Daniel Chapter 11 Pt 4

 Daniel Chapter 11 Continued…

'Nothing now stood in the way of the pope to prevent his exercising the power conferred upon him by Justinian five years before. The saints, times, and laws were now in his hands, not in purpose only, but in fact. And this must therefore be taken as the year when this abomination was placed, or set up, and as the point from which to date the predicted 1260 years of its supremacy.

VERSE 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Those that forsake the covenant, the Holy Scriptures, and think more of the decrees of popes and the decisions of councils than they do of the word of God, - these shall he, the pope, corrupt by flatteries; that is, lead them on in their partisan zeal for himself by the bestowment of wealth, position, and honors.

At the same time a people shall exist who know their God; and these shall be strong, and do exploits. These were those who kept pure religion alive in the earth during the dark ages of papal tyranny, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent among these stand the Waldenses, Albigenses, Huguenots, etc.

VERSE 33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

The long period of papal persecution against those who were struggling to maintain the truth and instruct their fellow men in ways of righteousness, is here brought to view. The number of the days during which they were thus to fall is given in Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:6, 14; 13:5. The period is called, "a time, times, and the dividing of time;"   "a time, times, and a half;"   "a thousand two hundred and threescore days;" and "forty and two months." It is the 1260 years of papal supremacy.

VERSE 34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

In Revelation 12, where this same papal persecution is brought to view, we read that the earth helped the woman by opening her mouth, and swallowing up the flood which the dragon cast out after her. The great Reformation by Luther and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold. The German states espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reformers, and restrained the work of persecution so furiously carried on by the papal church. But when they should be helped, and the cause begin to become popular, many were to cleave unto them with flatteries, or embrace the cause from unworthy motives, be insincere, hollow-hearted, and speak smooth and friendly words through a policy of self-interest.

VERSE 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

Though restrained, the spirit of persecution was not destroyed. It broke out whenever there was opportunity. Especially was this the case in England. The religious state of that kingdom was fluctuating, it being sometimes under Protestant, and sometimes papal jurisdiction, according to the religion of the ruling house. The bloody Queen Mary was a mortal enemy to the Protestant cause, and multitudes fell victims to her relentless persecutions. And this condition of affairs was to last more or less to the time of the end. The natural conclusion would be that when the time of the end should come, this power which the Church of Rome had possessed to punish heretics, which had been the cause of so much persecution, and which for a time had been restrained, would now be taken entirely away; and the conclusion would be equally evident that this taking away of the papal supremacy would mark the commencement of the period here called the "time of the end." If this application is correct, the time of the end commenced in 1798; for there, as already noticed, the papacy was overthrown by the French, and has never since been able to wield the power it before possessed. That the oppression of the church by the papacy is what is here referred to, is evident, because that is the only one, with the possible exception of Rev. 2:10, connected with a "time appointed," or a prophetic period.

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The next part of our study is going to be taken from another source other than Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith. This study is made by the Biblical Research Institute- Int 1954

Biblical Research Institute Research Theology, History, Science  Source: Ministry Magazine, March 1954

Report on the Eleventh Chapter of Daniel With Particular Reference to Verses 36-39

THE study group appointed by the Committee on Biblical Study and Research to give study to Daniel 11 gave careful consideration to a number of manuscripts placed in their hands by its chairman. These included the following:

The historical facts stated in the Report are indisputable! The conclusions drawn on the basic essentials of the exegesis are grounded in sound logic

  

The study group appointed by the Committee on Biblical Study and Research to give study to Daniel 11 gave careful consideration to a number of manuscripts placed in their hands by its chairman. These included the following:

1. Pioneer Views on Daniel Eleven and Armageddon, by Raymond F. Cottrell.

2. Notes on Daniel Eleven and Armageddon, by Raymond F. Cottrell,

3. The King of the North, by Jeann Vuilleumier.

4. Diagram of Final Events, by Jeann Vuilleumier.

5. Editorial in the Review and Herald of May 13, 1862, by Uriah Smith.

6. Editorials in the Review and Herald of November '29, 1877, and October 3, 1878, by James White.

7. The Eleventh Chapter of Daniel: a Paraphrase and a Partial Interpretation, by Edward Heppenstall

8. A Literal and Historical Application of the Explanation of Daniel Eleven, by William Hyde.

9. The Papacy in Daniel Eleven, by Edwin R. Thiele.

10. A Study of the King of the North, by John M. Kennedy.

11. A Letter from L. H. Christian to M. E. Kern re Daniel Eleven.

12. "He Shall Come to His End, "by L. L.. Caviness.

13. The Power That Comes to Its End Without Any Help, by L. L. Caviness.

11. The Period of the End, by C. D. Colburn.

After a careful study of these manuscripts and a free discussion of the points at issue, the study group presented to the full committee the following report as their considered judgment and conclusion pertaining to the problems presented in reference to the interpretation of Daniel 11, verses 36-45, in its relationship to the historical Seventh-day Adventist position regarding these verses.

I. Daniel 11:1-35. These verses, it was felt, present no great problem. There have been among our Bible students some minor differences of opinion concerning the interpretation of certain verses and the application of some of the prophecies to past history. However, the committee felt that on the whole there is quite full agreement among our Bible expositors on this section of the chapter and therefore there would be no point in covering these verses in our report.

II. Daniel 11:36-39. It was recognized by the committee that this passage has been variously interpreted by our Bible students both in the past and in the present, and therefore presents a problem that demands careful consideration.

The committee, having studied at some length the various opinions held and also the teaching of the pioneers of this movement on the interpretation of these verses, presented the following observations:

1. The pioneers of this movement were for the first twenty-five or thirty years of our history unanimous in stating that papal Rome is the power referred to by the prophet Daniel in these verses. No other conclusion could be reached after a careful study of the literature of the church during this period.

William Miller held this view as far back as 1842 (see Evidences From Scripture and Prophecy, by J. V. Himes, pp. 97, 98). This was the interpretation presented by James White on many occasions, the first being in A Word to the "Little Flock," published in 1847, pages 8, 9. He says: "Michael is to stand up at the time that the last power in chap. 11, comes to his end, and none to help him. This power is the last that treads down the true church of God. . . This last power that treads down the saints is brought to view in Rev. 13:11-18. His number is 666." Later, in the Review and Herald of November 29, 1877, James White defends this exposition of the text as follows.

"Let us take a brief view of the line of prophecy four times spanned in the book of Daniel. It will be admitted that the same ground is passed over in chapters two, seven, eight, and eleven, with this exception that Babylon is left out of chapters eight and eleven.

We first pass down the great image of chapter two, where Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome are represented by the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron. All agree that these feet are not Turkish but Roman. And as we pass down, the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the beast with ten horns, representing the same as the great image, again all will agree that it is not Turkey that is cast into the burning flame, but. the Roman beast. So of chapter eight, all agree that the little horn that stood up against the Prince of princes is not Turkey but Rome. In all these three lines thus far Rome is the last form of government mentioned.

"Now comes the point in the argument upon which very much depends. Does the eleventh chapter of the prophecy of Daniel cover the ground measured by chapters two, seven, and eight? If so, then the last power mentioned in that chapter is Rome."

Elder White at the same time advised caution in giving a positive interpretation of unfulfilled prophecy. He also warns against "removing the landmarks fully established in the advent movement" This article leaves no doubt that James White considered in 1877 that the power referred to in Daniel 11:36-39 is papal Rome and that this was a landmark "fully established in the advent movement."

Even Uriah Smith, who later departed from this view, in an editorial in the Review and Herald, May 13, 1862, under the title "Will the Pope Remove the Papal Seat to Jerusalem?" refers to the Papacy as the power in Daniel 11:45. He quotes a statement from the Liverpool Mercury in which it is stated that a certain plan was under way which "points to the realizing of Pio Nono's favorite plan of removing the seat of the Papacy to Jerusalem." This is commented on by Uriah Smith as follows: "Is not the above item significant, taken in connection with Daniel XI, 45?" This statement confirms the fact that there was virtual unanimity among the leaders of the church with respect to our denominational teaching; namely, that Rome in its papal form is the power referred to in Daniel 11:36-39, and that papal Rome is also one of the powers referred to in the later verses of Daniel 11.

2. Adventists take for granted today what James White emphasized in 1877 and 1878: that the prophecies of Daniel, chapters 2, 7, 8, and 11, show remarkable parallels in treating of Rome. The committee felt that the evidence that there is a parallelism between chapter 11 and the earlier chapters of Daniel has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. The eleventh chapter presents a literal exposition of the symbolic prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8. It is generally agreed among Seventh-day Adventist Bible students that the "king" of Daniel 7:24, 25, and Daniel 8:23-25 refers to the Roman Catholic power, which accurately fulfills the prophetic symbols. It was the conviction of the committee that where the "king" is again mentioned in Daniel 11:36 and described in almost identical language it could NOT represent a new power like France or Turkey not previously presented by Daniel in his prophetic outline, and that it would be most reasonable and in harmony with the prophetic outline of the rest of the chapter to conclude that the "king" in these and following verses also refers to papal Rome.

The committee felt that a careful study of Daniel 11:36-39 reveals outstanding characteristics of the Papacy and a remarkably clear picture of the cunning flattery and deceit of this power in its historical activities and its religious practices. These verses parallel not only the above-mentioned verses in Daniel 7 and 8 but also 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Revelation 13:5, 6. It was therefore the unanimous conclusion of the committee that, both historically and according to a sound exegesis of the text, Daniel 11:36-39 must refer to the papal power, and further, that these verses are parallel to Daniel 7:24, 25, and Daniel 8:23-25, which have always been considered by the Seventh-day Adventist ministry as referring to the Papacy.

(((Dan 7:24  And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 

Dan 7:25  And 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 and times and the dividing of time. 

Dan 8:23  And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 

Dan 8:24  And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 

Dan 8:25  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 the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. ))))

3. The committee also studied the possible causes that prompted Uriah Smith and others to depart from this historic denominational interpretation, substituting the history of France during the French Revolution for papal Rome as fulfilling Daniel 11:35, 36, and Turkey as the power in later verses, as well as the results of this shift of position in our denominational teaching. Some of the causes for the shift of position were found to be:

a. The complete loss of temporal power by the Papacy in 1870, resulting in Pius X proclaiming himself a "prisoner in the Vatican." For example, Uriah Smith states in the 1873 edition of Thoughts on Daniel in referring to the events of 1870, which he believed knocked "the last prop from under the papacy": "Victor Emmanuel, seizing his opportunity to carry out the long-cherished dream of a United Italy, seized Rome to make it the capital of his kingdom. To his troops, under General Cadorna, Rome surrendered, September 20, 1870. Then the last vestige of temporal power departed, nevermore, said Victor Emmanuel, to be restored; and the Pope has been virtually a prisoner in his own palace since that time. . . . The last vestige of temporal power was swept from his grasp."— Pages 146, 147. 

b. The conviction expressed in the secular and religious press that the Papacy had fallen to rise no more. This led Uriah Smith to state in the 1888 edition of Thoughts on Daniel: "The attempt which some make to bring in the Papacy here (that is, in Daniel 11:36-45) is so evidently wide of the mark that its consideration need not detain us."—Page 383.

c, The bringing of France, Turkey, and Egypt into the interpretation of these verses, and those following, seemed to bring a series of current events into the fulfillment of the prophecy, which to those who advocated it gave "great confirmation of faith in the soon loud cry and close of our message." (Comment by James White on the new theories, Review and Herald, November 29, 1877.)

d. Russian armies seemed about ready to close in on Constantinople, and the world press was full of declarations that the "sick man of the East" would soon be expelled from Europe. Uriah Smith, it seems, reflected the popular Protestant and secular viewpoint as he wrote under the title, "Turkish Empire's Downfall," and similar titles, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

e. Earlier Protestant commentators, such as Bishop Newton, Adam Clarke, and others, had generally held that the Ottoman Empire was one of the powers designated in Daniel 11:40-45, and events in the decade from 1870 to 1880 seemed undeniably to substantiate this line of reasoning, with current history pointing in the same direction.

f. Uriah Smith was evidently not in agreement with James White, who gave definite warnings that the positions being taken on the Eastern question were based on prophecies that had not yet met their fulfillment. White said, "But what will be the result of the positiveness in unfulfilled prophecies should things not come as very confidently expected, is an anxious question." (Emphasis his. James White in Review and Herald, Nov. 29, 1877.) He then proceeded to point out the parallel between Daniel 11 and the prophecies of Daniel in earlier chapters that were to him convincing proof "that the last power mentioned in that chapter is Rome."

James White's position was dearly stated in 1878 as follows:

"And there is a line of historic prophecy in chapter eleven, where the symbols are thrown off, beginning with the kings of Persia, and reaching down past Grecia and Rome, to the time when that power 'shall come to his end, and none shall help him,' If the feet and ten toes of the metallic image are Roman, if the beast with ten horns that was given to the burning flames of the great day be the Roman beast, if the little horn which stood up against the Prince of princes be Rome, and if the same field and distance are covered by these four prophetic chains, then the last power of the eleventh chapter, which is to 'come to his end and none shall help him,' is Rome. But if this be Turkey, as some teach, then the toes of the image of the second chapter are Turkish, the beast with ten horns of the seventh chapter represents Turkey, and it was Turkey that stood up against the Prince of princes of the eighth chapter of Daniel. True, Turkey is bad enough off; but its waning power and its end is the subject of the prophecy of John and not of Daniel." — Review and Herald, Oct. 3, 1878, p. 116.

The committee therefore concluded that the change from the earlier views held by the denomination came about largely under the direction of Uriah Smith. In light of current political developments of the time, together with the apparent recession of the Papacy into a position of nonpotency in the political and religious world, he presented very ably and with deep conviction what seemed to him the more reasonable interpretation of the text in question.

This view, as taught by Uriah Smith, was published in our periodicals and more permanently in the book Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, written by Smith about this time. This book had a wide circulation and was a large factor in bringing possibly thousands into the truth. Its interpretation of the prophecies was very largely in harmony with former Seventh-day Adventist teachings. It became, therefore, to a large majority of our ministers and laymen the accepted interpretation of all the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. During the years it came to be looked upon as our official denominational teaching. The fact that it differed in some respects from the position of the pioneers was almost LOST from view.

Not until the events so confidently predicted did not materialize, and the Papacy, instead of having "fallen to rise no more," again became a decisive influence in international affairs with a resumption of temporal power in 1929, did our Bible students undertake a re-examination of our denominational interpretation of these prophecies.

Our earlier teaching was then rediscovered, together with the explicit warnings given by Elder White and others concerning the newer views advocated by Elder Smith. These findings, with the realization that current historical events had failed to develop along the lines expected, convinced many of our ministers and Bible teachers that those texts demanded a careful restudy. This study has resulted in again placing the Papacy rather than France as the power referred to in verses 36-39, by many of our Bible students. That this is the correct and historical denominational interpretation was the conviction of the committee, who were in complete agreement in this conclusion.

TO BE CONTINUED….