Studies in the Book of Daniel

Chapter 1 - A Book of Saving Principles

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god." (Daniel 1:1-2)

It was not the Lord's wish that the king of Babylon or anyone else should besiege Jerusalem. It was not the Lord's wish that King Jehoiakim should be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. It was not the Lord's wish that the holy vessels of His own holy house should be carried away by an idolatrous king, and laid up as tokens of victory in the house of a false god.

It is therefore well for us to study the causes of these unwished results. This will be well also, in order that we may the better discern the true setting of the book of Daniel.

The Lord sent His prophets, and especially the prophet Jeremiah, with messages of love, in counsel and warning, to save Judah and Jerusalem from that which came upon them. That which came upon them was but the inevitable result of causes from which the Lord earnestly endeavored to save them. And there were several of these which stand out so clearly as easily to be distinguished.

The first of these, and the worst, was formalism in religion. The Lord had appointed, in His service, many forms and ceremonies, as the means of expressing the religion that, from Him, was to dwell in the heart. And when that religion was not truly abiding in the heart, all the forms and ceremonies which even the Lord had appointed as the means of expressing it, were only meaningless and empty nothings.

Yet this was the very position which the king and the great mass of the people occupied. They made everything of the forms of religion, and nothing of the religion which alone could give meaning and grace to the forms.

Under these circumstances, all sorts of iniquity appeared in the daily life, while at the same time they were exceedingly zealous in the performance of all the forms of religion. Then when the messenger of the Lord would reprove them for their iniquity, they would reject it all, and shield themselves with their punctilious practice of the forms. And as the temple of the Lord was the great center of all the worship and of all the forms, they made it the citadel of their formalistic defense against the reproofs of the Lord upon their essential wickedness.

When the Lord, by the prophet, told them that their wickedness of life would surely result in the destruction of the city and the temple, and in their own captivity, they hooted at it:

"What! the Lord destroy His own temple, where dwells even now the holy Shekinah! the holy house which was built under His own direction, and which, at its dedication by the great Solomon, had been accepted by the complete filling of it with His own glory! Faugh! Away with such prophesying, and with such prophets, too! The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these!"

But Jeremiah was commanded of the Lord to go and stand in the very gate of the temple, and "proclaim there this word": "Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust you not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. ... Behold, you trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, says the Lord. But go you now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but you heard not; and I called you, but you answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein you trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim." (Jeremiah 7:2-4,8-15)

Yet even with all this, the Lord pleaded with them, and promised, "For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever." (Jeremiah 7:5-7)

But they would not mend their ways. They would not cease their wickedness. They would not believe the Lord. Therefore the sure result came,--their wickedness grew so great that the land was not able to bear them; their city was made a heap of ruins, the temple was completely destroyed, they themselves were carried into captivity or slain, and their land was left desolate.

Now this same condition of formalism in religion is declared in the Word to be, and it is, the great characteristic of the last days. Read: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

In these last days, too, men will increase the forms of religion, and intensify their adherence to them, while in their wicked lives they, as "evil men and seducers, shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)

And this, as of old, will be persisted in until the terrible captivity of death by sword, famine and pestilence carries away the whole multitude, and the whole earth is left desolate, without an inhabitant. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 19:11-21; Jeremiah 4:23-29)

Thus it is plain that the evil practices that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of that whole land, are used by the Lord, and are recorded in His book, for the counsel and warning of the people in the last days. And the book of Daniel, written specially for the last days, is a book of divine principles which, if received by all, would save the world from the destruction that came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

And even though these divine principles be rejected by the great mass, resulting only in the great destruction, yet every individual who will receive these principles as his life will surely be delivered in the great day, "when the towers fall." (Isaiah 30:25)-Advent Review, January 11, 1898.

Chapter 2 - The Parallel To Our Day

Formalism being so confirmed upon both king and people in the days of Jehoiakim king of Judah, it was inevitable that every kind of evil practice would abound.

There is no power in forms to correct the life. There is no power in forms to hold men back from the evil that is in human nature. Nothing but the power of God can do this; and the power of God can come to men and abide in men only by a living, personal faith.

It is this alone that can purify the heart and reform the life: the life can be reformed only by beginning and ending with the heart, out of which "are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

Purify the fountain, and the issuing streams will inevitably be pure; for: "no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh." (James 3:12)

Also when the heart is purified and the life endued with power, by the living faith of Christ, grace is given to all the forms of religion, and the Lord is honored and glorified in the worship so offered.

The essential iniquity of the lives of king and people in the days of Jehoiakim may be noted under several heads. Along with the general wickedness of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and all the accompaniments of idolatry, there was:

1. Oppression and Injustice

"O house of David, thus says the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jeremiah 21:12) "Thus says the Lord; Execute you judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." (Jeremiah 22:3) "Execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; ... oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, ... Then will I cause you to dwell in this place." (Jeremiah 7:5-7)

2. Oppressing and Defrauding the Laborer in His Wages

While they in their wealth reveled in luxury: "Woe unto him that builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that uses his neighbor's service without wages, and gives him not for his work; That says, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cuts him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion." (Jeremiah 22:13-14)

3. Neglect of the Poor

"Shall you reign, because you close yourself in cedar? did not your father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? says the Lord. But your eyes and your heart are not but for your covetousness." (Jeremiah 22:15-17)

4. Disregard of the Sabbath

"Thus says the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do you any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. ... And it shall come to pass, if you diligently hearken unto me, says the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever. ... But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." (Jeremiah 17:21-22, 24-25,27)

5. The Worship of the Sun

In Ezekiel 8 is recorded what he saw in Jerusalem, even in the very presence of the holy temple, as he was taken there in vision from the place of his captivity. First he saw "the image of jealousy," (Ezekiel 8:3) in the very entry of the gates of the altar. Next he saw, in one of the chambers of the court of the temple, "every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about, [with] seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel," (Ezekiel 8:10-11) every one with a censer in his hand, offering incense. Next he saw, "at the door of the gate of the Lord's house, which was toward the north, ... women weeping for Tammuz." (Ezekiel 8:14)

After all this the Lord said to him, "Turn yet again, and you shall see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east." (Ezekiel 8:15-16)

6. Rejection of All the Word of the Lord in Counsel and Warning

King Jehoiakim himself, with his princes and counselors, persecuted a prophet of the Lord till, to escape their murderous hands, he fled into Egypt. But the king sent even to Egypt, and had him brought back, and then murdered him. They also persecuted Jeremiah, and threatened him with death. A testimony which the Lord gave by the hand of Jeremiah was read to the great assembly in the presence of the temple. The king commanded that it be brought and read to him. "Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth." (Jeremiah 36:22-23)

Because of all these things, the Lord likened Jerusalem to Sodom, declaring that she and Sodom were sisters, and said, "As I live says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." (Jeremiah 16:48-50)

Because of all this, Ezekiel saw, in the vision, a man with a  writer's inkhorn by his side, passing throughout the city, setting a mark upon the foreheads of the men who were sighing and crying for all the abominations that were done there. Six men followed this man, with slaughter-weapons in their hands, "slaying utterly" all to whom they came, but were to "come not near any man upon whom was the mark." (Ezekiel 9:6)

Now all these things have their parallel in the last days:

• Formalism in religion abounds; (2 Timothy 3:1-4)

• General wickedness prevails; (Matthew 24:12; 2 Timothy 3:2-4,13)

• Oppression, injustice, defrauding the laborer in his wages to increase the overloaded coffers of the rich, who revel in luxury, are all practiced; (James 5:1-8)

• There is neglect of the poor to such an extent that God is obliged to turn His attention especially to them; (Luke 14:21-23)

• The Sabbath is disregarded; (Isaiah 56:1-2; 58:13-14)

• The sun-in the Sunday-is honored; (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 14:9-12) 

• The word of God in counsel and warning concerning all the evil and the impending destruction, is rejected. (2 Peter 3:3-7,10-14; Matthew 24:37-39)

So that again, looking upon it all, God is compelled to liken it also to Sodom, and the last days of the world to the last days of Sodom: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, The same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke 17:28-30)

And because of all this, while destruction is impending, the holy prophet of Patmos saw in vision the heavenly messenger passing through the world, and setting the royal seal--the heavenly mark--upon the servants of God. (Revelation 7:2-3) And after him came the messengers of judgment, slaying utterly all upon whom is not found the mark. (Revelation 14:9-10; 15:1; 16:1-21)

Thus, again and overwhelmingly, is it demonstrated that the wickedness of Judah, which led to their captivity, to the destruction of the city and temple, and to the desolation of the land, is a perfect representation of the wickedness of the world in the last days, which leads to the everlasting captivity of the people and the desolation of the earth. And that situation of old is used by the Lord as an object-lesson of counsel and warning to the people of the world in the last days.

Thus the history of the times of Daniel is present truth today; and the divine principles of the book of Daniel are given to save the people from the wickedness that cursed Judah and Jerusalem to destruction and desolation. "Whoso reads, let him understand." (Matthew 24:15)--Advent Review, January 18, 1898.

Chapter 3. For the Last Days

It is certain that the wickedness of the king, princes, priests, and people, in the days of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, caused the captivity of the people and the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. It was for this cause that: "The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah,...with part of the vessels of the house of God," (Daniel 1:2) into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who carried all to the land of Shinar, where they were to remain for seventy years. Out of this calamity and captivity came the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel was written especially for the last days; for when Daniel came to explain to King Nebuchadnezzar the great things of the king's dream, he said that God "makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." (Daniel 2:28)

And when the writing of the book was finished, Daniel was commanded, "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." (Daniel 12:4)

And he was then told, "Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." (Daniel 12:9)

These references are sufficient to show that the book of Daniel was given and written especially, and even specifically, for the last days. We have also seen that the iniquity of the people of Judah in those last days of their dwelling in that land, is so exactly paralleled to the last days that there is no room for doubt that the record of that ancient time was written, and has been preserved, to be for counsel and warning in the last days.

The book of Daniel, then, coming to us out of the consequences of a condition of things which finds a parallel in the last days, and having such an origin, and being specifically designed for the last days, it is certain that it contains principles, as well as prophecies, which are of special importance, and have a special bearing, in the last days.

These principles are given to save the people of the world in the last days from calamities and destruction of which those that came upon Judah and Jerusalem are but a feeble representation. To ignore these principles, given especially for this time, is but to court a destruction as much more dreadful than that other as worldwide destruction and final ruin are greater than local destruction and temporal ruin.

So much for the origin, the setting, and the purpose of the book. We now begin the direct study of the book itself.--Advent Review, January 25, 1898--Editor's Note: I split the January 25 article into two chapters, because of the natural division in topic. This is the first part.

Chapter 4 - Educational Excellence

"And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans." (Daniel 1:3-4)

No blemish" and "well-favored." This would require that they should be physically sound, well-built, and symmetrical.

The words translated "wisdom," "knowledge," and "science" in verse 4 are closely related, though the second is broader than the first, and the third is broader than the second.

The word translated "wisdom" signifies "knowledge, understanding, and intelligence." It implies the faculty to discern what is valuable knowledge, and the ability and capacity to acquire such knowledge.

The word translated "knowledge" relates to "the mind or thought," and implies knowledge acquired by thinking and application.

The word translated "science" signifies "skill, dexterity, sagacity, shrewdness, ability to judge;" and is well translated in our word "science," which signifies "skillful in knowledge." It implies a select and systematized knowledge.

Therefore the requirement of King Nebuchadnezzar in the selecting of these youth was that they should be physically sound and symmetrically built; and that, mentally, they should be:

1. Skillful in discerning what is valuable knowledge, and skillful in the ability to acquire such knowledge.

2. Cunning in the acquisition of knowledge by thinking and applications; and,

3. Understanding how to correlate, classify, and systematize the knowledge which they had the faculty to discern was valuable knowledge, and which they were cunning in gathering.

And they must have "ability" in all these things. What they knew was not to be mere head-knowledge; but they must have the faculty of observation and adaptation so trained that what they had learned could be practically applied in their experience in everyday affairs.

They were not to be like that graduate of a great university, who bore the title of M.A., yet who, when driving a horse and wanting him to go faster, thought to accomplish his purpose by pushing on the lines. They were to have such ability, such everyday common sense, as would enable them to use their knowledge to practical advantage in the common things of daily life, so that they would be practical men wherever they were; so that they could adapt themselves to any circumstances or situation, and be the master and not the slave of either circumstances or situation.

From the specifications distinctly made in the scripture, and from the close and thorough examination that must be passed, it is certain that all that we have outlined was comprehended in the requirements of the king respecting the youth who were to be chosen. And this is no small tribute to the educational ideas of King Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed, his views of education, as shown in this verse of the Bible, were, for all practical purposes, far in advance of the educational system that prevails today, even in the leading colleges and universities of the United States.

Yet Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were able successfully to pass such an examination. Where, then, did they get such an education, being, as they were, but mere youth? The answer to this question is worth having. Besides, we need it just now; for all this was written especially for the last days.--Advent Review, January 25, 1898--Editor's Note: I split the January 25 article into two chapters, because of the natural division in topic. This is the second part.

Chapter 5 - The Schools of the Prophets

Where did Daniel and his three companions obtain the education which enabled them successfully to pass the examination required by King Nebuchadnezzar? Where did they obtain an education which made them "skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, [and which gave them] ability" (Daniel 1:4) in all these things? It must be borne in mind that these words mean more in themselves, and to Daniel and to us, than at that time they meant even to Nebuchadnezzar. For instance, the word "wisdom" meant to Daniel, and means in itself, "the fear of Jehovah." (Job 28:28)

But Nebuchadnezzar at that time, being an idolater, had no respect for Jehovah; therefore the word meant to him only respect for the gods in general.

Where, then, did they get this superior instruction and education? Without hesitation it can be answered, In a "school of the prophets," the divinely established schools in Israel. There was at that time a "college," or "school of the prophets," in Jerusalem. For in the eighteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah, which was only fifteen years before the captivity of Daniel, there is the clear record of such a school in Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of Josiah, while at his command the temple was being cleansed and repaired from the abominations of Manasseh and Amon, a copy of the Pentateuch, or "book of the law of the Lord by Moses," (2 Chronicles 34:14) was found by Hilkiah the priest. "Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan [the scribe;] And Shaphan carried the book to the king, ... And ... read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes." (2 Chronicles 34:15-16,18-19)

And he commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Shaphan the scribe, and others: "Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found. And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess...now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college [margin, "in the school"], and they spoke to her to that effect." (2 Chronicles 34:21-22)

Here was, in Jerusalem, a college, or school, in which "dwelt" the prophetess. This at once shows this school to have been a school of the prophets, because that which made those schools the schools of the prophets was the fact that a prophet dwelt with the school, and was, under God, the head of the school. This fact is revealed in the two other instances in which they are mentioned: "They saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them." (1 Samuel 19:20)

In 2 Kings 6:1-6 we meet again "the sons of the prophets," and Elisha the prophet is dwelling with them; for they said to Elisha: "The place where we dwell with you is too strait for us." (2 Kings 6:1) Thus we find three schools of the prophets in three widely separated ages,--the age of Samuel, the age of Elisha, and the age of Josiah,--and in each instanced a prophet is dwelling in the school.

These three passages were written to give us information as to the schools of the prophets. And first, they show why these schools were called schools of the prophets-because a prophet was the head of the school; they show also that the college, or school, in Jerusalem, in which dwelt Huldah the prophetess, was a school of the prophets as certainly as was the school where dwelt Elisha the prophet or Samuel the prophet.

It was, then, in a school of the prophets, in the Lord's school, where Daniel and his three companions obtained the education of which we read in Daniel 1:4,--the education which made them "skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding sciences," and gave them "ability" in all these.

In the schools of the prophets the Spirit of God was the one allpervading influence, the one great prevailing power. The first time we meet one of these schools is in 1 Samuel 10:5-12, when Saul came to the hill of God, [and met] a company of prophets coming down" (1 Samuel 10:5) with instruments of music, and prophesying. "And the Spirit of God came upon him, ... And ... God gave him another heart; ... [he was] turned into another man, ... And ... he prophesied among the prophets." (1 Samuel 10:10,9,6,11)

That this should occur in the case of such a man as Saul was so great a wonder that the people of Israel were astonished at it to such an extent that henceforth it became a proverb in Israel, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" (1 Samuel 10:12)

It is evident, then, that in that school of the prophets, the Spirit of God prevailed to such an extent that an exceptionally hard case was converted by coming under the living influence of that Spirit in the school.

Yet this was not an exceptional manifestation of the power of the Spirit of God in the school of the prophets; this was but the usual degree of the manifestation of the Spirit in the school. For we find after this, when Saul, by disobedience to God and jealousy of David, had separated himself from the Spirit, and was constantly seeking to kill David, that David escaped, and fled, "and came to Samuel to Ramah,...And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." (1 Samuel 19:18-19)

This was where there was a school of the prophets. "And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise." (1 Samuel 19:20-21)

When Saul saw that his first messengers had yielded, of course he sent the second time such ones as he supposed would not yield. And when he found that they also had yielded, he determined to trust no more messengers--he would go himself. Therefore in his wrathful determination "went he also to Ramah," and demanded, "Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied." (1 Samuel 19:22-23)

All this shows, and it was written to tell us, that the Holy Spirit was the all-pervading influence and the all-controlling power in the schools of the prophets. So fully was this so, that stern, hardhearted, and even exceptionally unspiritual men were melted and subdued by His gracious influence whenever they came in contact with the school.

All this shows, also, that the Spirit of God in these schools manifested himself in prophesyings. Thus it was the Spirit of prophecy that pervaded and controlled the school. "The Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus," (Revelation 19:10) in counsel and instruction. Thus Jesus Christ himself, by the Spirit of prophecy, was the real head of the schools of the prophets. A prophet was with the schools, through whom the testimony of Jesus was made known for the guidance of the school, and the Spirit of God was the great instructor of the students.

This is not to say that there was never more than one such school at a time; for in the time of Samuel there were at least two: nor is it to say that when there were more than one, there was necessarily a prophet dwelling permanently in each school; for in the time of Samuel there were at least two of the schools, yet there was but one prophet--Samuel himself. It is only to say that a prophet was in charge, whether there was one school or more; and that the Spirit of prophecy was the great guide and instructor therein, whether there was one school, or whether there were more than one.

And all this is to teach us now, for our own time, that in the Lord's schools, the Spirit of prophecy, the testimony of Jesus, must be the great guide and instructor, and that the Spirit of God is to be courted until He shall become the all-pervading influence and the all-controlling power in every school established in the name of the Lord.

Next we shall inquire, What were the studies in the schools of the prophets, and especially in the school where Daniel was educated?--Advent Review, February 1, 1898.

Chapter 6 - What Was Taught?

What was taught in the schools of the prophets? To know this is important, not only for its own sake; but because, when we know this, we know what should be taught in the Lord's schools always. These things are in the Bible. They were written for our learning. And being in the book of Daniel, they are written especially for our instruction and admonition, "upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11)

In this article we shall have space only to discover and enumerate these studies. What each subject involved will be studied afterward. Daniel and his three companions were "skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science." (Daniel 1:4)

This education, we have found, was acquired in the college, or school of the prophets, in Jerusalem. This statement, therefore, certifies that wisdom, knowledge, and science were taught in those schools.

Another thing that was taught there was music. This we know from the fact that the first time that we meet any of the students of such a school, they have "a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them;" (1 Samuel 10:5) and they were playing with such spirit and such power in the Spirit that the man who then personally met them was drawn to God and converted. Thus all the circumstances show that this was trained, harmonious music, played by the students of this school. And this is plain evidence that music was taught in the schools of the prophets.

Another thing that was taught there was work, or "manual training," as it would be called today. This we know from the record of these schools in the time of Elisha: "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with you is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray you, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go. And one said, Be content, I pray, and go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood." (2 Kings 6:1-4)

This shows that in those schools, work was taught and the love of it; because when the school-building became too small for the attendance, the students themselves suggested that they themselves should build the new and larger house that was needed. There was no thought of hiring other people to do the work, nor of letting it by contract. No; they themselves said, "Let us go, ... and let us make us a place." (2 Kings 6:2)

And they were also so in love with work that they would borrow tools with which to work; for when one of the axes flew off the handle and into the river, as one of the students was chopping, he exclaimed to Elisha, "Alas, master! for it was borrowed." (2 Kings 6:5)

More than this, even the principal of the school--Elisha--went with them to the work, and joined with them in the work; for he was among those who were chopping on the bank of the river when the ax flew into the water. All this shows, as plainly as needs to be shown, that work and the love of it, real industry, was taught in the schools of the prophets--the Lord's schools of ancient time.

Another thing that was taught there was temperance--healthful living. This is shown by the fact that Daniel and his companions refused the king's dainties and royal food, and the wine which he drank, and asked for a simple fare, a vegetarian diet. (Daniel 1:5,12-16) That they were taught this in the school of the prophets which they attended, is plain from the fact that this was a thoroughly grounded principle with them, and that in that school they had been educated.

And that such was the diet in the schools of the prophets is taught by the fact that in that school, in the time of Elisha, even when "there was a dearth in the land," (2 Kings 4:38) Elisha, giving directions to prepare food, said, "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage." (2 Kings 4:38)

And in following this direction, "one went out into the field to gather herbs." (2 Kings 4:39)

When herbs were gathered in response to the ordinary direction to prepare food, and this when "there was a dearth in the land," surely this is strong evidence that a vegetarian diet was the regular diet in the school. This is confirmed by the further recorded fact that: "There came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he [Elisha] said, Give unto the people, that they may eat." (2 Kings 4:39)

Here was a man bringing a present of provisions to the principal of the school, and he brought only food from the vegetable kingdom. All this is evidence that a vegetarian diet was the diet of the students and teachers in the schools of the prophets; that this temperate way of living was a part of the instruction; and that temperance was so inculcated as to become a living principle in the lives of the students.

Another thing taught there was law--statutes, justice, and judgment. This was directly commanded to be taught: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land whither you go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. ... What nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life: but teach them your sons, and your sons' sons." (Deuteronomy 4:5-6,8-9) "Justice, justice, shall you follow." (Deuteronomy 16:20,margin)

Another thing taught there, and this "specially," was morals; for after urging upon them the obligation to teach carefully and diligently the statutes and judgments of the Lord, he commanded them to teach to their sons and their sons' sons, "specially," the ten commandments which they heard, said he, "The day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. ... And the Lord spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice. And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone." (Deuteronomy 4:10,12-13)

Another thing taught there was history: "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes." (Deuteronomy 6:20-22)

This study was not confined to the history of the deliverance from Egypt; it embraced all as it was given in the sacred writings. We know that this history was one of the studies of Daniel; for the form of government, having three presidents, one of whom was chief, which was introduced by Daniel as prime minister in the days of Darius the Mede, was adopted literally from the records of Israel as to the government of David.

Yet another thing taught there was poetry. This was an essential accompaniment of the teaching of music, and the songs of worship of which their music was composed. With all this, of course, reading and writing were taught.

We find, then, that the course of study in the school of the prophets embraced at least the following studies:

1. Wisdom,

2. Knowledge,

3. Science,

4. Manual labor,

5. Music,

6. Poetry,

7. Temperance,

8. Morals,

9. Law,

10. History,

11. Reading,

12. Writing.

All these things are written in the Bible for us. They center and are emphasized in the book of Daniel specially for the last days. We are now in the last days. These things are specially for us. The instruction given, the course of study in the schools of the prophets, is instruction for the Lord's schools for all time. This is the instruction that belongs today in every school that makes any pretensions of being a Christian school.

In this study, all that we have attempted is to find what things were taught in the schools of the prophets. We have not studied each particular subject to know what was embrace in the teaching of that thing. It will now be worth while to study each one of these studies that was taught in the Lord's schools. It is evident, from the simple list of studies, that the field was not by any means a narrow one. And when we shall study each particular subject, this will be yet more apparent.--Advent Review, February 8, 1898.

Chapter 7 - Wisdom

Daniel, while yet a mere youth, was "skillful in all wisdom." This was the leading part of his education. He was educated in a school of the prophets. Wisdom, then, was one of the principal studies in the schools of the prophets; that is, in the Lord's schools.

What is wisdom? whence comes it? how is it attained? and what relation does it bear to education in general? "Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? ... Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understands the way thereof, and He knows the place thereof. ... When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did He see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man He said, Behold! the fear of the Lord, That Is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job 28:12,21-23,26-28)

It is certain, then, that the fear of the Lord was an essential part of the education in the schools of the prophets. This, in itself, required that the revelation which God had given of himself should be studied, that they might truly know the true God and His attributes. For they could not fear--reverence--Him unless they knew Him.

And in studying the revelation which the Lord had given, this, of itself, was the study of the sacred writings,--the books of Moses and the writings of the other prophets. As "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," (Proverbs 1:7) it is certain that wisdom was the leading subject of study in the schools of the prophets. It preceded every other study. More than this, it not only preceded every other study; but it was the leading element, the guiding principle, in every other study. And as the knowledge of God is essential to the fear of God, and the certain knowledge of God is attained only by the revelation that He has given of himself and of His attributes, it is certain that the Holy Scriptures were the essential basis of all studies, the guide in every course of investigation, and the ultimate test of every inquiry.

Wisdom is "the fear of the Lord," and "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." All that any person can possibly know in this world without the fear of the Lord, will in "a little time," vanish forevermore: (James 4:14) while he who knows the fear of the Lord will abide forevermore; that which he learns in accordance with the fear of the Lord will also, with Him, abide forevermore; and forevermore there is open to him the wide universe, with all its possibilities for the increase of knowledge.

Thus he who has the fear of the Lord has also, in that, for an eternity, all things else: while whatever else he might have without the fear of God, he would not really have even that; because in a little while all that, with himself, must vanish. Thus in the very nature of things, the fear of the Lord is the most important of all things, and is therefore properly the beginning of knowledge as well as of everything else.

There is another very important sense in which the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: unless a person knows a thing right, he is not certain of his knowledge nor of himself in it. Certitude is essential to genuine knowledge.

"Knowledge" that is derived from guesses is not true knowledge; it is but a guess. For all that can ever be derived from a guess, is a guess.

"Knowledge" that is gathered from a "working hypothesis" is not genuine knowledge. All that can ever be evolved from a hypothesis, "working" or other, is a hypothesis.

With all such "knowledge" there goes a "painful uncertainty" and also the consciousness of it, which of itself vitiates every essential quality of it as being real knowledge. Such learning the scripture aptly describes as: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7)

On the other hand, however, he who begins with the fear of the Lord, he who begins with the knowledge of God and with knowledge obtained from God, begins with the truth. The knowledge of God is the knowledge of the truth; for He is the truth.

Knowledge obtained from God is itself truth; for it is given by the Spirit, which is only "the Spirit of truth," (John 14:17) through the Word, which also is only "the truth." (John 17:17) Thus he who begins with the knowledge and fear of God begins with the truth; and all that he ever learns, being learned upon this basis, and measured, weighed, and tested by this supreme standard, will be only the truth.

This itself is the detector of error and the test of truth; he therefore rejects the error and accepts only the truth, and so learns only the truth. And thus, though also ever learning, he is ever learning in the knowledge of the truth,--not ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge truth,--for he begins only with the truth, and learns only the truth, and so is ever learning in the knowledge of the truth.

It will not do to say that this is impossible,--that there was never any such learning, and never any such teaching in the world. There has been just such teaching and just such learning in the world. Just such teaching was in the schools of the prophets, and just such learning was that of Daniel. And this record of Daniel and of the schools of the prophets was written to tell us of just such teaching and of such learning as that.

It was true of others besides Daniel, as we shall see later; but if it were true only of Daniel, the fact that it was regarded by the Lord "for our learning" is sufficient proof that such learning is not impossible for us.

We have seen, by the Word, that the Holy Spirit was the great Teacher in the schools of the prophets, which were but the models of all of the Lord's schools; that is, of all Christian schools. And it is written to us, in the words of the Lord Jesus, that He, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,...shall teach you All Things." (John 14:26)

And He is only "the Spirit of truth." Being only the Spirit of truth, it is impossible for him to teach anything but the truth. Then whosoever begins every study in the fear of the Lord, with the Spirit of truth as his teacher, and the word of truth as his supreme standard, and learns faithfully from these, will ever learn only in the knowledge of the truth.

Thus it is that in the most vital sense "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." And this is why it is that wisdom--the fear of the Lord--Had the precedence in every line of study in the Lord's schools.

It must be borne in mind, too, that the fear of the Lord was distinctly taught there. This was more than merely the teaching of theology, or things about the Lord. The fear of the Lord itself, as a distinctive thing in the individual experience, was taught.

The students were instructed as to what the fear of the Lord is, how to approach unto Him, how to pray to Him, how to submit themselves to Him, how to commune with Him, how to court His Holy Spirit, how to be led of the Spirit, how to live with God, how to walk with Him, how to have the Lord dwell in their lives, how to know that they were ever in His presence, how to have Him their companion in everything that they did in their daily lives,--in short, how to glorify God in body, soul, and spirit, (1 Corinthians 6:20) in every thought and word and deed. (Colossians 3:17)

All this is the teaching of wisdom. Wisdom was the chief and all-pervading subject of study in the Lord's school. And Daniel is presented to us as a sample of what such teaching will produce. Let such teaching pervade again the Lord's schools, and Daniels will be again produced.--Advent Review, February 15, 1898.

Chapter 8 - Knowledge

The second feature in Daniel's education is that he was "cunning in knowledge." He had knowledge acquired by experience, or practice,--technical knowledge.

The third feature of his education is that he understood science. This was but the complement of the second, as the second was the complement of the first. Wisdom, knowledge, and science were these three.

Wisdom is the fear of the Lord; this is the beginning of knowledge. Daniel was "skillful in all wisdom;" he was skillful in the fear of the Lord. This being the beginning of knowledge, Daniel had proceeded from this beginning to its complement,--he had observed facts and studied things, and so had become "cunning in knowledge;" and from this, in turn, he had proceeded to its complement, and had classified and systematized his knowledge, and so understood science.

This is the divine order in education: first, the fear of the Lord; secondly, knowledge, thirdly, science. First, the fear of the Lord as the beginning and the basis of all knowledge; secondly, knowledge, acquired from the careful observation of facts and the diligent study of things; and thirdly, science, as the result of this knowledge classified and systematized.

But where did Daniel or his teachers find any formulated science or any guide to science which might be used as a study in school or as a material part of general education? Without hesitation it can be said, and truly said, that all this had been matter of common knowledge in Israel for hundreds of years, and at least the principles of it were found in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible of that time.

Solomon lived and taught, four hundred years before Daniel's school-days. "[Solomon] was wiser than all men." (1 Kings 4:31)

And what Solomon knew was not kept to himself, locked up in his understanding; but he taught it to the people. He taught it, too, to all the people; he popularized it. It was so plain and simple that the common people could understand it. Solomon thoroughly understood what is now called botany, and zoology, and ornithology, and entomology, and ichthyology, and meteorology. For, "He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall." (1 Kings 4:33)

And that is called "botany." "He spoke also of beasts." (1 Kings 4:33) And that is called "zoology" "of fowl." (1 Kings 4:33)

And that is called "ornithology" "of creeping things." (1 Kings 4:33)

And that is called "entomology" "and of fishes." (1 Kings 4:33)

And that is called "ichthyology."

He spoke of the course of the wind in "his circuits," (Ecclesiastes 1:6) of the clouds and the rain; and that is "meteorology."

Solomon knew more of all these sciences than any man today knows of any one of them. And he taught them all to the people; for "he spoke" of them all. (1 Kings 4:33; Ecclesiastes 1:6-7; 11:3-4)

We do not say that Solomon taught "botany" as such, nor "zoology" as such, nor "ornithology," nor "entomology," nor "ichthyology," nor "meteorology." We do not say that he taught "science" at all, as it is taught today, nor as it is suggested in these big words; that is, science in the abstract.

He did not speak of "botany;" "He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall." (1 Kings 4:33)

He did not speak of "zoology;" "He spoke ... of beasts." (1 Kings 4:33)

He did not speak of "ornithology;" "He spoke ... of fowl." (1 Kings 4:33)

He did not speak of "entomology;" "He spoke of ... creeping things." (1 Kings 4:33)

He did not speak of ichthyology;" "He spoke ... of fishes." (1 Kings 4:33)

He did not speak of "meteorology;" he spoke of "the wind ... [in] his circuits," (Ecclesiastes 1:6) and the returning of "all the rivers [from] the sea...to the place whence [they came to] run into the sea." (Ecclesiastes 1:7)

That is, he did not give learned and high-sounding discourses on these subjects; he spoke of the things themselves. The very flowers themselves were studied, and discoursed upon; not the flower plucked off, and torn to pieces, and each piece designated by an almost unpronounceable term, and that perhaps in a foreign language,--not this, but the flowers as they grew, in garden, field, or forest, just as God caused them to grow, clothed with living beauty. And the lesson which God teaches by each flower was learned from the flower as it stood; for instance, the lovely little violet growing demurely among the grasses.

Likewise also the beasts, the birds, the creeping things, and the fishes were studied and discoursed upon as they were, alive and before his eyes and the eyes of those to whom "he spoke."

Such is the way in which science was taught and learned in Israel, where the fear of the Lord was the beginning of all knowledge, the guide in all study, and the basis of all science. It was the study of things, rather than a study about things. And that is just the difference today that there is between the right and the wrong way of studying science.

The right way it to study things, the wrong way is to study about things. By studying this right way, the student learns always something; whereas, by studying the wrong way, he learns only about something. The right way gives him practical knowledge; the wrong way gives him but abstract theories, which he has not the gumption to reduce to practice.

Now this genuine science which was taught by Solomon, remained with the nation after Solomon had died. Much of it was written out, and so was accessible to both teachers and students. And above all, the lessons were ever before them in the beasts and the birds, the creeping things and the fishes, in the trees and the flowers, in sky and sea, in the sunshine and the rain, in the wind and the cloud.

We know that it is commonly supposed that "the Jews did not understand science;" that it was only the heathen that had attained to that. The fallacy of such a view is clearly seen by the fact that although at the time when Daniel was carried away captive, Babylon is supposed by these same persons to have stood at the head of the world in scientific attainments, yet when these four young Jews were examined there after three years of study, "In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm." (Daniel 1:20)

These magicians, astrologers, etc., were the scientists of Babylon. Some of them had been the teachers in the school in Babylon, where Daniel was obliged to go and study. Yet when examination day came, Daniel and his companions proved to be ten times better informed than all of them.

No man in this world could ever teach ten times more than he knew. Therefore it is certain that Daniel and his brethren did not obtain from those teachers their great knowledge. They obtained it from their own Scriptures, under the teaching of the Spirit of God. In other words, they continued in Babylon that same system of study that they had formerly used in the college in Jerusalem; and, in all that was really knowledge in the Babylonian studies, this gave them ten times the advantage of even their teachers there.

Another illustration of the worse than fallacy of this supposition that the Jews did not understand science, while the heathen did, is the fact that in the books today, and in standard schoolbooks too, it is printed and taught that Anaximander, a Greek, invented the sun-dial about 550 BC, while the sun-dial was in use in Jerusalem in the reign of Ahaz, nearly two hundred years before that. (Isaiah 38:8; 2 Kings 20:11; 16:1)

It is possible that to the sadly belated Greeks, Anaximander's sun-dial was a new invention altogether, and a great scientific discovery; but for our part we refuse to believe the books, even though they be in Seventh-day Adventist schools, which teach that the sun-dial was invented by Anaximander or anybody else two hundred years after it was in common use by the Jews in Jerusalem.

The truth is that among the Jews only was known the purest and truest science that was known in the world down at least to the time of Daniel. And when there shall be found again schools that will teach science as it was taught in the school where Daniel learned, there will be found again Daniels in science-even young men who will know ten times as much as even the teachers in schools where the fear of the Lord is not counted as having any connection with science.

No greater mistake has ever been made, no greater loss has ever been incurred, neither by the church nor by the world-and it has been made by both--than the mistake that has been made in separating the fear of the Lord--religion--from science.

The church, when she ruled the world, held that the fear of the Lord was a matter altogether apart, and had no relation to the observation of facts and the study of things; and so, that religion had nothing to do with science. Consequently, the most "pious" ones, the "saints," turned away from facts and things, and shut themselves up in cloisters and cells, or set themselves on the tops of pillars, and spent their time in "worshiping" by trying how many times they could bow or prostrate themselves in an hour; or else in drawing fine-spun distinctions in doctrine, and expounding hair-splitting theories in theology, and then arraigning and hunting as "heretics" all who would not espouse their particular distinction when they themselves could not clearly state it.

Then as the number of theological distinctions was increased, "heresies," of course, multiplied. As heresies multiplied, councils were held to set straight the "heresies." In setting straight the heretics, the councils were obliged authoritatively to interpret the word of God. Different councils interpreted it differently. Appeals were lodged with the bishop of Rome as the chief bishop of "Christendom."

And thus it came about that the bishop of Rome became the oracle through whom alone the word of God could come rightly interpreted, not only to the church, but even to science. Thus was developed the infallibility of "the church," which was but the infallibility of the bishop of Rome as the chief voice in "the church;" for wherever is lodged the authoritative interpretation of the word of God, or the claim of it, there lies infallibility or the claim of it.

The world, on the other hand, of course held that the fear of the Lord was a matter altogether apart, and had no relation to the observation of facts and the study of things; and so held that religion had "nothing to do with science."

Thus originated the conflict between religion and science. This conflict has always continued on the part of the world. But since the Reformation, there has been an effort on the part of the church to connect religion and science. However, in this effort, "science," as the world had developed it, was taken as the standard, and the fear of the Lord--religion--was made to conform to it.

But this "science" had been built up without the fear of God, and in many cases in direct antagonism to it. And when this was accepted by the church as the standard to which the fear of the Lord must conform, and by which the fear of the Lord must be gauged, this was to make "science," and even science falsely socalled, the beginning of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord the end; instead of the fear of the Lord being the beginning, and science--true science--the end.

Science was made the head, and the fear of the Lord, the tail. And thus the word of God, by which alone the fear of the Lord can be acquired, was made, even by the church, subordinate to human, and even antagonistic, "science;" the word of the Lord must be interpreted by this human and antagonistic "science:" and so infidels and atheists, through this science to which the church deferred, became the oracles through whom alone the word of God could come rightly interpreted even to the church. And thus is fast developing the infallibility of "science," which, when finished, will be but the infallibility of the dictum of the chief voice in science, speaking ex cathedra.

The everlasting truth is that genuine religion and genuine science are inseparable. Neither with Solomon nor with Daniel was there ever any conflict between religion and science. With neither of these was there ever any accommodation, any more than any conflict, between religion and science. With both of these men, science was what it always is--the complement of religion.

True science is the complement of true religion,--and it is only the complement, it is never the essence. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and it is only the beginning. It is not intended to be anything but the beginning of knowledge. Therefore he who does not take the fear of the Lord, and use it for the acquirement of knowledge, makes an infinite mistake.

And he who takes the fear of the Lord, and uses it for the acquirement of knowledge, and yet stops short of having his knowledge attain to the grade and character of science, just so far frustrates the real object of his receiving the fear of God to begin with. He who receives that which is the beginning of science, is bound by that very thing, so far as in him lies, to go on and attain the end of that of which he has received the beginning.

And thus with the fear of the Lord as the beginning of science, and science as the inseparable adjunct of the fear of the Lord; with the word of God as the means of knowing the fear of God, and this same word as the basis of all science; with the Holy Spirit of God as the great teacher and the only interpreter of the word of God; true religion and true science will be united, one and inseparable, now and forever: and infallibility will rest where it belongs,--with God, the author of both true religion and true science.--Advent Review, February 22, 1898.

Chapter 9 - Temperance

Temperance is one of the prominent characteristics of the youth and the life of Daniel. That this was taught to him in the school which he attended, and was a material part of his education before his captivity, is evident from the fact that it was already a fixed principle in his life at that time.

When the royal captives reached Babylon, "The king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank." (Daniel 1:5)

The word here translated "meat" signifies "dainties;" and refers to the royal dainties, such as would be expected at the table of such a great king. It included flesh meats, of course; for these were largely used; but the word signifies all the royal dainties. But Daniel refused it all, and also refused the wine, and chose "pulse to eat, and water to drink." (Daniel 1:12)

The word translated "pulse" is a word of wide meaning, just as is the word translated "meat," referring to the king's dainties. The word translated "pulse" comprehends the whole realm of vegetarian diet, just as the other word comprehends the whole field of the king's dainties. What Daniel asked was that he, with his three companions, might have a vegetarian diet for food, and water to drink, instead of the richly prepared and highly seasoned dainties of the king's table for food, and his wine for drink.

This action of those four boys was but the expression of a fixed principle, derived from knowledge of the effects which the king's provision would have. For Daniel not only "purposed in his heart" (Daniel 1:8) that he would not partake of the king's victuals and drink, but he did this because "he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8) with those things. He refused that food and drink because he knew their defiling effect upon those who used them. For the effect of all such food and drink is certainly to defile. (The full discussion of this subject is available in the book, Evangelistic Temperance) Here we state the principle by an illustration so plain and simple that all can understand it.

If your lamp chimney is all befogged, the light will not shine clearly through it; not half the light will shine through it then that will shine through it when it is well cleaned. Yet the light itself within the chimney may be the same all the time. The oil may be of the purest, the wick perfectly trimmed, there may be no lack whatever in the light itself; yet if the chimney be dusty, smoky, or in any way befogged, the light will not shine clearly. It simply cannot shine clearly, because of the condition of the medium through which it must shine.

You know that when this is so, the thing to do is not to tinker the light nor to find fault with it, but to clean the chimney. And you know that when you do clean the chimney, the light is not only allowed to shine through, but it is actually enabled to shine as it cannot possibly without any chimney. Thus it is literally true that, other things being equal, the strength and clearness of the light depend upon the medium through which it must shine.

Now, believers in Christ are the mediums through which the light of God, by His Holy Spirit, must shine to the world. That light is perfect. It is impossible that there should be any lack whatever in the perfect shining of that light itself. So far as there is any lack in perfect shining, it is altogether because of defect in the medium through which the light would shine. And anything whatever that benumbs the nerves or clogs the blood, befogs the system and bedims the light of God, as certainly as that befogged lamp chimney bedims the light of the lamp.

Every kind of stimulant and narcotic--wine, tobacco, beer, coffee, tea--does benumb the nerves; and all richly cooked, highly seasoned, and flesh-meat food does clog the blood; so that the effect of all or any of these is to befog the system, and bedim the light of God that would shine, by His Holy Spirit, through our lives in the darkness of the world.

Daniel lived in the darkest age of ancient Israel,--the age when it fell by the weight of its own iniquity. He also lived in the darkest age of ancient Babylon,--the age when Babylon also fell by the weight of its own iniquity. Daniel stood in the world as one of the professed people of God, through whom the light of God must shine in the darkness of the world of his day.

We live today in an age that corresponds to that of both Jerusalem and Babylon. Today God calls His people out of Babylon, that they "be not partakers of her sins, and ... receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4)

We stand as the professed people of God, through whom the light must shine in the darkness of the world. Yet hundreds, we fear there are thousands, of professed Seventh-day Adventists, do drink tea, coffee, or other such evil stuff, and do eat flesh meats, dainties, and highly seasoned food; and then wonder why their neighbors do not "see the light"! They ask the Lord for His Holy Spirit, and then wonder why they have "so little influence"! The truth is, their neighbors cannot see the light: it is so bedimmed by their befogged minds and lives that people simply cannot see it clearly.

The Lord gives His Holy Spirit, He has now poured out His Holy Spirit; the perfect light is given, and as for the light itself, it cannot shine any clearer; but this holy light is so bedimmed by the benumbed nerves and befogged senses of these users of tea, coffee, flesh meats, and dainties, that those, even, who long to see it, and are looking earnestly for it, cannot see it. It cannot shine to them.

Daniel would not so defile himself. He had respect to the claims of his profession of being one of God's people. He therefore cleansed himself "from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," (2 Corinthians 7:1) that the light of God might shine undimmed and unhindered by the medium through which that light must shine in the darkness where he was. And all this happened for an example, and it is "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11)

Please, now, do not any more dare to sing "Dare to be a Daniel," unless you do really dare to be a Daniel.

Nobody had any difficulty in seeing the light where Daniel and his companions were. It shone clearly. The moral integrity which they had acquired through the word and Spirit of God shed its clear, distinct rays in every situation in which they were found. The light of this single principle of temperance and right living shone so clearly and so powerfully, in these boys, in contrast with the others, as to win the approval of the king's high officer. (Daniel 1:12-15)

All this is precisely what is wanted today in the darkness of the Babylon that surrounds us. Who of those today who profess to have the light of God for the world will defile themselves with the Babylonish meats and drinks of those around them? Who today, of all these, will not, in deed and in truth, "dare to be a Daniel"?--Advent Review, March 1, 1898.

Chapter 10 - God's Purpose in the Captivity

The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, to be His own people in the world. Before they entered the land of Canaan, the Lord said of them: "Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." (Numbers 23:9)

Thus God never intended His people to form themselves into a kingdom or government, like the nations. They were first, "the church in the wilderness;" (Acts 7:38) and He intended them to be only the church-not a state- when they dwelt in the land.

The government of Israel was intended to be a theocracy pure and simple--God their only King, their only Ruler, their only Lawgiver. The system formed in the wilderness through Moses, and continued in Canaan through Joshua, was intended to be perpetual. But Israel desired a king, a state, "like all the nations." (1 Samuel 8:5 also vs. 20)

"Like all the nations." The Israelites did not realize that to be in this respect unlike other nations, was a special privilege and blessing. God had separated the Israelites from every other people, to make them His own peculiar treasure. But they, disregarding this high honor, eagerly desired to imitate the example of the heathen! (Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 607)

Israel would be reckoned among the nations. They persisted in having a king. And though they must reject God in order to have a king and be like all the nations, they insisted on doing it. And in rejecting God that they might be like all the nations, they became like all the nations that rejected God. Their kingdom came to naught, their government perished, and the people themselves were scattered among the nations.

God had placed them in Palestine, at that time and for ages afterward the pivot of the known world. At this pivot He placed His people to be a light to all the nations, that those nations might know of the true God. By having God abiding with them, He intended them to influence all the nations for good. But they not only would be like all the nations; they became even "worse than the heathen." (2 Chronicles 33:9)

The land could no longer bear them; it must spew them out, as it was obliged to do with the people before them. (Leviticus 18:28)

As they had frustrated God's purpose to enlighten all the nations by them in the land where He had planted them, He would fulfill His purpose, and enlighten all the nations by them in the lands where He had scattered them. As they had lost the power to arrest and command the attention of all the nations, that they might consider God and His wonderful ways and works with the children of men, He would now use them to enlighten those who had acquired the power to arrest and command the attention of all the nations, and thus cause all nations to consider the wonderful ways and works of God with the children of men.

This is the whole philosophy of the captivity of Judah and of the position of Daniel in Babylon. This will be certainly seen as we now proceed to the study of the book of Daniel.

God had brought Nebuchadnezzar to the place of authority over all the nations. Two years before Daniel was carried captive to Babylon, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "Thus says the Lord to me; Make bonds and yokes, and put them upon your neck, And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; And command them to say unto their masters, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall you say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. ... But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, says the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein." (Jeremiah 27:2-8,11)

But Nebuchadnezzar did not yet know the Lord. He must be given the opportunity to know Him. And then if he would acknowledge God, he, being in the place of authority over all the nations, could call the attention of all the nations to the Lord whom he had come to know. And thus the knowledge of God, by means of His people in captivity in Babylon, would be brought to the attention of all the nations.

By the excellency of the learning and ability of the youthful Daniel and his three companions, they were brought into immediate connection with Nebuchadnezzar; "they stood before the king." (Daniel 1:19)

Thus the captive people of God were the means of divine enlightenment to those who ruled the world, that this divine enlightenment might be given to the world.

But Israel might have done this themselves from the pivot of the world in their own land, if only they had always honored the Lord in their own land, as these young men honored Him in their captivity.--Advent Review, March 8, 1898.

Chapter 11 - The Rise of Babylon

Before the Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar arose to power, the empire of Assyria ruled the world, as described in: "And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Who are you like in your greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations." (Ezekiel 31:1-6)

In 625 BC there was a revolt of the countries of Media, Babylon, and Egypt, all at once. The king of Assyria in person subdued the revolt in Media; while he sent his trusted general, Nabopolassar, to bring Babylon into subjection again. Both were entirely successful, Nabopolassar performing his part so well as to merit and receive from his sovereign the honorable title "King of Babylon." This Nabopolassar was the father of Nebuchadnezzar.

Affairs in the government of Assyria went from bad to worse, so that in 612 BC there was another grand revolt on the part of the same three countries, led this time by Nabopolassar himself. This one was completely successful: Nineveh was made a heap of ruins; and the Assyrian Empire was divided into three great divisions:

1. Media, holding the northeast and the extreme north,

2. Babylon holding Elam and all the plain and valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris, and

3. Egypt holding all the country west of the Euphrates.

The seal of this alliance between Babylon and Media was the marriage of the daughter of the king of Media to Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar.

It was in the performance of his part in the alliance against Assyria, that Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates when King Josiah of Judah went out to fight with him, and was slain at Megiddo. (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:20-22) Then as all this western territory pertained to the king of Egypt, it was in exercise of his legitimate sovereignty, gained by conquest, that he removed Shallum, the son of Josiah, from being king of Judah, and appointed Eliakim king of Judah in his stead, changing his name to Jehoiakim, and laid a tax upon the land. (1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31-35)

Pharaoh-Necho, however, was not left very long to enjoy his share of the vanished empire of Assyria. In the year 607 BC, Nabopolassar associated Nebuchadnezzar with himself as king, and sent him on an expedition in invasion of the territory of Pharaoh-Necho. Thus it was that: "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim [607 BC] king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it." (Daniel 1:1)

He took part of the vessels of the house of God, and a number of captives, among whom was Daniel, and carried them to Babylon. This, of course, was resented by Pharaoh-Necho. Accordingly, "in the fourth year of Jehoiakim" he came out of Egypt on an expedition against Babylon. He went no farther than to Carchemish, however; for there he was met by Nebuchadnezzar, as is related in Jeremiah 46:1-10.

"Necho was overcome and put to flight; one single battle stripped him of all his conquests, and compelled him to retire into Egypt."--Lenormant. "And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt." (2 Kings 24:7)

At the time when Cyaxares of Media, Nabopolasser of Babylon, and Necho of Egypt, formed their triple alliance for the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, was united in marriage to Amyitis, the daughter of Cyaxares.

Not long after the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire, there was war between Media and Lydia; but during a great battle there occurred an eclipse of the sun, which so awed both armies that they ceased fighting. This lull was seized upon by Nabopolasssar to intervene and ask both kings to come to an agreement, out of respect to the gods, who had so manifestly shown their displeasure by darkening the sun. He was successful. Peace was established, and the agreement was sealed by the marriage of the daughter of the king of Lydia to the son of the king of Media.

Thus Babylon, both by the prestige of her ancient and mighty name and by the good offices of Nabopolassar, strengthened herself in the position of a controlling influence over the two strong kingdoms of Media and Lydia. And when, shortly after this, Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, conquered Necho of Egypt, at Carchemish by the Euphrates, drove him back to Egypt, and took possession of all his territories, even up to the River of Egypt itself, Babylon secured the decidedly predominant power over all.

Thus matters stood when, in 604, Nabopolassar died, and was succeeded immediately by Nebuchadnezzar, having already so signally displayed his ability in war by the defeat of the king of Egypt and the conquest of all Palestine and Syria, easily maintained the dignity and predominance of Babylon before all nations.

In addition to this, the family relationship of Babylon with Media and Lydia was now closer than before; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was son-in-law to the king of Media, and brother-in-law to the heir of the throne of Media, who was sonin-law to the king of Lydia. All these influences gave Babylon, at the very beginning of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, an easy predominance, which was only strengthened at every step throughout the long reign of the mighty Nebuchadnezzar.

Such was the position of Babylon before the world at the end of Daniel's three years of study in Babylon, when he had most successfully passed the final examination, and was chosen, with his three companions, to "stand before the king." (Daniel 1:5)--Advent Review, March 15, 1898.

Chapter 12 - Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Israel had failed to fulfill the purpose of God to convey by them to all nations the knowledge of God, from the place where He had planted them, in order that they might do it. He was obliged to send them into captivity and scatter them among the nations, destroy their temple and annihilate their long-established worship, that, in their affliction, they might seek the Lord truly, and thus be lights in the darkness.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had attained to the headship of the world, and so held the power over all the nations. And now the Lord would convey to him the knowledge of the true God, and would utilize his position to convey to all the nations the knowledge of God.

But King Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater. He worshiped many gods, even the host of heaven, and knew not the true God at all. He must be taught the knowledge of God. And in order to do this most effectually, it was necessary to separate him from all false gods, and destroy all his confidence in them. When his mind was once cleared of all these false views, the true views would be seen clearly. And all this was done thoroughly.

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar alone, 603 BC, "[he] dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from him," (Daniel 2:1) which very much impressed him, in which he was exceedingly interested, but which he could not possibly recall. "Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king." (Daniel 2:2)

He asked of them that they should tell him the thing that he had dreamed, and they answered by asking him to tell them the dream, and they would tell the interpretation. But the king had not asked for any interpretation. What he wanted was to know what he had dreamed. If he had himself known the dream, he could have made an interpretation for it as easily as they could.

But the dream itself had gone from him when he awoke, yet the impression of the fact that he had dreamed of something remarkable so remained with him that he could not rest. He therefore said to them again, "The thing is gone from me." (Daniel 2:5)

Then he demanded of them that they should make known to him both the dream and the interpretation. They, in turn, repeated their request, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it." (Daniel 2:7)

By this time the king had caught the true point in the situation, and said to them: "Tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me the interpretation thereof." (Daniel 2:9)

This was their test, and it was only a fair one; for if they were really able truly to interpret it had they known it, they were able to discover it when the king did not know it; and if they could not discover it, and tell it to the king in such a way that he would recognize it as the thing which he had dreamed, this was evidence enough that any interpretation they might give, even though they knew it, would be mere guesswork. They therefore surrendered, so far as they themselves were concerned, by declaring: "There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter." (Daniel 2:10)

But not content with thus clearing themselves, they cast reflection upon the king by saying, "therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean." (Daniel 2:10)

More than this, they proceeded to give away their case again by declaring: "And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." (Daniel 2:11)

Now the very gist of the profession of these magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans was that they held such relationship to the gods that it was their peculiar prerogative to discover the will of the gods, and communicate it to both king and people. The magicians pretended, and were supposed, to be the interpreters and expounders of divine things. They pretended to be able by their art--magic--to "control the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings." (E.A. Wallis Budge, The Divine Origin of the Craft of the Herbalist, 1928. The quote comes from the following paragraph: "The oldest gods were too remote from the trivial affairs of the daily life of men to prevent accidents and calamities from overtaking them, but they placed in the hands of their vicars upon earth a certain kind of knowledge and power which, if rightly used, would enable them to annul and destroy the machinations of evil spirits, and bring to nought the works effected by them, and even to alter the courses of natural phenomena in heaven and upon earth. To this knowledge and power the unsatisfactory name of "Magic" has been given, and though primarily the word "Magic" only described the learning of the priests and sages of the Medes and Persians, who were famed for their skill in working enchantments, the word is now used to describe any supposed supernatural art, but more particularly any system of learning or art which claims to control the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings. "Magic" has always appealed greatly to men of all nations, for by the use of it a man ceases to be a supplicant of the gods, and is able to command and to force supernatural beings and things to do his will)

The astrologers pretended, and were supposed to be able to declare the will of the gods from the stars. The word "astrologer" is from aster, a "star," and logos, "word,"--the word, or instruction, of the stars. And as the stars were the gods, and these astrologers were the ones who pretended to declare the word of the stars, they simply pretended to declare the word and will of the gods.

The sorcerers were of the same order as the magicians, only that these had more peculiarly to do with evil spirits.

The Chaldeans were the priestly caste, who had control of the books in which was contained the instruction in magic, and sorcery, and all pertaining to the gods. Thus they were the instructors in all the wisdom and knowledge of the gods. They were the chief claimants to divine knowledge; they were the very chief guardians of such knowledge. If any men could be supposed to be able to declare secret and divine things, it would have been these.

Now, when all these together declared that none but the gods could tell this thing that was wanted, and that the gods were not near enough to men to allow this to be understood from them, this was nothing less than to confess that their whole profession was a fraud. And this was further to confess that all their conjurations, divinations, magic, sorcery, and "revelations" in times past were simply a fraud and an imposture upon the king and the people.

When this truth flashed upon the mind of Nebuchadnezzar, and he clearly saw that he and his people, and their fathers before them, had been systematically and continuously duped by these men, he was so disgusted, humiliated, and outraged that he thought the only fair thing to do was to wipe from the earth at once this whole combination of impostors. "For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain." (Daniel 2:12-13)

Daniel and his brethren had been placed in the schools of these imposters, and were, indeed, reckoned among them; therefore the executioners "sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." (Daniel 2:13)

When Arioch, the captain of the guard, had found them, and told them what was to be done, Daniel said to him, "Why is the decree so hasty from the king?" (Daniel 2:15)

Arioch told him the whole story. "Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation [both as to the dream and the meaning of it]." (Daniel 2:16)

This was granted. Then Daniel went to his house, and informed Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and suggested that they should "desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision." (Daniel 2:18-19)

After giving grateful thanks to God that He had made known to them "the king's matter," "Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon,...[and said to him,] Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation." (Daniel 2:24)

Arioch hurried away to the king, and said to him, "I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation." (Daniel 2:25)

Daniel was called, and the king asked, "Are you able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these: ... You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven has He given into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. ... The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you could reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Daniel 2:26-28,31-45,47-49)--Advent Review, March 22, 1898.

Chapter 13 - The Golden Image

The Lord had revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and had exposed the absolute nothingness but imposture of all claims in behalf of any other god. However, the king was not yet really acquainted with the Lord; he had much yet to learn of right principles.

In the interpretation of the remarkable dream that was given to him, the Lord had said to him that the head of gold of the great image represented the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar himself; and that after him should arise another kingdom inferior to his, and a third kingdom inferior to this, and yet another, a fourth kingdom, inferior even to this, and after that a condition of things yet further inferior. First there was gold, then silver, next brass, after that iron, and last of all, "iron mixed with miry clay." (Daniel 2:41)

Nebuchadnezzar, however, in his royal pride could not accept this statement. When he had received that wonderful dream, it was because that while upon his bed, thoughts had come into his mind as to "what should come to pass hereafter." (Daniel 2:29)

From what came to pass afterward with him, it is evident that his thoughts as to "what should come to pass hereafter," were to the effect that the mighty kingdom which he ruled, this "lady of kingdoms," (Isaiah 47:5) "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," (Isaiah 13:19) would in its greatness and glory continue on and on indefinitely. To correct this view, and show him the truth of the matter, the dream of the great image was shown to him. This told him that the golden glory of his kingdom would continue but a little while, and then another would arise, and another, and another, and then there would be division, with all these descending in a regular scale of inferiority, and then at last, "the God of heaven [would] set up a kingdom," (Daniel 2:44) and this alone would be the kingdom that should stand forever, and not be given to other people.

But the king could not accept this view of the subject; and after thinking upon it for a long time, he formulated his own idea in a great image, about a hundred feet tall and ten feet broad, all of gold from head to feet. This was a positive setting up of his own idea against that of God. This was to declare to all people that his golden kingdom was to endure forever, that there was to be no such thing as another kingdom arising separate from his and inferior to his,--a kingdom of silver, and another of brass, and then of iron, and even descending so low as iron mixed with miry clay. No! there should be only his golden kingdom of Babylon, and that should never be broken nor interrupted.

He therefore set up, to be worshiped by all, his great golden image as the just representation of what his great kingdom should continue to be. A great day was appointed for the dedication of the image; and "the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces," (Daniel 3:2) were gathered to do honor to the occasion and the image. Through proclamation by royal heralds, all were commanded, at a given signal of all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the golden image. In a number of points all this was an open challenge to the Lord.

1. It was the assertion that Nebuchadnezzar's idea of the kingdoms of men should be accepted as the true and divine idea instead of that of God.

2. It was the assertion that the embodiment of this idea should be worshiped as God.

3. And all this was indeed the putting of Nebuchadnezzar himself in the place of God as the ruler in the kingdom of men, the head of all religion, and the director of all worship.--Advent Review, March 29, 1898.

Chapter 14 - The Fiery Furnace

As before remarked, King Nebuchadnezzar's setting up that great gold image, and commanding all, under dreadful penalty, to worship it, was, in a number of points, an open challenge to the Lord.

1. It was the assertion that his idea of the kingdoms of men should be accepted as the true and divine idea, instead of that of God.

2. It was the assertion that the embodiment of this human idea should be worshiped as God.

3. And all this was nothing less than the putting of Nebuchadnezzar himself in the place of God, as the head of all religion and of all government, and the director of all worship.

Yet the Lord employed it all, not only to instruct the king, but to instruct all nations at that time and forever after. The situation created by Nebuchadnezzar for his own glory, the Lord would use in accomplishing His great purpose of giving to all nations the knowledge and glory of God.

In the great crowd that was assembled, there were the three faithful servants of God--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And when, at the voice of the royal herald, and the sound of harp, flute, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, the great crowd of princes, governors, counselors, sheriffs, and all the people "fell down and worshiped the golden image," (Daniel 3:7) these three young men stood bolt upright, and gave no notice whatever to the image. Then, "certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews." (Daniel 3:7)

They said to the king: "There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king." (Daniel 3:12-13)

He said to them: "Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you do not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?" (Daniel 3:14)

He then in person repeated his command that they should worship the image, and the penalty upon disobedience, that "if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up." (Daniel 3:15-18)

Then the furnace was heated to sevenfold its usual strength, and the men were cast into it, and "fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." (Daniel 3:23)

But suddenly the king, fairly petrified with astonishment, rose up in haste from his throne, and cried to his counselors: "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." (Daniel 3:24-25)

The king called them forth, and said: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God." (Daniel 3:28)

God had commanded all nations to serve King Nebuchadnezzar, and had said that whatsoever nation would not serve the same king, the Lord would punish. (Jeremiah 27:1-8) Yet here He wrought a wonderful miracle to deliver these men who had openly and directly refused to obey a positive command of the king. Why was this? Did God contradict himself? Not at all. This command of the king was wrong. He was requiring a service which he had no right to require. He had given a command which he had no right to give.

In making him king of the nations, the Lord had not made him king in the religion of the nations. In making him the head of all the nations, God had not made him the head of religion. But being an idolater, and having grown up amid idolatrous systems, Nebuchadnezzar did not know this. With idolaters, religion always has been, and still is, a part of the government; in heathen systems, religion and the government are always united: while in the true system--the divine, the Christian, system--they are always separate.

And this was the instruction which the Lord gave to King Nebuchadnezzar in this great transaction. In a way in which it was impossible not to understand, the Lord showed him that he had nothing whatever to do with the religion, nor in directing the worship, of the people.

The Lord had brought all nations under this king's yoke as to their bodily service; but now, by an unmistakable evidence, this same Lord showed to King Nebuchadnezzar that He had given him no power nor jurisdiction whatever in their souls' service.

The Lord thus showed the king that while in all things between nation and nation or man and man, all people, nations, and languages had been given to him to serve him, and he had been made ruler over them all, yet in things between men and God, he was given plainly and forcibly to understand that he had nothing whatever to do. And this is all written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. And there being present and beholding it all, "the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces." (Daniel 3:2) of all his realm, this great truth, with the knowledge of the power and glory of the true God, was by this one mighty impulse spread among all the peoples, nations, and languages throughout the whole mighty and wide-spread empire. "Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon." (Daniel 3:30)--Advent Review, April 5, 1898.

Chapter 15 - Nebuchadnezzar's Conversion

In the dream and its interpretation, of the great image of Daniel 2, the Lord revealed himself to King Nebuchadnezzar, and taught him the impotence of all the gods, and the imposture of all the claims on their behalf made by astrologers, magicians, and Chaldeans.

In so wonderfully delivering from the fiery furnace His servants who refused to obey the king's command to worship the king's great golden image, the Lord taught to Nebuchadnezzar and all people that, according to the word and will of God, earthly governments cannot rightly have anything whatever to do with commanding, regulating, or directing the religion or worship of the people; that there must be a positive and clear-cut separation between the worship of the people and the government of the state, and between religion and the state.

In this the Lord also taught to him and to all people that which he acknowledged,--that the king's word, the laws of the state, must change and give way in the presence of the exercise of the right of the people to be religious, and to worship according to the will of God toward the individual himself--in modern phrase, according to the dictates of the individual conscience.

There was yet one further lesson to be given to the king, thoroughly to teach him and all people that it is the Most High, and not kings alone, who "rules in the kingdom of men." (Daniel 4:17 also vs. 25,32)

King Nebuchadnezzar had accomplished the complete conquest of all the nations, which had proved him to be the greatest warrior then in the world. Great in war, he was yet greater in peace.

It was as the adorner and beautifier of his native land--as the builder and restorer of almost all her cities and temples--that this monarch obtained that great reputation which has handed down his name traditionally in the East on a par with those of Nimrod, Solomon, and Alexander, and made it still a familiar term in the mouths of the people. Probably no single man ever left behind him as his memorial upon the earth one half the amount of building that was erected by this king.--Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, article: "Babel, Babylon".

He made Babylon one of the greatest of the "seven wonders of the world," "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," (Isaiah 13:19) the very "lady of kingdoms." (Isaiah 47:5)

Throughout the empire, at Borsippa, Sippara, Cutha, Chilmad, Duraba, Teredon, and a multitude of other places, he built or rebuilt cities, repaired temples, constructed quays, reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts, on a scale of grandeur and magnificence surpassing everything of the kind recorded in history, unless it be the constructions of one or two of the greatest Egyptian monarchs.

It is scarcely too much to say that, but for Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians would have had no place in history. At any rate, their actual place is owing almost entirely to this prince, who, to the military talents of an able general, added a grandeur of artistic conception and skill of construction which place him on a par with the greatest builders of antiquity.

Of all this, King Nebuchadnezzar, very naturally and very humanly, was very proud. He gave to himself the credit for the whole of it. But from this self-worship the Lord would save him; the process is given in the king's own words in Daniel 4.

The king was at rest in his house and flourishing in his palace. Upon his bed he dreamed that he saw a great and high tree standing in the midst of the earth; the height reached to heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves were fair, the fruit was much, and it was meat for all. The beasts of the field had shadow under it, the fowls of the heaven dwelt in its boughs, and all flesh was fed of it. In his dream he saw a watcher and a holy one descend from heaven, and heard him cry aloud: "Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him: and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will, and sets up over it the basest of men." (Daniel 4:14-17)

The magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans were again called. But though this time the king told them his dream, they could not tell him the meaning of it. Then Daniel was called, who readily told the interpretation to the king. Of the great tree he said: "It is you, O king, that art grown and become strong: for your greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth." (Daniel 4:22)

Of the watcher and the holy one who came down, he gave the meaning: "That they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; your kingdom shall be sure unto you, after that you shall have known that the heavens do rule." (Daniel 4:25-26)

Upon all this Daniel gave him a word of counsel: "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of your tranquility." (Daniel 4:27)

But, like many another man, Nebuchadnezzar would not yield to the warning, accept the word, and so escape the impending calamity. He continued to indulge his self-worship. "At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from you. And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws." (Daniel 4:29-33)

Yet the rest of the dream was fulfilled also; his kingdom was held sure unto him, and when the time was expired, and he had learned of a surety, and would acknowledge permanently, that the heavens do rule, his intelligence was returned to him, and he was restored to his kingdom in peace.

It was not alone for Nebuchadnezzar's sake that all this occurred, but for the sake of all nations and kings not only of that time, but of all time, even to the world's end. Accordingly, when he had learned the appointed lesson, and, in the fear of God, was seated upon the throne to which he now acknowledged that the Most High had brought him, he wrote out a full account of his experience, and in the form of an official royal proclamation, sent it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in all his wide dominions. And here it is: "Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God has wrought toward me. How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation." (Daniel 4:1-3)

Then follows the full account of his dream of the great tree, etc., of Daniel's interpretation of it, of how it all came upon him, and how he was driven out to the fields for the appointed time; and he concludes the proclamation as follows: "And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What do you? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." (Daniel 4:34-37)

All the Lord's training of King Nebuchadnezzar had been to this great and noble end, and that noble end was nobly accepted by him. It was written for the admonition of all kings and rulers who should come after him, and especially those upon whom the ends of the world are come.--Advent Review, April 12, 1898.

Chapter 16 - Belshazzar's Feast

God had exposed to Nebuchadnezzar the impotent nature and fraudulent character of all the gods of Babylon, and had brought the king to the knowledge of the true God. And this instruction was given in such a way that it reached all the people as instruction also.

The Lord next taught the king that however great was the power of kings over people and nations, yet they could of right have no power at all over the religion or worship of those whom they ruled. God showed him that the edicts of rulers must yield, that the words of kings must change, in the presence of the right of the individual to worship according to the dictates of his own conscience. This also was taught in such a way as to make it instruction to "all people, nations, and languages" (Daniel 4:1) in all the wide extended empire of Babylon.

Finally the Lord taught the great king that it is the Most High who rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will; that though Nebuchadnezzar had made the conquest of all the nations, and had become ruler over them all, yet it was the God of heaven who had given all these nations into his hand, and had made him ruler over them all. This great truth, too, was taught not only to Nebuchadnezzar direct, but through him, by official proclamation, to "all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth."

Though all this was known by the princes, and the lords of all the realm, yet at the death of Nebuchadnezzar, his son and successor made himself so profligate and so altogether vicious that his own relatives put him to death at the end of his second year's reign.

This man's successor held the power only four years, three of which were busily employed in preparation for the war that came in the fourth year, and in the first battle of which he was killed. He was in turn succeeded by a king who so "let himself loose in the utmost excess, without any manner of restraint whatever,"--Prideaux’s Connexion, book II. that it was only nine months before his excesses became so unbearable that "his own people conspired against him, and slew him.--Ibid.

And this man was succeeded by a king who at last actually associated with himself upon the throne his son, the outbreaking Belshazzar, in whose riotous excesses in debauchery and blasphemy the Babylonian iniquity culminated, and brought upon the wicked city the swift judgment of God in the very night of this king's greatest drunken, lascivious, and blasphemous feast. "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another." (Daniel 5:1-6)

The conscience-cowardly king, in his frenzy, "cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers;" (Daniel 5:7) and promised great rewards and the highest honor, next to the king, to whomsoever would explain the terrible writing. None could do it until the holy Daniel was brought. "Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor: And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomsoever He will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from Him; and this writing was written." (Daniel 5:17-24)

And now everyone who reads these lines likewise knows "all this." It has been told to you. It has been written in the holy Book and preserved to you by the Lord, "in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways." You have read it many a time; and it has been brought to your attention many more times. And what are you doing with it all? Knowing "all this," have you humbled your heart? or are you, like Belshazzar, going on, with a heedless heart and a high head, to swift destruction?

This was not made known to Belshazzar in his time in vain: no more in vain is it made known to you in this time of all the world in which it most applies. Knowing "all this," are you lifting up your heart "against the Lord of heaven"? Is it now true of you, as of him, that knowing "all this," "the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified"?

Take heed; for the writing that night was that once written for all time. Take heed lest you, too, knowing "all this," shall, when "weighed in the balances," be "found wanting." "And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. Tekel; You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. Peres; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. ... In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." (Daniel 5:25-28,30-31)--Advent Review, April 19, 1898.

Chapter 17 - Two Ways

The book of Daniel is a book for young people, and especially for young men. Daniel and his three brethren were but youth, of eighteen years or less, when they were taken captives to Babylon. On the other hand, Belshazzar was also a young man of only eighteen or twenty years. Thus at two great crises in the history of the kingdom of Babylon,--one at the beginning, the other at the end,--the chief interests of that great kingdom hung upon the conduct of young men of from eighteen to twenty, or perhaps twenty-one, years.

This book of Daniel was written to tell what should come to pass in the latter days, and therefore especially "for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Corinthians 10:11)

And the lesson to be drawn from the characters of these two sorts of young men are of special importance in the last days. Babylon itself was a picture of the last days; and the fall of Babylon was a representation of the fall of the whole earth. The last message heard from heaven before the end of all things is: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ... Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:2,4)

It was the corruption of Babylon in all sorts of iniquity that caused her fall. And the wild rout in that drunken and lascivious feast of Belshazzar, was the culmination of a long and popular course of intemperance and iniquity.

Yet for sixty-nine years Daniel, as one of the chief men of the kingdom, had lived in the very center of this sea of intemperance and iniquity; he had daily passed in and out among the chief actors in it; and had kept himself pure from any taint of any of the abounding vices.

Called to that place when he was but eighteen; honored at the very first with provision from the dainties of the king's table, and from the store of royal wines; promoted at the age of twenty-one to the position of personal attendant in the presence of the king; at the age of twenty-two made one of the greatest men of the empire by being further promoted to the threefold honor of "ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon," (Daniel 2:48) -and given a seat in the council of the king; and with all this made the recipient of "many great gifts,"--this young man, so honored and flattered and courted in such a place as that, and in such society as was there, steadily maintained through his whole life absolute integrity of character, perfect propriety of conduct, and complete control of every appetite and every passion. This was Daniel; and his three brethren were not far unlike him.

There was another young man in the center of society in Babylon. He also was prominent in the king's court. He, too, was promoted to a high place in the kingdom; he was associated with the king himself in the rulership of the kingdom. He knew the right way. He had the best of examples before him. He knew the purport of all these things.

Yet he despised all instruction, disregarded all admonition, and indulged every appetite and every passion; and so reached at last the point where he recognized no bounds of propriety in conduct, was destitute of principle, and thought of no such thing as integrity of character. At the age of twenty-one, or younger, he had run his course, had been weighed in the balances and found utterly wanting, and had perished in his outbreaking iniquity. This was Belshazzar.

Today the world is fast running in the way of Babylon. The intemperance and other vices of Babylon are prevalent everywhere. Today every young man is practically in the society of Babylon. Today these characters from Babylon, portrayed in the book of Daniel, are living examples; they are living illustrations of the choices that will be made, and, indeed, that are being made, by young men in the Babylon of today.

Today there are before every young man the two ways,--the way of Daniel and the way of Belshazzar. Today every young man has the opportunity to choose which of these ways he will take. Today, indeed, every young man is choosing either the way of Daniel or the way of Belshazzar; for not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. There is no middle ground.

There is no middle ground because it is solely a question of principles. That you would not go today the whole length to which Belshazzar went at the end of his career, is no security to you; for today, and in this matter, the end is in the beginning. He who today despises the instruction given, and disregards the admonition written, on this subject for this time, chooses the way of Belshazzar, and will reach the end of that way as Belshazzar did; for there is no other ending to it.

Belshazzar knew the right way, but he would not humble his heart to choose that way. He knew of the Lord of heaven and his obligations to Him; but he lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven, and would not glorify Him.

It is perfectly certain that there are today scores of young men in the families of Seventh-day Adventists, as well as of others, who are choosing the way of Belshazzar. They have been taught, they have read, so that they know, for themselves, the lessons of the book of Daniel. They know the principles and the career of Daniel. They know that these principles are of God. Yet they disregard it all, they repudiate it all, and choose the way of Belshazzar; so that the words are as true to them today as to him that night: "You ... Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven:...and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified." (Daniel 5:22-23)

Today the message goes forth: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. ... Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:2,4)

Soon, "great Babylon [will come] in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath." (Revelation 16:19)

Today, while it is called today, the representative characters of the book of Daniel are living characters. There are two of them- Daniel and Belshazzar. These are the two ways today, and there is no other way. The way of Daniel, or the way of Belshazzar- which do you choose today? Not to choose the way of Daniel is to choose the way of Belshazzar. Choose the way of Daniel today, now, and forever.--Advent Review, April 26, 1898.

Chapter 18 - Feasting and Drinking

Society in Babylon and the characteristics of that last night of Belshazzar and of the kingdom of Babylon, are representative of society and its practices in the last days. This would be plain, if from nothing else, from the fact that the term "Babylon" is used to describe the society and the practices of the last days. And the practices of Babylonian society that night were feasting, and drunkenness, and loose relations between the sexes.

And such is precisely the description which Jesus gives of things in the last days. He says they will be "eating and drinking, ... [and] eating and drinking with the drunken;" (Matthew 24:38,49) there will be "surfeiting and drunkenness;" (Luke 21:34) and like as it was in the day when Lot went out of Sodom, "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke 17:30)

If these things were only confined to the confessedly wicked world, it would all be bad enough; but the faithful Word certifies that these things are practiced by, and among, those who profess to be the servants and people of God. "In the last days ... [men will have] a form of godliness, but will deny the power thereof: ... [and will be] lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." (2 Timothy 3:1,5,4)

It is even these who will be surfeiting and drinking. It is even the professed servant of the Lord, though an "evil servant, [who says] in his heart, My Lord delays His coming; And [begins] to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken." (Matthew 24:48-49)

It is even professed churches, "mother" and daughters, that are designated in the Scriptures as "Babylon." And today it is sorrowfully a matter of serious consideration with the most spiritually minded in the churches, how much further the churches can go in their feasting and festivity; their fish-ponds, grab-bags, and kissing-bees; their auction sales--at "foot socials" and "ankle auctions"--of the young women of the congregation, the price invited by sensual suggestion,--before they arrive at the point where, like Babylon indeed, they, too, shall be weighed in the balances, and, because utterly wanton, found utterly wanting.

Such proceedings cannot possibly have any other effect than to destroy in men that properly chivalrous and manly respect for women, and for themselves with women, that is the honor of a man; and to break down in woman that womanly modesty and reserve that everywhere are the perfect defense of a woman; and so to produce a looseness of relations between the sexes such as characterized Babylon itself.

Such is the inevitable tendency in society today, both in the church and in the world,--altogether toward Babylon, as portrayed in the book of Daniel the night of her dreadful fall. In that ancient Babylon, people were scattered whom God recognized as His, and to whom, just before her destruction, He called: "My people, go out of the midst of her, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord." (Jeremiah 51:45)

So now, in these last days, there are people scattered in this Babylon whom God recognizes as His, and to whom, just before her destruction, He calls: "Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4)

And now God sends forth that call. Those by whose voices it is sounded forth must go everywhere, among all people, to find them, so that they can hear the "voice from heaven," (Revelation 18:4) ringing with the sweet tones of the voice of the Good Shepherd. These messengers must go into the very streets and alleys of the "highviced cities," into the highways and hedges of the country places,--everywhere,--to save people, "with fear, pulling them out of the fire." (Jude 23)

And of all things, those who go thus everywhere among Babylonian evils, must themselves be spiritual, must themselves be pure, must themselves be strong. They must so truly know the way of true holiness that, while loving the lost sinner overwhelmed in the lusts of the flesh, and in compassion pulling him out of the fire, they will so hate sin as to hate "even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 23) "Be clean, you that bear the vessels of the Lord." (Isaiah 52:11)

All this can be done. In Christ, men can find perfect temperance; that perfect purity that will enable them to walk in white wherever they may go; and that manly integrity that will protect every woman in the world,-protect her even from herself, if need be. In Christ every woman can find perfect temperance, and also can find and preserve that genuine womanly modesty that is her full protection and sure defense everywhere she may be called to go.

And thus Christian men and Christian women can live as did Daniel and his companions, not as Belshazzar and his crowd, and can and will preserve propriety of personal conduct and the proper relations between the sexes, wherever they may be called of Christ to go, even amid the corruptions of this last-day Babylon, and even to her last day of grace. "Come out of her, my people." (Revelation 18:4) "Be clean, you that bear the vessels of the Lord." (Isaiah 52:11)

Dare to be a Daniel.--Advent Review, May 3, 1898.

Chapter 19 - The Lions Den

"In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom." (Daniel 5:30-31)

Belshazzar had been associated with his father, Nabonadius, in the rulership of the kingdom. This is why it was that when Belshazzar would offer the highest possible position and reward to whoever would read for him the terrible writing on the wall, he could bestow only the position of "the third ruler in the kingdom." (Daniel 5:7)

This was next to the king himself. And if there had been but one king, Daniel, in the position to which he was raised, would have been the second ruler in the kingdom. Having been by the king exalted to the highest position, next to the throne, he was accordingly clothed "with scarlet," and they "put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom." (Daniel 5:29)

And now the two kings being out of the way, when Darius the Median, and Cyrus the Persian, his general, came to inquire into the affairs of Babylon with respect to establishing order and reorganizing the realm, they found Daniel in his royal robe and the insignia of the highest office. And when they asked him about the affairs of the kingdom, its revenues, etc., they found him to be so thoroughly informed, and so able, that they took him into their council, and gave him the chief place in the reorganization of the kingdom. "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." (Daniel 6:1-3)

This arrangement of three chief officers, of whom one of the three was chief, corresponded to the governmental system established by David,--as any one can see by reading 1 Chronicles 11:6,11,12,21,--and plainly could have been adopted only at the suggestion of Daniel himself.

A new people had now come upon the scene of action. Another kingdom and other rulers were now called by the Most High, and given a charge concerning the world. These must be taught the knowledge of the true God and the principles of his truth. God would now further use His captive people to extend the knowledge of God and the principles of His truth to all peoples, nations, and languages. And He would make the wrath of man to praise Him. (Psalm 76:10)

When the other presidents and princes saw Daniel preferred before themselves, they were, like all politicians, dissatisfied. And when they saw that he was likely to be yet further promoted, they determined to break him down utterly. Accordingly, the whole company of them formed a conspiracy, and diligently "sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom." (Daniel 6:4)

But with all their diligence, and with all their suspicious and prejudiced care, "they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him." (Daniel 6:4)

What a commendation is that for a man of business in public affairs! Think what a test it was that was put upon Daniel. Everything that occurred in his daily business was watched and spied upon with the closest possible scrutiny, and with the definite purpose to find every fault that could be found. Every document that passed his hand, every item of business that arose in connection with his office, every direction that he gave, even the most jealous and suspicious prejudice. Yet these envious men exhausted every device and every means of information, only in vain. And such men were compelled to confess their complete failure. No fault, and not even an error, could be found in Daniel's conduct of the business of the empire.

There was, however, one last resource which, by a trick, they might employ. They knew that he feared God. They knew that his service of the Lord was actuated by such firm principle that, in rendering that service, he would not dodge, nor compromise, nor swerve one hair's-breadth, upon any issue that might be raised. "Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." (Daniel 6:5)

But even in this, there was nothing upon which they might base an "occasion." In order to find it, they would have to create it; and create it they did. Pretending to be great lovers of their country, and to have much and sincere concern for the honor of the king and the preservation of the state, they "[they] assembled together to the king, ... [and proposed] to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever should ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of [King Darius], should be cast into the den of lions." (Daniel 6:6-7)

They presented the matter in such a plausible way, and with such evident "care for the public good," that Darius was completely deceived, and "signed the writing and the decree." (Daniel 6:9)

Daniel knew that the writing was signed. He knew that it was now the law,--and the law of the Medes and Persians, too, "which altered not." (Daniel 6:8,12) Yet, knowing all this, "He went into his house, and ... kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." (Daniel 6:10)

He knew perfectly that no law of the Medes and Persians, nor of any other earthly power, could ever of right have anything to say or do with any man's service to God. He went on just as he did aforetime, because, practically and in principle, all things were just as aforetime: so far as concerned the conduct of the man who feared God, any law on that subject was no more than no law at all on that subject. "Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God." (Daniel 6:11)

Of course they found him doing so. They expected to find him doing so. That was precisely what they "assembled" for. And Daniel was not afraid that they would find him doing so. He did not go out and advertise that he would do so; neither did he dodge it when his regular time came to pray. He simply proceeded "as he did aforetime."

Then these men hurried away to the king, and asked him, "Have you not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regards not you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day." (Daniel 6:12-13)

Then the king awoke to the fact that he had been trapped, and he "was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him." (Daniel 6:14)

But the conspirators were persistent to defeat every effort which the king could make. And they had a ready and unanswerable argument against everything that might be proposed. That argument was: "The law, the law." "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed." (Daniel 6:15)

There was no remedy; the law must be enforced. Daniel was cast to the lions. The king gave him the parting word of faith: "Your God whom you serve continually, He will deliver you. ... Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?" (Daniel 6:16,18-20)

And to the delight of the king, Daniel answered: "O king, live forever. My God has sent His angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before you, O king, have I done no hurt." (Daniel 6:16,21-22)

That is divine testimony that innocency before God is found in the man who disregards any law touching his service to God. It is also divine testimony that the man who disregards such laws, in doing so does "no hurt" to the king, to the state, or to the government. "Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions." (Daniel 6:16,25-27)--Advent Review, May 10, 1898.

Chapter 20 - Cyrus the Persian

Darius the Mede reigned two years, and was succeeded by 

Cyrus the Persian. The angel of the Lord had stood by Darius the Mede, "to confirm and to strengthen him" (Daniel 11:1) in executing the purpose of God upon Babylon. (Jeremiah 51:11-14) And through the faithfulness of Daniel, Darius had been brought to the knowledge of the true God. The Lord would do the same for Cyrus also; for there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:11) Indeed, the Lord's dealings with Cyrus began more than a hundred years before Cyrus was born. As early as 712 BC, the Lord, by Isaiah, wrote thus of Cyrus: "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, which call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my elect, I have even called you by your name: I have surnamed you, though you have not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded you, though you have not known me." (Isaiah 45:1-5)

This told how the Lord would hold Cyrus' hand, and lead him in the capture of Babylon, with its two-leaved gates of brass and bars of iron. Cyrus captured Babylon in the year 538 BC. From 712 to 538 BC was 174 years. Cyrus was about sixty years old when he took Babylon. Sixty from one hundred and seventy four is one hundred and fourteen; therefore, this was written of Cyrus, and he was called by name in the Scriptures of truth, one hundred and fourteen years before he was born.

Thus, when that passage was written by Isaiah, Cyrus did not know the Lord; first, because he was not then born. But there was a further reason why Cyrus did not know the Lord, even when he had come to the taking of Babylon. Cyrus was a Persian, and so had been born, had grown up, and had been taught, among people who were heathen.

The Persians in their religious system recognized two great principles,--Good and Evil. This conception of good and evil, however, did not rise to the height of moral and spiritual good and evil, or righteousness and sin, as is inculcated by the Lord; but rather, what would be counted by men as good and evil in prosperity and adversity, tranquility and disturbance.

Accordingly, when the Lord revealed himself to Cyrus as the only true God, He said to him: "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me. ... I am the Lord, and there is none else. ... I make peace, and create evil." (Isaiah 45:5-7)

I make tranquility and create disturbance; I give prosperity and send adversity. Again: the good principle was represented in the light, and the evil principle in the darkness. Accordingly, when the Lord revealed himself to Cyrus as the only true God, He said to him: "I am the Lord, and there is none else. ... I form the light, and create darkness." (Isaiah 45:5,7)

This good principle was personified under the name of "Ormuzd," and the evil principle under the name of "Ahriman." Later, the sun was adopted into the worship as the embodiment of the good principle, or light; and when the sun had set, and the darkness of night came on, fire was used as representing the good principle. Thus the people came at last to be sun-worshipers and fire-worshipers.

When Cyrus had become king of Babylon, if not before, the scriptures relating to himself were showed to him by Daniel, and he read them himself. In these scriptures he found the Lord God of heaven speaking personally to him: "Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus. ... I will go before you. ... I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, Jehovah, which call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel my elect, I have even called you by your name: I have surnamed you, though you have not known me. I am Jehovah, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded you, though you have not known me. ... I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded." (Isaiah 45:1-5,12)

This revelation of the Lord to Cyrus was so personal, so plain, and so direct, that Cyrus accepted it, acknowledged Him as "The Lord God of heaven," (Ezra 1:2) and declared, "He is the God." (Ezra 1:3) Then Cyrus read the further word of God to himself: "That says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid." (Isaiah 44:28) "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, says the Lord of hosts." (Isaiah 45:13)

When Cyrus read this, he accepted that word, and did at once, in his very first year, what the word said. Accordingly: "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (He is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. ... Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah." (Ezra 1:1-4,7-8)

What a blessing to the world it would be today if even those who belong to the church, and profess to have known God for years, were as prompt to acknowledge the word of God and God in His word, and to obey that word, as was Cyrus the Persian when that word came to him.--Advent Review, May 17, 1898.

Chapter 21 - Without Man's Devising

No sooner had those of Israel who returned to Jerusalem under the decree of Cyrus, reached that place, and begun to build the house of the Lord, than the mixed people of Samaria came up, and said: "Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as you do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither." (Ezra 4:2)

But those of Israel said: "You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia." (Ezra 4:3-5)

At the court of Cyrus, Daniel was prime minister. In the first year of Darius the Mede, he had "understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." (Daniel 9:2)

Then in the first year of Cyrus, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord at the end of the seventy years, King Cyrus had called all the people of Israel in all the realm, to leave their captivity, and return to Jerusalem, and build the temple of God. And now for Daniel to find this purpose and work frustrated in his very presence, in the councils of state, and being obliged to meet it in some way at every turn, at the very court of Cyrus itself, caused him great concern.

However, prime minister though he was, holding the highest position in the empire next to the king, he did not undertake any counter-intrigue, nor employ any political means, to frustrate the purpose of those who were hired to frustrate in council, and by political tricks, the purpose of the Lord with Israel to restore the temple and worship of God.

Daniel knew that the time had certainly come for the word of the Lord to be fulfilled, and for the work of God to be re-established in the earth. He knew that the cause and the work were the Lord's. He therefore appealed directly to the Lord, for an understanding of the matter, and for the defeat of the hired counselors at the court. Therefore he says: "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia. ... I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 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 10:1-3)

Then an angel came to him, and said: "Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words." (Daniel 10:12)

Daniel had been praying and chastening himself for three full weeks; and from the first day of this, his words were heard, and the angel was sent; yet the angel did not reach Daniel until three whole weeks were fulfilled. Why was this? The angel tells: "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." (Daniel 10:13)

At the court of Cyrus the opposition to the work of God was so strong that only an angel of God could withstand it, and to be fully successful, even he must be helped by "Michael, the first of the princes." And when this was so, what could a man, even such a man as Daniel, have done? Yea, when two such mighty ones were required, what could have been done, even by such a man as Daniel, even in the position which Daniel occupied as prime minister of the empire?

One great beauty of the whole story is that Daniel understood this great truth,--that only the Most High rules, or can rule, in the kingdom of men; and he would entrust that great task to the Most High. Though holding the highest earthly position next to the king of the world, and being possessed of vast influence, Daniel would not trust to any of this, he would not attempt to employ any of it, in any endeavor of himself to beat down the opposition to the cause and work of God, with which he was even so vitally concerned. Even if he had attempted such a thing, how utterly impotent and vain would have been all that he could have possibly done, when that which was needed could be accomplished only by two of the mightiest of heaven's host.

No; there was yet a higher position than that of prime minister, or even king; that position was to be on his knees, in fasting and supplication before God. There was a mightier influence that could be wielded than any that could attach to the office of prime minister of the world's empire; that was influence with God, through faith, consecration, and supplication. This position Daniel took, this influence he employed, and won.

What, then, is position,--what is influence, even the greatest in the world, in itself? In itself, it is all simply nothing. The only position that is worth anything whatever is position with God. The only influence that is of any value is influence with God. He who holds a position only with God, who has influence with God, and who aims to exert an influence only through God, rules the world. For, "The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will." (Daniel 4:17 also vs. 25,32)--Advent Review, May 24, 1898.

Chapter 22 - The Most High Rules

The keynote of the book of Daniel is the great truth that: "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will." (Daniel 4:17 also vs. 25,32)

This was the great culminating lesson in the instruction to Nebuchadnezzar. It was the disregarding of this great lesson by Belshazzar, that caused to be written the terrible handwriting on the wall, announcing the doom of Belshazzar and of Babylon, which fell upon both "that night." (Daniel 5:30)

That great truth was acknowledged, and its lesson was learned, by Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. And by prophetic sketches in the 7th, 8th, and 11th chapters of the book, that great truth is so fully and so clearly illustrated that no one, whether the ruler of a world's empire, or a poor peasant, can be without excuse in ignorance of it.

In the 7th chapter of Daniel, the course of the kingdom of men is outlined from the days of Babylon to the end of the world, by four great beasts, representing the four great world-empires; then ten horns on the head of the fourth, representing ten kingdoms, into which the fourth would be divided; and finally, another one, arising among the ten, uprooting three of them, and continuing until "the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end;" (Daniel 7:26) and then: "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." (Daniel 7:27)

In the 8th chapter of Daniel the course of the kingdom of men is again outlined, from the rise of "Media and Persia," through the domination of "the king of Grecia" and the four divisions of his empire, to and through the rising and working of another power: "A king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences. ... And his power shall be mighty, ... and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against [or "in place of"] the Prince of princes [the Lord Jesus himself]; but he shall be broken without hand." (Daniel 8:23-25)

This power would be "broken without hand" in the mighty breaking caused by: "a stone cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them." (Daniel 2:34-35)

In the 11th chapter of Daniel the course of the kingdom of men is yet again outlined:

• from the "third year of Cyrus," (Daniel 10:1) through the reigns of his "three" successors, and even of "the fourth," who was "far richer than they all," and who, "by his strength through his riches," would "stir up all against the realm of Grecia"; (Daniel 11:2)

• then through the reign of the "mighty king" of Grecia, who would "rule with great dominion, and do according to his will"; (Daniel 11:3)

• then through the breaking of his kingdom, and its dividing "toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion which he ruled," but it would be "plucked up, even for others beside those"; (Daniel 11:4)

• then through the reigns of six kings "of the north" and six kings "of the south"; (Daniel 11:5-13)

• then through the exalting of the "children of robbers" "to establish the vision"; (Daniel 11:14)

• then through the reign of the children of robbers themselves, and their successors down to the "king of the north," who "shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain," and "come to his end," with none to help him; (Daniel 11:15-45)

• to "that time" when Michael shall "stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:1-2)

Thus fully, and thus specifically, is sketched in the book of Daniel, and by the hand of Daniel, five hundred and thirty-four years before Christ, the history of the kingdom of men from that day to the end of the world. And all this was so fully and so specifically written, "to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will." (Daniel 4:17)

And this is the keynote, and the one great lesson, of the book of Daniel.

Next we purpose to go over this ground again, and put the names of the empires, kingdoms, and kings in place of the symbols.--Advent Review, May 31, 1898.

Chapter 23 - The History of the World

As it is the Most High who rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will; and as He knows "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done," (Isaiah 46:10) it is just as easy for Him to write the history of a nation, or of the world, before it occurs, as afterward. And as one great aim of the book of Daniel is: "that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will," (Daniel 4:17) this is done by sketching, in that book, the history of the world from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the end of the world. This book was not written for the time in which it was written, but for "the latter days," (Daniel 2:28 also 10:14) "the time of the end." (Daniel 8:17 also 11:35,40; 12:4,9)

And though written and finished by Daniel, it was then "shut up," (Daniel 8:26 also 12:4) and "sealed" (Daniel 12:9) till the time for which it was written,-"the time of the end." And anyone who will study the book till he becomes really familiar with it, and with the history of which it treats, will readily see how much more is told, in fewest words, and how much more vividly it is told, in the symbols that are used, than could be told in any other way.

The history of Babylon is clearly told in just forty-three words by means of a changing symbol, in Daniel 7:4.

The history of united Media and Persia--its rise, the relative positions of the two allied nations, the directions and extent of its conquests, and its power--is all clearly told in only sixty eight words by means of the symbol of Daniel 8:3-4.

The history of Alexander--the all-sweeping nature and rapidity of his march, his unchecked conquest of the Persian Empire, and the greatness of his own dominion--is all fully given, even with a plentiful use of words, in only about a hundred words, by means of the symbol of Daniel 8:5-8.

The history of Rome in both its phases--its nature, its characteristics, its policy, its pride, its arrogance, its power, its working, its great destructiveness, its exalting itself against God, and the manner of its end--is all most expressively told in only eighty-nine words, in Daniel 8:23-25.

Nobody who was not thoroughly acquainted with both the history and the symbols of these respective powers could possibly describe them so well, in so few words, as is done in the book of Daniel by means of the symbols used by Him who was most intimately acquainted with every characteristic of every power.

Whoever may be inclined to think that some better way than that of symbols could have been employed to describe these great empires may know that he does not understand either the empires or the symbols.

Then, when in the 11th chapter, the history is sketched in plain narrative, without any symbols, still it stands as one of the most marvelously compact pieces of writing in the world. Every salient event is told. Only the personal names of the individual actors are lacking; and even the personal name is given in the first verse. "In the first year of Darius the Mede, even I stood to confirm and to strengthen him, [said the angel]." (Daniel 11:1)

This was spoken to Daniel in "the third year of Cyrus." (Daniel 10:1)

And, written with the names, each in its place, the narrative continues thus: "There shall reign yet three kings in Persia [Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes], and the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer than they all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king [Alexander] shall reign; and shall rule with great dominion [from the Adriatic Sea to the River Hyphasis, and from the Danube and the Laxartes to Ethiopia and the Indian Ocean]. And when he shall be strong, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven [Thrace and Bithynia toward the north, Syria to the River Hyphasis toward the east, Phoenicia and Palestine to Ethiopia toward the south, and Macedonia and neighboring states toward the west] and not to his posterity [but to the four great generals, Lysimachus, Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Cassander], nor according to the dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up even for others besides those. And the king of the south [Ptolemy] shall be strong; and one of his princes [Seleucus] shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion [extending from the western border of Macedonia to the rivers Hyphasis and Indus]. And in the end of years [the kings of the north and south, Antiochus Theos and Ptolemy Philadelphus] shall join themselves together. For the king's daughter of the south [Berenice] shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of the arm, neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and whom she brought forth, and he that strengthened her in these times. But out of a branch of her roots shall one [her brother,  Ptolemy Euergetes] stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north [Seleucus Callinicus] and shall deal against them and shall prevail; And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he [Euergetes] shall continue more years than the king of the north [Callinicus]. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons [Ceraunus and Antiochus] shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one [Antiochus Magnus] shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; then shall he return and be stirred up, even to his fortress. And the king of the south [Ptolemy Philopator] shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him [Antiochus Magnus], even with the king of the north: and he [Magnus] shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his [Philopator's] hand. And when he [Philopator] has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north [Antiochus Magnus] shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall stand up many against the king of the south [Ptolemy Epiphanes]; but the children of robbers [the Romans] shall exalt themselves to establish the vision. And the king of the north [Antiochus Epiphanes] shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he [Rome] that comes against him [Antiochus Epiphanes] shall do according to his will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his [Rome's] hand shall be consumed." (Daniel 11:2-16)

Thus Rome was the power held in view from the beginning of the narrative; and when the Romans, the children of robbers, should exalt themselves, this would establish, fix, confirm, the vision. And by every item of the narrative is established, fixed, confirmed, the great truth that: "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will," (Daniel 4:17) "Believe His prophets, so shall you prosper." (2 Chronicles 20:20)--Advent Review, June 7, 1898.

Chapter 24 - The Fall of Babylon

The Babylon of the days of Daniel did certainly fall. Those days, too, were the days of Babylon's highest splendor and greatest glory. Yet that was the time she fell.

This fall was foretold over and over in the word of the Lord by His prophets; it was proclaimed in Babylon by the public reading there of the word of the Lord concerning Babylon; all who were the Lord's people, or who would be the Lord's people, were called to leave Babylon, that they might not be taken in her fall; signs were given by which all might certainly know when to forsake her, and how she would be overthrown. All this was made plain to all by the word of the Lord.

Isaiah proclaimed the message of a vision declared unto him, (Isaiah 21:1-10) in which Elam and Media were to go up and besiege; and in a "night of pleasure," (Isaiah 21:4) of eating and drinking, the watchman would cry: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He has broken unto the ground." (Isaiah 21:9)

The same prophet also wrote to her of her pride and her wickedness, saying: "Therefore shall evil come upon you; you shall not know from whence it rises: and mischief shall fall upon you: you shall not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon you, which you shall not know." (Isaiah 47:11)

He wrote plainly the name of the man--Cyrus--who would lead the forces in the overthrow of the city. (Isaiah 45:1-7) He also wrote: "Go forth of Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say, The Lord has redeemed the servant Jacob." (Isaiah 48:20)

In Jeremiah 50 and 51 is written: "The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet." (Jeremiah 50:1)

In these two chapters there is given an account, even to particulars, of the fall of Babylon written more than half a century before the time. This account was sent to Babylon by a prince of Judah, who, when he arrived there, was to stand in the broad street of Babylon by the river Euphrates, and "read all these words." (Jeremiah 51:61)

And when he had read the words, he was to exclaim: "O Lord, you have spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever." (Jeremiah 51:62)

And when he had spoken these words, he was to bind a stone to the manuscript, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates, and say: "Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her." (Jeremiah 51:64)

And all that the Lord had spoken, and that the prophets had written, came upon Babylon. Babylon did fall. In her iniquity she fell, and because of her iniquity she fell. And this, not because it could not have been otherwise, but because she would not have it otherwise. For the Lord would have healed Babylon; but she would not be healed.

His people were there for that very purpose; but when she would not be healed, they were obliged to forsake her, and go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reached to the heaven, and was lifted up even to the skies. (Jeremiah 51:9) So Babylon was left to her fate, and sank to rise no more at all.

So much for the Babylon of the book of Daniel and of the days of Daniel.

But now there is a Babylon of the book of Revelation, and of our days--the last days.

What means the word concerning a Babylon of the last book of the Bible and of the last days? What does it mean unless it be that the world of the last times is to become like the Babylon of those other days, and is to come to the same end as did the Babylon of those other days? If that is not the lesson in it, then there is no lesson in it.

The term "Babylon," written so often in the book of Revelation, and of the last times, is meaningless if it does not mean that the last days, and the world of the last days, will be such as was Babylon in her last days.

Why was the fall of Babylon proclaimed in old time? and why is the fall Babylon proclaimed in the last times? (Isaiah 21:9; Jeremiah 51:8,47,49,58; Revelation 14:8; 18:2) Why, unless there is to be a Babylon to fall in the last times as certainly as there was a Babylon in old time to fall?

Why was the judgment of God to be visited upon Babylon in old time? and why is the judgment of God to be visited upon a Babylon of the last times? (Isaiah 13:1,19; 14:22; 47:5, 7-11; Jeremiah 50:9-16,28-29; Revelation 17:1, 16-17; 18:6-10) Why, unless there is to be a Babylon in the last times as certainly as there was a Babylon in old time?

Why were the Lord's people called out of the Babylon of old time? and why are the Lord's people called out of the Babylon of the last times? (Jeremiah 51:6,45; Revelation 18:4) Why, unless the Babylon of the last times hardens herself in iniquity as did the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that the messenger in Babylon of old time ended his message by casting a stone into the midst of Euphrates, and exclaiming: "Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her." (Jeremiah 51:64)

And why is it that, at the close of the message concerning the Babylon of the last times, a mighty angel takes up: "A stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall the great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." (Revelation 18:21)

Why, unless there is to be a Babylon in the last times to sink, and that will sink, as certainly as there was a Babylon of old time to sink, and that did sink?

Why was it that, at the noise of the fall of the Babylon of old time, the earth was moved, and the cry was heard among the nations? And why is it that, at the fall of the Babylon of the last times, "The kings of the earth...bewail her, and lament for her," (Revelation 18:9) and that their cry is heard among the nations? (Jeremiah 50:46; Revelation 18:9,10,15-19) Why, unless the judgment upon the Babylon of the last times is just as real as and as terrible as was that upon the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that when the Babylon of old time fell, so at Babylon there fell also the slain of all the earth? (Jeremiah 51:49) And why is it that when the Babylon of the last times falls, there is found in her "the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth?" (Revelation 18:24)

Why, unless the Babylon of the last times is just as wicked, just as cruel, and just as impressive, as was the Babylon of old time?

Why was it that when Babylon of old time fell, the heaven and earth, and all that was therein, were called to "sing for Babylon"? (Jeremiah 51:48) And why is it that when the Babylon of the last times shall fall, the word will be, "Rejoice over her, you heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets?" (Revelation 18:20)

Why, unless it is a thing to rejoice heaven and earth to be freed from the curse of the Babylon of the last times as readily as it was of the Babylon of old time?

But why call attention to any more parallels?

• Is it not perfectly plain that there is a Babylon of the last times that is a complete repetition of the Babylon of old time?

• Is there not a Babylon of the book of Revelation as really as there is a Babylon of the book of Daniel?

• Is there not a Babylon of our days as really as there was of the days of Daniel?

• And is not this Babylon of the last days to sink under the judgments of the Lord as really as did the Babylon of old?

When that judgment was written for the Babylon of old, was it not at the same time written: "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:26-27)

Why talk then about a millennium--unless, indeed, it be a millennium of ruin and waste and desolation? Did Babylon of old have a millennium of any other kind than of ruin and waste and desolation, swept "with the besom of destruction, ... a possession for the bittern, and pools of water," (Isaiah 14:23) "as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah?" (Isaiah 13:19) (See also Revelation 18:19,22-23; Jeremiah 50:40)

Why talk then about the conversion of the world? Was the Babylonish world of old time converted? Did she sink because she was converted? She would not be converted. She sank because she was overwhelmingly wicked. And the Babylon of the last times is just like her. And thus with violence shall Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. "Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached and the heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." (Revelation 18:4-5)--Advent Review, June 14, 1898.