As queen mother, she could press a dangerous point: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy [grand]father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy [grand]father, the king, I say, thy [grand]father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.” She was giving Belshazzar a little dig because deference had been shown to Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s day and subsequently he had evidently been put on the shelf. Nebuchadnezzar had thought so much of Daniel that he gave him the name Bel, the god of the nation, i.e., Belteshazzar. In addition, Daniel was made master of the magicians, Chaldeans, etc.—yet Belshazzar was ignoring Daniel. The queen was surprised that Belshazzar had not, of his own volition, sought advice from Daniel. Twice she said, “The king … thy [grand]father.” Notice her confidence in Daniel’s ability to interpret: “Daniel … will show the interpretation.” By inference, we see that the queen was not in sympathy with the partying that was going on.

After plotting and conspiring against Daniel, the other two presidents and the 120 princes assembled together and suddenly broached the suggestion of a royal statute to the king. Of course to the king the suggestion seemed very complimentary, for it ostensibly showed how much they appreciated and liked him as a leader. Darius was already reorganizing, and now the religious decree would further consolidate the empire. For 30 days, no one in the empire was to heed or give credence to “any God or man” but the king and his god. There was to be no diversity of thought. How flattering to the king! Darius did not see that the real purpose was to entrap Daniel.

Gabriel continued to talk: “There is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” What did Gabriel mean? No other angels except Michael (and Gabriel) would be able to even try to withstand Satan. Michael was present but not revealed. At the time of this vision, Gabriel and Michael were both down here, but Daniel was conversing with Gabriel, who was talking about Michael. Satan is the god of this world, and Gabriel came down to this world to talk with Daniel. Of all the angels down here in earth’s atmosphere, Gabriel and Michael were the only two prominent holy authorities. Of course Satan has cohorts and an echelon of authority in the spiritual realm. On the earthly plane, the Papacy is Satan’s masterpiece because of the whole chain of command: priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and the pope. There are different strata of authority. Thus when Gabriel said that none could contend, he was not talking about just the Adversary, the prince of this world, but was referring to those in Satan’s higher echelon. And Gabriel is in the higher echelon of God, but he is not an archangel because only Michael and Lucifer were the original archangels.

In the third year of Belshazzar, Daniel had another vision. (Chapter 7 took place in the first year.) The mention of the years of Belshazzar at the beginning of each chapter suggests a co-relationship between the diverse animals. In Chapter 8 the symbolism starts with the second universal empire, Media-Persia, because the events of this chapter occurred at the end of the Babylonian Empire.

Next Daniel saw the ram “pushing westward,” which was when Xerxes, the fourth king, tried to invade Greece, going down to Athens. Even though his army was defeated and he retreated back to his own capital, he was still the mighty power of that time. What caused his defeat? Nature—a storm destroyed his bridge of boats. After Xerxes’ reign, the Persian Empire expanded northward. (There were approximately nine kings before Alexander the Great of Greece.) Regarding the southward push, the Persian power went south to Egypt under Cambyses, for example.

Notice that the Media-Persia Empire is described as both a ram “pushing” and a bear, which is large and ponderous. A bear’s motion is very slow, but because of its size and loping gait, it actually moves faster than appears. The fact that a bear hugs its prey to death pictures the siege tactic of Media-Persia. With huge armies and a great amount of supplies, the Persian armies could take their time in subduing other peoples. They won by sheer numbers.

Daniel told the king plainly that the writing signified that he was “tried in the balances and found wanting.” The Babylonian kingdom, so far from advancing human interests, had really retrograded from the original type. Another nation—Medo-Persia—would be given a trial. Later, the Grecians were given universal empire; still later, the Romans; and finally God permitted what was styled the “Holy Roman Empire,” or the so called reign of Christ. Each of these has proven its insufficiency—its inability to bring to the world the blessing which God declares shall ultimately abound when Messiah’s true reign shall be inaugurated, and the blessing and uplifting of mankind will become the “desire of all nations.”

Adam is sometimes called the “father of the human race,” for all branches of the human family can be traced back to him. All have root in that one common stock. Not only was he created perfect, but he had dominion over the lower creation and sheltered them—just as in Daniel 4 the birds were on the branches of the tree and the beasts rested in its shade in comfort and serenity. The tree grew and was strong; its prominence could be seen from afar.
According to our chronology, the small Garden of Eden flourished for only two years before sin entered. In Daniel 4:13,14 a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven and made a loud proclamation: “Hew down the tree,” etc. That “watcher” was the Logos. As a result, the tree was hewn down, the branches were cut off, the leaves were shaken off, and the fruit was scattered—all suggesting a forceful dispersion. And what happened in Genesis when Adam disobeyed? He and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Two cherubim with a flaming sword were stationed at the entrance to prohibit Adam and Eve from returning lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever (Gen. 3:24). Adam’s previous condition of dominion and lordship ceased, affecting the animal creation as well and even the earth, for he would henceforth have to till the ground by the sweat of his brow to get food. Weeds and thorns grew.
Notice how in Daniel 4:13,17 the narrative changes from the “watcher” (singular) to “watchers” (plural). The purpose of the dispersion was to teach man a lesson: “This matter is … to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” We would call this the permission of evil. Without this experience, man would forever have a desire for the unknown.
However, there is a time limitation for the permission of evil.

While the drinking and the carousing were going on, there “came forth fingers of a man’s hand.” The word “wrist,” as well as certain other words pertaining to parts of the human anatomy, is not found in the original manuscript. The thought is that the lower part of a man’s arm (that is, the wrist, hand, and fingers) were seen. How mysterious—especially when seen by flickering candlelight! In that area, the wall would have been bare, and the light of the candlestick shone on it to look like an illuminated page. Suddenly a hand came forth and wrote words or symbols on the wall. Those present would have reasoned that someone, an intelligence, was behind that hand. Imagine! In the midst of the boasting at the great feast, a portion of a man’s arm suddenly came forth and wrote words that the king knew were ominous.

Matthew 24 is called the “Lord’s Great Prophecy.” The chapter is jam packed with pertinent prophetic information for the Christian living in our day. His disciples asked him, what would be the sign of his coming [parousia--presence], and the end of the age. The answer he gives is far deeper and broader than even they could understand.

This booklet is a detailed look into one of the most misunderstood prophecies of our day. There are different interpretations of this prophecy, are we so sure we have it straight?