The angel Gabriel did not interrupt Daniel’s prayer, but when Daniel had finished, Gabriel made him aware of his presence. Daniel looked to see who had touched him and recognized Gabriel as the one who had spoken to him in the previous vision of Chapter 8. In one sense, Chapters 8 and 9 are together—with Part A being the vision and Part B being Daniel’s long prayer.

Gabriel was “caused to fly swiftly” so that he touched Daniel “about the time of the evening oblation,” or 3 p.m. The “evening oblation” is sometimes called the “time of incense” or the “hour of prayer,” an example being when Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was praying in the Temple and Gabriel appeared to him (Luke 1:8-11).

Ezekiel’s face and forehead were made strong and harder than flint against the Israelites’ faces so that he would “fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks.” This suggests that the Israelites’ faces and foreheads were also hard (they were upset, angry, and displeased), but God made Ezekiel’s face and forehead even harder—like adamantine stone (such as the diamond) and thus harder than flint. He would be stern and unyielding in matters of principle, and in the message he had to discharge, he would not be cowed or affected in the least by the reaction of the people.

Flint is inflexible. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel had strong messages. In fact, all of the prophets had strong messages. Consider Ezra, for example. He must have been a forceful character to make the Israelites separate permanently, with no communication, from their heathen wives and children.

Whatever punishment you decree will be a just judgment because the people are not amenable to instruction. They are using your name in vain.” The people did not grieve when they should have grieved, and they refused to receive correction, even though they were punished. Judah and Benjamin should have learned a lesson from the captivity of the ten-tribe kingdom, which had occurred because of hardness of heart. Instead the two tribes manifested the same symptoms of sin and disobedience—a sickness that indicated approaching doom, or death.

When their crops failed and there were other punishments for their waywardness, the people found fault with God and sought solace from false gods. They felt that Jehovah was too harsh and judgmental and did not realize they themselves were the problem.

The content of these verses seems to fit best at the end time of the Gospel Age. The bringing of “health and cure” after Jacob’s Trouble will be a process. The Kingdom will commence with a Holy Remnant, who will have “health” at the time of the Lord’s intervention on their behalf, for they will be contrite and will mourn for Jesus as for an only son. Verse 6 also applies to those who are in the grave and come forth in stages of retrieval.

The Jews’ remorse over what the nation of Israel did to the Messiah will eventually make their repentance deeper and more thorough. Moreover, the remorse will greatly humble their pride. Perhaps a much greater percentage of Jews will respond to the truth than of Gentiles. Not only will those who are steeped in sin in the present life reap what they sowed, but if there is a crystallization of character in sin, the individual is less likely to get life in the Kingdom Age.

The voice of mirth, gladness, the bridegroom, and the bride and lighted candles and the sound of millstones were removed not only from Judah but also from the surrounding nations. Right away we can see a spiritual connotation because of Revelation 18:23, “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” In other words, the natural picture, from which we can extrapolate valuable information, is a past historical fulfillment that embodies a prophecy of the future. As we continue, we will become more and more convinced that chapter 25 was not wholly fulfilled by the king of Babylon and his confederates, for some of the details did not happen back there but are prophesied elsewhere as events in the near future.

In the spiritual application, the “destroying wind” is a figurative “storm” from the north coming down on mystic Babylon. We immediately think of Gog from the land of Magog, and “north” pictures God’s vengeance. In the type, God was behind Nebuchadnezzar to visit punishment on Israel, but now we have a completely different picture with Babylon being the focal point. Against the enemies of the truth in the near future will come God’s judgment.

The call to come out of Babylon is an individual call. For the truth’s sake, one may have to leave his father, mother, sister, brother, friend, or anyone else who stays behind and obey as an individual. Christians get rooted in spiritual Babylon; they are comfortable there with their social friendships that are enjoyable, good, and wholesome for the most part. For one to come out of Babylon means to leave friendships and thus to suffer a loss. Taking a stand and leaving mystic Babylon is very searching. The call is to come out so “that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4). To spiritually come out of Babylon is to move from one condition to another. Sometimes very tender ties have to be broken. Then comes the Christian walk, the journeying to “Jerusalem which is above” (Gal. 4:26).

The key to understanding who is spoken about in Revelation 13, one must first look to Daniel. This Bible study explores the episode with the Three Hebrews; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the image on the plain of Dura. The incredible faith they had in God not to betray Him through fear of death at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. When once we understand the symbols of Daniel we can then transfer them to the New Testament, namely the book of Revelation which is a book of symbols. Who is the Beast? Who is the image of the Beast? This study was given 1989

The name “Habakkuk” means “wrestle, wrestling”—hence the mental and moral struggle presented in Habakkuk’s prophecy. (The verbal form of the word has to do with “cling” or “clasp.”) As we proceed, we will see that the perspective of Habakkuk’s prophecy is that of the Great Company. Therefore, by extension, the Book of Habakkuk pertains to the mental and moral struggle or condition of the Great Company, a righteously inclined class who will have problems after the Little Flock is off the earthly scene.

The Book of Habakkuk is most famous for a Scripture quoted several times in the New Testament: “The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4). See Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. There is a lot behind Habakkuk’s statement that the just shall live by faith.

Job was in the land of Uz, and there Satan was allowed to test the mettle of his character. Job’s experience or trial is analogous to that which the Church experiences during the Gospel Age in one aspect or another. Some have felt that only natural wisdom is portrayed in the Book of Job, but that observation is not correct because many of the trials that Christians have are along similar lines, for they are residing in the flesh and dealing with other human beings. Hence the trials that Christians have very often take the natural form. Seeing how Job reacted helps us to know how God wishes us to react under similar circumstances.