Earlier text: General ArticlesThoughts on Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER IX.—THE SEVENTY WEEKS.
VERSE 22. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved; therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. The manner in which Gabriel introduces himself on this occasion, shows that he has come to complete some unfulfilled mission. It can be nothing less than to carry out the instruction to make this man "understand the vision," as recorded in chapter 8. "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." As the charge still rested upon him to make Daniel understand; and as he explained to Daniel in chapter 8, all that he could then bear, and yet he did not understand the vision, he now comes to resume his work and complete his mission. As soon as Daniel commenced his fervent supplication, the commandment came forth; that is, Gabriel received instruction to visit Daniel and impart to him the requisite information. From the time it takes to read Daniel's prayer down to the point at which Gabriel made his appearance upon the scene, the reader can judge of the speed with which this messenger was dispatched from the court of Heaven to this servant of God. No wonder Daniel says that he was caused to fly swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these celestial beings to a flash of lightning. Eze. 1:14. "Understand the matter," he says to him. What matter? That, evidently, which he did not before understand, as stated in the last verse of chapter 8. "Consider the vision." What vision? Not the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's image, nor the vision of chapter 7; for there was no difficulty with either of these; but the vision of chapter 8, in reference to which his mind was filled with doubt and astonishment. "I am come to show thee," also, said the angel. Show thee in reference to what? Certainly in reference to something wherein he was entertaining wrong ideas, and something, at the same time, pertaining to his prayer; as it was this which had called forth Gabriel on his mission at this time. But Daniel had no difficulty in understanding what the angel told him about the ram, he-goat, and little horn, the kingdoms of Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Nor was he mistaken in regard to the ending of the seventy years' captivity. But the burden of his petition was respecting the repairing of the desolations of the sanctuary which lay in ruins; and he had undoubtedly drawn the conclusion that when the end of the seventy years' captivity came, the time would come for the fulfillment of what the angel had said respecting the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days. Now he must be set right. And this explains why at this particular time instruction should be sent him after a delay of fifteen years. Now the seventy years of captivity were drawing to their close, and Daniel was applying the instruction he had before received from the angel, to a wrong issue. He was falling into a misunderstanding, and was acting upon it; hence he must not be suffered longer to remain ignorant of the true import of the former vision. "I am come to show thee," "understand the matter," "consider the vision." Such were the words used by the very person Daniel had seen in the former vision, and to whom he had heard the command given, "Make this man to understand the vision," and who he knew, had never carried out that instruction. But now he appears and says, "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." How could Daniel's mind be more emphatically carried back to the vision of chapter 8, and how could the connection between that visit of the angel and this be more distinctly shown, than by such words from such a person? The considerations already presented are sufficient to show conclusively the connection between Daniel 8 and 9; but this will still further appear in subsequent verses. One expression seems worthy of notice before we leave verse 23. It is the declaration of the angel to Daniel, "for thou art greatly beloved." The angel brought this declaration direct from the courts of Heaven. It expressed the state of feeling that existed there in regard to Daniel. Think of celestial beings, the highest in the universe, the Father, the Son, the holy angels, having such regard and esteem for a mortal man here upon earth, as to authorize an angel to bear the message to him that he was greatly beloved! This is one of the highest pinnacles of glory which mortals can attain. Abraham reached another, when it could be said of him that he was the "friend of God." Enoch, another, when it could be said of him that he "walked with God." Can we arrive at any such attainments? God is no respecter of person; but he is a respecter of the character. If in virtue and godliness we would equal these eminent men, we could move the divine love to equal depths. We, too, could be greatly beloved, could be friends of God, and could walk with him. And we must be in our generation what they were in theirs. There is a figure used in reference to the last church which denotes the closest union with God. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20. To sup with the Lord denotes an intimacy equal to being greatly beloved by him, walking with him, or being his friend. How desirable a position! Alas for the evils of our nature which cut us off from this communion! Oh! for grace to overcome these, that we may enjoy this spiritual union here, and finally enter the glories of his presence at the marriage supper of the Lamb. VERSE 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Such are the first words the angel utters to Daniel, toward imparting to him that instruction which he came to give. Why does he thus abruptly introduce a period of time? We must again refer to the vision of chapter 8. We have seen that Daniel at the close of that chapter says that he did not understand the vision. Some portions of that vision were at the time very clearly explained. It could not have been these portions he did not understand. We therefore inquire what it was which Daniel did not understand, or, in other words, what part of the vision was there left unexplained. In that vision four prominent things are brought to view. 1. The Ram. 2. The He-goat. 3. The Little Horn. 4. The period of 2300 days. The symbols of the ram, the he-goat, and the little horn were explained. The time, however, was not. This must therefore have been the point which he did not understand. And as without this the other portions of the vision were of no avail, he could say, while the application of this period was left in obscurity, that he did not understand the vision. If this view of the subject is correct, we should naturally expect, when the angel completed his explanation of the vision, that he would commence with the very point which had been omitted, namely, the time. And this we find to be true in fact. After citing Daniel's attention back to the former vision in the most direct and emphatic manner, and assuring him that he had now come forth to give him understanding in the matter, he commences upon the very point there omitted, and says, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city." But how does this language show any connection with the 2300 days, or throw any light upon that period? We answer, the language cannot be intelligibly referred to anything else; for the word here rendered determined signifies "cut off;" and there is no period from which the seventy weeks could be cut off, but the 2300 days of the previous vision. How direct and natural, then, is the connection. Daniel's attention is fixed upon the 2300 days, which he did not understand, by the angel's directing him to the former vision; and he says, Seventy weeks are cut off. Cut off from what? The 2300 days most assuredly. Proof may be called for that the word rendered determined signifies to cut off. An abundance can be given. The Hebrew word rendered determined, is nechtak. This word Gesenius in his Hebrew Lexicon, defines as follows: "Properly, to cut off; tropically, to divide; and so to determine, to decree." In the Chaldeo-Rabbinic Dictionary of Stockius, the word nechtak is thus defined: "Scidit, abscidit, conscidit, inscidit, exscidit —to cut, to cut away, to cut in pieces, to cut or engrave, to cut off." Mercerus, in his "Thesaurus," furnishes a specimen of Rabbinical usage in the phrase, chatikah del basar—"a piece of flesh," or "a cut of flesh." He translates the word, as it occurs in Dan. 9:24, by "præcisa est," was cut off. In the literal version of Arias Montanus, it is translated "decisa est,"—was cut off; in the marginal reading which is grammatically correct, it is rendered by the plural "decisæ sunt"—were cut off. In the Latin version of Junius and Tremellius, nechtak (the passive of chathak) is rendered "decisæ sunt"—were cut off. Again in Theodotion's Greek version of Daniel (which is the version used in the Vatican copy of the Septuagint, as being the most faithful), it is rendered by sunetmethesan, "were cut off;" and in the Venetian copy by tetmentai, "have been cut." The idea of cutting off, is pursued in the Vulgata, where the phrase "abbreviatæ sunt," have been shortened. "Thus Chaldaic and Rabbinical authority, and that of the earliest versions, the Septuagint and the Vulgate, give the single signification of cutting off to this verb." "Hengstenberg, who enters into a critical examination of the original text, says: But the very use of the word, which does not elsewhere occur, while others, much more frequently used, were at hand, if Daniel had wished to express the idea of determination, and of which he has elsewhere even in this portion availed himself, seems to argue that the word stands from regard to its original meaning, and represents the seventy weeks in contrast with a determination of time (en platei) as a period cut off from subsequent duration, and accurately limited."—Christology of the Old Testament, vol. ii, p. 301, Washington, 1839. Why then, it may be asked, did our translators render the word, determined, when it so obviously means cut off? The answer is, They doubtless overlooked the connection between the eighth and ninth chapters, and considering it improper to render it cut off, when nothing was given from which the seventy weeks could be cut off, they gave the word its tropical instead of its literal meaning. But, as we have seen, both the construction and context require the literal meaning, and render any other inadmissible. Seventy weeks, then, or 490 days of the 2300, were cut off upon, or allotted to, Jerusalem and the Jews; and the events which were to be consummated within that period are briefly stated. 1. The transgression was to be finished. That is, the Jewish people were to fill up the cup of their iniquity; which they did in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. An end of sins, or of sin offerings was to be made. This took place when the great offering was made on Calvary. Reconciliation for iniquity was to be provided. This was made by the sacrificial death of the Son of God. Everlasting righteousness was to be brought in; the righteousness which our Lord manifested in his sinless life. The vision and the prophecy were to be sealed up, or made sure. By the events given to transpire in the seventy weeks, the prophecy is tested. By this the application of the whole vision is determined. If the events of this period are accurately fulfilled, the prophecy is of God, and will all be accomplished; and if these seventy weeks are fulfilled as weeks of years, then the 2300 days, of which these are a part, are so many years. Thus the events of the seventy weeks furnish a key to the whole vision. And the most holy was to be anointed; the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary. In the examination of the sanctuary, on chapter 8:14, we saw that a time came when the earthly sanctuary gave place to the heavenly, and the priestly ministration was transferred to that. Before the ministration in the sanctuary commenced, the sanctuary and all the holy vessels were to be anointed. Ex. 40:9, 10. The last event, therefore, of the seventy weeks, here brought to view, is the anointing of the heavenly tabernacle, or the opening of the ministration there. Thus the first vision of the 2300 days brings us to the commencement of the service in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, as the whole period brings us to the commencement of the service of the second. We now consider the argument conclusive that the ninth chapter of Daniel is connected with the eighth, and that the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and with a few extracts from the writings of others we will leave this point. The Advent Shield in 1844 said:— "We call attention to one fact which shows that there is a necessary 'connection' between the seventy weeks of the ninth chapter, and something else which precedes or follows it, called 'the vision.' It is found in the 24th verse: 'Seventy weeks are determined, are cut off, upon thy people . . to seal up the vision,' etc. Now there are two significations to the phrase 'seal up.' They are, first, 'to make secret,' and second 'to make sure.' We are not now in which of these significations the phrase is supposed to be used. That is not the point now before us. Let the signification be what it may, it shows that the prediction of the seventy weeks necessarily relates to something else beyond77 itself 'called the vision,' in reference to which it performs this work, 'to seal up.' To talk of its sealing up itself is as much of an absurdity as to suppose that Josephus was so much afraid of the Romans that he refrained from telling the world that he thought the fourth kingdom of Daniel was 'the kingdom of the Greeks.' It is no more proper to say that the ninth chapter of Daniel 'is complete in itself,' than it would be to say that a map which was designed to show the relation of Massachusetts to the United States, referred to nothing but Massachusetts. It is no more complete in itself than a bond given in security for a note, or some other document to which it refers, is complete in itself; and we doubt if there is a school-boy of fourteen years in the land, of ordinary capacity, who would not on reading the ninth chapter, with an understanding of the clause before us, decide that it referred to something distinct from itself, called the vision. What vision it is, there is no difficulty in determining. It naturally and obviously refers to the vision which was not fully explained to Daniel, and to which Gabriel calls his attention in the preceding verse,—the vision of the 8th chapter. Daniel tells us that Gabriel was commanded to make him understand that vision (8:16). This was not fully done at that interview connected with the vision; he is therefore sent to give Daniel the needed 'skill and understanding,' to explain its 'meaning' by communicating to him the prediction of the seventy weeks." "We claim that the ninth of Daniel is an appendix to the eighth, and that the seventy weeks and the 2300 days or years commence together. Our opponents deny this."—Signs of the Times, 1843. "The grand principle involved in the interpretation of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, is that the seventy weeks of Dan. 9:24, are the first 490 days of the 2300 of the eighth chapter."—Advent Shield, p. 49. "If the connection between the seventy weeks of Dan. 8, does not exist, the whole system is shaken to its foundation; if it does exist, as we suppose, the system must stand."—Harmony of Prophetic Chronology, p. 38. Says the learned Dr. Hales, in commenting upon the seventy weeks, "This chronological prophecy was evidently designed to explain the foregoing vision, especially in its chronological part of the 2300 days."—Chronol., vol. ii, p. 517. Lesson Notes.—February 25.
WHEN Jesus closed his discourse, as recorded in the previous lesson, with the exhortation: "Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not," Peter asked: "Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even unto all?" Jesus replied as follows:— "And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." By this language he showed that the blessing was pronounced upon every one who had the light and had improved it as a faithful servant; and the threat was to those who, as Paul says, "profess that they know God; but in works they deny him." Titus 1:16; or to those who, having an opportunity to know, rejected the right. Both classes are equally guilty. Dr. Clarke has the following excellent comment on this passage:— "The subject of the 47th and 48th verses has been greatly misunderstood, and has been used in a very dangerous manner. Many have thought that their ignorance of divine things would be a sufficient excuse for their crimes; and that they might have but few stripes, they voluntarily continued in ignorance. But such persons should know that God will judge them for the knowledge they might have received, but refused to acquire. No criminal is excused, because he has been ignorant of the laws of his country, and so transgressed them; when it can be proved that those very laws have been published throughout the land. Much knowledge is a dangerous thing, if it be not improved; as this will greatly aggravate the condemnation of its possessor. Nor will it avail a person, in the land of light and information to be ignorant, as he shall be judged for what he might have known, and, perhaps in this case, the punishment of this voluntarily ignorant man will be even greater than that of the more enlightened; because his crimes are aggravated by this consideration, that he refused to have the light that he might neither be obliged to walk in the light, nor account for the possession of it. So we find that the plea of ignorance is a mere refuge of lies, and none can plead it who has the book of God within his reach; and lives in a country blessed with the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ." Christ then showed them what would be the result of his teaching in the words: "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay; but rather division." Compare this with John 14:27, and James 3:18. His teaching would bring peace to those who would receive it; but would produce the opposite effect on those who rejected it. The truth, as taught by Christ, and seen in the life of his followers, condemns evil-doers. No man can live under a continual sense of condemnation; and, therefore he will endeavor to put away that which condemns him. The cases of Pharoah, Judas, and the unbelieving Jews are examples of how the same truth may produce opposite effects on the minds of different individuals. It is not the fault of the truth, that divisions come, but of depraved human nature. "And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straight-way ye say, there cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat: and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not that which is right?" Scott remarks upon this: "When the people saw a cloud rise in the west, from the Mediterranean Sea, they had learned by constant observation to expect copious showers; and a south wind from off the sultry deserts was deemed a sure prognostic of heat. In such matters they were sagacious; but the exact accomplishment of types and prophecies, in the doctrine, miracles, and character of Christ, and in the time and circumstances of his appearance, did not suffice to convince them that he was their promised Messiah! In this, their hypocritical scribes and teachers were most faulty; and being blinded by their carnal prejudices, they used their whole influence to mislead the people. Yet, as the case was so very evident, why did not the people see with their own eyes; and judge for themselves what was right, or decide impartially and justly between him and his malicious opponents?" On Luke 13:1-9 Geikie gives the following information:— "The whole country rang with the story of a massacre of Galilæans by Pilate, at the last Feast of Tabernacles—perhaps, at the same tumult in which Joseph Barabbas was arrested as a ring-leader, to be afterwards freed instead of Jesus. Pilate was always ready to shed the blood of a people he hated, and the hot-blooded Galilæans, ever ready to take affront at the hated infidels, gave him only too many excuses for violence. They had a standing grievance in the sacrifices offered daily for the empire and the emperor, and at the presence of a Roman garrison and Roman pickets at the temple, during the feasts, to keep the peace, as Turkish soldiers do at this day, during Easter, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But Pilate had given special offense, at this time, by appropriating part of the treasures of the temple, derived from the temple tax levied on all Jews over the world, and amounting to vast sums in the aggregate—to defray the cost of great conduits he had begun for the better supply of Jerusalem with water. Stirred up by the priests and Rabbis, the people had besieged the government house when Pilate came up to the city at the feast, and with loud continuous cries had demanded that the works be given up. Seditious words against himself, the representative of the emperor, had not been wanting. He had more than once been forced to yield to such clamor, but this time determined to put it down. Numbers of soldiers, in plain clothes, and armed only with clubs, surrounded the vast mob, and used their cudgels so remorselessly that many, both of the innocent and guilty, were left dead on the spot. The very precincts of the temple were invaded by the legionaries, and some pilgrims who were so poor that they were slaying their own sacrifices, were struck down while doing so, their blood mingling with that of the beasts they were preparing for the priests, and thus polluting the House of God. It was an unprecedented outrage, and filled every breast in Judea and Galilee with the wildest indignation, though such brawls were of frequent occurrence. The excitement had even penetrated the palace at Tiberias, and kindled bitter ill-feeling in Antipas towards Pilate, for the men slain were Galilæan subjects. "Another misfortune had happened in Jerusalem a short time before. A tower, apparently on the top of Ophel, near the Fountain of the Virgin opposite Siloam, had fallen—perhaps one of the buildings connected with Pilate's public-spirited steps to bring water to the Holy City—and eighteen men had been buried beneath it; in the opinion of the people, as a judgment of God, for their having helped the sacrilegious undertaking. "The cry for a national rising to avenge the murdered pilgrims doubtless rose on every side, but Jesus did not sanction it for a moment. He saw the arm of God even in the hated Romans, and in the fall of the tower, and, instead of sympathizing with them for the one, and joining in a cry for insurrection for the other, told his astonished hearers that the same horrors were like to fall on the whole nation. 'Suppose ye,' he asked, 'that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they have suffered such things? I tell you nay, but, except ye repent, ye shall all perish in like manner. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, suppose ye that they were sinners above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye will all perish in the same manner.' "'Israel,' He added, 'is like a fig-tree, planted by a man in his vineyard, which year after year bore no fruit. Wearied by its bareness, the householder was determined to cut it down, and it was now spared at the intercession of the vine-dresser, only for another year, to give it a last respite. After that, if it still bore no fruit, he would cut it down, as merely cumbering the ground. That year of merciful delay was the passing moment of his own presence and work among them. "The nation had given itself up to a wild dream, that would end in its ruin. Led by the priests and Rabbis, it trusted that God would appear on its behalf, and by a political revolution overthrow the hated foreign domination. The fruits of repentance and faith, which God required, were still wanting. As the vine-dresser Jesus had done all possible to win them to a better frame. He had warned, besought, counseled; but they were wedded to their sins and their sinful pride. His peaceful kingdom offered them the only escape from ruin, here and hereafter; but as a nation, they were more and more turning towards the worldly schemes of their ecclesiastical leaders, and lent a deaf ear to all proposals of spiritual self-reform. Continuance in this course would bring the fate of those they now lamented on the whole race. If they rejected him, God would ere long destroy them as a people.'" THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
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LAST week we noted that there had been much difficulty in securing a jury to try the case of the "Pohley Brothers," proprietors of the Opera Garden and the bar attached to the Opera. The case seemed to be about as plain as can probably be made, and the jurymen were carefully selected, but the result was a disagreement. The report in the Daily Times closes thus:— "At 5:30 o'clock the jury retired to deliberate upon a verdict. About half past ten o'clock they were discharged by Judge Yule, being unable to agree upon a verdict. They stood eight for conviction and four for acquittal. Judging from the noisy wrangle which proceeded from the jury-room, a heated discussion took place on the Sunday-law question." This result must be anything but gratifying to the friends of the Sunday law. It may be still more difficult to secure a jury on the next case, and there is a large number of cases before the courts, or a large number of warrants have been sworn out. We think, from present appearances, that it will be impossible to enforce this law in the large cities, on account of the difficulty of getting juries, and the courts being blocked by the cases being so numerous. We confess to being surprised at the amount of enthusiasm aroused in favor of enforcing the Sunday law in California. This gave great encouragement to its friends; but their difficulties increase at every step in the proceedings, and no doubt a majority of the people rejoice over every failure to convict. The demonstrations of joy witnessed at San Leandro in this county, over a verdict of "Not guilty," will doubtless be repeated in many places if the prosecutions continue. The closing remark of the Judge in his instructions to the jury is of great interest. It decides a point which will remain undecided in many minds, and is contrary to fact, though not contrary to the intention of the law and its framers. He said:— "I do further instruct you that the 8th day of January, 1882, was and is the Christian Sabbath, the same being the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday." This shows that a fact may be assumed, and taken up and incorporated into a law, and that judicial instructions and decisions will sustain the assumption, shutting out proof which might be offered to show that it is only an assumption. We have no doubt that in all these cases the intention of the law-makers will be made the basis of judicial decisions. As a question of law this may be quite correct, but it is contrary to what many have anticipated. As a matter of fact not a particle of proof can be adduced that the first day of the week, or the Sunday, is "the Christian Sabbath." But that is and will be held as a matter of no consequence. Not Bible truth but popular sentiment will be made the ground of action and decision in the coming religio-political trials. Let it be so; we are content. There is coming, and now near at hand, a day in which "God shall bring every work into judgment," and the only rule then recognized will be "his commandments." Then the decisions of earthly courts, which set aside the law of God on grounds of policy, and substitute for it mere "police regulations," will be reversed. Then, they who govern now by arbitrary rule because they have the populace on their side, will be ashamed. We patiently wait for the decisions of that great day.