The Prophecies of Daniel
By
EDWARD CROSSLEY*
(1893)
* EDWARD CROSSLEY, M..P., was a wealthy carpet
manufacturer of
S.G.A.T.
-------
The foremost governmental position in the earth, possessed by
the people of Israel, and exemplified in the typical reigns of David and
Solomon, was taken away and given to the Gentile Nations when Zedekiah, King of
Judah, was carried captive to Babylon, and the words were addressed to
Nebuchadnezzar, the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength,
and glory.
In the second chapter of the Book of Daniel we have a general account of the
nature of the governmental power of the four great Gentile Empires, from the
beginning to the end. In the seventh chapter we are told more particularly how
this governmental power is made use of during the whole of this period. The eighth chapter gives us special information respecting the second and
third great Empires, and the final evil condition of the Gentile age, under the
domination of the little horn. We are also informed
how the Gentile power is made use of in oppressing the Jewish nation, and in
persecuting the saints of God, until it is swept away from the face of the
earth in judgment to make way for the
The settled and organized administrative power given to
Nebuchadnezzar was declared to be golden.
This power was taken away because the kings of
We are told that it shall be strong as iron, and break in pieces and bruise all
these, even as
iron is the strongest of metals. But it
is only iron and not gold, for the value of governmental power is not measured
in the sight of God by its destructive force, but by that capacity whereby
righteousness may be established, the poor and the needy delivered, and the oppressor broken in pieces. Psalm 72.
We now come to an extraordinary condition of things. The
When the democratic form of government is extended over the
whole area of the ancient Roman Empire, including the East as well as the West,
and the whole becomes divided into ten kingdoms, then will arise a King of
extraordinary power out of the eastern half, or that part which was formerly
the Ancient Grecian Empire, as indicated in the 8th chapter and 9th verse.
The
Prophetic Earth
The greatest extent of the established government of the
Ancient Roman Empire may be said to be the whole of Southern and Western
Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, the Euphratean valley down to the Persian Gulf
(perhaps Persia, Ed.),
It is evident from the questions of Daniel that the chief
interest of the visions in the 7th and 8th
chapters centres in the
Ten Kingdoms, and especially in the career of the little horn at their, head; for we are told in Rev. 17: 12, 13, that the ten kings give their power
unto the beast, i.e., to Antichrist, i.e., the little horn, and his power
shall be mighty, but not by his own power.
He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall
be given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing of time, i.e., for three years and a half.
The degeneracy of governmental power, the cruelty and
oppression with which it is exercised, the godless character of its principles,
all culminate in the career of Antichrist.
The Apostasy of [of the Church in] this
age takes away all hope of the regeneration of the world in this dispensation,
and prepares the way for Antichrist.
The
Apostasy and the Antichrist
In order to form an
adequate conception of the career of this last great despot we must carefully
read and study the passages concerned with their contexts.
From these we
learn that Antichrist is a person and not a system; that he dominates over the East, and finally sways
the sceptre of the ten federated kings of the whole area of the Ancient Roman
Empire; that he is a master in the art of craft and diplomacy; that he is a
consummate general; that he is the special instrument of Satan; that he is a
great blasphemer of God and His Truth. In the beginning of his career he is an active supporter of the
latitudinarian apostate systems of Christendom, symbolised by the harlot. Rev. 17.
In the middle of his career, along with the ten kings, he
destroys the harlot, i.e., he destroys or casts to the winds all the outward
religious forms and organizations of Apostate Christendom, by which the nations
have been intoxicated and deluded. He
also assumes absolute despotic power over the Roman earth. After this revolution is accomplished, he
sets up his own idolatrous and blasphemous worship in the temple at
Christ said to His disciples, Verily, I say unto you, this
generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled, Matt. 24: 34. The word generation is here misleading unless it is understood
in the extended sense of the generation of this age, which is unquestionably
the right meaning and use of the word in this connection. See Matt. 24: 34. Mark 13: 30. Luke 21: 32. The solemn events referred to in all these
passages are plainly the Coming of the Son of Man as the lightning; the gathering of the Saints from
the four winds of heaven, with the great sound of a trumpet in the First
Resurrection at His Coming in Glory; and the deliverance and restoration of a
remnant of the Jews at Jerusalem, after they have passed through the last great
tribulation, and
their enemies have been scattered as a rolling thing before the whirlwind, and as a dream in a night vision. See Dan. 12: 1. Isaiah 17: 13; 29: 7.
We, therefore, see that in Dan. 2: 33 and 40-43,
we have symbolised and set forth in general terms the nature of the governmental
power of the Roman Empire, first in its imperial, and lastly in its democratic
condition; while in chapter 7: 7-9 and 19-25, we have the manner in which this
power is exercised, not only in its imperial, but also in its final condition
of the ten kingdoms of the Roman earth under the iron sway of the little horn,
dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly.
Messiah
- The Stone
But in the stone hewn out of the mountain without hands, grinding the image to powder; and in
the destruction of the fourth beast, when its body is given to the burning
flame, 2:
34, 35 and 44, 45, 7: 11 and 26, we see fulfilled the words of the Apostle Paul, Then shall
that Wicked One be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: whose coming is
after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. 2 Thess. 2: 7-9.
It is, therefore, a grievous mistake to imagine that the stone represents the preaching of the Gospel
in this dispensation. The Gospel does
not break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, so that no place is
found for them,
only the rod of iron will do this. Ps. 2: 9; Isa. 8: 9;
11: 4. Rev. 2: 26-28;
12: 5; 9: 15.
When the stone becomes a great
mountain, the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven is 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.
Let us now look at the last four verses of the 9th chapter of Daniel. In the 24th verse we find a rich promise of blessing to
Daniels people, and his holy city, revealed as a gracious answer to his prayer
and confession. After the expiration of
seventy sevens of years (not weeks or days), the greatest blessings would come
upon Israel and Jerusalem, viz: the fullness of the
blessing of the Gospel of Peace, the transgression finished, sins ended, iniquity
pardoned through the great reconciliation in Christ, everlasting righteousness
established, and the most Holy Place anointed.
But how are these four hundred and
ninety years determined? For none of these things have yet come to
The Seventy Sevens are Divided
Into Three Periods
The first consists of seven times seven, or forty-nine years,
and is occupied by the rebuilding of
The Three Last Chapters of
Daniel
must be read as one.
In the 10th chapter we have an extraordinary revelation of the glory and power of
the angelic world. In order to receive
the message of the vision, Daniel needed to be miraculously sustained. The angel sent to him at the commencement of
his fast was withstood by the Prince of Persia, the angel of Satan. Thus it is revealed to us that there is
conflict in heavenly places, for Satan and his angels are not yet cast
out. As Satan withstood the Angel of God
in delivering the message of instruction to Daniel, so he is now ever seeking
to prevent Christians from understanding the words that are written, by every
conceivable deception and falsehood.
In the 11th chapter, after referring to the three kings of Persia - to a king
noted for his riches (Xerxes), to a
mighty king (Alexander), whose
kingdom was broken and divided amongst his four generals - we have in the 5th to the 20th verses an account of the conflicts between
the kings of the north and the kings of the south, i.e., of Syria and
Egypt. Then in the 20th to the 32nd verses we have the career of Antiochus Epiphanes, terminating with
the exploits of the Maccabees, B.C.
167-107. The first part of the verse 33 then refers to the preaching of the
Gospel in the Apostolic Age; the latter half to the siege of
* Dr. Tregelles assigns all the verses
21-45 to the career of Antichrist and the verses 5-12 to events
which immediately precede his career, and we think Dr. Tregelles
was right. S.G.A.T. Ed.
In verses 36 to 45 we have another prophetic description
of the career of Antichrist. We are told
that he shall do according to his will, like Alexander the Great (see verse 3) and he shall prosper till the
indignation is accomplished. He will
dominate over the glorious land, and set up his palace on the holy mountain. But terrible reverses will come. The semi-barbarous nations of Asia will sweep
down upon and overwhelm the great city of his wealth and glory, even
But God will intervene, and Christ will appear in glory. Then shall His saints be gathered, His people
delivered, and His enemies be scattered and destroyed.
We have mentioned
Superhuman power destroyed the cities of the plain, and the
same power will, in like manner, destroy the great city of
Let us not be led astray by the popular fallacy that
Again, the
The present tense, verse 18, is constantly used in the prophetic word.
just as
There is, therefore, no necessity for
the fiction of the Year-day Theory; and the periods, the last half of the seven
years; time, times, and a half; forty and two months; one thousand two hundred
and sixty days; must be taken literally as the time of the full domination of
the Antichrist, and in no sense as standing a day for a year, and measuring the duration of the Papacy.
The operations of Antichrist centre
round
In the 12th chapter, Daniel is told that at that time,
i.e., during the career of Antichrist, 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 his people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book. This is the great tribulation referred to by
our Lord in Matt. 24: 21, and Mark 13: 19, which takes place immediately before
His Coming in Glory. It cannot,
therefore, refer to the siege of
First Resurrection
It is at this time also that the First
Resurrection takes place of all those that are Christs at
His Coming, 1 Cor. 15: 23.* But we also read in Rev. 14: 9-12, that those who are the followers of
Antichrist are finally judged at this same time.
Therefore in verses 2 and 3 of Dan. 12,
we have both events referred
to. These verses cannot refer to the
final resurrection, for this does not take place until the end of the thousand
years: see Rev. 20: 5. For then
[i.e., at the final
resurrection], not some but all that
are in the graves shall hear His voice, and
shall come forth - they that have done good until the resurrection of life and
they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5: 28.**
This will include all the saints who
have died during the thousand years; for death is not abolished until the final
judgment at the end of the Millennial Age.
See Rev. 20: 14.
Daniel is again told in the most
solemn manner that this time of trouble shall last for time, times, and a half;
that when he (that is the personal
Antichrist) shall
have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things
shall be finished.
In Rev. 13: 5, we have precisely the same period mentioned, during which the ten horns,
i.e., the ten kings, are crowned, and during which Antichrist pursues his
terrible career of blasphemy unchecked, except by the testimony and miraculous
power of the two witnesses in
We may notice here that a leopard is used to symbolise
Antichrist, Rev. 13: 2, with the
feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion - the beasts which symbolise
It is not to be wondered at that the Prophet Daniel should be
troubled with such extraordinary revelations, and that he should cry, O my Lord,
what shall be the end of these things?
But he is consoled with the promise that many
shall be purified and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly;
and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Blessed
is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand, three hundred and five and
thirty days. But go thou thy way till
the end be, for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days, i.e., of these days.
-------
FOOTNOTES
1* It is at this time also that the First Resurrection takes place of all those that are Christs at His Coming, 1 Cor. 15: 23.
When we read in scripture that God
said to Noah: I, even I, do bring a flood of waters
upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life
(Gen. 6: 17, A.V.), do we interpret the word
all in this passage as meaning God will
destroy every creature wherein is the breath
of life? No, because when we compare
this statement with previous statements which He had made, we know that Noah
and those with him in the ark were not to be destroyed.
When we look at the sentence above in
the authors writing, should we understand the word all
to mean all the dead redeemed people of God will be resurrected at this
time? No, because there will be a
judgment after the time of Death and before the time of the First Resurrection, Heb.
9: 27; Rev. 20: 4-6.
When Paul says, For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each
in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christs at [the time of] his coming
(1 Cor.
15: 22)
Should we interpret that to mean all
the holy dead will be made alive - by means of
Resurrection at this time?
Certainly not, for He has stated in 1 Thess. 4: 16, the dead in
Christ shall rise first - and in that text the word all is
nowhere to be found! Why not? Simply because, we read in Phil. 3: 11; Heb. 11: 35b; Luke 14: 14; Luke 20: 35,
of a resurrection of reward; hence, the need to (1) attain unto; (2) to refuse to succumb when tortured [Lit.
Gk. beaten to death] for ones faith; (3) to
be prepared, when called upon by Christ, to surrender everything as the context
shows, (vv. 18-21); and (4) and to be accounted worthy to obtain that world [age], and the resurrection from the
dead. See Mr. G. H. Langs writings in An Important
Text (2).
2 **There will be those Christians who reject any teaching of a select
resurrection of reward by quoting John
who says, Who is he that overcometh the world but
he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God. They conclude from this text that, on the
basis of faith alone by saying: All believers
therefore who die in Christ will be raised at the first Resurrection and reign
with Christ a thousand years! And they conclude by saying, -a clear perversion of the teaching of the
Resurrection and Christs reign on the earth. A statement similar to what we hear from the Anti-Millenarians!
If we are to believe that, then we
must conclude (1) there will be no
standard of personal righteousness required from disciples
(Matt. 5: 1, 2, 20), to determine who, from amongst
the redeemed, will be accounted worthy to obtain
the resurrection from the dead (Lk. 20: 35)! (2) God cannot be a righteous Judge, for
He ignores wilful sins and disobedience in His redeemed people, (Heb. 10: 26-39)! (3)
There is be no on-going judgment of believers during this life or after the
time of Death in Hades, (Luke 16: 19-31)!
(4) The universal law of the
harvest cannot affect us, because we will not reap what we sow! (5)
We are at liberty to reject any words of warning to
disciples by our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles! (6)
The wicked and slothful
servants will all rise at the same time!
Finally, (7) Every Christian will inherit
the millennial kingdom, for there
is no
race to run (1 Cor. 9: 24), no inheritance which we can lose (Eph. 5: 1-7), nocrown which we can lose (Rev. 3: 11), and no reward for good works will
be given, (Col. 3: 24; 1 Cor.
15: 58.)!
Is this what our Lord and His Apostles
teach us throughout the scriptures of truth?
Is this what we are expect to believe? NO. A thousand times, No: but the Devil is busy
using multitudes of Gods redeemed people to oppose these
responsibility truths, and to encourage other Christians to separate
themselves from everyone who seeks to make them known by their writing, preaching
and teachings, (1 Tim. 4: 1; 2 Tim. 4:
14-18)!]
HAD IT NOT BEEN
(Psalm
124: 1, 2)
The author
of these lines, who died after acute suffering, sent them to us not long before
his death. Above the poem these words
are written:- This
poem has cost be terrible baffling with the Evil One. D. M. Panton.
Had it not been for thorns that left be bleeding,
For bitter blasts that blew my will
aside,
I should have missd
the tender love and leading
That followd
me to save my wandering wide.
Had it not been for disappointments moulding,
For raised ideals, for broken hopes so
fair,
I should have been unconscious of Gods
holding
That lifted me from valleys of despair.
Had it not been for dire and sore heart-burning,
For closed-in walls, and depleted
store,
I should have faild
to take the God-ward turning
And missd
the thrust to love Him and adore.
Had it not been for earthly wealth withholden,
For paths of penury that seemed my
lot,
I should have unappraisd
Gods rich golden,
And faild
to gage the truth, He faileth not.
Had it not been for the One Hope of Glory
That the Lord Jesus Christ shall come
again,
I should have lost the heart of Heavens
story,
But now I know that He must come
to reign.
Had it not been!
O mercy grand and glorious
Which proves the worth of what His
Word doth mean;
His blood-tears staind
the earth - and still victorious
Reveal what man may be through
what has been!
- H.
H. BROWNLOW