Tomorrow: What do the Prophets Say? By A.J.L. Haynes

CONTENTS

1. The Regathering of Israel

2. The Prophecy of Ezekiel

3. The Seventy Weeks’ Prophecy of Daniel

4. Other Prophecies of Daniel

5. The Downfall of Babylon the Great

6. The Consummation: Treading the Winepress

FOREWORD

The writer prays that this booklet will expand interest in the historic fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures, and will be an aid in the interpretation of current events as Christians anticipate the Lord’s return with increasing expectancy.

The writer gratefully acknowledges the kind assistance of Dr. Alan Wares and Dr. George R. Dawe in the technical production of this booklet.

A.J.L. Haynes, 1977

Chapter 1 THE REGATHERING OF ISRAEL

If ‘prophecy is history prewritten,’ as someone has said, then it follows that we must look at the records of history to find prophecy fulfilled. This is the basic assumption of the Historicist interpretation of prophecy, which sees the fulfillment of much Biblical prophecy in historical events of the past twenty centuries, in contrast with the Futurist interpretation which places their fulfillment in the future, mainly in a supposed seven-year period following the sudden removal of the church from the world and preceding the return of Christ. While Historicists and futurists both expect the second coming of Christ to precede the millennium, the historicist interpretation was the one traditionally held by the church until futurism was propounded by Jesuit theologians in the latter part of the sixteenth century and was accepted and propagated by certain groups of evangelicals three centuries later. It is this observer’s conviction that present-day developments demand a re-assessment of evangelical thinking and teaching concerning the end times as revealed in the Bible.

We begin this study with a consideration of the restoration of the Jewish people to the land promised by God to their fathers, for we cannot accept the elimination of the literal fulfillment of the promises to Israel. Early in the twentieth century the possibility of such a restoration was denied by many scholars—historians, philosophers, statesmen, even theologians. They believed it very unlikely that a mercantile people like the Jews would turn from trade and finance, at which they excel, to the toil and limited returns of agriculture, particularly agriculture under the exactions of the Turkish government which had ruled Palestine since its capture in 1517. History has, nevertheless, over-ruled the scholarly pronouncements and the establishment of a Jewish state in the Holy Land is an accomplished fact. The name chosen at the inception of the new state in 1948—Israel—implies the unification of the nation that was divided in 982 B.C. with the rebellion of Jeroboam.

The reunification of Israel, which was prophesied by Ezekiel (Eze 37:15-23), has had little comment from popular authors on prophecy, yet these things were discerned and anticipated by the prophetic teachers of several generations ago. Among these was E.B. Elliot, whose four-volume Horae Apocalypticae 1 has been referred to as ‘the greatest work on any book of the Bible.’ This work, which ran to around 3,000 pages, was primarily an exposition of Daniel and the Revelation, but had something to say also about signs mentioned in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah which indicate the nearness of the return of Christ.

In chapter 5, dealing with ‘our present position in the prophetic calendar,’ Elliot says: ‘With regard to our present position, we have been led as a result of our investigations to fix it at but a short time from the end of the now existing dispensation, and the expected second advent of Christ’. 2 After referring to many unfulfilled anticipations of the return of the Lord, in past centuries, and the skepticism they have aroused—a skepticism commensurate with that in ages preceding His first coming—the author considers signs of the times which ‘warrant a measure of confidence in our inference [of the nearness of the Second Advent] such as was never warranted before.’

They are signs which have drawn attention not from prophetic students only, but from the man of the world, the philosopher, the statesman; and made not a few even of the irreligious and unthinking to pause and reflect. Thus there is:

1. ‘The drying up, still ever going forward, of the Turkman Mohammedan power, or mystic flood from the Euphrates, (Re 16:12).

2. The interest felt by Protestant Christians for the conversion and restoration of Israel; an interest unknown for eighteen centuries, but now strong, fervent, prayerful. [sic] extending even to royalty itself, and answering precisely to that memorable prediction of the psalmist: ‘Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, the set time, is come. For Thy servants think upon her stones, and it pitieth them to see her in the dust,’ (Ps 102:13,14).

3. ‘The universal preaching of the Gospel over the world, agreeably with Christ’s own command; that sign of which Augustine said that could we see it, we might indeed think the time of the consummation at hand; and of which the result has been such that already, one might almost say, trophies of the enlightening and converting power of the Gospel have been gathered out of every nation and kindred and people and tongue, agreeably with the song of the blessed at the consummation, heard anticipatively by St. John in the apocalyptic vision of the palm-bearers, (Re 7$).

4. ‘The marked political ascendancy before the whole world, alike heathen, Mohammedan and Jewish, of the chief nations of the old Roman earth, as (conjointly at least with the mighty offshoot from England and the American United States) the central focus alike of commerce, science, and political power.’ 3

Although these were some of the signs expected before the coming of Christ at the Second Advent they were not complete. Mr. Elliot goes on to say: ‘At the same time some signs are wanting, even as I revise this a fifth time in 1861, especially the non-gathering as yet of the Jews to Palestine and predicted troubles consequent :whence a further presumption in favor of the later allocation of Daniel’s concluding 75 years, (Da 12:7, 11, 12 *). Supposing them at length added, and the other signs already begun continue manifest as before, and perhaps even yet more strikingly, so as to arrest the attention of the whole world.’

Note this candid acknowledgement of a fact in 1861 which led Elliot to suggest that the 75 years’ ‘extension’ of ‘the times’ mentioned in the last chapter of Daniel, would perhaps be exhausted before that consummation for which he looked. After referring to passages from Isaiah, Joel, ** Ezekiel and Zechariah, the author continues: ‘In summing up these several prophecies the first conclusion that we are, I think, irresistibly led to, respecting them, is that one and all refer to the same crisis of the consummation , that which is to be marked by the apostate nations’ last conflict against God’s cause and people; and to end in the Jubilean blessedness of a regenerated world. As to particulars, we must turn to each prophet separately.

1. ‘And first in Isaiah’s various prophecies, besides the generally-repeated notices of the gathering against God’s people and destruction of the Gentile nations, just as in the apocalyptic war of Armageddon, we have to mark that it is especially on Edom that one grand part of the curse is described as falling; whether the literal Edom or some enemy of Christ figuratively designated under that name... There is to be attendant on this some mighty revolution, involving the dissolution of all the then-ruling powers and systems of government, both religious and political. (pp. 125-126)

2. ‘In Joel we have to mark the name of the scene of conflict, viz., the Valley of Jehosophat. (p.126)

3. ‘In Ezekiel (Eze 38$, 39$) the fact seems clearly confirmed of the literal return at this time of the Jewish people . Also that the conjecture is suggested by his prediction that the King of the North who is to be prominent in the last great conflict against Messiah, having come up from the north like a tempest cloud with chariots and horses may very possibly be the Russian power; the terms Ros, Meshech, Tubal answering too well to Russ, Moscow, Tobolsk , not to suggest a thought to this effect... The scene of the great conflict and of the defeat of the enemy is said to be the mountains of Israel’... An awful idea of the slaughter is given by the statement that for seven years the restored Jews will be occupied in burying the dead and burning the spears and arrows (armaments) of the foe.

4. ‘From Zechariah’s prophecy we infer that the anti-christian enemies will form the siege of Jerusalem, after its being possessed and inhabited by the Jews of the national stock, now resettled in their native land and city: and that it will be at first taken by the besiegers and half the Jews will go into captivity: also that there is to be then some such supernatural interposition as in Re 19:11 (’The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee’ -Zec 14:5) and that in the destruction of the enemy ensuing there is to be both a mutual slaughter by the swords one of another, and the agency also of pestilence.

‘All seems sufficiently to agree with what we have inferred as probable from the Apocalyptic prophecy and (though with more uncertainty and doubt) from Daniel’s also; the effect that there is to be the destruction of some grand antichristian confederacy in the mountain-country very probably of Judah, with fearful physical convulsions attending, and the agency of fire and sword, immediately at, or before, the final conversion and restoration of the Jews and the commencement of the consequent glorious predicted times of universal blessedness. So that, as it seems to me, we shall probably not err in looking for nearly coincident occurrence of the two grand events following; viz., 1st, the homeward return of the Jews from their dispersion, in fullness and strength, like as when the mighty Euphratean stream, on the willows of whose banks the harps of their earlier captivity were suspended, was each day forced backward by the mightier influence of the tide of the southern ocean.

‘2nd, the gathering, and the destruction, probably in Judaea (sic), of some great anti-Jewish confederacy, including the powers of both the Roman and Greek apostacies; the spirit of infidelity giving of course its meet assistance to those of antichristian priestcraft and Popery. Thus, as already before against evangelic doctrine and evangelic missions generally, so now in fine perhaps against the evangelization of the Jews specially, and their restoration to the land of their fathers, it might seem as if there is to be the last and fiercest outbreak of these spirits of evil.’ 4

The return of the Jews to the Holy Land was still in the future when Elliott wrote in 1861. The organized movement of the return of the Jews to Palestine began in 1897 when the first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland, under the leadership of Dr. Theodor Herzl; . Twenty years later, during World War I, Arthur Balfour, then Foreign Secretary of the British government, made the statement (since known as the ‘Balfour Declaration’) that His Majesty’s Government looked with favor on ‘the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.’ The following month (on December 9, 1917), Jerusalem was delivered from the Turks after being held by them for 400 years. (Cf. Ge 15:13-16 -the 400 years in Egypt-for an interesting parallel). In 1922 the League of Nations gave the Mandate to govern Palestine to Great Britain and in 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne settled the Near East situation so that the way was open for the return of the Jews. Sorrow and suffering were the lot of the returning people who then, as now, were still rejecting their Messiah. Many of them do not even believe their own ancient prophets. Then came 1939 and World War II, during which the Jews of Central Europe became the victims of Nazi antisemitism and about six million of them lost their lives. The Axis Powers seized Greece, Cyprus and Crete and General Rommel threatened Egypt from North Africa. It seemed for some time that the anitsemitic terror of Central Europe would eventually reach Palestine, but this was not to be. Halted west of Cairo, Rommel’s army was defeated and forced into a disastrous retreat and destruction. Out of the convulsion of World War II came the rebirth of the nation of Israel.

The restoration of Israel in 1948 was one of the most significant results of the two World Wars and afforded a remarkable illustration of the fulfillment of the prophetic parable of the two sticks in Eze 37:16-22. Shortly after World War I the Rev. E.P. Cachemaille had considered that the division of the nation which began in 982 B.C. might be healed by a simple legislative decision of the restored State. Actually, this decision was incidental to the choice of a name for the newly organized nation. After much discussion of this matter David Ben Gurion, the found and prime minister of the new nation, recommended that it be called Israel, which was done on May 14, 1948, when the new nation of Israel was proclaimed.

It is worthy of notice that the land now held by this nation is called Israel in the prophecy of Eze 36:1-12. Seven times in these twelve verses the name ‘Israel’ is linked with the topography of the land-mountains, hills, valleys, watercourses, etc. This too agrees with the present-day attitude of the inhabitants who call their land no longer Palestine, but Israel.

Immediately after its founding, the new nation had to fight for the land as in the days of Joshua, for neighbouring nations sought to destroy this apparition from the past. The enemies were defeated buy not destroyed and in 1956, with the Suez crisis, war broke out again and the nine-year-old nation was again victorious. Ten years later came the amazing ‘Six Days War’ during which Israel secured defensive boundaries as well as Jerusalem with its sacred sites, including that of the old temple. From the definite organization of Zionism in 1897, the significant period of seventy years elapsed in 1967. (Compare the seventy-year period from the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. to its rebuilding in 516 B.C. by the returned remnant of the nation.)

The future attack upon Israel is foretold clearly in several passages of the Old Testament and has been carefully and fairly expounded by E.B. Elliott in the work previously mentioned. Consider how the nations have been prepared for that gathering together against Israel that was foretold by the prophets. Beginning with Western Europe about a century before the organization of Zionism, there broke out a terrible judgment (sic), the French Revolution (1789), which began in France but ultimately involved nearly all of Western Europe. In this great revolution the leaders of a sceptical philosophy reacted against Roman Catholicism and the politico-social system produced by it in Western Europe.

The morals and extravagances of those enjoying the favor of both the monarch and the church were well known to the people. Their oppression of the populace reduced to futility all opposition, and was the beginning of that ‘communism’ which has become the enemy of our twentieth century western civilization..(sic) A semi-atheistic society developed upon the charred remains of ‘Old France’ which has perished without repentance (and this writer would say, without hope). This condition has persisted to the present day, for since the beginning of the upheaval there has been not restoration of Old France; although this was the dream of Charles de Gaulle, it was a dream never realized. The revolution that began in 1789 developed in other nations of Western Europe and was followed by the Napoleonic wars, ending in 1815 at Waterloo. But twenty-five years of bloodshed did not exhaust this judgment (sic); revolutions and wars broke out in 1830, 1848, and 1870, to be followed by the devastations of World Wars I and II.

We now come to Russia’s preparation for the great climax of history. One of the great crises of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917. This developed from the same sceptical philosophy against the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Monarchy. From 1917, with the end of the monarchy, Russia has developed into the first great Communist nation and has continued now for over half a century. It is atheistic and quite consistently looks upon Christians and Jews as its enemies. It is of course opposed to Israel’s occupation of the Holy Land-indeed to its very existence. Russia, during the past fifty years, has risen to such power that it now challenges the United States for world dominance. In addition to a powerful army, air force and nuclear capacity, it now has a navy that rivals that of the United States and is increasingly seen on the great oceans of the world.

It is unnecessary to labour these developments, so I summarize a few well-known facts: (1) Russian warships are on Israel’s Mediterranean coastline; (2) Russian planes and pilots have flown within 180 miles of Jerusalem on the Egyptian border; (3) In 1971 Russian missiles were placed on the western bank of Suez: and (4) in the same year it was reported that ten to fourteen thousand Russian pilots and technicians were deployed on the Egyptian side of Suez. (These have since been removed.)

The comments, then, of E.B. Elliott in 1861 have been remarkably justified in the restoration of Israel and in the rising up of its enemies. Now we look ahead to the final effort to destroy Israel.

* Calculated on the basis of ‘a time’ equal to 360 prophetic days, or 360 years, which makes ‘a time, (two) times and half a time’ equal to 1,260 years. Thus 1,335 minus 1,260 equals 75 years.

** In Joe 3:1 we find a most explicit statement of ‘that time’ when God will restore the blessings of Judah and Jerusalem, and what He will do.

Chapter 2 THE PROPHECY OF EZEKIEL

There are several major sections of biblical prophecy that refer to the times leading up to the final conflict. In this chapter we consider the prophetic writings of Ezekiel, who lived about the sixth century B.C.

The starting point of Ezekiel’s forecast of the end of this age is found in Eze 33:21: ‘And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, * in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me saying, The city is smitten.’ Concerning this, Dr. Henry A.Redpath says: ‘From the moment that the news of the final fall of Jerusalem reaches the captives, the prophet’s tongue is set loose and he begins to speak of a resuscitation and resurrection’ ( The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel , 1907, p. 181) . 1

In Eze 34:2-10 we read of God’s condemnation of the ‘shepherds,’ the religious leaders of the nation, for their negligence to duty which had caused such suffering to His flock. Verses 7 to 13 should be compared with the first eighteen verses of the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel. (It appears that in this chapter of John, the Lord Jesus is quoting Eze 34:11-16 concerning Himself.)

Verse 11 is instructive: ‘For thus saith the Lord God; Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.’ Note that the ‘good shepherd’ of Joh 10:11 is ‘the Lord God’ of Eze 34:11. (The Lord’s personal seeking of the individual sinner does not conflict with His regathering of the Nation of Israel.)

The time of these things is evidently the end of the age, for in verse 13 the Lord says: ‘And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.’ Further, the picture of verse 23 indicates the continuance of these events into the coming age: ‘And I will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.’ This declaration implies David’s resurrection and thus the age to come.

Ezekiel’s description of the final war of this age is mostly non-symbolic. We have the era of this conflict indicated first by the restoration of the land of Palestine (notice the emphasis on the land -‘mountains, hills, water courses and valleys’ -Eze 36:1-15); second, the regathering of the people, (36:24ff); third, the resurrection of the nation of Israel, (Eze 37:1-14); and fourth its integration, (Eze 37:15-22).

This prophecy has been at least partly fulfilled during this 20th century, and the program of restoration foretold in these scriptures corresponds with the stages of renovation since World War I. Between World Wars I and II began the regathering of the people of Israel, (Eze 36:24).

At God’s command, Ezekiel prophesies the ‘resurrection’ of the nation of Israel, (Eze 37:1-14) and in his vision the long-dead bones come together. This, though, is not the literal resurrection of the deceased generation of Israel, but the reorganization of the nation .

The integration of the nation was foretold by the prophetic parable of the two sticks. Ezekiel is commanded to take two sticks and to write upon them the names of Judah and Joseph (the latter stands for the ten northern tribes of Israel). These two sticks he then joins together and they become one. This acted prediction was fulfilled in 1948.

In the debate as to what they would call the new nation David Ben Gurion, the founder and first premier of the new state, said finally, ‘Let’s call it Israel.’ Thus when the formation of the state was announced the name borne by those returned from the ‘dispersion’ among the Gentiles became ‘Israel’.

The return of the Jews was not without opposition, and in view of this opposition and of the efforts of their enemies in the land to destroy them, it is amazing that Israel has taken root in that land. This is in accord with Ezekiel’s prediction: ‘And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded; and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful...’ (Eze 36:10,11 ASV).

This progressive restoration of the land and people will evidently be interrupted by the terrible conflict described in chapters 38 and 39 but which, by the overruling of God, continues Israel’s restoration. Above all, the advent of Israel’s King, Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ), destroys Israel’s enemies and gives the nation a widely extended homeland.

Through these two chapters there is the severest condemnation of Gog: ‘Set thy face against Gog... and say; Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; Behold I am against thee, O Gog,’ (Eze 38:2 ASV). This is not merely a warning, for there is no hope of repentance (as a nation) suggested or conceivable. Gog is doomed, the sentence has been pronounced.

There is a terrible picture here of the wrath of God against Gog. ‘And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken,’ (Eze 38:18, 19; ASV). In 1861 E.B. Elliott suggested that the great enemy of Israel ‘might well be Russia,’ (Horae Apocalypticae). This has been the conclusion of many evangelicals since Elliott’s time.

(1) Gog is described as a prince (or chief prince). The word ‘Gog’ means to be high (exalted) or to be gigantic in stature. He is of the land of Magog (Scythia) and he is described as the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, indicating his main sphere of authority. Twice it is indicated that he comes from ‘the uttermost parts of the North.’ There is only one great nation that can be so described at this time and that nation, Russia, since 1918 has officially adopted atheism, has threatened publicly to destroy Christianity and has shown a bitter hatred toward both Jews and Christians.

(2) ‘Rosh’ was understood to be the Russians, who classical writers from the second century B.C. have found in the mixed people ‘Roxolanoi’ dwelling between Tanais and the Dnieper and designated ‘Scythians’. Gesenius observes that it can scarce be doubted that the first trace of the Russians is given here.

(3) By ‘Meshech’ a northern people inhabiting the Moschian mountains bordering on Armenia is indicated. 2 They were a people regarded as the ancestors of the Muscovites who built Moscow.

(4) Tubal and Meshech are named together as sons of Japheth in Genesis 10, and six times we find them associated in the Old Testament. In the Assyrian inscriptions of the eighth century B.C. they are ‘Muskai’ and ‘Tuplai’. It is quite commonly held that the cities, Moscow and Tobolsk, commemorate the names of these two ethnic groups.

(5) Next we find, in Eze 38:5, a group: ‘Persia, Cush and Put with them.’ In the Septuagint this is rendered ‘Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans.’ This is not suprising of Persia, bordering as it does on southern Russia. Ethiopia would not be able to defend herself against any major power that controls the Arabian Sea. Libya is already linked with Israel’s enemies, although only since 1970.

(6) Next we find ‘Gomer and his hordes.’ Here we must dissent emphatically from some commonly held views. Most of today’s writers on this subject assume that Gomer is Germany, so we must take time to examine these words of Scripture. This commonly asserted view is not the verdict of ethnology . The resemblance between the words ‘Gomer’ and ‘German’ is superficial, and the testimony of the Jews is decisively against it. They hold that Ashkenaz is the progenitor of the Germans. Thus the Jewish ‘dispersion’ among the Germans is called the ‘Ashkanazism.’

Testimony to the identity of Gomer and his descendants is abundant and, I submit, is conclusive. This testimony first appears in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions of the 8th century B.C. which have been discovered and translated in recent times. Thus we read, ‘In defending and maintaining his northern boundary, Esarhaddon achieved a success not the least among the triumphs of his brilliant career. The enemy that threatened from the north were the far-famed Kimmerians (to name them according to the spelling of the Greek authors)’ ( J.F. McCurdy, History, Prophecy and the Monuments, vol 2, p. 346). 3

Late in the 8th century B.C. the Cimmerians descended, probably over the Caucasus, into Armenia. Thence they spread southeastward and westward and came within the Assyrian sphere of influence, where they were know as ‘Gimirre’. Thus also they came to the knowledge of the Bible writers who have spoken of them as Gomer, (Ge 10:2; 1Ch 1:5; Eze 38:6). They were an Indoeuropean race, and were apparently aware of kinship with the Medians (Maidai), for in their southeastern division they allied themselves with the latter.

McCurdy’s view of the descendants of Gomer agrees with that of Smith’s Bible Dictionary (art. ‘Gomer’):‘ He is generally recognized as the progenitor of the early Cimmerians, of the later Combri and the other branches of the Celtic family and of the modern Gael and Cymry, the latter preserving with very slight deviation the original name.’ 4

Notice also A.R. Fausset’s Bible Cyclopaedia (art. ‘Gomer’):‘ The Cimmerians warred in northwestern Asia from 670 to 570 B.C....They are the stock of the Cymry (as the Welsh call themselves...originally they occupied the whole of the British Isles, but were driven back by succeeding invaders to the northwestern extremities, which their two divisions, the Gael of Ireland and Scotland and the Cymry of Wales occupy)... The Galations were Celts and so sprung from Gomer.’ ( by A.R. Fausset, Bible Cyclopaedia , page 259). 5

Much of interest and importance concerning this race will be found in The Passing of the Empires, 850 B.C. to 330 B.C. , by G. Maspero (edited by A.H. Sayce). The first reference to the ‘Kimmerians’ is on page vi of the Editor’s Preface. The first in the body of the volume is in Chapter 3: ‘A new race had arisen in their rear, that of the Cimmerians and Scythians, which issuing in irresistible waves from the gorges of the Caucasus threatened to overwhelm the whole ancient world of the East.’ This would be about 720 B.C. during the reign of Sargon of Assyria. Chapter 4 of this book which begins with the last years of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who threatened Israel in the time of Hezekiah, contains many references to these Cimmerians. (pp. 342-344, 350-53, 369, 370 and 391-93). 6

Both Smith’s Bible Dictionary and Faussett’s Cyclopaedia indicate that these Cimmerians are Celts, and Fausset further identifies the Galatians as Celts. This last identification is supported in The Passing of the Empires , where mention is made of ‘the Cimmerians who since their reverses in Lydia and on Mount Taurus had concentrated practically all their tribes in Cappadocia.’ 7 The map on p. 329 of the same volume shows the Cimmerians occupying a strip of northern Asia Minor more than two thirds of its total length from east to west. In this region Paul reached them with the Gospel and alter wrote to them the Epistle to the Galatians.

Thus these Galatians of Asia Minor were evangelized by Paul the Apostle midway through the first century of this era, and they were recognized as of the same race as that occupying Gaul in the western part of the Roman Empire. This race, then, called by the Assyrians Gimmere and by others Cimmerians , Celts and Gauls , with ‘all its hordes’ will be among the enemies of Israel in that coming conflict foretold by Ezekiel.

It is scarcely necessary to state that the chief nation of this lineage is France. She is now one of the ‘Big Four’ and was raised to here present eminence from near disaster by one who, judging by his name, was himself a descendant of Gauls: Gen. Charles de Gaulle.

The identity of the present-day ‘hordes’ (or allies) of France I must leave to be decided by today’s rapidly breaking events. One would expect them to ethnically related to the French.

The last mentioned of these final enemies of Israel is ‘the house of Togarmah,’ (Eze 38:6). It seems clear that ‘Togarmah’ is the ancestor of the Armenians for to this day they call themselves the ‘house of Torgum.’ ( Lange’s Commentary on Ezekiel , page 362.) 8 There are ‘hordes’ related also to Togarmah which I suggest could be peoples of or near Asia Minor, possibly the Turks.

Now the reader is reminded that this chapter begins with the argument that the world has witnessed as a result of two world wars, the freeing of the Promised Land from the Turkish Moslem power and the restoration of over three million Jews who now constitute the nation of Israel. (Website Publisher’s Note: Today Israel’s Jewish population is closer to 4.5 million) This prophecy in chapters 36 and 37 of Ezekiel is essentially one with that in chapters 38 and 39 and the fulfillment of the former predictions indicates that the time is near for the fulfillment of the latter. That being so I suggest that Eze 38:8-12 deals with this very theme. ‘After many days...in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is restored [see margin of ARV]...upon the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them... and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell securely... without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’

I suggest that in some not very distant crisis of the nations it will appear to the Russian leader (Gog) that there is no nation able and willing to oppose a Russian attack on Israel, just as no nation was willing to take such a risk when Hungary was invaded by Soviet tanks in 1956 or as Czechoslovakia was subdued in the same way in 1969. In such a case, would any of the nations go to the aid of Israel? Verse 13 of chapter 38 tells of ‘Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all the young lions thereof’ uttering what might be a challenge to Gog.

Up to 1945 there were many who thought that parts of the British Empire might so protest or challenge the invasion of Israel. So this writer thought at that time, but today it seems unlikely. In today’s psychological climate it seems doubtful that any nation would go to Israel’s defence. Really, this seems to be implied by this prophecy. It is Israel’s Messiah who defends His people and destroys their enemies, (Zec 14:1-4) though Israel will continue its recent record of military competence and valour as predicted in Zec 12:6-9.

I do not mean to imply by the above that the nations will sit still in peace while this conflict rages in the Near East. Far from it. One of the earliest of the prophets to whom was given the long-range predictions of the Bible was Joel. His short volume concludes with chapter 3, in which God reveals that when He brings back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem ‘He will gather all nations and bring them down into the valley of Jehosophat and will execute judgment upon them there.’ In verse 9 of this chapter we find the words: ‘Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near.’ The conflict thus announced is plainly that which will be ended by the return of Christ. Other references to this final warfare we shall see as we proceed. The Lord Jehovah (as the Deity is named here in the ARV) asks the question, ‘When my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it?’ (Ezek.38:14). God has made no secret of His purpose to regather His people Israel and to restore them to the land which He gave their fathers some 34 centuries ago. The Russian leaders, with those likeminded, are blind to this fact, because of their atheism. So in their wilful blindness they will rush to the destruction of Israel, but it will be to their own destruction. There is, though, another side to this: ‘It shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes,’ (Eze 38:16)

The wicked defiance of the Most High by Gog will bring upon him and his host a terrible destruction and its story will be told in the times that follow as the record of the Flood of Noah’s day has been told in the generations that followed that terrible judgment.

The descriptions of these two chapters of Ezekiel are truly sobering. Notice that the earthquake foretold is not the usual shaking of the earth, though this can be awful. This will be far more so, for the fish in the sea will shake at God’s presence, and the birds of the heavens. Verse 20 says that ‘all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at my presence.’

The last part of verse 23 means that the nations will know through these events (of chs. 38 and 39) that the Lord Jesus is Jehovah. Here we come to the greatest single event of the future—the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven. ‘Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him,’ (Rev.1:7).

The closing declaration of chapter 38 brings us to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many Old Testament predictions of this event but of course in the Old Testament He is not mentioned by His New Testament designations, e.g., ‘the Lord Jesus Christ,’ etc. The word ‘LORD’ thus in capital letters represents the Hebrew name ‘Jehovah’ as in Ps 23, which actually begins, ‘Jehovah is my shepherd...’ Our Lord Jesus said ‘I am the good shepherd,’ identifying Himself as Jehovah, (Joh 10:11, 14, and 27-29). We find this truth declared also in Eze 34:11-16, which is related through chapter 35 to chapters 36 and 37.

The judgment of chapters 38 and 39 falls upon Gog and his armies in the land of Israel and the wreckage of the enemies’ equipment will be gathered and burned for seven years. Eze 39:11-14 tells of a future area of graves in the land. God says that He will provide a vast graveyard for Gog and hi multitude. Krushchev was reported as saying, ‘We will bury you.’ How strange will be the event; Israel will bury the hosts of Russian and her allies, and it will take several months to complete the task.

The writer stood again at Vimy Ridge in 1970 after 53 years. (A brother was killed defending the Ridge after it was taken by our forces in 1917). The number of graves in that area is appalling—those of the French who fell in earlier attempts to dislodge the Germans, those of the British and Canadians, as well as those of the German defenders. But the graves of Vimy will not compare in number with those in Palestine at the end of this age.

Eze 38:21 tells of the turning of the various nations one against the other: ‘every man’s sword shall be against his brother.’ This was often a means of God’s deliverance of His people. The final objective of the elaborate political preparation of these nations is to destroy Israel, and through their destruction to destroy faith in the God Who has promised them His blessing.

Eze 38:22 predicts judgment by ‘pestilence and blood... an overflowing rain.’ A great rain was one of the means by which Sisera’s chariots were put out of action in the famous battle of the Valley of Megiddo in the days of Deborah and Barak. It would do the same for tanks caught in that valley in these days. It mentions also ‘great hailstones, fire and brimstone.’ It may be that this is a prediction of nuclear missiles which may be by some means diverted from their intended targets to fall instead upon Israel’s enemies.

Eze 39:6 also mentions fire (’I will send a fire on Magog...’). Note that Gog, the great leader of the Russians, is ‘of the land of Magog,’ (Ezek.38:2, ARV).

This ‘fire,’ as I suggest of the ‘hailstones’ of Eze 38:22, may be from human weapons. ( I would expect that nuclear weapons would be used.) While Gog is striking at Israel, destruction falls upon his homeland. It predicts also such judgments upon the coasts (of the Mediterranean?). This may be a reference to the destruction of Babylon the Great (Rev.18). Note the foretold result of these judgments upon the nations and upon Israel.

Coming to the last verse (Eze 39:29) of this inspired predictive epic, we find one verse, only one, but one promising abundant (shall I say, limitless?) blessing to follow war, death and destruction. We come to the words: ‘I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah,’ a promise that parallels that of Zec 12:10 concerning the pouring out of the spirit of grace and supplication as a result of which ‘they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him...’ A greater Pentecostal outpouring than that which followed the Lord’s resurrection will heal Israel’s blindness.

We add to these two passages a third to prove that this is the true significance of this prediction. I refer to the second chapter of Joel, which speaks of the ‘Day of Jehovah’ (ARV). At that time there will be a terrible assault upon Jerusalem, and verse 20 tells of its repulse and the destruction of Israel’s enemies by Jehovah. In verse 20 there is predicted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and not only on ‘your sons and daughters,’ but upon ‘all flesh.’ Verse 31 makes clear that these things are associated with the Day of Jehovah.

Then we shall understand the words: ‘For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?’ (Ro 11:15) I would say to those who are mystified by the charismatic movements of today that there is coming, certainly, a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, indeed the manifestation of the Holy Spirit ten days after our Lord’s ascension, was the type and the prophecy of this far greater event (Eze 39:29; Joe 2:28-32; and Zec 12:8-13:1), emphasizing again that they are not veiled in parable or symbolism. What could be clearer than Zec 12:9: ‘And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.’?

* The twelfth year of the Captivity would be counted from 586 B.C., and thus be 574 B.C.

Chapter 3 THE SEVENTY WEEKS’ PROPHECY OF DANIEL

The writings of the prophet Daniel constitute another major section of biblical prophecy leading to the time of the end. Much of what was foretold by Daniel’s interpretation of the dream-image of Nebuchadnezzar (Da 2:31-45) has already come to pass, with world domination passing from Babylon (symbolized by the head of gold) to Medo-Persia (symbolized by the breast and arms of silver), to Greece (symbolized by the belly and thighs of bronze), and to Rome (symbolized by the legs of iron and the feet of iron and of clay). The same sequence of empires was symbolized in the vision of the four beasts that came to the prophet some sixty days later, (Da 7). The interpretation of the vision of the fourth beast with its ten horns and another horn ‘that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things’ (Da 7:20) will be considered later, along with the interpretation of the Revelation made to John.

Probably the most misunderstood and misinterpreted passage from Daniel’s writings is the prophecy of the ‘seventy weeks’,( Da 9:24-27). In Sir Robert Anderson’s The Coming Prince the claim is made that ‘history contains no record of events to satisfy the predicted course of the seventieth week.’ Elsewhere in the book the writer states: ‘If then the event which constitutes the epoch of the seventieth week must be as pronounced and as certain as Nehemiah’s commission and Messiah’s death, it is of necessity still future.’ 1

These assertions, however, are supported neither by Scripture nor by the consensus of commentators from the second century to the present.

Commenting on this passage early in the third century, Africanus wrote:

‘For in the Saviour’s time, or from Him, are transgressions abrogated, and sins brought to an end. And through remission moreover are iniquities along with offences blotted out by expiation; and an everlasting righteousness is preached, different from that which is by the law.’

Five centuries later, in England, the Venerable Bede commented:

‘No one doubts but that these words refer to the incarnation of Christ Who bore the sins of the world, fulfilled the law and the prophets, and was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows.’

In more recent times, Henry Cowles wrote concerning the same passage:

‘Seventy sevens of years... are cut off from the source of future time for thy people and thy holy city, at the end of which provision will be made for the full pardon of sin and for putting it utterly out of My sight as a thing shut up, sealed and covered; and to bring in a system of everlasting righteousness whereby pardoned sinners may both be accounted righteous and may become righteous before me.’

Auberlin writes in a similar vein:

‘The sacrifice by which this atonement for sin would be made is pointed out in the 26th verse by the expression, ‘Messiah shall be cut off.’ With this also is connected the expression in the 27th verse, ‘He shall confirm the covenant with many,’ and the prophecy that the sacrifices of the Old Testament, both with and without blood (’sacrifice and oblation’) shall cease.’

And F. Godet on the same theme:

‘In the midst of this notable week the Messiah disappears: for one part of the nation the covenant is confirmed and renewed by His death; but for the mass of the people, sacrifice is forever abolished...’

These views of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks are summed up by E.B. Elliot in his Horae Apocalypticae :

‘For alike Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian, and I may add too Tatian, all before the end of the second century, and Julius Africanus at the commencement of the third century, explained Daniel’s seventieth hebdomad and their abomination of desolation as having had their full accomplishment in Christ’s death and the consequent desolation of Jerusalem by the Roman armies; and as having no reference whatsoever to any desolation by the then future Antichrist.’ 2

This centuries-old trend of interpretation by devout and qualified expositors cannot be lightly brushed aside by mere assertions of futurist interpreters like the author of The Coming Prince . Let us look now at the prophecy itself, as a whole and in detail, to see just what is predicted in these four verses.

The prophetic vision came to Daniel as he was praying for his people and his city (which he speaks of as God’s city and people, v.19), and it concerned their restoration in preparation for the central crisis of history . It came as an answer to his prayer, foretelling the accomplishment of the outstanding purpose of God in connection with both the people and the City. In the light of the New Testament we know that from the despised Jewish remnant was to come the Deliverer of all nations, and outside the walls of the City was to be offered the ‘one sacrifice for sins.’ This was the supreme reason for the restoration.

The first verse of the prophecy sets a time limit to its accomplishment: within a period of seventy weeks from a certain event which to Daniel was still future, certain purposes of God were to be accomplished. Evangelical Christians generally agree that these seventy weeks were symbolic, for if ordinary seven-day weeks were meant, the period would have been designated as ‘one year and four months’ or as ‘sixteen months.’ On the basis of one week representing a [ week of years, i.e.- seven years], the period was to cover 490 years. During this period, six things were to be accomplished:

(a) ’To finish the transgression.’ In commenting upon this passage in the Hebrew text, Barnes writes:

‘The reading in the (Hebrew) text is undoubtedly the correct one but still there is not absolute certainty as to the signification of the word, whether it means to finish or restrain . The proper meaning of the word in the common reading of the text is to ‘ shut up, confine, restrain. ‘ It seems most probable that the true meaning here is that denoted in the margin (of the Authorised Version) and that the sense is not that of finishing but that of restraining, closing, shutting up. ‘ ( 1Sa 6:10; Jer 32:2, 3; Ps 88:8) 3

In each of these three references the same Hebrew word is used as in Da 9:24. The opinion expressed here by Barnes is decidedly supported by these references. In each case the word is rendered ‘shut up’ and in each case the context makes this the obvious rendering, so we take this prediction to foretell that sin should be ‘shut up.’

(b) ’To make an end of sins.’ Concerning this phrase, Barnes says: ‘The weight of authority is decidedly in favor of the common reading in the Hebrew text.’ Note that the reading referred to is not that of the Authorised Version, ‘to make an end of sins,’ but that of the Hebrew ‘to seal sin’ (so that it is removed from sight). Barnes adds further: ‘Thus in Job 9:7, ‘and sealeth up the stars,’ that is, He shuts them up in the heavens as to prevent their shining.’ This expression could well be compared with Isa 44:22: ‘I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy... sins.’

(c) ’To make reconciliation for iniquity.’ One word in the Hebrew is rendered by the Authorised Version ‘make reconciliation.’ Its meaning is ‘ to cover .’‘ It is the word which is commonly used in reference to atonement or expiation.’ (Barnes) Thus there appears in these three predictions, a common emphasis: transgression was to be shut up , sin was to be sealed and iniquity covered . One is reminded of the words of the psalmist: ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,’ (Ps 32:1).

(d) ’To bring in everlasting righteousness.’ This is a general statement that righteousness is to be established on the earth on a permanent basis, for it is to be ‘everlasting’. This concept of an enduring righteousness may be found elsewhere in the Old Testament; for instance, Isaiah writes: ‘My righteousness is near my salvation is gone forth... My salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished,’ (Isa 51:5,6). In Da 9:24 however, nothing is said about how everlasting righteousness is to be accomplished—whether through the repression of sin by strict law enforcement; by raising the ideals of humanity; or, as in the Christian system, by the imputation and impartation of righteousness. This prediction moreover, should not be separated from the preceding statement concerning the transgression, sin and iniquity.

The only righteousness acceptable to God was provided for all who would receive it 1900 years ago, when grace began to ‘reign through righteousness’ (Ro 5:21) from the beginning of the Church age ‘to the Jews first, and also to the Greek,’ (Ro 1:16). True, the Jews as a nation have not yet received their righteousness, nor can they while they continue to reject Him who is ‘Jehovah our Righteousness,’ but the fulfillment of this prophecy, ‘to bring in everlasting righteousness,’ does not require the immediate acceptance of this righteousness by that nation, nor does any part of this prophecy so imply. Anderson’s contention that ‘the close of the seventieth (week) was to bring to Judah the full enjoyment of the blessings resulting from that death’ has no support from this Scripture. It might be inferred from the prayer of Daniel which precedes this prophecy if we assumed that his petitions were granted , but they were not, except to a partial extent and for a limited time. This is shown by verses 16 and 17 in the light of Jewish history between A.D. 32 and 70. As to Judah’s ‘full enjoyment of blessings’ resulting from the death of the Messiah, this will certainly come to pass with the return of the Lord but it is not the subject of this prophecy, nor does the word ‘blessing’ even occur in this passage.

(e) ’To seal up the vision and prophecy.’ A common misconception is that this ‘sealing’ refers to a confirmation of the prophecy by the appearing, ministry and redemptive work of the Messiah but Daniel doesn’t use the word ‘seal’ in that sense; he uses it to mean the closing up or concealing the meaning of his prophecies. For example, ‘Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end...,’ (Da 12:4); ‘the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end...,’ (Da 12:9). Another reference contains the same thought, though not the identical word ‘seal’,‘ Wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days,’ (Da 8:26).

So understood, this prophecy accords remarkably with the facts of Israel’s history. When the Jews rejected their Messiah, foretold by prophecy, prophecy became to them a closed book. Jesus recognized this as He prayed, even while hanging on the cross, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,’ (Lu 23:24). Afterward the nation in general rejected the gospel preached by the early church, and as it is written, ‘Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in,’ (Ro 11:25). This blindness has persisted to this day, as even a brief discussion with a Jew about messianic prophecies will show.

(f) ’To anoint the most holy.’ The commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown suggests that this refers primarily to the most holy place but mainly to Messiah , as the antitype to the most holy place. Likewise certain sacrifices and oblations of the Mosaic law were called the ‘most holy,’ (Le 2:3,4,10; 6:17,29; 7:1,6; 10:12-17). As the author of the letter to the Hebrews points out, these were only types of the Messiah, who offered himself as the ‘one sacrifice for sins for ever,’ (He 10:12). So understood, there is an evident connection between the first three items of verse 24 and its end. Transgression was to be shut up, sin sealed, and iniquity covered by the offering of this most holy sacrifice.

Referring now to the anointing predicted here, it is a commonplace of exposition that the Messiah (’The Anointed One’) was to be the anointed Prophet, Priest and King in succession to those anointed dignitaries of the Old Testament. In the first recorded sermon of His ministry, Jesus left no doubt he considered Himself the Anointed One, for after reading the words of Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor...,’ he declared, ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,’ (Lu 4:18, 21). The anointing to which He referred had already taken place at his baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven.

In this verse that we have been considering, then, the whole prophecy of the seventy weeks is comprehended and its subject defined. It relates to the coming of Christ and His atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Himself. It has nothing to do with Antichrist. The following verses deal more specifically with the chronology of the seventy-week period, or the 490 years of the prophecy.

The starting point for reckoning the 490 years is given in verse 25 as ‘the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.’ Inasmuch as there were several decrees made concerning the return of the exiles and their homeland, several dates have been suggested from which to reckon the period of the prophecy, but there is only one date which precisely meets its requirements, and that date is the date of the command of Artaxerxes which sent Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem. The earlier decree to Ezra granted him widespread powers but said nothing about rebuilding the city of Jerusalem (see Ezr 7:11-26), even although it is probable that considerable building was done. Some years later, when Nehemiah inquired about the state of affairs in Jerusalem, he was informed about the survivors who had escaped deportation and exile and about the dilapidated condition of the walls and the gates, which was a cause of much distress to the inhabitants (Neh 1$). When he spoke of this to the king, he asked specifically to be allowed to go and rebuild the city walls. His request was granted, and soon Nehemiah journeyed to Jerusalem.

As the commandment of Artaxerxes meets the exact requirements of Daniel’s prophecy, we conclude that this must be the starting point of the seventy weeks. It was given in the month Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (Ne 2:1) which, according to Sir Isaac Newton’s calculations, corresponds to the Spring of 444 B.C. At that time the ruler of the world empire appointed Nehemiah, this eminent Jew of his court, to rebuild Jerusalem. It was a well-publicized appointment, for ‘these things were not done in a corner.’

The rebuilding of the city is mentioned as being accomplished ‘in troublous times,’ and the inference is that it would be done within a period of seven ‘weeks’ or 49 years, the Jubilee cycle of the Mosaic law, (Le 25:8). This restoration of the city is mentioned only as a passing reference, the total length of time to the coming of Messiah being seven plus sixty-two, or 69 weeks of years, or 483 years. These were lunar years in common use during that period of world history. The lunar year was based on the movement of the moon around the earth (rather than on the earth’s movement around the sun, which is the basis for our calendar year), and consisted of about 354 days. A simple arithmetical calculation, multiplying 483 by 354 and dividing by 365, gives the number of solar years as 468. By subtracting 444 and adding 1, we arrive at the date A.D. 25. This is the year in which the Lord Jesus was baptized and began His public ministry.

Daniel’s prophecy (Da 9:26) predicts the subsequent death of the Messiah ‘ after three score and two weeks’ or after the total period of 69 weeks of years. Note that in this verse no hint is given as to how long after the 69 weeks His death is to occur. It is foretold only that sometime after 483 (lunar) years from the decree of Artaxerxes—not immediately upon its expiration, as futurist interpreters maintain—the Messiah is to be ‘cut off.’ This expression signifies death by violence or by divine judgment, so from Daniel’s point of view this prophecy was astonishing and appalling because following the appearance of Israel’s Messiah there was to be a mysterious calamity—He was to suffer death.

After the death of the Messiah, the next important event foretold in this prophecy is the destruction of the city and the temple. In connection with this there are three points of major importance to be considered:

(1) There is a close connection between Daniel’s prayer prior to the vision and the events predicted. His prayer reaches a moving climax in a petition that the city of Jerusalem might be raised from its ruins, that the temple be restored and the people regathered. The prophecy foretells the answer to his prayer: the city will be rebuilt, but once more both city and temple will be swept by destruction and left in desolation. Perhaps Daniel’s saddest memory was of the day, many years before, when the news came to him as an exile in Babylon, of the destruction of his beloved city and its temple. His devotion to that city is seen in his habit of prayer with his windows open toward Jerusalem.

(2) The construction of the verse implies that the desolation of city and temple is related to the death of the Messiah.

(3) Nothing is said as to the time when this destruction should occur except that it would be after the Messiah’s death. It could be soon after or long after, and even beyond the chronological limit of the 70 weeks.

The prophecy ends with verse 27 predicting the events of the seventieth week, which might be called ‘Messiah’s great week.’ There is nothing in the text to indicate, or even to suggest a break in the chronology between the 69th and the 70th week. Futurist interpreters nevertheless interpose a gap of centuries between the two periods asserting that the 70th week begins after the rapture of the Church with the appearance of Antichrist who will make a covenant with Israel under the terms of which their temple will be rebuilt. Suffice it to say that there is no hint in the entire 9th chapter of Daniel to justify such a mutilation of the Scriptures, and no precedent in the Bible for such juggling with the chronology of prophecy. We maintain, therefore, that the 70th week began immediately at the close of the 69th.

This whole prophecy concerns the long-promised Messiah: verse 24 foretells the works to be accomplished by the Messiah; verse 25 reveals the lapse of time to ‘Messiah the prince;’ verse 26 predicts the supremely important event of all ages, the death of the Messiah, with the subsequent destruction of city and sanctuary. In line with this, we understand the Messiah to be the subject of verse 27 also.

It is true that verse 26 refers parenthetically to ‘the prince that shall come,’ but it is his people , not he himself, who are to destroy the city and the sanctuary. This individual is not named or described (except as a prince); nothing to be done by him is foretold and he is mentioned only as the subject of a passing allusion. It is perverse exegesis indeed to ignore the divine Personage who is the dominant theme of this prophecy and to refer the pronoun ‘he’ of verse 27 back to the obscure ‘prince’ of the preceding verse.

It bears repeating, therefore, that the subject of all four verses of this great prophecy is the Messiah. In this passage there is the most definite prophecy in the Old Testament of the ministry and death of the Messiah, for the meaning of Psalm 22 was veiled until the crucifixion, and the Servant of Isaiah 53 might be understood to be Israel until its fulfillment made clear that it spoke of Jesus Christ. History also bears testimony to the fulfillment of the prophecy of verse 26 regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by ‘the people of the prince that shall come’ as having occurred in A.D. 70 when the Roman armies of Titus sacked the city and destroyed the temple.

The text of this prophecy goes on to say that ‘he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week,’ (v. 27). ‘Confirm’ simply means ‘to make strong’ —‘he shall make strong a covenant.’ This could mean the making strong, or confirming, an already existing covenant or of making a new strong covenant, both of which were done by the Lord Jesus. The word here translated ‘covenant’ occurs in the Old Testament more than 280 times and its equivalent in the New Testament 33 times. In the great majority of these cases it refers to a covenant between God and His people.

Isaiah records God’s statements concerning His servant, the Messiah: ‘I will... give thee for a covenant of the people,’ (Isa 42:6; 49:8) and his promise of ‘an everlasting covenant,’ (Isa 55:3; 61:8). This last reference occurs in the very passage that our Lord applied to himself at the beginning of his ministry. Jeremiah tells of a promised ‘new covenant,’ (Isa 31:31) which is interpreted in He 8:7-13 as a prophecy of the Messiah’s covenant. The Old Testament closes with a prophecy of the Messenger of the Covenant, (Mal 3:1) who is of course the Messiah. In the Epistle to the Hebrews a complete section is devoted to the ‘New Covenant.’ Finally, on the eve of his crucifixion the Lord told his disciples, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the many unto remission of sins,’ (Mt 26:28, RV). In what sense, then, did Our Lord confirm or make strong a covenant with many during the last week of years?

The Messiah made strong the Abrahamic covenant which is the Covenant of Promise that was not cancelled by the giving of the Law, as is evident from the statement in Galations: ‘...the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect,’ (Ga 3:17). It continued in effect between God and those that were ‘of faith’ in Israel, and still continues. This ‘covenant of promise’ was of grace and through faith and therefore dependent upon the sacrifice of Christ, even though that sacrifice was then still a future event. So Paul speaks of this covenant as having been ‘confirmed before of God in Christ .’

The question may arise as to how this confirmation of the covenant occupied the ‘week’ or seven years mentioned in Da 9:27. The answer is that the Old Testament predictions of the Messiah were God’s promises, and they belonged to that continuing ‘covenant of promise.’ Indeed, the coming of Messiah and his whole ministry was the most important element of this Covenant, and Matthew’s Gospel notes particularly the repeated fulfillment of these prophecies in the ministry of Christ. These fulfillments of the Messianic promises were part of the confirmation of the Covenant. It is expressly said of the Lord that He did confirm these promises: ‘...Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers,’ (Ro 15:18).

As these promises belonged to the Covenant of Promise, so in confirming the promises, he confirmed the Covenant. The meaning of the word ‘confirm’ here in Romans is similar to that in Da 9:27: ‘to make strong, firm, or sure.’

Some may ask, ‘What of the half-week, or three and a half years, following the crucifixion?’ Here it is sufficient to reply that the Scripture itself speaks of the Lord’s ministry continuing after His death. Peter at Pentecost ascribes the sending of the Holy Spirit to the Lord Jesus, and still later says to the Jews: ‘Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you,’ (Ac 3:26).

We may not be able to ascertain the events with which this week closed, but is should be noted that this prophecy does not mention anything occurring at the end of the 70th week. Adam Clark, however, dates the persecution which arose about the death of Stephen (Ac 7$-8$) as A.D. 32, and this would be at the end of the 70th week. This would place the turning to the Gentiles or the end of Israel’s special privilege at the end of the 70th week and would mark the end of that seven-year period with a heavenly vision corresponding to that at the Lord’s baptism.

The Messiah not only confirmed, or made strong, a covenant previously in force, but also made a New Covenant. This covenant is new in contrast to the Mosaic Covenant ( not the Covenant of Promise). The Bible tells us that Our Lord was ‘made of a woman, made under the law,’ (Ga 4:4). He lived under the law, fulfilling its demands and exemplifying its righteousness, but died under its penalty, ‘the just for the unjust,’ (1Pe 3:18). The Mosaic Covenant, which had been broken by Israel, was replaced by the New Covenant based upon Christ’s sacrifice. As the Messiah’s holy life under the law was necessary before he could offer a satisfactory sacrifice for sin, so it is evident from this that his covenant making occupied at least the first half of this week, and the Scripture declares, as we have already seen, that his ministry to Israel continued into the second half, that is, after his ascension. Furthermore, the Covenant of Promise that he confirmed is really the same as the New Covenant instituted by him. The Covenant of Promise with its basic sacrifice revealed, and its gracious provisions proclaimed, is the New Covenant.

Chapter 4 OTHER PROPHECIES OF DANIEL

Daniel’s tenth chapter describes a vision that came to him as a prelude to his final prophetic record in chapters 11 and 12. The vision was given to enable Daniel to understand what would happen to his people ‘in the latter days,’ (Da 10:14). It is important to note that ‘latter days’ in this prophecy is not equivalent to ‘time of the end’ (Da 11:40) which introduces the last conflict of the age.

In his vision Daniel saw ‘... a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz: his body also was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as flaming torches, and his arms and his feet like unto burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the noise of a multitude,’ (Da 10:5, 6). A comparison of this vision with the one described by John in Re 1:12-15 suggests that it was the Son of God Himself who spoke directly with Daniel, as He had done centuries before with Moses (Ex 33:11) and later with John. Note also that although the earlier prophecies of Daniel in chapters 2, 7 and 8, are veiled in symbolism, the final one, in chapters 11 and 12, is not symbolic but foretells in literal terms a series of future events.

This vision came to Daniel ‘in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia,’ (Da 10:1) which corresponds to 536 BC. At that time Daniel was told that the fourth king after Cyrus would be wealthy and powerful and would ‘stir up all against the realm of Greece,’ (Da 11:2). This was fulfilled precisely by Xerxes whose attack on Greece in 480 B.C. resulted in the destruction of the Persian power at the decisive naval battle of Salamis. The victorious Alexander the Great, ‘the mighty king... that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will,’ (Da 11:3) led the Grecian armies to further triumphs but died after a reign of twelve years and eight months. On his death his kingdom was divided into four as predicted (Da 11:4) and given to four of his generals whose quarrels in the subsequent power struggle eventually reduced their number to two: Ptolemy, who became king of Egypt, and Seleucus I, who became king of Syria, identified in Daniel’s prophecy as the King of the South and King of the North respectively.

From 301 B.C., when one of Alexander’s successors was killed at the battle of Ipsus in Asia Minor, until the battle of Pydna in 168 B.C., the kings of the North and of the South, known in history as the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties, marched back and forth through Palestine, thereby involving the Jews (who had returned from exile in Babylon) in their wars. This period ended with the savage persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes (not to be confused with Antiochus the Great), who is described in this prophecy as ‘a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom.’ (Da 11:21). Beginning his reign in 176 B.C., Antiochus captured Jerusalem in 170 and two years later intended to subjugate Egypt but was dissuaded form his purpose by ambassadors from Rome whose conquest of Macedonia at the Battle of Pydna ended the power struggle between Alexander’s successors. His ambition thus frustrated, Antiochus renewed his persecution of the Jews, desecrating the temple by sacrificing a sow on the altar, an act that foreshadowed the destruction of Herod’s temple by the Roman armies in A.D. 70 when the Jewish state was destroyed and more than a million Jews killed.

This action by Antiochus met with courageous resistance from the Jews under Judas Maccabeus in the following year and ultimately to an autonomous Jewish state in 143-142 B.C. Eighty years later, (63 B.C.) Rome became master of Palestine and subjected the Jewish nation to its dominion. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman armies of Titus, the city was rebuilt, but the rebellion of Bar-Cochba, a false Messiah,