R. Roman., 1. it is yet for a time appointed. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper t till the indignation be accomplished for that that is determined shall be done. Chap. xii. 10; 1 Pet. i. 7. 17, 19; ver. 40.-P Ver. 29. Or, by them.- Chap. viii. Chap. vii. 8, 25; viii. 25; 2 Thess. ii. 4; Rev. xii. 5, 6.- Chap. viii. 11, 24, 25. Chap. ix. 27.-1 Tim. iv. 3.—v Isa. xiv. 13; 2 Thess. ii. 4. many excellent men, men of understanding, fell victims because they would not embrace erroneous doctrines, when professed by the state. But this was permitted,—— To try them, and to purge, and to make them white] To bring all to the pure profession, possession, and practice of Christianity. To the time of the end] To the time that God shall cause pure and undefiled religion every where to prevail. But when is the time appointed for this? Verse 36. And the king shall do according to his will] This may apply to Antiochus, who exalted himself above every god, called himself a god, sported with all religion, profaned the temple, &c., &c. But others think an antichristian power in the Church is intended; for in the language of this prophecy king is taken for power, a kingdom, &c. That such a power did spring up in the Church that acted in an arbitrary manner against all laws, human and Divine, is well known. This power showed itself in the Greek emperors in the east, and in the bishops of Rome in the west. And this is to continue. Till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.] This is the same as what was called in chap. viii. 19, the last end of the indignation; and chap. ix. 27, the consummation; and means the end or consummation of God's indignation against the Jews. And this seems more clearly expressed, chap. xii. 7: "When he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people." We see this still subsisting in the Church of Rome; and it was a saying of Rabbi David Kimchi, "When Rome shall be laid waste, then shall be redemption for Israel." For the destruction of Rome and the restoration of the Jews shall fall out about the same time.-Bp. Newton. power in the Church. 37 Neither shall he regard the 11 V nor the nor regard A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. Olymp. LXI. 3. Anno Tarquinii Superbi, any god: for he shall magnify R. Roman., 1. himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the god of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acwOr, But in his stead. Heb. as for the Almighty God, in his seat he shall honour, yea, he shall honour a god, whom, &c. y Or, munitions.- - Hebrew, Mauzzim, or gods protectors. a Heb. things desired; Isa. xliv. 9.b Hebrew, fortresses of munitions. under the pretence of greater chastity, to the discredit Verse 38. Shall he honour the god of forces] Dyn ́ mauzzim, or gods protectors, as in the margin; worshipping saints and angels as guardians, and protectors, and mediators; leaving out, in general, the true God, and the only Mediator, JESUS CHRIST. And a god whom his fathers knew not] For these gods guardians, the Virgin Mary, saints, and angels, were utterly unknown as mediators and invocable guardians in the primitive apostolic Church. Shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones] How literally does this apply to the Church of Rome! See the house of our lady at Loretto; the shrines of saints; the decorated images, costly apparel, gold, jewels, &c., profusely used about images of saints, angels, and the blessed virgin, in different popish churches. This superstition began to prevail in the fourth century, and was established in 787, by the seventh general council; for in that the worship of images was enacted. Verse 39. In the most strong holds with a strange god] Bishop Newton proposed the following translation, after justly finding fault with our common Version: "Thus shall he do to the defenders of Mauzzim, together with the strange god whom he shall acknowledge: he shall multiply honour, and he shall cause him to rule over many; and the earth he shall divide for a reward." The defenders of Mauzzim, these saint and angel gods protectors, were the monks, priests, and bishops; of whom it may be truly said, "They were increased with honour, ruled over many, and divided the land for gain." They have been honoured and reverenced almost to adoration; their jurisdiction was extended over the purses and consciences of men; they have been enriched with the noblest buildings and largest endowments, and the Nor the desire of women] Both the Greek and La-choicest lands have been appropriated for Church lands. tin Church, in their antichristian enactments, have dis- These are points of such public notoriety, that they couraged, and in several cases proscribed, marriage, require no proof.-Newton. Verse 37. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers] That God who sent the evangelists and apostles to preach the pure doctrine. These true fathers of the Christian Church, and their God, this Church has not regarded, but put councils, and traditions, and apocryphal writings in their place. The final overthrow of A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. knowledge and increase with! 42 He shall stretch forth his Olymp. LXI. 3. glory: and he shall cause them to hand also upon the countries: Anno Tarquinii rule over many, and shall divide and the land of Egypt shall not the land for c gain. Superbi, R. Roman., 1. 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass escape. A. M. 3470. Olymp. LXI. 3. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly 41 He shall enter also into the h glorious to make away many. land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hands, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. eHeb, a price.- d Ver. 35.- e Psa. lviii. 9; Prov. i. 27; x. 25; Isa. xxi. 1; xl. 24; xli. 16; lxvi. 15; Zech. ix. 14.- - Ezek. xxxviii. 4, 15; Rev. ix. 16.-g Ver. 10, 22.- — Or, goodly land; ver. 16.——— Heb. land of delight, or ornament. Verse 40. At the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him] These kings are to be understood in reference to the times of which the prophet speaks. While the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria were subsisting, the king of the south and the north applied to them exclusively but they did not exist at the time of which the prophet speaks; therefore other southern and northern powers must be sought. These we may find in the Saracens, who were of the Arabians, who came from the south, headed by the false prophet Mohammed, who pushed at him-made war on the Greek emperor Heraclius, and with amazing rapidity deprived him of Egypt, Syria, and many of his finest provinces. And the king of the north] The Turks, who were originally Scythians, seized on the remains of the Greek empire; and in process of time rendered themselves masters of the whole. They are represented as coming like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen; their armies being chiefly composed of cavalry. And with many ships] With these they got possession of many islands and maritime countries; and were so powerful in their fleets, that they entirely defeated the Venetians; and at last their fleets became of the utmost consequence to them in besieging, and afterwards taking, Constantinople, A. D. 1453, which they hold to the present day. So they entered into the countries, and overflowed, rendering themselves masters of all Asia Minor and Greece. Verse 41. He shall enter also into the glorious land] Entirely subdue Judea. And many countries shall be overthrown] Aleppo, Damascus, Gaza, and many other cities were forced to submit to them; and they hold them still. But these shall escape-Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.] These and other Arabians they have never been able to subdue. They still occupy the deserts; and receive a yearly pension of forty thousand crowns of gold from the Ottoman 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the seas in the glorious » holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. 10. * Isa. xi. 14.Heb. send forth. Exod. xi. 8; Judg. iv. -n Psa. xlviii. 2; ver. 16, 41; 2 Thess. ii. 4.-0 Or, good -P Heb. mountain of delight of holiness.- -41 Mac. vi. 8-16; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Rev. xix. 20. ly. emperors, to permit the caravans, with the pilgrims for Mecca, to have a free passage. Verse 42. He shall stretch forth his hand] Hethe Ottoman emperors, have stretched forth the hand, not only on European, but also upon Asiatic and African countries. Egypt has not escaped; it is a province of the Turkish government, as are also Fez, Morocco, Algiers, and many other African countries. And as the prophecy says they "got power over the silver and gold, and the precious things of Egypt," so it was; for when Selim conquered Egypt, A. D. 1517, he took all its spoils; and the immense sums drawn from it to the present day, and the wretchedness of the land in consequence, are almost incredible. The Libyans and the Ethiopians] The Cushimunconquered Arabs, all sought their friendship; and many of them are tributary to the present time. Were we Verse 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him] This part of the prophecy is allowed to be yet unfulfilled; and what is portended, the course of prophetic events will show. to understand it as applying to Antiochus, then the news might be of the preparations which he heard, that the provinces of the east, and Artaxerxes, king of Armenia, on the north, were intending to rise up against him. But if the Turkish power be understood, as in the preceding verses, it may mean that the Persians on the east, and the Russians on the north, will at some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government. And how completely has this been fulfilled; first, by the total destruction of the Egyptian fleet, by the combined fleets of England, France, and Russia, in the Bay of Navarino; and, secondly, by the total overthrow of the Turkish army by the Russians, in the years 1828 and 1829, when the sultan was obliged to accept any conditions that the emperor of Russia was pleased to give! [N.B.-The former part of this note was written for the first edition of this work, printed in 1825.] Verse 45. He shall plant the tabernacles] He shall The righteous shall arise CHAP. XII. to a glorious resurrection. ́make a last stand in Judea, and there shall his power chapter to the end of ver. 30 all is very clear and be smitten. He shall come to his end, and none,shall help him.] All his confederate and tributary kingdoms, states, and provinces shall desert him, and leave that government to come to a shameful end. IN the interpretation of this chapter I have generally followed Bp. Newton, in his most excellent Dissertations on the Prophecies, consulting other eminent authors occasionally. From the beginning of the plain, relative to the Grecian, Syrian, and Egyptian histories; from the thirty-first verse to the end, the mode of interpretation is not so satisfactory, in its application to the times since Christ. Yet possibly these alone may be intended; though the whole might be, with considerable ease, applied to the remaining part of the Syrian and Egyptian history. It is a wonderful piece of prophecy, and of great utility to the cause of Divine revelation. CHAPTER XII. The proper conclusion to the great revolutions predicted in this and the following chapters is the general resurrection, of which the beginning of this chapter (if to be literally understood) gives some intimation, 1-3. Daniel is then commanded to shut up the words and to seal the book to the time of the end, 4 ; and is informed of the three grand symbolical periods of a time, times, and a half, twelve hundred and ninety days, and thirteen hundred and thirty-five days, 4-12; at the end of the last of which Daniel shall rest and stand in his lot, 13. It is generally thought by commentators that the termination of the last period is the epoch of the FIRST resurrection. See Rev. xx. 4, 5. A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. Anno Tarquinii k and wise A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. Olymp. LXI. 3. Anno Tarquinii Superbi, R. Roman., 1. AND at that time shall Mi- life, and some to shame chael stand up, the great everlasting contempt. prince which standeth for the 3 And they that be children of thy people: and shall shine as the brightness of there shall be a time of trouble, such as never the firmament; and they that turn many to was since there was a nation even to that righteousness 1 as the stars for ever and same time and at that time thy people shall ever. be delivered, every one that shall be found d written in the book. с 4 m But thou, O Daniel," shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust end: many shall run to and fro, and knowof the earth shall awake, some to everlasting ledge shall be increased. a Ch. x. 13, 21. 21; Rev. xvi. 18. lvi. 8; lxix. 28; iii. 5; xiii. 8. e - Chap. xi. 33, 35. iii. 7; Matt. xiii. 43. Ch. viii. 26; ver. 9. b Isa. xxvi. 20, 21; Jer. xxx. 7; Matt. xxiv. | 15.- Isaiah lxvi. 24; Rom. ix. 21.- Verse 2. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth] This prophecy has been referred to the future restoration of the Jews. It will be also true of the state of mankind at the general judgment.. Verse 3. And they that be wise] Those who are thoroughly instructed in Christ's word and doctrine, shall shine-shall be eminently distinguished in the Christian Church by the holiness of their lives, and the purity of their creed. And they that turn many to righteousness] They who, by preaching Christ crucified among their brethren, shall be the means of converting them to the Christian faith; shall be as the stars-bright lumina ries in the Gospel kingdom of Jesus Christ. This also may be applied to the ease of holy and useful men, particularly the faithful ministers of the Gospel, in the day of judgment. See the parallel texts in the margin, and the notes on them. Verse 4. Shut up the words, and seal the book] When a prophet received a prediction concerning what was at a considerable distance of time, he shut his book, did not communicate his revelation for some time after. 26. This Daniel was commanded to do, chap. viii. See also Isa. xxix. 10, 11; Rev. xxii. 10. Among the ancients, those were said to seal, who in the course of their reading stamped the places of which they were yet doubtful, in order to keep them in memory, that they might refer to them again, as not yet fully understood. This custom Salmasius, in his book De modo Usurarum, p. 446, proves from Hesychius. Many shall run to and fro] Many shall endeavour to search out the sense; and knowledge shall be increased by these means; though the meaning shall not be fully known till the events take place: THEN Daniel is informed of the A. M. 3470. DANIEL. a result of these wonders. A. M. 3470, Olymp. LXI. 3. 5 Then I Daniel looked, and, 9 And he said, Go thy way, Olymp. LXI. 3. behold, there stood other two, Daniel: for the words are closed Anno Tarquinii Superbi, the one on this side of the P bank up and sealed till the time of R. Roman., 1. of the river, and the other on that the end. side of the bank 9 of the river. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and Ia half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, but I understood not said I, O my Lord, what shall be the these things? then end of Or, from the seal shall be broken, and the sense become plain. This seems to be the meaning of this verse, though another has been put on it, viz., "Many shall run to and fro preaching the Gospel of Christ, and therefore religious knowledge and true wisdom shall be increased." This is true in itself; but it is not the meaning of the prophet's words. Verse 5. Behold, there stood other two] Probably two angels. We know no more of them, unless they be the same as those called saints, chap. viii. 13, which see. The river was most likely the Tigris. Verse 6. The man clothed in linen] Gabriel, in a human form. Thus he is represented, chap. x. 5. Verse 7. Which was upon the waters] By this description, he was standing on the water. This is very similar to the description of the angel, Rev. x. 5, 6, and in the seventh verse there seems to be a reference to this prophecy, "a time, times, and a half." See the note on chap. vii. 25. Verse 8. I heard, but I understood not] Could not comprehend what the time, times, and half time should refer to. These make three years and a half of prophetic time, answering to one thousand two hundred and sixty years. с 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. i k 13 But h go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. Rev. ix. 20; xxii. 11.- d Chapter xi. 33, 35; John vii. 17; viii. 47; xviii. 37.————e Chapter viii. 11; xi. 31. Hebrew, to set up the abomination, &c. Or, astonisheth.—— Verse 9. Or, and thou, &c.- Isa. lvii. 2; Rev. xiv. 13.. Psa. i. 5.. interim, the great work of God's providence and grace shall be carried on in the salvation of men; who, in the midst of trials, temptations, and difficulties, shall be purified and made white--be fully saved from their sins. None of the wicked shall understand] Because they are wicked, and will continue in their sins, the eyes of their understanding shall be closed, and their hearts hardened; so that they shall not see the light of the glorious Gospel. But the wise] Those who open their hearts to God, that he may pour in his light, shall understand the things that make for their peac e. Verse 11. From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away] See the notes on chap. xi. 25-27. The abomination that maketh desolate set up] I believe, with Bp. Newton, that this is a proverbial phrase; and may be applied to any thing substituted in the place of, or set up in opposition to, the ordinances of God, his worship, his truth, &c. Adrian's temple, built in the place of God's temple at Jerusalem, the church of St. Sophia turned into a Mohammedan mosque, &c., &c., may be termed abominations that make desolate. Perhaps Mohammedanism may be the abomination; which sprang up A. D. 612. If we reckon one thousand two hundred and ninety years, ver. 11, from that time, it will bring us down to A. D. 1902, when we might presume from this calculation, that the religion of the FALSE PROPHET will cease to prevail in the world; which from the present year, 1825, is distant only seventy-seven years. Verse 12. Blessed is he that waiteth] He who implicitly depends on God, expecting, as his truth cannot fail, that these predictions shall be accomplished in Verse 10. Many shall be purified] During the due time. Daniel is assured he shall power." stand in his lot at last. We have not chronological data; and CHAP. XII. And cometh to the thousand three hundred and five | darkness. and thirty days.] This is seventy-five days more "the times and seasons God has reserved in his own than what is included in the three years and a half, or the time, times, and a half in the seventh verse; and as we have met with so many instances of prophetical days and years, this undoubtedly is another instance; and as a day stands for a year, this must mean a period of one thousand three hundred and thirty-five years, which period is to bring all these wonders to an end, ver. 6. But we are left totally in the dark relative to the time from which these one thousand three hundred and thirty-five years are to be reckoned. If, however, we reckon them from the above epoch, A. D. 612, when Mohammedanism arose, they lead us to A. D. 1947, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in; and thus a final closure of vision and prophecy be made, as then all the great events relative to the salvation of men shall have taken place. Wars and contentions will probably then cease over the whole world; Jews and Gentiles become one fold, under one Shepherd and Bishop of souls; and the triune God be properly worshipped and glorified, from generation to generation, over the face of the whole earth. But all these conjectures may be founded in Verse 13. But go thou thy way till the end be] Here is proper advice for every man. 1. Thou hast a way-a walk in life, which God has assigned thee; walk in that way, it is thy way. 2. There will be an end to thee of all earthly things. Death is at the door, and eternity is at hand; go on to the end-be faithful unto death. 3. There is a rest provided for the people of God. Thou shalt rest; thy body, in the grave; thy soul, in the Divine favour here, and finally in paradise. 4. As in the promised land there was a lot for each of God's people, so in heaven there is a lot for thee. Do not lose it, do not sell it, do not let thy enemy rob thee of it. Be determined to stand in thy own lot at the end of the days. See that thou keep the faith; die in the Lord Jesus, that thou mayest rise and reign with him to all eternity. Amen. MASORETIC NOTES. Number of verses in this book, 357. Finished correcting for the press, March 1st, 1831.—A. C. 621 |