The Mystery of Ephraim

Although Jewish authorities acknowledge that this book of Daniel is a Sacred Text, they don’t regarded it a prophecy; that this book is only among the Writings but not among the Prophets. They just dislike the writings of Daniel, one who prayed with sackcloth and ashes, and had fasted for his countrymen and whose prayers were answered, for Gabriel said to Daniel, “thou art greatly beloved.”

Yet the Jewish authorities just show their disdain for what Daniel had written, throwing out their contempt by kicking his writing and its prophecy downstair. Daniel’s writing is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, yet the Jews pray everyday at the Wailing Wall around the Temple Mount for the coming of the Messiah. “Oh blind Guides!” Would God have any obligation to hear their prayers?

Daniel 9

In Daniel 12:4 “but thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days,” and so we are trying to understand this prophecy “in the last days.”

¹ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans”

— in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, known in secular histor of the empire after the fall of Babylon, of the seed of the Medes, who were with the Persians in the conquest of Babylon, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, not by accession, but through the agency of the victorious army and by the hand of Cyrus,

— there were three Darius in biblical times and the most sensible one while Daniel was still alive must be Darius I, whose reign was from 522 to 486 BC; whereas Cyrus “the Great” reign was from 550 to 529 BC; hence the Rabbinic deflection that Gabriel’s prophecy was “to anoint the Most Holy” applies to King Cyrus just doesn’t make sense:

— because: (1) Cyrus had already came and gone, dead; and (2) Cyrus maybe “his annointed” prophecised in Isaiah 45:1, but he certainly just couldn’t be qualified to be considered “the Most Holy” Daniel 9:24. By denying the Real Annointed as the Most Holy that would be close to blasphemy!

² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, came to understand by books the number of the years, according to the word of the Lord as it came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would spend seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

— in the first year of his reign, Daniel understood by books, he observed and understand his information and then drew his conclusions, the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, Cf Jeremiah 25:11;

— that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem, or “that seventy years would be completed by the desolate condition of Jerusalem.” Note that Daniel was in possession of a book of Jeremiah’s prophecies, that he considered the words of this book as the words of the Most High.

³ And I set my face unto the Lord God, seeking by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. — and Daniel set his face unto the Lord God, the one sovereign God of the universe to seek by prayer and supplications;

— to plead for the restoration of the city of his fathers, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. It was thus an importunate, moving prayer which Daniel sought by the operation of the holy spirit, by which he made known his requests before God.

⁴ And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession and said, “O Lord, the great and fearsome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him and to them that keep His commandments,

— and Daniel prayed unto the Lord and made confession, a frank acknowledgment of one’s sinfulness preparing the way for the proper worship of the Lord and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, he whose fear and terror is upon all those who wouldn’t fear him, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments, Cf Deuteronomy 7:9:

⁵ we have sinned and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgements.

— we have sinned and have committed iniquity by leaving the path of God’s commandments and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements, the introduction of the confession being modeled after the words of Solomon’s prayer, 1 Kings 8:47;

⁶ Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, who spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

— neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, a confession now being made in the name of his entire people with their open disregard of the admonition of the prophets, which spoke in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land;

— prophets are liked Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Hosea and others: such a prayer today should rededicated the book of Daniel prime among into the Prophets and study its content seriously.

⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day: to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel who are near and who are far off, through all the countries whither Thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against Thee.

— O Lord, all righteousness belong to thee, you are the possessor of absolute righteousness, who alone can dispense righteousness, but unto us confusion reign, namely, the confusion which shows ourselves in the guilty blush on account of the wrong choices we made and the consequent judgement and tribulation;

— as at this day, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, these being concerned first of all, as the leaders of the Lord’s people; and unto all Israel “who are far off” that is, over the seas and oceans among the nations afar off, and all those who professed their belief in the true God thus casting their lot together;

— that are near and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven us, that is, all humanity since Noah and the towel of Babel, as all were deported into shameful exile, because of all the trespasses that all have trespassed against thee, the guilt of the people thus being brought out time and again.

⁸ O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee. — O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of all faces: to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers;

— because we have sinned against thee, this statement being repeated for the sake of emphasis, just as the synonymous expressions were heaped at the beginning of Daniel’s confession in order that the full scope of the people’s guilt might be brought out.

⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against Him; — to the Lord, our God, belong mercies and forgivenesses,

— of which all repentant sinners feel the great need, though we have rebelled against Him; or “for we have rebelled” and the need for his forgiveness as our one hope has become apparent;

¹⁰ neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

— neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord, our God, to walk in his laws, following them exactly which he set before us by his servants, the prophets and his administrators in making known his will, spoken and unspoken, to men.

¹¹ “Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.

— yea, all Israel have transgressed thy Law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice, their turning away from him being done with deliberate purpose; therefore the curse is poured upon us, like a rainstorm with hail and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, Cf Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28, because we all have sinned against him.

¹² And He hath confirmed His words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

— and he hath confirmed his words which he spoke against us, confirming them in words and deed as they now had the proof before them and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem, as the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC (Jewish authority 423 BCE) and in 70 AD.

¹³ “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us. Yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Thy truth.

— as written in two chapters in the Law of Moses (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28) which contain the dreadful judgement of the Lord concerning his punishment upon the transgressors of his Law, all this evil to come upon Israel;

— yet we made no prayer before the Lord, our God, by entreating or conciliating his face, by attempting to propitiate his anger, as suggested in King Solomon’s great prayer, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand his truth; the truth of God is his plan of salvation, according to which he wants the sinner to turn from his evil ways.

¹⁴ Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth, for we obeyed not His voice.

— therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil; he is concerned about its coming upon the transgressors and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all; his works which he doeth, all his actions being essentially just; for we obeyed not his voice.

¹⁵ “And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made Thee a name, as at this day — we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

— and now, O Lord, our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, Exodus 32:11, and hast gotten thee renown as at this day, his acts of mercy being acknowledged wherever they became known among the nations: we have sinned, we have done wickedly, this confession now also introducing the final petition of Daniel’s prayer.

¹⁶ O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people have become a reproach to all who are about us.

— O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, Daniel beseech him in accordance with the righteousness which demanded the fulfillment of his promises, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from Jerusalem, designated thus because his Sanctuary had been situated there for many centuries;

— because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers Jerusalem and its people are become a reproach to all that are about us, so that the heathen looked upon us with scorn and mockery.

¹⁷ “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant and his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

— now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications and cause thy face to shine in merciful love upon thy Sanctuary that is desolate, for the fact that the Temple was lying in ruins was the chief ground for Daniel’s prayer, for the Lord’s sake, for the glory of the restoration would then be the Lord’s.

¹⁸ O my God, incline Thine ear and hear. Open Thine eyes and behold our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we do not present our supplications before Thee because of our righteousnesses, but because of Thy great mercies.

— O God, incline thine ear and listen; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, both the cities and their ruins being included, and the city which is called by thy name, literally, “upon which Thy name is called” where God had so gloriously revealed himself which he had by choosing it for his Sanctuary, elevated so highly among the cities of the world;

¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hearken and do! Defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God; for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.”

— O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive and hearken! Daniel here is rising to the very climax of an importunate and fervent prayer. Defer not for thine own sake, O God; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name and therefore his zeal for his own glory should be the motive urging him to heed Daniel’s prayer.

²⁰ And while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God—

— and while Daniel was praying and confessing his sin and the sin of his people Israel and presenting his supplication before the Lord, piling up petitions in seeking the mercy of God in the interest of the Lord’s Sanctuary and true worship;

²¹ yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

— while Daniel was praying, making the concluding remarks, even Gabriel, one of the chief angel-princes, whom Daniel had seen earlier in the vision at the beginning (Daniel 8:15-16), being caused to fly swiftly, touched him about the time of the evening sacrifice, about three o’clock in the afternoon.

²² And he informed me, and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

— and he informed Daniel and talked with him and said, O Daniel, I am now come to give thee skill and understanding, a correct insight into the problem perplexing him and an assurance for the future.

²³ At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth; and I have come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter, and heed the vision:

— at the beginning of Daniel’s supplications the commandment came forth, namely, the decree or oracle, which is presently stated, and Gabriel was to show him to make it known;

— for thou art greatly loved, this being the reason why the Lord was so ready to make known to Daniel the solution of the problem of the seventy weeks; therefore understand the matter and consider the vision, observing the oracle as to be set forth and explained.

²⁴ “Seventy weeks are determined concerning thy people and concerning 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.

— seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy City, the capital which was so dear to the heart of God, the determination of the time being purposely indefinite, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, to restrain the rebellion and to seal up the sins so that they would no longer find expression;

— and to make reconciliation for iniquity, to effect an expiation for guilt and to bring in everlasting righteousness, the result of the expiation of sin and to seal up the vision and prophecy, rather “and the prophet,” for these would be the chief and greatest prophecies ever written and be fulfilled;

— and to anoint the Most Holy: if this is meant the Holy of Holies in the Temple, as Jewish authority and a few others believe, then what is this anointing for? What’s the big deal; what is its significance? No explanations were ever given. It only has meaning if it is something special: to anoint the Special One; to anoint the Messiah; this has far more merit than for any other purpose;

— using the day-for-a-year principle of Bible prophecy is understood in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:3-6, the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 represent 70 times 7 or 490 days — that is, since days stand for prophetic years, this comes to a total of 490 years. What was to happen at the end of these years?

²⁵ Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

— know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, from the time that the decree of Cyrus concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem went forth, Ezra 1:1; Isaiah 44:28, unto the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Prince;

— shall be seven weeks, that is, until the coming of the Messiah, the Savior, and threescore and two weeks, during which the great spiritual Temple of the Lord would be constructed; the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times; young and adolescents, the spiritual Church established, under the turbulent Roman rule, would be like kids playing in the streets of Jerusalem in troublous times;

— this means the Messiah would appear after “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” or 69 weeks, after the decree was given; it is known that the seventh year of Artaxerxes when he issued the decree was from September 458 to September 457 BC (Jewish reckoning fall to fall; Artaxerxes came to the throne in December 465 BC and reigned until 424 BC; Wikipedia);

— it took seven prophetic weeks, or 49 years (a year for a day) to complete this rebuilding of the Temple. The troublous times are described in Nehemiah 4. This carries us from 457 to 408 BC;

— after 62 more weeks, or 434 years (from 408 BC), the Messiah would be on the scene (verse 26).

— in other words, from 457 BC in the fall, till Christ appeared on the scene, there would be sixty-nine weeks (7 + 62) — a total of 69 times 7 or 483 years! Just 483 years after 457 BC brings us to exactly AD 27!

483 years were to pass, beginning from
457 BC when the decree went forth, bringing us to
26 AD — however, one year must be added
1 in crossing from BC to AD, bringing us to
27 AD — since there is no year zero

— the Messiah would appear on the scene in 27 AD!

²⁶ And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and until the end of the war desolations are determined.

— and after threescore and two weeks (62 weeks) shall Messiah be cut off, namely, at the time of Christ’s death, a death not for Himself, but for the whole humanity;

— and the people of the prince that shall come, a mighty opponent, an anti-Messianic movement, Rome, shall destroy the city Jerusalem and the Temple, so that everything, apparently, would be lost after the attack;

— and the end thereof shall be with a flood, so that the attacking prince himself would perish in the end, by a divine judgement, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined, or “until the end there will be warfare,” until the end of this world; these sound like a preamble, introduction or summary to the book of Revelation.

²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and (better with “but” in some translations: AMP, CSB, LSB, LEB, NJKV, etc) in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

— and he, the prince, the Messiah, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and but in the midst of the week he, a different ‘he’ (the one in verse 26 “the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”) shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, so that there would be a break of the worship of God in the Temple, because the Temple would be destroyed,

— and for the over-spreading of abominations this different ‘he’ shall make it desolate; the daily sacrifice of the Temple and all their other sacrifices; when the city of Jerusalem, being besieged by Titus, and their fall in AD 70; the daily sacrifice ceased to the great grief of the people;

When? When did the Messiah accomplish this? “In the MIDST of the week!” That is dual — 1) after fulfilling one half of the seventieth week — after preaching the Kingdom of God for three and a half year, Christ died for the sins of the world, after doing the Work of God for three and a half years, from autumn 27 AD until spring 31 AD.

And 2) it also indicates that Christ died for our sins in the middle of a literal week — on a Wednesday! And He was resurrected three days and three nights later (Matthew 12:40) — near sunset on the weekly Sabbath so that He had risen already by sunrise Sunday morning (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6).

Since Christ died for the sins of man kind in the midst of the week, the prophecy, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,” has not yet been been completely fulfilled.

For three and a half years, during his ministry, he confirmed the covenant with his disciples. By his death, he put the final stamp on the covenant; through him all people can now enter into the covenant which God made with Abraham (Galations 3:29), and become heirs “according to the promise.”

— but as Daniel 9:26-27 reveals, there remains yet three and a half years of Christ’s ministry to be fulfilled! When will Christ fulfill it? Perhaps the last three and a half years could be a time of final training before the return of Christ Second Coming? Otherwise, when will he once again confirm the covenant?

Daniel 10

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. And the thing was true, but the time appointed was long; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

— Cyrus, king of Persia, two years after his decree for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple had gone forth, a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar;

— both names being given here, one as a member of the people of God, the other as an official of the Persian court, who could render his nation a better service by remaining at court than by joining them in the restoration of Jerusalem, especially he was now of advanced age;

— and the thing, the word of God revealed to Daniel but the time appointed would be long into the future, of a time regarded as “the great tribulation” that is, the revelation concerned was God’s judgement with misery, wretchedness and troubles, a time called Jacob’s trouble.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. — Daniel was mourning, either on account of what had been revealed to him in the last vision or prophecy of the seventy weeks; by which it appeared the Jews would be guilty of in cutting off the Messiah;

— or what desolations would come upon their land, city and Temple, as also because of the present case of his people; many of them continuing in the country of Babylon when they had liberty to return to their land:

— or because of the hinderance the Jews met with in rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple who had returned; of which Daniel had an account of the Samaritans infiltrating the returning exiles, disrupting them and which caused him to mourn secretly.

³ I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

— Daniel fasted, ate neither flesh nor wine thus discarding all food, neither did he anoint himself at all, he abstained from all expressions of joy and happiness till three whole weeks were fulfilled; an expressions of sorrow and mourning at such a time.

⁴ And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel,

— Daniel abstained food and wine even through a Passover festival season, for the Passover festival was on the first month, Nisan, thus the seriousness of his quest.

⁵ then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.

⁶ His body also was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like the color of polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

—a man clothed in linen, his body also was like the beryl; that is, that part which was not covered with the linen garment and was seen, was like such a precious stone, said to be of an azure and sky colour, signifying he was the Lord from heaven; though, according to its name, it should be of a sea colour, greenish;

— and his face the appearance of lightning; exceeding bright, very dazzling to the eye, and striking terror to the mind; expressive of something very awful and majestic; and could be the Son of God whose face or countenance at his transfiguration on the mount, and when John saw him in a visionary way, was as the sun shineth in his strength;

— and the eyes of the Son of God as lamps of fire; and how piercing and penetrating his eyes are into the affairs of men and states, by whom they are clearly seen and to whom they are exactly known; and how fierce and terrible his wrath is towards his enemies, and whose looks must inject dread and terror into them; see Revelation 19:12;

— and his arms and feet like in colour to polished brass; denoting great strength for action, the stability, firmness and the glory of the Son of God; his power, in trampling upon his enemies and subduing them;

— and the voice of the Son of God; his words like the voice of a multitude, the voice of roaring like that of the ocean or of many waters; see Revelation 1:15 and may intend the power and efficacy of his words whether in proclamation or in judgements in a way of comfort or of wrath and vengeance.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

— and Daniel alone saw the vision so that all its details were clear to him; for the men that were with him saw not the vision as was the case also with the companions of Saul on the way to Damascus, Acts 9:7; Acts 22:11;

— but a great quaking fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves, literally, “they fled by hiding themselves” an expression showing the greatness of their fear.

⁸ Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

— therefore Daniel was left alone and saw this great vision and there remained no strength in him on account of the overwhelming terror of the vision;

— for his comeliness was turned in him into corruption, for his countenance grew deathly pale and Daniel retained no strength; it is evident from the entire description that Daniel had a vision and countenance of the Messiah, as He revealed Himself to Prophets of the Old Testament. Cf Revelation 1:13-15.

⁹ Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face was toward the ground.

— and when Daniel heard the voice of his words, he fell facedown on the ground either in a way of worship and adoration, in prayer and supplication, or because of awe and reverence of the speaker.

¹⁰ And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. — and an hand touched Daniel, the stunned prophet not being able to say whose hand it was,

— but could be another being; the text indicates that it could be the previous angel in white, Gabriel perhaps, which set him upon his knees and upon the palms of his hands, gently shaking him into a waking state, so that he assumed at least a crouching position, although his stupor was not yet entirely gone;

— this angel could be Gabriel or one other than him, but without further evidence to the contrary, I’ll identify him as Gabriel, especially in Daniel 9:21-22 where he identified himself and said: “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding.”

¹¹ And he said unto me, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent.” And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

— and he said unto him, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, Cf. Daniel 9:23, understand the words that I speak unto thee, marking them very closely, and stand upright, shaking off the last effects of the numbness besetting him;

— for unto thee Gabriel now sent, as the bearer of a message of comfort and blessing. And when Gabriel had spoken this word unto him, Daniel stood trembling, still in fearful expectation of the matters which would be revealed to him.

¹² Then said he unto me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard; and I have come for thy words.

— then said Gabriel unto him, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, applying himself most earnestly to the solution of the problems, and to chasten himself before God, in the proper humiliation of mind;

— thy words had come to the attention of God and his prayers heard and Gabriel come but he was delayed.

¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

— because the prince of the kingdom of Persia, the angel of darkness overseeing the Persian world power and therefore identical with some evil spirits, withstood Gabriel twenty one days; this being couldn’t be the Son of God for no other being could withstood the Second in Command, the Son, not even the devil identified by the Romans as Lucifer;

— but, Michael, the first of the angelic beings, known also as the Archangel, came to help him; and he remained there with the kings of Persia, using his influence in the interest of the Lord’s people. There is a world of angels and spirit beings and these spirits often have a very decided influence upon the happenings of our world history.

¹⁴ Now I have come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days.” — now Gabriel come to make Daniel understand what shall befall his people in the latter days,

— during our era and even during the Messianic era; for yet the vision is for many days, it extends far into the future, our future.

¹⁵ And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

— and when Gabriel had spoken such words unto Daniel, he set his face toward the ground, in awe and consternation over the revelations to be expected, and he became dumb, remaining speechless for the time being.

¹⁶ And behold, one with the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, “O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

— and, behold, one of the likeness of the sons of men, Gabriel, or perhaps another administrating angel having the appearance of a human being, touched his lips, to heal his dumbness;

— then Daniel opened his mouth and said unto him, O my Lord, by the vision, as a result of his seeing the vision, his sorrows have returned unto him with acute and overwhelming power, and Daniel lost his strength.

¹⁷ For how can this servant of my Lord talk with thee, my lord? For as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.”

— how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this, my Lord? whose majesty was of a nature to terrify a poor sinful mortal; as for Daniel, straightway there remained no strength in him who grew pale neither is there breath left in him; he could neither stand nor breathe properly for agitation and consternation.

¹⁸ Then there came again and touched me one with the appearance of a man; and he strengthened me

— then there came again one like the appearance of a man and touched Daniel; or one like a man again touched him; the same that touched him before, Daniel 10:16, perhaps Gabriel or another administrating angel, using the same language in the following verse as he does Daniel 10:11;

¹⁹ and said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not. Peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong.” And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me.”

— and said, O man greatly loved, fear not, for his terror was the real cause of his weakness. Peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong! the repetition of the comforting words serving to give emphasis to them;

— and when he had spoken unto Daniel, he was strengthened and said, ‘my lord speak,’ he now felt able to hear and receive the message; ‘for thou hast strengthened me.’

²⁰ Then said he, “Knowest thou why I come unto thee? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

— then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? The serious and highly important character of the message must be borne in mind by the prophet. And now will he return to fight with the prince of Persia, in order to hinder him from performing his evil designs against the children of Israel;

— and when I am gone forth to prepare to wage war, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come, another hostile spirit, representing Greece, destined to be the next world-power.

²¹ But I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth; and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.

— but I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture, in the sacred document of God’s divine decrees; yet there is no one who could stand firmly with Gabriel (perhaps) against these forces, except Michael, the prince and Archangel.

~ by Joel Huan on April 10, 2023.

Posted in Daniel