1. And at that time shall Michael
--the archangel, see Jude verse 9--
stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation _even_ to that same time,
--"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor
ever shall be." Matt. XXIV. 21. Josephus says 1,100,000
perished in the Siege.--
and at that time thy people shall be delivered,
--"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved." Matt. XXIV. 13--
every one that shall be found written in the book.
--At the time of the siege all of the Christians escaped
to the little town of Pella.
2. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
--As to the righteous:--"the graves were opened; and many
bodies of the saints which slept arose. And came out of
the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy
city, and appeared unto many." Matt. XXVII. 52. As to the
wicked:--Scripture is silent.
3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever.
--Witness for instance the life of the Apostle Paul and
the lives of a vast host of Christian saints.
4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, _even_
to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased.
--These words find special emphasis in the present
century, noted for its railways, steam engines,
automobiles, bicycles, telephones, wireless telegraphy,
public libraries, books, photographs, microscopes,
antitoxins, _x_-rays, etc.
5. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one
on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of
the bank of the river.
--In verses 4 and 5 of chapter X, Daniel beheld only one
heavenly visitor, he now looks and discovers other two.
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 an half; and when he shall have accomplished to
scatter the power of the holy people, all these _things_ shall be
finished.
--Since the power of the holy people was scattered in
A.D. 70, all these things were finished at that time and
right there Daniel's prophetic work ended. The formula,
"time, times, and an half" has already been considered
under the head of Dan. VII. 25. See NOTE B.
8. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what
_shall be_ the end of these _things_?
9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words _are_ closed up and
sealed till the time of the end.
10. Many shall be purified, and made white,
--"And the same day there were added _unto them_ about
three thousand souls."--Acts II. 41.--"Howbeit many of
them which heard the word believed, and the number of the
men was about five thousand."--Acts IV. 4--
and tried;
--"At that time there was a great persecution against the
church which was at Jerusalem."--Acts VIII. 1--
but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
understand; but the wise shall understand.
11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up
--the sacrifice of swine and pollution of the holy place
B.C. 168 to 141--
there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
In B.C. 168, these sacrifices were ordered to be made
DAILY, in every village and town throughout Palestine.
The desecration of the temple area lasted until May 4th
B.C. 141. Every moment of this time was part of one great
abomination. Counting each prophetic day as made up of
49 ordinary days, the 1290 days bring us to May 24th
A.D. 33--THE DAY OF PENTECOST--"THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY
OF THE LORD"--when the Holy Spirit was revealed to the
Jews, and about 3000 souls were converted.
12. Blessed is he that waiteth
--THE GENTILES--
and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
--the Gentiles did wait for six years, while the disciples
were busy, "PREACHING THE WORD TO NONE, BUT UNTO THE JEWS
ONLY." Acts XI. 19.--If now we make the calculation for
1335 days, we shall find, that the prophecy brings us
direct to June 7th A.D. 39--on which day, the Holy Spirit
was revealed to the GENTILES.
13. But go thou thy way till the end _be_: for thou shalt rest, and
stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Thus the heavenly visitor announced the fact of a
resurrection day, but gave no intimation whatever as
to when that day would come. In this respect also the
teachings of Daniel are in perfect accord with those of
the New Testament. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man;
no, not the angels of Heaven." Matt. XXIV. 36.
NOTES.
JEWISH INDEPENDENCE DAY.
The era of the Seleucidæ among the Greeks and Eastern nations,
sometimes called the "era of contracts," dated from the capture
of Babylon by Seleucus Nicator, Oct. 1st B.C. 312. The complete
subjugation of the city followed 6 months later, and therefore the
Babylonians counted from the spring of B.C. 311. With this exception
the former date has been generally regarded as the true epoch. The
years run as below:
YEARS OF THE SELEUCIDÆ.
1st year began Oct. B.C. 312 and ended Oct. B.C. 311
2nd " " " 311 " " 310
3rd " " " 310 " " 309
5th " " " 308 " " 307
10th " " " 303 " " 302
50th " " " 263 " " 262
100th " " " 213 " " 212
150th " " " 163 " " 162
170th " " " 143 " " 142
171st " " " 142 " " 141
and so on.
We pause at the beginning of the 171st year because it was a year
of great moment in the life of the Jewish nation. The deepest
interest is focussed on "the 23rd day of the 2nd month" when Simon,
brother of Judas Maccabeus, "destroyed a great enemy out of Israel,"
and CLEANSED the Temple of its abominations. He also ordained,
that the day should be observed ever after, as a National
holiday.--I Macc. XIII. 51.
We note that the 171st year, like all others of the Seleucidæ,
began with the month of October, which was the first month of the
Macedonian calendar. It was called Hyperberetaeus, the second month
Dius, the third, Apellaeus and so on. But the question that concerns
us most is, whether the writer of First Maccabees actually reckoned
by Macedonian months? A careful examination of the entire book shows
that he mentioned 4 Hebrew months by name--"Casleu, Adar, Elul and
Sabat"--also that he clearly located another, viz:--Tisri, but not
in a single instance did he mention the name of a Macedonian month,
or refer to the Macedonian calendar in any manner whatsoever. That he
did not regard October as being the FIRST month is plainly declared
in I Macc. X. 21, where he says:--
"So in the SEVENTH month of the 160th year, at the feast
of tabernacles, Jonathan put on the holy robe," etc.
Sept./Oct. therefore was the SEVENTH month, according to the usage of
the writer of the First book of Maccabees, which gives the following
succession:--
B.C. 142 Sept./Oct., the SEVENTH month TISRI
" Oct./Nov., " EIGHTH " Marchesvan
" Nov./Dec., " NINTH " Casleu
" Dec./Jan., " TENTH " Tebeth
B.C. 141 Jan./Feb., the ELEVENTH month Shebat
" Feb./March, " TWELFTH " ADAR
" Mar./April, " FIRST " NISAN
" Apr./May, " SECOND " IYAR
The rest of the way is easy. We have only to follow the Jewish
calendar of Rabbi Hillel II and we learn that the "23rd day of the
SECOND month" corresponded with the
4TH DAY OF MAY B.C. 141,
the great day of National Independence. Having thus far followed
exclusively the years of the Seleucidæ as common among Greeks and
Orientals, let us now turn to the system of the Babylonians. Their
era began, as already explained, with the spring of B.C. 311.
Accordingly, their 171st year began with the spring of B.C. 141, and
the SECOND month of course coincided with Apr./May, or the Jewish
month Iyar. It matters not, therefore, whether you follow the system
of the Greeks or that of the Babylonians, you will arrive at the same
goal, viz:--May 4th B.C. 141.
One can hardly overestimate the importance of this discovery, because
a knowledge of the National Independence day gives a fixed starting
point for that mysterious group of DAYS--2300, 1290 and 1335--as
revealed by the angel Gabriel to "Daniel the Prophet."
NOTE A.
DARIUS, OR CYAXARES. [DANIEL V. 31.]
"And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and
two years old." In the first verse of the 9th chapter we are told
that Darius was the son of Ahasuerus, the same Assuerus spoken of in
the 15th verse of the 14th chapter of Tobit, the Astyages of Median
history. Astyages was king of the Medes and reigned for 35 years from
B.C. 593-558. His son Cyaxares [Josephus X. 11, 4.] succeeded him on
the throne and his daughter Mandané married Cambyses of Persia. Their
offspring was Cyrus the Great, who thus represented the Royal houses
of both Media and Persia. Cyaxares therefore was the uncle of Cyrus.
As a boy Cyrus was brought up by his grandfather and accompanied
his uncle on shooting expeditions. A very strong attachment was
formed with the latter so that in after years when Cyrus deposed his
grandfather, in B.C. 558, he made his uncle the king of Media. Still
later when Cyrus took Babylon and pacified the inhabitants he made
his uncle Cyaxares king _pro tem_, who occupied the throne from
B.C. 538-536. Cyrus of course continued to be, as the annalistic
tablet relates, "the powerful king, the king of Babylon, 'the king of
Sumar and Akkad'--the king of the four zones." But the laws of Persia
as outlined by Herodotus [VII. 1. 2. and III. 66] made it necessary
for him to appoint a successor before starting out to war, who would
govern during his absence. So we find, "after Gobryas the governor
of the country of Ararat and the soldiers of Cyrus, without fighting
entered Babylon," the country became submissive and attention could
be directed elsewhere; that "when in the course of their march they
arrived in the Median territory Cyrus turned off to visit Cyaxares;
and after they had embraced each other, Cyrus first told Cyaxares
that there were domestics and palaces set apart for him in Babylon,
that when he came thither he might have what was his own to come to."
[Xenophon VIII.] It is hard to imagine how Cyrus could have paved the
way more perfectly for the reign of his uncle Cyaxares in Babylon,
whom we believe was Darius the Mede of Scripture. His reign was of
short duration, but it came at a critical period in the history
of the Jews. Only two years remained to complete the Babylonian
captivity and Divine influences were at work for the return of
the chosen people. [Daniel X. 13.] More than a century previous
to that time the Scriptures had named Cyrus as the "shepherd,"
[Isaiah XLV. 1, 3.] and when Cyrus placed his uncle temporarily on
the throne of Babylon, a heavenly messenger was sent to Darius who
"stood to confirm and strengthen him." [Daniel XI. 1.] This gave
the Jews a friend at court who paved the way for that celebrated
emancipation proclamation which Cyrus issued on his return to
Babylon. Naturally such a document belonged among the state papers
and should have been found "in the house of the rolls where the
treasures were laid up in Babylon," but diligent search proved of
no avail. [Ezra VI. 1.] However, as the document was dated in the
time of Darius the Mede, official attention was next directed to
"the palace that is in the province of the Medes," where a careful
search proved successful. [Ezra VI. 2.] There they found the original
"roll" stowed away among the royal documents and forwarded it to King
Darius Hystaspes. The king promptly ratified the decree of Cyrus and
added, "Let it be done with speed." The history of Darius the Mede is
therefore one of peculiar interest in the life of the Jewish people.
NOTE B.
"THE SUM OF THE MATTERS." [DANIEL VII. 1 AND 25.]
The vision of the four great beasts is now complete and we have
reached the sum of the matters in verse 25. Already in chapter II.
the same subject was summarized by the following language: "In the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed ... and it shall stand forever." The present
summary differs from the first in that it localizes the endless
kingdom, and tells the year when it would be set up. Whenever we send
a telegram and wish to conceal our meaning from the public we employ
single words to express conditions and quantities. Twice, Daniel
was told by his heavenly visitor:--"shut thou up the vision," it
is therefore proper to infer that the word TIME was used to express
a certain number of years and TIMES to express a greater number of
years. But what heavenly measure of time do we find in the Bible,
associated with the punishment of nations, that can be taken as
the unit period for measuring seasons of God's displeasure? Turn
to Zech. I. 12th and we read:--"Then the angel of the Lord answered
and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on
Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou hast had
indignation these threescore and ten years." For other examples, see
NOTE D. If then the word TIME was inserted in the heavenly message
as a symbol for 70 years, and the numeral 7 conveyed to the Jewish
mind the idea of a perfect quantity, then a week of TIME, or 7 times
70 might very naturally be symbolized by the word TIMES. We find in
Gen. II. 4. that the 7 DAYS of creation are spoken of in the singular
as, "the DAY the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Besides
every 7th year was a Sabbatic year. So that whatever the word TIME
means in the singular, we may reasonably take the word TIMES to
mean a 7 fold quantity in the plural. We find another measure in
Matt. XVIII. 22. where the Divine idea of forgiveness is expressed
in numerals. The apostle Peter thought that he did well in fixing the
unit of forgiveness at 7 fold, but he was told to multiply his scant
number by 70 before he could attain to the Divine standard. If now
we substitute these values for their symbols in the formula: "Time,
Times and Half-time" we shall obtain, 70 plus 490, plus 35, equals
to 595 years. Verse four supplies the initial date for this series
of years. From it we learn that the "sum of the matters" started with
the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, who united in his own person the
blood of both royal houses and became king in B.C. 558. From this
date to the Christian era was 557 years and from the era to A.D. 39
was 38 years more, making a total of 557 plus 38, or 595 years. From
which we learn that the "sum of the matters" or the full time arrived
for the setting up of the kingdom in A.D. 39. The prophecy therefore
gives us the year, and we shall find that the 12th verse of the 12th
chapter supplies the day when "all these things" were finished. The
apostle Peter in describing the events of that day said:--"Forasmuch
then as God gave them (the Gentiles) the like gift as he did unto
us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could
withstand God? When they heard these things they held their peace,
and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also on the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life." Acts XI. 17, 18.
The admission of the Gentiles was deemed a matter of so great
importance that the formula has been repeated in the 7th verse of
the 12th chapter, also material has been given in the 12th verse of
the same chapter by which the very day itself can be computed. The
passages stand to each other in the relation of demonstration to
proof.
NOTE C.
"DAYS."
In searching for symbolic numbers we found that number 49 stood both
for the Jubilee year and for the Feast of Weeks:--Concerning the
Jubilee it was said:--"And thou shalt number 7 sabbaths of years unto
thee, 7 times 7 years: and the space of 7 sabbaths of years shall
be unto thee 49 years." Leviticus XXV. 8.--Concerning Pentecost it
was said: "And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy
God"--"Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the
7 weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the
corn." Deu. XVI. 9, 10. The feast was to be kept in a fourfold manner
with the offering of a tribute, with rejoicing, with remembrance, and
with obedience. For more than 3600 years has this beautiful custom
been observed among the Jews, so that 49, the number of days, comes
to us with special emphasis. With such a prominent place assigned
to it in the Jewish ritual, no wonder if it found a place in the
symbolic language of the heavenly visitor. We have discovered that
such was the case and accordingly have made calculations for the
three periods represented by "2300 days," "1290 days" and "45 days"
(1335 less 1290) on the basis that each prophetic "day" equals
49 ordinary days of 24 hours each. They stand for 112,700 ordinary
days; 63,210 days and 2205 days. In reducing these days to years the
sidereal year was taken as the Standard year. A sidereal year, or
time in which the earth makes one revolution, the point of reference
being a fixed star, amounts to 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes 9-6/10
seconds, expressed decimally it equals 365.2563611 days. By dividing
each period of ordinary days by the number of days in a sidereal year
we obtain the actual length of each prophetic period. In arranging
these periods, the starting point was May 4th B.C. 141, or day on
which the Temple precincts were cleansed by Simon Maccabeus. The
1290 days carries us directly to May 24th A.D. 33, which was the day
of Pentecost "that great and notable day of the Lord" when the Holy
Spirit descended upon the disciples at Jerusalem. It is interesting
to note in this case how very precise is the language of Scripture.
The passage reads:--"When the day of Pentecost was FULLY come."
After their return from Babylon the Jews were accustomed to devote
two days, instead of one, to the observance of the feast, and as
Pentecost that year fell on May 23rd and 24th, the day of Pentecost
was FULLY come on the day indicated by our chart. The event therefore
happened precisely as foretold by the heavenly visitor, who said to
Daniel, "the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is
TRUE," and it came about with that degree of exactness with which
astronomers become familiar in their study of the heavenly bodies.
The chart clearly proves that the "1290 days" is a perfect fit
between two well-known dates. The other periods give us two extremely
important dates heretofore absolutely unknown to Bible students.
THE ONLY KEY TO DANIEL'S PROPHECIES.
=2300 DAYS.=--Dan. VIII. 14.
Sidereal year = 365 days 365.0000000 days.
6 hrs. 0.2500000 "
9 min. 0.0062500 "
9.6 sec. 0.0001111 "
-----------
365.2563611 "
-----------
2300 "days."
49
-----
207
92
---------------
365.2563611 ) 112700.00000 ( 308.55041 years.
109576 90833
--------------
31230916700
29220508888
-------------
20104078120
18262818055
-------------
18412600650
365.2563611 18262818055
.55041 -------------
----------- 14978259500
3652563011 14610254444
14610254444 ------------
18262818055 3680050560
18262818055 3652563611
---------------- ----------
201.040763713051 days.
---------------- |
=2300= DAYS equal to:
=308= YEARS, =6= MONTHS, =21= DAYS.
* * * * *
=1290 DAYS.=--Dan. XII. 11.
1290 "days."
49
-----
1161
516
--------------
365.2563611 ) 63210.00000 ( 173.0565343 years.
36525 63611
------------
26684 363890
25567 945277
-------------
1116 4186130
1095 7690833
--------------
20 649529700
18 262818055
-------------
2 3867116450
2 1915381666
-------------
19517347840
365.2563611 18262818055
.0565343 ------------
----------- 12545297850
10957690833 10957690833
14610254444 ------------
10957690833 15876070170
18262818055 14610254444
21915381666 ------------
18262818055 12658157260
----------------- 10957690833
20.64951269533573 days. -----------
-----------------
=1290= DAYS equal to:
=173= YEARS, =0= MONTHS, =20= DAYS.
* * * * *
=1335 DAYS.=--Dan. XII. 12.
1335 "days."
Less 1290
----
Difference 45 "days."
49
----
405
180
---------------
365.2563611 ) 2205.0000000 ( 6.036856 years.
2191 5381666
--------------
13 461833400
10 957690833
-------------
2 5041425670
2 1915381666
------------
31260440040
29220508888
------------
20399311520
18262818055
------------
365.2563611 21364934650
.036856 21915381666
----------- -----------
21915381666
18262818055
29220508888
21915381666
10957690833
----------------
13.4618884447016 days.
----------------
=45= DAYS equal to:
=6= YEARS, =0= MONTHS, =13= DAYS.
* * * * *
"TEMPLE CLEANSED"
=October 14 B.C. 450= 2300 =May 4 B.C. 141= 1290
END OF THE DOUBLE <----> NATIONAL DAY. <---->
INDIGNATION. Note D. Days Note C. Days
"PENTECOST"
=May 24 A.D. 33= 45 =June 7 A. D. 39=
THAT GREAT AND <----> THE HOLY SPIRIT BESTOWED
NOTABLE DAY OF THE Days "ON THE GENTILES ALSO."
LORD. Note F. Note C.
_Examined and Found Correct, LAWRENCE E. BROWN & CO.,
Public Accountants for State of Pennsylvania._
Copyright 1905, by W. S. AUCHINCLOSS.
The Holy Spirit's appearance to the Gentiles in the Summer of A.D. 39
was at a time peculiarly favorable for the conversion of Cornelius.
The persecution of A.D. 36, following the dismissal of Pilate, was
succeeded by a period of rest and rapid growth among the infant
churches. There was, then, neither the marching of armies, nor even
the rumor of war. True, these all came in the Fall of A.D. 40, when
Petronius was sent to Syria with instructions to place the images of
the Romans in the Temple at Jerusalem. It may be said in passing,
that the expedition landed in Ptolemais and there wintered. But in
the Spring of A.D. 41 the attitude of the Jews was so determined,
that Petronius sent to Rome for additional instructions. The Emperor,
however, died quite suddenly, and the expedition was finally
abandoned. The year A.D. 39 was a time of peace and good order; a
time most favorable to the all-important mission of the Holy Spirit.
NOTE D.
"TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DAYS." [DAN. VIII. 14.]
In the vision of "the evening and the morning" it is evident that
2300 days must end with a complete cleansing of the sanctuary, and
unquestionably this was accomplished by Simon Maccabeus on May the
4th B.C. 141. [I Mac. XIII. 51]; but at what time they should begin
to count is not so evident. The 19th verse tells us: "I will make
thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation."
We ask: what indignation? When was the first end? When the middle?
and When the last end?
We note first, that the speaker was the angel Gabriel, consequently
the indignation referred to was of Divine origin. The word
indignation stands for "sore displeasure" [Zech. I. 2]. It arose in
the year B.C. 590, the seventh of the captivity, at which time Israel
was cast off and Nebuchadnezzar prepared to wage war against them.
It was announced in the following words:--"As I live saith the Lord
God, I will not be inquired of by you" [Ezek. XX. 3]. The indignation
lasted just 70 years [Zech. I. 12] and ended by a promise of pardon
made in the eighth month, which according to the calendar of Rabbi
Hillel II. (IDAN OLAMIM of J. L. Sossnitz) began October 25th
B.C. 520 [Zech. I. 1 and 3]. We note in passing that although Cyrus
put an end to the Babylonian captivity in B.C. 536 and the people
returned to the land of Judea, yet they encountered insuperable
obstacles which held up their work [Ezra V. 3] until the year
B.C. 520, which was the end of 70 years' indignation. From these
passages we learn what were the limitations in one case of "sore
displeasure." But Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would receive of
the Lord's hand _double_ for all her sins [Isa. XL. 2]. Jeremiah also
spoke in the same vein "And first I will recompense their iniquity
and their sin _double_" [Jer. XVI. 18]. When we reach B.C. 433 we
find that Nehemiah dreaded a still further return of God's sore
displeasure and warned the nobles of Judah against profaning the
Sabbath day. [Neh. XIII. 16, 18.] As the first indignation ended
with the 8th month of B.C. 520, a double period ought to end with
the 8th month of B.C. 450, that is, with October 2nd of that year.
But you object, how could a period be truly 70 years in length, when
it began with October 25th and ended with October the 2nd? This
question admits of easy explanation. According to the Jewish calendar
the eighth month comes and goes with the phases of the moon, just
like our Easter occurs at different seasons, hence we must take the
average of these dates, viz: October the 14th as our representative
day. We have already alluded to the delays experienced by the Jews
when freed by Cyrus and desire at this point to draw attention to the
fact that Zerubbabel's temple was not completed until B.C. 515, JUST
5 YEARS after the indignation period expired, in B.C. 520; and that
in like manner Nehemiah's temple was not completed until B.C. 445,
JUST 5 YEARS after the next indignation period expired, in B.C. 450.
We might also add that from the time when the Jews first worshipped
in Babylon as captives in B.C. 585, to the time when they worshipped
in Zerubbabel's temple as free men in B.C. 515 was another instance
of a period 70 years long. This frequent recurrence of 70-year
periods shows that as a numeral 70 may justly be regarded as one
of the units of TIME in the dispensation of God's providence, and
therefore to be reckoned with in the study of prophecy.
But returning to our representative day, October 14th B.C. 450, we
realize that when the first and the second indignation had passed,
the time came for "the last end of the indignation" spoken of in the
19th verse, and known as the "2300 days." By the calculations given
in NOTE C, we find that 2300 prophetic days exactly fill the interval
between Oct. 14th B.C. 450 and May the 4th B.C. 141. Having thus
brought out the limitations of the "2300 days" we would add, that
Daniel's eleventh chapter gives in outline a complete history of the
period under consideration, so that the Jews had it in their power
to tell the prophetic time of day at any moment between B.C. 450 and
B.C. 141.
"DAYS."
GRAPHIC EXHIBIT.
End of the October 14, B.C. 450.
----------------------------++------------------------------
DOUBLE INDIGNATION ^ || [Sabbattic year.]
Jeremiah XVI. 18. | ||
| ||
| ||
2300......||.......DAYS. [Dan. VIII. 14.]
| ||
| ||
TEMPLE CLEANSED; | ||
National | ||
Independence Day__v_______||______________May 4, B.C. 141.
I Mac. XIII. 51. || ^
|| |
|| |
1290.......||......DAYS. [Dan. XII. 11.]
|| |
"THAT GREAT AND || |
NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD." || |
"PENTECOST" __________||________v_____May 24, A.D. 33.
Acts II. 20. ^ ||
| ||
| ||
45......||......DAYS [= 1335 less 1290].
| || [Dan. XII. 12.]
The HOLY SPIRIT | ||
bestowed v ||
----------------------------++------------------------------
"ON THE GENTILES ALSO." June 7, A.D. 39.
Acts X. 45.
NOTE E.
THE EXODUS FROM PERSIA. [DANIEL IX. 25.]
Ezra gives a full account of this great event in his history of the
Jews, in the VIIIth and VIIth chapters of his book, where he says,
they "began to go from Babylon" on the 1st day of the 1st month in
the 7th year of king Artaxerxes, also that they were not fairly under
way until the 12th day of the 1st month, which was within two days of
the Passover. After a journey of 4 months they arrived at the city of
Jerusalem.
In fixing the date of the Exodus from Persia we must determine the
boundaries of the 7th year of Artaxerxes. First, as to the year
itself, it has been well established that his reign began in
B.C. 465. Then as to the month, the statement found in Neh. I. 1.
and II. 1. render a commencement impossible between the months of
November and March, while the statement made in Ezra VII. 7, 8
and 9 preclude the interval from March to August following. This
narrows the field for the commencement of Artaxerxes' reign down to
the months of August, September and October. Although there is no
possible way of distinguishing between the relative claims of these
three months, yet from the wording of Nehemiah I. 1. we shall decide
in favor of the last, viz: the month of October.
It follows that:--
1st year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 465, ended Oct. B.C. 464
2nd " " " " 464 " " 463
3rd " " " " 463 " " 462
4th " " " " 462 " " 461
5th " " " " 461 " " 460
6th " " " " 460 " " 459
7th year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 459, ended Oct. B.C. 458
and so on:
20th year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 446, ended Oct. B.C. 445
and so on:
32nd year of Artaxerxes began Oct. B.C. 434, ended Oct. B.C. 433
--Neh. V. 14. and XIII. 6.
Whence by reference to the calendar of Rabbi Hillel II. [IDAN OLAMIM
of J. L. Sossnitz], we derive the following dates for the
EXODUS FROM PERSIA:
Jews began to leave Babylon March 25th B.C. 458
" left the river of Ahava April 5th " 458
" arrived at Jerusalem July 21st " 458
In conclusion we observe, that the real start of the Jews under the
commandment, viz: their "going forth" took place: April 5th B.C. 458,
and as Christ rose from the dead on April 5th A.D. 33, the interval
between dates amounted to 490 years, or SEVENTY WEEKS, exactly as
foretold by the angel Gabriel in Daniel IX. 24.
NOTE F.
DATE OF THE CRUCIFIXION. [DAN. IX. 26.]
Since the prophecy of Daniel points directly to the time when Messiah
would be cut off and not to the date of Christ's birth, it is evident
that neither the natal day nor the length of his life on earth are
necessary to a complete understanding of the prophecy. What we need
most to know are the day and the year in which Messiah was crucified.
Happily these points can be determined by data found in the Bible.
Turn to Luke III. 1 and 23 and we learn that Jesus "began to be about
30 years of age" in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. Not that Jesus
attained the age of 30 in the 15th year of Tiberius, but that when
the last day of the 15th year arrived, viz: Aug. 18th A.D. 29, Jesus
was VERY NEAR 30 years old. His birthday anniversary therefore comes
in the Fall of the year. From that time on, we count 3½ years to his
crucifixion in A.D. 33. We learn from the parable of the barren fig
tree, also from Daniel's prophecy that Messiah's ministry would last
one-half a prophetic week, or 3½ years. The parable itself accounts
for 3 years: "Behold these three years I come seeking fruit and find
none;" and since the parable was given, about the time of the harvest
home, or feast of tabernacles, another half year was necessary to
carry the time over from the feast of tabernacles to the following
Passover. When this was completed his ministry ended. At the very
outset of our Lord's ministry he spoke of the work before him and
proclaimed God's good pleasure in sending him, to preach the gospel
to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at
liberty them that are bruised. [Luke IV. 18.] With this ministry
expressive of God's favor, He then contrasted the ministry of Elias,
expressive of God's displeasure "when the heaven was shut up 3 YEARS
AND SIX MONTHS, when great famine was throughout the land." This
reference seems to have been a sign as to the exact length of
time Christ's ministry would continue on earth, precisely as the
experience of Jonah in the fish was a sign of the length of time
Christ would remain "in the heart of the earth." [Matthew XII. 40.]
But the strongest evidence is furnished by the 4 Passovers which were
celebrated during the period of said ministry.
The years therefore ran as follows:--
Christ began his ministry when 30 years old Fall A.D. 29
1st Passover John II. 13 Spring " 30
2nd " " V. 1 " " 31
3rd " " VI. 4 " " 32
4th " " XI. 55 " " 33
As regards the exact date of the fourth Passover we know by astronomy
that there was a full moon at 4.15 P.M. on Friday April 3 A.D. 33. On
that day therefore Messiah was "cut off."
At this point let us glance backward 490 years, or 70 weeks to the
Passover of B.C. 458, and we shall meet the children of Israel making
their Exodus from Persia [Ezra VIII. 31] "going forth" under the
leadership of Ezra, by "commandment" of Artaxerxes ordering them
"to restore and to build Jerusalem." In view of this marvellous
fulfilment of prophecy, how frivolous do seem the charges of those
who claim that the Book of Daniel is--"a bundle of loose leaves"--"a
consolatory political pamphlet"--and "written as historic fiction
in 168-165 B.C." Pretty good fiction, is it not? for one writing in
B.C. 168 to make declaration that a certain event, figured from a
given starting point, would _positively_ take place at the end of
490 years! We have many writers of historic fiction in our own day,
but none so venturesome as "the chief of the governors over all the
wise men of Babylon." Those who call the predictions found in the
Book of Daniel--"historic fiction"--simply destroy the meaning of
words and pour contempt upon the Word of God.
Our explanation robs the IXth chapter of Daniel of all its mystery
and shows why the LORD called him "Daniel the PROPHET."
CHRONOLOGY.
THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
Christ was born in the year B.C. 2. In support of this announcement
we do not propose to give a table of dates, setting forth the ideas
of the Christian Fathers who wrote prior to the 5th century. Nor
those of Dionysius Exiguus, of the Venerable Bede, or of Roger Bacon,
all of whom wrote between the 5th and the 14th centuries. Neither
shall we give those of Archbishops Usher and Lloyd in the 17th
century, nor those of Dr. Hales and of Sir Isaac Newton in the 18th
century, nor those of Prideaux and of the talented chronologist
H. Fynes Clinton in the 19th century. We find our authority in
Eusebius the "father of ecclesiastical history" [A.D. 325] and
give with it a 20th century Chart in proof of the accuracy of his
statement.
Of course back of Eusebius lay Jewish tradition, which in modern
times has found expression in the "Jewish Calendar" of E. H. Lindo;
London, 1838. Under the title of the "Book of the Generations," that
noted chronologist states that the Christian Era began with the year
A.M. 3760, in other words with the 30th day of August B.C. 2 as shown
in the diagram.
LOCATION OF CHRISTIAN ERA
JEWISH CALENDAR.
||
A.M. A.M. A.M.||A.M. A.M.
+----+----+------------------+----||----+---------+----+
|5666|5665|..................|3760||3759|.........| 1 |
+----+----+------------------+----||----+---------+----+
| | || |
|<---------1906 yrs---------->||<----3759 yrs----->|
| || |
----^----- ----^^--- ----^---
Sept. 30th Aug. 30th Oct. 7th
----v----- ----vv--- ----v---
| || |
|A.D. A.D. A.D. B.C.|| B.C.|B.C.
++---+----+-----+---+---++----+----+----------+----++---+
|1905|1904|.....| 2 | 1 || 1 | 2 |......... |3760|3761|
++---+----+-----+---+---||----+----+----------+----++---+
| || B.C. |
|<------1904¾ yrs----->||<--------3760¼ yrs------->|
| CHRISTIAN CALENDAR. |
| |
|<---------------------5665 yrs------------------->|
Eusebius, who as Bishop of Caesarea, spent most of his life in Judea,
possessed rare opportunities for verifying Jewish tradition. It is
very significant that his scholarly research led him to accept and
endorse a date for the commencement of the Christian Era, which is
identically the same as that preserved by the Jews.
The New Testament plainly declares that Christ was born shortly prior
to the death of Herod the Great. The most perfect history we possess
of Herod's life is found in the works of Flavius Josephus, who
acknowledged indebtedness to the "Commentaries of King Herod," and
to the works of "Nicolaus of Damascus, the historiographer of Herod."
It should be remembered that for his facts Josephus depended entirely
on others, because Herod died almost 40 years before Josephus was
born and therefore, however accurate Josephus might be individually,
he was liable to be mistaken by the error of others. Let us turn to
the XIVth book of his "Antiquities," because it contains a statement
of than ordinary precision which bears directly on the date of
Herod's death and may rightly be regarded as the corner stone of
Josephus' calculations regarding Herod's reign. It is there recorded
that Hyrcanus began to rule in the "3d year of the 177th olympiad"
[B.C. 70/69]. At first sight, one cannot help being pleased, that
in so important a matter, Josephus took special pains to be exact,
for nowhere else in all his writings does he give the year of any
olympiad. It was his custom simply to announce the olympiad and leave
the reader to guess in which one of four years the event took place.
However, in this one instance he gave the year and left nothing to
be supplied. This apparent accuracy has led many readers astray,
for they have lost sight of the fact that his statement is not
historically correct.
It is a well-established fact that Pompey took Jerusalem on the 24th
day of May, B.C. 63, that he deposed Aristobulus and made Hyrcanus
monarch. According to this, the brothers reigned about 6¾ years.
Josephus, however, states that one reigned 3 years and 6 months
[XIV. 6. 1], and the other reigned only 3 months [XV. 6. 4], making a
total of 3¾ years instead of 6¾ years. Here, then, we have discovered
a huge gap of about 3 years in the reckoning of Josephus. We believe
this is the first time that public attention has been directed to
this grave error: we say grave, because it has led the Christian
world astray and fostered the belief that Christ was born in B.C. 5
instead of the year B.C. 2. Happily, Eusebius escaped this pitfall.
It is evident from the chart, that in the case of 6 reigns Josephus
STRETCHED HIS FIGURES and made them occupy 103 years instead of
100 years. This proves that his figures, in part, were matters of
calculation and not rigid statements of historical facts. No notice
can be taken of the joint-rule exercised by Augustus and Tiberius
between A.D. 11 and 14, because that mode of reckoning is unnatural.
The day of one's death is the natural dividing line between reigns,
and as Augustus Caesar died on the 19th day of August, A.D. 14
Tiberius Caesar began to reign on the same day. Besides, to admit a
joint-rule would hopelessly add another 3 years to Josephus' error
and put him in the light of having carried his process for STRETCHING
FIGURES 6 points instead of 3 points. What he did do in that line is
bad enough, without making matters worse.
It will be observed that the work of contracting Josephus' figures
has been accomplished in part on the second line, but the final
rectification appears on the last line. These results maintain the
integrity of all that Josephus said about the following olympiads,
viz: the 179th, 184th, 185th, 187th, and 192nd.--They also accord
with the discovery of Zumpt regarding a double term in the
governorship of Cyrenius. We reach a solid ground on the 15th year
of Tiberius Caesar and arrive at last at the first Easter Sunday,
viz: April 5, A.D. 33, the end of the SEVENTY WEEKS of the Prophet
Daniel.
In conclusion we observe, that the life of Christ on earth covered a
period of 33½ years, and that
CHRIST WAS BORN IN THE FALL OF B.C. 2.
YEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST.
The dates given herewith have been collated from the chart which
accompanies this volume.
Birth--about time of the Feast of Tabernacles Fall B.C. 2
Christ in the Temple A.D. 11
His baptism [Luke III. 1 and 23] Summer " 29
Began his ministry Fall " 29
Purgeth the Temple Spring " 30
Disciples baptize throughout Judea " 30
Spends the year in Galilee " 31
John Baptist imprisoned Spring " 31
The Apostles sent out " 31
John beheaded Spring " 32
Fed the multitudes, 5000 and 4000 " 32
The transfiguration " 32
Feast of Tabernacles, see} Thursday, Oct. 9th " 32
John VII. 2 and 14 }
Completed 3 years of ministry.}
Parable of fig-tree, barren } " 32
for 3 years, see Luke 13, 6 }
Feast of dedication Thursday, Dec. 18th " 32
The crucifixion Friday, April 3rd " 33
The resurrection Sunday, April 5th " 33
Ministry lasted 3½ years, or } Fall of A.D. 29 to Spring 33
"one-half a WEEK" of 7 years}
The Ascension Friday, May 15th A.D. 33
YEARS IN THE LIFE OF HEROD.
The dates here given are the result of a geometric plotting of the
facts given in the works of Flavius Josephus:--see chart with this
volume.
Herod the Great was born in B.C. 71
Made Governor of Galilee when }
18 years old (not 15) and in } " 54
the 9th year of Hyrcanus II. }
Made king by the Romans " 40
Married Mariamne }
Captured Jerusalem } " 37
Battle of Actium in 7th year of his reign " 31
Hyrcanus II. put to death }
Herod recrowned by Caesar } " 30
Mariamne put to death " 29
Herod afflicted with madness " 28
1st year of famine " 24
2nd " " " 23
Herod offered to rebuild Temple " 21
The priests began work " 19
Sanctuary dedicated " 18
Cloisters finished " 11
1st of Caesar's Games " 9
2nd " " " 4
Alexander and Aristobulus put to death " 4
Total eclipse of the Moon January 9th " 1
[See "Eclipses Past and Future," by Johnson]
Death of Herod the Great February B.C. 1
ASMONEAN DYNASTY.
This government was founded by a priest named Mattathias, who had
five sons named respectively:--John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar, and
Jonathan. The dynasty lasted 130 years and was succeeded by the
Idumean dynasty of Herod the Great. The dates here given result from
a geometric plotting of the facts given by Josephus and the books of
the Maccabees.
Mattathias began to rule in B.C. 167
Judas Maccabeus began to rule in " 166
The feast of lights instituted
November 26th " 165
Alcimus, high priest " 162
7 years interregnum " 159
Jonathan Maccabeus " 152
Simon made governor " 145
Simon Maccabeus " 143
Temple cleansed May 4th " 141
John Hyrcanus " 135
Judas Aristobulus, king " 105
Alexander Janneus " 104
Queen Alexandra " 76
Hyrcanus II. " 67
Aristobulus " 67
Hyrcanus II. " 63
Antigonus " 40
Antigonus put to death " 37
REIGNS OF THE CHALDEAN AND MEDO-PERSIAN KINGS.
These dates have been established after careful study of the works of
Herodotus, Thucydides, Ctesias, Josephus, Berosus, Manetho, Ptolemy,
Diodorus, Julius Africanus, Eusebius, Egibi tablets; also Annalistic
tablet of Cyrus and "Records of the Past."
MONARCHS.
B.C. Reigned.
Nabopolassar began to reign 626 21 years
Siege of Jerusalem 606
Nebuchadnezzar 605 43 "
Astyages, king of Media 593 35 "
Evil-Merodach 562 2 "
Nergal-sarra-utsur 560 4 "
Cyrus the Great,
king of Persia 558 29 "
Laborosoarkhodos 556 9/12 year
Nabonadios, alone } 556 14
Nabonadios and Belshazzar } 541 3
--- 17 years
Babylon taken by Cyrus 538
Cyrus and Darius } 538 2
Cyrus alone } 536 7
--- 9 "
Cambyses 529 7-5/12 "
Gomates 522 7/12 year
Darius Hystaspes 521 36 years
Xerxes 485 20 "
Artabanus (USURPER)
Artaxerxes Longimanus 465 40 "
Xerxes II. and Sogdianus mos.
Darius Nothus 425 29 years
Artaxerxes Mnemon 396 36 "
Ochus 360 21 "
Arses 339 2 "
Darius Codomannus 337 4 "
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Punctuation has been standardized.
Italic text has been denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
signs=.
Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps.
Words printed in red in the original text have been displayed by
indenting the block of text.
Roman numerals have been standarized as capital letters.
Non-Latin characters have been given an English transliteration:
'oe' ligature --> oe
This book was written in a period when many words had not become
standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple spelling
variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These have been
left unchanged unless noted below:
Page 50 - 'Danel' replaced with 'Daniel'
(with a lamentable voice unto Daniel:)
Page 52 - 'ino' replaced with 'into'
(cast _them_ into the den of lions,)
Page 70 - 'troblous' replaced with 'troublous'
(even in troublous times.)
Page 70 - 'befal' replaced with 'befall'
(what shall befall thy people)
Page 77 - Verse # omitted in original text
(1. Also I)
Page 84 - 'Judus' replaced with 'Judas'
(take advantage of Judas Maccabeus,)
Page 96 - 'Babylonion' replaced with 'Babylonian'
(complete the Babylonian captivity)
Page 111 - 'Sabattic' replaced with 'Sabbattic'
([Sabbattic year.])
Page 134 - 'Codomanus' changed to 'Codomannus' for consistency
(Darius Codomannus)
End of Project Gutenberg's The Book of Daniel Unlocked, by W. S. Auchincloss