God And The Future

Arthur S. Maxwell

1952

Review And Herald Publishers

www.ThreeAngels.com.au

PREFACE

GOD IN THE DARK

GOD AND THE NATIONS GOD IN THE FIRE

GOD RULES FOREVER GOD DOOMS AN EMPIRE GOD AMONG THE LIONS GOD AND THE JUDGMENT GOD PROMISES VICTORY GOD PLANS DELIVERANCE GOD’S TRIUMPH ETERNAL

PREFACE

IN THESE dark and anxious days there are two books that everyone should be reading: the book of Daniel, in the Old Testament, and the book of Revelation, in the New. Brief though these volumes are, the importance of their content is immeasurable. They contain the very message of hope and courage for which the world is waiting today.

Both were written by exiles living under totalitarian governments, men who were eyewitnesses of pagan cruelty and injustice, and the resultant human suffering; yet both are replete with faith in the ultimate triumph of righteousness and truth.

Both authors saw God in vision and, seeing Him, were convinced that the future is His; that though the powers of evil may seem to be triumphant today, tomorrow all will be changed. God will intervene, bringing deliverance and victory eternal.

In God and the Future and its companion volume, Christ and Tomorrow, no attempt has been made to provide a detailed exegesis of these two great prophetic books. Within the limits of the space available this would be impossible and presumptuous. Those who desire such an exhaustive treatise are referred to Daniel and the Revelation, by Uriah Smith, which can be obtained from the same publishers. All I have essayed to do here is to lead the reader to the threshold of these mines of truth and open the gates to the rich treasures of divine revelation within.

In particular it has been my purpose to emphasize what I believe to be the central message of each book, and that is the reality of God.

Many who glance at Daniel and Revelation for the first time see only horns and hoofs,- wings and talons, wild beasts and strange images; but these symbols, however important, are all subservient to the main theme of each book, which is the existence, the power, the glory, the majesty, and the victory of the Most High God who rules in the kingdom of men.”

Here in this brief study of the book of Daniel you will find God in the dark, God in the fire, God among the lions; you will see Him ordering the affairs of nations, dooming an empire, judging the world, promising victory, and bringing deliverance. As you read, God will become more real to you than ever; and finding Him, you will find faith for today and hope for tomorrow.

ARTHUR S. MAXWELL

GOD IN THE DARK

ALL HOPE of saving the city had gone. Already the walls had been breached, the gates broken down. Fierce, pitiless soldiers were rushing through the streets to the final bastion on the Temple hill. Screams of frightened women mingled with groans of dying men as flames roared upward from burning buildings.

Prisoners by hundreds were being stripped and shackled for the long, painful march into captivity. Princes from the royal palace, along with merchants, priests, and artisans, were being pushed and shoved into the growing lines of dejected humanity. Golden vessels from the Temple, the precious things of the sacred treasury, were being carried away by careless, irreverent hands.

It was a dark day for Jerusalem. Its glory had departed. Henceforth, for many a long, sad year, it was to be subject to the king of Babylon.

Soon the tragic procession began as, at a coarse bark of command, the newly enslaved people set out for their conqueror’s capital. Mile after mile they tramped, with blistered feet and aching hearts. Looking back in shame and sorrow, forward with fear and dread’, they dragged their weary bodies to a fate they had reason to believe would he worse than death.

To many in that dismal throng it seemed as if God had deserted them. Engulfed in black calamity, they questioned His existence and concluded they had worshiped Him in vain. Others, trying to hold fast their faith, wondered why He had permitted such overwhelming disaster to befall them.

Yet, despite the darkness, the sorrow, the tragedy, how near He was to them! Invisible, but no less real, He walked with them all the way, watching over them and planning their deliverance.

The prisoners arrived in Babylon in the year 605 BC and were immediately inspected for possible talent by officers of Nebuchadnezzar’s household-it being the custom of that farsighted monarch to profit by his forays into foreign countries by training the most promising among his captives for service in his court and government.

Among those upon whom the royal favor fell were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, the latter three being better known by their Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

All had suffered the bitter humiliation of defeat and the awful frustration of enslavement, yet in their hearts they remained loyal both to their country and to their religious upbringing. Of the leader of this little group the Bible says, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8).

Here is the first suggestion of the inherent nobility of this young man. Although as a stave he had been shorn of all rights and privileges, he made up his mind that he would do nothing against his conscience, whatever the cost. Therefore, having been brought up to abhor idolatry, he resolved not to cat any meat or drink that had been offered to Babylonian gods, no matter what the king might do to him.

At this point we read, “Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” (verse 9). This is the first mention of God in the book of Daniel, but how encouraging it is! It reveals that, far from deserting His people, He had followed them to Babylon. Quietly but certainly He had been working for them all the time. As He was with them in the bright days, so now He was with them in the dark, striving to make their yoke easy and their burden light.

As the Holy Spirit moved upon the heart of Melzar, whom “the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel,” this heathen officer of the royal household decided to risk his job and his life to favor these four fine lads from Jerusalem. Patiently he listened to their request to be permitted to forgo the king’s wine and meat and live on a simple vegetarian diet.

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days,” implored Daniel; and let them give us pulse to cat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat: and as thou sees, deal with thy servants” (verses 12,13).

The proposal seemed absurd, even dangerous, to Melzar; but even so, he consented to it. Ten days later the Hebrews were fully vindicated. To the officer’s astonishment, the four appeared “fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat- (verse 15).

This was the turning point in their experience. Their simple act of loyalty over a matter of detail led them into a rich experience which otherwise might never have come their way. By refusing to disregard conscience, and by insisting on a clean, healthful diet, they developed keen minds and vigorous bodies. As a result they learned their lessons more rapidly and soon were head and shoulders above their fellows “in all learning and wisdom.” This in turn led to their being chosen for a special audience with King Nebuchadnezzar, and so to the highest positions of

responsibility in the nation.

“And the king communed with them,” we are told (verse 19). This was a high privilege indeed, and Nebuchadnezzar was well pleased with them. Not only, however, did the king of Babylon commune with them, but the King of heaven. Though slaves in a foreign land, they walked with God in royal palaces. Humbly acknowledging His divine leadership of their lives, they enjoyed His confidence and companionship and bravely witnessed for their faith. As a result they were greatly blessed in all their activities, and showered with honors by their human overlords. “And among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”

Thus the first chapter of the book of Daniel sounds the keynote for all that follows. It declares God’s existence, God’s love, God’s tender watch care over His own. It announces His deep concern in human affairs, and warns both kings and commoners, conquerors and conquered, rich and poor, high and low, that He must never be overlooked. It reveals that righteousness, loyalty, and integrity are virtues highly regarded by Him; and whispers to all His children, in times of darkness and discouragement, that He is ever near them, “nearer than breathing, closer than hands and feet.”

GOD AND THE NATIONS

EVENTS MOVED fast. Indeed, it can have been but a few weeks after the exceptional wisdom of Daniel and his friends had been brought to the attention of King Nebuchadnezzar that an event occurred of such importance that its repercussions were felt for centuries, even till today.

So close is the chronology of these various happenings that God’s guiding hand is clearly seen: for Daniel arrived in Babylon just in time to become the king’s foremost counselor in the first great crisis of his life-an epoch-making event about which men have talked and written from that day to this.

It all began with a forgotten dream. One night in the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar “dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him” (Daniel 2:1).

This was not his first dream, or his last, but there was something about this one that made an unusually deep impression upon him. So much so that when he awoke in the morning he had one consuming desire to recount it to others. But alas, as so often happens in such cases, he could not recall a single incident. It was frustrating in the extreme.

Then he remembered his magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers, who claimed great powers of insight into the occult. Surely they could help him. So he summoned them into his presence and demanded that they recall his dream forthwith.

Of course they were baffled. This was beyond them. They could not recall a man’s dream to save their lives. “Let the king tell his servants the dream,” they said, “and we will show the interpretation of it” (verse 7). The wily rascals stood ready to concoct a theory about the dream, but they must know it first. To suggest something that the king had not dreamed, would be altogether too risky. It would instantly reveal the fraudulent nature of their whole profession. There was nothing to do but to admit their limitations.

“There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter,” they said. “There is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh- (verses 10,11).

At this the king became very angry. Desperate to recall the dream that had made so deep an impression on his mind, and that he sensed was of very great importance, he was irritated beyond words by the inability of these supposed mind readers and miracle workers to perform so simple a service for him. Suddenly he despised and loathed them all for their past impositions and present failure. Accusing them of preparing 1ying and corrupt words,” he drove them from his presence, and issued a decree that all the “wise men of Babylon- should be slain.

Daniel and his three friends, possibly because of their youth, had not been called to the royal council chamber, but they soon discovered that the decree included them. One can imagine their feelings when Arioch, the chief of the executioners, arrived to arrest them. (Verse 14.) For a moment, no doubt, they wished that promotion had not come to them so rapidly in this foreign land.

What could they do? There was no time to be lost. Relying on the favorable reception he had had on his last visit with Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel obtained audience with him again, and begged-that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation- (verse 16).

Hurrying back to his house, he found Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah anxiously awaiting him. Quickly he told them of his interview and of the pledge he had given to the king. But how could it be redeemed? Were they not now in a worse state than before? How could they discover what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed in the brief respite granted them?

Only God could help in such an emergency. Would He? Indeed He would. Had He not brought these lads to Babylon for this very purpose?

That night the secret was revealed to Daniel. In a vision he was shown exactly what the king had dreamed but a few hours before; and in a flash of divine illumination its whole tremendous purport burst upon him.

Overcome with emotion at this revelation of God’s great kindness to him and God’s amazing foreknowledge of the future, he bowed in gratitude and reverence, crying, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his. And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: he reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, 0 thou God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou has now made known unto us the king’s matter” (verses 20-23).

There was such a glow on Daniel’s face, such a light in his eyes, as he approached Arioch and again requested immediate audience with the king, that the ‘chief executioner not only took him at once into the royal presence but tried to claim credit for the revelation he was sure was about to come, saying to Nebuchadnezzar, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation” (verse 25).

Now, Babylonian monarch and Hebrew slave faced each other in one of the epochal moments of history. “Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?” asked the king.

“It is not in me,” answered Daniel. But humbly giving all glory to his Maker, he confidently declared, “But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.”

Eagerly the king leaned forward on his throne, gazing with rapt attention at this obviously inspired youth. “Thou, 0 king, saw, and behold a great image,” said Daniel. “This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.”

“Exactly!” murmured the amazed monarch. “That was it! The very thing I saw! Wonderful, wonderful!” “This image’s head was of fine gold,” continued the youthful prophet, “his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay (verses 32, 33).

The identical form and every detail correct! Nebuchadnezzar was utterly astonished.

“Thou saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (verses 34, 35).

It was the very dream, the selfsame one! But what did it mean? What mighty changes did these awesome scenes portend? Could this remarkable youth interpret what he had so startlingly revealed?

“This is the dream,” continued Daniel, “and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

“Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.... Thou art this head of gold.”

A smile of satisfaction passed over the king’s face. But it swiftly faded into a frown of concern as he heard the ominous words: “And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and 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 breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

“And whereas thou saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ 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 saw 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 saw 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 he left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

“Forasmuch as thou saw 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 bath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure- (verses 39-45).

Suddenly, as Daniel spoke, the veil was rent from the future. King and prophet found themselves looking down the centuries through all time to come. They saw that mighty Babylon, so strong, rich, and powerful, was destined to be succeeded by another empire, which in turn would give place to another, and then to a fourth, which would be broken into many pieces. Finally, in the days of these divided kingdoms, the great God of heaven-the very God of Israel whom Nebuchadnezzar had till now despised-would set up a kingdom which would stand forever.

God and the nations! What a revelation was this of the omnipotence and omniscience of the Most High! Knowing the end from the beginning, He could trace with unerring accuracy the rise and fall of empires for thousands of years to come.

And so it was that Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, looking down the lighted pathway of unborn centuries, beheld the rise of MedoPersia under Cyrus and Darius; of Greece under Alexander the Great; of Rome under the Caesars. They saw the breakup of the Roman Empire as invading barbarians tore it apart. They witnessed the growth of these divided segments of Rome into the nations of modern Europe and the many efforts on the part of kings, conquerors, and statesmen to weld them into one great whole again. Dimly perhaps, but no less surely, they beheld the ambitious strivings of Charlemagne, Charles V, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Hitler to reconsolidate Europe under one supreme head, with each and all failing miserably because God had said, “They shall not cleave one to another.” They even saw the conniving of the crowned heads of Europe to bind themselves together by intermarriage-mingling “themselves with the seed of men”-but all in vain.

And then, 0 wonder of wonders! they saw the course of history brought to a sudden close. Awe-stricken, they beheld the King of kings and Lord of lords burst in upon the human scene to set up a kingdom of righteousness and peace that shall stand forever.

No wonder Nebuchadnezzar cried out in ecstasy to Daniel, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets” (verse 47 ).

What a message it contains for our time! For we are living “in the days of these kings.” It is now, in this twentieth century, that God is to complete the fulfillment of this prophecy. Four world empires have already passed into oblivion. The fifth is at hand. Surely there never was so solemn a moment in all the story of time. The grand consummation is right upon us. Are we ready for it? Have we made our peace with God?

GOD IN THE FIRE

HOW GREAT an impression the dream of the great image made upon Nebuchadnezzar is revealed in the dramatic story recorded in the third chapter of the book of Daniel. Here we learn that the king decided to make an image just like the one he had seen, with one important difference: not only would the head be gold; the whole image would he gold, from head to feet.

No doubt Nebuchadnezzar resented the suggestion that his kingdom would one day be overthrown. No such disaster would happen to Babylon if he could help it. And no one should be permitted to entertain the thought that mighty Babylon would ever come to an end. No indeed! So he decided to make a real image, and a gigantic one at that, all of gold, and have every living soul in his kingdom bow down and worship it.

Thus we read that “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:1).

The royal treasury must have been drawn upon heavily to supply the precious metal for this colossus. Approximately one hundred feet high and ten feet in girth, it took a lot of gold to make it, even if it was hollow, as it probably was.

In due course the king’s decree was carried out and the great image stood in the midst of the plain of Dura, where it could easily be seen by a vast concourse of people. Meanwhile, orders had been sent to every part of the empire requiring “the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image.”

Many weeks elapsed before all these officials were able to make their way to the capital, for there were no railroads or autos in those far-off days. At last, however, the mighty throng assembled: thousands upon thousands, including all the leading officials of the empire, all the citizens of the capital, together with picked contingents from the army-a tremendously impressive display of Babylonian power and glory.

Then a herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, 0 people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and

worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And who so falls not down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (verses 4-6).

To the vast majority in the mighty throng. this presented no difficulty whatever. They were accustomed to worshiping idols, and this golden image, glittering there in the brilliant sunlight, was just one more object to adore. If it pleased their monarch to have them bow down to it, well and good. It was just a part of the day’s entertainment.

But there were some present who could not regard image worship in this way. From their childhood they had been taught that it was wrong to bow down to idols; they must worship the God of heaven and serve Him only. They remembered the second great commandment of the holy Decalogue: “Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them” (Exodus 20:4, 5).

So when the band began to play, and the multitudes fell on their faces before the golden image, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remained standing. One can imagine the disturbance they created. At first only a few people nearby-whose heads were not bowed too low-caught sight of them. Then the whispered word spread over all the plain of Dura. “Look! There are three men standing! Three men have dared to disobey the king!“

The steadfast loyalty of the three Hebrews to their God completely upset the royal program. Suddenly the attention of all was transferred from the golden image to them, and the more so as soldiers pressed through the crowd to arrest them.

Naturally the king was angry-very angry. Not only had these three young men defied him; they had spoiled everything. The day was ruined.

For a moment, however, he restrained himself. He decided to give them another chance. The band would play once more. If they would now bow down and worship the golden image, they would yet escape the fiery furnace.

In words of faith and courage that will live forever, the young men replied, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, 0 king. But if not, be it known unto thee, 0 king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou has set up” (Daniel 3:17, 18).

It was a glorious affirmation of allegiance to principle in the face of death. But it was too much for Nebuchadnezzar. He was “full of fury,” and in his mad rage ordered that the furnace should be heated “seven times more than it was wont to be heated.”

As servants piled more and more fuel upon the fire, the strongest men in the army were called upon to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. With the taut ropes biting deep into their flesh and the roar of the furnace in their ears, the three young men must have been sorely tempted to recant. But they were prepared to die for God, even as they had tried to live for Him.

Then a remarkable thing happened. First the soldiers who had bound them so tightly and carried them so confidently to the furnace, were struck down by the tremendous heat, and consumed. At the same time the prisoners felt the cruel thongs drop from their wrists and ankles, and leaping to their feet, they stood unharmed in the midst of the fire.

Suddenly the miracle was observed by Nebuchadnezzar, who had been awaiting the moment of the rebels’ incineration to satisfy his pride and awe the multitude with his autocratic power. Now, dumfounded, he gazed open-mouthed into the raging inferno.

He could not believe his eyes. Turning to the officers about him on the dais, he asked in amazement, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

“True, 0 king,” they replied.

“Lo, I see four men loose,” he cried, “walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (verses 24, 2 5 ).

It would have been enough for him to have seen the three Hebrews alive in the fire, but there was another with them of majestic appearance, like the Son of God! Overcome- with emotion, the king approached the mouth of the furnace, calling above the roar and shriek of the flames, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither!” (verse 26).

Triumphantly the men walked out of the furnace, while “the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors” gathered around them in astonishment, touching their bodies, smelling their clothes, looking for some sign of burning, but finding none. The record says that they “saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them” (verse 27).

The golden image was forgotten. Turning their backs upon it, the assembled thousands surged forward to catch a glimpse of the three young men who had defied the king and then been miraculously preserved from death in

the fiery furnace. Surely their God must have been with them! And what a God, with power over fire!

Yes, what a God! He had been with them in those dark days of discouragement after the fall of Jerusalem, when they had been led captive to Babylon; He had come to their rescue when they needed wisdom to know the king’s dream; He had unveiled the whole future of the world before them; and now, in their supreme emergency, He had come to share this fiery trial with them!

Nebuchadnezzar himself was greatly moved. Somehow he could never get away from the God of the Hebrews. Now, shocked and humbled by this stupendous revelation of a power infinitely greater than his own, he said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and. yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall he cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” (verses 28, 29).

It was a precious discovery that the king made: “There is no other god that can deliver after this sort.” It is a discovery we can all make today. For He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). And all who serve and worship Him with absolute devotion, all who are willing to yield their bodies rather than deny their faith, will find Him ever ready to come to their rescue in every time of need. Amid the fiery trials of the last days they `will have the blessed experience of walking with God-with “the form of the fourth” at their side.

GOD RULES FOREVER

YEARS PASSED by. Twenty, thirty, or more, during which Daniel and his three friends occupied positions of responsibility in the government of Babylon. Meanwhile, Nebuchadnezzar gained in prestige and power with each succeeding decade, until his fame spread throughout the world.

Then one night the king had another dream. This one he did not forget, but he was nevertheless greatly troubled as to its meaning. When he awoke in the morning he called upon his magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers to interpret it for him, but in vain. The explanations they offered were not satisfactory. Feeling sure that the dream was intended to convey some message of great importance, he sent for Daniel, who was now known as “master of the magicians” (Daniel 4:9), and laid the matter before him.

It was a strange dream about a tree. Nebuchadnezzar said that he had watched it grow taller and taller until “the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.” (verses 11, 12).

Suddenly, when the tree had reached its fullest growth, a supernatural being had appeared,, crying, “Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth” (verses 14, 15).

Then, strangely, as though addressing not a tree but a person, this holy being had said, “Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him” (verse 16).

The king said that at the climax of the dream he had heard the same voice declare, “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will, and sets up over it the basest of men” (verse 17).

No wonder Nebuchadnezzar had felt that here was a message of vast import to himself, and no wonder his astrologers and soothsayers had failed to interpret it. Turning to Daniel, he said, “Because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubles thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.” (verse 9).

Instantly Daniel perceived the meaning, but he shrank from declaring it. Seeing his hesitancy, Nebuchadnezzar pressed him. “Let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee,” he said. (Verse 19.)

But there was a reason for Daniel’s reluctance. He could not lie, and he did not wish to hurt the king’s feelings. But how could he tell him that the dream was about himself, a doomed man?

“ My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee,” he said at last, “and the interpretation thereof to your enemies” (verse 19).

Then he explained that the tree represented the king himself. 1t is thou, 0 king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth” (verse 22 ).

But what of the decree of the “holy watchers”? What of the cutting down?

“This is the interpretation, 0 king,” he said, “and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to cat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.

“And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shall have known that the heavens do rule” (verses 24-26).

What a message of judgment to deliver to an absolute monarch such as Nebuchadnezzar! Yet Daniel, ever true to his conscience and his God, did not fail to tell the whole truth.

There was but one ray of hope, one way by which impending doom might be averted.

“Wherefore, 0 king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity” (verse 27).

That the king was shocked goes without saying. His dream about the great image had shown him that his empire would one day pass away; but this dream of the tree revealed that his own life was in peril, that his health, strength, and royal prerogatives would all be stripped from him unless he turned from his evil ways and acknowledged the sovereignty of the King of heaven.

That the shock was not great enough to bring about any permanent repentance on the part of the king is evident from the fact that within a year all that Daniel had predicted came upon him.

At the end of twelve months he had completely forgotten the counsel he had received, and was again thinking only of himself, his glory, his pride, and his pleasure. Walking upon the battlements of his palace one day, surveying the great city about him, he exulted, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (verse 30).

It was a vain, proud, and ungrateful boast, and even “while the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, 0 king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will” (verses 31, 32).

Though Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten the heavenly warning, God had not. Divine patience and long-suffering had waited one more year. There was always the possibility that the king might ponder the counsel given him, and repent. But he had not done so. Now the moment of judgment had come. ‘The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar.” A form of madness took possession of him. He imagined himself a beast, and acted like one, living in the fields, refusing the usual attentions of his servants, “till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws” (verse 33).

Seven years, or “times,” went by, just as Daniel had said seven wasted years for the king, years when the people of Babylon must have mourned the tragic fate of their once mighty monarch.

Then Nebuchadnezzar thought of God. He lifted up his eyes to heaven. His mind was restored. His powers of understanding returned to him. His memory began to function once more. He recalled the strange dream he had had about the tree that was cut down. He recalled the words of Daniel, warning him that unless he would repent of his sin, and turn from evil, and acknowledge that the Most High “rules in the kingdom of men,” all this evil would befall him. He remembered how he had been suddenly struck down by the strange disease and the long, weary years that he had lived like a beast, his glory humbled in the dust.

In this tragic experience Nebuchadnezzar found himself once more face to face with God. Now he was no longer the proud, self confident monarch, but a humble suppliant of divine grace. Gladly he yielded all sovereignty to Him who rules above, and “praised and honored him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What does thou?” (verses 34, 3 5 ).

It was a glorious confession for that ancient potentate to make; and it is one that every ruler in the modern world might do well to repeat. Indeed, if instead of seeking to glorify themselves and exalt their respective nations above all others, they would humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, acknowledging Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, what peace and brotherly love would soon pervade the earth!

Sooner or later we must all admit that God’s purposes prevail, and that “the most High rules in the kingdom of men.” We cannot forever live in rebellion against God. We cannot forever, in foolish pride, strut impiously about the little Babylons we have built. We cannot forever go on thinking that the universe begins and ends with us.

Sooner or later we shall meet God. It may be along the road of sickness, disease, or accident, or some other dire calamity. But we shall meet Him. And sooner or later we shall be compelled to acknowledge that He “rules in the kingdom of men.”

And if then, why not now? How much better, before His judgments fall upon us, to break off our sins by righteousness and our iniquities by showing mercy to the poor! How much better to lift up our eyes to heaven this day and praise and honor Him that lives forever and ever!

GOD DOOMS AN EMPIRE

WHATEVER GOOD may have come to Babylon as a result of Nebuchadnezzar’s acknowledgment of God, it soon vanished after his death. Indeed, with the passing of this great monarch, passed most of his empire’s glory. He was followed to the throne by a succession of weak rulers, whose feeble government and selfish indulgence were an open invitation to the Medes and Persians to make war upon them.

But what did the Babylonians care? Their great capital, with its massive walls and brazen gates, its ample supplies of food and water, was, they believed, impregnable. Had it not kept the world in subjection for nearly a century? What power on earth would dare attack it now?

Few people alive in 539 BC remembered the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream, with its plain indication that the. Babylonian head of the metallic image would someday give place to another empire represented by the breast and arms of silver. The youngest person alive who had heard that dream recounted in 603 BC was now more than seventy years of age, and had no doubt long since dismissed it from his mind as an idle tale.

But though man forgets God’s warnings and revelations, time always proves them true. Belshazzar was now on the throne. Perhaps to demonstrate his utter scorn for the approaching armies under Cyrus and Darius, he made “a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand” (Daniel 5:1). At the time these leaders of the empire should have been at the peak of efficiency to resist the invaders, they recklessly abandoned themselves to an alcoholic orgy.

The wine went to the king’s head, as it did to many another in that festive assembly, and in the resultant hilarity he gave orders that the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the Temple in Jerusalem should now be produced that “the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein- (verse 2).

It was a gesture of defiance against the God of heaven. It was as if he had said, ‘What if my grandfather did acknowledge Jehovah as greater than the gods of Babylon? I shall not do so. This is what I think of Him.” And so saying, he drained the golden cup and “praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone” (verse 4).

Princes, generals, courtiers, wives, concubines, followed his example, drinking themselves drunk from the sacred vessels, and fouling the atmosphere with scoffing laughter, ribald jokes, and noisy revelry.

Suddenly silence fell, and all eyes turned toward a strange apparition. In the semidarkness of that great banqueting room, lighted only by candles and torches, the fingers of a man’s hand were seen writing “over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall.”

The king saw it and was seized with terror, so much so that knees smote one against another.-

What was it that the hand had written? No one could tell. They were strange words of an unfamiliar tongue. Glowing there in the gloom, they burned their way into the souls of all who saw them.

In his fear and alarm Belshazzar “cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.” They came on the run, but not one of them could read the writing.

At this the king became more worried still, and even more determined than before to learn the meaning of the words on the wall. But what could he do? He was beside himself with fear and frustration.

By this time the whole palace was in an uproar. News of the sudden interruption of the feast had spread to every nook and corner. Soldiers and servants pecked in to see the great sight.

Word reached the queen-no doubt the queen mother, as she would be known today-and instantly she remembered Daniel and his skill in interpreting dreams for Nebuchadnezzar. Entering the banquet hall, she urged the king to send for him. There is a man in thy kingdom,” she said, “in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation” (verses 11, 12).

So Daniel was called. When he arrived it was not the youth of Nebuchadnezzar’s day, but an old, bearded

man that the great assembly beheld. His hair was gray, his face wrinkled, but his mind was as clear as ever, and his faith in God undimmed.

Belshazzar began to flatter the old man, offering him a chain of gold, and the honor of being “the third ruler in the kingdom,” if only he would tell the meaning of the writing on the wall; but Daniel brushed his blandishments aside, saying, “Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation” (verse 17).

Silence fell again as the aged prophet proceeded, the entire assembly striving to catch every word of the great revelation they sensed he was about to make.

“0 thou king,” he said, addressing the frightened monarch, most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomsoever he will.

“And thou his son, 0 Belshazzar, has not humbled your heart, though thou knows all this. But has lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them. And thou has praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, has thou not glorified: then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.” (verses 18-24).

This ‘Strong and well-deserved rebuke must have shocked the king to the depths of his being; but he was so anxious to learn the meaning of the writing that he said never a word, and Daniel continued:

“This is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

“This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

“TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

“PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians- (verses 25-28).

Now it was Belshazzar’s turn to meet God. But it was too late for repentance. He had sinned against the

light. He had rejected the knowledge of God that was available to him. He had publicly scoffed at God’s sovereignty and bowed to idols of gold and iron and stone. Consequently, he had been weighed in the heavenly balances and found wanting. He was a doomed man, and Babylon was a doomed empire.

That very night it happened. The waters of the Euphrates were diverted by the genius of Cyrus, and his army rushed in through the dry river bed and the gates that had been left open by the drunken guards.

Soon all was over. Before morning the glory of Babylon had faded forever. The head of gold had been superseded by the breast and arms of silver, even as God had predicted to Nebuchadnezzar long years before. “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom” (verses 30, 31).

It is dangerous to defy God. There is a price to pay for permitting one’s heart to be 1ifted up- and one’s mind “Hardened in pride.” Perilous also is it to scorn sacred things and make light of that which is precious to God. Forgetting the responsibilities of leadership and drowning the voice of conscience in selfish indulgence likewise invite the judgments of the Most High.

Let those who are following such a course remember that God is not to be trifled with. Unless they repent, there will be writing on the wall someday for them to see-not in some far-off palace, but in their own homes and hearts. And the writing will need no interpreter, for it will be the same that Belshazzar saw twenty-five centuries ago: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.” “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”

While there is yet time let us humble ourselves before our Maker, and strive so to live before Him that there may be nothing wanting in our record in the day of final judgment.

GOD AMONG THE LIONS

IN THE bloody tumult of Babylon’s last night Daniel’s life was spared. Perhaps his escape from the general slaughter was because of his age or his nationality, but most likely he survived because of his reputation. Undoubtedly the Persian leaders had heard of his great wisdom and impeccable character, and on their entry into the conquered city gave orders that he should not be harmed.

It took but one interview to convince King Darius that here was a great and good man, one who could be trusted with the highest affairs of state. Accordingly, when he was seeking administrators for his newly won

dominion, he chose Daniel among one hundred and twenty others, and put him in charge of all.

The record says that “this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm- (Daniel 6:3).

Remarkable indeed must have been this man who, taken into slavery in his early youth, rose to become “third ruler” in the land of his captivity and then, when that kingdom was overthrown, was chosen to be senior president in the conqueror’s empire. It demonstrates what can happen to a man who puts God first in his life, who believes that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, who strives to obey God’s commandments, whatever the cost to himself.

Naturally, the favor shown to Daniel by Darius was not pleasing to those who were given lesser positions of authority. There was much grumbling and complaining about the king’s new favorite. One can imagine the many sly suggestions made behind the scenes. Why should the chief presidency be given to a Hebrew, and not a Persian? some said. Was not this Daniel in the service of Babylon more than sixty years? Did he not hold high office under Nebuchadnezzar? How then could he be loyal to the new order? Might he not prove to be the leader of a Babylonian “underground” movement? Surely it wasn’t safe to put the affairs of state into such unknown and untested hands. He should be replaced by a red-blooded, dyedin-the-wool Persian.

So “the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasi6n nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him” (verse 4).

Thinking at first that Daniel must be like themselves, the disgruntled Persian officials felt sure that, if they probed far enough, they would find him guilty of malfeasance with the king’s funds, or of bribery and corruption, or possibly of adultery with members of the king’s household. But this man was different. He did not do such things. Nor could he be persuaded even to consider them.

In the matter of personal rectitude he was unassailable. The plotters could pin nothing on him, however hard they tried. They were baffled until it occurred to them that Daniel might be vulnerable, on the matter of religion. “Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” (verse 5).

Yet how could this be? Daniel was so meticulously correct in all his attitudes; there was nothing in the conduct of his personal religious worship that could give offense to any, unless-

Someone had a bright idea. If Daniel’s loyalty to his God could somehow be brought into conflict with his loyalty to the king, the desired result might be achieved.

It was a devilish plot they conceived. First they would flatter the king into decreeing that for a certain period no petition should be offered to any god or man but himself, under the direst penalties for disobedience; then they would watch to see whether Daniel would defy the decree or break his lifelong habit of daily prayer to his Maker.

It was so simple, so absolutely foolproof, that the wily schemers wondered why they had never thought of it before.

So “these presidents and Princes assembled [“came tumultuously,” margin] together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

“All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, 0 king, he shall be cast into the den of lions” (verses 6, 7 ).

With this seemingly loyal, devoted, and happy throng of his leading counselors before him, anxious only for his exaltation and the further extension of his power, Darius, greatly flattered, fell for the plan at once. Taking the document which his lords presented to him, he gaily and gladly signed it without a further thought.

Chuckling at their initial success, the plotters emerged from the palace to await the developments they felt sure would follow.

Meanwhile, news of the decree was brought to Daniel, and ‘t did not take the old statesman long to realize that it was aimed directly at him. He sensed at once that it was an effort, a very subtle effort, on the part of certain jealous members of the court, to eliminate him. But was he disturbed? Not at all. In his long life under a succession of Babylonian monarchs, he had lived through worse crises than this. He had seen God come to his rescue when Nebuchadnezzar decreed that all the wise men of Babylon should be slain. He had talked with his three Hebrew friends after their miraculous deliverance from the fiery furnace. Yes, he had known God too long and too well to be worried now. As for the possibility of his being thrown into the den of lions, God would look after that too.

So “when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (verse 10).

Perhaps he was conscious of the upturned faces and pointing fingers in the street below, but he was not disturbed. For more years than he cared to remember he had prayed like this, morning, noon, and night. Prayer had been the source of his strength and wisdom. It had brought God very close to him in all his problems and burdens. It had helped him to live above all the sordid sensuality that surged about him in that heathen land. It had made him a mighty man of God.

Whenever possible, he prayed in a room where the windows faced Jerusalem. And he kept the windows open. He couldn’t see the city, of course. It was hundreds of miles away. But it was in that direction. Broken down and burned by enemies as it was, it was still there, and it was still home. And because of its traditions and its future, and all the prophecies concerning it, he knew that it was of special concern to God.

So he prayed. And engrossed in blessed communion with his Maker, he was oblivious to all that was taking place about him. Why should he worry about what some little men were trying to do to him when the great God of heaven was his friend? Let them do their worst; God would do His best.

Beneath the open windows the plotters rubbed their hands in glee. Everything was working out just as they had planned. There was Daniel “praying and making supplication before his God” as usual, just as though the king’s decree had never been signed. It was too good to be true. They would fix him now, this foreigner.

Hurrying to the palace, with seeming great concern for the king’s welfare, they said to Darius, “Has thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, 0 king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

The king assented. “The thing is true,” he said, “according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not.” Then they sprang the trap.

“That Daniel,” they said with scorn, “which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regards not thee, 0 king, nor the decree that thou has signed, but makes his petition three times a day (verses 12, 13).

So this was it. Instantly Darius saw through the plot and was sore displeased with himself.” These scheming rascals had flattered him merely to destroy Daniel! But what could he do? Nothing. Once a decree had been signed by a king of Persia, it could not be altered. There was no turning back. Yet with all his heart he wanted to save Daniel, who, he realized, was worth a thousand of these lesser men. “And he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.”

Just what the king did in trying to save his chief counselor we are not told. No doubt he argued that an exception should be made in this case; perhaps he tried to arrange for Daniel to leave the country. But all his efforts were in vain.

Fearful that the king might change his mind, the men responsible for the plot assembled in the palace that evening to remind him once more “that no decree nor statute which the king established may be changed” (verse 15).

There was nothing to do but to send Daniel to the den of lions. Soldiers went to Daniel’s apartment and brought him before the king to hear his sentence. Still undisturbed, he was no doubt deeply touched as the king said, “Thy God whom thou serves continually, he will deliver thee” (verse 16).

These were strange words from a heathen king, but they let us see how profoundly he had been impressed by the godly life of this noble man. Just what he expected God to do we shall never know, but there was certainly a hope in his heart that something might happen to confound those who had plotted his friend’s death.

Yet any such expectation must have faded as the roar of the hungry lions sounded louder and louder and the procession neared the opening of the den.

At last Daniel was lowered into the pit and a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel” (verse17).

One after another, following the king, the princes and presidents pressed their rings into the clay of the seal at the den’s mouth, the plotters rejoicing that their neat little plan had succeeded so well. Gleefully they told each other that this was the last they would see of this man, and good riddance to him. Highly pleased with themselves, they returned to the city to celebrate.

King Darius, however, “passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him” (verse 18).

All night long he worried over what he had done, wondering again and again whether Daniel’s God would do something to save him from the dreadful fate to which he had been consigned.

Unable to sleep, the king arose “very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: ... 0 Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou serves continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” (verses 19, 20).

Would there be an answering voice, or nothing but the low growling of the great beasts?

There was a voice! And it was Daniel’s. Strong and confident as ever, it came from the bottom of the pit: “0 king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and bath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, 0 king, have I done no hurt” (verses 2 1, 22).

Wonder of wonders! He was alive and unharmed after a night among lions. God had come to his rescue again.

“Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God” (verse 23).

Then came the king’s opportunity to square accounts with the men who had deceived him and so subtly plotted the death of his chief minister. So he commanded, and “they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions ... ; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den” (verse 24).

What Darius and Daniel said to each other that day will never be known, but it was a great day in history, for it brought yet another of the famous monarchs of olden time face to face with God. Darius learned of God’s ruler ship among the nations, and listened enthralled as Daniel told him of the course of future history, how empire would succeed empire until the setting up of God’s eternal kingdom on the earth, as revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in the dream of the great image and, more recently, in the dramatic visions recorded in Daniel 7 and 8. From all this, Darius glimpsed something of the infinite power, glory, and wisdom of the God of heaven.

As a result of this experience, “King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions” (verses 25-27).

It was a wonderful testimony for that heathen king to send to all his people in that far-off day. And it comes ringing down the ages to our own time and our own hearts. For still the God of heaven “is the living God, and steadfast for ever.” And still in every time of darkness and trial, in every moment of desperate need, He -delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth. If we will but walk with Him as Daniel did, ever keeping the windows of our hearts open toward the New Jerusalem, He will be with us every day of our lives, in every emergency and every time of need. He will be our God in the dark, in the fire, among the lions always-“even unto the end.”

GOD AND THE JUDGMENT

IN THE seventh chapter of his wonderful book, Daniel recounts an experience he had in the first year of Belshazzar, shortly before the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire by the Medes and Persians. In many respects it parallels the revelation he received nearly seventy years before, as described in his second chapter, and may well have been given to renew his confidence in the omnipotence and omniscience of God, and to prepare him for the stupendous events associated with the first transition of empire shortly to come to pass. Undoubtedly, as already suggested, he conveyed the central message of this vision to Darius the Mede, resulting in the royal call to the peoples of Medo-Persia to reverence the Lord of heaven, whose kingdom “shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even unto the end” (Daniel 6:26).

One has but to read Daniel’s account of this vision to realize the tremendous impression that it made upon him. For a while he was greatly disturbed by it; and no wonder. Not only did it reveal to him the future history of the world but it opened before him the courts of eternal justice. While he beheld the passing parade of earthly empires he was shown “the Ancient of days” upon His throne, judging the nations and meting out the punishment that tyranny, cruelty, and injustice so richly deserve. Above the imposing but hideous procession of political and religious dictatorships he saw the angels of heaven recording every deed of shame and wickedness, every groan and cry of the oppressed, until the day of final reckoning when the books of God are opened, judgment is executed, and the saints emerge triumphant.

But what was this majestic vision? How does the story read?

It is night. The prophet is dreaming. He seems to be standing upon the seashore watching the waves lashed to fury by a mighty wind. Out of the storm-tossed waters there suddenly appears a strange creature resembling a lion, but with eagle’s wings.

“I beheld,” he writes, “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.” (Daniel 7:4).

Following the lion comes another beast, 1ike 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” (verse 5).

The bear passes by, and, lo, another beast appears, 1ike 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.” (verse 6).

Still watching the stormy sea intently, wondering what next it would bring forth, the prophet sees emerging a beast so terrible that he can find no name for it.

“This I saw in the night visions,” he records, “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” (verses 7, 8).

Suddenly, as the prophet is shocked by the blasphemies issuing from the little horn, he lifts his eyes above the ugly creature before him, above the storm-tossed sea, and looks into heaven itself, where God is seated upon His throne ofjudgment.

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” (verse 10).

How comforting this assurance that “the most High rules in the kingdom of men”! But the repetition of blasphemies by the little horn recalls Daniel from this scene in heaven to watch the final act in this terrifying drama on earth.

“I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke: 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” (verses 11, 12). Then another thrilling picture passes before his eyes.

“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” (verses 13, 14).

So the vision ceases. The prophet, greatly stirred and perplexed as to the meaning of it, suddenly becomes aware that he is not alone. Someone is standing by his side, someone from those courts of glory into which he has been privileged to gaze. He asks for an explanation, and the angel answers: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (verses 17, 18).

In these thirty-eight words we have a marvelously succinct summary of all history-to-be-four world empires, and then the kingdom of God. But Daniel is intrigued about that fourth beast.

“I would know the truth of the fourth beast,” he says, -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 spoke 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” (verses 19-22). The angel replies in words of immeasurable importance:

“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 rise 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” (verses 23-27).

We have here not only one of the most remarkable but also one of the most daring predictions ever made. It

mentions so many details, any one of which, if proved wrong, would discredit the whole prophecy. It gives numbers, which can be readily verified. It specifies the course that certain powers will pursue, in one case even setting the time of its sovereignty-features that history would inevitably prove or disprove.

Nearly twenty-five centuries have passed since that night of Daniel’s dream, and every picture that he saw has come to pass except that of the ultimate triumph of the saints.

Out of the turbulent sea of warring peoples came first the lion with eagle’s wings, a noble figure symbolic of the power of Babylon in its greatest days. As its power decayed and its lion like heart gave place to that of a man’s, Medo-Persia, the dual kingdom, symbolized by the bear that “raised up itself on one side,” strode forth to victory and dominion. When Medo-Persia’s day was almost done, suddenly Greece-the leopard with wings of a fowl - with amazing swiftness swept upon the scene of action to grasp the scepter of world power.

Then came Rome, the fourth beast, “Dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly.- With overwhelming might it stamped upon its enemies, enslaving multitudes, and well-nigh crushing the early Christian church out of existence by frightful persecutions.

Century followed century, and then even Rome itself began to disintegrate, and the prophecy concerning the ten horns began to be fulfilled. These represent the ten kingdoms that emerged out of the Roman Empire as it collapsed during the fifth century after Christ: the Alamanni, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Saxons, Heruli, and Lembards. Seven of these are represented in the nations of modern Europe.

So far, the seventh chapter of Daniel, with some additional details, follows the main outline of history already given in the second chapter of this wonderful book. At this point, however, an entirely new feature of the utmost significance is introduced.

It is the 1ittle horn,” which comes up among the other horns, whose look is “more stout than his fellows,” which has “eyes like the eyes of man” and “a mouth speaking great things.”

What is this power? It is not hard to identify.

It was to rise in the midst of the ten kingdoms that succeeded the pagan Roman Empire, and was to be responsible for the subjugation of three of them.

It was to be an imperious, autocratic power speaking words against the most High.”

It was to be a persecuting power that would “wear out the saints of the most High.”

It was to be a religious power that would attempt to change times and the law of God.

It was to enjoy full sovereignty for a specific period-”a time and times and the dividing of time”-which is

1260 literal years.

In all the course of history only one power has met in complete detail every one of these specifications, and that is the mighty religio-political organization which even to the present day is centered in Rome.

This interpretation, it is important to note, was first propounded as long ago as AD 1240-more than seven hundred years ago-at the Council of Regensburg, by Bishop Eberhard, of Salzburg, near Vienna. It also formed the basis of the first sermon preached in Scotland by the stalwart Reformer John Knox, in the sixteenth century; and it has been set forth again and again by hundreds of the best Bible commentators since that day. Indeed, when one honestly seeks to interpret the great prophecy of Daniel 7:25, there is no possible way of avoiding the conclusion that it applies directly to the activities of that vast, powerful, mysterious, partly religious, partly political organization which in the long ago grew to power on the ruins of pagan Rome.

Trace the history of this church system from the day when the gospel of Christ was first preached in the Eternal City by the noble witness of faithful missionaries from Jerusalem; note the gradually increasing prestige of its elder, or bishop, because of his location at the scat of empire; recall his growing claims to leadership of the whole Christian church-which were challenged at first by other bishops, but eventually conceded-and you have a sequence of events exactly fitting the rise of the -little horn.” It was a new world power amid the ten other kingdoms contending for the territory of the Roman Empire.

Even in the days of the apostle Paul unfortunate trends were already making themselves manifest in the church, and he wrote to the Thessalonians, “The mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

Some power at that time was “letting,” or hindering, the expansion of the little horn. The Caesars still ruled, and as long as they did so the prophesied apostasy could not develop.

Centuries rolled by, and as the power of the Caesars waned, the power of the bishops increased. When the last of the Western emperors passed off the scene and the great empire of Rome came to its end as a world power, the way was opened for the almost unlimited aggrandizement of the pope. The vacant throne presented an opportunity he was not slow to grasp, and it was not long before he had assumed much of Caesar’s surrendered authority and had entered upon a career of despotism and “power politics” to last a thousand years.

The historian James A. Wylie, writing of the establishment of papal supremacy, said:

“At last the empire of the West was dissolved. The seat which had been occupied so long by the master of the world was now empty. .. . The overthrow of the empire contributed most materially towards the elevation of the Bishop of Rome; for, first, it took the Caesars out of the way. ‘A secret hand,’ says De Maistre, ‘chased the emperors from the Eternal City, to give it to the head of the Eternal Church.’ Second, it compelled the bishops of Rome, now deprived of the imperial influence which had hitherto helped them so mightily in their struggles for pre-eminence, to fall back on another element, and that an element which constitutes the very essence of the Papacy, and on which is founded the whole complex fabric of the spiritual and temporal domination of the popes. . . . With Rome would have fallen her bishop, had he not, as if by anticipation of the crisis, reserved till this hour the master stroke of his policy. He now boldly cast himself upon an element of much greater strength than that of which the political convulsions of the times had deprived him, namely, that the Bishop of Rome is the successor of Peter, the prince of the Apostles, and, in virtue of being so, is Christ’s Vicar on earth. In making this claim, the Roman pontiffs vaulted at once over the throne of kings to the seat of gods: Rome became once more the mistress of the world, and her popes the rulers of the earth.”-The Papacy; Its History, Dogmas, Genius, and Prospects, pp. 33, 34.

Cardinal H. E. Manning (1808-1892) wrote of this transfer of pagan authority to papal Rome:

“The abandonment of Rome was the liberation of the pontiffs. Whatsoever claims to obedience the Emperors may have made, and whatsoever compliance the Pontiff may have yielded, the whole previous relation ... was finally dissolved by a higher power. The providence of God permitted a succession of invasions, Gothic, Lombard, and Hungarian, to desolate Italy, and to efface from it every remnant of the Empire. The Pontiffs found themselves alone, the sole fountains of order, peace, law, and safety. And from the hour of this providential liberation ... the chains fell off from the hands of the successor of St. Peter.

“A power had grown up [in Rome] far more imperial over the reason and will of man than the iron despotism of the Roman.... This interior and supernatural power of direction and government over the actions and hearts of men flowed from one center, and was embodied in one person, the Bishop of Rome. The floods which swept all the other authorities away threw out into bolder relief and more conspicuous prominence the Supreme Pastoral authority of the Vicars of Jesus Christ.”-The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, Preface, pp. 28-30.

Three horns were to be “Plucked up,” or removed, by the little horn. In other words, three of the ten kingdoms were to be eliminated in order that the Papacy might have freedom of action and be in a position to exercise full dominion. Three kingdoms-the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths-were overthrown.

E. B. Elliott, in his classic study of the prophecies, lists the ten kingdoms and adds this significant phrase, I might cite three that were eradicated from before the Pope out of the list first given; viz., the Heruli under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths.” Horae Apocalypticae (1851), vol. 3, p. 152, note 1.

It is important to recall that it was in AD 533 that the emperor Justinian, who was then about to embark upon his wars against the Vandals and the Ostrogoths, declared himself wholeheartedly in favor of the Catholic party, naming the bishop of Rome as “head of all the holy priests of God” by whom heretics were “held in check.” Thus, when the last of the three horns was uprooted in AD 538, the Papacy was free to exercise the full authority it already claimed, and which had but recently been declared as belonging to it by the reigning emperor of the East.

Firmly established at last in his strategic position in the Eternal City, the bishop of Rome soon began to assume powers, prerogatives, and titles such as no emperor, in the height of his ambitions, ever conceived. He not only styled himself Vicegerent upon earth, not of a mere man, but of very God” and “Lord God the Pope,” but approved such adulation as the following in an address given at the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512: “Thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman; finally, thou art another God on earth.”-LABBE and COSSART, History of the Councils, vol. 14, col. 109.

In an article on the pope, to be found in Lucius Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary, are these extravagant words:

“The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God.

“The Pope is of such lofty and supreme dignity that, properly speaking, he has not been established in any rank of dignity, but rather has been placed upon the very summit of all ranks of dignities....

“So that if it were possible that the angels might err in the faith, or might think contrary to the faith, they could be judged and excommunicated by the Pope.

“For he is of so great dignity and power that he forms one and the same tribunal with Christ.”

Thus, in these typical utterances did the little horn speak great words against the Most High.

As the Papacy grew in power it did not hesitate to tamper with the law of God. Finding the second commandment out of harmony with its use of images, it attempted to eliminate this law from the Decalogue especially in the catechisms used in most countries. Then, ignoring the plain requirements of the fourth

commandment regarding the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord, it deliberately encouraged the keeping of Sunday, the first day.

This was indeed a grievous error, leading all Christendom astray on a most important and vital matter. It destroyed the whole purpose of God in establishing the Sabbath as a memorial of His creative power, paving the way for the entrance of many false teachings. If the true Sabbath had been observed from week to week down through the ages, reminding the people every seventh day of the power and love of the Creator, how different might have been the course of history!

The Sabbath was designed to be a beautiful blessing to the human race. We read that in the beginning “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” (Genesis 2:3). To sanctify is “to set apart as holy.” “The Sabbath was made for man”; it was to he a source of continual benefit to mankind through all the years to come. It was to be a physical blessing, giving man regular periods of rest and preserving him from the perils of overwork. It was to be a spiritual blessing, keeping him from the soul-destroying effects of a too constant application to material pursuits, leading him to devote a portion of his time each week to the development of the nobler qualities of his being, and turning his thoughts God ward at frequent and constantly recurring intervals.

The incalculable importance of the weekly rest day established in Eden was made even more apparent when it was enshrined in the midst of the holy law of God as it was thundered from Sinai.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” was the divine command. “Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11).

In this commandment the fact was re-emphasized that it was on the seventh day that God rested, that it was the seventh day that God blessed and hallowed-not the first or the third or the fifth only the seventh.

It should be remembered, too, that when the Son of God came to live among men it was this same seventh day that He observed all through His earthly life. He called Himself the “Lord even of the Sabbath day,” meaning the seventh day (Matthew 12:8). He went to the synagogue regularly on this day, “as his custom was (Luke 4:16), and He taught the Jews continually how the day should be kept (Matthew 12:1-13). Moreover, the habit of proper Sabbath keeping was so deeply ingrained in the hearts of His disciples that when at last His wounded body was awaiting burial, they considered the day too holy to be used even to embalm the body of their Lord, “and they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment (Luke 23:56).

Was the Sabbath changed by Christ after His resurrection? Certainly not. If so momentous an alteration in the law of God had been divinely intended, it would surely have been mentioned somewhere in the New Testament. But no such mention occurs. Indeed, in the entire Bible there is no text that sanctions any change in the Sabbath day.

Paul observed the seventh-day Sabbath (Acts 17:2), and so did all the other apostles. True it is that John said that he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” but, as noted above, the Lord’s day is the Sabbath, the seventh day.

Who, then, changed the day, or at least attempted to do so? At first the change came gradually with the infiltration of pagan rites and customs, with the general apostasy from true religion, and with the increasing animosity toward anything supposedly belonging to the Jews. Then came the emperor Constantine’s famous decree in AD 321, setting apart “the venerable day of the sun” as the rest day for Christians. This first civil Sunday law in history was followed by other decrees, made by various councils of the Roman Catholic Church, until the full responsibility for making the change is now acknowledged by its leading representatives.

In a catechism by the Reverend Stephen Keenan the following statements are to be found:

“Q. Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?

“A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modem religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.”-A Doctrinal Catechism, page 174.

In another Catholic catechism, which received the “apostolic blessing” of Pope Pius X, January 25, 1910, we find these words:

“Q. Which is the Sabbath day?

-A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.

“Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

“A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (AD 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”-REV. PETER GEIERMANN, CSSR, The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50.

Grown to full stature, the Papacy exercised the power of a supreme overlord in the affairs of the nations, threatening with interdicts and other pains and penalties all who dared to disregard its will, kings and commoners alike. In the winter of AD 1077 the German emperor Henry IV, for presuming to disregard the authority of Pope Gregory VII, was forced to seek his pardon at the castle of Canossa, then kept waiting in an outer court, with uncovered head and naked feet, for three long wintry days! In AD 1208 Pope Innocent III placed all England under an interdict, and then excommunicated King John himself.

Having gathered so much authority to itself, the Papacy inevitably became intolerant of all opposition, and embarked on a program of persecution which took the lives of millions.

The historian William E. Lecky declares: “That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings. History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, volume 2, page 32.

From a Roman Catholic source we have this admission:

“The church has persecuted. Only a tyro in church history will deny that. . . . One hundred and fifty years after Constantine the Donatists were persecuted, and sometimes put to death.... Protestants were persecuted in France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wherever and whenever there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of heresy. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will use it.... But will the Catholic Church give bond that she will not persecute at all? Will she guarantee absolute freedom and equality of all churches and all faiths? The Catholic Church gives no bonds for her good behavior.”-The Western Watchman, December 24, 1908.

For “a time and times and the dividing of time” the little horn was to exercise its power. How long is this period? It is not difficult to compute. In Scripture a “time” and a year are synonymous, as, “at the end of times, even years” (Daniel 11:13, margin). “Times” are two years, and “the dividing of time” is a half year. Adding these together, we have a total of three and a half years. Reckoning 360 days to a year, according to prophetic usage, we find that three and a half years contain 1260 days.

Now, in symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year, for we read in Ezekiel 4:6, “I have appointed thee each day for a year.” (See also Numbers 14:34.) Thus the period of- “a time and times and the dividing of time,” 1260 prophetic days, represents 1260 literal years.

Did papal dominance in Europe cover such a period? Taking AD 538 as the starting point-this being the year when the Ostrogoths (last of the three powers to be uprooted) were driven from Rome the 1260 years ended in 1798; and in that year the French Army under General Berthier entered Rome and took the pope prisoner.

“Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence.” And at that moment, to all appearances, “the papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place.” GEORGE TREVOR, Rome and Its Papal Rulers, p. 440.

This astounding event created a profound impression throughout Europe, and was recognized, by many students of prophecy at the time as indicating that the long period of papal supremacy was over, and that the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 had been marvelously fulfilled.

Essential though it is, however, to identify the prophetic symbol of the little horn, it is of far greater importance to perceive the supreme message of this entire revelation. In our zeal to compare history with prophecy, noting each amazing fulfillment, we must not forget that the central figure is not the fourth beast, or the little horn, but God. This is a revelation not only of the wickedness of misguided men but of the goodness, the justice, and the power of the Most High. Its supreme design is to reassure the children of God that they have a Friend in heaven who will never forget nor forsake them; that they have a compassionate Father above who understands and records their every trial and sorrow; that they have a mighty Champion and Defender who will right every wrong, reward every sacrifice, and eliminate from His universe every unrepentant rebel.

For this reason the prophecy concludes with the glorious words, “But the judgment shall sit.” It will. Let no one doubt it. Dark though some periods of history may be, cruel and hateful the tyrannies under which men may sometimes have to live, God’s people need never despair. For “the most High rules.” He watches over His own. They are exceedingly precious in His sight. And one day all will be changed. The tables will be turned. All wickedness will be exposed and eradicated. Righteousness will come into its own. Invincible though the little horn, or any other evil power, may seem to become, yet “the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to

consume and to destroy it unto the end” (verse 26).

As the prophet Malachi says, “For behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn then up, said the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1). With this agree the words of the psalmist: “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:10, 11).

Not a vestige will be left on earth of any religious or political tyranny. Every trace of anything so hateful to the God of infinite love will be utterly removed from His universe.

“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 7:27). Come, happy day!

GOD PROMISES VICTORY

AS CHAPTER succeeds chapter in this wonderful book of Daniel, the glorious truth is reiterated again and again that the “Most High rules in the kingdom of men,” and that the ultimate triumph of righteousness is certain and sure.

It is as though God said to the prophet, and through him to His people in all succeeding ages, “Courage! Fear not the powers of evil; be not dismayed by their raging madness; they will pass away. Be patient, and you will see their downfall. For all will be destroyed, root and branch. Only the good, the pure, the upright, the obedient, will endure forever. Saints, not sinners, will inherit the kingdom eternal.”

In the opening verses of chapter eight we find Daniel in vision once more, as God again unveils the future before him. He sees a river, and beside it a ram with two horns. “And the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.” (verse 3).

Possessed of unusual vigor, the ram rushes westward, northward, southward, driving all other beasts before it. For a time it works its will unopposed, and becomes “great.”

Suddenly a he-goat appears on the scene, having a “notable horn” between its eyes. In great anger it runs toward the ram with such speed that it seems not to touch the ground. A tremendous impact follows. Both the ram’s horns are broken off and the defeated beast is trampled to death. As a result, the victorious he goat becomes “very great.” But not for long. In the height of its power its great horn is broken, and in its place come up four other horns.

Watching these closely, Daniel notices that from one of them emerges “a little horn,” similar to the one that appeared among the ten horns of the fourth beast of his earlier vision. Larger and larger it grows, until it becomes “exceeding great,” “even to the host of heaven.” It casts down “some of the host and of the stars to the ground,” and stamps upon them. With crowning infamy it attacks 11the prince of the host,” and casts -down the truth to the ground (verses 9-12).

A strange vision indeed! Daniel does not understand it, though doubtless sensing that it is a warning of the rise of some dreadful, conspiracy of evil.

Then he hears voices. Someone is asking a question. How long shall be the vision?” In other words, How long shall all this evil be tolerated? Then another voice, identified as that of “the wonderful numberer,” replies, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (verses 13, margin, W.

Greatly puzzled, Daniel seeks earnestly for the meaning of the strange things he has seen. He is sure that God is trying to tell him something of vast importance for himself and posterity, and his whole being cries out for light and understanding.

Suddenly he hears “a man’s voice which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” (verse 16).

Gabriel draws near, touches him, and says, “Understand, 0 son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.” (verse 17).

In Dr. Moffatt’s modern translation this vitally important passage reads, “Understand the vision, 0 son of man, for it relates to the crisis at the close.”

In verse 19 the same dramatic declaration is repeated: “Come, I will let you know what is to happen during the closing days of the wrath divine, for the vision relates to the crisis at the close,” a statement of immense significance.

Starting at the beginning, Gabriel reveals the meaning of each symbol.

“The ram which thou sawt having two horns,” he says, “are the kings of Media and Persia” (verse 20),

which awakens a familiar echo in the prophet’s mind. Twice before he has been told of the rise of this power, once under the symbol of the breast and arms of silver and again as the bear with three ribs in its mouth.

“And the rough goat is the king of Greece,” continues Gabriel: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king- (verse 21) -a remarkably accurate forecast of the rise of Alexander the Great, who led the armies of Greece to their swift and shattering victory over Medo-Persia in 331 BC.

“Now that being broken,” says the angel interpreter, describing the passing of Alexander, “whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power” (verse 22).

Undoubtedly this refers to the activities of Alexander’s four generals, Seleucus, Cassander, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy, who divided his kingdom among them after his death.

“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” (verse 23).

Here is clear reference to the rise of Rome, as already foreshadowed twice before in the prophecies of the great image and the four beasts. This becomes even clearer as Gabriel tells that “his power shall he 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” (verses 24, 25).

The similarity between these words and the prophetic picture of the activities of the fourth beast and the little-horn power of Daniel 7 is immediately evident. It destroys on an unprecedented scale; it persecutes the people of God; it magnifies itself in sinful pride. Undoubtedly this is but another forecast in miniature of the tragic course of history when Rome, in its pagan and papal phases, dominates the human scene.

One new revelation is made: This power, says Gabriel, will stand up “against the Prince of princes.” How accurately was this fulfilled when a Roman governor ordered Christ to the cross! But it was fulfilled again and again, a thousand times over, as the true followers of Christ were tortured and killed, first by pagan emperors, then by apostate religious leaders who sat on Caesar’s throne.

As each precious child of God was cruelly done to death, Jesus suffered anew the agonies of Calvary. Each attack upon one of His humble disciples was an attack upon Him, a personal and diabolical affront to the Prince of heaven.

Thank God this is not the end of the story. Says Gabriel, “He shall be broken without hand” (verse 25).

Thus once more God promises victory to His people, and assures them that righteousness and truth shall most certainly triumph in the end.

This political and religious tyranny, this concentration of human pride, greed, and lust for power-which strews the earth with the bodies of God’s saints; which makes the centuries drip blood; which, with brazen, reckless effrontery, attacks even the Son of God Himself-shall be broken, utterly, completely, and forever.

And it shall be “broken without hand.” That is, without human hand. In other words, God will intervene to bring about its downfall. The symbolism is the same as that presented in Daniel 2:45, where we are told that the stone that smote the image 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.” It restates the blessed assurance that “the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume ana to destroy it unto the end” (Daniel 7: 26).

The certainty of final judgment upon evil is reiterated again and again in the Holy Scriptures. John the revelator describes how he saw a mighty angel take up “a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Revelation 18:21). Concerning “the beast- and “the false propheC he writes, “These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20). Thus we may be sure that someday the pent-up wrath of God against evil will be released. Then every power that has fought against Him and His people will receive its just deserts.

But when? Can we know? Indeed we can. “Understand the vision, 0 son of man,” says Gabriel, “for it relates to the crisis at the close.”

This he makes plain in the stupendous revelation recorded in Daniel 9.

GOD PLANS DELIVERANCE

SO OVERCOME was Daniel by the vision recorded in the eighth chapter of his book that he fainted. Shocked by the revelation that some evil power would one day dare to attack the -Princeof princes,” and perplexed by the intimation that events covered by the vision reached “two thousand and three hundred days” into the future,

he was sick for days (verse 27).

“I was astonished at the vision,” he said, “but none understood it.” Praying for further light, he studied the writings of other men of God, seeking for understanding. Then one day, remembering that Gabriel had mentioned the sanctuary, he thought of the Temple of Jerusalem, still lying waste as a result of the devastation wrought by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, and there came to his mind the words of Jeremiah: “For thus said the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29: 10).

Seventy years! He had been in Babylon himself about sixty eight years. At most there could be but a little while left before the promised deliverance. Perhaps he would live to see his beloved sanctuary cleansed of alien invaders and rebuilt to the glory of God.

So Daniel knelt in prayer, seeking the spiritual preparation he felt he needed for the great event shortly to come to pass. His own words are:

“I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, 0 Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. O Lord, righteousness belongs unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day.” “Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.” “Now therefore, 0 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. 0 my God, incline your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolation, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. 0 Lord, hear; 0 Lord, forgive; 0 Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for your own sake, 0 my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name” (Daniel 9:4-7, 11, 17-19).

Suddenly, as he prayed, he became aware of someone standing beside him, “even the man Gabriel- whom he had “seen in the vision at the beginning.” And Gabriel said: “0 Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision- (verses 22, 23).

Never was prayer answered so speedily. At the very moment that Daniel had begun to pray, Gabriel had been commanded to fly swiftly with the words that would bring peace to his mind. God did not want His faithful servant to have any misunderstanding concerning the vision that had been given to him. Because of the paramount importance of the issues involved, there must be no mistaken concept in the prophet’s mind. Moreover, he must record the correct interpretation with the utmost accuracy for the generations to come. He must know that God was planning not only the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon but the infinitely greater deliverance of the whole world from the curse and thralldom of sin through the sacrifice of His Son. That God purposed not only that the little sanctuary in Jerusalem should be freed of all Babylonian defilement but that the eternal holy of holies above should be cleansed of every record, every memory of transgression. That God’s grand objective was the elimination of every stain of evil from His entire universe so that sin should never rise again.

So, straight from the heart of God to the heart of this humble, loyal, devoted man, “greatly beloved” of heaven, came this supreme revelation of the divine purpose. Said Gabriel:

“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” (verse 24).

We can well imagine the fascinated interest with which Daniel listened to this enthralling message. A flash of light illumined the 2300-day period, which had caused him so much perplexity. Seventy weeks of years were to be designated for certain specific purposes concerning his people, the Jews. He perceived that the revelation reached far into the future.

But now his heart was thrilled anew as Gabriel announced, “Know therefore and understand, 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: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (verse 25).

Wonder of wonders! God had not only vouchsafed to reassure him that the blessed, long- yearned -for Messiah would surely come someday, but had actually told him the time, the very year, of His appearing.

But this was not all. Gabriel went on to tell how the little horn would-standup against the Prince of princes-(Daniel 8:25).

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolation are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the

midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:26, 27).

Whether or not Daniel understood the full meaning of all that Gabriel told him on this occasion we cannot tell; but in recording this divine interpretation of his vision, he rendered a service of inestimable value to the cause of God in the earth. For this passage has become one of the sheet anchors of the Christian faith, affording one of the surest proofs of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Fixing as it does the exact year of the beginning of His ministry and of His sacrificial death, it is one of the main bastions supporting and protecting every teaching of the church.

Looking back across the centuries, we can see the marvelous fulfillment of this amazing prediction.

The starting point was to be “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.-When did this commandment go forth? There were three such commandments made by various kings of Medo-Persia, following the Babylonian captivity of Israel. The first was proclaimed by Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon, in 536 BC, seventy years after Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of Jerusalem. The second was by Darius in 519 BC, and the third by Artaxerxes in 457 BC. All three decrees, remarkably enough, are grouped together in the book of Ezra, where we read, “And they built, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” (Ezra 6:14). All three edicts were necessary, but the last was the most important and comprehensive. This decree of Artaxerxes was issued, according to Ezra’s reckoning, in the seventh year of his reign (457 BC). (See Ezra 7.) Consequently, it is from this date that the seventy weeks are reckoned.

From this date, when the command to restore and to build the city of Jerusalem was given, to Messiah the Prince would be “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks”-in other words, sixty-nine weeks. This represents 483 days, or prophetic years. To find when this period ends, one merely has to subtract 457 BC from 483, and the answer is AD 26. That is, calculating from the first day of 457 BC to the last day of AD 26. The commandment to build and restore Jerusalem was not given, however, until the autumn of 457 BC; therefore the sixty-nine weeks reach over to the autumn of AD 27.

What happened then? That was the year when Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist! That was when He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and began His Messianic ministry. As “the wonderful numberer” had said, the time period reached to “Messiah the Prince.” That is why Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled” (Mark 1: 15). It was. The first part of the prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9 met its fulfillment in Him.

God left no loophole for question concerning this important date. He saw to it that Luke, when writing his record of the life of Jesus, made this vital notation: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about: Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:1-3).

Here are two historical references that can readily be checked. First, the fifteenth year of Tiberius, and second, the governor ship of Pontius Pilate. Evidence seems to indicate rather clearly that the fifteenth year of Tiberius must be placed in AD 27-28. Christ’s baptism in the autumn would fall in AD 27. Pilate commenced his governorship in AD 26 or early in AD 2 7.

Further powerful corroboration appears as one considers the words: “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27).

Notice that Gabriel says that “in the midst of the week”-that is, in the midst of the last week of the seventy-”he,” the Messiah, shall “be cut off,” and “cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.-

The reference to the crucifixion is so clear that no one can fail to see it. And this supreme event, the greatest in all eternity, occurred at the very time announced to Daniel more than five hundred years before. In the midst of the last week allotted to the Jewish people Christ suffered on Calvary. He died in the spring of AD 31, three and a half years after His baptism in the fall of AD 27. He was cut off, “but not for himself. “He died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15). That was the moment above all others when He demonstrated His love for us. (Galatians 2:20.) Then it was that He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity” (Titus 2:14).

And at that moment of sublime sacrifice, when the innocent Son of the eternal God died to redeem lost humanity, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom- (Matthew 27:51), indicating that type had met antitype and that any services held in that earthly sanctuary thereafter would be meaningless.

Now the crucifixion occurred in the spring of AD 31, in the midst of the last week of the seventy. There remained therefore yet three and a half years for the entire period to be completed in AD 34. It was during this time that the apostles carried the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ particularly to the Jews. Thousands accepted it joyfully, as on the day of Pentecost, but many more rejected the message, crowning their resistance and opposition by their murder of Stephen.

About this time the work of the early Christian church took on a new direction, as Paul and Barnabas later

explained to the Jews at Antioch. They declared, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46).

The prophetic period of seventy weeks had ended. The privileged position occupied by the Jewish nation for so many generations was over forever. Its final period of probation had closed. As a nation, it had passed out of the plans of God. From this time on, the Jews could be saved individually, but they were no longer the chosen people of God. As if to emphasize this tragic fact, there came soon after, in AD 70, that most fearful destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, when more than a million Jews perished, and the rest, save only the Christians who escaped, were carried off into slavery. From that day to this the history of the Jewish people has been one of endless suffering at the hands of their enemies, in harmony with the dread warning of Moses that, if they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God, they would “be only oppressed and crushed always.” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 33.)

Thus the evidence is overwhelming, beyond all possibility of question, that the date 457 BC is correct; and consequently, that the long time period of 2300 years began in that very year. This crowning “vision and prophecy” of “the wonderful numberer” is sealed forever with the blood of Christ. (Daniel 9:24.)

When the starting point of this great time period is located, it is not difficult to discover when it ends. A moment’s calculation will show that the 2300 years stretch down the ages from the days of Artaxerxes-when the commandment was given “to restore and to build Jerusalem” - clear to the middle of the nineteenth century, or in other words, from the autumn of 457 BC to the autumn of AD 1844.

Here is a marvelous thought of the utmost importance and solemnity. This great prophecy was designed to announce not only the first coming of Christ but also the second. It was planned by “the wonderful numberer” to link the two advents, to span all the intervening years, to tell of His coming in humility and sorrow, and to herald His return in glory as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Perhaps someone will say, “But 1844 is a long time ago.” Granted. But the prophecy does not state that Christ was to come again at the expiration of the 2300 years. Instead, according to Gabriel, “it relates to the crisis at the close.” It is intended to let the people of the world know when Christ is about to return.

Are we in that -crisis at the close- that the prophet had in mind? Surely no one who reflects upon all that has happened during the past hundred years can fail to come to the conclusion that this has been the most momentous period of history the world has ever seen. Since 1844 there has been one succession of crises, mounting to a climax in the present day. In the words of the late J. L. Garvin, famous editor of the London Observer, there has been “crisis piled on crisis. These fateful years have beheld the greatest wars, famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in all the annals of time. They have been crowded with more distress and perplexity, more violence and terrorism, more downright wickedness and rebellion against God, than any previous generation has witnessed. Surely this is, this must be, “the time of the end.”

But let us look again at the prophecy in Daniel 8:14. At the close of the 2300 days, in 1844, something of particular importance was to occur. Said Gabriel, “Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” What did this expression mean?

One thing is certain. It was not intended to refer to the earthly sanctuary at Jerusalem. “The wonderful numberer” would not make such a mistake. He knew that that sanctuary would be destroyed by the Romans and never be rebuilt. What other sanctuary, then, could he have had in mind? Naturally the one with which he was most familiar, the sanctuary in heaven.

That there is such a sanctuary is made plain in the book of Hebrews, where we read: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum. We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man- (Hebrews 8:1,2).

The tabernacle that Moses built in the wilderness was but a miniature of the sanctuary in heaven, the pattern of which was shown to him on Mount Sinai (verse 5). Of the glory of the original edifice, the dwelling place of the eternal God, no human being can have the faintest conception.

Why then speak of its cleansing? For the simple reason that it is there that the books of record are preserved-those books which tell of all that has happened on the earth, the tragic story of all its sins and sorrows; the books in which are to be found every idle word that men have spoken. Every unkind and blasphemous expression, every unworthy deed, every cruel and pitiless act-all are there!

The earthly sanctuary, first used by the children of Israel in the wilderness, affords, in its small and limited way, a type of the sanctuary in heaven and the final judgment scene. In ancient times, as sin was committed, a sacrifice was brought to the tabernacle. Its blood was presented before the Lord. Day after day this was continued, each sacrifice representing the transfer of sins to the sanctuary.

Then once a year came the cleansing of the sanctuary, when the high priest took the blood of the goat that had been slain as the sin offering, and entered into the most holy place. By his ministrations he cleansed the sanctuary of the accumulated sins of the previous year, and brought them forth and placed them, figuratively, upon the head of the live goat, which bore them into the wilderness.

Now that day, known as the Day of Atonement, was to the people of Israel the most important and solemn day in all the year. “So awful was the Day of Atonement that we are told in a Jewish book of ritual that the very angels run to and fro in fear and trembling, saying, To, the day of judgment has come!” -DEAN F. W. FARRAR, The Early Days of Christianity, p. 238.

Through all the centuries this impression has remained, and devout Jews in every land on earth still observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, with the greatest solemnity.

Dr. J. H. Hertz, chief rabbi, calls it “the most solemn day in the Jewish year,” and adds: “No other nation, ancient or modern, has an institution approaching the Day of Atonement in religious depth -’a day of purification and of turning from sins, for which forgiveness is granted through the grace of the merciful God, who holds penitence in as high an esteem as guiltlessness’ (Philo).”The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, notes on Leviticus 23:26-32.

Of this special day The Jewish Encyclopedia says: “New-Year’s and Atonement days are days of serious meditation. The former is the annual day of judgment when all creatures pass in review before the searching eye of Omniscience.”

In the same article the following description of the Day of Atonement is included: “God, seated on His throne to judge the world opened the Book of Records; it is read, every man’s signature being found therein. The great trumpet is sounded; a still, small voice is heard; the angels shudder, saying, this is the day of judgment. On New-Year’s Day the decree is written; on the Day of Atonement it is sealed who shall live and who are to die.” Article, “Atonement, Day of.”

If this is the understanding of modern Jewish authorities concerning the Day of Atonement-more than thirty-five centuries after its institution in the wilderness tabernacle-it becomes yet more obvious that the expression “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed- has reference to the beginning of the judgment hour in heaven.

This means that in the year 1844, the year so clearly marked on the divine blueprint of history by “the wonderful numberer,” there began the examination of the books of record in preparation for the second coming of Christ. In that year God began to close up the account He has been keeping concerning this world and its affairs.

Thus, during ‘-the crisis at the close- of world history a work of still greater importance has been going on in heaven, which is deciding for eternity the destiny of all who have ever lived.

Millions upon millions of cases must be considered. How far the work has proceeded no one knows, but that it will not be unduly prolonged is certain from the swift fulfillment of all the promised signs of Christ’s return.

If the task may seem too great, let it he remembered that God’s power and resources are immeasurable. Nothing is impossible to Him, and He has been planning for this “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). It was with such facts in mind that the apostle Paul declared, “He will finish the work [“account,” margin], and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Romans 9:28).

Someday this work of judgment must come to the cases of the living, and when that work has been completed human probation will close. That will be the signal for the issuance of the decree fixing the status of all-just and unjust, holy and unholy-forever. (Revelation 22: 1 l.)

Turning back for a moment to the typical service in the earthly sanctuary, we learn that the solemn Day of Atonement was preceded, nine days earlier, by the blowing of the ram’s horn, the sound of shophar, as the Jews call it, on the first of the month. This solemn sound, says Dr. Hertz, “has been looked upon from time immemorial as a call to contrition and penitence, as a reminder of the shophar-sound of Sinai. And the Day of Memorial, the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance which culminate in the Day of Atonement, as a time of self -examination and humble petition for forgiveness.” Then he quotes Maimonides as saying: “The scriptural injunction of the shophar for the New Year’s Day has a profound meaning. It says: ‘Awake, you sleepers, and ponder over your deeds. Remember your Creator and go back to Him in penitence. Be not of those who miss realities in their pursuit of shadows and waste their years in seeking after vain things which cannot profit or deliver. Look well to your souls and consider your acts; forsake each of you his evil ways and thoughts, and return to God so that He may have mercy upon you.” -The Pentateuch and Haltorahs, notes on Leviticus 23:24.

Surely this is good counsel for us all today. We all need to awake from spiritual slumber, to ponder our deeds, to remember our Creator, and go back to Him in penitence. It is high time to “look well” to our souls and forsake all evil ways.

In this most solemn hour of history the trumpets of the Lord are sounding in all the earth, saying, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7).

God is calling men everywhere to return to Him before it is forever too late. His invitation of love is given to all who will hear His voice.

The modern world has a trysting place with God. This generation must appear “before the judgment seat of Christ.” Cries the prophet Zephaniah: “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek you the Lord, all you meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:2, 3).

“Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering and death’s night is coming,
Coming for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!”
W. L THOMPSON

GOD’S TRIUMPH ETERNAL

AS THE tenth chapter opens we find Daniel in vision again. This time he sees a glorious being, who says to him, I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” (verse 14).

The connection between this passage and the record of Gabriel’s previous visit is too clear to be misunderstood. Evidently the heavenly messenger has now returned to complete the interpretation of the vision concerning the twenty-three hundred days, which for some unstated reason was broken off abruptly after he had explained what was to happen during the seventy weeks.

Before doing so, however, he gives Daniel a brief insight into the interplay of heavenly forces behind the scenes in human history. He explains that the delay in his return has been caused by the stubbornness of the king of Persia, upon whom he has been silently and invisibly working for the past twenty-one days. just what the issue was he does not say, but it was of such importance that Michael, “the first” Prince of heaven (verse 13, margin), came to help him.

This is the first reference to Michael, and it is important to note that this is one of the names used in the Bible for the Son of God. The name itself means “He who is like God,” and in Jude 9 we read that Michael is the Archangel-the first, or chief, or leader of the angels.

The apostle Paul tells us (1 Thessalonians 4: 16) that when the dead are raised the voice of the Archangel is heard. And John 5:28 assures us that it is the voice of the Son of God that raises the dead; it is evident that the Archangel is Michael, and Michael is the Son of God.

And here in Daniel 10:13 we find both Michael and Gabriel bringing their united influence to bear upon an earthly king for some urgent divine purpose, possibly connected with the’ return of the Jews from captivity, due at this very time. So profound is Heaven’s interest in all that happens upon this earth! Not till the heavenly archives are opened to the redeemed shall we fully realize the infinite pains taken by God in guiding the destiny of nations, in removing kings and setting up kings (Daniel 2:21), in holding the winds of strife (Revelation 7:1), in restraining the forces of evil (Matthew 24:22), that His people might be preserved from extinction and His great purpose for man’s redemption move on to final triumph.

As Daniel seems to hesitate at the prospect of hearing more of the future, Gabriel seeks to strengthen him with the inspiring exhortation, “0 man greatly beloved, fear not: peace he unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong!” (Daniel 10: 19).

There was no need for Daniel to be afraid-not with God so near. He who had guided, protected, and sustained him through all his long and dangerous life would be with him to the end. The strength of the Most High, who “rules in the kingdom of men,” would uphold him now and always.

Then Gabriel utters the remarkable words: I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth”-an intimation of the completeness of the divine foreknowledge concerning the affairs of this world.

The extent and exactness of God’s knowledge of the future are revealed in the verses that follow, wherein is given an extraordinarily detailed account of events to occur during the two millenniums from the time of Medo-Persia to our day.

Any student of history will immediately recognize the king mentioned in the second verse of Daniel 11, who, “by his strength through his riches,” was to “stir up all against the realm of Greece.” Undoubtedly this was the famous Xemes, who is said to have raised an army of five million men for his vast but abortive expedition.

Equally easy of identification is Alexander the Great, the “mighty king ... that shall rule with great dominion,” whose kingdom was to be broken into four sections and divided among his generals “and not to his posterity,” as already predicted in the Prophecy of the he-goat with the notable horn (Daniel 8:21 ).

Then Gabriel tells of the constant warfare down the centuries between the “king of the south”-the power that controls the territory south of Palestine-and the “king of the north,” the power that controls the territory north of Palestine, introducing again the activities of the cruel, persecuting, blasphemous power previously symbolized by the fourth beast and the little horn of Daniel 7.

Amid the fury and terror of conflicting forces God’s people inevitably suffer. Says Gabriel, “They shall fall by the Sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (Daniel 11:33). Yet the picture is not altogether dark, for “the people that do know their God shall he strong, and do exploits” (verse 32).

The turmoil, the suffering, the human tragedy, continues clear on down to-the time of the end,” to “the crisis at the close” of history, when the great prophetic periods of Daniel 7 and 8 run out.

As already explained, the 1260 years of Daniel 7:25 expired in 1798, and the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14 ended in 1844, bringing home to us the tremendous fact that we are now living more than a century after the completion of the longest of these prophetic periods. Furthermore, we are living “in the days of these kings” spoken of in Daniel 2:44, when the God of heaven is to burst in upon the human scene, sweep away all the cruel, tyrannical forces that have destroyed His beautiful earth and brought such suffering to His innocent people, and set up in their place His Own kingdom of righteousness, which shall never pass away.

Even now the judgment is in session, and as a result the dominion of every anti-Christian power shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed unto the end (Daniel 7:26).

Soon we shall see the power that has lifted up itself against the Prince of princes “broken without hand” (Daniel 8:25).

The time of God’s triumph is near. Indeed, the Prophecy states that “at that time,” in the time of the end, when the world is engulfed in confusion and strife, when an evil power goes forth “with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many” (Daniel 11:44), when there shall come “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time,” then Michael shall stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book- (Daniel 12:1).

Thank God! Sometime-soon-Michael shall stand up and be seen of all as the champion of His people. Jesus Christ, the Prince of princes, yea, the King of kings and Lord of lords, shall return to this earth in majesty and power to make an end of sin and bring in His kingdom of everlasting righteousness.

In all the age long controversy between good and evil, that will be the day of God’s victory, and His triumph will be eternal. The battle will not have to be fought again. Evil will be so thoroughly, so completely, eliminated that it will nevermore be found in all His infinite domain.

As the lights of earth go out, as the selfish, the greedy, the lustful, the irreverent, the cruel, the unrepentant, the rebellious, are relegated to the total darkness of oblivion, the faithful children of God, radiant with His love and glory, will “shine as the brightness of the firmament; and as the stars for ever and ever- (verse 3).

But who shall enjoy this wondrous reward? Who shall share God’s eternal triumph? Who shall be delivered when Michael the great Prince shall come? “Every one that shall be found written in the book.” Everyone! Nobody will he overlooked or forgotten whose name is written there.

“Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting life.” Indeed they will! God will not forget His faithful ones who lie sleeping in the tomb. All will he raised to glorious immortality to share the future with Him.

Even now the angels must be scanning the heavenly records to make sure that there will be no mistake, that no one will be left out. As they look, do they find your name? Is it there? Have you told God you want to be saved? Have you told Him you would like to live in the kingdom He is preparing for His redeemed, that you want to be remembered in the day of His appearing? If not, won’t you tell Him now? “Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling.” He wants you to be His child, to share eternity with Him. He waits for you, yearns for you. Tell Him you love Him, today!