revised Version). In the Authorized Version out translators have perverted
the verse. It was not the first day of the feast, but ta prota ton adzumon, or, as St. Luke calls it,
ha hamera ton adzumon, viz., the day on which leaven was banished from their houses, the 14th
Nisan, on the evening of which the Passover was eaten.
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[3] See Luke 22:1., and compare Josephus, Ant., 14:2, I, and 17:9, 3:" The feast of unleavened
bread, which we call the Passover."
[4] Or if the emphasis rested on the last word, the distinction would be between Passover and
Pentecost or Tabernacles.
[5] Numbers 28:16, 17. Compare Exodus 12:14-17, and Leviticus 23:5, 6, and mark that in the
enumeration of the feasts in the twenty-third chapter of Exodus, the Passover (i. e., the Paschal
Supper) is omitted altogether.
[6] John 13:1. The reader must carefully distinguish between verses such as this and those
verses where in our English version the word "feast" is in italics, denoting that it is not in the
original.
[7] Such, for instance, was the day of atonement (Leviticus 23:32) and also the weekly Sabbath.
But though the Passover was eaten between six o'clock and midnight, this period was
designated in the law, not the beginning of the 15th Nisan, but the evening or night of the 14th
(compare Exodus 12:6-8, and Leviticus 23:5). The 15th, or feast day, was reckoned, doubtless,
from six o'clock the following morning, for, according to the Mishna (Treatise Berachoth), the
day began at six o'clock a. m. These writers would have us believe that the disciples supposed
that they were there and then eating the Passover, and yet that they imagined Judas was
dispatched to buy what was needed for the Passover!
[8] Because the day ended at six o'clock. Moreover, we know from Jewish writers that these
offerings (called in the Talmud the Chagigah) were eaten between three and six o'clock, and
ceremonial uncleanness continued until six o'clock.
[9] in de paraskeua tou pascha, compare vers. 31 and 42, and also Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42;
Luke 23:54. Josephus (Ant., 16., 6, 2) cites an imperial edict relieving the Jews from appearing
before the tribunals either on the Sabbath or after the ninth hour of the preparation day. It is
unjustifiable to assert that the absence of the article in John 19:14 precludes our giving this
meaning to the word paraskeua in that passage. In three of the other five verses cited the word is
anarthrous, for in fact it had come to be the common name for the day, and the expression
"Passover Friday" was as natural to a Jew as is "Easter Monday" to ourselves. (See Alford's
note on Mark 15:42. Still more valuable is his explanation of Matthew 27:62.)
[10] Numbers 28:19-24. Compare Josephus, Ant., 3:10, 5.
[11] The present Jewish calendar is so adjusted that the 14th of Nisan shall never fall upon their
Sabbath (see Encyc. Brit., 9th ed., title, Hebrew Calendar); and this, doubtless, was so intended,
for the duties of the day were inconsistent with the due observance of the fourth commandment.
Therefore, the morrow after the Sabbath" following would invariably be a working day, so that
the law is perfectly consistent in providing that the sheaf should be waved on the first day of the
harvest. It is only, therefore, in a cycle of years that the true day for offering the first-fruits falls
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on the third day from the Passover; but in the year of the crucifixion, the great antitype, the
resurrection of Christ from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23), occurred upon the very day
Divinely appointed for the rite. It follows that the true day of Pentecost must always be on the
first day of the week (see Leviticus 23:15, 16), and therefore in that same year the true
Pentecost was, not the Sabbath day on which the Jews observed the feast, but the day which
followed it, a fact which confirms the presumption that the designedly ambiguous word used in
Acts 2:1, means "accomplished," in the sense of passed, and that it was when assembled on "the
first day of the week" that the Church received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
[12] In truth it could not but have been the greatest Sabbath of the year, and it is idle to pretend
that this is not sufficient to account for the mention made of it.
[13] The historical mention of the Passover in Hebrews 11:28 is of course no exception. It has
no place in the doctrine of the Epistle.
[14] The burnt-offering, with its meat-offering, the peace-offering (the chagigah of the
Talmud), and the sin-offering (Leviticus 1:4).
[15] No reverent mind will seek to analyze the meaning of such words, save in so far as they
testify to the great fact that His sufferings and death were in expiation of our sins. But the
believer will not tolerate a doubt as to the reality and depth of their meaning.
[16] Exodus 12:51. The Passover of the yearly celebration was but a memorial of the Passover
in Egypt, which was the true type. It was killed, moreover, not at the hour of the Lord's death,
but after that hour, between the ninth and the eleventh hour (Josephus, Wars, 6., 9, 3). "The
elucidation of the doctrine of types, now entirely neglected, is an important problem for future
theologians." This dictum of Hengstenberg's [Christology (Arnold's Ed.), § 765] may still be
recorded as a deserved reproach upon theology, and much that has been written in this
controversy might be quoted to prove its truth. The day of the resurrection was the anniversary
of the crossing of the Red Sea, and again of the resting of the Ark on Ararat (Genesis 8:4).
Nisan, which had been the seventh month, became the first month at the Exodus. (See Exodus
12:2; cf. Ordo. Saec., § 299.) On the 17th Nisan the renewed earth emerged from the waters of
the flood; the redeemed people emerged from the waters of the sea; and the Lord Jesus rose
from the dead.
.
CHAPTER X.
FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY
"THE secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us
and to our children." (Deuteronomy 29:29) And among the "things which are revealed" fulfilled
prophecy has a foremost place. In presence of the events in which it has been accomplished, its
meaning lies upon the surface. Let the facts of the Passion be admitted, and their relation to the
twenty-second Psalm is indisputable. There are profound depths of spiritual significance in the
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Psalmist's words, because of the nature of the facts which have fulfilled them; but the testimony which
the prophecy affords is addressed to all, and he who runs may read it. Is it possible then, it may be
asked, that the true interpretation of this prophecy of the Seventy Weeks involves so much inquiry and
discussion?
Such an objection is perfectly legitimate; but the answer to it will be found in distinguishing between
the difficulties which appear in the prophecy itself, and those which depend entirely on the
controversy to which it has given rise. The writings of Daniel have been more the object of hostile
criticism than any other portion of the Scripture, and the closing verses of the ninth chapter have
always been a principal point of attack. And necessarily so, for if that single passage can be proved to
be a prophecy, it establishes the character of the book as a Divine revelation. Daniel's visions
admittedly describe historical events between the days of Nebuchadnezzar and of Antiochus
Epiphanes; therefore skepticism assumes that the writer lived in Maccabean times. But this
assumption, put forward without even a decent pretense of proof, is utterly refuted by pointing to a
portion of the prophecy fulfilled at a later date; and accordingly it is of vital moment to the skeptic to
discredit the prediction of the Seventy Weeks.
The prophecy has suffered nothing from the attacks of its assailants, but much at the hands of its
friends. No elaborate argument would be necessary to elucidate its meaning, were it not for the
difficulties raised by Christian expositors. If everything that Christian writers have written on the
subject could be wiped out and forgotten, the fulfillment of the vision, so far as it has been in fact
fulfilled, would be clear upon the open page of history. Out of deference to these writers, and also in
the hope of removing prejudices which are fatal to the right understanding of the subject, these
difficulties have here been discussed. It now remains only to recapitulate the conclusions which have
been recorded in the preceding pages.
The scepter of earthly power which was entrusted to the house of David, was transferred to the
Gentiles in the person of Nebuchadnezzar, to remain in Gentile hands "until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled."
The blessings promised to Judah and Jerusalem were postponed till after a period described as
"seventy weeks"; and at the close of the sixty-ninth week of this era the Messiah should be "cut off."
These seventy weeks represent seventy times seven prophetic years of 360 days, to be reckoned from
the issuing of an edict for the rebuilding of the city — "the street and rampart," of Jerusalem.
The edict in question was the decree issued by Artaxerxes Longitmanus in the twentieth year of his
reign, authorizing Nehemiah to rebuild the fortifications of Jerusalem.
The date of Artaxerxes's reign can be definitely ascertained — not from elaborate disquisitions by
biblical commentators and prophetic writers, but by the united voice of secular historians and
chronologers.
The statement of St. Luke is explicit and unequivocal, that our Lord's public ministry began in the
fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. It is equally clear that it began shortly before the Passover, The date
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of it can thus be fixed as between August A.D. 28 and April A.D. 29. The Passover of the crucifixion
therefore was in A.D. 32, when Christ was betrayed on the night of the Paschal Supper, and put to
death on the day of the Paschal Feast.
If then the foregoing conclusions be well founded. we should expect to find that the period
intervening between the edict of Artaxerxes and the Passion was 483 prophetic years. And accuracy
as absolute as the nature of the case permits is no more than men are here entitled to demand. There
can be no loose reckoning in a Divine chronology; and if God has; deigned to mark on human
calendars the fulfillment of His purposes as foretold in prophecy, the strictest: scrutiny shall fail to
detect miscalculation or mistake.
The Persian edict which restored the autonomy of Judah was issued in the Jewish month of Nisan. It
may in fact have been dated the 1st of Nisan, but: no other day being named, the prophetic period
must be reckoned, according to a practice common with the Jews, from the Jewish New Year's Day.
[1] The seventy weeks are therefore to be computed from the 1st of Nisan B.C. 445. [2]
Now the great characteristic of the Jewish sacred year has remained unchanged ever since the
memorable night when the equinoctial moon beamed down upon the huts of Israel in Egypt,
bloodstained by the Paschal sacrifice; and there is neither doubt nor difficulty in fixing within narrow
limits the Julian date of the 1st of Nisan in any year whatever. In B.C.. 445 the new moon by which
the Passover was regulated was on the 13th of March at 7h. 9m. A. M. [3] And accordingly the 1st
Nisan may be assigned to the 14th March.
But the language of the prophecy is clear: "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and
to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks." An
era therefore of sixty-nine "weeks," or 483 prophetic years reckoned from the 14th March, B.C. 445,
should close with some event to satisfy the words, "unto the Messiah the Prince."
The date of the nativity could not possibly have been the termination of the period, for then the
sixty-nine weeks must have ended thirty-three years before Messiah's death.
If the beginning of His public ministry be fixed upon, difficulties of another kind present themselves.
When the Lord began to preach, the kingdom was not presented as a fact accomplished in His advent,
but as a hope the realization of which, though at the very door, was still to be fulfilled. He took up the
Baptist's testimony, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." His ministry was a preparation for the
kingdom, leading up to the time when in fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures He should publicly
declare Himself as the Son of David, the King of Israel, and claim the homage of the nation. It was
the nation's guilt that the cross and not the throne was the climax of His life on earth.
No student of the Gospel narrative can fail to see that the Lord's last visit to Jerusalem was not only in
fact, but in the purpose of it, the crisis of His ministry, the goal towards which it had been directed.
After the first tokens had been given that the nation would reject His Messianic claims, He had
shunned all public recognition of them. But now the twofold testimony of His words and His works
had been fully rendered, and His entry into the Holy City was to proclaim His Messiahship and to
receive His doom. Again and again His apostles even had been charged that they should not make
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Him known. But now He accepted the acclamations of "the whole multitude of the disciples," and
silenced the remonstrance of the Pharisees with the indignant rebuke, "I tell you if these should hold
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:39, 40)
The full significance of the words which follow in the Gospel of St. Luke is concealed by a slight
interpolation in the text. As the shouts broke forth from His disciples, "Hosanna to the Son of David!
blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord!" He looked off toward the Holy City
and exclaimed, "If thou also hadst known, even on this day, the things which belong to thy peace; but
now they are hid from thine eyes!" [4] The time of Jerusalem's visitation had come, and she knew it
not. Long ere then the nation had rejected Him, but this was the predestined day when their choice
must be irrevocable, — the day so distinctly signalized in Scripture as the fulfillment of Zechariah's
prophecy, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold thy King
cometh unto thee!" (Zechariah 9:9) Of all the days of the ministry of Christ on earth, no other will
satisfy so well the angel's words, unto Messiah the Prince."
And the date of it can be ascertained. In accordance with the Jewish custom, the Lord went up to
Jerusalem upon the 8th Nisan, "six days before the Passover." [5] But as the 14th, on which the
Paschal Supper was eaten, fell that year upon a Thursday, the 8th was the preceding Friday. He must
have spent the Sabbath, therefore, at Bethany; and on the evening of the 9th, after the Sabbath had
ended, the Supper took place in Martha's house. Upon the following day, the 10th Nisan, He entered
Jerusalem as recorded in the Gospels. [6]
The Julian date of that 10th Nisan was Sunday the 6th April, A.D. 32. What then was the length of the
period intervening between the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the public advent of
"Messiah the Prince," — between the 14th March, B.C. 445, and the 6th April, A.D. 32? THE
INTERVAL CONTAINED EXACTLY AND TO THE VERY DAY 173, 880 DAYS, OR SEVEN
TIMES SIXTY-NINE PROPHETIC YEARS OF 360 DAYS, the first sixty-nine weeks of Gabriel's
prophecy. [7]
Much there is in Holy Writ which unbelief may value and revere, while utterly refusing to accept it as
Divine; but prophecy admits of no half-faith. The prediction of the "seventy weeks" was either a gross
and impious imposture, or else it was in the fullest and strictest sense God-breathed. [8] It may be that
in days to come, when Judah's great home-bringing shall restore to Jerusalem the rightful owners of
its soil, the Jews themselves shall yet rake up from deep beneath its ruins the records of the great
king's decree and of the Nazarene's rejection, and they for whom the prophecy was given will thus be
confronted with proofs of its fulfillment. Meanwhile what judgment shall be passed on it by fair and
thoughtful men? To believe that the facts and figures here detailed amount to nothing more than happy
coincidences involves a greater exercise of faith than that of the Christian who accepts the book of
Daniel as Divine. There is a point beyond which unbelief is impossible, and the mind in refusing truth
must needs take refuge in a misbelief which is sheer credulity.
CHAPTER 10 FOOTNOTES
[1] "On the 1st of Nisan is a new year for the computation of the reign of kings, and for
festivals." — Mishna, treatise "Rosh Hash."
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[2] The wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the: month Elul, in fifty and two days"
(Nehemiah 6: l5). Now fifty-two days, measured back from the 25th Elul, brings us to the 3rd
Ab. Therefore Nehemiah must have arrived not later than 1st Ab, and apparently some days
earlier (Nehemiah 2:11). Compare this with Ezra's journey thirteen years before. "For upon the
first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth
month (Ab) came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him" (Ezra 7:9).
I infer therefore that Nehemiah also set out early in the first month.
The chronological parallelisms between the respective journeys of Ezra and Nehemiah have
suggested the ingenious theory that both went up to Jerusalem together, Ezra 7 and Nehemiah 2
relating to the same event. This is based upon the supposition that the regnal years of
Artaxerxes, according to Persian computation, were reckoned from his birth, a supposition,
however, which is fanciful and arbitrary, though described by its author as "by no means
unlikely" (Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch., 2., 110: Rev. D. H. Haigh, 4th Feb., 1873).
[3] For this calculation I am indebted to the courtesy of the Astronomer Royal, whose reply to
my inquiry on the subject is appended:
"ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH."
June 26th, I877.
"SIR, — I have had the moon's place calculated from Largeteau's Tables in Additions to
the Connaisance des Tems 1846, by one of my assistants, and have no doubt of its
correctness. The place being calculated for — 444, March 12d. 20h., French reckoning,
or March 12d. 8h. P. M., it appears that the said time was short of New Moon by about
8h. 47m., and therefore the New Moon occurred at 4h. 47m. A. M., March 13th, Paris
time."
I am, etc.,
" (Signed,) G. B. AIRY."
The new moon, therefore, occurred at Jerusalem on the 13th March, B. C. 445 (444
Astronomical) at 7h. 9m. A. M.
[4] ei egnos kai su kai ge en ta hamera tauta ta pros eipanan sou k. t. l. (Luke 19:42). The
received text inserts sou after hamera, but the best MSS. (Alex. Vat. Sin., etc.) agree in omitting
it. kai sou, "thou also, as well as these my disciples." kai ge et quidem — "even" (Alford, Gr.
Test. in loco). The Revised Version reads, "If thou hadst known in this day," etc.
[5] "When the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread on the eighth
day of the month Xanthicus, ' i. e., Nisan (Josephus, Wars, 6. 5, 3). "And the Jews' Passover was
nigh at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem, before the Passover, to purify
themselves…Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany" (John 11:55; 12:1).
[6] Lewin, Fasti Sacri, p. 230.
[7] The 1st Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (the edict to rebuild Jerusalem) was 14th
March, B. C. 445. The 10th Nisan in Passion Week (Christ's entry into Jerusalem) was 6th
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April, A. D. 32. The intervening period was 476 years and 24 days (the days being reckoned
inclusively, as required by the language of the prophecy, and in accordance with the Jewish
practice).
But 476 x 365= 173, 740 days
Add (14 March to 6th April, both inclusive) 24 days
Add for leap years 116 days
Equals a total of 173,880 days
And 69 weeks of prophetic years of 360 days (or 69 x 7 x 360) 173, 880 days.
It may be well to offer here two explanatory remarks. First; in reckoning years from B. C. to A.
D., one year must always be omitted; for it is obvious, ex. gr., that from B. C. 1 to A. D. I was
not two years, but one year. B. C. 1 ought to be described as B. C. 0, and it is so reckoned by
astronomers, who would describe the historical date B. C. 445, as 444. And secondly, the Julian
year is 11m. 10 46s., or about the 129th part of a day, longer than 'the mean solar year. The
Julian calendar, therefore, contains three leap years too many in four centuries, an error which
had amounted to eleven days in A. D. 17527 when our English calendar was corrected by
declaring the 3rd September to be the 14th September, and by introducing the Gregorian reform
which reckons three secular years out of four as common years; ex. gr., 1700, 1800 and 1900
are common years, and 2000 is a leap year. "Old Christmas day" is still marked in our
calendars, and observed in some localities, on the 6th January; and to this day the calendar
remains uncorrected in Russia. (See Appendix 4, p. 306 note 8.)
[8] theopneustos (2 Timothy 3:16).
.
CHAPTER XI.
PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION
"THIS is a work which I find deficient; but it is to be done with wisdom, sobriety, and reverence, or
not at all." Thus wrote Lord Bacon in treating of what he describes as "history of prophecy."
"The nature of such a work," he explains, "ought to be that every prophecy of the Scripture be sorted
with the event fulfilling the same, throughout the ages of the world, both for the better confirmation of
faith and for the better illumination of the Church touching those parts of prophecies which are yet
unfulfilled: allowing, nevertheless, that latitude which is agreeable and familiar unto Divine
prophecies; being of the nature of their Author with whom a thousand years are but as one day, and
therefore are not fulfilled punctually at once, but have springing and germinant accomplishment
throughout many ages, though the height or ruiness of them may refer to some one age."
If the many writers who have since contributed to supply the want Lord Bacon noticed, had given due
heed to these wise and weighty words, prophetic study might possibly have escaped the reproach
which comes of its followers being divided into hostile camps. With the Christian the fulfillment of
prophecy does not belong to the region of opinion, nor even of fact, merely; it is a matter of faith. We
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have a right, therefore, to expect that it shall be definite and clear. But though the principles and
maxims of interpretation gained by the study of that part of prophecy which was accomplished within
the era of Holy Writ are by no means to be thrown aside when we pass out into post-apostolic times,
surely there is no presumption against our finding hidden in the history of these eighteen centuries a
primary and partial fulfillment even of prophecies which will unquestionably receive a final and
complete accomplishment in days to come.
Only let us not forget the "wisdom, sobriety, and reverence" which such an inquiry demands. In our
day prophetic students have turned prophets, and with mingled folly and daring have sought to fix the
very year of Christ's return to earth, — predictions which possibly our children's children will recall
when another century shall have been added to the history of Christendom. If such vagaries brought
discredit only on their authors, it were well. But though broached in direct opposition to Scripture,
they have brought reproach on Scripture itself, and have given a stimulus to the jaunty skepticism of
the day. We might have hoped that whatever else might be forgotten, the last words which the Lord
Jesus spoke on earth would not be thus thrust aside:
"It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power."
(Acts 1:7)
But what was denied to inspired apostles in days of pristine faith and power, the prophecy-mongers of
these last days have dared to claim; and the result has been that the solemn and blessed hope of the
Lord's return has been degraded to the level of the predictions of astrologers, to the confusion and
grief of faithful hearts, and the amusement of the world.
Any man who, avoiding extravagant or fanciful views, both of history and of Scripture, points to
events in the present or the past as the correlatives of a prophecy, deserves a calm and unprejudiced
hearing from thoughtful men. But let him not forget that though the Scriptures he appeals to may thus
receive "germinant accomplishment," "the height or fullness of them may refer" to an age still future.
What is true of all Scripture is specially true of prophecy. It is ours to assign to it a meaning; but he
who really believes it to be Divine, will hesitate to limit its meaning to the measure of his own
apprehension of it.
The prophecies of Antichrist afford a signal and most apt illustration of this. Were it not for the
prejudice created by extreme statements, prophetic students would probably agree that the great
apostasy of Christendom displays in outline many of the main lineaments of the Man of Sin. There is,
indeed, in our day a spurious liberality that would teach us to forego the indictment which history
affords against the Church of Rome; but while no generous mind will refuse to own the moral worth
of those who, in England at least, now guide the counsels of that Church, the real question at issue
relates to the character, not of individuals, but of a system.
It is the part, therefore, not of intolerant bigotry, but of true wisdom, to search the records of the past
— terrible records, truly — for the means of judging of that system. The inquiry which concerns us is
not whether good men are found within the pale of Rome — as though all the moral excellence of
earth could avail to cover the annals of her hideous guilt! Our true inquiry is whether she has suffered
any real change in these enlightened days. Is the Church of Rome reformed? With what vehemence
the answer would be shrieked from every altar within her pale! And if not, let but dark days come
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again, and some of the foulest scenes and blackest crimes in the history of Christendom may be
re-enacted in Europe. "The true test of a man is not what he does, but what, with the principles he
holds, he would do;" and if this be true of individuals, it is still more intensely true of communities.
They do good service, therefore, who keep before the public mind the real character of Rome as the
present day development of the apostasy.
But when these writers go on to assert that the predictions of the Antichrist have their full and final
realization in the Papacy, their position becomes a positive danger to the truth. It is maintained at the
cost of rejecting some of the most definite of the prophecies, and of putting a lax or fanciful
interpretation upon those very Scriptures to which they appeal.
Indeed, the chief practical evil of this system of interpretation is that it creates and fosters a habit of
reading the Scriptures in a loose and superficial manner. General impressions, derived from a cursory
perusal of the prophecies, are seized upon and systematized, and upon this foundation a pretentious
superstructure is built up. As already noticed, the Church of Rome displays the chief moral lineaments
of the Man of Sin. Therefore it is an axiom of interpretation with this school that the ten-horned beast
is the Papacy. But of the beast it is written that "power was given to him over all kindreds and tongues
and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the
book of life." (Revelation 13:7, 8) Are these commentators aware that one-half of Christendom is
outside the pale of Rome, and in antagonism to the claims of the Papacy? Or do they suppose that all
who belong to the Greek and Protestant Churches are enrolled in the book of life? By no means. But
they would tell us the verse does not mean exactly what it says. [1]
Again, the ten-horned beast is the Papacy; the second beast, the false prophet, is the Papal clergy;
Babylon is Papal Rome. And yet when we turn to the vision of the judgment of Babylon, we find that
it is by the agency of the beast that her doom is accomplished! "And the ten horns which thou sawest,
and the beast, these shall hate the whore (Babylon), and shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall
eat her flesh and burn her with fire; for God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." "These have one mind,
and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." [2] The governments of Christendom,
therefore, are to lend their power to the Roman Pontiff and priesthood in order to the destruction of
Papal Rome! [3] Can absurdity be more transparent and complete?
The question here at issue must not be prejudiced by misrepresentations, or shirked by turning away
to collateral points of secondary moment. It is not whether great crises in the history of Christendom,
such as the fall of Paganism, the rise of the Papacy and of the Moslem power, and the Protestant
reformation of the sixteenth century, be within the, scope of the visions of St. John. This may readily
be conceded. Neither is it whether the fact that the chronology of some of these events is marked by
cycles of years composed of the precise multiples; of seventy specified in the book of Daniel and the
Apocalypse, be not a further proof that all forms; part of one great plan. Every fresh discovery of the
kind ought to be welcomed by all lovers of the truth. Instead of weakening confidence in the accuracy
and definiteness of the prophecies, it ought to strengthen the faith which looks for their absolute and
literal fulfillment. The question is not whether the history of Christendom was within the view of the
Divine Author of the prophecies, but whether those prophecies have been fulfilled; not whether those
Scriptures have the scope and meaning which historical interpreters assign to them, but whether their
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scope and meaning be exhausted and satisfied by the events to which they appeal as the fulfillment of
them. It is unnecessary, therefore, to enter here upon an elaborate review of the historical system of
interpretation, for if it fails when tested at some one vital point, it breaks down altogether.
Does the Apocalypse, then, belong to the sphere of prophecy accomplished? Or, to reduce the
controversy to a still narrower issue, have the visions of the seals and trumpets and vials been
fulfilled? No one will dispute the fairness of this mode of stating the question, and the fairest possible
method of dealing with it will be to set forth some one of the leading visions, and then quote fully and
verbatim what the historical interpreters put forward as the meaning of it.
The opening of the sixth seal is thus recorded by St. John:" And I beheld when he had opened the
sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and
the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is
rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said
to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to
stand?" (Revelation 6:12-17)
The following is Mr. Elliott's commentary upon the vision:
"When we consider," he declares, "the terrors of these Christ-blaspheming kings of the Roman earth,
thus routed with their partisans before the Christian host, and miserably flying and perishing, there
was surely that in the event which, according to the usual construction of such Scripture figures, might
well be deemed to answer to the symbols of the profigurative vision before us: in which vision kings
and generals, freemen and slaves, appeared flying to and seeking the caves of the rocks to hide them:
to hide them from the face of Him that sat on the throne of power, even from the wrath of the Lamb.
"Thus under the first shocks of this great earthquake had the Roman earth been agitated, and the
enemies of the Christians destroyed or driven into flight and consternation. Thus, in the political
heavens, had the sun of pagan supremacy been darkened, the moon become eclipsed and blood-red,
and of the stars not a few been shaken violently to the ground. But the prophecy had not as yet
received its entire fulfillment. The stars of the pagan heaven had not all fallen, nor had the heaven
itself been altogether rolled up like a scroll and vanished away. On Constantine's first triumph, and
after the first terrors of the opposing emperors and their hosts, though their imperial edict gave to
Christianity its full rights and freedom, yet it allowed to the heathen worship a free toleration also.
But very soon there followed measures of marked preference in the imperial appointments to the
Christians and their faith. And at length, as Constantine advanced in life, in spite of the indignation
and resentment of the pagans, he issued edicts for the suppression of their sacrifices, the destruction of
their temples, and the toleration of no other form of public worship but the Christian. His successors
on the throne followed up the same object by attaching penalties of the severest character to the public
profession of paganism. And the result was that, before the century, had ended, its stars had all fallen
to the ground, its very heaven, or political and religious system, vanished, and on the earth the old
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pagan institutions, laws, rites, and worship been all but annihilated." [4]
"A more notable instance of inadequate interpretation cannot be imagined." [5] What wonder if men
scoff at the awful warnings of coming wrath, when they are told that THE GREAT DAY OF HIS
WRATH [6] is past, and that it amounted to nothing more than the rout of the pagan armies before the
hosts of Constantine, — an event which has been paralleled a thousand times in the history of the
world? [7]
For, let the point at issue be clearly kept in view. If the reign of Constantine or some other era in the
history of Christendom were appealed to as affording an intermediate fulfillment of the vision, it
might pass as a feeble but harmless exposition; but these expositors daringly assert that the prophecy
has no other scope or meaning. [8] They are bound to prove that
the vision of the sixth seal has been fulfilled; else it is obvious that all which follows it claims
fulfillment likewise. If, therefore, their system failed at this point alone, its failure would be absolute
and complete; but in fact the instance quoted is no more than a fair example of the manner in which
they fritter away the meaning of the words they profess to explain.
We are now, they tell us, in the era of the Vials. At this very hour the wrath of God is being poured out
upon the earth. [9] Surely men may well exclaim, — comparing the present with the past, and judging
this age to be more favored, more desirable to live in than any age which has preceded it, — Is this all
the wrath of God amounts to! The vials are the seven last plagues, "for in them is filled up the wrath
of God," and we are told that the sixth is even at this moment being fulfilled in the disruption of the
Turkish Empire! Can any man be so lost in the dreamland of his own lucubrations as to imagine that
the collapse of the Turkish power is a Divine judgment on an unrepentant world! [10] Such it may
appear to be to the clique of Pachas, who, ghoul-like, fatten on the misery around them; but untold
millions would hail it as a blessing to suffering humanity, and ask with wonder, If this be a crowning
token of the wrath of God, how are simple souls to distinguish between the proofs of His favor and of
His direst anger!
If the event were cited as a primary fulfillment, within this day of grace, of a prophecy which strictly
belongs to the coming day of wrath, it would merit respectful attention; but to appeal to the
dismemberment of Turkey as the full realization of the vision, is the merest trifling with the solemn
language of Scripture, and an outrage on common sense.
But there are principles involved in this system of interpretation far deeper and more momentous than
any which appear upon the surface. It is in direct antagonism with the great foundation truth of
Christianity.
St. Luke narrates (Luke 4:19, 20) how, after the temptation, the Lord "returned in the power of the
Spirit into Galilee," and entering the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath day, as His custom was,
He stood up to read. There was handed Him the book of Isaiah's prophecy, and all eyes being fastened
on Him, He opened it and read these words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
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"And the day of vengeance of our God" are the words which followed, without a break, upon the open
page before Him; but, the record adds, "He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and
sat down." In an age to come, when the prophecy shall have its ultimate fulfillment, the day of
vengeance shall mingle with blessing to His people. [11] But the burden of His ministry on earth was
only peace. [12] And it is the burden of the gospel still. God's attitude toward men is grace. "GRACE
REIGNS." It is not that there is grace for the penitent or the elect, but that grace is the principle on
which Christ now sits upon the throne of God. "Upon His head are many crowns, but His pierced
hand now holds the only scepter," for the Father has given Him the kingdom; all power is His in
heaven and on earth. "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son;" (John
5:22; Compare 3:17; 12:47) but His mission to earth was not to judge, but only to save. And He who
is thus the only Judge is now exalted to be a Savior, and the throne on which He sits is a throne of
grace. Grace is reigning, through righteousness, unto eternal life. (Romans 5:21) "The light of this
glorious gospel now shines unhindered upon earth. Blind eyes may shut it out, but they cannot quench
or lessen it. Impenitent hearts may heap up wrath against the day of wrath, but they cannot darken this
day of mercy or mar the glory of the reign of grace." [13]
It will be in "the day of wrath" that the "seven last plagues," wherein is "filled up the wrath of God,"
shall run their course; and it is merely trifling with solemn and awful truths to talk of their being now
fulfilled. Whatever intermediate fulfillment the vision may be now receiving, the full and final
realization of it belongs to a future time.
And these pages are not designed to deal with the primary and historical fulfillment of the prophecies,
or, as Lord Bacon terms it, their "springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages."
My subject is exclusively the absolute and final fulfillment of the visions in that "one age" to which,
in their "height and fullness," they belong.
The Scripture itself affords many striking instances of such intermediate or primary fulfillment; and in
these the main outlines of the prophecy are realized, but not the details. The prediction of Elijah's
advent is an instance. [14] In the plainest terms the Lord declared the Baptist's ministry to be within
the scope of that prophecy. In terms as clear He announced that it would be fulfilled in days to come,
by the reappearance upon earth of the greatest of the prophets. (Matthew 11:14; 17:11, 12) St. Peter's
words at Pentecost afford another illustration. Joel's prophecy shall yet be realized to the letter, but yet
the baptism of the Holy Ghost was referred to it by the inspired Apostle. (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-21.)
To speak of the fulfillment of these prophecies as already past, is to use language at once unscriptural
and false. Far more unwarrantable still is the assertion of finality, so confidently made, of the
prophecies relating to the apostasy. There is not a single prophecy, of which the fulfillment is recorded
in Scripture, that was not realized with absolute accuracy, and in every detail; and it is wholly
unjustifiable to assume that a new system of fulfillment was inaugurated after the sacred canon closed.
Two thousand years ago who would have ventured to believe that the prophecies of Messiah would
receive a literal accomplishment!
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son." (Isaiah 7:14)
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"Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." (Zechariah 9:9)
"They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver;" "And I took the thirty pieces of silver and
cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord." (Zechariah 11:12, 13; Compare Matthew 27:5,
7)
"They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Psalm 22:18 Compare
John 19:23, 24.)
"They pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalm 22:16)
"They gave me vinegar to drink." (Psalm 69:21)
"He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was He
stricken." (Isaiah 53:8)
To the prophets themselves, even, the meaning of such words was a mystery. (1 Peter 1:10-12) For the
most part, doubtless, men regarded them as no more than poetry or legend. And yet these prophecies
of the advent and death of Christ received their fulfillment in every jot and tittle of them. Literalness
of fulfillment may therefore be accepted as an axiom to guide us in the study of prophecy.
CHAPTER 11 FOOTNOTES
[1] According to these interpreters, such a statement must be taken cum grano salis, as we term
it; and the like remark applies to their rendering of every verse of the thirteenth chapter of
Revelation.
[2] Revelation 17:16, 17, 13. In ver. 16 the best reading, as given in the Revised Version, is
"and the beast," instead of "upon the beast."
[3] Mr. Elliott's romance on this subject is disposed of by the events of recent years, which have
made Rome the peaceful capital of Italy. Of the beast and false prophet it is written, "These
both were cast alive into a lake of fire" (Revelation 19:20). It may be pleasing to Protestant zeal
to suppose the Roman hierarchy and priesthood are "reserved" for such a fate.
[4] Horae Apoc., vol. 1., pp. 219, 220.
[5] "Another such landmark is found, I believe, in the interpretation of the sixth seal: if it be not
indeed already laid down in what has just been said. We all know what that imagery means in
the rest of Scripture. Any system which requires it to belong to another period than the close
approach of the great day of the Lord, stands thereby self-condemned. I may illustrate this by
reference to Mr. Elliott's continuous historical system, which requires that it should mean the
downfall of paganism under Constantine. A more notable instance of inadequate interpretation
cannot be imagined. "Closely connected with this last is another fixed point in interpretation. As
the seven seals, so the seven trumpets and the seven vials run on to the time close upon the end.
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At the termination of each series, the note is unmistakably given that such is the case. Of the
seals we have already spoken. As to the trumpets, it may suffice to refer to ch. 10:7; 11:18; as to
the vials, to their very designation tas eschatas, and to the gegonen of ch. 16:17. Any system
which does not recognize this common ending of the three, seems to me to stand thereby
convicted of error." — ALFORD, Gr. Test., 4., Part 2., ch. 8., §§ 5, 21, 22.
[6] ha hamera ha megala tas orgas autou (Revelation 6:17).
[7] If such statements were put forward in wantonness, and not in folly, they would suggest a
reference to the solemn words, "If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy —" (Revelation 22:19).
[8] When the historical interpreters approach the Second Advent, they lose the courage of their
opinions, and earnestly contend for literalness, though if their scheme be genuine, the predicted
return of Christ may surely have its fulfillment in the present revival of religion and the
concurrent spread of Christianity.
[9] And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last
plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God…And the seven angels came out of the
temple, having the seven plagues…And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven
golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever…And I heard a great voice
out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath
of God upon the earth" (Revelation 15:1, 6, 7; 16:1).
[10] The Austrian Pester Lloyd of 21st Nov., 1879, in commenting on the British line of policy
with regard to Turkish affairs, charged Lord Beaconsfield's government with "confounding
Mohammedanism with the Turks, the latter having been always regarded as the scum of
Mohammedanism by all Mohammedan nations who were conscious of their own strength."
Prophetic students appear to be thoroughly possessed by this error.
[11] Compare Isaiah 63:4: "For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my
redeemed is come."
[12] "He came and preached peace" (Ephesians 2:17).
[13] The Gospel and its Ministry, p. 136. True it is that the great principles of God's moral
government of the world remain unchanged, and sin is thus ever working out its own
punishment. But this must not be confounded with immediate Divine action in judgment. "The
Lord knoweth how to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment, to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9).
Or, according to Romans 2:5, "After thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto
thyself wrath against the day of wrath."
[14] "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord" (Malachi. 4:5).
.
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CHAPTER XII.
FULLNESS OF THE GENTILES
THE main stream of prophecy runs in the channel of Hebrew history. This indeed is true of all
revelation. Eleven chapters of the Bible suffice to cover the two thousand years before the call of
Abraham, and the rest of the old Testament relates to the Abrahamic race. If for a while the light of
revelation rested on Babylon or Susa, it was because Jerusalem was desolate, and Judah was in exile.
For a time the Gentile has now gained the foremost place in blessing upon earth; but this is entirely
anomalous, and the normal order of God's dealings with men is again to be restored. "Blindness in
part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved,
as it is written." [1]
The Scriptures teem with promises and prophecies in favor of that nation, not a tithe of which have
yet been realized. And while the impassioned poetry in which so many of the old prophecies are
couched is made a pretext for treating them as hyperbolical descriptions of the blessings of the
Gospel, no such plea can be urged respecting the Epistle to the Romans. Writing to Gentiles, the
Apostle of the Gentiles there reasons the matter out in presence of the facts of the Gentile
dispensation. The natural branches of the race of Israel have been broken off from the olive tree of
earthly privilege and blessing, and, "contrary to nature," the wild olive branches of Gentile blood have
been substituted for them. But in spite of the warning of the Apostle, we Gentiles have become "wise
in our own conceits," forgetting that the olive tree whose "root and fatness" we partake of, is
essentially Hebrew, for "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."
The minds of most men are in bondage to the commonplace facts of their experience. The prophecies
of a restored Israel seem to many as incredible as predictions of the present triumphs of electricity and
steam would have appeared to our ancestors a century ago. While affecting independence in judging
thus, the mind is only giving proof of its own impotence or ignorance. Moreover, the position which
the Jews have held for eighteen centuries is a phenomenon which itself disposes of every seeming
presumption against the fulfillment of these prophecies.
It is not a question of how a false religion like that of Mahomet can maintain an unbroken front in
presence of a true faith; the problem is very different. Not only in a former age, but in the early days
of the present dispensation, the Jews enjoyed a preference in blessing, which practically amounted
almost to a monopoly of Divine favor. In its infancy the Christian Church was essentially Jewish. The
Jews within its pale were reckoned by thousands, the Gentiles by tens. And yet that same people
afterwards became, and for eighteen centuries have continued to be, more dead to the influence of the
Gospel than any other class of people upon earth. How can "this mystery," as the Apostle terms it, be
accounted for, save as Scripture explains it, namely, that the era of special grace to Israel closed with
the period historically within the Acts of the Apostles, and that since that crisis of their history
"blindness in part is happened" to them?
But this very word, the truth of which is so clearly proved by public facts, goes on to declare that this
judicial hardening is to continue only "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in;" and the inspired
Apostle adds, "And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the
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Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them." [2]
But, it may with reason be demanded, does not this imply merely that Israel shall be brought within
the blessings of the Gospel, not that the Jews shall be blessed on a principle which is entirely
inconsistent with the Gospel? Christianity, as a system, assumes the fact that in a former age the Jews
enjoyed a peculiar place in blessing:
"Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made
unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy." (Romans 15:8, 9)
But the Jews have lost their vantage-ground through sin, and they now stand upon the common level
of ruined humanity. The Cross has broken down "the middle wall" which separated them from
Gentiles. It has leveled all distinctions. As to guilt "there is no difference, for all have sinned;" as to
mercy "there is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call on Him." How then,
if there be no difference, can God give blessing on a principle which implies that there is a difference?
In a word, the fulfillment of the promises to Judah is absolutely inconsistent with the distinctive truths
of the present dispensation.
This question is one of immense importance, and claims the most earnest consideration. Nor is it
enough to urge that the eleventh chapter of Romans itself supposes that in this age the Gentile has an
advantage, though not a priority, and, therefore, Israel may enjoy the like privilege hereafter. It is part
of the same revelation, that although grace stoops to the Gentile just where he is, it does not confirm
him in his position as a Gentile, but lifts him out of it and denationalizes him; for in the Church of
this dispensation "there is neither Jew nor Gentile." [3] Judah's promises, on the contrary, imply that
blessing will reach the Jew as a Jew, not only recognizing his national position, but confirming him
therein.
The conclusion, therefore, is inevitable, that before God can act thus, the special proclamation of
grace in the present dispensation must have ceased, and a new principle of dealing with mankind must
have been inaugurated.
But here the difficulties only seem to multiply and grow. For, it may be asked, does not the
dispensation run its course until the return of Christ to earth? How then can Jews be found at His
coming in a place of blessing nationally, akin to that which they held in a bygone age? All will admit
that Scripture seems to teach that such will be the case. [4] The question still remains whether this be
really intended. Does Scripture speak of any crisis in relation to the earth, to intervene before "the day
when the Son of man shall be revealed "?
No one who diligently seeks the answer to this inquiry can fail to be impressed by the fact that at first
sight some confusion seems to mark the statements of Scripture with respect to it. Certain passages
testify that Christ will return to earth, and stand once more on that same Olivet on which His feet last
rested ere He ascended to His Father; (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11, 12) and others tell us as plainly that
He will come, not to earth, but to the air above us, and call His people up to meet Him and be with
Him. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17) These Scriptures again most clearly prove that it is His believing
people who shall be "caught up," (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52) leaving the
world to run its course to its destined doom; while other Scriptures as unequivocally teach that it is
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not His people but the wicked who are to be weeded out, leaving the righteous "to shine forth in the
kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:40-43) And the confusion apparently increases when we
notice that Holy Writ seems sometimes to represent the righteous who are to be thus blessed as Jews,
sometimes as Christians of a dispensation in which the Jew is cast off by God.
These difficulties admit of only one solution, a solution as satisfactory as it is simple; namely, that
what we term the second advent of Christ is not a single event, but includes several distinct
manifestations. At the first of these He will call up to Himself the righteous dead, together with His
own people then living upon earth. With this event this special "day of grace" will cease, and God will
again revert to "the covenants" and "the promises," and that people to whom the covenants and
promises belong (Romans 9:4) will once more become the center of Divine action toward mankind.
Everything that God has promised is within the range of the believer's hope; [5] but this is its near
horizon. All things wait on its accomplishment. Before the return of Christ to earth, many a page of
prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, but not a line of Scripture bars the realization of this the Church's
special hope of His coming to take His people to Himself. Here, then, is the great crisis which will put
a term to the reign of grace, and usher in the destined woes of earth's fiercest trial — "the days of
vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22)
To object that a truth of this magnitude would have been stated with more dogmatic clearness is to
forget the distinction between doctrinal teaching and prophetic utterance. The truth of the second
advent belongs to prophecy, and the statements of Scripture respecting it are marked by precisely the
same characteristics as marked the Old Testament prophecies of Messiah. [6]
"The sufferings of Christ and the glories which should follow" were foretold in such a way that a
superficial reader of the old Scriptures would have failed to discover that there were to be two advents
of Messiah. And even the careful student, if unversed in the general scheme of prophecy, might have
supposed that the two advents, though morally distinct, should be intimately connected in time. So is
it with the future. Some regard the second advent as a single event; by others its true character is
recognized, but they fail to mark the interval which must separate its first from its final stage. An
intelligent apprehension of the truth respecting it is essential to the right understanding of unfulfilled
prophecy.
But having thus clearly fixed these principal landmarks to guide us in the study, we cannot too
strongly deprecate the attempt to fill up the interval with greater precision than Scripture warrants.
There are definite events to be fulfilled, but no one may dogmatize respecting the time or manner of
their fulfillment. No Christian who estimates aright the appalling weight of suffering and sin which
each day that passes adds to the awful sum of this world's sorrow and guilt, can fail to long that the
end may indeed be near; but let him not forget the great principle that "the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation," (2 Peter 3:15) nor yet the language of the Psalm, "A thousand years in Thy sight are but
as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." (Psalm 90:4) There is much in Scripture
which seems to justify the hope that the consummation will not be long delayed; but, on the other
hand, there is not a little to suggest the thought that before these final scenes shall be enacted,
civilization will have returned to its old home in the east, and, perchance, a restored Babylon shall
have become the center of human progress and of apostate religion. [7]
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To maintain that long ages have yet to run their course would be as unwarrantable as are the
predictions so confidently made that all things shall be fulfilled within the current century. It is only in
so far as prophecy is within the seventy weeks; of Daniel that it comes within the range of chronology
at all, and Daniel's vision primarily relates to Judah and Jerusalem. [8]
CHAPTER 12 FOOTNOTES
[1] Romans 11:25, 26. The coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles must not be confounded
with the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24). The one refers to spiritual
blessing, the other to earthly power. Jerusalem is not to be the capital of a free nation,
independent of Gentile power, until the true Son of David comes to claim the scepter.
[2] Romans 11:25, 26. Not every Israelite, but Israel as a nation (Alford, Gr. Test., in loco).
[3] Galatians 3:28. Contrast these with the Lord's words in John 4:22, "Salvation is of the
Jews."
[4] In proof of this, appeal may be made to these very prophecies of Daniel; and later
prophecies testify to it still more plainly, notably the book of Zechariah.
[5] "We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth" (2 Peter 3:13). Long
ages of time and events innumerable must intervene before the realization of this hope, and yet
the believer is looking for it.
[6] For an admirable treatise on these characteristics of prophecy, see Hengstenberg's
Christology, Kregel Publications.
[7] Isaiah 13 appears to connect the final fall of Babylon with the great day that is coming
(comp. Vers. 1, 9, 10, 19.); and in Jeremiah 1 the same event is connected with the future
restoration and union of the two houses of Israel (ver. 20). I make the suggestion, however,
merely as a caveat against the idea that we have certainly reached the last days of the
dispensation. If the history of Christendom should run on for another thousand years, the delay
would not discredit the truth of a single statement in Holy Writ.
[8] No one of Daniel's visions, indeed, has a wider scope. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel treat of
Israel (or the ten tribes); but Daniel deals only with Judah.
.
CHAPTER XIII.
SECOND SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THE connecting link between the past and the future, between the fulfilled and the unfulfilled in
prophecy, will be found in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
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The chief Messianic promises are grouped in two great classes, connected respectively with the names
of David and of Abraham, and the New Testament opens with the record of the birth and ministry of
Messiah as "the Son of David, the son of Abraham;" (Matthew 1:1) for in one aspect of His work He
was "a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the
fathers." (Romans 15:8) The question of the Magi, "Where is He that is born king of the Jews?"
aroused a hope which was part of the national politics of Judah; and even the base Idumean who then
usurped the throne was sensible of its significance: "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
[1]
And when the proclamation afterwards was made, first by John the Baptist, and finally by the Lord
and His apostles, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," the Jews knew well its import. It was not "the
Gospel," as we understand it now, but the announcement of the near fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy.
[2] And the testimony had a twofold accompaniment. "The Sermon on the Mount" is recorded as
embodying the great truths and principles which were associated with the Kingdom Gospel; and the
attendant miracles gave proof that all was Divine. And in the earlier stages of the ministry of Christ,
His miracles were not reserved for those whose faith responded to His words; the only qualification
for the benefit was that the recipient should belong to the favored race. "Go not into the way of the
Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." [3] Such was the
commission under which the twelve went forth through that little land, to0 every corner of which their
Master's fame had gone before them. (Matthew 4:24, 25)
But the verdict of the nation, through its accredited and responsible leaders, was a rejection of His
Messianic claims. [4] The acts and words of Christ recorded in the twelfth chapter of Matthew were
an open and deliberate condemnation and defiance of the Pharisees, and their answer was to meet in
solemn council and decree His death. (Matthew 12:1- 14) From that hour His ministry entered upon a
new phase. The miracles continued, for He could not meet with suffering and refuse to relieve it; but
those whom thus He blessed were charged "that they should not make Him known." (Matthew 12:16)
The Gospel of the Kingdom ceased; His teaching became veiled in parables, [5] and the disciples
were forbidden any
longer to testify to His Messiahship. (Matthew 16:20)
The thirteenth chapter is prophetic of the state of things which was to intervene between the time of
His rejection and His return in glory to claim the place which in His humiliation was denied Him.
Instead of the proclamation of the Kingdom, He taught them "the mysteries of the Kingdom."
(Matthew 13:11) His mission changed its character, and instead of a King come to reign, He described
Himself as a Sower sowing seed. Of the parables which follow, the first three, spoken to the
multitude, described the outward results of the testimony in the world; the last three, addressed to the
disciples, [6] speak of the hidden realities revealed to spiritual minds.
But these very parables, while they taught the disciples in the plainest terms that everything was
postponed which the prophets had led them to look for in connection with the Kingdom, taught them
no less clearly that the day would surely come when all should be fulfilled; when evil should be
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rooted out, and the Kingdom established in righteousness and peace. (Matthew 13:41-43) They thus
learned that there was to be an "age" of which prophecy took no account, and another "Advent" at its
close; and "the second Sermon on the Mount" was the Lord's reply to the inquiry, "What shall be the
sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" [7]
The twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew has been well described as "the anchor of apocalyptic
interpretation," and "the touchstone of apocalyptic systems." [8] The fifteenth verse specifies an event
and fixes an epoch, by which we are enabled to connect the words of the Lord with the visions of St.
John, and both with the prophecies of Daniel. The entire passage is obviously prophetic, and its
fulfillment clearly pertains to the time of the end. The fullest and most definite application of the
words must therefore be to those who are to witness their accomplishment. To them it is that the
warning is specially addressed, against being deceived through a false hope of the immediate return of
Christ. [9]
A series of terrible events are yet to come; but "these are the beginning of sorrows;" "the end is not
yet." How long these "sorrows" shall continue is not revealed. The first sure sign that the end is near
will be the advent of the fiercest trial that the redeemed on earth have ever known. The fulfillment of
Daniel's vision of the defilement of the Holy Place is to be the signal for immediate flight; "for then
shall be the great tribulation," (Vers. 15-21. Compare Daniel 11:1.) unparalleled even in Judah's
history. But, as already noticed, this last great persecution belongs to the latter half of Daniel's
seventieth week, and therefore it affords a landmark by which we can determine the character and fix
the order of the chief events which mark the closing scenes foretold in prophecy.
With the clew thus obtained from the Gospel of St. Matthew, we can turn with confidence to study the
Apocalyptic visions of St. John. But first it must be clearly recognized that in the twenty-fourth of
Matthew, as in the book of Daniel, Jerusalem is the center of the scene to which the prophecy relates;
and this of necessity implies that the Jews shall have been restored to Palestine before the time of its
fulfillment. [10]
Objections based on the supposed improbability of such an event are sufficiently answered by
marking the connection between prophecy and miracle. The history of the Abrahamic race, to which
prophecy is so closely related, is little else than a record of miraculous interpositions. "Their passage
out of Egypt was miraculous. Their entrance into the promised land was miraculous. Their prosperous
and their adverse fortunes in that land, their servitudes and their deliverances, their conquests and
their captivities, were all miraculous. The entire history from the call of Abraham to the building of
the sacred temple was a series of miracles. It is so much the object of the sacred historians to describe
these that little else is recorded… There are no historians in the sacred volume of the period in which
miraculous intervention was withdrawn. After the declaration by the mouth of Malachi that a
messenger should be sent to prepare the way, the next event recorded by any inspired writer is the
birth of that messenger. But of the interval of 400 years between the promise and the completion no
account is given." [11]
The seventy years from Messiah's birth to the dispersion of the nation were fruitful in miracle and
prophetic fulfillment. But the national existence of Israel is as it were the stage on which alone the
drama of prophecy can, in its fullness, be displayed; and from the Apostolic age to the present hour,
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not a single public event can be appealed to as affording indisputable proof of immediate Divine
intervention upon earth. [12] A silent heaven is a leading characteristic of the dispensation in which
our lot is cast. But Israel's history has yet to be completed; and when that nation comes again upon the
scene, the element of miraculous interpositions will mark once more the course of events on earth.
On the other hand, the analogy of the past would lead us to expect a merging of the one dispensation
in the other, rather than an abrupt transition; and the question is one of peculiar interest on general
grounds, whether passing events are not tending towards this very consummation, the restoration of
the Jews to Palestine.
The decline of the Moslem power is one of the most patent of public facts; and if the dismemberment
of the Turkish Empire be still delayed, it is due entirely to the jealousies of European nations, whose
rival interests seem to render an amicable distribution of its territories impossible. But the crisis
cannot be deferred indefinitely; and when it arrives, the question of greatest moment, next to the fate
of Constantinople, will be, What is to become of Palestine? Its annexation by any one European state
is in the highest degree improbable. The interests of several of the first-rate Powers forbid it. The way
will thus be kept open to the Jews, whenever their inclinations or their destinies lead them back to the
land of their fathers.
Not only would no hostile influence hinder their return, but the probabilities of the case (and it is with
probabilities that we are here concerned) are in favor of the colonization of Palestine by that people to
whom historically it belongs. There is some reason to believe that a movement of this kind has
already begun; and if, whether by the Levant becoming a highway to India, or from some other cause,
any measure of prosperity should return to those shores that were once the commercial center of the
world, the Jews would migrate thither in thousands from every land.
True it is that to colonize a country is one thing, while to create a nation is another. But the testimony
of Scripture is explicit that Judah's national independence is not to be regained by diplomacy or the
sword. Jerusalem is to remain under Gentile supremacy until the day when Daniel's visions shall be
realized. In the language of Scripture, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." [13] But long ere then the Cross must supplant the Crescent in Judea, else
it is incredible that the Mosque of Omar should give place to the Jewish Temple on the Hill of Zion.
If the operation of causes such as those above indicated, conjointly with the decay of the Moslem
power, should lead to the formation of a protected Jewish state in Palestine, possibly with a military
occupation of Jerusalem by or on behalf of some European Power or Powers, nothing more need be
supposed than a religious revival among the Jews, to prepare the way for the fulfillment of the
prophecies. [14]
"God has not cast away His people;" and when the present dispensation closes, and the great purpose
has been satisfied for which it was ordained, the dropped threads of prophecy and promise will again
be taken up, and the dispensation historically broken off in the Acts of the Apostles, when Jerusalem
was the appointed center for God's people on earth, [15] will be resumed. Judah shall again become a
nation, Jerusalem shall be restored, and that temple shall be built in which the "abomination of
desolation" is to stand. [16]
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CHAPTER 13 FOOTNOTES
[1] Matthew 2:3. It must not be imagined that it was any religious emotion which disturbed the
king. The announcement of the Magi was to him what the news of the birth of an heir is to an
heir-presumptive. The Magi asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" Herod's
inquiry, therefore, to the Sanhedrin was, "Where should Messiah be born?" and on being
referred to the prophecy which so plainly designated Bethlehem, he determined to destroy every
infant child in that city and district. Herod and the Sanhedrin had not learned to spiritualize the
prophecies.
[2] Cf. Pusey, Daniel, p. 84
[3] Matthew 10:5-8. The chapter is prophetic, in keeping with the character of the book, and
reaches on to the testimony of the latter days (see ex. gr., ver. 23).
[4] In our own time the Jews have had the temerity to publish a translation of the Mishna, and
the reader who will peruse its treatises can judge with what contempt and loathing the Lord
must have regarded the religion of those miserable men. The treatise Sabbath will afford an
invaluable commentary on the twelfth of Matthew. The Mishna is a compilation of the oral
traditions of the Rabbins, made in the second century, A. D., to prevent their being lost by the
dispersion — the very traditions, many of them, which prevailed when the Lord was on earth,
and which He so unsparingly condemned as undermining the Scriptures, for then as now the
Jews regarded them as possessing a Divine sanction. (Cf Lindo's Jewish Cal., Introd.; Milman's
Hist. Jews, Book 18.)
[5] Matthew 13:3, 13. "From the expression ardzato in Mark, compared with the question of the
disciples in ver. 10, — and with ver. 34, — it appears that this was the first beginning of our
Lord's teaching by parables, expressly so delivered, and properly so called. And the natural
sequence of things here agrees with and confirms Matthew's arrangement against those who
would place (as Ebrard) all this chapter before the Sermon on the Mount. He there spoke
without parables, or mainly so; and continued to do so till the rejection and misunderstanding
of His teaching led to His judicially adopting the course here indicated, choris par. ouden elalei
autois." — ALFORD, Gr. Test, Matthew 13:3.
[6] As were also the interpretations of the Parables of the Sower and of the Tares.
[7] Matthew 24:3. "As He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him."
Compare Matthew 5:1" He went up into a mountain, and when He was set, His disciples came
unto Him." The Sermon on the Mount unfolded the principles on which the Kingdom would be
set up. The King having been rejected by the nation, the second Sermon on the Mount unfolded
the events which must precede His return
[8] Alford, Gr. Test., vol. 4., Pt. 2. Proleg. Rev.
[9] Matthew 24:4, 6. That is, the final stage of the advent; not His coming as foretold in 1
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Thessalonians 4 and elsewhere, which has no signs preceding.
To refer verse 5 to the times of Barcochab involves a glaring anachronism. The primary
reference in vers. 15-20, and, therefore, of the earlier portion of the prophecy, was to the period
ending with the destruction of Jerusalem.
[10] The question of their restoration to a place of blessing spiritually has already been
discussed.
[11] Clinton, Fasti H., vol. 1., p. 243.
[12] There is, doubtless, what may be called the private miracle of individual conversion, and
the believer has transcendental proof not only of the existence of God, but of His presence and
power with men.
[13] Luke 21:24. That is, till the end of the period during which earthly sovereignty, entrusted
to Nebuchadnezzar twenty-five centuries ago, is to remain with the Gentiles.
[14] The following extract from the Jewish Chronicle of 9th Nov., 1849, is quoted in Mr.
Newton's Ten Kingdoms (2nd Ed., p. 401): "The European Powers will not need to put
themselves to the trouble of restoring the Jews individually or collectively. Let them but confer
upon Palestine a constitution like that of the United States…and the Jews will restore
themselves. They would then go cheerfully and willingly, and would there piously bide their
time for a heaven-inspired Messiah, who is to restore Mosaism to its original splendor."
[15] Gentiles were then admitted within the pale, not on an equality, but in some sense as
proselytes had been received within the nation. The Church was essentially Jewish. The temple
was their place of resort (Acts 2:46; 3:1, 5:42). Their testimony was in the line of the old
prophecies to the nation (ibid. 3:19-26.), and even when scattered by persecution, the apostles
remained in the metropolis, and those who were driven abroad evangelized only among the
Jews (ibid. 8:1, 4, and 11:19). Peter refused to go among Gentiles save after a special revelation
to him (ibid. 10.), and he was put on his defense before the Church for going at all (ibid.
11:2-18. Comp. chap. 15.)
[16] Scattered among the people will be a "remnant," who will "keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17); Jews, and yet Christians;
Jews, but believers in the Messiah, whom the nation will continue to reject until the time of His
appearing. It must be obvious to the thoughtful mind that such prophecies as the twenty-fourth
of Matthew imply that there will be a believing people to be comforted and guided by them at
the time and in the scene of their fulfillment.
.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PATMOS VISIONS
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NARROWNESS of interpretation is the bane of apocalyptic study. "The words of this prophecy,"
"Things which must shortly come to pass'" such is the Divine description of the Book of the
Revelation and of its contents. No one, therefore, is justified in denying to any portion of it a future
application. The Book in its entirety is prophetic. Even the seven epistles, though they were
undoubtedly addressed to Churches then existing, and though their intermediate reference to the
history of Christendom is also clear, may well have a special voice in days to come for those who are
to enter the fierce trials that shall precede the end. [1]
In the fourth chapter the throne is set in heaven. Judgment now waits on grace; but when the day of
grace is past, judgment must intervene ere the promises and covenants, with all their rich store of
blessings, can be fulfilled. But who can unfold that scroll that lies on the open hand of Him who sits
upon the throne? (Revelation 5:2) No creature in the universe [2] may dare to look on it, and God
Himself will not break a single seal of it, for the Father has ceded the prerogative of judgment. The
ministry of grace may be shared by all whom grace has blessed, but the Son of man is the only Being
in the universe who can take the initiative in judgment; (John 5:22-27) and amid the anthems of the
heavenly beings round the throne, and the swelling chorus of myriads of myriads of angels, echoed
back by the whole creation of God, the Crucified of Calvary, "a Lamb, as it had been slain," takes up
the book and prepares to break the seals. (Revelation 5:5-14)
It is at the fifth seal that the vision crosses the lines of the chronology of prophecy. [3] Of the earlier
seals, therefore, it is unnecessary to speak in detail. They are evidently descriptive of the events to
which the Lord referred in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, as preceding the great final
persecution; — wars and unceasing threats of war, kingdoms in arms rushing on one another to
destruction; and then famine, to be followed again by pestilence, hunger and the sword still claiming
their victims, and others being seized by strange and nameless deaths in the ever-gathering horrors of
these cumulative woes. (Revelation 6:2-8)
According to the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, the tribulation is to be followed immediately by
the signs and portents which the old prophets have declared will herald "the great and terrible day of
the Lord." So in the Apocalypse the martyrs of the tribulation are seen in the fifth seal, (Revelation 9)
and in the sixth, the advent of the great day of wrath is proclaimed, the precise events being named
which the Lord had spoken of on the Mount of Olives, and Joel and Isaiah had foretold long centuries
before. [4]
Like the dull, oppressive calm which precedes the fiercest storms, there is silence in heaven when the
last seal is broken, (Revelation 8:1) for the day of vengeance has dawned. The events of the earlier
seals were Divine judgments, doubtless, but of a providential character, and such as men can account
for by secondary causes. But God has at length declared Himself, and as it has been in the past, so
now, the occasion is an outrage committed on His people. The cry of martyrs is come up in
remembrance before God, (Revelation 3) and it is the signal for the trumpet blasts which herald the
outpouring of the long-pent-up wrath. (Revelation 6)
To write a commentary on the Apocalypse within the limits of a chapter would be impossible, and the
attempt would involve a departure from the special purpose and subject of these pages. But it is
essential to notice and keep in view the character and method of the Apocalyptic visions. The seer, be
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it remembered, was not privileged to read a single line of what was written "within and on the back
side" of the sealed scroll of the fifth chapter; but as each seal was broken, some prominent
characteristic of a portion of its contents was communicated to him in a vision. The main series of the
visions, therefore, represent events in their chronological sequence. But their course is occasionally
interrupted by parenthetical or episodical visions; sometimes, as between the sixth and seventh seals,
reaching on to the time of the end, and more frequently, as between the sixth and seventh trumpets,
representing details chronologically within the earlier visions. The first and most important step,
therefore, towards a right understanding of the Apocalypse is to distinguish between the serial and the
episodical visions of the Book, and the following analysis is offered to promote and assist inquiry
upon the subject. [5] —
Chap. 6. — The visions of the first six seals; representing events in their chronological order.
[Chap. 7. — Parenthetical; the first vision relating either to the faithful remnant of the fifth seal,
or to an election in view of the judgments of the seventh seal; the second, reaching on to the
final deliverance.]
Chaps. 8, 9. — The opening of the seventh seal. The visions of the first six trumpets;
consecutive judgments, in their chronological order.
[Chaps. 10. -11. 13. — Parenthetical, containing the hidden mystery of the seven thunders
(10:3, 4) and the testimony of the witnesses (the latter being probably within the era of the fifth
seal.)]
Chap. 11:15-19. — The seventh trumpet; the third and last woe (comp. 8:13; 9:12; 11:14),
preceding the establishment of the kingdom (comp. 10:7; 11:15).
[Chaps. 12. -18. — Parenthetical]
Chap. 13. — The rise and career of the two great blasphemers and persecutors of the last days.
Chap. 14. — The remnant of chap. 7. seen in blessedness. The everlasting Gospel (vers. 6, 7).
The fall of Babylon (ver. 8). The doom of the worshippers of the Beast (vers. 9-11). The
revelation of Christ, and final judgments, (vers. 14-20).
Chap. 15. — A vision of events chronologically within chapter 8., the opening the seventh seal.
(This appears from the fact that the faithful of the fifth seal are here represented as praising God
in view of the judgments impending, — see vers. 2-4; which judgments are within the seventh
seal.)
Chap. 16. — The seven vials; a second series of visions of the events of the seven trumpets.
This appears —
First, because the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial both relate to the final catastrophe. Under the
seventh trumpet, the mystery of God is finished (10:7), and the temple of God is opened, and there are
lightnings, voices, thunders, and an earthquake (11:19). Under the seventh vial, "It is done!" is heard
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from the temple, and there are voices, thunders, lightnings, and an earthquake (16:17, 18).
Second, because the sphere of the judgments is the same in the correlative visions of both series:
1, The earth.
2, The sea.
3, The rivers.
4, The sun.
5, The pit, the seat of the beast.
6, Euphrates.
7, Heaven, the air.
[Chaps. 17., 18. — Detailed visions of the development and doom of Babylon, "the harlot,"
whose fall has been within the seventh trumpet and seventh vial; the last series of judgments of
the seventh seal (11:18; 16:19).]
Chap. 19: The doom of the harlot being accomplished (ver. 2), the glory of the bride follows
(ver. 7); the glorious revelation of Christ, and the destruction consequent thereon of the beast
and false prophet (ver. 20).
Chap. 20. — Satan is bound. The millennial reign of the saints (vers. 1-4). After the millennial
reign, Satan is loosed, and once more deceives the nations. Satan is cast into the lake of fire.
The judgment of the Great White Throne.
Chaps. 21., 22:1-5. — The new heaven and new earth
Chap. 22:6-21. — Conclusion. [6]
As the last trumpet and the last vial embrace the final judgments of the day of vengeance, which
precede the advent of the glorious kingdom, they necessarily include the doom of the two great
antichristian powers of the last days, — the imperial represented by the ten-horned beast, and the
ecclesiastical typified by the scarlet woman. The visions of the thirteenth and seventeenth chapters,
therefore, are interposed, descriptive of the rise and development of these powers. These accordingly
give us details which relate to events within the earlier seals, for the martyrs of the fifth seal are the
victims of the great persecutor of the thirteenth chapter.
If the foregoing scheme be correct in the main, the eras included in the Revelation may be divided
thus:
1. The seven Churches; the transitional period following the close of the Christian
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dispensation." [7]
2. The seven seals; the period during which all that prophecy has foretold shall precede the
kingdom will be fulfilled.
3. The kingdom; to be followed, after a final interval of apostasy, by —
4. The eternal state; the new heaven and new earth.
It is manifestly within the period of the seals that the prophecies of Daniel have their fulfillment, and
the next inquiry should be directed to ascertain the points of contact between the visions of St. John
and the earlier prophecies.
As already noticed, it is only in so far as prophecy falls within the seventy weeks that it comes within
the range of human chronology. And further, the seventieth week will be a definite period, of which
the epoch of the middle and the end are definitely marked. The epoch of the first week, that is, of the
prophetic period as a whole, was not the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet the rebuilding of
their temple, but the signing of the Persian decree which restored their national position. So also the
beginning of the last week will date, not from their restoration to Judea, nor yet from the future
rebuilding of their shrine, but from the signing of the treaty by "the coming Prince," which probably
will once more recognize them as a nation. [8]
But it is obvious that this personage must have attained to power before the date of that event; and it is
expressly stated (Daniel 7:24) that his rise is to be after that of the ten kingdoms which are hereafter
to divide the Roman earth. It follows, therefore, that the development of these kingdoms, and the rise
of the great Kaiser who is to wield the imperial scepter in the last days, must be prior to the beginning
of the seventieth week. [9]
And within certain limits, we can also fix the order of the subsequent events. The violation of the
treaty by the defilement of the Holy Place is to occur "in the midst of the week." (Daniel 9:27) That
event, again, is to be the epoch of the great persecution by Antichrist, (Matthew 24:15- 21) which is to
last precisely three and a half years; for his power to persecute the Jews is to be limited to that definite
period. (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." (Matthew 24:29) Such is the statement of the
twenty-fourth of Matthew; and the sixth of Revelation exactly coincides with it, for the vision of the
fifth seal embraced the period of "the tribulation"; and when the sixth seal was opened, "the sun
became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood," and the cry went forth, "The great
day of His wrath is come." (Revelation 6:12, 17) In keeping with this, again, is the prophecy of Joel.
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day
of the Lord come." (Joel 2:31) The events of this day of vengeance are the burden of the vision of the
seventh seal, including the judgment of Babylon, the scarlet woman — or the religious apostasy — by
the agency of the imperial power (Revelation 17:16, 17) the beast, whose fearful end is to bring the
awful drama to a close. (Revelation 19:20) We have definite grounds, therefore, for assigning the
following order to the events of the last days:
1. The development of the ten kingdoms.
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2. The appearance within the territorial limits of these kingdoms of an eleventh "king," who
will subdue three of the ten, and will ultimately be accepted as Suzerain by all.
3. The making of a treaty by this king with, or in favor of, the Jews. The epoch of the seventieth
week.
4. The violation of the treaty by this king after three and a half years.
5. "The great tribulation" of Scripture, the awful persecution of the last days, which shall
continue three and a half years.
6. The deliverance of the Jews from their great enemy, to be followed by their final
establishment in blessing. The close of the seventieth week.
7. "The great and terrible day of the Lord," the period of the seventh seal, beginning with a
revelation of Christ to His people in Jerusalem, accompanied by appalling manifestations of
Divine power and ending with His last glorious advent.
That the seventieth week will be the last seven years of the dispensation, and the term of the reign of
Antichrist, is a belief as old as the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. But a careful examination of
the statements of Scripture will lead to some modification of this view. The fulfillment to Judah of the
blessings specified in Daniel 9:24 is all that Scripture expressly states will mark the close of the
seventieth week. Antichrist will then be driven out of Judea; but there is no reason whatever to
suppose he will otherwise lose his power. As already shown, the seventieth week ends with the period
of the fifth seal, whereas the fall of Babylon is within the era of the seventh seal. No one may assert
that that era will be of long duration, and it will probably be brief; but the only certain indication of its
length is that it will be within a single lifetime, for at its close the Antichrist is to be seized alive, and
hurled to his awful doom (Revelation 19:20).
The analogy of the past might lead us to expect that the events foretold to occur at the end of the
seventieth week would follow immediately at its close. But the Book of Daniel expressly teaches that
there will be an interval. Whatever view be taken of the earlier portion of the eleventh of Daniel, it is
clear that "the king" of the thirty-sixth and following verses is the great enemy of the last days. His
wars and conquests are predicted, [10] and the twelfth chapter opens with the mention of the predicted
time of trouble, "the great tribulation" of Matthew and Revelation. The seventh verse specifies the
duration of the "time of trouble" as "a time, times, and a half," which, as already shown, is the half
week, or 1, 260 days. But the eleventh verse expressly declares that from the date of the event which
is to divide the week, and which, according to Matthew 24., is to be the signal of persecution, there
shall be 1, 290 days; and the twelfth verse postpones the blessing to 1, 335 days, or seventy-five days
beyond the close of the prophetic weeks.
If therefore "the day of the Lord" follows immediately upon the close of the seventieth week, it seems
that Judah's complete deliverance is not to take place until after that final period has begun. And this
is expressly confirmed by the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah. It is a prophecy than which none is
more definite, and the difficulties which beset the interpretation of it are in no degree overcome by
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refusing to read it literally. It seems to teach that at that time Jerusalem is to be taken by the allied
armies of the nations, and that at the moment when a host of prisoners are being led away, God will
intervene in some miraculous way, as when He destroyed the army of Pharaoh at the Exodus [11]
Comparison with the prophecy of the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew is the surest and strictest
test which can be applied to these conclusions. After fixing the epoch and describing the character of
the great persecution of the last days, the Lord thus enumerates the events which are to follow at its
close:— First the great natural phenomena predicted; then the appearance of the sign of the Son of
man in heaven; then the mourning of the tribes of the land; [12] and finally the glorious advent.
That there will be no interval between the persecution and the "great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11)
which are to follow it, is expressly stated; they are to occur "immediately after the tribulation." That
an interval shall separate the other events of the series is equally clear. From the defilement of the
Holy Place, to the day when the tribulation shall end, and the "fearful sights" and "great signs" from
heaven shall strike terror into men's hearts, shall be a definite period of 1,260 days; [13] and yet when
He goes on to speak of the Advent, the Lord declares that that day is known to the Father only: it
should be His people's part to watch and wait. He had already warned them against being deceived by
expecting His Advent before the fulfillment of all that must come to pass (Matthew 24:4-28). Now He
warns them against apostasy after the accomplishment of all things, because of the delay which even
then shall still mark His coming. [14]
The words of Christ are unequivocally true, and He never enjoins upon His people to live in
expectation of His coming, save at a time when nothing intervenes to bar the fulfillment of the hope.
Fatalism is as popular among Christians as with the worshippers of Mahomet; and it is forgotten that
though the dispensation has run its course these eighteen centuries, it might have been brought to a
close at any moment. Hence the Christian is taught to live, "looking for that blessed hope." (Titus
2:12, 13) It will be otherwise in days to come, when the present dispensation shall have closed with
the first stage of the Advent. Then the word will be, not "Watch, for ye know not what hour your Lord
doth come," (Matthew 24:42) — that belongs to the time when all shall have been fulfilled, — but
"Take heed that no man deceive you, all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
(Matthew 4:6)
CHAPTER 14 FOOTNOTES
[1] The Bible is not intended for the present dispensation only, but for the people of God in
every age; and it is incredible that they who are to be so severely tried shall fail to find in it
words specially fitted and intended to counsel and comfort them in view of what they are to
endure. "This prophecy" is the Divine description of the Apocalypse as a whole (Revelation
1:3). Compare the "must shortly come to pass" of Revelation 1:1 with the "must shortly be
done" of 22:6. The salutation (1:4, 5) seems to fix the dispensational place of the Book as
future. It is not the Father, but Jehovah; not the Lord Jesus Christ, but "Jesus Christ the faithful
witness, the Prince of the kings of the earth;" and the Book speaks from a time when the Holy
Spirit, as a person, will again be in heaven, to join in the salutation, which He never does in the
Epistles of the New Testament. Revelation 1:19 is frequently quoted to prove that the Book is
divided, and that the latter part only is prophetic. In refutation of this, I appeal to the most
candid of apocalyptic commentators, Dean Alford, who thus translates the verse: "Write
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therefore the things which thou sawest, and what things they signify, and the things which are
about to happen after these." He explains "the things which thou sawest" to be "the vision
which was but now vouchsafed thee," and the closing words as "the things which shall succeed
these, i. e., a future vision" (Greek Test., in loco).
In ch. 4:1, Alford inclines to give to the second meta tauta the general meaning of "hereafter."
But the presumption is; that the words are used at the end of the verse in the same sense as at
the beginning, i. e., "after these things." The words imply that the fulfillment of the subsequent
visions should be future, relatively to the fulfillment of the preceding vision, and not relatively
merely to the time when the vision was given, which was a matter of course.
[2] Revelation 3. It is not, as in English Version, "no man," but oudeis. The Revised Version
properly reads "no one."
[3] Because the fifth seal relates to the great persecution of the future, which, as already
noticed, is within the seventieth week. The first four seals relate to the events preceding in time
the fulfillment of the fifteenth verse of the twenty-fourth of Matthew. Compare the sixth and
seventh verses of that chapter with Revelation 6:1-8.
[4] "The day of the Lord cometh…The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come" (Joel 2:1-31). "The day of the
Lord cometh…The sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her
light to shine" (Isaiah 13:9, 10). "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matthew
24:29). "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" (Luke 21:25). "The
sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood" (compare Joel 2:31),
"and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth" (Revelation 6:12, 13).
I entirely agree with the following note of Dean Alford's (Greek Test., Matthew 24:29): "Such
prophecies are to be understood literally, and indeed, without such understanding would lose
their truth and significance. The physical signs shall happen as accompaniments and
intensification's of the awful state of things which the description typifies." Not of course that
the moon will really become blood, any more than that the stars will fall. The words describe
phenomena which men will witness, and which will strike terror into their hearts.
[5] The passages containing the parenthetical visions are marked in square brackets.
[6] I purposely pass over chap. 12, because of the exceptional difficulties which attend the
interpretation of it. "Anything within reasonable regard for the analogies and symbolism of the
text seems better that the now too commonly received historical interpretation, with its wild
fancies and arbitrary assignments of words and figures" (Alford, Greek Test., Revelation 12:15,
16). The only reasonable interpretation I have seen is that which regards the "man-child, who
was to rule all nations with a rod of iron," and who "was caught up to God and His throne," as
being the Lord Jesus Christ, and the woman as representing that people of whom, as concerning
the flesh, Christ came" (Romans 9:5). But the objections to this are considerable. First, past
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historical facts are thus introduced into a vision relating to the future. I am not aware of any
other instance of this in Scripture. Secondly, the main features of the vision after ver. 5 are not
accounted for by the facts.
The following remarks are offered merely to assist inquiry and not at all as expressing a formed
opinion on the matter. The 1, 260 days during which the woman is persecuted is precisely the
period of "the great tribulation." Ver. 7 declares that during the woman's flight, Michael the
Archangel fought on her behalf. Daniel 12:1, referring to the time of Antichrist's power, states
that "at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of the
people; and there shall be a time of trouble," etc., describing "the great tribulation" which is to
continue 1, 260 days.
Again, the Old Scriptures clearly point to the career of a future David, a deliverer of the Jews,
who will become their earthly leader at that time, and reign over them in Jerusalem afterwards.
See, e. g., Ezekiel 22-25, about David the Prince, who is certainly not Christ, seeing he is to
have a palace in Jerusalem and a definite inheritance in the land, and who, moreover, is to offer
burnt-offerings, etc. (Ezekiel 45:17). I suppose this is the great military conqueror of Isaiah
43:1-3. May not the Revelation 12 refer to this personage, who is to be Christ's vicegerent on
earth, and who will, in fact, rule over all nations.
[7] That is, assuming that this portion of the Book has a prophetical aspect.
[8] I do not assert that he will have reached the zenith of his power before that date. On the
contrary, it seems extremely probable that the treaty with the Jews will be one of the steps by
which he will raise himself to the place he is destined to hold, and that as soon as he has
attained his end, he will throw off the mask and declare himself a persecutor. So Irenaeus
teaches, and he possibly gives what was the tradition of the apostolic age.
[9] He is neither king of the north nor of the south, for both these kings shall invade his territory
(ver. 40), i. e., the powers which shall then respectively possess Syria and Egypt.
[10] The day of battle" (Zechariah 14:3). The prophet adds: "And His feet shall stand on that
day upon the Mount of Olives." I cannot conceive how any one can suppose this to be the great:
and final advent in glory as described in Matthew 24:30 and other Scriptures. "The prophecy
(Zechariah 14) seems literal. If Antichrist be the leader of the nations, it seems inconsistent with
the statement that he will at this time be sitting in the temple as God at Jerusalem; thus
Antichrist outside would be made to besiege Antichrist within the city. But difficulties do not
set aside revelations; the event will clear up seeming difficulties" (Fausset's Commentary, in
loco). It is idle to speculate on such a matter, but I presume the city will have revolted against
the great enemy during his absence at the head of the armies of the empire, and that thereupon
he will turn back to reconquer it. History repeats itself. Moreover, there is no reason to believe
that he will reside in Jerusalem, though presumably he will have a palace there, and as part of a
blasphemous pageant, will sit enthroned in the temple. That Jerusalem should be captured by a
hostile army at such a time will seem less strange if it be remembered first that the true people
of God therein shall have warning to leave the city at the beginning of these troubles (Matthew
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24:15, 16.), and secondly, that the deliverance of the capital is to be tile last act in the
deliverance of Judah (See Zechariah 12:7).
[11] Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall "the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven,
with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:29, 30).
[12] kopsontai pasai ai phulai tas gas. Comp. Zechariah 12:12 (LXX), kopsetai ha ga kata
phulas phulas.
[13] Therefore if the Advent synchronized with these events, any one then living would be able
to fix the date of it, once the epoch of the tribulation were known; whereas the chapter clearly
shows that an interval will follow after all has been fulfilled, long enough to weed out mere
professors, who, tired of waiting, will apostatize (Matthew 24:48), and to lull, even true
disciples to a sleep from which their Lord's return will rouse them (Ibid. 25:5).
[14] Matthew 24:42-51, and 25:10-13: "THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins." tote, "at the period spoken of at the end of the last chapter, viz., the coming of the
Lord to His personal reign" (Alford, Gr. Test., in loco.)] Though applicable to every age in
which there is a waiting people on earth, the parable will have its full and special application in
the last days to those who shall be looking back on the complete page of prophecy fulfilled. The
entire passage from chap. 24:31, to chap. 25:30, is parenthetical, relating especially to that time.
.
CHAPTER XV.
THE COMING PRINCE
"WHAT is it that all Europe is looking for?" — the words are quoted from a leading article in the
Times newspaper, on the recent finding of Agamemnon's tomb. [1] "What is it that all Europe is
looking for? It is the KING OF MEN, the great head of the Hellenic race, the man whom a thousand
galleys and a hundred thousand men submitted to on a simple recognition of his personal qualities,
and obeyed for ten long years…The man who can challenge for his own the shield of Agamemnon,
now waiting for the challenge, is the true Emperor of the East, and the easiest escape from our present
difficulties."
The realization of this dream will be the fulfillment of prophecy.
True it is that popular movements characterize the age, rather than the power of individual minds. It is
an age of mobs. Democracy, not despotism, is the goal towards which civilization is tending. But
democracy in its full development is one of the surest roads to despotism. First, the revolution; then,
the plebiscites; then, the despot. The Caesar often owes his scepter to the mob. A man of transcendent
greatness, moreover, never fails to leave his mark upon his times. And the true King of Men must
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have an extraordinary combination of great qualities. He must be "a scholar, a statesman, a man of
unflinching courage and irrepressible enterprise, full of resources, and ready to look in the face a rival
or a foe." [2] The opportunity too must synchronize with his advent. But the voice of prophecy is
clear, that the HOUR is coming, and the MAN.
In connection with this dream or legend of the reappearance of Agamemnon, it is remarkable that the
language of Daniel's second vision has led some to fix on Greece as the very place in which the Man
of prophecy shall have his rise; [3] and it leaves no doubt whatever that he will appear within the
territorial limits of the old Grecian empire.
Having predicted the formation of the four kingdoms into which Alexander's conquests became
divided at his death, the angel Gabriel — the divinely-appointed interpreter of the vision — proceeded
thus to speak of events which must take place in days to come. "In the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall
destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself
in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but
he shall be broken without hand." [4]
In the vision of the seventh chapter, the last great monarch of the Gentiles was represented only as a
blasphemer and a persecutor: "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
the saints of the Most High;" but here he is described as being also a general and a diplomatist.
Having thus obtained a recognized place in prophecy, he is alluded to in the vision which follows as
"the Prince who is coming," (Daniel 9:26) — a well-known personage, whose advent had already
been foretold; and the mention of him in Daniel's fourth and final vision is so explicit, that having
regard to the vital importance of establishing the personality of this "King," the passage is here set
forth at length.
"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above
every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished. for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God
of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
But in his estate he shall honor the God of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most
strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall
cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the
king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall
overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be
overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the
children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt
shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the
precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of
the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy,
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and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in
the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time
shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall
be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." [5]
The burden of Daniel's prophecies is Judah and Jerusalem, but the Apocalyptic visions of the beloved
disciple have a wider scope. The same scenes are sometimes presented, but they are displayed upon a
grander scale. The same actors appear, but in relation to larger interests and events of greater
magnitude. In Daniel, the Messiah is mentioned only in relation to the earthly people, and it is in the
same connection also that the false Messiah comes upon the stage. In the Apocalypse the Lamb
appears as the Savior of an innumerable multitude "out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and
tongues," (Revelation 7:9) and the Beast is seen as the persecutor of all who name the name of Christ
on earth. The visions of St. John, moreover, include an opened heaven, while the glimpses Daniel was
vouchsafed of "things to come" are limited to earth.
The attempt to fix the meaning of every detail of these visions is to ignore the lessons to be derived
from the Messianic prophecies fulfilled at the first advent. [6] The old Scriptures taught the pious Jew
to look for a personal Christ — not a system or a dynasty, but a person. They enabled him, moreover,
to anticipate the leading facts of His appearing. Herod's question, for example, "Where should Christ
be born?" admitted of a definite and unhesitating answer, "In Bethlehem of Judea." (Matthew 2:4; Cf.
Micah 5:2) But to assign its place and meaning to every part of the mingled vision of suffering and
glory was beyond the power even of the inspired prophets themselves." (1 Peter 1:10-12) So also is it
with the prophecies of Antichrist. The case indeed is stronger still, for while they "who waited for
redemption in Israel" had to glean the Messianic prophecies from Scriptures which seemed to the
careless reader to refer to the sufferings of the old Hebrew prophets or the glories of their kings, the
predictions of Antichrist are as distinct and definite as though the statements were historical and not
prophetic. [7]
And yet the task of the expositor is beset with real difficulties. If the book of Daniel might be read by
itself no question whatever could arise. "The Coming Prince" is there presented as the head of the
revived Roman empire of the future, and a persecutor of the saints. There is not a single statement
respecting him that presents the smallest difficulty. But some of the statements of St. John seem
inconsistent with the earlier prophecies. According to Daniel's visions the sovereignty of Antichrist
appears confined to the ten kingdoms, and his career seems limited to the duration of the seventieth
week. How then can this be reconciled with the statement of St. John that "power was given him over
all kindreds and tongues and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him "? [8] Is it
credible, moreover, that a man endowed with such vast supernatural powers, and filling so marvelous
a place in prophecy, will be restrained within the narrow limits of the Roman earth?
If these points be urged as objections to the truth of Scripture it is enough to mark that the prophecies
of Christ were beset with kindred difficulties. Such prophecies are like the disjointed pieces of an
elaborate and intricate mosaic. To fit each into its place would baffle our utmost ingenuity. To
discover the main design is all we can expect; or if more be demanded of us, it is enough to show that
no part is inconsistent with the rest. And these results will reward the student of the Apocalyptic
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visions of Daniel and St. John, if only he approach them untrammeled by the crude views which
prevail respecting the career of Antichrist.
These visions are not a history, but a drama. In the twelfth chapter of Revelation we see the woman in
her travail. In the twenty-first chapter she is manifested in her final glory. The intervening chapters
afford brief glimpses of events which fill up the interval. It is with the thirteenth and seventeenth
chapters that we have specially to do in connection with the present subject, and it is clear that the
later vision unfolds events which come first in the order of time.
The false church and the true are typified under kindred emblems. Jerusalem, the Bride, has its
counterpart in Babylon, the Harlot. In the same sense in which the New Jerusalem is the Jewish
church, so likewise Babylon is the apostasy of Rome. The heavenly city is mother of the redeemed for
ages past (Galatians 4:26) the earthly city is mother of the harlots and abominations of the earth.
(Revelation 17:5) The victims who have perished in the persecutions of Antichristian Papal Rome are
estimated at fifty millions of human beings; but even this appalling record will not be the measure of
her doom. The blood of "holy apostles and prophets," — the martyred dead of ages before the Papacy
arose, and even of pre-Messianic times, will be required of her when the day of vengeance comes. [9]
As it is only in its Jewish aspect that the Church is expressly symbolized as the Bride, [10] so also it is
at a time when this, their normal relationship, has been regained by the covenant people, that the
apostate church of Christendom, in the full development of its iniquity, appears as the Harlot [11] The
vision clearly indicates moreover a marked revival of her influence. She is seen enthroned upon the
ten-horned Beast, herself arrayed in royal hues and decked with gold and costliest gems. The
infamous greatness of Papal Rome in times gone by shall yet be surpassed by the splendor of her
glories in dark days to come, when, having drawn within her pale it may be all that usurps the name of
Christ on earth, [12] she will claim as her willing vassal the last great monarch of the Gentile world.
As regards the duration of this period of Rome's final triumphs, Scripture is silent; but the crisis which
brings it to a close is definitely marked. "The ten horns and the Beast shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire." (Revelation 17:16)
One point in the angel's description of the Beast in relation to the harlot claims special notice. The
seven heads have a twofold symbolism. When viewed in connection with the harlot, they are "seven
mountains on which the woman sits;" but in their special relation to the Beast they have a different
significance. The angel adds, "and they are seven kings;" that is "kingdoms," the word being used
"according to its strict prophetic import, and to the analogy of that portion of the prophecy which is
here especially in view." [13]
In the seventh chapter of Daniel the Beast is identified with the Roman Empire. In the thirteenth of
Revelation he is identified also with the lion, the bear, and the panther, the three first "kingdoms'" of
Daniel's vision. But here he is seen as the heir' and representative, not of these alone, but of all the
great world-powers which have set themselves; in opposition to God and to His people. The seven
heads typify these powers. "Five are fallen, and one is." Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, Persia, Greece, had
fallen; and Rome then held the scepter of earthly sovereignty, the sixth in succession to the empires
already named. [14] "And the other is not yet come, and when he cometh he must continue a short
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space," Here the prophecy is marked by the same strange "foreshortening" already noticed in each of
Daniel's visions. While Rome was the sixth kingdom, the seventh is the confederacy of the latter days,
heading up in "the Coming Prince." The Coming Prince himself, in the full and final development of
his power, is called the eighth, though belonging to the seven, [15] The importance of these
conclusions will appear in the sequel.
The subject of the twelfth chapter is the dragon, the woman in her travail, the birth of the man-child
and his rapture to heaven; the conflict in heaven between the archangel and the dragon; (Verse 7;
Compare Daniel 12:1.) the dragon's banishment to earth; his persecution of the woman, and her flight
to the wilderness, where she is sustained for "a time, and times, and half a time," or 1, 260 days
(Verses 6, 14.) (the second half of Daniel's seventieth week). The chapter ends by the statement that,
baffled in attempting to destroy the woman, the dragon "went to make war with the remnant of her
seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." The thirteenth
chapter, crossing the lines of Daniel's visions, represents the fulfillment of the dragon's purpose
through the agency of the man of prophecy, whom he energizes to this end. Whatever meaning be
attached to the birth and rapture of the woman's child, there can be no reasonable doubt that the
obedient, faithful "remnant of her seed" is the Jewish Church of the latter days, the persecuted "saints
of the Most High" of Daniel's prophecy.
The serpent, the woman, and the man, appear together on the earliest page of Scripture, and they
reappear upon the latest. But how significant and terrible the change! No longer the subtle tempter,
Satan is now displayed in all his awfulness as the great fiery dragon, [16] who seeks to destroy the
woman's promised seed. And instead of the humbled penitent of Eden, the man appears as a wild
beast, [17] a monster, both in power and wickedness. The serpent's victim has become his willing
slave and ally.
God has found a man to fulfill all His will, and to Him He has given up His throne, with all power in
heaven and "on earth." This will hereafter be travestied by Satan, and the coming man shall have the
dragon's "power, and his throne, and great authority." (Revelation 8:2) Both the Dragon and the Beast
are seen crowned with royal diadems. (Revelation 12:3; 13:1.) Once, and only once, again in
Scripture the diadem is mentioned, and then it is as worn by Him whose name is "King of kings and
Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:12-16) It must be as pretenders to His power that the Beast and the
Dragon claim it.
The personality of Satan and his interest in and close connection with our race throughout its history,
are among the most certain though most mysterious facts of revelation. The popular classification of
angels, men, and devils, as including intelligent creation, is misleading. The angels [18] that fell are
"reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the Great Day." (Jude 6)
Demons are frequently mentioned in the narrative of the Gospels, and they have also a place in the
doctrine of the Epistles. But THE DEVIL is a being who, like the Archangel, seems, in his own
domain, to have no peer [19] .
Another fact which claims notice here is the hold which serpent worship has had upon mankind.
Among the nations of the ancient world there was scarcely one in whose religious system it had not a
place. In heathen mythology there is scarcely a hero or a god whose history is not connected in some
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way with the sacred serpent. "Wherever the devil reigned the serpent was held in some peculiar
veneration." [20]
The true significance of this depends on a just appreciation of the nature of idol worship. It may be
questioned whether idolatry as popularly understood has ever prevailed except among the most
debased and ignorant of races. It is not the emblem that is worshipped, but a power or being which the
emblem represents. When the Apostle warned the Corinthian Church against participating in anything
devoted to an idol, he was careful to explain that the idol in itself was nothing. "But" (he declared)
"the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God, and I would not that ye
should have fellowship with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20.)
This will afford an insight into the character of the predicted serpent worship of the last days. [21]
Satan's master lie will be a travesty of the incarnation: he will energize a man who will claim
universal worship as being the manifestation of the Deity in human form. And not only will there be a
false Messiah, but another being, his equal in miraculous power, yet having for his only mission to
obtain for him the homage of mankind. The mystery of the Godhead will thus be parodied by the
mystery of iniquity, and the Father, the Son, and the Spirit will have their counterpart in the Dragon,
the Beast, and the False Prophet. [22]
A silent heaven marks this age of grace. Whirlwind and earthquake and fire may awe, yet, as in the
days of the old Hebrew prophet, [23] God is not in these, but in the "still small voice" which tells of
mercy and seeks to win lost men from the power of darkness to Himself. But the very silence which
betokens that the throne of God is now a throne of grace is appealed to as the crowning proof that God
is but a myth; and the coarse blasphemer's favorite trick is to challenge the Almighty to declare
Himself by some signal act of judgment. In days to come, the impious challenge will be taken up by
Satan, and death shall seize on men who refuse to bow before the image of the Beast. [24]
The Antichrist will be more than a profane and brutal persecutor like Antiochus Epiphanes and some
of the Emperors of Pagan Rome; more than a vulgar impostor like Barcochab. [25] Miracles alone can
silence the
skepticism of apostates, and in the exercise of all the Dragon's delegated power, the Beast will
command the homage of a world that has rejected grace. "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship
him, whose names are not written in the book of life." (Revelation 8:8) If it were possible, the very
elect would be deceived by his mighty "signs and wonders"; (Matthew 24:24) but faith, divinely
given, is a sure, as it is the only, safeguard against credulity and superstition.
But this is what he will become in the zenith of his career. In his origin he is described as a "little
horn," (Daniel 7:8) — like Alexander of Macedon, the king of a petty kingdom. Possibly he will be
the head of some new Principality to arise in the final dismemberment of Turkey; it may be on the
banks of the Euphrates, or perhaps upon the Asian shore of the Aegean Sea. The name of Babylon is
strangely connected with events to come, and Pergamus, so long the home of serpent worship in its
vilest forms, is the only place on earth which Scripture has identified with Satan's throne (Revelation
2:13).
Of the great political changes which must precede his advent, the most conspicuous are the restoration
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of the Jews to Palestine, and the predicted division of the Roman earth. The former of these events has
already been considered in a previous chapter, and as regards the latter there is but little to be said.
The attempt to enumerate the ten kingdoms of the future would involve a profitless inquiry. [26]
History repeats itself; and if there be any element of periodicity in the political diseases by which
nations are afflicted, Europe will inevitably pass through another crisis such as that which darkened
the last decade of the eighteenth century. And should another revolution produce another Napoleon, it
is impossible to foretell how far kingdoms may become consolidated, and boundaries may be
changed. Moreover in forecasting the fulfillment of these prophecies, we are dealing with events
which, while they may occur within the lifetime of living men, may yet be delayed for centuries. Our
part is not to prophecy, but only to interpret; and we may well rest content with the certainty that
when the Apocalyptic visions are in fact fulfilled, their fulfillment will be clear, not merely to minds
educated in mysticism, but to all who are capable of observing public facts.
Through the gradual unfolding, it may be, of influences even now in operation; or far more probably
as the outcome of some great European crisis in the future, this confederation of nations [27] shall be
developed, and thus the stage will be prepared on which shall appear that awful Being, the great
leader of men in the eventful days which are to close the era of Gentile supremacy.
If we are to understand aright the predicted course of the Antichrist's career, certain points connected
with it must be clearly kept in view. The first is that up to a certain epoch he will be, notwithstanding
his pre-eminence, no more than human. And here we must judge of the future by the past. At
two-and-twenty years of age, Alexander crossed the Hellespont, the prince of a petty Grecian state.
Four years later he had founded an Empire and given a new direction to the history of the world.
In the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, modern history affords a parallel still more striking and
complete. When, now just a hundred years ago, he entered the French military school at Brienne, he
was an unknown lad, without even the advantages which rank and wealth afford. So utterly obscure
was his position that, not only did he owe his admission to the school to the influence of the Governor
of Corsica, but calumny has found it possible to use that trifling act of friendly patronage to the
disparagement of his mother's name. If then such a man, by the gigantic force of his personal
qualities, combined with the accident of favoring circumstances, could attain the place which history
has assigned to him, the fact affords the fullest answer to every objection which can be urged against
the credibility of the predicted career of the man of prophecy.
Nor will it avail to urge that the last fifty years have so developed the mental activity of civilized
races, and have produced such a spirit of independence, that the suggestion of a career like Napoleon's
being repeated in days to come involves an anachronism. "In proportion as the general standard of
mental cultivation is raised, and man made equal with man, the ordinary power of genius is
diminished, but its extraordinary power is increased, its reach deepened, its hold rendered more firm.
As men become familiar with the achievements and the exercise of talent, they learn to despise and
disregard its daily examples, and to be more independent of mere men of ability; but they only
become more completely in the power of gigantic intellect, and the slaves of pre-eminent and
unapproachable talent." [28]
By the sheer force of transcendent genius the man of prophecy will gain a place of undisputed
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pre-eminence in the world; but if the facts of his after career are to be understood, considerations of a
wholly different kind must be taken into account. A strange crisis marks his course. At first the patron
of religion, a true "eldest son of the church," he becomes a relentless and profane persecutor. At first
no more than a king of men, commanding the allegiance of the Roman earth, he afterwards claims to
be divine, and demands the worship of Christendom.
And we have seen how this extraordinary change in his career takes place at that epoch of tremendous
import in the history of the future, the beginning of the 1, 260 days of the latter half of Daniel's
seventieth week. Then it is that that mysterious event takes place, described as "war in heaven"
between the Archangel and the Dragon. As the result of that amazing struggle, Satan and his angels
are "cast out into the earth," and the Seer bewails mankind because the devil is come down into their
midst, "having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Revelation 12:7, 12).
The next feature in the vision is the rise of the ten-horned Beast. (Revelation 13:1) This is not the
event described in the seventh of Daniel. The Beast, doubtless, is the same both in Daniel and the
Apocalypse, representing the last great empire upon earth; but in the Apocalypse it appears at a later
stage of its development. Three periods of its history are marked in Daniel. In the first it has ten horns.
In the second it has eleven, for the little horn comes up among the ten. In the third, it has but eight, for
the eleventh has grown in power, and three of the ten have been torn away by it. Up to this point
Daniel's vision represents the Beast merely as "the fourth kingdom upon earth," the Roman empire as
revived in future times, and here the vision turns away from the history of the Beast to describe the
action of the little horn as a blasphemer and persecutor. [29]
It is at this epoch that the thirteenth chapter of Revelation opens. The three first stages of the history
of the empire are past, and a fourth has been developed. It is no longer a confederacy of nations bound
together by treaty, with a Napoleon rising up in the midst of them and struggling for supremacy; but a
confederacy of kings who are the lieutenants of one great Kaiser, a man whose transcendent greatness
has secured to him an undisputed pre-eminence. And this is the man whom the Dragon will single out
to administer his awful power on earth in days to come. And from the hour in which he sells himself
to Satan he will be so energized by Satan, that "ALL power and signs and lying wonders" shall
characterize his after course. [30]
There is a danger lest in dwelling on these visions as though they were enigmas to be solved, we
should forget how appalling are the events of which they speak, and how tremendous the forces which
will be in exercise at the time of their accomplishment. During this age of grace Satan's power on
earth is so restrained that men forget his very existence. This, indeed, will be the secret of his future
triumphs. And yet how unspeakably terrible must be the dragon's power, witness the temptation of our
Lord! It is written, "The devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; and the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give
Thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou,
therefore, wilt worship me, all shall be Thine." (Luke 4:5-7)
It is this same awful being who shall give to the Beast his throne, his power, and great authority,
(Revelation 8:2) — all that Christ refused in the days of His humiliation. The mind that has realized
this stupendous fact will not be slow to accept what follows:
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"And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations; and all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb"
(Revelation 13:7, 8).
Of the events which afterwards must follow upon earth, it behooves us to speak with deep solemnity
and studied reserve. The phenomenon of sudden and absolute darkness is inconceivably terrible, even
when eagerly looked for with full intelligence of the causes which produce it. [31] How unspeakable
then would be its awfulness, if unexpected, unaccounted for, and prolonged, it may be for days
together. And such shall be the sign which Holy Writ declares shall mark the advent of earth's last
great woe. [32] The signs and wonders of Satanic power shall still command the homage of mankind,
while the thunders of a heaven no longer silent will break forth upon the apostate race. Then will be
the time of "the seven last plagues," wherein "is filled up the wrath of God," — the time when "the
vials of the wrath of God" shall be poured out upon the earth. (Revelation 15:1; 16:1.) And if in this
day of grace the heights and depths of God's longsuffering mercy transcend all human thoughts, His
WRATH will be no less Divine. "The day of vengeance of our God," "the great and the terrible day of
the Lord," — such are the names divinely given to describe that time of unexampled horror.
And yet when in the midnight darkness of the last apostasy, Divine longsuffering will only serve to
blind and harden, mercy itself shall welcome the awful breaking of the day of vengeance, for blessing
lies beyond it. Another day is still to follow. Earth's history, as unfolded in the Scriptures, reaches; on
to a Sabbatic age of blessedness and peace; an age when heaven shall rule upon the earth, when, "the
Lord shall rejoice in all His works," (Psalm 104:31) and prove Himself to be the God of every
creature He has made (Psalm 145:9-16).
Further still, the veil is raised, and a brief glimpse afforded us of a glorious eternity beyond, when
every trace of sin shall have been wiped out for ever, when heaven will join with earth, and "the
tabernacle of God" — the dwelling place of the Almighty — shall be with men, "and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" [33]
It was a calamity for the Church of God when the light of prophecy became dimmed in fruitless
controversy, and the study of these visions, vouchsafed by God to warn, and guide, and cheer His
saints in evil days, was dismissed as utterly unprofitable. They abound in promises which God
designed to feed His people's faith and fire their zeal, and a special blessing rests on those who read,
and hear, and cherish them. (Revelation 1:3) One of the most hopeful features of the present hour is
the increasing interest they everywhere excite; and if these pages should avail to deepen or direct the
enthusiasm even of a few in the study of a theme which is inexhaustible, the labor they have cost will
be abundantly rewarded.
CHAPTER 15 FOOTNOTES
[1] The Times, Monday, 18th December, 1876.
[2] The Times, 18th December, 1876.
[3] That Antichrist is to arise from the eastern part of the Roman empire, and from that part of
the east which fell under the rule of Alexander's successors, is rendered unquestionable by this
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chapter. But, seeing that in the eleventh chapter he is mentioned as conflicting with the king of
the north (i. e., the king of Syria), and also with the king of the south (i. e., the king of Egypt), it
is plain that he does not arise either from Egypt or Syria. He must, therefore, arise either from
Greece or from the districts immediately contiguous to Constantinople. It is true that if he arose
from the latter, or indeed from either of the four, he would be esteemed Greek in origin, because
all the four we: re divisions of the Greek empire; but it seems far more probable that Greece
proper will be the place of his rise. He is described as C waxing great towards the south and
towards the east, and towards the pleasant land; ' that is, toward Egypt, Syria, and Palestine — a
description that would geographically suit the position of one who was supposed to be in
Greece.
"Moreover, a 'little horn' (an emblem not of that which he is as an individual, but of that which
he is as a monarch) is a symbol that well suits one who should arise from one of those petty
principalities which once abounded in Greece, and have even still their memorial in the throne
of the sovereigns of Montenegro." — NEWTON Ten Kingdoms, p. 193.
[4] Daniel 8:23-25. The entire passage is quoted ante (note).
[5] Daniel 11:36-45; 12:1. I am inclined to believe that the entire passage from ver. 5 of Daniel
11: will receive a future fulfillment, and I have no doubt of this as regards the passage
beginning with ver. 21. See especially ver. 31. But the future application of the portion quoted
in the text is unquestionable. Although the chapter in part refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, "there
are traits which have nothing to correspond to them in Antiochus, which are even the exact
contradictory of the character of Antiochus, but which do reappear in St. Paul's account of the
Antichrist to come." I quote from Dr. Pusey. He adds (Daniel p. 93): "The image of the
Antichrist of the Old Testament melts into the lineaments of the Antichrist himself… One trait
only of the anti-religious character of Antichrist was true of Antiochus also; 'he shall speak
marvelous things against the God of gods. ' Blasphemy against God is an essential feature of
any God-opposed power or individual. It belongs to Voltaire as much as to Antiochus. All
besides has no place in him …The characteristics of this infidel king are (1) self-exaltation
above every god; 'he shall magnify himself above every god; ' (2) contempt of all religion; (3)
blasphemy against the true God; (4) apostasy from the God of his fathers; (5) disregarding the
desire of women; (6) the honoring of a god whom his fathers knew not. Of all these six marks,
one only, in the least, agrees with Antiochus." The entire passage is valuable, and the arguments
conclusive. A remark at p. 96 suggests that Dr. Pusey identifies this king with the second
"Beast" of Revelation 13., and this view is maintained by others on the ground that a "Beast" in
prophecy typifies kingly power. This is true generally, but the second beast of Revelation 13: is
expressly called "the false Prophet" (Revelation 19:20); and the passage proves that he is
immediately connected with the first beast, and claims no position independently of him. The
difficulties in the way of supposing him to be a king in his own right are insuperable.
[6] A similar remark applies to the refusal to recognize the main outlines of the character and
history of Antichrist. Fulfilled prophecy is our only safe guide in studying the unfulfilled.
[7] The religious skeptic may refuse to accept their literal meaning, and the profane skeptic, in
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rejecting the fanciful interpretations of the pious, may dismiss the prophecies themselves as
incredible; but this is only a further proof that their definiteness is too pronounced to admit of
the half-faith accorded to other Scriptures.
[8] Revelation 13:7, 8. In the best reading of ver. 7, the same four words occur as in 7:9 —"
nations, kindred's, people, and tongues."
[9] Revelation 18:20. So also in 17:6, the saints (the slaughtered dead of Old Testament times)
are distinguished from the martyrs of Jesus. Luke 11:50, 51 sets forth the principle of God's
judgments.
[10] In Scripture the church of this dispensation is symbolized as the Body of Christ, never as
the Bride. From the close of John Baptist's ministry the Bride is never mentioned until she
appears in the Apocalypse (John 3:29; Revelation 21:2, 9). The force of the "nevertheless" in
Ephesians 5:33 depends on the fact that the Church is the Body, not the Bride. The earthly
relationship is readjusted by a heavenly standard. Man and wife are not one body, but Christ
and His church are one body, therefore a man is to love his wife "even as himself."
[11] This, I believe, is the element of truth in the view of Auberlen and others, that the woman
of chap. 17 is the woman of chap. 12., "the faithful city become an harlot" (Isaiah 1:21).
[12] "I incline to think that the judgment (chap. 18:2) and the spiritual fornication (chap. 18:3),
though finding their culmination in Rome, are not restricted to it, but comprise the whole
apostate church, Roman, Greek, and even Protestant, in so far as it has been seduced from its
first love to Christ, and (has) given its affections to worldly pomps and idols." — REV. A. R.
FAUSSET'S Commentary.
[13] ALFORD, Greek Test. in loco. Comp. Daniel 7:17-23.
[14] Just as the mention of the ten horns upon the beast has set men trying to discover in the
past a tenfold division of the Roman earth, so also these seven heads have suggested the idea of
seven successive forms of government in the Roman empire. Neither of these conceptions
would ever have been heard of, but for the prophecy of which they are supposed to be the
fulfillment. The second, though not so visionary as the first, is open to the special objection that
the word pipto betokens a violent fall, such as the catastrophe of ancient Babylon, or of the
Babylon of the Apocalypse (comp. Revelation 18:2). It is wholly unsuitable to express such
changes as marked the government of ancient Rome.
[15] Revelation 17:10 expressly states that the duration of the seventh will be brief. Dean
Alford's comment on this is not marked by his usual candor. The words in ver. 11 are ek ton
hepta, but this cannot mean merely that the Beast is "the successor and result of the seven"
(Alford), for ver. 10 limits the entire succession to seven. Though because of his awful
pre-eminence he is described as the eighth, yet he is really the supreme head of the seventh.
[16] drakon purrhos megas, Revelation 12:3. "He is purrhos perhaps, for the combined reasons
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of the wasting properties of fire, and the redness of blood" (Alford, Greek Test., in loco).
Compare ver. 9, "The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan."
The dragon both of Scripture and of heathen mythology is a serpent, and both refer to Satan. It
is described by Homer as of huge size, coiled like a snake, of blood-red or dark color, and
many-headed. "He seems to use the words drakon and ophis indifferently for a serpent" (Liddell
and Scott).
[17] The tharion or wild-beast of Revelation 8., etc., must not be confounded with the dzoon or
living-being of chap. 4., most unfortunately rendered beast in E. V.
[18] That is, the beings who before their fall were angels of God. The word angel in its
secondary sense means no more than a messenger or attendant, and Satan has his angels
(Revelation 12:7). The word is used of John Baptist's disciples in Luke 7:24.
[19] Our translators have used the word devil as a generic term for fallen beings other than men,
but the word from which it is derived has not this scope in Greek. A duibolos is a slanderer, and
the word is so used in 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 2:3. But the diabolos is Satan, of
whom alone the term is used elsewhere in the New Testament, save only in John 6:70, where it
is applied to Judas Iscariot. The word daimonion, which occurs fifty-two times in the Gospels,
and seven times in the rest of the New Testament, is invariably rendered devil, save in Acts
17:18 (gods). In classical Greek it means generally the Deity, especially an inferior god; and in
the New Testament, an evil spirit, a demon.
The ultimate reference of Ezekiel 28: appears to be to Satan, and in the passage beginning,
"Thou hast been in Eden in the garden of God," he is apostrophized as "the anointed cherub"
(ver. 14). The cherubim appear to have some special relation to our race and world, hence their
connection with the tabernacle. Can it be that our earth was at one time their domain, that Satan
was of their number, and that he recognized in Adam a creature appointed to succeed him in the
very scene of his glory and his fall?
[20] Bp. Stillingfleet; quoted in Encyc. Metro., article on "Serpent Worship," q. v. In Bryant's
Ancient Mythology will be found a chapter on Ophiolatry (vol. 2., p. 197, 3rd ed., and see also
p. 458) which fully warrants the general statements of the text.
[21] "All the world wondered after the Beast; and they worshipped the Dragon (serpent) which
gave power unto the Beast; and they worshipped the Beast" (Revelation 13:3, 4).
[22] The lamb-like Beast of Revelation 13:11, called the False Prophet in Revelation 19:20. The
language of 13:3, 12, suggests that there will be some impious travesty of the resurrection of
our Lord.
[23] "The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, but the Lord was not
in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after
the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice" (1
Kings 19:11, 12).
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[24] In the persecutions under Pagan Rome, death was often the penalty for refusing to worship
Caesar's image; but Revelation 13:15 clearly points to some mysterious death which shall result
in the very presence of the image of the future Caesar. The same power which will enable the
False Prophet to give life to the image, will destroy the life of him who refuses to worship it.
[25] In one of the darkest hours of their history, when the continued persecution of the Jews
threatened the race with utter extinction, Barcochab proclaimed himself the Messiah, and led
them in a revolt against the Romans, which ended in a carnage of the ill-fated people more
horrible than any which had preceded it (A. D. 130-132). The man seems to have been a
contemptible impostor who duped the people by juggler's tricks, such as blowing fire from his
mouth; and yet he attained to such an eminence, and brought about disasters so terrible, that
some have sought to find in his career the fulfillment of the prophecies of Antichrist.
[26] See App. 2., Note D.
[27] I say nations, not kingdoms, advisedly, for though they will ultimately be kingdoms, i. e.,
under monarchical government, yet before the advent of the Kaiser such may not be the case.
That this division of the Roman earth will take place before his appearance is expressly stated;
but whether a year, a decade, or a century before, we are not informed.
[28] Alford, Gr. Test. Proleg. 2 Thessalonians, § 36.
[29] The passage (Daniel 7:2-14) is quoted in full ante. The distinctions above noticed clear up
the seeming inconsistency between Daniel's visions and the Revelation alluded to ante.
[30] ho anomos … ou estin ha parousia kat energeian tou Satana en pasa dunamei, kai sameiois,
kai tepasi pseudous (2 Thessalonians 2:8, 9).
[31] The Astronomer Royal (Sir G. B. Airy) used these words in a lecture delivered at the
Royal Institution, 4th July, 1853, upon the total solar eclipses of 1842 and 1851: "The
phenomenon, in fact, is one of the most terrible that man can witness, and no degree of partial
eclipses gives any idea of its horror."
[32] "The sun shall be turned into darkness... before the great and the terrible day of the Lord
come" (Joel 2:31).
[33] Revelation 21:3. The order of these events is noticed, ante.
.
PREFACES.
WStS Note: These Prefaces to the Tenth and Fifth Editions are placed at the end of the book, for
continuity's sake, in the belief that the reader will be better introduced to "The Coming Prince" by
Anderson's initial remarks in Chapter 1.
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PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION
THE COMING PRINCE has been out of print for more than a year; for it seemed inadvisable to
reissue it during the War. But the War has apparently created an increased interest in the prophecies of
Daniel; and as this book is therefore in demand, it has been decided to publish a new edition without
further delay. Not that these pages contain any sensational "Armageddon" theories. For "a place called
in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" is situated neither in France nor in Flanders, but in Palestine; and
the future of the land and people of the covenant will be a main issue in the great battle which is yet to
be fought on that historic plain.
Prophetic students are apt to become adherents of one or other of two rival schools of interpretation.
The teaching of the "futurists" suggests that this Christian dispensation is altogether a blank in the
Divine scheme of prophecy. And the "historicists" discredit Scripture by frittering away the meaning
of plain words in order to find the fulfillment of them in history. Avoiding the errors of both these
schools, this volume is written in the spirit of Lord Bacon's dictum, that "Divine prophecies have
springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages, though the height or fullness of
them may belong to some one age." And this world war is no doubt within the scope of prophecy,
though it be not the fulfillment of any special Scripture.
Very many years ago my attention was directed to a volume of sermons by a devout Jewish Rabbi of
the London Synagogue, in which he sought to discredit the Christian interpretation of certain
Messianic prophecies. And in dealing with Daniel 9., he accused Christian expositors of tampering,
not only with chronology, but with Scripture, in their efforts to apply the prophecy of the Seventy
Weeks to the Nazarene. My indignation at such a charge gave place to distress when the course of
study to which it led me brought proof that it was by no means a baseless libel. My faith in the Book
of Daniel, already disturbed by the German infidel crusade of "the Higher Criticism," was thus further
undermined. And I decided to take up the study of the subject with a fixed determination to accept
without reserve not only the language of Scripture, but the standard dates of history as settled by our
best modern chronologists. [1]
The following is a brief summary of the results of my inquiry as regards the great prophecy of the
"Seventy Weeks." I began with the assumption, based on the perusal of many standard works, that the
era in question had reference to the seventy years of the Captivity of Judah, and that it was to end with
the Coming of Messiah. But I soon made the startling discovery that this was quite erroneous. For the
Captivity lasted only sixty-two years; and the seventy weeks related to the wholly different judgment
of the Desolations of Jerusalem. And further, the period "unto Messiah the Prince," as Daniel 9:25 so
plainly states, was not seventy weeks, but 7+62 weeks.
The failure to distinguish between the several judgments of the Servitude, the Captivity and the
Desolations, is a fruitful source of error in the study of Daniel and the historical books of Scripture.
And it is strange that the distinction should be ignored not only by the Critics, but by Christians.
Because of national sin, Judah was brought under servitude to Babylon for seventy years, this was in
the third year of King Jehoiakim (B.C. 606). But the people continued obdurate; and in B.C. 598 the
far severer judgment of the Captivity fell on them. On the former capture of Jerusalem,
Nebuchadnezzar left the city and people undisturbed, his only prisoners being Daniel and other cadets
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of the royal house. But on this second occasion he deported the mass of the inhabitants to Chaldea.
The Jews still remained impenitent, however, in spite of Divine warnings by the mouth of Jeremiah in
Jerusalem and Ezekiel among the exiles; and after the lapse of another nine years, God brought upon
them the terrible judgment of "The Desolations," which was decreed to last for seventy years.
Accordingly in B.C. 589, the Babylonian armies again invaded Judea, and the city was devastated and
burned.
Now both the "Servitude" and the "Captivity," ended with the decree of Cyrus in B.C. 536, permitting
the return of the exiles. But as the language of Daniel 9:2 so plainly states, it was the seventy years of
"The Desolations" that were the basis of the prophecy of the seventy weeks. And the epoch of that
seventy years was the day on which Jerusalem was invested — the tenth Tebeth in the ninth year of
Zedekiah — a day that has ever since been observed as a fast by the Jews in every land. (2 Kings
25:1.) Daniel and Revelation definitely indicate that the prophetic year is one of 360 days. Such
moreover was the sacred year of the Jewish calendar; and, as is well known, such was the ancient year
of Eastern nations. Now seventy years of 360 days contains exactly 25, 200 days; and as the Jewish
New Year's day depended on the equinoctial moon, we can assign the 13th December as "the Julian
date" of tenth Tebeth 589. And 25, 200 days measured from that date ended on the 17th December
520, which was the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius of Persia —
-the very day on which the foundation of the second Temple was laid. (Haggai 2:18, 19.)
Here is something to set both critics and Christians thinking. A decree of a Persian king was deemed
to be divine, and any attempt to thwart it was usually met by prompt and drastic punishment; and yet
the decree directing the rebuilding of the Temple, issued by King Cyrus in the zenith of his power,
was thwarted for seventeen years by petty local governors. How was this? The explanation is that
until the very last day of the seventy years of "the Desolations" had expired, God would not permit
one stone to be laid upon another on Mount Moriah.
Dismissing from our minds, therefore, all mere theories on this subject, we arrive at the following
definitely ascertained facts:
1. The epoch of the Seventy Weeks was the issuing of a decree to restore and build Jerusalem.
(Daniel 9:25.)
2. There never was but one decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
3. That decree was issued by Artaxerxes, King of Persia, in the month Nisan in the 20th year of
his reign, i.e. B.C. 445.
4. The city was actually built in pursuance of that decree.
5. The Julian date of 1st Nisan 445 was the 14th March.
6. Sixty-nine weeks of years — i.e. 173, 880 days — reckoned from the 14th March B.C. 445,
ended on the 6th April A.D. 32.
7. That day, on which the sixty-nine weeks ended, was the fateful day on which the Lord Jesus
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rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9; when, for the first and only
occasion in all His earthly sojourn, He was acclaimed as "Messiah the Prince the King, the Son
of David."
And here again we must keep to Scripture. Though God has nowhere recorded the Bethlehem
birth-date of Christ, no date in history, sacred or profane, is fixed with greater definiteness than that of
the year in which the Lord began His public ministry. I refer of course to Luke 3:1, 2. I say this
emphatically, because Christian expositors have persistently sought to set up a fictitious date for the
reign of Tiberias. The first Passover of the Lord's ministry, therefore, was in Nisan A.D. 29; and we
can fix the date of the Passion with absolute certainty as Nisan A.D. 32. If Jewish or infidel writers set
themselves to confuse and corrupt the chronology of these periods, we would not be surprised. But it
is to Christian expositors that we owe this evil work. Happily, however, we can appeal to the labors of
secular historians and chronologists for proofs of the divine accuracy of Holy Scripture.
The general attack upon the Book of Daniel, briefly discussed in the "Preface to the Fifth Edition," is
dealt with more fully in the 1902 reissue of Daniel in the Critics' Den. The reader will there find an
answer to the attack of the Higher Criticism on Daniel based on philology and history; and he will
find also that the Critics are refuted by their own admissions respecting the Canon of the Old
Testament.
Most of the "historical errors" in Daniel, which Professor Driver copied from Bertholdt's work of a
century ago, have been disposed of by the erudition and research of our own day. But, when writing
on the subject, I recognized that the identity of Darius the Mede was still a difficulty. Since then,
however, I have found a solution of that difficulty in a verse in Ezra, hitherto used only by Voltaire
and others to discredit Scripture. Ezra 5 tells us that in the reign of Darius Hystaspis the Jews
petitioned the throne, appealing to the decree by which Cyrus had authorized the rebuilding of the
Temple. The wording of the petition clearly indicates that, to the knowledge of the Jewish leaders,
that decree had been filed in the house of the archives in Babylon. But the search there made for it
proved fruitless, and it was ultimately found at Ecbatana (or Achmetha: Ezra 6:2). How then could
such a State paper have been transferred to the Median capital?
The only reasonable explanation of this extraordinary fact completes the circle of proof that the vassal
king whom Daniel calls Darius the Mede was Gobryas (or Gubaru), who led the army of Cyrus to
Babylon. As various writers have noticed, the testimony of the inscriptions points to that conclusion.
For example, the Annalistic tablet of Cyrus records that, after the taking of the city, it was Gobryas
who appointed the governors or prefects; which appointments Daniel states were made by Darius. The
fact that he was a prince of the royal house of Media, and presumably well known to Cyrus, who had
resided at the Median Court, would account for his being held in such high honor. He it was who
governed Media as Viceroy when that country was reduced to the status of a province; and to any one
accustomed to deal with evidence, the inference will seem natural that, for some reason or other, he
was sent back to his provincial throne, and that, in returning to Ecbatana he carried with him the
archives of his brief reign in Babylon. In the interval between the accession of Cyrus and that of
Darius Hystaspis, the Temple decree may well have been forgotten by all but the Jews themselves.
And although it was a serious matter to thwart the execution of an order issued by the king of Persia
(Ezra 6:11), yet in this instance, as already noticed, a Divine decree overruled the decree of Cyrus,
and vetoed their taking action upon it.
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The elucidation of the vision of the Seventy Weeks, as unfolded in the following pages, is my
personal contribution to the Daniel controversy. And as the searching criticism to which it has been
subjected has failed to detect in it an error or a flaw, [2] it may now be accepted without hesitation or
reserve. The only disparaging comment which Professor Driver could offer upon it in his Book of
Daniel was that it is a revival in a slightly modified form" of the scheme of Julius Africanus, and that
it leaves the seventieth week "unexplained." But surely the fact that my scheme is on the same lines as
that of "the father of Christian Chronologists" creates a very strong presumption in its favor. And so
far from leaving the seventieth week unexplained, I have dealt with it in accordance with the beliefs
of the early Fathers. For they regarded that week as future, seeing that they looked for the Antichrist
of Scripture— "an individual person, the incarnation and concentration of sin." [3]
— R. A.
TENTH EDITION FOOTNOTE
[1] As regards the regnal years of Jewish Kings, however, Fynes Clinton's month dates are here
modified in accordance with the Hebrew Mishna, which was a sealed book to English readers
when the Fasti Hellenici was written. With reference to one date of cardinal importance I am
specially indebted to the late Canon Rawlinson and the late Sir George Airey.
[2] One point may be worth notice in a footnote. The R. V. reading of Acts 13:20 seems to
dispose of my solution of the perplexing problem of the 480 years of1 Kings 6:1. But here, in
accordance with their usual practice, and in neglect of the principles by which experts are
guided in dealing with conflicting evidence, the Revisers slavishly followed certain of the oldest
MSS. And the effect on this passage is disastrous. For it is certain that neither the Apostle said,
nor the Evangelist wrote, that Israel's enjoyment of the land was limited to 450 years, or that
450 years elapsed before the era of the Judges. The text adopted by the Revisers is, therefore,
clearly wrong. Dean Alford regards it "as an attempt at correcting the difficult chronology of
the verse"; and, he adds, "taking the words as they stand, no other sense can be given to them
than that the time of the Judges lasted 450 years." That is, as he goes on to explain, the era
within which occurred the rule of the Judges. It is not that the Judges ruled for 450 years – in
which case the accusative would be used, as in verse 18 – but, as the use of the dative implies,
that the period until Saul, characterized by the rule of the Judges, lasted 450 years. I need
scarcely notice the objection that I fail to take account of the servitude mentioned in Judges
10:7, 8. That servitude affected only the tribes beyond Jordan.
[3] Alford's Greek Test., Prol. to 2 Thessalonians Chapter 5.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
A DEFENSE OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL AGAINST THE "HIGHER CRITICISM."
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This volume has been disparaged in some quarters because, it is alleged, it ignores the destructive
criticism which is supposed to have led "all people of discernment" to abandon belief in the visions of
Daniel.
The charge is not altogether just. Not only are some of the chief objections of the critics answered in
these pages, but in proving the genuineness of the great central prophecy of the book, the authenticity
of the whole is established, And the absence of a special chapter upon the subject may be explained.
The practice, too common in religious controversy, of giving an ex parte representation of the views
of opponents, instead of accepting their own statement of them, is never satisfactory, and seldom fair.
And no treatise was available on the critics' side, concise enough to afford the basis of a brief
excursus, and yet sufficiently full and authoritative to warrant its being accepted as adequate.
This want, however, has since been supplied by Professor Driver's Introduction to the Literature of the
Old Testament, [1] a work which embodies the results of the so-called "Higher Criticism," as accepted
by the sober judgment of the author. While avoiding the malignant extravagance of the German
rationalists and their English imitators, he omits nothing which erudition can with fairness urge
against the authenticity of the Book of Daniel. And if the hostile arguments he adduces can be shown
to be faulty and inconclusive, the reader may fearlessly accept the result as an "end of controversy"
upon the subject. [2]
Here is the thesis which the author sets himself to establish:
"In face of the facts presented by the Book of Daniel, the opinion that it is the work of Daniel himself
cannot be sustained. Internal evidence shows, with a cogency that cannot be resisted, that it must have
been written not earlier than c. 300 B.C., and in Palestine; and it is at least probable that it was
composed under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 168 or 167."
Professor Driver marshals his proofs under three heads:
(1) facts of a historical nature;
(2) the evidence of the language of Daniel; and
(3) the theology of the Book.
Under (1) he enumerates the following points:
(a) "The position of the Book in the Jewish Canon, not among the prophets, but in the
miscellaneous collection of writings called the Hagiographa, and among the latest of these, in
proximity to Esther. Though little definite is known respecting the formation of the Canon, the
division known as the ' Prophets' was doubtless formed prior to the Hagiographa; and had the
Book of Daniel existed at the time, it is reasonable to suppose that it would have ranked as the
work of a prophet, and have been included among the former."
(b) "Jesus, the son of Sirach (writing c. 200 B.C.), in his enumeration of Israelitish worthies, c.
44-50, though he mentions Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and (collectively) the Twelve Minor
Prophets, is silent as to Daniel."
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(c) "That Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and carried away some of the sacred vessels in
'the third year of Jehoiakim' (Daniel 1:1 f.), though it cannot, strictly speaking, be disproved, is
highly improbable: not only is the Book of Kings silent, but Jeremiah, in the following year
(Jeremiah 25, etc.), speaks of the Chaldaeans in a manner which appears distinctly to imply that
their arms had not yet been seen in Judah."
(d) "The 'Chaldaeans' are synonymous in Daniel with the caste of wise men. This sense ' is
unknown to the Assyro-Babylonian language, has, wherever it occurs, formed itself after the
end of the Babylonian empire, and is thus an indication of the post-exilic composition of the
Book' (Schrader)."…
(e) "Belshazzar is represented as King of Babylon; and Nebuchadnezzar is spoken of
throughout chap. 5: (vv. 2, 11, 13, 18, 22) as his father."…
(f) "Darius, son of Ahasuerus, a Mede, after the death of Belshazzar, is 'made king over the
realm of the Chaldaeans.' There seems to be no room for such a ruler. According to all other
authorities, Cyrus is the immediate successor of Nabu-nahid, and the ruler of the entire Persian
empire. "…
(g) "In 9:2 it is stated that Daniel 'understood by the books' the number of years for which,
according to Jeremiah, Jerusalem should lie waste. The expression used implies that the
prophecies of Jeremiah formed part of a collection of sacred books, which nevertheless it may
be safely affirmed, was not formed in 536 B.C."
(h) "Other indications adduced to show that the Book is not the work of a contemporary, are
such as the following": The points are the improbability, first, that a strict Jew would have
entered the class of the "wise men," or that he would have been admitted by the wise men
themselves; second, Nebuchadnezzar's insanity and edict; third, the absolute terms in which he
and Darius recognize God, while retaining their idolatry.
I dismiss (f) and (h) at once, for the author himself, with his usual fairness, declines to press them.
"They should," he admits, "be used with reserve." The mention of "Darius the Mede" is perhaps the
greatest difficulty which confronts the student of Daniel, and the problem it involves still awaits
solution. The unqualified rejection of the narrative by many eminent writers only proves the
incapacity even of scholars of repute to suspend their judgment upon questions of the kind. The
history of that age is too uncertain and confused to justify dogmatism, and, as Professor Driver justly
remarks, "a cautious criticism will not build too much on the silence of the inscriptions, where many
certainly remain to be brought to light". In Mr. Sayce's recent work [3] this caution is neglected. He
accepts, moreover, with a faith which is unduly simple, all that Cyrus says about himself. It was
obviously his interest to represent the acquisition of Babylonia as a peaceful revolution, and not a
military conquest. But the Book of Daniel does not conflict with either hypothesis. Mr. Sayce here
"reads into it," as is so constantly done, what it in no way states or even implies. There is not a word
about a siege or a capture. Belshazzar was "slain," and Darius "received" the kingdom; but how these
events came about we must learn from other sources. Professor Driver here admits in express terms
"that 'Darius the Mede' may prove, after all, to have been a historical character"; [4] and this is
enough for our present purpose.
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The remaining points I proceed to discuss seriatim.
(a) This is rightly placed first, as being the most important. But its apparent importance grows less and
less the more closely it is examined. Our English Bible, following the Vulgate, divides the Old
Testament into thirty-nine books. The Jewish Canon reckoned only twenty-four. These were classified
under three heads — the Torah, the Neveeim, and the Kethuvim (the Law, the Prophets, and the Other
Writings). The first contained the Pentateuch. The second contained eight books, which were again
classified in two groups. The first four — viz., Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings — were called the
"Former Prophets"; and the second four — viz., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "the Twelve" (i.e. the
minor prophets reckoned as one book) — were called the "Latter Prophets." The third division
contained eleven books — viz., Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (reckoned as one), and Chronicles. Now, an
examination of this list makes either of two conclusions irresistible. Either the Canon was arranged
under Divine guidance, or else the classification of the books between the second and third divisions
was an arbitrary one. If any one adopts the former alternative, the inclusion of Daniel in the Canon is
decisive of the whole question. If, on the other hand, it be assumed that the arrangement was human
and arbitrary, the fact that Daniel is in the third group proves — not that the book was regarded as of
doubtful repute, for in that case it would have been excluded from the Canon, but that the great exile
of the Captivity was not regarded as a "prophet."
To the superficial this may seem to be giving up the whole case. But using the word "prophet" in its
ordinary acceptation, Daniel has no claim whatever to the title, and but for Matthew 24:15 it would
probably never have been applied to him. His visions have their New Testament counterpart, but yet
no one speaks of "the prophet John." According to 2 Peter 1:21 the prophets "spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost." This characterized the utterances of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "the
Twelve." They were the words of Jehovah by the mouth of the men who uttered them. The prophets
stood apart from the people as witnesses for God; but Daniel's position and ministry were wholly
different. "Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets which spake in Thy name":
such was his humble attitude. Higher criticism may slight the distinction here insisted on; but the
question is how it was regarded by the men who settled the Canon; and in their judgment its
importance was immense. Daniel contains the record, not of God-breathed words uttered by the seer,
but of the words spoken to him, and of dreams and visions accorded him. And the visions of the latter
half of his book were granted him after more than sixty years spent in statecraft — years the record of
which would fix his fame in the popular mind as statesman and ruler.
The reader will thus recognize that the position of Daniel in the Canon is precisely where we should
expect to find it. The critic speaks of it as being "in the miscellaneous collection of writings called the
Hagiographa, and among the latest of these, in proximity to Esther." But, in adopting this from earlier
writers, the author is guilty of what may be described as unintentional dishonesty. Daniel comes
before Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles in a group of books which includes the Psalms — those
Psalms than which no part of their Canon was prized more highly by the Jews — those Psalms, many
of which they rightly regarded as prophetic in the highest and strictest sense. [5] But Daniel, we are
told, was placed "in proximity to Esther." What does the critic mean by this? He cannot wish to
suggest that Esther is held in low repute by the Jews, for he himself declares that it came to be
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"ranked by them as superior both to the writings of the prophets and to all other parts of the
Hagiographa." As to Esther coming before Daniel, he cannot have overlooked that it is bracketed in
the Canon with the four books which precede it — the Megilloth. He cannot mean to imply that the
books of the Kethuvim are arranged chronologically; and he certainly cannot wish to create an
ignorant prejudice. The statement therefore is an enigma, and the discussion under this head may be
dosed by the general remark that (a) implies that the Jews esteemed the books in the third division of
their Canon as less sacred than "the prophets." But this is wholly baseless. In common with the rest,
they were, as Josephus tells us, "justly believed to be Divine, so that, rather than speak against them,
they were ready to suffer torture, or even death." [6]
(b) But little need be said in answer to this. Canon Driver admits that the argument is one "which,
standing alone, it would be hazardous to press," and this is precisely its position if (a) be refuted. If it
were a question of the omission of Daniel's name from a formal list of the prophets everything above
urged would apply here with equal force; but the reader must not suppose that the son of Sirach gives
any list of the kind. The facts are these. The Apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus, which is here
referred to, ends with a rhapsody in praise of "famous men." This panegyric, it is true, omits the name
of Daniel. But in what connection would his name be included? Daniel was exiled to Babylon in early
youth, and never spent a single day of his long life among his people, never was openly associated
with them in their struggles or their sorrows. The critic, moreover, fails to notice that the Son of
Sirach ignores also not only such worthies as Abel, and Melchisedec, and Job, and Gideon, and
Samson, but also Ezra, who, unlike Daniel, played a most prominent part in the national life, and who
also gave his name to one of the books of the Canon. Let the reader decide this matter for himself
after reading the passage in which the names of Daniel and Ezra ought to appear. [7] If any one is so
mentally constituted that the omission leads him to decide against the authenticity of these two books,
no words of mine would influence him.
(c) The historical statement with which the Book of Daniel opens is declared to be improbable on two
grounds: first, because "the Book of Kings is silent" on the subject; and, secondly, because Jeremiah
25 appears inconsistent with it. The first point is made apparently in error, for 2 Kings 24:1 states
explicitly that in Jehoiakim's days Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem, and that the Jewish
king became his vassal. [8]
And the second point is overstated. Jeremiah 25 is silent on the subject, and that is all that can be said.
Now the weight to be given to the silence of a particular witness or document on any matter is a
familiar problem in dealing with evidence. It entirely depends on circumstances whether it counts for
much, or little, or nothing. Kings being a historical record, its silence here would count for something.
But why should a warning and a prophecy like Jeremiah 25 contain the recital of an event of a few
months before, an event which no one in Jerusalem could ever possibly forget? [9]
But further discussion on these lines is needless, for the accuracy of Daniel's statement can be
established on grounds which the critic ignores altogether. I refer to the chronology of the eras of the
"servitude" and the "desolations." Both are commonly confounded with the "captivity," which was
only in part concurrent with them. These several eras represented three successive judgments upon
Judah. The chronology of these is fully explained in the sequel, and a reference to the excursus
(within this work), or indeed a glance at the tables which follow, will supply proof absolute and
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complete that the servitude began in the third year of Jehoiakim, precisely as the Book of Daniel
avers.
(d) I will refer under the second head of the inquiry to the philological question here involved. It is not
in any sense a historical difficulty.
(e) The reader will find this point dealt with. Canon Driver remarks: "It may be admitted as probable
that Belsharuzur held command for his father in Babylon; …but it is difficult to think that this could
entitle him to be spoken of by a contemporary as king." If Belshazzar was regent, as the narrative
indicates, it is difficult to think that a courtier would speak of him otherwise than as king. To have
done so might have cost him his head! Daniel 5:7, 16, 29 affords corroboration here in a manner all
the more striking because it is wholly undesigned. Nebuchadnezzar had made Daniel second ruler in
the kingdom: why does Belshazzar make him third ruler? Presumably because he himself held but the
second place. To avoid this the critics, trading upon a possible alternative rendering of the Aramaic
{as given in the margin of the Revised Version}, conjecture a "Board of three." But assuming that the
words used may mean a triumvirate in the sense of chap. 6:2, the question whether this is their actual
meaning must be settled by an appeal to history. And history affords not the slightest hint that such a
system of government prevailed in the Babylonian Empire. A true exegesis, therefore, must decide in
favor of the alternative and more natural view, that Daniel was to rule as third, the absent king being
first, and the king-regent second.
But Belshazzar is called the son of Nebuchadnezzar. The reader will find this objection fully answered
by Dr. Pusey (Daniel, pp. 406-408). He justly remarks that "intermarriage with the family of a
conquered monarch, or with a displaced line, is so obviously a way of strengthening the newly
acquired throne, that it is a priori probable that Nabunahit would so fortify his claim," and Professor
Driver himself allows (p. 468) that possibly the King may have married a daughter of
Nebuchadnezzar, "in which case the latter might be spoken of as Belshazzar's father (= grandfather,
by Hebrew usage)." I will only add two remarks: first, the critics forget that even on their own view of
Daniel the existence of a tradition is prima facie proof of its truth; and, secondly, if the usurper chose
to be called the son of Nebuchadnezzar, though with no sort of claim to the title, no one in Babylon
would dare to thwart him.
(g) Here are the words of Daniel 9:2 (R.V.): "I Daniel understood by the books the number of the
years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the
desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years." The prophecy here referred to is admittedly Jeremiah
25:11, 12. Now the word sepher, rendered "book" in Daniel 9:2, means simply a scroll. It may denote
a book, as it often does in Scripture, or merely a letter. See ex. gr. Jeremiah 29:1 (the letter which
Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon), or Isaiah 37:14 (Sennacherib's letter to King Hezekiah).
Then, again, Jeremiah 36:1, 2 records that in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the very year in which the
prophecy of Jeremiah 25: was given, all the prophecies delivered up to that time were recorded in "a
book." And in Jeremiah 51:60, 61 we find that some ten years later a further "book" was written and
sent to Babylon. Where, then, is the difficulty? Professor Driver, moreover, himself supplies a
complete answer in his own criticism by adopting "the supposition that in some cases Jeremiah's
writings were in circulation for a while as single prophecies, or small groups of prophecies" These
may have been the scrolls or "books" of Daniel 9.
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But suppose, for the sake of argument, we admit that "the books" must mean the sacred writings up to
that period, what warrant is there for affirming that no such "collection" existed in 536 B.C.? A more
arbitrary assertion was never made, even in the range of controversy. Is it not absolutely incredible
that the scrolls of the Law were not kept together? And considering Daniel's intense piety, and the
extraordinary resources and means he must have had at his disposal under Nebuchadnezzar, may it
not "safely be affirmed" that there was not another man upon earth so likely as himself to have had
copies of all the holy writings? [10]
I now turn to the critic's second argument, which is based on the language of the Book of Daniel. He
appeals, first, to the number of Persian words it contains; secondly, to the presence of Greek words;
thirdly, to the character of the Aramaic in which part of the book is written; and, lastly, to the
character of the Hebrew.
Underlying the argument founded on the presence of foreign words is the unexpressed assumption
that the Jews were an uncultured tribe who had lived till then in boorish isolation. And yet four
centuries before Daniel's time the wisdom and wealth of Solomon were spoken of throughout the then
known world. He was a naturalist, a botanist, a philosopher, and a poet. And why not a linguist also?
Were all his communications with his many foreign wives carried on through interpreters? He traded
with near and distant nations, and every one knows how language is influenced by commerce. And
can we doubt that the fame of Nebuchadnezzar attracted foreigners to Babylon? What his relations
were with foreign courts we know not. Why may not Daniel have been a Persian scholar? The
position assigned to him under the Persian rule renders this extremely probable. The number of
Persian words in the book, according to Professor Driver, is "probably at least fifteen"; and here is his
comment upon them:
"That such words should be found in books written after the Persian Empire was organized, and
when Persian influences prevailed, is not more than would be expected"
But it was precisely in these circumstances that the Book of Daniel was written. The vision of chap.
10 was given five years after the Persian rule had been established, and these visions were the basis of
the book. Notes and records the writer doubtless had of the earlier and historical portions of it; but it
is a reasonable assumption that the whole was written after the visions were accorded him.
As regards the Aramaic and the Hebrew of Daniel, I can of course express no opinion of my own. But
my position will be in no way prejudiced by my incompetency in this respect. In the first place, there
is nothing new here. The critic merely gives in a condensed form what the Germans have urged; and
the whole ground has been covered by Dr. Pusey and others, who, having examined it with equal
erudition and care, have arrived at wholly different conclusions. But, in the second place, it is
unnecessary; for the signal fairness with which Professor Driver states the results of his argument
enables me to concede all he says in this regard and to dismiss the discussion of it to the sequel. Here
axe his words:
"The verdict of the language of Daniel is thus clear. The Persian words presuppose a period
after the Persian Empire had been well established; the Greek words demand, the Hebrew
supports, and the Aramaic permits, a date after the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the
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Great (B.C. 332). With our present knowledge this is as much as the language authorizes us
definitely to affirm" (p. 476).
May I restate this in other words? The Persian terms raise a presumption that Daniel was written after
a certain date. The Hebrew strengthens this presumption, the Aramaic is consistent with it, and the
Greek words used establish the truth of it. Problems precisely similar to this claim decision every day
in our courts of justice. The whole strength of the case depends on the last point stated. Any number
of argumentative presumptions may be rebutted; but here, it is alleged, we have proof which. admits
of no answer: the Greek words demand a date which destroys the authenticity of Daniel.
Will the reader believe it that the only foundation on which this superstructure rests is the allegation
that two Greek words are found in the list of musical, instruments given in the third chapter? At a,
bazaar held some time ago in one of our cathedral, towns, under the patronage of the bishop of the:
diocese, the alarm was given that a thief was at work: among the company, and two ladies present had
lost their purses. In the excitement which followed, the stolen purses, emptied of course of their
contents, were found in the bishop's pocket! The "Higher Criticism" would have handed him over to
the police! Perhaps an apology is due for this digression; but, in sober earnestness, surely the inquiry
is opportune whether these critics understand the very rudiments of the science of weighing evidence.
The presence of the two stolen purses did not "demand" the conviction of the bishop. Neither should
the presence of two Greek words decide the fate of Daniel. [11] The question would still remain, How
did they come to be there? According to Professor Sayce, himself a hostile authority, the evidence of
the monuments has entirely refuted this argument of the critics [12] It now appears that there were
Greek colonies in Palestine as early as the days of Hezekiah, and that there was intercourse between
Greece and Canaan at a still earlier period.
But let us admit, for the sake of argument, that the words are really Greek, and that no such words
were known in Babylon in the days of the exile. Is the inference based on their presence in the book a
legitimate one? While some apologists of Daniel have pressed unduly the hypothesis of a revision,
such a hypothesis affords a most reasonable explanation of difficulties of this particular kind. Why
should we doubt the truth of the Jewish tradition that "the men of the great synagogue wrote" (that is,
edited) the Book of Daniel? And if true, these Greek words may be easily accounted for. If in the list
of musical instruments, and in the title of the "wise men," the editors found terms which were foreign
and strange to them, how natural for them to substitute words which would be familiar to the Jews of
Palestine. [13] How natural, too, to spell such names as Nebuchadnezzar and Abednego in the manner
then become usual. These are precisely the sort of changes which they would adopt; changes of no
vital moment, but fitted to make the book more suitable for those on whose behalf they were revising
it.
The critic's last ground of attack is the theology of the Book of Daniel. This, he declares, "points to a
later age than that of the exile." No charge of error is suggested, for Professor Driver is careful at the
outset to repudiate what he calls the" exaggerations" of the German rationalists and their English
imitators. But his alliance with such men warps his judgment, and betrays him into adopting
statements begotten of their mingled ignorance and malice. Let one instance suffice. "It is remarkable
also," he says, "that Daniel — so unlike the prophets generally — should display no interest in the
welfare or prospects of his contemporaries." Not even in theological controversy could another
statement be found more flagrantly baseless and false. In the entire history of the prophets, in the
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whole range of Scripture, the ninth chapter of Daniel has no parallel for touching, earnest, passionate
"interest in the welfare and prospects" of contemporaries.
Now the question here is, not whether the doctrine of the Book be true, for that is not disputed, but
whether truth of such an advanced and definite character could have been revealed at so early a period
in the scheme of revelation. It is not easy to fix the principles on which such a question should be
discussed. And the discussion may be avoided by raising another question, the answer to which will
decide the whole matter in dispute. We know the "orthodox view" of the Book of Daniel. What
alternative does the critic propose for our acceptance? Here he shall speak for himself, and the two
quotations following will suffice:
"Daniel, it cannot be doubted, was a historical person, one of the Jewish exiles in Babylon,
who, with his three companions, was noted for his staunch adherence to the principles of his
religion, who attained a position of influence at the Court of Babylon, who interpreted
Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, and foretold as a seer something of the future fate of the Chaldaean
and Persian empires" (p. 479).
"On the other hand, if the author be a prophet living in the time of the trouble itself, all the
features of the Book may be consistently explained. He lives in the age in which he manifests
an interest, and which needs the consolations which he has to address to it. He does not write
after the persecutions are ended (in which case his prophecies would be pointless), but at their
beginning, when his message of encouragement would have a value for the godly Jews in the
season of their trial. He thus utters genuine predictions; and the advent of the Messianic age
follows closely on the end of Antiochus, just as in Isaiah or Micah it follows closely on the fall
of the Assyrian: in both cases the future is foreshortened" (p. 478).
The first of these quotations refers to Daniel himself, the second to the supposed author of the Book
which bears his name. In the first we pass for a moment out of the mist and cloud of mere theory and
argument into the plain, clear light of fact. "It cannot be doubted," or, in other words it is absolutely
certain, that Daniel was not only "a historical person," but "a seer"— that is to say, a prophet. But
plunging back again at once into the gloom, we go on to conjecture the existence of another prophet
in the days of Antiochus — a real prophet, for "he utters genuine predictions" for the encouragement
of "the godly Jews in the season of their trial."
Now the position of the skeptic is in a sense unassailable. He is like the obstinate juror who puts his
back against the wall and refuses to believe the evidence. But mark what this suggested compromise
involves. As already noticed, Daniel had no pretensions to the prophet's mantle in the sense in which
Jeremiah and Ezekiel wore it. He himself laid no claim to it (see chap. 9:10). He, moreover, passed his
life in the splendid isolation of the Court of Babylon, while they were central figures among their
people — one in the midst of the troubles in Jerusalem, the other among the exiles. It would not be
strange therefore if Daniel's name and fame had no such place as theirs in the popular memory. But
here we are asked to believe that another prophet, raised up within historic times, whose "message of
encouragement" must have been on every man's lips throughout the noble Maccabean struggle, passed
clean out of the memory of the nation. The historian of this struggle cannot have been removed from
him by more than a single generation, yet he ignores his existence, though he refers in the plainest
terms to the Daniel of the Captivity. [14] The prophet's voice had been silent for centuries; with what
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wild and passionate enthusiasm the nation would have hailed the rise of a new seer at such a time!
And when the issue of that fierce struggle set the seal of truth upon his words, his fame would have
eclipsed that of the old prophets of earlier days. But in fact not a vestige of his fame or name survived.
No writer, sacred or secular, seems to have heard of him. No tradition of him remained. Was there
ever a figment more untenable than this?
No such compromise between faith and unbelief is; possible. From either of two alternatives there is
no escape. Either the Book of Daniel is what it claims. to be, or else it is wholly worthless. "All must
be true or all imposture." It is idle to talk of it as; being the work of some prophet of a later epoch. It
dates from Babylon in the days of the Exile, or else it is a literary fraud, concocted after the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes. But how then could it come to be quoted in the Maccabees — quoted, not
incidentally, but in one of the most solemn and striking passages in the entire book, the dying words
of old Mattathias? And how could it come to be included in the Canon? The critics make much of its
position in the Canon: how do they account for its having a place in it at all?
It is reasonably certain that the first two divisions of the Canon were settled by the Great Synagogue
long before the days of the Maccabees, and that its completion was the work of the Great Sanhedrin,
not later than the second century B.C. And we are asked to suppose that this great College, composed
of the most learned men of the nation, would have accepted a literary fraud of modern date, or could
have been duped by it. This is one of the wildest and most reckless hypotheses imaginable. Nor would
this argument be sensibly weakened if the critics should insist that the Canon may still have been
open for a hundred years after the death of Antiochus. [15] If it was thus kept open, the fact would be
a further pledge and proof that the most jealous and vigilant care must have been unceasingly
exercised. The presence of the Book of Daniel in the Jewish Canon is a fact more weighty than all the
criticisms of the critics.
Thousands there are who cling to the Book of Daniel, and yet dread to face this destructive criticism
lest faith should give way under the influence. And yet this is all it has to urge, as formulated by one
of its best exponents. Of all these hostile arguments there is not so much as one which may not be
refuted at any moment by the discovery of further inscriptions. In presence of some newly found
cylinder from the as yet unexplored ruins of Babylon, [16] all this theorizing about improbabilities
and peddling over words might be silenced in a day. And this being so, it is obvious to any one in
whom the judicial faculty is not wanting that the critics exaggerate the importance of their criticisms.
Even if all they urge were true and weighty, it should lead us only to suspend our judgment. But the
critics are specialists, and it is proverbial that specialists are bad judges. And here it is possible for
one who cannot pose as a theologian or a scholar to meet them on more than equal terms. With them it
is enough that evidence of a certain kind points in one direction. But they in whom the judicial faculty
is developed will pause and ask, "What is to be said upon the other side?" and "Will the proposed
decision harmonize with all the facts?" Questions of this kind, however, have no existence for the
critics. If they ever presented themselves to Professor Driver's mind, it is to be regretted that he failed
to take account of them when stating the general results of his inquiry. And if ignored by an author so
willing to reach the truth, they need not be looked for in the writings of the skeptics and apostates.
I have hitherto been dealing with presumptions and inferences and arguments. To deny that these have
weight would be both dishonest and futile. It may be conceded that if the Book of Daniel had been
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brought to light within the Christian era, they would suffice to bar its admission to the Canon. But to
the Christian the Book is accredited by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and in presence of this one fact
the force of these criticisms is dispelled like mist before the sun. The very prediction which the
rationalists most cavil at, He has adopted in that discourse which is the key to all unfulfilled prophecy
(Matthew 24); and if Daniel be proved a fraud, He whom we own as Lord is discredited thereby.
Such an argument as this the rationalists of the German school despise. And with them the mention of
Daniel in the Book of Ezekiel counts for nothing, though according to their own canons it ought to
outweigh much of the negative evidence they adduce. Daniel is not mentioned by other prophets;
therefore, they argue, Daniel is a myth. Three times the prophecies of Ezekiel speak of him; therefore,
they infer, some other Daniel is intended. Their argument is based on the silence of the sacred and
other books of the Jews. A man so eminent as the Daniel of the exile would not, they urge, have been
thus ignored. And yet they conjecture the career of another Daniel of equal, or even greater eminence,
whose very existence has been forgotten! It is not easy to deal with such casuists. But there is one
argument, at least, which they cannot rob us of.
They have got rid of the second chapter and the seventh, and the closing vision of the Book, but the
great central prophecy of the Seventy Weeks remains; and this affords proof of the Divine authority of
Daniel, which cannot be destroyed. Let them fix the date of the Book where they will, they fail to
account for this. From one definitely recorded historical event — the edict to rebuild Jerusalem, to
another definitely recorded historical event — the public manifestation of the Messiah, the length of
the intervening period was predicted; and with accuracy absolute and to the very day the prediction
has been fulfilled.
To elucidate that prophecy this volume has been written, and as the result constitutes my personal
contribution to the controversy, I may be pardoned for explaining the steps by which it has been
reached. The vision refers to 70 sevens of years, but I deal here only with the 69 "weeks" of the
twenty-fifth verse. Here are the words:
"Know therefore and discern that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two
weeks: it shall be built again with street and moat, even in troublous times." [17]
Now it is an undisputed fact that Jerusalem was rebuilt by Nehemiah, under an edict issued by
Arta-xerxes (Longimanus), in the twentieth year of his reign. Therefore, notwithstanding the doubts
which controversy throws upon everything, the conclusion is obvious and irresistible that this was the
epoch of the prophetic period. But the month date was Nisan, and the sacred year of the Jews began
with the phases of the Paschal moon. I appealed, therefore, to the Astronomer Royal, the late Sir
George Airy, to calculate for me the moon's place for March in the year in question, and I thus
ascertained the date required— March 14th, B.C. 445.
This being settled, one question only remained, Of what kind of year does the era consist? And the
answer to this is definite and clear. That it is the ancient year of 360 days is plainly proved in two
ways. First, because, according to Daniel and the Apocalypse, 31/2 prophetic years are equal to 1, 260
days; and, secondly, because it can be proved that the 70 years of the "Desolations" were of this
character; and the connection between the period of the "Desolations" and the era of the "weeks" is
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one of the few universally admitted facts in this controversy. The "Desolations" began on the 10th
Tebeth, B.C. 589 (a day which for four-and-twenty centuries has been commemorated by the Jews as
a fast), and ended on the 24th Chisleu, B.C. 520.
Having thus settled the terminus a quo of the "weeks," and the form of year of which they are
composed, nothing remains but to calculate the duration of the era. Its terminus ad quem can thus with
certainty be ascertained. Now 483 years (69 x 7) of 360 days contain 173, 880 days. And a period of
173, 880 days, beginning March 14th, B.C. 445, ended upon that Sunday in the week of the
crucifixion, when, for the first and only time in His ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of
Zechariah's prophecy, made a public entry into Jerusalem, and caused His Messiahship to be openly
proclaimed by "the whole multitude of the disciples." (Luke 19)
I need not discuss the matter further here. In the following chapters every incidental question involved
is fully dealt with, and every objection answered. [18] Suffice it to repeat that in presence of the facts
and figures thus detailed no mere negation of belief is possible. These must be accounted for in some
way. "There is a point beyond which unbelief is impossible, and the mind, in refusing truth, must take
refuge in a misbelief which is sheer credulity."
---------------------------------------------------------------
It was not till after the preceding pages were in print that Archdeacon Farrar's Daniel reached my
hands. Some apology is due, perhaps, to Professor Driver for bracketing such a work with his, but The
Expositor's Bible will be read by many to whom The Introduction is an unknown book. Both writers
agree in impugning the authenticity of the Book of Daniel; but their relative positions are widely
different, and no less so are their arguments and methods. The Christian scholar writes for scholars,
desirous only to elucidate the truth. The popular theologian retails the extravagances of German
skepticism for the enlightenment of an easily deluded public. As we turn from the one book to the
other, we are reminded of the difference between a criminal trial when in charge of a responsible law
officer of the Crown, and when promoted by a vindictive private prosecutor. In the one case the
lawyer's aim is solely to assist the Court in arriving at a just verdict, In the other, we may be prepared
for statements which are reckless, if not unscrupulous.
And here we must distinguish between the Higher Criticism as legitimately used by Christian scholars
in the interests of truth, and the rationalistic movement which bears that name. If that movement leads
to unbelief, it is in obedience to the law that like begets like. It is itself the offspring of skepticism. Its
reputed founder set out with the deliberate design of eliminating God from the Bible. From the
skeptic's point of view Eichhorn's theories were inadequate, and De Wette and others have improved
upon them. But their aim and object are the same. The Bible must be accounted for, and Christianity
explained, on natural principles. The miracles therefore had to be got rid of, and prophecy is the
greatest miracle of all. In the case of most of the Messianic Scriptures the skepticism which had
settled like a night mist upon Germany made the task an easy one; but Daniel was a difficulty. Such
passages as the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah could be jauntily disposed of, but the infidel could make
nothing of these visions of Daniel. The Book stands out as a witness for God, and by fair means or
foul it must be silenced. And one method only of accomplishing this is possible. The conspirators set
themselves to prove that it was written after the events it purports to predict. The evidence they have
scraped together is of a kind which would not avail to convict a known thief of petty larceny — much
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of it indeed has already been discarded; but any sort of evidence will suffice with a prejudiced
tribunal, and from the very first the Book of Daniel was doomed.
Dr. Farrar's book reproduces every shred of this evidence in its baldest and crudest form. His original
contributions to the controversy are limited to the rhetoric which conceals the weakness of fallacious
arguments, and the dogmatism with which he sometimes disposes of results accredited by the
judgment of authorities of the highest eminence. Two typical instances will suffice. The first relates to
a question of pure scholarship. Referring to the fifth chapter of Daniel he writes:
"Snatching at the merest straws, those who try to vindicate the accuracy of the writer…think
that they improve the case by urging that Daniel was made 'the third ruler in the kingdom' —
Nabunaid being the first, and Belshazzar being the second! Unhappily for their very precarious
hypothesis, the translation 'third ruler' appears to be entirely untenable. It means 'one of a board
of three.'"
"Entirely untenable!" In view of the decision of the Old Testament Company of the Revisers on this
point, the statement denotes extraordinary carelessness or intolerable arrogance. And I have authority
for stating that the Revisers gave the question full consideration, and that it was only at the last
revision that the alternative rendering, "rule as one of three," was admitted into the margin. On no
occasion was it contemplated to accept it in the text. [19]
The right rendering of ch. 5:29 is admittedly "the third ruler" in the kingdom; but the authorities differ
as to verses 7 and 16. Professor Driver tells me that, in his opinion, the absolutely literal rendering
there is "rule as a third part in the kingdom," or, slightly paraphrasing the words, "rule as one of three"
(as in R.V. margin). Professor Kirkpatrick, of Cambridge, has been good enough to refer me to
Kautzsch's Die Heilige schrift des alten Testaments, as representing the latest and best German
scholarship, and his rendering of verse 7 is "third ruler in the kingdom," with the note, "i.e., either as
one of three over the whole kingdom (compare 6:3), or as third by the side of the king and the king's
mother." And the Chief Rabbi (whose courtesy to me here I wish to acknowledge) writes:
"I cannot absolutely find fault with— for translating the words 'the third part of the kingdom, 'as
he follows herein two of our Hebrew Commentators of great repute, Rashi and Ibn Ezra. On the
other hand, others of our Commentators, such as Saadia, Jachja, etc., translate the passage as 'he
shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.' This rendering seems to be more strictly in accord with
the literal meaning of the words, as shown by Dr. Winer in his Grammatik des Chaldaismus. It
also receives confirmation from Sir Henry Rawlinson's remarkable discovery, according to
which Belshazzar was the eldest son of King Nabonidus, and associated with him in the
Government, so that the person next in honor would be the third."
It is perfectly clear, therefore, that Dr. Farrar's statement is utterly unjustifiable. Is it to be attributed to
want of scholarship, or to want of candor?
Again, referring to the prophet's third vision, Archdeacon Farrar writes:
"The attempt to refer the prophecy of the seventy weeks primarily or directly to the coming and
death of Christ…can only be supported by immense manipulations, and by hypotheses so
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crudely impossible, that they would have made the prophecy practically meaningless both to
Daniel and to any subsequent reader" (p. 287).
It is not easy to deal with such a statement with even conventional respect. No honest man will deny
that, whether the ninth chapter of Daniel be a prophecy or a fraud, the blessings specified in the
twenty-fourth verse are Messianic. Here all Christian expositors are agreed. And though the views of
some of them are marked by startling eccentricities even the wildest of them will contrast favorably
with Kuenen's exegesis, which, in all its crude absurdity, Archdeacon Farrar adopts. [20]
Professor Driver's opinions are entitled to the greatest weight within the sphere in which he is so high
an authority. [21] But I have ventured to suggest that his eminence as a scholar lends undue weight to
his dicta on the general topics involved, and that he shares in the proverbial disability of experts in
dealing with a mass of apparently conflicting evidence. The tone and manner in which his inquiry is
conducted shows a readiness to reconsider his position in the light of any new discoveries hereafter. In
contrast with this there are no reserves in Dr. Farrar's denunciations. For him retreat is impossible, no
matter what the future may disclose. But to review his book is not my purpose. The only serious
counts in the indictment of Daniel have been already noticed. His treatise, however, raises a general
question of transcendent importance, and to this I desire in conclusion to refer.
With him the Book of Daniel is the merest fiction, differing from other fiction of the same kind by
reason of the multiplicity of its inaccuracies and errors. Its history is but idle legend. Its miracles are
but baseless fables. It is, in every part of it, a work of the imagination. "Avowed fiction" (p. 43), he
calls it, for it is so obviously a romance that the charge of fraud is due solely to the stupidity of the
Christian Church in mistaking the aim and purpose of "the holy and gifted Jew" (p. 119) who wrote it.
Such are the results of his criticisms. What action shall we take upon them? Shall we not sadly, but
with deliberate purpose, tear the Book of Daniel from its place in the Sacred Canon? By no means.
"These results," Dr. Farrar exclaims, "are in no way derogatory to the preciousness of this Old
Testament Apocalypse. No words of mine can exaggerate the value which I attach to this part of our
Canonical Scriptures.. .. Its right to a place in the Canon is undisputed and indisputable, and there is
scarcely a single book of the Old Testament which can be made more richly profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
completely furnished unto every good work" (p. 4).
This is not an isolated statement such as charity might attribute to thoughtlessness. Like words are
used again and again in praise of the book [22] Daniel is nothing more than a religious novel, and yet
"there is scarcely a single book of the Old Testament" of greater worth!
The question here is not the authenticity of Daniel but the character and value of the Holy Scriptures.
Christian scholars whose researches lead them to reject any portion of the Canon are wont to urge
that, in doing so, they increase the authority, and enhance the value, of the rest. But the Archdeacon of
Westminster, in impugning the Book of Daniel, takes occasion to degrade and throw contempt upon
the Bible as a whole.
Bishop Westcott declares that no writing in the Old Testament had so great a share in the development
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of Christianity as the Book of Daniel. [23] Or, to quote a hostile witness, Professor Bevan writes:
"In the New Testament Daniel is mentioned only once, but the influence of the book is apparent
almost everywhere." [24] "There are few books," says Hengstenberg, "whose Divine authority
is so fully established by the testimony of the New Testament, and in particular by our Lord
Himself, as the Book of Daniel."
Just as mist and storm may hide the solid rock from sight, so this truth may be obscured by casuistry
and rhetoric; but when these have spent themselves it stands out plain and clear. In all this controversy
one result of the rejection of the Book of Daniel is entirely overlooked or studiously concealed. If "the
Apocalypse of the Old Testament" be banished from the Canon, the Apocalypse of the New
Testament must share in its exclusion. The visions of St. John are so inseparably interwoven with the
visions of the great prophet of the exile, that they stand or fall together. This result the critic is entitled
to disregard. But the homilist may by no means ignore it. And it brings into prominence the fact so
habitually forgotten, that the Higher Criticism claims a position which can by no means be accorded
to it. Its true place is not on the judgment seat, but in the witness chair. The Christian theologian must
take account of much which criticism cannot notice without entirely abandoning its legitimate sphere
and function.
No one falls back upon this position more freely when it suits his purpose, than Archdeacon Farrar.
He evades the testimony of the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew by refusing to believe that our
Lord ever spoke the words attributed to Him. But this undermines Christianity; for, I repeat,
Christianity rests upon the Incarnation, and if the Gospels be not inspired, the Incarnation is a myth.
What is his answer to this? I quote his words:
"But our belief in the Incarnation, and in the miracles of Christ, rests on evidence which, after
repeated examination, is to us overwhelming. Apart from all questions of personal verification,
or the Inward Witness of the Spirit, we can show that this evidence is supported, not only by the
existing records, but by myriads of external and independent testimonies."
This deserves the closest attention, not merely because of its bearing on the question at issue, but as a
fair specimen of the writer's reasoning in this extraordinary contribution to our theological literature.
Here is the Christian argument:
"The Nazarene was admittedly the son of Mary. The Jews declared that He was the son of
Joseph; the Christian worships Him as the Son of God. The founder of Rome was said to be the
divinely begotten child of a vestal virgin. And in the old Babylonian mysteries a similar
parentage was ascribed to the martyred son of Semiramis, gazetted Queen of Heaven. What
grounds have we then for distinguishing the miraculous birth at Bethlehem from these and other
kindred legends of the ancient world? To point to the resurrection is a transparent begging of
the question. To appeal to human testimony is utter folly. At this point we are face to face with
that to which no consensus of mere human testimony could lend even an a priori probability."
[25]
On what then do we base our belief of the great central fact of the Christian system? Here the
dilemma is inexorable: to disparage the Gospels, as this writer does, is to admit that the foundation of
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our faith is but a Galilaean legend. By no means, Dr. Farrar tells us; we have not only "personal
verification, and the Inward Witness of the Spirit, but we have also myriads of external and
independent witnesses." No Christian will ignore the Witness of the Spirit. But the question here,
remember, is one of fact. The whole Christian system depends upon the truth of the last verse of the
first chapter of St. Matthew — I will not quote it. How then can the Holy Spirit impart to me the
knowledge of the fact there stated, save by the written Word? I believe the fact because I accept the
record as God-breathed Scripture, an authoritative revelation from heaven. But to talk of personal
verification, or to appeal to some transcendental instinct, or to tens of thousands of external witnesses,
is to divorce words from thoughts, and to pass out of the sphere of intelligent statement and common
sense. [26]
-- R. A.
FIFTH EDITION FOOTNOTE
[1] An Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament, by S. R. Driver, D. D., Regius
Professor of Hebrew, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. Third edition. (T. & T. Clark, 1892.)
I wish here to acknowledge Professor Driver's courtesy in replying to various inquiries I have
ventured to address to him.
[2] In accordance with the plan of the work, Chapter 11. opens with a precis of the contents of
Daniel, together with exegetical notes. With these notes I am not concerned, though they seem
designed to prepare the reader for the sequel. I will dismiss them with two remarks. First, in his
criticisms upon chap. 9:24-27 he ignores the scheme of interpretation which I have followed,
albeit it is adopted by some writers of more eminence than several of those he quotes; and the
four points he enumerates against the "commonly understood" Messianic interpretation are
amply dealt with in these pages. And secondly, his comment on chap. 11., that "it can hardly be
legitimate, in a continuous description, with no apparent change of subject, to refer part to the
type and part to the antitype," disposes with extraordinary naivete of a canon of prophetic
interpretation accepted almost universally from the days of the post-Apostolic Fathers down to
the present hour!
[3] The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments, by the Rev. A. H. Sayce.
[4] Page 479, note. But the author's appeal under (f) to "all other authorities" is scarcely fair, as
Daniel is the only contemporary historian, and the exploration of the ruins of Babylon has yet to
be accomplished. And as regards (h) but little need be said. Professor Driver candidly owns that
"there are good reasons for supposing that Nebuchadnezzar's lycanthropy rests upon a basis of
fact." No student of human nature will find anything strange in the recorded action of these
heathen kings when confronted with proofs of the presence and power of God We see its
counterpart every day in the conduct of ungodly men when events which they regard as Divine
judgments befall them. And no one accustomed to deal with evidence will entertain the
suggestion that the story of Daniel's becoming a "Chaldean" would be invented by a Jew trained
under the strict ritual of post-exilic days. The suggestion that Daniel would have been refused
admission to the college in the face of the great king's order to admit him really deserves no
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answer.
[5] As the Psalms came first in the Kelhuvim they gave their name to the whole; as ex. gr. when
our Lord spoke of "the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44) He meant
the entire Scriptures.
[6] Against Apion, 1. 8.
[7] This section of Ecclesiasticus begins with chap. 44., but the passage here in question is
chap. 49: vv. 6-16.
[8] Possibly the critic means to question whether Jerusalem was actually captured, i. e. carried
by storm, at this time. I have, I admit, assumed this in these pages. But Scripture nowhere says
so. Taking all accounts together, we can only aver that Nebuchadnezzar came up against
Jerusalem, and laid siege to it, that, in some way, Jehoiakim fell into his hands and was put in
chains to carry him to Babylon, and that Nebuchadnezzar changed his purpose and left him as a
vassal king in Judaea. He may have gone out to the Chaldean king, as his son and successor
afterwards did (2 Kings 24:12); and it is very probable that Jehoiachin's action in this respect
was suggested by the leniency shown to his father.
[9] The words "as it is this day," in ver. 18, appear to be an allusion to the accomplished
subjugation of Judaea. According to ver. 19, Egypt was next to fall before Nebuchadnezzar; and
chap. 46:2 records Nebuchadnezzar's victory over the Egyptian army in this same year.
[10] Professor Bevan's suggestion on this point is, in my opinion, untenable. But I refer to it to
show how an advanced exponent of the Higher Criticism can dispose of (g). Commentary on
Daniel, p. 146. I have no doubt whatever that if Leviticus was before Daniel, as well it might
be, it was the law of the Sabbatical years he had in view and not 26:18, etc.
[11] I speak of two Greek words only, for kitharos is practically given up. Dr. Pusey denies that
these words are of Greek origin. (Daniel, pp. 27- 30.) Dr. Driver urges that in the fifth century
B. C. "the arts and inventions of civilized life streamed then into Greece from the East, and not
from Greece Eastwards." But surely the figure he uses here distorts his judgment. The
influences of civilization do not "stream" in the sense in which water streams. There is and
always must be an interchange; and arts and inventions carried from one country to another
carry their names with them. I am compelled to pass by these philological questions thus
rapidly, but the reader will find them fully discussed by Pusey and others. Dr. Pusey remarks,
"Aramaic as well as Aryan words suit his real age," and "his Hebrew is just what one would
expect at the age in which he lived" (p. 578).
[12] Higher Criticism and the Monuments, pp. 424 and 494.
[13] On this subject see the Bishop of Durham's article in Smith's Bible Dictionary.
[14] 1 Maccabees 2:60; see also chap. 1:54. The First Book of Maccabees is a history of the
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highest repute, and the accuracy of it is universally acknowledged.
[15] The Sanhedrin, though scattered during the Maccabean revolt, was reconstituted at its
close. See Dr. Ginsburg's articles "Sanhedrin" and "Synagogue" in Kitto's Cyclopaedia.
[16] The ruins of Borsippa are practically unexplored; and considering the character of the
inscriptions found on other Chaldean sites, we may expect to obtain hereafter very full State
records of the capital.
[17] I follow the marginal reading of the R. V., which was the reading adopted by the American
Company.
[18] See chaps. 5-10.
[19] As I have taken up this as a test question I have investigated it closely.
[20] His chapter on The Seventy Weeks provokes the exclamation, Is this what English theology
has come to! I do not allude to such vulgar blunders as calling Gabriel "the Archangel" (p. 275),
or confounding the era of the Servitude with that of the Desolations (p. 289), but to the style
and spirit of the excursus as a whole. For "immense manipulations" and "crudely impossible
hypotheses" no recent English treatise can compare with it.
[21] I allude to his attempt to fix the date of the Book by the character of its Hebrew and
Aramaic. This, moreover, is a point on which scholars differ. I have already quoted Dr. Pusey's
dictum. Professor Cheyne says: "From the Hebrew of the Book of Daniel no important
inference as to its date can be safely drawn" (Encyc. Brit., "Daniel," p. 804); and one of the
greatest authorities in England, who has been quoted in favor of fixing a late date for Daniel,
writes, in answer to an inquiry I have addressed to him: "I am now of opinion that it is a very
difficult task to settle the age of any portion of that Book from its language. I do not think,
therefore, that my name should be quoted any more in the contest."
[22] See ex. gr. Pp. 36, 37, 90, 118, 125.
[23] Smith's Bible Dict., "Daniel."
[24] Com. Daniel, p. 15.
[25] A Doubter's Doubts, p. 76
[26] Professor Driver has since called my attention to a note in the "Addends" to the third
edition of his Introduction, qualifying his admissions respecting Belshazzar. He has also
informed me that Professor Sayce is the "high Assyrio-logical authority" there referred to. This
enables us to discount his retractation. When writing on (e) in the above Preface, I had before
me pp. 524-9 of the Higher Criticism and the Monuments, and I was impressed by the force of
the objections there urged against the Daniel story of Belshazzar. Great was my revulsion of
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feeling when I discovered that Professor Sayce's argument depends upon his misreading of the
Annalistic tablet of Cyrus. That tablet admittedly refers throughout to Belshazzar as "the son of
the King"; but when it records his death at the taking of Babylon, Professor Sayce reads "wife
of the King" instead of" son of the King," and goes on to argue that, as Belshazzar is not
mentioned in the passage, he cannot have been in Babylon at the time! That "contract tablets"
would be dated with reference to the reign of the King, and not of the Regent, is precisely what
we should expect.
I have dealt fully with the Belshazzar question in my Daniel in the Critics' Den, to which I
would refer also for a fuller reply to Dean Farrar's book. Having regard to the testimony of the
Annalistic tablet, that question may be looked upon as settled. And if, when writing that work, I
had had before me what the Rev. J. Urquhart brings to light about Darius the Mede, in his
Inspiration and Accuracy of Holy Scripture, I should have considered that this, the only
remaining difficulty in the Daniel controversy, was no longer a serious one.
.
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX 1.
CHRONOLOGICAL TREATISE AND TABLES
THE point of contact between sacred and profane chronology, and therefore the first certain date, in
biblical history, is the accession of Nebuchadnezzar to the throne of Babylon (cf. Daniel 1:1 and
Jeremiah 25:1). From this date we reckon on to Christ and back to Adam. The agreement of leading
chronologers is a sufficient guarantee that David began to reign in B.C. l056-5, and therefore that all
dates subsequent to that event can be definitely fixed. But beyond this epoch, certainty vanishes.. The
marginal dates of our English Bible represent: in the main Archbishop Ussher's chronology, [*] and
notwithstanding his eminence as a chronologer some of these dates are doubtful, and others entirely
wrong.
Of the doubtful dates in Ussher's scheme the reigns of Belshazzar and "Ahasuerus" may serve as
examples. Belshazzar's case is specially interesting. Scripture plainly states that he was King of
Babylon at its conquest by the Medo-Persians, and that he was slain the night Darius entered the city.
On the other hand, not only does no ancient historian mention Belshazzar, but all agree that the last
king of Babylon was Nabonidus, who was absent from the city when the Persians captured it, and
who afterwards submitted to the conquerors at Borsippa. Thus the contradiction between history and
Scripture appeared to be absolute. Skeptics appealed to history to discredit the book of Daniel; and
commentators solved or shirked the difficulty by rejecting history. The cuneiform inscriptions,
however, have now settled the controversy in a manner as satisfactory as it was unexpected. On clay
cylinders discovered by Sir H. Rawlinson at Mughier and other Chaldean sites, Belshazzar
(Belsaruzur) is named by Nabonidus as his eldest son. The inference is obvious, that during the latter
years of his father's reign, Belshazzar was King-Regent in Babylon. According to Ptolemy's canon
Nabonidus reigned seventeen years (from s. c. 555 to B.C. 538), and Ussher gives these years to
Belshazzar.
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In common with many other writers, Ussher has assumed that the King of the book of Esther was
Darius Hystaspes, but it is now generally agreed that it is the son and successor of Darius who is there
mentioned as Ahasuerus — "a name which orthographically corresponds with the Greek Xerxes." [1]
The great durbar of the first chapter of Esther, held in his third year (ver. 3), was presumably with a
view to his expedition against Greece (B.C. 483); and the marriage of Esther was in his seventh year
(2:16), having been delayed till then on account of his absence during the campaign. The marginal
dates of the book of Esther should therefore begin with B.C. 486, instead of B.C. 521, as given in our
English Bibles.
But these are comparatively trivial points, whereas the principal error of Ussher's chronology is of
real importance. According to 1 Kings 6:1, Solomon began to build the Temple "in the 480th year
after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt." The mystic character of this era of
480 years has been noticed in an earlier chapter. Ussher assumed that it represented a strictly
chronological period, and reckoning back from the third year of Solomon, he fixed the date of the
Exodus as B.C. 1491, — an error which vitiates his entire system.
Acts 13:18-21, St. Paul, in treating of the interval between the Exodus and the end of Saul's reign,
specifies three several periods; viz., 40 years, about 450 years, and 40 years = 530 years. From the
accession of David to the third year of Solomon, when the temple was founded, was forty-three years.
According to this enumeration therefore, the period between the Exodus and the temple was 530 + 43
years = 573 years. Clinton, however, whose chronology has been very generally adopted, conjectures
that there was an interval of twenty-seven years between the death of Moses and the first servitude,
and an interval of twelve years between "Samuel the prophet" (1 Samuel 7) and the election of Saul.
Accordingly he estimates the period between the Exodus and the temple as 573 + 27 + 12 years = 612
years. [2]
Clinton's leading dates, therefore, are as follows:--
B.C. 4138. — Adam.
B.C. 2482. — The Deluge.
B.C. 2055. — The Call of Abraham.
B.C. 1625. — The Exodus.
B.C. 1096. — The Election of Saul.
B.C. 1056. — David.
B.C. 1016. — Solomon.
B.C.. 976. — Rehoboam.
B.C. 606. — The Captivity (i.e., the Servitude to Babylon).
In this chronology Browne proposes three corrections (Ordo Sec., Ch. 10, 13); viz., he rejects the two
conjectural terms of twenty-seven years and twelve years above noticed; and he adds two years to the
period between the Deluge and the Exodus. If this last correction be adopted (and it is perfectly
legitimate, considering that approximate accuracy is all that the ablest chronologer can claim to have
attained for this era), let three years be added to the period between the Deluge and the Covenant with
Abraham, and the latter event becomes exactly, as it is in any case approximately, the central epoch
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between the Creation and the Crucifixion. The date of the Deluge will thus be put back to B.C. 2485,
and therefore the Creation will be B.C. 4141.
The following most striking features appear in the chronology as thus settled:--
From Adam to the Covenant with Abraham (B.C. 4141 to B.C. 2055) is 2086 years.
From Abraham to the Crucifixion of Christ (B.C. 2055 to A.D. 32) is 2086 years.
From Adam to the Deluge (B.C. 4141 to B.C. 2485) is 1656 years.
From the Deluge to the Covenant (B.C. 2485 to B.C. 2055) is 430 years.
From the Covenant to the Exodus (B.C. 2055 to B.C. 1625) is 430 years.
From the Exodus to the Crucifixion (B.C. 1625 to A.D. 32) is 1656 years. [3]
The Covenant here mentioned is that recorded in Genesis 12 in connection with the call of Abraham.
The statements of Scripture relating to this part of the chronology may seem to need explanation in
two respects.
Stephen declares in Acts 7:4 that Abraham's removal from Haran (or Charran) took place after the
death of his father. But Abraham was only seventy-five years of age when he entered Canaan;
whereas if we assume from Genesis 11:26 that Abraham was born when Terah was but seventy, he
must have been one hundred and thirty at the call, for Terah died at two hundred and five. (Compare
Genesis 11:26, 31, 32; 12:4.) The fact however is obvious from these statement that though named
first among the sons of Terah, Abraham was not the firstborn, but the youngest: Terah was seventy
when his eldest son was born, and he had three sons, Haran, Nahor, and Abraham. To ascertain his
age at Abraham's birth we must needs turn to the history, and there we learn it was one hundred and
thirty years. [4] And this will account for the deference Abraham paid to Lot, who, though his
nephew, was nevertheless his equal in years, possibly his senior; and moreover, as the son of
Abraham's eldest brother, the nominal head of the family. (Genesis 13:8, 9.)
Again. According to Exodus 12:40 "the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was
430 years." If this be taken to mean (as the statement in Genesis 15:13, quoted by Stephen in Acts 7:6,
might also seem to imply) that the Israelites were four centuries in Egypt, the entire chronology must
be changed. But, as St. Paul explains in Galatians 3:17, these 430 years are to be computed from the
call of Abraham, and not from the going down of Israel into Egypt. The statement in Genesis 15:13 is
explained and qualified by the words which follow in ver. 16. The entire period of Israel's wanderings
was to be four centuries, but when the passage speaks definitely of their sojourn in Egypt it says' "In
the fourth generation they shall come hither again" — a word which was accurately fulfilled, for
Moses was the fourth in descent from Jacob. [5]
It was not till 470 years after the covenant with Abraham that his descendants took their place as one
of the nations of the earth. They were slaves in Egypt, and in the wilderness they were wanderers; but
under Joshua they entered the land of promise and became a nation. And with this last event begins a
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series of cycles of "seventy weeks" of years.
From the entrance into Canaan (B.C. 1586-5) to the establishment of the kingdom under Saul
(B.C. 1096) was 490 years.
From the kingdom (B.C. 1096) to the servitude to Babylon (B.C. 606) was 490 years.
From the epoch of the servitude (B.C. 606) until the royal edict of the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes Longimanus, the national independence of Judah was in abeyance, and with that
date began the mystic era of 490 years, which form the "seventy weeks" of the prophecy of
Daniel.
Again the period Between the dedication of the first temple in the eleventh year of Solomon (B.C.
1066-5) and the dedication of the second temple in the sixth year of Darius Hystaspes of Persia (B.C.
515), was 490 years. [6]
Are we to conclude that these results are purely accidental? No thoughtful person will hesitate to
accept the more reasonable alternative that the chronology of the world is part of a Divine plan or
"economy of times and seasons."
The chronological inquiry suggested by the data afforded by the books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, is of principal importance, not only as establishing the absolute
accuracy of Scripture, but also because it throws light upon the main question of the several eras of
the captivity, which again are closely allied with the era of the seventy weeks.
The student of the book of Daniel finds every step beset with difficulties, raised either by avowed
enemies, or quasi expositors of Holy Writ. Even the opening statement of the book has been assailed
on all sides. That Daniel was made captive in the third year of Jehoiakim "is simply an invention of
late Christian days," declares the author of Messiah the Prince (p. 42), in keeping with the style in
which this writer disposes of history sacred and profane, in order to support his own theories.
In Dean Milman's History of the Jews, the page which treats of this epoch is full of inaccuracies. First
he confounds the seventy years of the desolations, predicted in Jeremiah 25., with the seventy years of
the servitude, which had already begun. Then as the prophecy of Jeremiah 25: was given in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim, he fixes the first capture of Jerusalem in that year, whereas Scripture expressly
states it took place in Jehoiakim's third year (Daniel 1:1). He proceeds to specify B.C. 601 as the year
of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion; and here the confusion is hopeless, as he mentions two periods of three
years each between that date and the king's death, which nevertheless he rightly assigns to the year
B.C. 598.
Again, Dr. F. W. Newman's article on the Captivities, in Kitto's Cyclopaedia, well deserves notice as a
specimen of the kind of criticism to be found in standard books ostensibly designed to aid the study of
Scripture.
"The statement with which the book of Daniel opens is" (he maintains) "in direct collision with
the books of Kings and Chronicles, which assign to Jehoiakim an eleven years' reign, as also
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with Jeremiah 25:1. It partially rests on 2 Chronicles 36:6, which is itself not in perfect
accordance with 2 Kings 24. In the earlier history the war broke out during the reign of
Jehoiakim, who died before its close; and when his son and successor Jehoiachin had reigned
three months, the city and its king were captured. But in the Chronicles the same event is made
to happen twice over at an interval of three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:6 and 9); and
even so we do not obtain accordance with the received interpretation of Daniel 1:1-3."
This writer's conclusions are adopted by Dean Stanley in his Jewish Church (vol. 2., p. 459), wherein
he enumerates among the captives taken with Jehoiachin in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar, the
prophet Daniel, who had gained a position at the court of Babylon six years before Jehoiachin came to
the throne! (Compare 2 Kings 24:12 with Daniel 2:1.)
A reference to the Five Great Monarchies (vol. 3., pp. 488-494), and the Fasti Hellenici, will show
how thoroughly consistent the sacred history of this period appears to the mind of a historian or a
chronologer; and moreover how completely it harmonizes with the extant fragments of the history of
Berosus.
Jehoiakim did in fact reign eleven years. In his third year he became the vassal of the King of
Babylon. For three years he paid tribute, and in his sixth year he revolted. There is not a shadow of
reason for believing that the first verse of Daniel is spurious; and apart from all claim to Divine
sanction for the book, the idea that such a writer — a man of princely rank and of the highest culture,
(Daniel 1:3, 4.) and raised to the foremost place among the wise and noble of Babylonia — was
ignorant of the date and circumstances of his own exile, is simply preposterous. But according to Dr.
Newman, he needed to refer to the book of Chronicles for the information, and was deceived thereby!
A comparison of the statements in Kings, Chronicles, and Daniel clearly establishes that the narratives
are independent, each giving details omitted in the other books. The second verse of Daniel appears
inconsistent with the rest only to a mind capable of supposing that the living king of Judah was placed
as an ornament in the temple of Belus along with the holy vessels; for so Dr. Newman has read it. And
the apparent inconsistency in 2 Chronicles 36:6 disappears when read with the context, for the eighth
verse shows the writer's knowledge that Jehoiakim completed his reign in Jerusalem. Moreover the
correctness of the entire history is signally established by fixing the chronology of the events, a
crucial test of accuracy.
Jerusalem was first taken by the Chaldeans in the third year of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1:1). His fourth year
was current with the first of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:1). This accords with the deft, the
statement of Berosus that Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition took place before his actual accession
(Jos., Apion, 1. 19). According to the canon of Ptolemy, the accuracy of which has been fully
established, the reign of Nebuchadnezzar dates from B.C. 604, i.e., his accession was in the year
beginning the first Thoth (which fell in January) B.C. 604, and the history leaves no doubt it was early
in that year. But the captivity, according to the era of Ezekiel, began in Nebuchadnezzar's eighth year
(comp. Ezekiel 1:2 and 2 Kings 24:12); and in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity,
Nebuchadnezzar's successor was on the throne (2 Kings 25:27). This would give Nebuchadnezzar a
reign of at least: forty-four years, whereas according to the Canon (and Berosus confirms it) he
reigned only forty-three years, and was succeeded by Evil-Merodach (the Iluoradam of the Canon), in
B.C. 561.
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It follows therefore that Scripture antedates the years of Nebuchadnezzar, computing his reign from
B.C. 605. [7] This would be sufficiently accounted for by the fact that, from the conquest of Jerusalem
in the third year of Jehoiakim, the Jews acknowledged Nebuchadnezzar as their suzerain. It has been
overlooked, however, that it is in accordance with the ordinary principle on which they reckoned
regnal years, computing them from Nisan to Nisan. In B.C. 604 the 1st Nisan fell on or about the 1st
April, [8] and according to Jewish reckoning, the King's second year would begin on that day, no
matter how recently he had ascended the throne. Therefore "the fourth year of Jehoiakim that was the
first year of Nebuchadnezzar" (Jeremiah 25:1), was the year beginning Nisan B.C. 605; and the third
of Jehoiakim, in which Jerusalem was taken and the servitude began, was the year beginning Nisan
B.C. 606.
This result is most remarkably confirmed by Clinton, who fixes the summer of B.C. 606 as the date of
Nebuchadnezzar's first expedition. [9]
It is further confirmed by, and affords the explanation of a statement of Daniel, which has been
triumphantly appealed to in depreciation of the value of his book. If, it is urged, the King of Babylon
kept Daniel three years in training before admitting him to his presence, how could the prophet have
interpreted the King's dream in his second year? (Daniel 1:5, 18; 2:1). Daniel, a citizen of Babylon,
and a courtier withal, naturally and of course computed his sovereign's reign according to the
common era in use around him (as Nehemiah afterwards did in like circumstances.) But as the
prophet was exiled in B.C. 606, his three years' probation terminated at the close of B.C. 603, whereas
the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, computed from his actual accession, extended to some date in the
early months of B.C. 602.
Again. The epoch of Jehoiachin's captivity was in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:12),
i.e., his eighth year as reckoned from Nisan.
But the ninth year of the captivity was still current on the tenth Tebeth in the ninth year of Zedekiah
and seventeenth of Nebuchadnezzar (comp. Ezekiel 24:1, 2, with 2 Kings 25:1-8).
And the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar and eleventh of Zedekiah, in which Jerusalem was
destroyed, was in part concurrent with the twelfth year of the captivity (comp. 2 Kings 25:2-8 with
Ezekiel 33:21).
It follows therefore that Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) must have been taken at the close of the Jewish year
("when the year was expired," 2 Chronicles 36:10), that is the year preceding 1st Nisan, B.C. 597; and
Zedekiah was made king (after a brief interregnum) early in the year beginning on that day. [10] And
it also follows that whether computed according to the era of Nebuchadnezzar, of Zedekiah, or of the
captivity, B.C. 587 was the year in which "the city was smitten." [11]
The first link in this chain of dates is the third year of Jehoiakim, and every new link confirms the
proof of the correctness and importance of that date. It has been justly termed the point of contact
between sacred and profane history; and its importance in the sacred chronology is immense on
account of its being the epoch of the servitude of Judah to the King of Babylon.
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The servitude must not be confounded with the captivity, as it generally is. It was rebellion against the
Divine decree which entrusted the imperial scepter to Nebuchadnezzar, that brought on the Jews the
further judgment of a national deportation, and the still more terrible chastisement of the
"desolations." The language of Jeremiah is most definite in this respect. "I have given all these lands
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant." "The nation which will not serve
the same Nebuchadnezzar, 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." But the
nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let
remain still in their own land, saith the Lord, and they shall till it and dwell therein" (Jeremiah 27:6, 8
11; and comp. chap.38:17-21).
The appointed era of this servitude was seventy years, and the twenty-ninth chapter of Jeremiah was a
message of hope to the captivity, that at the expiration of that period they should return to Jerusalem
(ver. 10). The twenty-fifth chapter, oil the oilier hand, was a prediction for the rebellious Jews who
remained in Jerusalem after the servitude had commenced, warning them that their stubborn
disobedience would bring on them utter destruction, and that for seventy years the whole land should
be "a desolation."
To recapitulate. The thirty-seventh year of the captivity was current on the accession of
Evil-Merodach (2 Kings 25:27), and the epoch of that king's reign was B.C. 561. Therefore the
captivity dated from the year beginning Nisan 598 and ending Adar 597. But this was the eighth year
of Nebuchadnezzar according to Scripture reckoning. Therefore his first year was Nisan 605 to Nisan
604. The first capture of Jerusalem and the beginning of the servitude was during the preceding year,
606-605. The final destruction of the city was in Nebuchadnezzar's nineteenth year, i.e., 587, and the
siege began 10th Tebeth (or about 25th December), 589, which was the epoch of the desolations. The
burning of Jerusalem cannot have been B.C. 588, as given by Ussher, Prideaux, etc., for in that case
[12] the captivity would have begun B.C. 599, and the thirty-seventh year would have ended before
the accession of Evil-Merodach. Nor can it have been B.C. 586, as given by Jackson, Hales, etc., for
then the thirty-seventh year would not have begun during Evil-Merodach's first year. [13]
This scheme is practically the same as Clinton's, [14] and the sanction of his name may be claimed for
it, for it differs from his only in that he dates Jehoiakim's reign from August B.C. 609, and Zedekiah's
from June B.C. 598, his attention not having been called to the Jewish practice of computing reigns
from Nisan; whereas I have fixed Nisan B.C. 608 as the epoch of Jehoiakim's reign, and Nisan B.C.
597 for Zedekiah's. Not of course that Nisan was in fact the month-date of the accession, but that,
according to the rule of the Mishna and the practice of the nation, the reign was so reckoned.
Jehoiakim's date could not be Nisan B.C. 609, because his fourth year was also the first of
Nebuchadnezzar, and the thirty-seventh year, reckoned from the eighth of Nebuchadnezzar, was the
first of Evil-Merodach, i.e., B.C. 561, which date fixes the whole chronology as Clinton himself
conclusively argues. [15] It follows from this also that: Zedekiah's date must be B.C. 597, and not
598.
The chronology adopted by Dr. Pusey [16] is essentially the same as Clinton's. The scheme here
proposed differs from it only to the extent and on the grounds above indicated. His suggestion: that
the fast proclaimed in the fifth year of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:9.) referred to the capture of Jerusalem
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in his third year, is not improbable, and points to Chisleu (Nov.) B.C. 606 as the date of that event.
For the reasons above stated, it could not have been B.C. 607, as Dr. Pusey supposes, and the same
argument proves that Canon Rawlinson's date for Nebuchadnezzar's expedition (B.C. 605) is a year
too late. [17]
The correctness of this scheme will, I presume, be admitted, as regards the cardinal point of difference
between it and Clinton's chronology, namely, that the reigns of the Jewish kings are reckoned from
Nisan. It remains to notice the points of difference between the results here offered and Browne's
hypotheses (Orda Saec., Ch. 162-169). He arbitrarily assumes that Jehoiachin's captivity and
Zedekiah's reign began on the same day. This leads him to assume further (1) that they were reckoned
from the same day, viz., the 1st Nisan, and (2) that Nebuchadnezzar's royal years dated from some
date between 1st Nisan and 10 Ab 606 (Ch. 166). Both these positions are untenable. (1) The Jews
certainly reckoned the reigns of their kings from 1st Nisan, but there is no proof that they so reckoned
the years of ordinary periods or eras such as the captivity. (2) The presumption is strong, confirmed by
all the synchronisms of the chronology, that they computed Nebuchadnezzar's royal era either
according to the Chaldean reckoning, as in Daniel, or according to their own system, as in the other
books.
TABLE #1-- CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
The following table will show at a glance the several eras of the servitude to Babylon, king
Jehoiachin's captivity, and the desolations of Jerusalem.
In using the table it is essential to bear in mind two points already stated.
1. The year given in the first column is the Jewish year beginning the 1st Nisan (March —
April). For example, B.C. 604 is the year beginning the 1st April, 604; and B.C. 589 is the year
beginning the 15th March, 589 According to the Mishna, [18] "On the 1st of Nisan is a new
year for the computation of the reign of kings, and for festivals." To which the editors of the
English translation add this note:" The reign of Jewish kings, whatever the period of accession
might be, was always reckoned from the preceding Nisan; so that if, for instance, a Jewish king
began to reign in Adar, the following month (Nisan) would be considered as the
commencement of the second year of his reign. This rule was observed in all legal contracts, in
which the reign of kings was always mentioned."
2. The years of the different eras are only in part concurrent. For example the first year of the
desolations dates from the tenth day of Tebeth (25th December), B.C. 589, and the tenth year of
the captivity begins even later, while the ninth year of Zedekiah and seventeenth of
Nebuchadnezzar dates from the 1St Nisan (15th March) B.C. 589.
If these points be kept in view the chronology of the table will be found to harmonize every
chronological statement relating to the period embraced in it, contained in the Books of Kings,
Chronicles, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
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From the servitude to Babylon to the dedication of the second temple.
Jewish
Year*
Kings of
Babylon
Kings of
Judah
Era of the
Servitude
Era of the
Captivity
Era of the
Desolations
.
Events and Remarks
B.C.
606
20th year of
Nabopolassar
3rd year of
Jehoiakim
(Eliakim)
1 - -
The 3rd year of Jehoiakim, from
1st Nisan, 606, to 1st Nisan, 605.
Jerusalemtaken by
Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. i. 1, 2),
see p. 231, ante. With this event
the servitude to Babylon began,
490 years (or 70 weeks of years)
after the establishment of the
Kingdom under Saul. "The 4th
year of Jehoiakim, that was the
1st year of Nebuchadnezzar,"
i.e., the year beginning 1st
Nisan, 605 (Jer. xxv. 1).
605
Nebuchad
nezzar
4 2 - -
604 2 5 3 - -
Vision of the great image (Dan.
ii).
603 3 6 4 - - -
602 4 7 5 - - -
601 5 8 6 - - -
600 6 9 7 - - -
599 7 10 8 - - -
598 8
11
9 1 -
This year included the 3 months'
reign of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah),
whose captivity began in the 8th
year of Nebuchadnezzar (2
Kings xxiv. 12, see pp. 234, 236,
ante).
3 months of
Jehoiachin
597 9 Zedekiah 10 2 -
Reigned 11 years (2 Kings xxiv.
18).
596 10 2 11 3 - -
595 11 3 12 4 - -
594 12 4 13 5 -
Ezekiel began to prophesy in the
30th year from Josiah's Passover
(2 Kings xxiii. 23), and the 5th
year of the captivity (Ezek. i.
1,2.)
593 13 5 14 6 - -
592 14 6 15 7 - -
591 15 7 16 8 - -
590 16 8 17 9 - -
589 17 9 18 10 1
Jerusalem invested for the third
time by Nebuchadnezzar, on the
10th day of Tebeth-- "the fast of
Tebeth,"-- the epoch of the
"Desolations" (see pp. 69, 70,
ante).
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588 18 10 19 11 2
"The 10th year of Zedekiah,
which was the 18th year of
Nebuchadnezzar" (Jer. xxxii. 1).
587 19 11 20 12 3
Jerusalem taken on the 9th day
of the 4th month, and burnt on
the 7th day of the 5th month in
the 11th year of Zedekiah, and
the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar
(2 Kings xxv. 2,3,8,9, see p. 234,
ante), called "The 12th year of
our Captivity" in Ezek. xxxiii.
21, the news having reached the
exiles on the 5th day of the 10th
month.
586 20 - 21 13 4 -
585 21 - 22 14 5 -
584 22 - 23 15 6 -
583 23 - 24 16 7 -
582 24 - 25 17 8 -
581 25 - 26 18 9 -
580 26 - 27 19 10 -
579 27 28 20 11 - -
578 28 29 21 12 - -
577 29 30 22 13 - -
576 30 31 23 14 - -
575 31 32 24 15 - -
574 32 33 25 16 -
The 25th year of the Captivity
was the 14th (inclusive, as the
Jews usually reckoned) from the
destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek.
xl. 1).
573 33 34 26 17 - -
572 34 35 27 18 - -
571 35 36 28 19 - -
570 36 37 29 20 - -
569 37 38 30 21 - -
568 38 39 31 22 - -
567 39 40 32 23 - -
566 40 41 33 24 - -
565 41 42 34 25 - -
564 42 43 35 26 - -
563 43 44 36 27 - -
562 44 45 37 28 -
According to the Canon, the
accession of Iluoradam (Evil-
Merodach) was in the year
beginning 1st Thoth (11th Jan.)
B.C. 561, (see p. 232, ante). But
the year 562 in this table is the
Jewish year, i.e., the year
preceding 1st Nisan (or about
5th April 561, and the 37th year
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of Jehoiachin's captivity was
current till towards the close of
that year. In this year Jehoiachin
was "brought forth out of
prison." (Jer. lii. 31).
561 Evil-Merodach 46 38 29 - -
560 2 47 39 30 - -
559
Neriglissar or
Nergalsherezer
48 40 31 - -
558 2 - 49 41 32 -
557 3 - 50 42 33 -
556 4 - 51 43 34 -
555 Nabonidus - 52 44 35
The Nabonadius of the Canon is
called Nabunnahit in the
Inscriptions, and Labynetus by
Herodotus.
554 2 - 53 45 36 -
553 3 - 54 46 37 -
552 4 - 55 47 38 -
551 5 - 56 48 39 -
550 6 - 57 49 40 -
549 7 - 58 50 41 -
548 8 - 59 51 42 -
547 9 - 60 52 43 -
546 10 - 61 53 44 -
545 11 - 62 54 45 -
544 12 - 63 55 46 -
543 13 - 64 56 47 -
542 14 - 65 57 48 -
541 15 - 66 58 49
In or before this year, Belshazzar
(the Belsaruzur of the
Inscriptions) became regent in
the lifetime of his father,
Nabonadius. Daniel's vision of
the Four Beasts was in the 1st
year, and his vision of the Ram
and the Goat was in the 3rd year
of Belshazzar (Dan. vii., viii.).
540 16 - 67 59 50 -
539 17 - 68 60 51 -
538
Darius (the
Mede)
- 69 61 52
Babylon taken by Cyrus.
Daniel's vision of the 70 weeks
was in this year.
537 2 - 70 62 53 -
536 Cyrus - - - 54
Decree of Cyrus authorizing the
Jews to return to Jerusalem: end
of the Servitude. (N.B. The 70th
year of the Servitude was current
till the 1st Nisan, 536.)
535 2 - - - 55 -
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534 3 - - - 56
Year of Daniel's last vision (Dan.
x.-xii.).
533 4 - - - 57 -
532 5 - - - 58 -
531 6 - - - 59 -
530 7 - - - 60 -
529 Cambyses - - - 61 -
528 2 - - - 62 -
527 3 - - - 63 -
526 4 - - - 64 -
525 5 - - - 65 -
524 6 - - - 66 -
523 7 - - - 67 -
522 8 - - - 68 -
521 Darius I - - - 69 Darius Hystaspes (p. 57, ante).
520 2 - - - 70
End of the Desolations. The
foundation of the Second
Temple was laid on the 24th day
of the 9th month in the 2nd year
of Darius (Hag. ii. 18, see p. 70,
ante).
519 3 - - - - -
518 4 - - - - -
517 5 - - - - -
516 6 - - - -
The Temple was finished on the
3rd day of Adar in the 6th year
of Darius (Ezra vi. 15).
515 7 - - - -
The Temple was dedicated at the
Passover in Nisan 515 (Ezra vi.
15-22), 490 years after the
dedication of Solomon's temple
(B.C. 1005), and 70 years before
the date of the edict to build the
city (see p. 66, ante).
TABLE #2-- TABLE OF CHRONOLOGICAL PARALLELISMS
SHOWING THAT THE CALL OF ABRAHAM WAS THE CENTRAL POINT BETWEEN THE CREATION AND
THE CRUCIFIXION
BC
4141* Adam — The Creation
to = 1656 yrs
2485* Noah — The Flood + = 2086 yrs
to = 430 yrs
2055 Abraham — The
Covenant**
to = 430 yrs
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1625 Moses — The Law + = 2086 yrs
to = 1656 yrs
AD 32*** Christ — The
Crucifixion
the key--
* These dates differ from Clinton's chronology by three years. See p. 223, ante.
** Galatians 3:17 "And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should
make the promise of none effect."
*** See pp. 97 and 122, ante.
TABLE #3-- CERTAIN LEADING DATES IN HISTORY, SACRED AND PROFANE [19]
BC
2055. The Covenant with Abraham.
1625. The Exodus. The giving of the Law.
1585. The entrance into Canaan under Joshua.
1096. Saul. The kingdom established.
1056. David.
1016. Solomon
1014. The Temple founded.
1006. The Temple dedicated.
976. Rehoboam. Israel revolts from Judah, and becomes a separate kingdom under Jeroboam.
776. Era of the Olympiads begins.
753. Era of Rome (A.U.C.) begins.
747. Era of Nabonassar begins.
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726. Hezekiah king of Judah (reigned 29 years).
721. Israel (the ten tribes) carried captive to Assyria.
697. Manasseh (55 years).
642. Amon (2 years).
640. Josiah (31 years).
627. Jeremiah began to prophesy.
608. Jehoiakim (11 years).
606. Babylon.-- Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Servitude began.
598. Jerusalem taken the second time by the Babylonians. King Jehoiachin's captivity.
589. Jerusalem besieged the third time by the Babylonians. The Desolations.
587. Jerusalem taken and destroyed.
561. Death of Nebuchadnezzar and accession of Evil-Merodach.
559. Cyrus begins to reign in Persia.
538. Persia. — Babylon taken by the Medes and Persians.
536. Cyrus succeeds Darius in the empire. Decree to build the temple.
521. Darius Hystaspes of Persia.
520. Foundation of the 2nd Temple. Haggai and Zechariah prophesied.
515. Dedication of the second temple.
490. Battle of Marathon.
485. Xerxes succeeds Darius; the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther.
484. Herodotus the historian born.
480. Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.
471. Themistocles banished by ostracism. Thucydides (historian) born.
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468. Socrates born (died 399).
466. Flight of Themistocles to Persia.
465. Artaxerxes Longimanus of Persia.
458. Decree of Artaxerxes to beautify the temple (Ezra 7.)
449. Persians defeated by the Athenians at Salamis in Cyprus.
445. Era of the 70 weeks begins. Twentieth year of Artaxerxes: Jerusalem restored. Herodotus,
aet. 39, engaged on his history.
429. Plato born (died 347).
424. Darius Nothus of Persia (Nehemiah 12:22).
405. Artaxerxes Mnemon of Persia.
397. Malachi. The dispensation of "the Prophets" closes. End of the first week of Daniel's 70
weeks.
359. Ochus of Persia.
336. Darius Codomanus of Persia.
333. Greece. — Battle of Issus. (Battle of Granicus, 334; & of Arbela, 331)
323. Death of Alexander the Great.
312. Era of the Seleucidae begins.
301. Battle of Ipsus.
170. Jerusalem taken by Antiochus Epiphanes.
168. The temple defiled by Antiochus.
165. Jerusalem retaken by Judas Maccabeus. The temple cleansed, and the Feast of the
Dedication appointed. (1 Maccabees. 4:52-59; John 10:22).
63. Rome.. — Pompey takes Jerusalem.
40. Herod the Great appointed king of Judea by the Romans.
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37. Herod takes Jerusalem, and is acknowledged as king by the Jews.
31. Battle of Actium.
12. Augustus Emperor of Rome.
4. The Nativity.
3. Death of Herod. Archelaus made Ethnarch of Judea, and Herod Antipas set over Galilee.
A.D.
14. Tiberius Emperor of Rome (from 19th August).
28. 15th year of Tiberius, from 19th Aug. A.D. 28, to 19th Aug. 29. The Lord's ministry began
in this year, Luke 3.
32. The crucifixion (at the fourth Passover of the Lord's ministry).
.
.
TABLE #4-- THE JEWISH MONTHS
Nisan, or Abib ... March — April.
Zif, or Iyar ... April — May.
Sivan ... May — June.
Tammuz ... June — July.
Ab ... July — August.
Elul ... August — September.
Tisri, or Ethanim ... September — October.
Bul, or Marchesvan ... October — November.
Chisleu ... November — December
Tebeth ... December — January
Sebat ... January — February
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Adar ... February — March
Ve-Adar (the intercalary month).
Full information on the subject of the present "Hebrew Calendar" will be found in an article so
entitled in Encyc. Brit. (9th ed.), and also in Lindo's Jewish Calendar, a Jewish work. The Mishna is
the earliest work relating to it.
APPENDIX 1. FOOTNOTES
[*] Bishop Lloyd, to whom was entrusted the task of editing the A. V., in this respect made a
few alterations, as ex. gr., in the book of Nehemiah he rejected Ussher's chronology, and
inserted the true historical date of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus.
[1] Rawlinson's Herodotus, 4., p. 212. Xerxes (old Persian Khshayarsha) is derived by Sir H.
Rawlinson from Khshaya, 'a King'" (Ibid. 3., 446, App. Book 6. note A).
[2] Josephus appears to confirm this in Ant. 20:10 Ch. 1, where he specifies 612 years between
the Exodus and the temple, but in Ant. 8:3 Ch. 1, he fixes the same period at 592 years. It is
supposed that in the longer era he included the twenty years during which both the temple and
the palace were building.
[3] Cf. Browne Ordo Saec. Ch. 13. His system, however, compels him to specify the destruction
of Jerusalem (A. D. 70) as the close of the Mosaic economy, which is certainly wrong. The
crucifixion was the great crisis in the history of Judah and of the world.
[4] Clinton, F. H., vol. 1., p. 299. Alford's supercilious comments on this (Gr. Test., Acts 7:4)
could be easily disposed of were the occasion opportune for the discussion this would involve.
Indeed a passing reference to Genesis 25:1, 2, would have modified his statements.
[5] His mother was a daughter of Levi (Exodus 2:1).
[6] It is a remarkable coincidence that the era of the second temple was so nearly this same
period of 490 years, B. C. 515 to about B. C. 18 when Herod rebuilt it.
[7] Clinton, F. H., vol. 1., p. 367.
[8] The Paschal new moon, in B. C. 604, was on the 31st of March.
[9] F. H., vol. 1., p. 328.
[10] This is confirmed by Ezekiel 40:1, compared with 2 Kings 25:8, for the twenty-fifth year of
the captivity was the fourteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem (viz., the nineteenth of
Nebuchadnezzar), reckoned inclusively according to the ordinary practice of the Jews.
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[11] These results will appear at a glance by reference to the table appended.
[12] As this event was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:8), and the
captivity began in his eighth year (2 Kings 24:12).
[13] Clinton, F. H.. , vol. 1., p. 319.
[14] Ibid., pp. 328-329.
[15] Fasti H., vol. 1., p. 319.
[16] Daniel, p. 401.
[17] Five Great Mon., 4. 488.
[18] Treatise, Rosh Hashanah, 1. 1.
[19] These dates are Clinton's, subject to remarks in App. 1., ante. They are selected mainly to
throw light on Daniel's visions. The names of historians, etc., are introduced in the fifth century
B. C. to indicate the character of the age in which the prophetic era of the seventy weeks began.
.
APPENDIX I1.
MISCELLANEOUS: WHO AND WHEN
NOTE A
ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS AND THE CHRONOLOGY OF HIS REIGN
So thorough is the unanimity with which the Artaxerxes of Nehemiah is now admitted to be
Longimanus, that it is no longer necessary to offer proof of it. Josephus indeed attributes these events
to Xerxes, but his history of the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes is so hopelessly in error as to be
utterly worthless. In fact he transposes the events of these respective reigns (see, Ant. 11., caps 5: and
7.) Nehemiah's master reigned not less than thirty-two years (Nehemiah 13:6); and his reign was
subsequent to that of Darius Hystaspes (comp. Ezra 6:1 and 7:1), and prior to that of Darius Nothus
(Nehemiah 12:22). He must, therefore, be either Longimanus or Mnemon, for no other king after
Darius Hystaspes reigned thirty-two years, and it is certain Nehemiah's mission was not so late as the
twentieth of Artaxerxes Mnemon, viz., B.C. 385.
This appears, first, from the general tenor of the history; second, because this date is later than that of
Malachi, whose prophecy must have been considerably later than the time of Nehemiah; and third,
because Eliashib, who was high priest when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, was grandson of Jeshua,
who was high priest in the first year of Cyrus (Nehemiah 3:1; 12:10; Ezra 2:2; 3:2); and from the first
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year of Cyrus (B.C. 536), to the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus (B.C. 445), was ninety-one
years, leaving room for precisely three generations. [1]
Moreover, the eleventh chapter of Daniel, if read aright, affords conclusive proof that the prophetic
era dated from the time of Longimanus. The second verse is generally interpreted as though it were
but a disconnected fragment of history, leaving a gap of over 130 years between it and the third verse,
whereas the chapter is a consecutive prediction of events within the period of the seventy weeks. There
were to be yet (i.e., after the issuing of the decree to build Jerusalem) "three kings in Persia." These
were Darius Nothus (mentioned in Nehemiah 12:22), Artaxerxes Mnemon, and Ochus; the brief
reigns of Xerxes II., Sogdianus, and Arogus being overlooked as being, what in fact they were, utterly
unimportant. and indeed two of them are omitted in the Canon of Ptolemy. "The fourth" (and last)
king was Darius Codomanus, whose fabulous wealth — the accumulated horde of two centuries —
attracted the cupidity of the Greeks. What sums of money Alexander found in Susa is unknown, but
the silver ingots and Hermione purple he seized after the battle of Arbela were worth over [2] £ 20,
000, 000. Verse 2 thus reaches to the close of the Persian Empire; verse 3 predicts the rise of
Alexander the Great; and verse 4 refers to the division of his kingdom among his four generals.
According to Clinton (F. H., vol. 2., p. 380) the death of Xerxes was in July B.C. 465, and the
accession of Artaxerxes was in February B.C. 464. Artaxerxes of course ignored the usurper's reign,
which intervened, and reckoned his own reign from the day of his father's death. Again, of course,
Nehemiah, being an officer of the court, followed the same reckoning. Had he computed his master's
reign from February 464, Chisleu and Nisan could not have fallen in the same regnal year (Nehemiah
1:1; 2:1). No more could they, had be, according to the Jewish practice, computed it from Nisan.
Dr. Pusey here remarks, [3]
"The accession of Artaxerxes after the seven months of the assassin Artabanus would fall in the
middle of 464. For it is clear from the sequel of the months in Nehemiah 1:2., and Ezra 7:7- 9,
that Chisleu fell earlier in the year of his reign than Nisan, and Nisan than Ab. Then the reign of
Artaxerxes must have begun between Ab and Chisleu B.C. 464."
This is altogether a mistake. As already mentioned, Chisleu and Nisan fell in the same regnal year;
and so also did Nisan and the first day of Ab (Ezra 7:8, 9). But the 1st Ab of B.C. 459 (the seventh
year of Artaxerxes) fell on or about the 16th July, and therefore the passages quoted are perfectly
consistent with the received chronology, and serve merely to enable us to fix the dates more
accurately still, and to decide that the death of Xerxes and the epoch of the reign of Artaxerxes should
be assigned to the latter part of July B.C. 465.
Those who are not versed in what writers on prophecy have written on this subject, will be surprised
to learn that this date is assailed as being nine years too late. All chronologers are agreed that Xerxes
began to reign in B.C. 485, and that the death of Artaxerxes was in B.C. 423; and so far as I know, no
writer of repute, unbiased by prophetic study, assigns as the epoch of the latter king's reign any other
date than B.C. 465 [4] (or 464; see ante). This is the date according to the Canon of Ptolemy, which
has been followed by all historians; and it is confirmed by the independent testimony of Julius
Africanus, who, in his Chronagraphy, [5] describes the twentieth year of Artaxerxes as the 115th year
of the Persian Empire [reckoned from Cyrus, B.C. 559] and the fourth year of the eighty-third
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Olympiad. This fixes B.C. 464 as the first year of that king, as it was in fact the year of his actual
accession.
It was Archbishop Ussher who first raised a doubt upon the point. Lecturing on "Daniel's Seventies"
[6] in Trinity College, Dublin, in the year 1613, difficulties connected with his subject suggested an
inquiry which led him ultimately to put back the reign of Longimanus to B.C. 474, which is the date
given in his Annales Vet. Test. The same date was afterwards adopted by Vitringa, and a century later
by Kruger. But Hengstenberg is regarded as the champion of this view, and the treatise thereon in his
Chronology [7] omits nothing that can be urged in its favor.
The objections raised to the received chronology depend mainly on the statement of Thucydides, that
Artaxerxes was on the throne when Themistocles reached the Persian Court; for it is urged that the
flight of Themistocles could not have been so late as B.C. 464. [8] But, as Dr. Pusey remarks, t "they
have not made any impression on our English writers who have treated of Grecian history." [9] In
common with the German writers, Dr. Pusey ignores Ussher altogether in the controversy, though Dr.
Tregelles [10] . rightly claims for him the foremost place for scholarship among those who have
advocated the earlier date. The apparent difficulty of making the prophecy and the chronology agree
has led Dr. Pusey, following Prideaux, in opposition to Scripture, to fix the seventh year of Artaxerxes
as the epoch of the seventy weeks, while it induced Dr. Tregelles [11] sheltering behind Ussher's
name, to adopt the B.C. 455 date for the twentieth year of that king's reign. Bishop Lloyd when
affixing Ussher's dates to our English Bible reverted to the received chronology when dealing with the
book of Nehemiah.
It is unnecessary to enter here upon a discussion of this question. Nothing short of a reproduction of
the entire argument in favor of the new chronology would satisfy its advocates; and for my present
purpose it is a sufficient answer to that argument, that although everything has been urged which
ingenuity and erudition can suggest in support of it, it has been rejected by all secular writers.
Unfulfilled prophecy is only for the believer, but prophecy fulfilled has a voice for all. It is fortunate,
therefore, that the proof of the fulfillment of this prophecy of the seventy weeks does not depend on
an elaborate disquisition, like that of Hengstenberg's, to disturb the received chronologies.
One point only I will notice. It is urged in favor of limiting the reign of Xerxes to eleven years, that no
event is mentioned in connection with his reign after his eleventh year. The answer is obvious: first,
that it is to Greek historians, writing after his time, that we are mainly indebted for our knowledge of
Persian history; and secondly, the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis may well have induced a king
of the temperament and character of Xerxes to give himself up to a life of indolent ease and sensual
enjoyment.
But further, the twelfth year of Xerxes is expressly mentioned in the book of Esther (3:7), and the
narrative proves that his reign continued to the twelfth (Jewish) month of his thirteenth year. [12]
Hengstenberg answers this by asserting that it was customary with Hebrew writers to include in a
regnal era the years of a co-regency where it existed, and he appeals to the case of Nebuchadnezzar as
a proof of such a custom. [13] If Nebuchadnezzar's reign was in fact reckoned thus, this solitary
instance would establish no such custom, for it would prove nothing more than that the Jews in
Jerusalem, knowing nothing of the politics or customs of Babylon, reckoned Nebuchadnezzar's reign
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upon a system of their own. But I believe this theory about Nebuchadnezzar's reign is a thorough
blunder. If in the sacred history he is called King of Babylon, in connection with his first invasion of
Judea, it is because the writers were his contemporaries. "Lord Beaconsfield was Chancellor of the
Exchequer in Lord Derby's administrations" is a statement which will be rightly condemned as an
anachronism if made by the historian of the future, but it is precisely the language which would have
been used by a contemporary writer acquainted with the living statesman. I have shown elsewhere
(App. 1., ante) that the Jews reckoned Nebuchadnezzar's reign according to their own custom, as
dating from the Nisan preceding his accession. Unless, therefore, some entirely new case can be made
in support of the co-regency theory of Xerxes's reign, it remains that the book of Esther is absolutely
conclusive against Ussher's date, and in favor of the received chronology.
NOTE B
DATE OF THE NATIVITY
IN treating of the date of the birth of our Lord, the arguments in favor of an earlier date than that
which is here adopted are too well known to be left unnoticed. Dr. Farrar states the question thus in
his Life of Christ (Excursus 1.):--
"Our one most certain datum is obtained from the tact that Christ was born before the death of
Herod the Great. The date of that event is known with absolute certainty, for (2) Josephus tells
us that he died thirty-seven years after he had been declared king by the Romans. Now it is
known that he was declared King A. U. C. 714; and, therefore, since Josephus always reckons
his years from Nisan to Nisan, and counts the initial and terminal fractions of Nisan as complete
years, Herod must have died between Nisan A. U. C. 750 and Nisan A. U. C. 751, i.e., between
B.C. 4 and B.C. 3 of our era. (2.) Josephus says that on the night in which Herod ordered Judas,
Matthias, and their abettors to be burnt, there was an eclipse of the moon. Now this eclipse took
place on the night of March 12th, B.C. 4, and Herod was dead at least seven days before the
Passover, which, if we accept the Jewish reckoning, fell in that year on April 12th. But
according to the clear indication of the Gospels, Jesus must have been born at least forty days
before Herod's death. It is clear, therefore, that under no circumstances can the nativity have
taken place later than February B.C. 4." [14]
This passage is a typical illustration of the relative value attached to the statements of sacred and
profane historians. In the histories of Josephus an incidental mention of an eclipse or of the length of a
king's reign suffices to give "absolute certainty," before which the clearest and most definite
statements of Holy Writ must give place, albeit they relate to matters of such transcendent interest to
the writers that even if the Evangelists be dismissed to the category of mere historians, no mistake
was possible.
The following is a more temperate statement of the question, by the Archbishop of York, in an article
(Jesus Christ) contributed to Smith's Bible Dictionary. —
"Herod the Great died, according to Josephus, in the thirty-seventh year after he was appointed
king. His elevation coincides with the consulship of Cn Domitius Calvinus and C. Asinius
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Pollio, and this determines the date A. U. C. 714. There is reason to think that in such
calculations Josephus reckons the years from the month Nisan to the same month, and also that
the death of Herod took place in the beginning of the thirty-seventh year, or just before the
Passover; if then thirty-six complete years are added, they give the year of Herod's death, A. U.
C. 750."
According to this, the commonly received view, Herod's death took place within the first six days of a
Jewish year, and these days are reckoned as a complete year in his regnal era. Now it is admitted that
in computing time the Jews generally included both the terminal units of a given period. A signal and
well-known instance of this is afforded by the words of the Lord Himself, when He declared He
would lie in death for three days and nights. What meaning did these words convey to Jews?
Four-and-twenty hours after His burial they came to Pilate and said, "We remember that that deceiver
said, while He was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again;' command, therefore, that the
sepulcher be made sure until the third day." [15] Had that Sunday passed leaving the seal upon the
tomb unbroken, the Pharisees would boldly have proclaimed their triumph; whereas, by our modes of
reckoning, the resurrection ought to have been deferred till Monday night, or Tuesday morning. [16]
Again, it may be assumed that Herod's accession dated in fact from B.C. 40, and, therefore, that B.C.
4 was the thirty-seventh and last year of his reign. Further it is probable he died shortly before a
Passover. The question remains whether his death occurred at the beginning or toward the close of the
Jewish year.
Josephus relates that when the event took place Archelaus remained in seclusion during seven days,
and then presented himself publicly to the people. His first reception was not unfavorable, though he
had to yield to many a popular demand then pressed on him; and after the ceremonial, he "went and
offered sacrifice to God, and then betook himself to feast with his friends." Soon, however, discontent
and disaffection began to smolder and spread, and fresh demands were made upon the king. To these
again he yielded, though with less grace, instructing his general to remonstrate with the people, and
persuade them to defer their petitions till his return from Rome. These appeals only increased the
prevailing dissatisfaction, and a riot ensued. The king still continued to parley with the seditious, but,
"upon the approach of the feast of unleavened bread," when the capital became thronged with the
Jews from the country, the state of things became so alarming that Archelaus determined; to suppress
the rioters by force of arms. This was "upon the approach of the feast," and the Jews considered the
Passover was "nigh at hand" upon the eighth day of Nisan, when they repaired to Jerusalem for the
festival. [17]
The Passover began the 14th Nisan. This final riot took place during the preceding week. The earlier
riot occurred before that again, £e., before the date of the incursion of Jews for the festival, the 8th
Nisan. This again was preceded by some interval, measured from the day following the court
mourning for Herod, which had lasted seven days. The history, therefore, establishes conclusively that
Herod's death was more than fourteen days before the Passover, and therefore at the close and not at
the beginning of a Jewish year.
But which year? His death must have been after the eclipse of 13th March, B.C. 4 [18] But the eclipse
was only a month before the Passover of that year, and his death was fourteen days at least before the
Passover, could then the events recorded by Josephus as occurring in the interval between the eclipse
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and the king's death have taken place in a fortnight? Let the reader turn to the Antiquities and judge
for himself whether it be possible. The natural inference from the history is that the death was not
weeks but months after the eclipse, and therefore, again, at the close of the year.
The correctness of this conclusion can be established by the application of the strictest of all tests, that
of referring to the historian's chronological statements.
In his Wars (2:7, 3), Josephus assigns the banishment of Archelaus to the ninth year of his
government; in his later work (Ant., 17, 13, 3), he states it was in his tenth year. And these dates are
given with a definiteness and in a manner which preclude the idea of a blunder. They are connected
with the narration of a dream in which Archelaus saw a number of ears of corn (nine in the Wars, ten
in the Antiquities), devoured by oxen, — presaging that the years of his rule were about to be brought
abruptly to an end. Now whether a ruler be Christian, Jew, or Turk, his ninth year is the year
beginning with the eighth anniversary of his government, and his tenth year that beginning with the
ninth anniversary; and it is mere casuistry to pretend that there is either mystery or difficulty in the
matter. It is evident that the difference between the two statements of the historian is intentional, and
that in his two histories he computed the Ethnarch's government from two different epochs. But if
Herod died in the first week of the Jewish year, as these writers maintain, this would be impossible,
for Archelaus's actual accession would have synchronized with his accession according to Jewish
reckoning. Whereas if his government dated from the close of a Jewish year, A.D. 6 [19] would be his
ninth year in fact, but his tenth year according to Mishna rule of computing reigns from Nisan.
In numerous treatises on this subject will be found an argument based on John 2:20, "Forty and six
years was this temple in building." According to Josephus (it is urged), "Herod's reconstruction of the
temple began in the eighteenth year of his reign," [20] and forty-six years from that date would fix
A.D. 26 as the year in which these words were spoken, and therefore as the first year of our Lord's
ministry. That writers of repute should have written thus may be described as a literary phenomenon.
Not only does Josephus not say what is thus attributed to him, but his narrative disproves it. The
foundation for the statement is that either in his eighteenth or nineteenth year [21] Herod made a
speech proposing to rebuild the temple. But the historian adds, that finding his intentions and
promises thoroughly distrusted by the people, "the king encouraged them, and told them he would not
pull down their temple till all things were gotten ready for building it up entirely again. And as he
promised them this beforehand, so he did not break his word with them, but got ready a thousand
wagons, that were to bring stones for the building, and chose out ten thousand of the most skillful
workmen, and bought a thousand sacerdotal garments for the priests, and had some of them taught the
art of stone-cutters, and others of carpenters, and then began to build; but this was not till everything
was well prepared for the work." [22] What length of time these preparations occupied, it is of course
impossible to decide, but if, as Lewin supposes, the work was begun at the Passover of B.C. 18, then
forty-six years would bring us exactly to A.D. 29 — the first Passover of the Lord's ministry.
NOTE C
CONTINUOUS HISTORICAL SYSTEM OF PROPHETIC INTERPRETATION
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THE historical interpreters of prophecy have grasped a principle the importance of which is
abundantly proved by the striking parallelisms between the visions of the Apocalypse and the events
of the history of Christendom. But not content with this, they have on the one hand brought discredit
on prophetic study by wild and arrogant predictions about the end of the world, and on the other, they
have reduced their principle of interpretation to a system, and then degraded it to a hobby. The result
is fortunate in this respect, that the evil cannot fail to cure itself, and the time cannot be far distant
when the "continuous historical interpretation," in the form and manner in which its champions have
propounded it, will be regarded as a vagary of the past. The events of the first half of the present
century produced on the minds of Christians such an impression in its favor, that it bid fair to gain
general acceptance. But the late Mr. Elliott's great work has thoroughly exposed its weaknesses. A
perusal of the first five chapters of the Horae Apocalypticae cannot fail to impress the reader with a
sense of the genuineness and importance of the writer's scheme, nor will he fail to appreciate the
erudition displayed, and the sobriety with which it is used. But when he passes from the commentary
upon the first five seals, to the account of the sixth seal, he must experience a revulsion of feeling
which will be strong just in proportion to his apprehension of the trueness and solemnity of Holy
Writ. Let any one read the last six verses of the sixth chapter of Revelation, a passage the awful
solemnity of which has scarcely a parallel in Scripture, and with what feelings will he turn to Mr.
Elliott's book to find that the words are nothing more than a prediction of the downfall of paganism in
the fourth century!
The words of the Apocalyptic vision in relation to the great day of Divine wrath (Revelation 6:17), are
the language of Isaiah (13:9, 10) respecting "the day of the Lord," and again of Joel's prophecy (Joel
2:1, 30, 31, quoted by St. Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-20). Nor is this all. The twentyfourth
chapter of St. Matthew is a Divine commentary upon the visions of the sixth chapter of
Revelation, and each of the seals has its counterpart in the Lord's predictions of events preceding His
second advent:, ending with the mention of these same terrible convulsions of nature here described.
Therefore, even if the mind be "educated" up to the point of accepting such an interpretation of the
vision of the sixth seal, these other Scriptures remain to be accounted for.
Many other points in Mr. Elliott's scheme might be cited as equally faulty. Take for example the
labored essay on the subject of the two witnesses, culminating in the amazing and-climax that their
ascent to heaven (Revelation 11:12) was fulfilled when Protestants obtained "an advancement to
political dignity and power." (Horae. Ap., 2., 410). Still more wild and reckless is his exposition of
Revelation 12:5. "It seems clear" (he says) "that whatever the woman's hope in her travail, the lesser
consummation was the one figured in the man child's birth and assumption, viz., the elevation of the
Christians, first to recognition as a body politic, then very quickly to the supremacy of the throne in
the Roman Empire" (vol. 3., 12). The reference to Wilberforce in connection with Revelation 15: is
almost grotesque (vol. 3., 430). And finally he drifts upon the rock on which every man who follows
this false system must inevitably be wrecked — the chronology of prophecy: proving by cumulative
evidence that the year 1865 would usher in the millennium, or if not 1865, then 1877 or 1882 (vol. 3.,
256-266).
"An apocalyptic commentary which explains everything is self-convicted of error." This dictum of
Dan. Alford's (Gr. Test.. Revelation 11:2) applies with full force to Mr. Elliott's book. Maintaining as
he does that these visions have received their absolute and final fulfillment, he is bound to explain
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everything;" and as the result these lucubrations mar a work which if recast by some intelligent
student of prophecy would be of the highest value. In days like these, when we have to contend for
the very words of Scripture, we cannot afford to dismiss them as harmless puerilities. They have
given an impetus to the skepticism of the age, and have encouraged Christian men to treat the most
solemn warnings of coming wrath as mere stage thunder.
Mr. Elliott's mantle appears now to have fallen upon the author of the Approaching End of t/re Age.
Mr. Grattan Guinness's treatise upon lunisolar cycles and epacts will be deemed by many the most
interesting and valuable portion of the work. The study of it has confirmed an impression I have long
entertained, that in some mystic interpretation of the prophetic periods of Daniel, the chronology of
Gentile supremacy and of the Christian dispensation lies concealed. Professor Birks, however, justly
remarks, that it is "very doubtful whether much of the specialty on which Mr. Guinness founds this
part of his theory is not due to a partial selection unconsciously made of some epact numbers out of
many, and that the special relations of the epacts to the numbers 6, 7, 8, 13, would probably disappear
on a comprehensive examination of all the epact numbers" (Thoughts on Sacred Prophecy, p. 64).
It might also be remarked that with the latitude obtained by reckoning sometimes in lunar years,
sometimes in lunisolar years, and sometimes in ordinary Julian years, the list of seeming
chronological coincidences and parallelisms might be still further increased. The period from the
Council of Nice (A.D. 325) to the death of Gregory XIII. (1585) was 1, 260 years. From the edict of
Justinian (533) to the French Revolution was 1, 260 years; and again from A.D. 606, when the
Emperor Phocas conferred the title of Pope on Boniface III., to the overthrow of the temporal power
(1866-1870), was also 1, 260 years. If these facts prove anything, they prove, not that the periods
mentioned are the fulfillment of Daniel's visions, for Daniel's visions relate to the history of Judah,
with which these events have nothing to do, but that the chronology of such events is marked by
cycles composed of multiples of seventy. Therefore, they greatly strengthen the a priori presumption
that this is a general characteristic of "the tithes and seasons" as divinely planned, and that the visions
will, hereafter, be literally fulfilled. In a word, such proofs prove far too much for the cause they are
intended to support.
I have already noticed the transparent fallacy of sup posing that the ten-horned beast and the Babylon
of the Apocalypse can both be typical of Rome (p. 134, ante). In the, Approaching End of the Age this
fallacy is accepted apparently without suspicion or misgiving, for the writer neither adopts nor
improves upon the pleasing romance by which Mr. Elliott attempts to conceal the absurdity of such a
view.
As the Harlot comes to her doom by the agency of the Beast, it is absolutely certain that they are not
identical; and every proof these writers urge to establish that the Church of Rome is Babylon, is
equally conclusive to prove that the Papacy is not the Beast, the Man of Sin. Their whole system is
like a house of cards which falls to pieces the moment it is tried. As such books are read by many who
are unversed in history it may be well to repeat once more, that the division of the Roman earth into
ten kingdoms has never yet taken place. That it has been partitioned is plain matter of history and of
fact' that it has ever been divided into ten is a mere conceit of writers of this school. [23]
Of Daniel 9:24-27 Mr. Guinness writes, "From the then approaching command to restore and to build
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again Jerusalem, to the coming of Messiah the Prince, was to be seventy weeks" (p. 417). This is a
typical instance of the looseness of the historical school in dealing with Scripture. The words of the
prophecy are, "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the
Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks." [24] As this error underlies
his entire exposition of the prophecy which forms the special subject of these pages, it is needless to
discuss it. He follows Prideaux in computing the weeks from the seventh year of Artaxerxes.
Again, in common with almost all commentators he confounds the seventy years of Judah's servitude
with the seventy years of the desolations of Jerusalem. The prophecy he quotes from Jeremiah 25 (p.
414) was given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, whereas the servitude began in his third year; and it
foretold a judgment which fell seventeen years; later It would seem ungracious to notice'. minor
inaccuracies, such as that of confounding Belshazzar with Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon.
Such a book is useful in so far as it deals positively with the historical fulfillment as a primary and
partial realization of the prophecies; and as a full and fearless indictment of the Church of Rome it is
most valuable. But in the dogmatic negation of a literal fulfillment, in the blind and obstinate
determination to establish, no matter at what cost to Scripture, that the Apocalypse has been
"FULFILLED in the events of the Christian era," such a work cannot fail to be dangerous and
mischievous. The real question at issue here is the character and value of the Bible. If the views of
these writers be just, the language of Holy Writ in such passages as the close of the sixth chapter of
Revelation is the most utter bombast. And if wild exaggeration characterize one portion of the
Scriptures, what confidence can we have in any part? If the Great Day of Divine wrath, described in
terms of unsurpassed solemnity, were nothing but a brief crisis in the history of a campaign now long
past, the words which tell of the joy of the blessed and the doom of the impenitent may after all be
mere hyperbole, and the Christian's faith may be mere credulity.
NOTE D
THE TEN KINGDOMS
"PROPHECY is not given to enable us to prophesy," and no one who has worthily pursued the study
will fail to feel misgivings at venturing out upon the tempting field of forecasting "things to come."
By patient contemplation we may clearly discern the main outlines of the landscape of the future; but
"until the day dawn," our apprehension of distances and details must be inadequate, if not wholly
false. The great facts of the future, so plainly revealed in Scripture, have been touched on in preceding
pages. For what follows here no deference is claimed save what may be accorded to a "pious opinion"
based on earnest and careful inquiry.
Next to the restoration of the Jews, the most prominent political feature of the future, according to
Scripture, is the tenfold partition of the Roman earth. The emphasis and definiteness with which ten
kingdoms are specified, not only in Daniel, but in the Revelation, forbid our interpreting the words as
describing merely a division of power such as has existed ever since the disruption of the Roman
Empire, though this is undoubtedly a feature of the prophecy. Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome in
turn sought to grasp universal dominion. That there should be a commonwealth of nations living side
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by side at peace, was a conception that nothing in the history of the world could have suggested.
The principal clew which Scripture affords upon the subject is the connection between these
kingdoms and the Roman Empire. [25] But some latitude must probably be allowed as to boundaries,
otherwise we should have to choose between two equally improbable alternatives, namely, either that
our own nation shall have sunk to the position of a province, not even Ireland remaining under her
sway, [26] or else that the England which is to be numbered among the ten kingdoms will include the
vast empire of which this island is the heart and center. May we not indulge the hope that however far
our nation may lapse in evil days to come from the high place which, with all her faults, she has held
as the champion of freedom and of truth, she will be saved from the degradation of participating in the
vile confederacy of the latter days?
These considerations as to boundaries apply also to Germany, though in a lower degree; and Russia is
clearly out of the reckoning altogether. The special interest and importance of these conclusions
depend upon the fact that the antichrist is to be at first a patron and supporter of the religious apostasy
of Christendom, and that England, Germany, and Russia are precisely the three first-rate Powers who
are outside the pale of Rome.
But there is no doubt that Egypt, Turkey, and Greece will be numbered among the ten kingdoms; [27]
and is it not improbable in the extreme that these nations will ever accept the leadership of a man who
is to appear as the champion and patron of the Latin Church? A striking solution of this difficulty will
probably be found in the definite prediction, that while the ten kingdoms will ultimately own his
suzerainty, three of the ten will be brought into subjection by force of arms (Daniel 7:24.)
Turning again to the West, the names of France, Austria, Italy, and Spain present themselves; and
seven of the kingdoms are thus accounted for. Can the list be completed? Belgium, Switzerland, and
Portugal remain, and these too would claim a place were we dealing with the Europe of today; but as
it is the future we are treating of, any attempt to press the matter further seems futile. It has been
confidently urged by some that as the ten kingdoms were symbolized by the ten toes of
Nebuchadnezzar's image, — five on either foot, — five of these kingdoms must be developed in the
East, and five in the West. The argument is plausible, and possibly just; but its chief force depends
upon forgetting that in the prophet's view the Levant and not the Adriatic, Jerusalem and not Rome, is
the center of the world.
To the scheme here indicated the objection may naturally be raised: Is it possible that the most
powerful nations of the world, England, Germany, and Russia, are to have no part in the great drama
of the last days? But it must be remembered, first, that the relative importance of the great Powers
may be different at the time when these events shall be fulfilled, and secondly, that difficulties of this
kind may depend entirely on the silence of Scripture, or, in other words, on our own ignorance. I feel
bound to notice, however, that doubts which have been raised in my mind regarding the soundness of
the received interpretation of the seventh chapter of Daniel point to a more satisfactory answer to the
difficulties in question.
As the vision of the second chapter specifies the four empires which were successively to rule the
world, and as the seventh chapter also enumerates four "kingdoms," and expressly identifies the fourth
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of these with the fourth - kingdom of the earlier vision, the inference appears legitimate that the scope
of both visions is the same throughout. And this conclusion is apparently confirmed by some of the
details afforded of the kingdoms typified by the lion, the bear, and the leopard. So strong indeed is the
prima facie case in support of this view, that I have not felt at liberty to depart from it in the foregoing
pages. At the same time I am constrained to own that this case is less complete than it appears to be,
and that grave difficulties arise in connection with it; and the following observations are put forward
tentatively to promote inquiry in the matter:--
1st. Daniel 2 and 7 are both in the Chaldee portion of the Book, and are therefore bracketed
together, and separated from what follows. This strengthens the presumption, therefore, which
would obtain in any case, that the later vision is not a repetition of the earlier one. Repetition is
very rare in Scripture.
2nd. The date of the vision of the seventh chapter was the first year of Belshazzar, and therefore
only some two or three years before the fall of the Babylonian empire. [28] How then could the
rise of that empire be the subject of the prophecy? Verse 17 appears definite that the rise of all
these kingdoms was future.
3rd. In the history of Babylonia there is nothing to correspond with the predicted course of the
first Beast, for it is scarcely legitimate to suppose that the vision was a prophecy of the career of
Nebuchadnezzar, whose death had taken place upwards of twenty years before the vision was
given. Moreover, the transition from the lion with eagle's wings to the human condition, though
it may betoken decline in power, plainly typifies a signal rise morally and intellectually.
4th. Neither is there in the history of Persia anything answering to the bear-like beast with that
precision and fullness which prophecy demands. The language of the English version suggests a
reference to Persia and Media; but the true rendering appears to be: "It made for itself one
dominion," [29] instead of" It raised up itself on one side."
5th. While the symbolism of the sixth verse seems at first sight to point definitely to the Grecian
Empire, it will appear upon a closer examination that at its advent the leopard had four wings
and four heads. This was its primary and normal condition, and it was in this condition that
"dominion was given to it." This surely is very different from what Daniel 8:8 describes, and
what the history of Alexander's Empire realized, viz., the rise of a single power, which in its
decadence continued to exist in a divided state.
6th. Each of the three first empires of the second chapter (Babylon, Persia, and Greece) was in
turn destroyed and engulfed by its successor; but the kingdoms of the seventh chapter all
continued together upon the scene, though "the dominion," was with the fourth (Daniel 7:12).
Verse 3 seems to imply that the four beasts came up together, and at all events there is nothing
to suggest a series of empires, each destroying its predecessor, though the symbolism of the
vision was (in contrast with that of chap. 2.) admirably adapted to represent this. Compare the
language of the next vision (Daniel 8:3-6).
7th. While the fourth beast is unquestionably Rome, the language of the seventh and
twenty-third verses leaves no doubt that it is the Roman Empire in its revived and future phase.
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Without endorsing the views of Maitland, Browne, etc., it must be owned that there was nothing
in the history of ancient Rome to correspond with the main characteristic of this beast unless the
symbolism used is to be very loosely interpreted. To "devour the earth," "tread it down and
break it in pieces," is fairly descriptive of other empires, but Ancient Rome was precisely the
one power which added government to conquest, and instead of treading down and breaking in
pieces the nations it subdued, sought rather to mold them to its own civilization and polity.
All this — and more might be added [30] — suggests that the entire vision of the seventh chapter may
have a future reference. We have already seen that sovereign power is to be with a confederacy of ten
nations ultimately heading up in one great Kaiser, and that several of what are now the first-rate
Powers are to be outside that confederacy: it is in the last degree improbable, therefore, that such a
supremacy will be attained save after a tremendous struggle. At this moment the international politics
of the old world center in the Eastern Question, which is after all merely a question of the balance of
power in the Mediterranean. Now Daniel 7:2 expressly names the Mediterranean ("the Great Sea") as
the scene of the conflict between the four beasts. May not the opening portion of the vision then refer
to the gigantic struggle which must come some day for supremacy in the Mediterranean, which will
doubtless carry with it the sovereignty of the world? The lion may possibly typify England, whose
vast naval power may be symbolized by the eagle's wings. The plucking of the wings may represent
the loss of her position as mistress of the seas. And if such should be the result of the impending
struggle, we would be eager to believe that her after course shall be characterized by moral and
mental pre-eminence: the beast, we read, was "made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's
heart was given to it."
If the British lion have a place in the vision, the Muscovite bear can scarcely be omitted; and it may
confidently be averred that the bear of the prophecy may represent the Russia of today fully as well as
the Persia of Cyrus and Darius. The definiteness of the symbolism used in respect of the leopard (or
panther) of the vision makes it more difficult to refer this portion of the prophecy to Germany or any
oilier nation in particular. It would be easy to make out an ad captandum case in support of such a
view, but it may suffice to remark that if the prophecy be still unfulfilled, its meaning will be
incontestable when the time arrives.
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CHRONOLOGICAL DIAGRAM OF THE HISTORY OF JUDAH (784 x 1068 pixels) ---New Window
Anderson's "Chronological Diagram of the History of Judah" is a panoramic view of both
history and prophecy in relation to Daniel's people (Judah) and city (Jerusalem), i.e., "Seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy" (Daniel
9:24). Anderson chronologically integrates secular history, Jewish history, the history of
Jerusalem and the Temple, Daniel's vision of the "great image" (2:31), and the ministry of the
prophets, with a view toward the consummation of God's program of judgment during the
Seventieth Week (9:27). Simply studying the diagram to catch Anderson's meaning is enough to
provoke greater understanding of a subject that even the "angels desire to look into" (1Peter
1:12).
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APPENDIX 2. FOOTNOTES
[1] Encyc. Brit., 9th ed., title "Artaxerxes."
[2] W. K. Loftus, "Chaldea and Susiana," p. 341.
[3] Daniel, p. 160.
[4] On this point I have consulted the author of The Five Great Monarchies, a book to which
frequent reference is made in these pages, and I am indebted to Canon Rawlinson's courtesy
and kindness for the following reply: "I think you may safely say that chronologers are now
agreed that Xerxes died in the year B. C. 465. The Canon of Ptolemy, Thucydides, Diodorus,
and Manetho are agreed; the only counter authority being Ctesias, who is quite untrustworthy."
[5] Ante-Nicene Christian Library, vol. 9., second part, p 184.
[6] Works, vol. 15., p. 108.
[7] Arnold's trans., pp. 443-454.
[7-2] Kruger's arguments are reviewed by Clinton in F. H., 2., p. 217.
[8] Daniel, p. 171, note.
[9] See ex. gr. Mitford, 2., 226; Thirlwall, 2., 428; Grote, 5., 379; and of Germans see Niebuhr,
Lect. Anc. Hist. (Schmitz ed.), 2., 180-181.
[10] Daniel, p. 266.
[11] Ibid. p. 99, note.
[12] The Feast of Purim derives its name from the fact that when Haman planned the
destruction of the people of Mordecai, he cast lots day by day to find "a lucky day "for the
execution of his scheme. A whole year – the twelfth year of Xerxes – was thus consumed
(Esther 3:7); and the decree for the slaughter of the Jews was made on the 13th Nisan in the
following year (ibid. 3:12). The decree in their favor was granted two months later (ibid. 8:9),
and the king is mentioned in connection with the execution of that decree in the twelfth month
of that year (ibid. 9: l, 13-17). The reign of Xerxes therefore certainly continued to the last
month of his thirteenth year. The last chapter of Esther, moreover, clearly shows that his reign
did not end with the events recorded in the book, but that his promotion of Mordecai was the
beginning of a new era in his career.
[13] Christology (Arnold's trans.), Ch. 737.
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[14] Dr. Farrar's book has done much to popularize a controversy which hitherto has interested
only the few. It may be well to notice, therefore, that his sweeping statement as to the date of
Herod's death is doubtful (see Clinton, Fasti Rom., A. D. 29), and that Josephus does not
always reckon reigns in the manner indicated.
[15] Matthew 27:63, 64; comp. 2 Chronicles 10:5-12. "He said unto them, Come again unto me
after three days…so Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day?"
[16] Whether such a system of reckoning appears strange or natural depends on the habit of
thought of the individual. A professor of theology might have trouble in defending it in class,
but a prison chaplain would have no difficulty in explaining it to his congregation! Our own
civil day is a nuchthameron, beginning at midnight, and the law takes no cognizance of a part
of a day. Therefore in a sentence of three days' imprisonment, the prescribed term is equal to
seventy-two hours; but though the prisoner seldom reaches the gaol till evening, the law holds
him to have completed a day's imprisonment the moment midnight strikes, and the gaoler may
lawfully release him the moment the prison is opened the second morning after. As a matter of
fact a prisoner committed for three days is seldom more than forty hours in gaol. This mode of
reckoning and speaking was as familiar to the Jew as it is to the habitues of our police courts.
[17] "When the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread on the
eighth day of the month Xanthicus" (i. e., Nisan) (Jos., Wars, 6. 5, 3. Comp. John 11:55; 12:1).
"The Jews' Passover was nigh at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before
the Passover to purify themselves. Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany."
[18] There was no lunar eclipse visible at Jerusalem between that of the 13th March B. C. 4 and
that of 9th January B. C. 1. Many writers take the latter to be the eclipse of Herod, and assign
his death to that year. That of B. C. 1 was a fine total eclipse, totality coming on at fifteen
minutes past midnight, whereas that of B. C. 4 was but a partial eclipse, and the greatest
magnitude was not till 2 h. 34 m. a. m. (Johnson, Eclipses Past and Future). But though every
consideration of this character points to B. C. 1 as the (late of Herod's death, the weight of
evidence generally is in favor of B. C. 4. Of recent writers, the former year is adopted by Dr.
Geikie (Life of Christ, 6th ed., p. 150), and notably by the late Mr. Bosanquet, who argues the
question in his Messiah the Prince, and more concisely in a paper read before the Society of
Biblical Archaeology on 6th June, 1871.
[19] This is the year specified by Dion Cassius for the Ethnarch's banishment. Clinton, F. H., A.
D. 6.
[20] Farrar, Life of Christ, App. Exc. 1.
[21] It depends on the meaning of the word gegonotos in the passage, whether the eighteenth or
nineteenth year be intended. The narrative, as a whole, points to the nineteenth year. Cf Lewin's
Fasti Sacri, pp. 56: and 92.
[22] Josephus, Ant., 15. 11, 27.
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[23] See p. 39, ante. Elliott's list of the ten kingdoms is the following: The Anglo-Saxons,
Franks, Allmans, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suevi, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Bavarians, and
Lombards. If any one can read the seventh chapter of Daniel and the thirteenth chapter of
Revelation and accept such an interpretation, there is really no common ground on which to
discuss the matter.
[24] I deprecate the idea that my object is to review this or any other book. Were such my
intention I could point out other similar errors. Exodus gr., in Pt. III., chap. l, the writer
enumerates five points of identity between the Harlot and the Church of Rome, and of these five
the two last are sheer blunders, viz., "The minister of the harlot makes fire to descend from
heaven," "And the harlot requires all to receive her mark." (Comp. Revelation 13:13, 16)
[25] "The ten horns out of this kingdom" (Daniel 7:24).
[26] Ireland was entirely, and Scotland was in part, outside the territorial limits of the Roman
Empire.
[27] In Daniel 11:40, Egypt and Turkey (or the Power which shall then possess Asia Millor) are
expressly mentioned by their prophetic titles as separate kingdoms at this very time.
[28] See Chron. Table, App. 1, ante.
[29] Tregelles, Daniel, p. 34.
[30] The beasts of Daniel 7 are those named in Revelation 13:2, to represent the Antichrist.
Though this admits of the explanation given, it may also be used a strong argument in favor of
the view above set forth.
.
APPENDIX II1.
A RETROSPECT AND A REPLY
"TAKE heed that no man deceive you." Such were the first words of our Lord's reply to the inquiry,
"What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" And the warning is needed still. "It
is not for you to know the times or the seasons," was almost His last utterance on earth, before He was
taken up. And if this knowledge was denied to His holy apostles and prophets, we may be sure it has
not been disclosed to us today. Nor can a secret which, as the Lord declared, "the Father hath put in
His own power," (Acts 1:7) be discovered by astronomical research or flights of higher mathematics.
But, on the other hand, no thoughtful Christian can ignore the signs and portents which mark the days
we live in. I little thought as I penned the introductory chapter of this book that the advance of
infidelity would be with such terribly rapid strides. In the few brief years that have since elapsed the
growth of skepticism within the Churches has exceeded even the gloomiest forecast. And side by side
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with this, again, the spread of spiritualism and demon-worship has been appalling. Its rotaries are
reckoned by tens of thousands; and in America it has already been systematized into a religion, with a
recognized creed and cult.
But these dark features of our times, striking and solemn though they be, are not the most significant.
While the warned-against apostasy of the last days thus seems to be drawing near, we are gladdened
by signal triumphs of the Cross. It is not merely that at home and abroad the Gospel is being preached
by such multitudes with a freedom never known before, but that, in a way unprecedented since the
days of the Apostles, the Jews are coming to the faith of Christ. The fact is but little known that
during the last few years more than a quarter of a million copies of the New Testament in Hebrew
have been circulated among the Jews in Eastern Europe, and the result has been their conversion to
Christianity, not by ones and twos, as in the past, but in large and increasing numbers. Entire
communities in some places have, through reading the word of God, accepted the despised Nazarene
as the true Messiah. This is wholly without parallel since Pentecostal times.
Then again, the return of the Jews to Palestine is one of the strangest facts of the day. There is
scarcely a country in the world that does not offer more attractions to the settler, be he agriculturist or
trader; and yet, since The Coming Prince was written, more Jews have migrated to the land of their
fathers than returned with Ezra when the decree of Cyrus brought the servitude to a close. But
yesterday the prophecy that Jerusalem should be inhabited "as towns without walls" seemed to belong
to a future far remote. The houses beyond the gates were few in number, and no one ventured abroad
there after nightfall. Today the existence of a large and growing Jewish town outside the walls is a fact
within the knowledge of every tourist, and year by year the immigration and the building still go on.
If I venture to touch upon the international politics of Europe, it will be but briefly, in connection with
the prophecy of the seventh chapter of Daniel. I have given in detail my reasons for suggesting that
the "historical" interpretation of that vision does not exhaust its meaning, [1] and I own to a deepening
conviction that every part of it awaits its fulfillment. There, as elsewhere in the Scriptures, "the great
sea" must surely mean the Mediterranean; and a terrible struggle for supremacy in the Levant appears
to be the burden of the earlier portion of the vision. The nearness of such a struggle is now being
anxiously discussed in every capital in Europe, and nowhere more anxiously than here at home. Never
indeed since the days of Pitt has there been such cause for national anxiety; and the question of the
balance of power in the Mediterranean has recently gained a prominence and interest greater and
more acute than ever before attached to it.
I will not notice topics of a more doubtful character, but confine myself to these; nor will I attempt by
word-painting to exaggerate their significance. But here we are face to face with great public facts. On
the one hand, there is this spread of infidelity and demon-worship, preparing the way for the great
infidel and devil-inspired apostasy of the last days; and, on the other hand, there are these spiritual and
national movements among the Jews, wholly without precedent during all the eighteen centuries
which have elapsed since their dispersion. And, finally, the Cabinets of Europe are watching
anxiously for the beginning of a struggle such as prophecy warns us will ultimately herald the rise of
the last great monarch of Christendom. Is all this to be ignored? Is there not here enough on which to
base, I will not say the belief, but an earnest hope, that the end may be drawing near? If its nearness
be presented as a hope, I cherish and rejoice in it; if it be urged as a dogma, or an article of faith, I
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utterly repudiate and condemn it.
As we dwell on these things a double caution will be opportune. These events and movements are not
in themselves the fulfillment of the prophecies, but merely indications on which to found the hope that
the time for their fulfillment is approaching. Any who searched their Bibles amidst the strange, and
startling, and solemn events of a century ago must surely have concluded that the crisis; was then at
hand; and it may be that once more the tide: which now seems so rapidly advancing may again
recede:. and generations of Christians now unborn may still be: waiting and watching upon earth.
Who will dare to set a limit to the long-suffering of God? and this is His own explanation of His
seeming "slackness." (2 Peter 3:9.)
We need further to be warned against the error into which the Thessalonian Christians were betrayed.
Their conversion was described as a turning from idols to serve the true God and "to wait for His Son
from heaven." And the coming of the Lord was presented to them as a practical and present hope, to
comfort and gladden them as they mourned their dead. (1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10, and 4:13-18.) But
when the Apostle passed on to speak of "the times and seasons" and "the day of Jehovah," (1
Thessalonians 5:1-3.) they misunderstood the teaching; and, supposing that the coming of the Lord
was immediately connected with the day of Jehovah, they concluded that that awful day was
breaking. On both points they were wholly wrong. In the Second Epistle the Apostle wrote, "Now we
beseech you, brethren, in behalf of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together
unto Him, to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by
spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us [referring of course to the First Epistle], as that the day of
the Lord is now present." [2]
"The times and seasons" are connected with Israel's hope and the events which will precede the
realization of it. (Acts 1:6, 7.) The Church's hope is wholly independent of them. And if the Christians
of the early days were taught to "live looking for that blessed hope," how much more may we! Not a
line of prophecy must first be fulfilled; not a single event need intervene. And any system of
interpretation-or of doctrine which clashes with this, and thus falsities the teaching of the Apostles of
our Lord, stands thereby condemned. [3]
Let us then beware lest we fall into the common error of exaggerating the importance of
contemporary movements and events, great and solemn though they be; and let the Christian take
heed lest the contemplation of these things should lead him to forget his heavenly citizenship and his
heavenly hope. The realization of that hope will but clear the stage for the display of the last great
drama of earth's history as foretold in prophecy.
If the digression may be pardoned, it may be well to amplify this, and explain' my meaning more
fully. That Israel will again be restored to the place of privilege and blessing upon earth is not a matter
of opinion, but of faith; and no one who accepts the Scriptures as Divine can question it. Here the
language of the Hebrew prophets is unusually explicit. Still more emphatic, by reason of the time
when it was given, is the testimony of the Epistle to the Romans. The very position of that Epistle in
the sacred Canon gives prominence to the fact that the Jew had then been set aside. The New
Testament opens by chronicling the birth of Him who was Son of Abraham and Son of David,
(Matthew 1:1.) the seed to whom the promises were made and the rightful Heir to the scepter once
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entrusted to Judah; and the Gospels record His death at the hands of the favored people. Following the
Gospels comes the narrative of the renewed offer of mercy to that people, and of their rejection of it.
"To the Jew first" is stamped upon every page of the Acts of the Apostles; and it characterized the
transitional Pentecostal dispensation of which that book is the record. The Pentecostal Church was
essentially Jewish. Not only were the Gentiles in a minority, but their position was one of comparative
tutelage, as the record of the Council of Jerusalem gives proof. (Acts 15. See also chap. 11:19.) Even
the Apostle of the Gentiles, in the whole course of his ministry, brought the Gospel first to the Jews.
"It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you," he said to them at
Antioch. (Acts 13:46; cf. 17:2, 18:4.) "The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they will
hear it," was his final word to them at Rome when they rejected his testimony and "departed." (Acts
28:29.)
And the next book of the Canon is addressed to believing Gentiles. But in that very Epistle the
Gentiles are warned that "God has not cast away His people." Through unbelief the branches are
broken off, but the root remains, and "God is able to graft them in again." "And so all Israel shall be
saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and He shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob." [4] . Judgment will in that day mingle with mercy, for He "whose fan is in His hand"
will then gather His wheat into the garner, but burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The true
remnant of the covenant people will become the "all Israel" of days of future blessedness.
That remnant was typified by the "men of Galilee" who stood around Him on the Mount of Olives as
"He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." And as with straining eyes they
watched Him, two angel messengers appeared to renew the promise which God had given centuries
before through Zechariah the prophet:
"This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven"; (Acts
1:1-19.)
"His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the
east." (Zechariah 14:4.)
A glance at the prophecy will suffice to show that the event it speaks of is wholly different from the
Coming of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. It is the same Lord Jesus, truly, who is coming for
His Church of this dispensation and coming to His earthly people gathered in Jerusalem in a
dispensation to follow; but otherwise these "Comings" have absolutely nothing in common. The later
manifestation — His return to the Mount of Olives — is an event as definitely localized as was His
ascension from that same Mount of Olives; and its purpose is declared to be to bring deliverance to
His people on earth in the hour of their supreme peril. Tim earlier Coming will have no relation to
locality at all. All the wide world over, wherever His dead have been laid to rest, "the trump of God"
shall call them back to life, in "spiritual bodies" like His own; and wherever living "saints" are found,
they "will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," and all shall be caught up together to
meet Him in the air. While the profane skeptic ridicules all this, and the religious skeptic ignores it,
the believer remembers that his Lord was thus caught up to heaven; and as he ponders the promise,
his wonder leads to worship, not to unbelief.
And this event, which is the Church's proper hope, is as independent of the chronology, as it is of the
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geography, of earth. It is with the fulfillment of Irsrael's hope that the "times and seasons" have to do,
and the signs and portents that belong to them. The Lord's public manifestation to the world is a
further event distinct from both. Our Jehovah-God will come with all His holy ones; (Zechariah 14:5.)
the Lord Jesus will be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance. [5] What interval of time will
separate these successive stages of "the Second Advent," we cannot tell. It is a secret not revealed. All
that concerns us is, "rightly dividing the word of truth," to mark that they are in all respects distinct.
[6]
I use the expression "Second Advent" merely as a concession to popular theology, for it has no
Scriptural warrant. It would be better to discard it altogether, for it is the cause of much confusion of
thought and not a little positive error. It is a purely theological term, and it belongs properly to the
great and final Coming to judge the world. But while many refuse to believe that there will be any
revelation of Christ to His people upon earth until the epoch of that great crisis, the more careful
student of Scripture finds there the clearest proof that there will be a "Coming" before the era
popularly called "the millennium." Here again there are those who, while clearly recognizing a
"pre-millennial advent," have failed to notice the difference, so plainly marked in Scripture, between
the Coming for the Church of the present dispensation, the Coming to the earthly people in Jerusalem,
and the Coming to destroy the Lawless One and to set up the kingdom.
But, it may be urged, Is not the expression justified by the closing verse of the ninth chapter of
Hebrews? It is only the superficial reader of the passage, I reply, who can use it thus. "Unto them that
look for Him shall He appear the second time," our Authorized Version renders it. And the words are
taken as though they were equivalent to "His second appearing," "the Appearing" being a recognized
synonym for "the Coming." But this is merely: trading on the language of our English version. The
word actually employed is wholly different. It is a general word, and it is the very word used with
reference to His manifestation to His disciples after the Resurrection. [7] And further, the definite
article must be omitted:
"Insomuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment, so Christ
also, having been once [i.e., once for all] offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second
time, apart from sin, to them that wait for Him, unto salvation." (Hebrews 9:27, 28.)
The statement is not prophetic, but doctrinal; and the doctrine in question is not the Advent, but the
priesthood. It is not the prediction of an event to be realized by those who shall be alive on earth at the
time of the end, but the declaration of a truth and a fact to be realized by every believer, no matter in
what dispensation his sojourn upon earth may fall.
The passage therefore cannot be appealed to in support of the dogma that never again but once will
Christ appear to His people upon earth. And as the expression "Second Advent" is so intimately
connected with that dogma, it would be well that all intelligent students of Scripture should unite in
discarding it. The Coming of Christ is the hope of His people in every age.
------------------------------
The only adverse criticism I have seen of The Coming Prince has appeared in later editions of The
Approaching End of the Age. Feelings of esteem and friendship for the author influenced my notice of
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that work, but no considerations of this kind have restrained his pen in replying to my strictures; and
the fact that a writer so able and so bitterly hostile has not ventured to question in a single point the
main conclusions here established is a signal proof that they are irrefutable.
Dr. Grattan Guinness complains that I have made no attempt to "reply" to his book. My only reference
to it has been made incidentally in an appendix note; and in so far as it deals with the "primary and
partial realization of the prophecies" I have taken the liberty of praising it. Why then should I "reply
"to a treatise in respect of that in it which I value and adopt? These pages give proof how thoroughly I
accept a historical interpretation of prophecy; [8] and if any one demands why then I have not given it
greater prominence, I recall St. James's answer when the Apostles were accused of neglecting in their
teaching the writings of Moses. "Moses," he declared, "hath in every city them that teach him. "What
was needed, therefore, if the equilibrium of doctrine was to be maintained, was that they should teach
grace. On similar grounds the task I here set myself was to deal with the fulfillment of the prophecies.
But I have no controversy with those who use their every talent in unfolding the "historical"
interpretation of them. My quarrel is only with men who practically deny the Divine authorship of the
sacred word, by asserting that their apprehension of it is the limit of its scope, and exhausts its
meaning. And The Coming Prince is a crushing reply to the system which dares to write". Fulfilled"
across the prophetic page. "The real question at issue here," I again repeat, "is the character and value
of the Bible." Dr. Guinness asserts that the apocalyptic visions have been fulfilled in the events of the
Christian era. I hold him to that issue, and I test it by a reference to the vision of the sixth chapter. Has
this been fulfilled, as in fact he dares to assert it has? The question is vital, for if this vision still awaits
fulfillment, so also do all the prophecies which follow it. Let the reader decide this question for
himself, after studying the closing verses of the chapter, ending with the words, "For THE GREAT
DAY OF HIS WRATH IS COME, and who shall be able to stand?"
The old Hebrew prophets were inspired of God to describe the terrors of "the great day of His wrath,"
and the Holy Spirit has here reproduced their very words. (Cf. Isaiah 13:9, 10, and Joel 2:31, 3:15; see
also Zephaniah 1:14, 15.) The Bible contains no warnings more awful in their solemnity and
definiteness. But just as the lawyer writes "Spent" across a statute of which the purpose has been
satisfied, so these men would teach us to write "Fulfilled" across the sacred page. They tell us,
forsooth, that the vision meant nothing more than to predict the rout of pagan hordes by Constantine
[9] To speak thus is to come perilously near the warned-against sin of those who "take away from the
words of the book of this prophecy." But when our thoughts turn to these teachers themselves we are
restrained by remembering their piety and zeal, for "their praise is in all the Churches." Let us then
banish from our minds all thoughts of the men, and seize upon the system which they advocate and
support. No appeal to honored names should here be listened to. Names as honorable, and a hundred
times more numerous, can be cited in defense of some of the crassest errors which corrupt the faith of
Christendom. What then, I ask, shall be our judgment on a system of interpretation which thus
blasphemes the God of truth by representing the most awful warnings of Scripture as wild
exaggeration of a sort but little removed from falsehood?
If it be urged that the events of fifteen centuries ago, or of some other epoch in the Christian
dispensation, were within the scope of the prophecy, we can consider the suggestion on its merits; but
when we are told that the prophecy was thus fulfilled, we can hold no parley with the teaching. It is
the merest trifling with Scripture. And more than this, it clashes with the great charter truth of
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Christianity. If the day of wrath has come, the day of grace is past, and the Gospel of grace is no
longer a Divine message to mankind. To suppose that the day of wrath can be an episode in the
dispensation of grace is to betray ignorance of grace and to bring Divine wrath into contempt. The
grace of God in this day of grace surpasses human thought; His wrath in the day of wrath will be no
less Divine. The, breaking of the sixth seal heralds the dawning of that awful day; the visions of the
seventh seal unfold its unutterable terrors. But, we are told, the pouring out of the vials, the "seven
plagues which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God," (Revelation 15:1, R.V.) is being
now accomplished. The sinner, therefore, may comfort himself with the knowledge that Divine wrath
is but stage thunder, which, in a practical and busy world, may safely be ignored! [10]
I called attention to Dr. Guinness's statement that "from the then approaching command to restore and
to build again Jerusalem to the coming of Messiah the Prince was to be seventy weeks"; and I added,"
This is a typical instance of the looseness of the historical school in dealing with Scripture." Of this,
and of some other errors which I noticed, the only defense he offers is that "expressions not strictly
correct, yet perfectly legitimate, because evidently elliptical, are for brevity's sake employed." How
brevity is attained by writing "seventy" instead of "sixty-nine" I cannot conceive. The statement is a
sheer perversion of Scripture, unconsciously made, no doubt, to suit the exigencies of a false system
of interpretation. The prophecy plainly declares the period "unto Messiah the Prince" to be sixty-nine
weeks, leaving the seventieth week to be accounted for after the specified epoch; but Dr. Guinness's
system can give no reasonable account of the seventieth week, and so, unconsciously, I repeat, he
shirks the difficulty by misreading the passage. Insist on his reading it aright and accounting for the
last seven years of the prophetic period, and his interpretation of the vision at once stands refuted and
exposed.
When the language of Scripture is treated so loosely by this writer, no one need be surprised if my
words fare badly at his hands. He is wholly incapable of deliberate misrepresentation, and yet his
inveterate habit of inaccuracy has led him to misread The Coming Prince on almost every point on
which he refers to it. [11]
The fact is, he only knows two schools of prophetic interpretation, the Futurist and his own; and
therefore he seems unable even to understand a book which is throughout a protest against the
narrowness of the one and the mingled narrowness and wildness of the other. But his personal
references are unworthy of the writer and of the subject. I pass on to deal with the only points on
which his criticisms are of any general interest or importance; I mean the predicted division of the
Roman earth, and the relations between Antichrist and the apostate Church.
My statement was: "The division of the Roman earth into ten kingdoms has never yet taken place.
That it has been partitioned is plain matter of history and of fact; that it has ever been divided into ten
is a mere conceit of writers of this school."
"An astonishingly reckless assertion" Dr. Guinness declares this to be; and yet we have but to turn the
page to obtain from his own pen the plainest admission of its truth. It must be borne in mind, he says,
that the ten kingdoms are to be sought "only in the territory west of Greece." And if we are prepared
to accept this theory, we shall find, after making large allowances as to boundaries, that in this, which
is prophetically the least important moiety of the Roman earth, "the number of the kingdoms of the
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European commonwealth has, as a rule, averaged ten." Mr. Guinness gives a dozen lists — and he
tells us he has a hundred more in reserve — to prove that, with kaleidoscopic instability and
vagueness, or, to quote his words, "amidst increasing and almost countless fluctuations, the kingdoms
of modern Europe have from their birth to the present day always averaged about ten in number."
"Averaged about ten," mark, though the prophecy specifies ten with a definiteness which becomes
absolute by its mention of an eleventh rising up and subduing three of them. And "modern Europe,"
too! Zeal for the Protestant cause seems to blind these men to the plainest teaching of Scripture.
Jerusalem, and not Rome, is the center of the Divine prophecies and of God's dealings with His
people; and the attempt to explain Daniel's visions upon a system which ignores Daniel's city and
people does violence to the very rudiments of prophetic teaching. This vaunted canon of
interpretation, which reads "modern Europe" instead of the prophetic earth, is, I repeat, "a mere
conceit of writers of this school." First they minimize and tamper with the language of prophecy, and
then they exaggerate and distort the facts of history to suit their garbled reading of it. "Can they," Dr.
Guinness demands of us, "alter or add to this tenfold list of the great kingdoms now occupying the
sphere of old Rome? — Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, England, Holland, Belgium,
Spain, and Portugal. Ten, and no more! ten, and no less!" I answer, Yes, we can both alter it and add to
it. The list includes territory which was never within "the sphere of old Rome" at all, and it omits
altogether nearly half of the Roman earth.
This is bad enough, but it is not all. For if we accept his statements, and seek to interpret the thirteenth
chapter of Revelation by them, he at once changes his ground and protests against our numbering
"Protestant nations "among the ten horns at all. They are "chronologically out of the question," he
tells us. Here is the language of this vision about Antichrist. "And there was given to him authority
over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship
him, every one whose name hath not been written in the book of life." (Revelation 13:7, 8, R.V.) What
mean these most definite and solemn words? Nothing, he tells us, but that "throughout the Dark
Ages," and "prior to the rise of Protestantism," the Roman Catholic religion should prevail in the
western moiety of the Roman earth. This, he declares, is "the fulfillment of the prediction." He calls
this "explaining" Scripture. Most people would call it explaining it away!
I now come to the last point. "Our critics maintain," Dr. Guinness writes, "that Babylon runs her
career, and is destroyed by the ten horns, who then agree and give their power to Antichrist, or the
Beast. That is, they hold that the reign of Antichrist follows the destruction of Babylon by the ten
horns."
The foundation of this statement must be sought in the author's own lucubrations, for nothing to
account for it will be found in the pages he criticizes; and a similar remark applies to his references to
The Coming Prince in the paragraphs which follow. I will not allude to them in detail, but in a few
sentences dispose of the position he is seeking to defend.
We have now got to the seventeenth chapter of Revelation. His argument is this. The eighth head of
the Beast must be a dynasty; the Beast carries the Woman; the Woman is the Church of Rome.
Therefore the dynasty symbolized by the eighth head must have lasted as long as the Church of
Rome; and thus the Protestant interpretation is settled "on a foundation not to be removed."
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It is not really worth while pausing to show how gratuitous are some of the assumptions here implied.
Let us, for the sake of argument, accept them all, and what comes of it? In the first place, Dr.
Guinness is hopelessly involved in the transparent fallacy I warned him against in this volume. The
Woman is destroyed by the agency of the Beast. How then is he going to separate the Pope from the
apostate Church of which he is the head, and which, according to the "Protestant interpretation,"
would cease to be the apostate Church if he were no longer owned as head?
The historicist must here make choice between the Woman and the Beast. They are distinct
throughout the vision, and in direct antagonism at the close. If the Harlot represents the Church of
Rome, his system gives no account whatever of the Beast; it ignores altogether the foremost figure in
the prophecy, and the vaunted "foundation" of the so-called "Protestant interpretation" vanishes into
air. Or if he takes refuge upon the other horn of the dilemma, and maintains that the Beast symbolizes
the apostate.. Church, the Harlot remains to be accounted for. He, forgets, moreover, that the Beast
appears in Daniel's visions; in relation to Jerusalem and Judah. Suppose, therefore,. we should admit
everything he says, what would it amount to? Merely a contention that "the springing and germinant
accomplishment" of these prophecies "throughout many' ages" (I quote Lord Bacon's words once
more) is fuller, and clearer than his critics can admit, or the facts of history' will warrant. The truth
still stands out plainly that "the height or fullness of them" belongs to an age to come:, when Judah
shall once more be gathered in the Promised Land, and the light of prophecy which now rests dimly'
upon Rome shall again be focused on Jerusalem.
The popularity of the historical system lies no doubt in the appeal it makes to the "Protestant spirit."
But surely we can afford to be sensible and fair in our denunciation of the Church of Rome. Who can
fail to perceive the growth of an antichristian movement that may soon lead [ us to hail the devout
Romanist as an ally? With such, the Bible, neglected though it be, is still held sacred as the inspired
word of God; and our Divine Lord is reverenced and worshipped, albeit the truth of His Divinity is
obscured by error and superstition. I appeal here to the Pope's Encyclical Letter of the 18th
November, 1893, on the study of the Holy Scriptures. The following is an extract from it:--
"We fervently desire that a greater number of the faithful should undertake the defense of the holy
writings, and attach themselves to it with constancy; and, above all, we desire that those who have
been admitted to Holy Orders by the grace of God should daily apply themselves more strictly and
zealously to read, meditate upon, and explain the Scriptures. Nothing can be better suited to their
state. In addition to the excellence of such knowledge and the obedience due to the word of God,
another motive impels us to believe that the study of the Scriptures should be counseled. That motive
is the abundance of advantages which follow from it, and of which we have the guarantee in the
words of Holy Writ: 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. It is with this design that God gave man the Scriptures; the
examples of our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles show it. Jesus Himself was accustomed to appeal
to the holy writings in testimony of His Divine mission."
There is here surely, in some sense at least, the ground for a common faith, which might, as regards
individual Christians, be owned as a bond of brotherhood; but an impassable gulf divides us from the
ever-increasing host of so-called Protestants who deny the Divinity of Christ and the inspiration of the
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Scriptures. These have their true place in the great army of infidelity which will muster at last around
the banner of the Antichrist.
My protest is made, not in defense of the Papacy, but of the Bible. If any one can point to a single
passage of Scripture relating to Antichrist, whether in the Old Testament or in the New, which can,
without whittling it down, and frittering away the meaning of the words, find its fulfillment in Popery,
I will publicly retract, and confess my error. Take 2 Thessalonians 2:4 as a sample of the rest. The
"man of sin" "opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped
[Greek, that is an object of worship], so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as
God." This means merely, forsooth, that on certain occasions the Pope's seat in St. Peter's is raised
above the level of the altar on which the "consecrated wafer" lies! Such statements — I care not what
names may be cited in support of them — are an insult to our intelligence and an outrage upon the
word of God. [12]
Then, again, in the ninth verse, the coming of the "Lawless One" is said to be "according to the
working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders." These words are explained by the
vision of the Beast in the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation, which declares that "the Dragon gave
him his power, and his throne, and great authority." And we have from the lips of our blessed Lord
Himself the warning, that the "great signs and wonders," thus to be wrought by Satanic power, shall
be such that, "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24.) In a word, the
awful and mysterious power of Satan will be brought to bear upon Christendom with such terrible
effect, that human intellect will be utterly confounded. Agnosticism and infidelity will capitulate in
presence of overwhelming proof that supernatural agencies are at work. And if faith itself, divinely
given, shall stand the test, it is only because it is impossible for God to allow His own elect to perish.
When we demand the meaning of all this, we get answer "Popery." But where, we ask, are the "great
signs and wonders" of the Popish system? And, in reply, we are told of its millinery, and its
mummery, and all the well-known artifices of priestcraft, which constitute its special stock-in-trade.
As though there were anything in these to deceive the elect of God! To take the low ground of mere
Protestantism, it is notorious that here in England none become entangled in the toils of Rome save
such as have already become enervated and corrupted by sacerdotalism and superstition within the
communion they abandon. And it is no less notorious that, in Roman Catholic countries, the majority
of men maintain towards it an attitude of either benevolent or contemptuous indifference.
Remembering, moreover, that the followers of the Beast are doomed to endless and hopeless
destruction, we go on to inquire whether this is to be the fate of every Roman Catholic. By no means,
we are assured; for, in spite of the evils and errors of the Romish Church, some within its pale are
reckoned among the number of "God's elect."
What conclusion, then, are we to come to? Are we to accept it as a canon of interpretation that
Scripture never means what it says? Are we to hold that its language is so loose and unreliable as to
be practically false? We repudiate the profane suggestion; and, adopting the only possible alternative,
we boldly assert that all these solemn words still await their fulfillment. In a word, we are shut up to
the conclusion that THE ANTICHRIST IS YET TO COME.
APPENDIX 3. FOOTNOTES
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[1] Were I now writing that note in the light of passing events, I should specify France where I
have named Germany, and I should allude to the efforts now making by Russia to acquire a
naval station in the Mediterranean.
[2] 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2, R. V. "The day of Christ" in A. V. is a wrong reading.
[3] See 1 Corinthians 11:26: "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the
Lord's death till He come." No past but the Cross; no future but the Coming. To separate the
believer from the Coming is as great an outrage upon Christianity as to separate him from the
Cross.
[4] Romans 11; see vv. 1, 2, 9, 12, 15-26. Note that "all Israel" is not = every Israelite, for in the
Greek there is no such ambiguity as in English; and the seeming contradictions in the chapter
are explained by the fact that the "cast away" of vv. 1, 2, is a wholly different word from the
"casting away" of ver. 15, and the "fall" of ver. 11 from the "fall" of ver. 12.
[5] 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8. The "mighty angels" of the prophecy are, I presume, the "holy ones"
of Zechariah 14:5.
[6] Between the first of these and the second, there will no doubt intervene a period at least as
long as that which elapsed between His coming to Bethlehem and His manifestation to Israel at
His first advent, and probably a period very much more prolonged. Whether the interval
between the second and third will be measured by days or years, we are wholly unable to
decide. The only certain indication of its length is that the Antichrist, whose power will be
broken by the one, will be actually destroyed by the other.
I am here assuming that all the events which are yet to be fulfilled will occur in a comparatively
brief period. But I wish to guard myself against the idea that I assert this. I deprecate in the
strongest way the idea, now so common, that students of astronomy and mathematics have
solved the mystery which God has expressly kept in His own power. Could any student of the
Old Testament have dreamed that nearly two thousand years would intervene between the
sufferings of Christ and His return in glory? Would the early Christians have tolerated such a
suggestion? And if another thousand years should yet run their course before the Church is
taken up, or if a thousand years should intervene between that event and the Coming to the
Mount of Olives, not a single word of Scripture would be broken. As, I have said, "it is only in
so far as prophecy falls within the seventy weeks that it comes within the range of human
chronology." Much is made of supposed eras of 1, 260 and 2, 520 years. But even if we could
certainly fix the epoch of any such era, the question would remain whether they may not be
mystic periods, like the 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1.
[7] It occurs four times in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.
[8] See, e. g., Chap. 9. and App., note C.
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[9] See especially the quotation from Dean Alford.
[10] It is only by reason of its almost inconceivable silliness that such. teaching can escape the
charge of profanity.
[11] For instance, he becomes vehement in denouncing my statement that "all Christian
interpreters are agreed" in recognizing a parenthesis in Daniel's prophetic vision of the beasts.
No doubt he read the passage as though I had there spoken of the fall of the Roman empire, and
not its "rise"; for the statement is indisputably true, and he himself is numbered among the
"Christian interpreters" who endorse it. Here is another specimen. With reference to the
question of the ten kingdoms, he says, "Dr. Anderson and other Futurist writers…teach – (1)
that the ten horns are not yet risen; (2) that when they do rise five will be found in Greek
territory, and five only in Roman; and that when at last developed, (3) after a gap of 1, 400
years of which the prophecy takes no notice at all, (4) they will last for three and a half years"
(p. 737).
I have numbered these sentences to enable me briefly to remind the intelligent reader that,
excepting No. I, everything here attributed to me is in flat opposition to some of the plainest
statements in my book. In the same way he attributes to me the figment that the career of
Antichrist will be limited to three and a half years. I have sometimes wondered whether he ever
read The Coming Prince at all! A word as to his strictures on my title. I am aware of course that
in the Hebrew of Daniel 9:26, there is not the article, but I am not misled by the inference he
draws from its omission. Had the article been used, the prince intended would clearly have been
"Messiah the Prince" of ver. 25. In English the article has not this force, and therefore it is
rightly inserted, as both the Translators and the Revisers have recognized. Dr. Tregelles here
remarks, "This destruction is here said to be wrought by a certain people, not by the prince who
shall come, but by his people: this refers us, I believe, to the Romans as the last holders of
undivided Gentile power; they wrought the destruction long ages ago. The prince who shall
come is the last head of the Roman power, the person concerning whom Daniel had received so
much previous instruction." Such is the pre-eminence of this great leader that he is bracketed
with our Lord Himself in this prophecy, and the people of the Roman empire are described as
being his people. Yet Mr. Guinness believes that Titus is referred to! Really the day is past for
discussing such a suggestion.
I may here remark that the rendering of Daniel 9:27 in the Revised Version disposes of the
figment that it was Messiah who made a seven years' covenant with the Jews. The causing the
sacrifice to cease is not an incident in the midst of the "week," but a violation of the treaty "for
half of the week."
[12] The reference to the Temple is explained by Daniel 9:27, 12:11, and Matthew 24:15. These
teachers ask us to believe that while the Church of Rome is the Beast and the Harlot and
everything that is corrupt and infamous in apostate Christianity, yet St. Peter's, the great central
shrine of this apostasy, is owned by God as being the Temple of God. The sacrifice of the Mass
they denounce as idolatrous and blasphemous, and yet we are t6 suppose that Holy Scripture
refers to it as representing all that is Divine on earth! The sacred words admit of only one
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meaning, viz., that the Antichrist, claiming to be himself Divine, will suppress all worship
rendered to any other god.
Such are the wild extravagances and puerilities of interpretation and of forecast which mar the
writings of these interpreters, that men have come to regard these visions, which ought to
inspire reverence and awe, as "principal subjects of ridicule" – the specialty of mystics and
faddists. How great the need, then, for a united and sustained effort to rescue the study from the
contempt into which it has fallen! Each of the recognized schools of interpretation has truth
which the rival schools deny. A new era would begin if Christians would turn from all these
schools – Preterist, Historical, and Futurist – and learn to read the prophecies as they read the
other Scriptures: as being the word of Him who is, and was, and is to come, our Jehovah-God,
with whom present, past, and future are but one "eternal now."
.
END OF "THE COMING PRINCE".
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