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| 1 'And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, my standing [is] for a strengthener, and for a stronghold to him;
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| 2 and, now, truth I declare to thee, Lo, yet three kings are standing for Persia, and the fourth doth become far richer than all, and according to his strength by his riches he stirreth up the whole, with the kingdom of Javan. |
And the fourth – Darius 111, Codomanus. C26
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| 3 And a mighty king hath stood, and he hath ruled a great dominion, and hath done according to his will; |
A mighty king – Alexander the Great of Greece. C26
Shall rule – Alexander conquered the world in the short period of 13 years. C27
With great dominion – The High Priest of Israel showed Alexander this prophecy and interpreted it to foreshow that the Persian power should be overthrown by Alexander. C27
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| 4 and according to his standing is his kingdom broken, and divided to the four winds of the heavens, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion that he ruled, for his kingdom is plucked up and for others apart from these. |
The four winds – Among his four Generals: Ptolemy in Egypt, Seleucus in Asia, Lysimachus in Asia Minor and Cassander in Macedonia. C27, C31
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| 5 'And a king of the south even of his princes doth become strong, and doth prevail against him, and hath ruled; a great dominion [is] his dominion. |
King of the south – Egypt. C27
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| 6 'And at the end of years they do join themselves together, and a daughter of the king of the south doth come in unto the king of the north to do upright things; and she doth not retain the power of the arm; and he doth not stand, nor his arm; and she is given up, she, and those bringing her in, and her child, and he who is strengthening her in [these] times. |
King of the north – The Grecians, and afterwards, the Romans. C27
Not an individual monarch, but the Roman empire's representative. C32
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| 7 'And [one] hath stood up from a branch of her roots, [in] his station, and he cometh in unto the bulwark, yea, he cometh into a stronghold of the king of the south, and hath wrought against them, and hath done mightily; |
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| 8 and also their gods, with their princes, with their desirable vessels of silver and gold, into captivity he bringeth [into] Egypt; and he doth stand more years than the king of the north. |
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| 9 'And the king of the south hath come into the kingdom, and turned back unto his own land; |
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| 10 and his sons stir themselves up, and have gathered a multitude of great forces, and he hath certainly come in, and overflowed, and passed through, and he turneth back, and they stir themselves up unto his stronghold. |
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| 11 And the king of the south doth become embittered, and hath gone forth and fought with him, with the king of the north, and hath caused a great multitude to stand, and the multitude hath been given into his hand, |
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| 12 and he hath carried away the multitude, his heart is high, and he hath caused myriads to fall, and he doth not become strong. |
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| 13 'And the king of the north hath turned back, and hath caused a multitude to stand, greater than the first, and at the end of the times a second time he doth certainly come in with a great force, and with much substance; |
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| 14 and in those times many do stand up against the king of the south, and sons of the destroyers of thy people do lift themselves up to establish the vision and they have stumbled. |
To establish – To seemingly fulfil. C25
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| 15 'And the king of the north cometh in, and poureth out a mount, and hath captured fenced cities; and the arms of the south do not stand, nor the people of his choice, yea, there is no power to stand. |
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| 16 And he who is coming unto him doth according to his will, and there is none standing before him; and he standeth in the desirable land, and [it is] wholly in his hand. |
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| 17 And he setteth his face to go in with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he hath wrought, and the daughter of women he giveth to him, to corrupt her; and she doth not stand, nor is for him. |
Daughter of women – Cleopatra. C28
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| 18 'And he turneth back his face to the isles, and hath captured many; and a prince hath caused his reproach of himself to cease; without his reproach he turneth [it] back to him. |
After this – The following verses merely touch prominent characters down to Papacy and then, identifying it, pass on to the end of its power to persecute, and a detailed account of Napoleon Bonaparte. C28
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| 19 And he turneth back his face to the strongholds of his land, and hath stumbled and fallen, and is not found. |
Then he – Mark Antony. C29
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| 20 'And stood up on his station hath [one] causing an exactor to pass over the honour of the kingdom, and in a few days he is destroyed, and not in anger, nor in battle. |
A raiser of taxes – "Caesar Augustus sent forth a decree that all the world should be taxed." (Luke 2:1) C29
Augustus was the first ruler to introduce to the world a systematized taxation. C29
In the glory – The most glorious epoch, Rome's "Golden Age." C29
Another translation reads, "the glorious land of the kingdom," applying specially to Palestine and fitting in exactly with the record in Luke 2:1. C29
Of the kingdom – The Roman empire. C29
But within few days – Within a few years after he reached the zenith of his power. C29
Nor in battle – Augustus died a quiet death, whereas his predecessor and his seven successors in imperial power died violent deaths. C29
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| 21 'And stood up on his station hath a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of the kingdom, and he hath come in quietly, and hath strengthened the kingdom by flatteries. |
A vile person – Tiberius, a cruel, sensual, despicable tyrant. C30
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| 22 And the arms of the flood are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the covenant. |
Shall they – All opposers. C30
Be overflown – Be swept away. C30
Also the prince – Christ Jesus. C30, C126
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| 23 And after they join themselves unto him, he worketh deceit, and hath increased, and hath been strong by a few of the nation. |
Made with him – The Senate recognized him as Emperor. C30
With a small people – The Praetorian Guards, 10,000 picked troops organized by Tiberius and kept by him continually at Rome to overawe the people and Senate and abolish elections and assemblies. C30
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| 24 Peaceably even into the fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his fathers did not, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for a time. |
He shall scatter – Divide. C31
Among them – Among local governors. C31
The prey, and spoil – Of the countries tributary to Rome. C31
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| 25 'And he stirreth up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great force, and the king of the south stirreth himself up to battle with a very great and mighty force, and standeth not, for they devise devices against him, |
And he – Aurelian, Emperor of Rome in the days of Zenobia, 272 AD. C33, C32
King of the south – Egypt. C32
Forecast devices – Treacherously devise plans. C32
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| 26 and those eating his portion of food destroy him, and his force overfloweth, and fallen have many wounded. |
Shall destroy him – Aurelian was assassinated by his own Generals. C34
Shall overflow – His army was successful. C34
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| 27 'And both of the kings' hearts [are] to do evil, and at one table they speak lies, and it doth not prosper, for yet the end [is] at a time appointed. |
Both these kings' – Imperial power slowly dying and clerical power slowly coming to life and ambition. C34
But it – The league of the clergy and the civil power. C35
Shall not prosper – Then, in Aurelian's time. C35
Even Constantine was hindered by the temper of the people from accomplishing at once and as rapidly as was desired a union of the forces of church and state. C35
For yet – "Because as yet the end is unto another time." The union between clergy and civil power could not prosper because the 1260 years, counted from that date, would bring the end too soon. C34
The end – Of the 1260 years of papal persecution. C35
The time appointed – In 1799 A.D., and could not, therefore, have begun in Aurelian's day as it would then have terminated before the time appointed. C35
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| 28 And he turneth back [to] his land with great substance, and his heart [is] against the holy covenant, and he hath wrought, and turned back to his land. |
Then shall he – Aurelian, after the overthrow of Zenobia. C33
Return into his land – Rome. C33
With great riches – Zenobia was confined in fetters of gold and nearly fainted under the weight of jewels when led captive into Rome. C33
Shall be against – Aurelian ascribed his victory over Zenobia to the sun. As the Christian deemed the sun unworthy of worship, it is presumed that their refusal to participate in this sun-worship provoked his sudden and violent opposition. C34
The holy covenant – Christianity. Aurelian, on his return, began a persecution of all Christians. C34
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| 29 At the appointed time he turneth back, and hath come against the south, and it is not as the former, and as the latter. |
At – This verse and the verse following should be in parenthesis. C35, C46
The time appointed – The Time of the End. C46
He – Napoleon. C47
Shall return – Verses 25 to 28 refer to a previous invasion of Egypt, verses 29 and 30 intimating that the next great invasion of Egypt would be at the Time of the End. C46
And come toward – And invade. C47
The south – Egypt. C47
It shall not be – Not be as great a victory as. C47
The former – Invasion against Cleopatra. C47
Or as the latter – Invasion against Zenobia. C47
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| 30 And ships of Chittim have come in against him, and he hath been pained, and hath turned back, and hath been insolent toward the holy covenant, and hath wrought, and turned back, and he understandeth concerning those forsaking the holy covenant. |
For – The reason Napoleon's invasion of Egypt was not as successful as were other invasions was because. C47
Ships of Chittim – Of the Romans. England was once a part of the Roman empire, against the fragments of which Napoleon at this time was fighting. C47
The holy covenant – The truth, by establishing the Concordat with the Pope. C47
So shall he do – And he shall succeed. C47
Shall even return – Change about. C47
Have intelligence – Devise, scheme, operate. C47
With them – Against them. C47
That forsake – That have forsaken the apostate church in Rome. C47
Taking away, not only Charlemagne's gifts of territory 1000 years after they were made; but afterward Papacy's civil jurisdiction in Rome, which was actually recognized from AD 539, 1260 years before AD 1799. C58
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| 31 And strong ones out of him stand up, and have polluted the sanctuary, the stronghold, and have turned aside the continual [sacrifice], and appointed the desolating abomination. |
And arms – Strong ones (Young's translation); heady ones. C36
Stand on his part – Stand up out of him, out of the Papacy. C36, C64
They shall pollute – Undermine, defile. C36, C25
Sanctuary of strength – Both the sacred precincts of civil authority, undermined by those in the church who sought for present dominion; and the sanctuary of God, the Church, defiled and degraded by the ambitions of these strong ones. C36
The daily sacrifice – The continual sacrifice, Christ's sacrifice. This does not refer to the interruption of the Temple worship by Antiochus Epiphanes. C25, C36; R1484:3
They shall place – 539 AD is the point in time from which we should reckon the Desolating Abomination set up. C76
The Papacy in embryo schemed to set itself up in power as a sacerdotal empire. C36
The abomination – The central item of this prophecy of Dan. 11. C25
That Wicked One (2 Thes. 2:8); the Man of Sin (2 Thes. 2:3); the Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thes. 2:7); the Antichrist (1 John 2:18); the Son of Perdition (2 Thes. 2:3); the Little Horn (Dan. 7:8); the Papacy (Matt. 24:15). B271; 272; 277; C64; 76; A258
Particularly its doctrine of transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the Mass, supplemented in our day by various theories of self-atonement. C36; D572; F471
The sacrifice of the Mass--a gross error introduced about the third century. R3750:3, R1484:3, R2822:6
That maketh desolate – The result of its overspreading influence would be the desolation of rejected Christendom. D571
By turning people away from the one atonement sacrifice for sins and having their gaze attracted to the priest, the Mass, the blessings and the holy water. R3750:4; C36
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| 32 And those acting wickedly [against] the covenant, he defileth by flatteries; and the people knowing their God are strong, and have wrought. |
And such – Of the reformers and the reform movements. D31
Of the host class. C37
The covenant – Their covenant with the Lord. C37
Shall he – The Papacy. C37
By flatteries – Honors, titles, etc. C37
But the people – The Sanctuary class. C37
Do know their God – His character and plan. R2570:1
Shall be strong – Valiant; strengthened by persecution. R2570:1; C37
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| 33 And the teachers of the people give understanding to many; and they have stumbled by sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil days. |
And they – The Reformers at the end of the Dark Ages. B357
Shall instruct many – That the Papacy is the Antichrist, the Man of Sin. C37
Yet they – Those who oppose the Papacy, the faithful few. C37
Days – Here another parenthesis of verse 34 and part of verse 35 interrupts, until the phrase "to the time of the end, because it is yet (future) for a time appointed." C38
Although the length of this persecution is not here stated, we learn from other scriptures that it is 1260 years, ending in 1799 AD. C38
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| 34 And in their stumbling, they are helped a little help, and joined to them have been many with flatteries. |
Now when they – The true Church. OV417:1
Shall fall – When falling, in the 16th century, before the end of Papacy's power. C38; B357; R5911:4
God granted a little help to those falling because of fidelity to his Word; notwithstanding some would fall through persecutions. C38
With a little help – The Reformation movement. C38; OV417:1; B357
The teachings of a few saintly ones gained sufficient headway to bring about the Reformation. R5911:4
But many – Kings and princes; tares. C38, C154
Shall cleave to them – To Protestantism; to the wheat. C38, C154
With flatteries – Honors and titles; promises of help and success if they would shape their courses according to the wisdom of this world. C37, C110
Succumbing, in a considerable degree, to the desire to gain power and influence among the nations. R5911:4
Receiving the favor of the world at the expense of their virtue, their fidelity to Christ. D31
It was flattery of the leaders of the great Reformation that stayed the progress of that good work and caused many to fall from their steadfastness. R1895:2
The kings and princes offered their backing in return for support of their kingdoms. OV417:1
Overcome by flatteries, each reform movement, after accomplishing a measure of cleansing, stopped short. D31
No marks or badges of distinction or flattering homage may be tolerated in the Body of Christ. R1895:2
Had the reformers and their descendants continued faithful to the truth and not succumbed to flatteries, God's grand design might have been accomplished through their honored instrumentality. C50
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| 35 And some of the teachers do stumble for refining by them, and for purifying, and for making white till the end of the time, for [it is] yet for a time appointed. |
Of understanding – Leaders, reformers, teachers, who had been able to instruct many concerning Papacy's errors. C38
Shall fall – Flattery caused many to fall; but let it not be so among us. R1895:2
From being leaders of reform they became leaders into temptation. C48
"A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand." (Psa. 91:7) R414:6
To try them – The faithful few. C38
The checking of the reform movement served, as Papacy's error had done, to further test the saints, to prove whether they were really followers of men or of God. C48
And to purge – Shake loose from all earthly support and confidence in man's wisdom. R414:6
Make them white – Verses 34 & 35, down to and including these words, should be in parenthesis. C38
Even to the time – The fixed time. C25
Of the end – AD 1799. C38
The overthrow of the Papal dominion in 1798 by the French Revolution marked the beginning of the "Time of the End" and opened the way for a multitude of improvements and the increase of knowledge. R24:5
It is yet – A full and correct interpretation of the vision could not be had until the Time of the End. C25
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| 36 'And the king hath done according to his will, and exalteth himself, and magnifieth himself against every god, and against the God of gods he speaketh wonderful things, and hath prospered till the indignation hath been completed, for that which is determined hath been done. |
And the king – Napoleon was not a king, but the term king is a general one to indicate a powerful ruler. C40
Napoleon, the instrument employed by providence to break Papacy's power and to begin her torture which will end in utter destruction at a later date. C39
France had been, of all nations, most faithful and subservient to Papal authority. Therefore no other nation could have struck Papacy so stunning and destructive a blow as the French. C39
To his will – He was noted for his wilfulness and determination. C40
Above every god – Every mighty one. C40
Marvellous things – Commanding his obedience as a servant, thus shocking the superstitious of the world. C40
The God of gods – The ruler of rulers, the Pope, by fining him ten million dollars, organizing the Papal territory into a republic and taking a Pope as a prisoner to France. C40, C42, C56
Shall prosper till – When Napoleon boldly ignored both the blessings and the curses of Papacy and yet prospered phenomenally, he weakened not only Papal influence over civil governments but also the influence of Protestant systems in matters civil and political. C49
Until he had accomplished his mission of scourging the Papacy and breaking its influence over the minds of the people. C41
Shall be done – The Pope was brought to the verge of ruin in 1797 AD, taken prisoner to France in 1798 and died there the following year. His successor, Pius VII, in 1800, declared that all, including himself, should obey established governments. C42
Since AD 1799 there have been separations between empires and churches, but no new unions. This date marks a new reformation on a more substantial basis--no less thorough than that of Luther and his colleagues. C49
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| 37 And unto the God of his fathers he doth not attend, nor to the desire of women, yea, to any god he doth not attend, for against all he magnifieth himself. |
God of his fathers – The Papacy. C42
The desire of women – Protestant sects. C42
Nor regard any god – Any ruler. C42
Magnify himself – Nothing but his own personal ambition controlled Napoleon. C42
Himself above all – In opposition to all. C42
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| 38 And to the god of strongholds, on his station, he giveth honour; yea, to a god whom his fathers knew not he giveth honour, with gold, and with silver, and with precious stone, and with desirable things. |
But in his estate – Instead of any of these gods. C42
The God of forces – Military power. C42
His fathers knew not – Other great warriors made acknowledgment to some supernatural powers for victories achieved; but Napoleon ascribed his success to himself and his genius. C43
And pleasant things – The treasures of Europe were taken to France as spoils of war. C43
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| 39 And he hath dealt in the fortresses of the strongholds with a strange god whom he hath acknowledged; he multiplieth honour, and hath caused them to rule over many, and the ground he apportioneth at a price. |
In the most strong – To strengthen his. C43
Holds – Hold. C43
With a strange god – With the strange (new) god. C43
Whom he shall – Whoever will. C43
Acknowledge – Acknowledge him. C43
And increase – Him will he give much honor. C43
He shall cause them – Shall cause such. C43
The land for gain – Gratis, among his relatives and favorites. C43
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| 40 'And at the time of the end, push himself forward with him doth a king of the south, and storm against him doth a king of the north, with chariot, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he hath come in to the lands, and hath overflowed, and passed over, |
And at the time – The fixed time. C44
"The time pre-fixed." (Douay) C46
Of the end – AD 1799. C38, C68
King of the south – Egypt. C44
Push – Marking the particular event that is to be understood as the exact date of the beginning of the Time of the End--Napoleon's invasion of Egypt from May 1798 to Oct. 9, 1799. C44
King of the north – England. C44
Like a whirlwind – Nelson's attack on the French fleet was conducted with a degree of vigor never surpassed. C45
And with horsemen – The Egyptian Mamelukes. C45
With many ships – The English forces consisted of a navy under Admiral Nelson. C45
And he – Napoleon. C45
And pass over – And pass through victoriously. C45
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| 41 and hath come into the desirable land, and many do stumble, and these escape from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon. |
The glorious land – Palestine. C45
Children of Ammon – Napoleon kept to the coast and did not enter, but passed by these lands. C45
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| 42 'And he sendeth forth his hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt is not for an escape; |
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| 43 and he hath ruled over treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Lubim and Cushim [are] at his steps. |
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| 44 'And reports trouble him out of the east and out of the north, and he hath gone forth in great fury to destroy, and to devote many to destruction; |
Out of the north – The second coalition, composed of England, Russia, Naples, Turkey and Austria. C46
Make away many – Many nations. C46
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| 45 and he planteth the tents of his palace between the seas and the holy desirable mountain, and hath come unto his end, and there is no helper to him. |
Of his palace – His palatial tents. C45
Holy mountain – Mt. Tabor, the mount of transfiguration, where one of his most important battles was fought. C45
Or Mt. Sinai, visited by Napoleon and his scientific corps. C45
Come to his end – Death as an exile. C46
None shall help him – He was forsaken by all. C46
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