Daniel pondered the prophecy of the 2300 days and could not fully understand this. It is clear from what he himself says in Daniel 8,27: I was astonished at the vision, but … … … none understood it. We see in Daniel 9,2 that Daniel did understand the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that is, how long the Jews would be captives in Babylon. It has now been almost 70 years since the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, and Daniel prays that God must intervene so they can return to Judea. While Daniel is praying, the angel Gabriel comes back to Daniel and says: 21 Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew [thee]; for thou [art] greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter and consider the vision. Daniel 9,21-23
But Daniel has not had a vision in this chapter – not yet, he had read Jeremiah and prayed to God, so the vision Gabriel comes to explain Daniel must therefore be the vision in chapter 8. First we see in Daniel 8,14 that the angel gives Daniel a long period of time, 2300 evenings and mornings. It appears from the text that Daniel does not fully understand this prophecy, and in verse 27 we see that Daniel was sick for days, because he still didn´t understand this time prophecy. Now Daniel begins to study Jeremiah, and the time of the Jews’ return from captivity in Babylon. It is in connection with this that the angel returns to Daniel to clear up the 2300 evenings and mornings once and for all. Then follows the prophecy of the 70 weeks, and here is something essential that Daniel must understand for the angel says therefore understand the matter and consider the vision which also applies to us in the highest degree.
The prophecy of the 70 weeks must be the most remarkable prophecy in the Old Testament because it sets the time when Jesus is to be anointed, and this happened when Jesus was baptized, and this initiated the beginning of His ministry. Furthermore, this prophecy tells both that Jesus would die, and not least when He would die, and when the gospel would be given to the Gentiles. The angel thus gives Daniel a help to understand the prophecies, and with the help of the information we get in the prophecy of the 70 weeks we can now begin to time the events that the great prophecies in the book of Daniel tell about, such as the return home from Babylon, the rebuilding of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, and the end of the 2300 days when the sanctuary in heaven was to be cleansed. But, to fully understand this, we must apply the year/day principle to the time indication that we looked at earlier:
Dan 9,24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy*.
* Basic English 1964 uses a most holy place where KJ 1611/1796 uses the most Holy. See point d; below
Seventy weeks is literally seventy-sevens. Seventy-sevens is equal to 490 prophetic days, which in turn is 490 literal years. Here are some key words that are important for understanding the prophecy. When the angel explicitly mentions thy people and thy holy city, it is the Jewish people he means. No guidance can be given here that it could be Abraham’s spiritual descendants – the Christians. Thy people and thy holy city are, as I said, the people of Daniel, the Jews, and Jerusalem. We then conclude that the Jewish nation had 490 years to… 1) to finish the transgression, and 2) to make an end of sins.
1) To finish the transgression. When it comes to the word finish, the Hebrew word lekalleh (lə-ḵal-lê) is used, which means to bring to an end or ceases, but it can also mean to demonstrate, confirm, show, or affirm. To finish – lekalleh – the transgression does not necessarily mean that the transgression has been brought to an end, or has ceased, but is verified. Since this is said to the Daniel´s people, the Jews, it can hardly mean anything other than that God gave them this time, the 70 weeks or 490 years, to finish the transgressions = the apostasy. After this time period, the transgression was made visible and confirmed. The rejection of Messiah by the religious leaders and the people, and the gospel given to the Gentiles as a result of the stoning of Stephen three and a half years later, finished the transgression. This confirms the prophecy.
2) To make an end of sins. The word can mean either sins or sin offerings. 155 times in the Old Testament, the relevant word is translated sins (plural), and the Hebrew word is then chatta’oth. Again, the natural meaning is that the sins or the peoples opposition to God’s plan should be sealed, confirmed, and finally documented by terminating the presentation of evidence, or coming to an end.
Furthermore, the 70 weeks should ensure:
a) to make reconciliation for iniquity …
b) to bring in everlasting righteousness…
c) to seal up the vision and prophecy…
d) to anoint the Most Holy* … (Christ, see Luke 4,18)
* There are translations that use a most holy place, (see point d; below).
a; To make reconciliation for iniquity or atonement. A better translation might have been that at the end of the 70 weeks something would happen that should cover up, deal with, and atone for everyone’s sins and iniquities. That this is about Jesus’ death on the cross is obvious. Atonement is a compound word, at; one; ment; which means unanimous or with the same mind.
b; To bring in everlasting righteousness. The fact that Jesus’ sacrificial death justifies all who believe in the Saviour and pray for forgiveness is significant. At the same time, accepting Jesus’ sacrificial death is the very key to human justification, and Jesus’ sacrificial death is eternal and needs no more sacrifice.
c; To seal up the vision and prophecy. The prophecies that Daniel’s visions contain should also be confirmed, sealed, documented, or confirmed after the 70 weeks.
d; To anoint the Most Holy. The Hebrew godesh godashim (qō-ḏeš qā-ḏā-šîm), is used in the Old Testament in connection with (very) holy objects related to the temple or temple service. By comparison, ka-de-she-cha ir is used for thy holy city.
Do we have a translation problem in verse 24?
Verses 25, 26 and 27 are undoubtedly about the Messiah and what he should do. But before He could start His ministry, He had to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. This happened when Jesus was baptized. I mean that it is Jesus – the Messiah – it is about also in verse 24, and then it must be Jesus who is anointed, not a diffuse object.
In Norwegian it is said: et Aller-helligste (DNB 1930) and Det Aller Helligste (BGO 1988) both verses in a neuter form in Norwegian which both refer to an object.
In English it is said: the most holy (NVI 1984; ASV 1901), which can be understood as an object. the most Holy (KJV 1611/1769; KJV 1957; KJV 2016) which can be understood as an object and Messiah. the holy of holiest. (Darby Bible 1884/1890; Young Litteral Translation 1862/1898), which only can be understood as an object. the Most Holy (Andrews Study Bible 1982), which obviously points to Messiah.
In Spanish it is said: al Santo de los santos (Reina Valera 1569/1909; RV 1960; RV 2000), which can only be understood as the Messiah. el lugar santísimo (RV Actualizada 1989; NVI 1999) which can only be understood as an object – the temple.
In German it is said: ein Allerheiligstes (German Elderfelber 1905). ein Hochheiliges (German Luther 1912) both can only be understood as the Messiah.
Words used about Jesus are written in capital letters as in Holy. When a capital letter is not used as in holy, it is an object.
In Daniel 9,24 it says that during the 70 weeks something called here the most holy will be anointed. The context of Daniel 9,24-27 shows that it is Jesus who will stand up, be baptized, do his ministry, and then die on the cross. When Jesus was baptized, he was anointed, and thus he received the title Messiah meaning the Anointed. Then follows the question of whether Jesus is an object or a person. If Jesus is a person, something He obviously is, then the translation the most holy is incorrectly translated. It should be the Most Holy, with capital letters. I believe the Norwegian translations have been chosen with the intention – to distort the understanding of the text. The English choice becomes somewhat vague in relation to the other languages it is compared to in that it can be understood in both ways, and especially when we keep in mind that we are talking about Jesus’ first coming, and because Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit when He was baptised.
This verse, Daniel 9,24, is in my opinion the most important verse in the Bible to understand all the prophecies of the time given. First, Gabriel begins by saying that 70 weeks (of years = 490 years) are determined upon the people of Daniel and the holy city of Daniel.
Determined. This word means assigned, decided, or cut off. The Hebrew word used is chathak (khaw-thak’) and is translated into English (Strong’s) with to divide and to determine, in the sense of to determine one thing in relation to something else, to decide, and prescribe. The selected translation is then determined.
Chathak (khaw-thak ‘) is used only once in the Bible, and it is in this verse. We therefore have no other biblical verses to compare with. The Latin Vulgate translation, on the other hand, uses the word abbreviore which means to bite off. No matter which translation you choose, the meaning of the word will be the same.
Whether we use determined or cut off, the meaning will be that the prophecy of the 70 weeks is cut of something, and this means that the 70 weeks must be part of a longer period of time, and then it can only be the one that Daniel had when he received this revelation (see Daniel 8,14).
Daniel ponders, as I said, the time prophecy in Daniel 8,14 and how long the Jews will be in captivity, and in response he gets a prophecy that at least gives an answer to the time it should take, even if it does not come up with the solution to both problems immediately. And for us in retrospect, a control factor has also been added – Jesus’ first coming.
Verse 25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Verse 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Verse 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
We can now begin to figure out the answer to the question of when this time prophecy begins. The prophecy states in verse 26 that the Messiah will be exterminated after 62 weeks. But here too we must put it in the right context. First it will be 7 weeks, then it will be 62 weeks, then the Messiah will be exterminated in the middle of the last week, the 70th week.
In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease: Jesus died in the spring year 31. This is the midst of the last week – the seventieth week. The last week therefore began 3.5 years earlier when Jesus was baptized in the fall of 27 AD. which is described as the Messiah, the Prince, comes – (verse 25). If we go another 62 weeks back in time, which will be 434 years, we come to the year when both Jerusalem and the temple were completely rebuilt, and this was in the year 408 BC. We must remember to add a year because year zero does not exist. Another 7 weeks or 49 years earlier, the Jews were to return from their Babylonian captivity with all the necessary authority, such as political, military, religious, and legally, (see Ezra 7,11-28). This decree was issued in the year 457 BC. and marks the beginning of the prophecies of the 70 weeks.
Since this prophecy tells us about Jesus’ first coming, this prophecy must be abbreviore or shortened/cut off at the beginning of the overarching time prophecy, that of 2300 evenings and mornings. Both of these prophecies therefore begin in the year 457 BC. and the 2300 evenings and mornings lead down to the beginning of the end time in the broadest sense, 2300 years later, in 1844.
This year, 457 BC. can of course be verified in the Bible. In Ezra we are given the exact year of the return of the Jews in the form of the third decree issued by the Persian kings. It was only this third decree that gave the Jews all the authority to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, and we find the three decrees in the book of Ezra, and in chapters 1, 6 and 7. According to Ezra 6,14, there were three kings who gave the decree regarding the journey home, and although it seems to us to be three different decrees, the Bible counts these three decrees as one decree given by three kings: 1) Cyrus in the year 539 BC. Ezra 1,1-4; 2) Darius in the year 519 BC. Ezra 6,1-5; and 3) Artaxerxes in the year 457 BC. Ezra 7,7-12:
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished [it], according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra 6,14
The great majority of all Bible translations up to 1930 were translated so that verses 25 and 26 in Daniel chapter 9 points to Christ, but after that it has been translated so that it can fit with Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The translators of the American Standard Version use to anoint the most holy instead of Messiah. Regardless, the King James Version, the Norwegian Bible 1988 and the Norwegian King James and Spanish Reina Valera all use Messiah. The problem with using to anoint the most holy is obvious. At that time, all priests, and kings (princes) were anointed before entering their service.
This prophecy is one of the most impressive prophecies in the Bible. Here it is told with absolute accuracy when the Messiah should appear, (be baptized) do his work, and put an end to sacrifices (die on the cross). The prophecy of the 70 weeks is one of the many messianic prophecies in the Bible, and the most important to be able to understand when Jesus would come for the first time.
In the year 34, the Jews sealed their destiny by stoning Stephen and driving those who believed in Jesus out of Jerusalem. The 70 weeks of the year were over, but the Jewish people had not seized the opportunity. They had killed the promised Messiah at Easter 31, but even then there was hope. Peter preached remorse and repentance, but they would not understand. Finally, they stoned Stephen, who gave the Jews a last chance when he preached repentance. Time was up, the 490 years had passed, and the chance they had to continue to be God’s special people to bring the gospel into the world had passed them by.
Stephen and the end of the 490 years.
The cross and the sacrificial death of Jesus are the centre of the prophecy. The significance of Stephen’s martyrdom as the end of the period is evident from the Acts of the Apostles chapters 6 and 7.
1) First, the gospel is preached only in Jerusalem and Judah. Although there were always many visitors/gentiles from other lands who both heard and received the gospel, it was primarily for the Jews that it was preached. Stephen’s martyrdom led to a great persecution of the Christians who had to flee from Jerusalem, and in this way Christianity was spread throughout the world (Acts 8,1; 1,8).
2) Stephen meets the same Jewish council that had sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. He is accused of the same thing as Jesus, and quotes as the climax of his speech the words Jesus spoke to the council three and a half years earlier, (Acts 7,56; Mark 16,62).
3) By the preaching of Stephen, the leaders of the Jews were given one last chance to repent and follow Jesus.
4) In his speech, Stephen refers to the heavenly sanctuary, (Acts 7,44; 7,48-49).
5) The 70 weeks = 490 years were thus a period determined or cut off for the Jewish people as a nation. The angel said to Daniel, … determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city … but both the leaders and the people abused their chance
Ezra 1,1; The first decree:
The book of Ezra gives us all three decrees, and we read about the first of them in chapter 1, here are the first two verses:
Verse 1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
Verse 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.
As we can see, Daniel was not alone worrying about the return of the Jews from Babylon. But what else did Jeremiah say, and what did Daniel understand, that could affect the return of the Jewish people? The answer to this can be found here in the book of Daniel chapter 9 and verse 2 where it says: In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. This prophecy points directly back to Jeremiah 25,12: And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations”… //… and Jeremiah 29,10: For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
When did King Cyrus, or Darius, come to power, or rather when did Cyrus become king over Babylon? The book of Ezra is written in Hebrew, and we must take it for granted that the author of the book of Ezra used the Jewish way of calculating the reign of kings, where the year of accession is counted as the first year of reign. The prophecy reckons that Cyrus/Darius came to power, i.e. became king over Babylon in the year 539 BC. when Medo-Persia conquered Babylon. The first decree was thus issued in the year 539. Neither the temple nor Jerusalem was fully rebuilt by this decree
The prophecy says that God … would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem … before He would let the Jews return to Judea and Jerusalem. The first time Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and captured Daniel, among others, was in the year 605 BC. The next time Nebuchadnezzar was in Jerusalem was in 597 BC. and then he led, among others, Ezekiel into captivity. The third time Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem was in 586, when the temple and Jerusalem were completely destroyed. Jerusalem was laid in ruins. The third of the great prophets living at that time, Jeremiah, was imprisoned in Jerusalem and released by the Babylonian soldiers in 586. Jeremiah later moved to Egypt, where he died.
Problem! None of these years 605, 597 or 586 gives 539 if we subtract 70, this implies that we cannot use the first decree to time the Jews’ return to Jerusalem, at least not alone.
Ezra 6,1; The second decree:
This is what we find in Ezra 6,1.15:
Verse 1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon.
Verse 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
What is special about the second decree is that King Darius finds a decree that King Cyrus, also called Darius, had given, and then gives the following additional command to the decree King Cyrus/Darius had given, and we read in Ezra 6,11: Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. The decree Dareios is talking about must be the decree that Cyrus gave in 539.
Now a couple of timely questions arise: Is the second decree a separate decree, or is it just a confirmation and repetition of the first decree? Who is this king Darius who gives a decree in Ezra 6? Is it King Cyrus, also called Darius, or is it another Darius? During this relatively short period that the Medo-Persian Empire existed, at least four kings were named Darius.
These were Darius/Cyrus 539 (559) – 530, Darius I the Great 521 – 486, Darius II 424 – 404 and Darius III 336 – 330.
If we read the text in these verses in chapter 6, we find something interesting. The king who conquered Babylon in the year 539, Cyrus, is named in Isaiah 44,28 and 45,1, and was born in the year 601 BC. King Cyrus was consequently 62 years old when he became king of Babylon in the year 539, but he became king of Medo-Persia in the year 559 BC. 20 years before the Medo-Persians conquered Babylon. Ezekiel 6,14 mentions three Medo-Persian kings by name; Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, and in Daniel 6,1 it is said that Darius the Median took the kingdom at the age of 62. Who is Darius the Median that took the kingdom at the age of 62? In what year did this happen, and what kingdom did Darius receive?
Let us look at these questions.
In chapter 6 of Daniel, it is told that the Medo-Persian king Darius appointed Daniel as one of three presidents of Medo-Persia. This means that Daniel was alive when this king Darius took over the Babylonian kingdom. We know that Daniel was somewhere between 15 – 20 years old when he in the year 605 BC. was taken to Babylon as a slave. Maybe he lived until he was 90, maybe until he was 100 years old. In that case, Daniel died around the years 535 – 525. If we look at the kingship of the Persian and Medo-Persian empires, we find these kings of Medo-Persia in the period we consider where the three decrees were given, and I include Kambyses I the Elder because he was the father of Cyrus:
Cambyses I the Elder ca. 580 – 559, and his co-ruler Arsames Cyrus II the great 559 – 530 Cambyses II 530 – 521 Smerdis 521 (also known as Bardiya) Dareios I the great 521 – 486 Xerxes I 486 – 465? Artaxerxes I 463 – 424
We came to the conclusion that Cyrus issued his decree in the year 539 BC. when we looked at the first decree, and Ezra 1,1 states that this happened in the first year of King Cyrus, that is, the first year Cyrus was king over Babylon. That Cyrus was king this year is also established in the Medo-Persian line of kings as we see above. It also appears that there was no king named Darius at the same time as Cyrus, so then there must be another explanation for this. Some say there were two simultaneous kings, Cyrus, and Darius, but I cannot find evidence for this. We see that Arsames is mentioned as co-ruler with Cambyses I the Elder, and then it would be natural to mention it if there were two simultaneous kings when Babylon was conquered. It is also interesting that Smerdis has two different names, where Smerdis is the Greek name and Bardiya is the Persian name.
Besides, it would also be an enormous coincidence if both kings were born in the same year, 601 BC. received the kingdom the same year, 539 BC. and died the same year, 530 BC. Or is there a contradiction here? Could it be so simple that the Hebrew or possibly the Greec name of this king was Cyrus, and that he was called Darius in Persian or possibly Aramaic? It is actually quite confusing, but that the king took over the kingdom when he was 62 years old only refers to Cyrus. Then it is not suitable to put Darius I in the great as the king who took over the kingdom 62 years old, because this king came to power after Daniel was dead.
In Ezra 6,15, Ezra says that the second decree was given in the sixth year to King Darius. Ezra lived and worked between 480 and 440 BC. in other words when Xerxes and Artaxerxes ruled. However, he gives an overview of all three decrees, and should have a good insight into the recent historical events, such as which kings ruled when, and the two current decrees that had already been issued. When Ezra says it is the sixth year of King Darius, it means that the second decree must have been given by Darius with the epithet 1 the great who ruled from 521 – 486. The second decree was given in the year 516 BC.
If we look at the year in which the second decree was issued, we find something interesting. Jerusalem was laid in ruins in the year 586 BC. and it would be 70 years from this year until they were allowed to return to Jerusalem again. 586 – 70 = 516. But still neither the city nor the temple was completely rebuilt. A third decree would not have been necessary if everything had been restored, with both the temple and the city of Jerusalem the streets and the moats.
Ezra 7,8; The third decree:
We also find the third decree in the book of Ezra. This was to be the last decree given to the return home and the rebuilding, and we find it here in Ezra 7,8-9.11:
Verse 8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which [was] in the seventh year of the king.
Verse 9 For upon the first [day] of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first [day] of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.
Verse 11 Now this [is] the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, [even] a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.
This decree was issued in the year 457 BC. when King Artaxerxes I Longimanus issued the final decree allowing the Jewish people to return home to complete the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.
Artaxerxes reigned from 463 – 424, so Artaxerxes’ seventh year of reign will be the year 457 BC. (see Ezra 7,12–27). It is interesting to note that Ezra refers to these three decrees as one commandment. This shows that the command was not complete until the last decree was given in the year 457 BC. The last decree also included all the powers of the king, and the Jews received all the financial help they needed for the reconstruction of the temple and Jerusalem.
The third decree was given in the year 457 BC. The Bible thus confirms the calculation of the prophecy. We then have the following timeline: The 2300 evenings and mornings start in the autumn of 457 BC. and ends in the autumn (October 22nd) year 1844 AD. The 70 weeks start in the autumn of 457 BC. and ends in the autumn of 34 AD.
What happens during this period of 2300 years?
Dan 8,13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
Dan 8,14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Verse 13 refers back to verses 9 – 12, which tells us that the daily <sacrifice> is to be taken away by a little horn that grows large … …
Dan 8,9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant [land].
Dan 8,10 And it waxed great, [even] to the host of heaven; and it cast down [some] of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them.
Dan 8,11 Yea, he magnified [himself] even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
Dan 8,12 And a host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered.
This means that the little horn will rise up against God and destroy the ordinances God has initiated. Here are some things we need to address. Where does the little horn come from, and what or who is it? We must now remember the prophecy of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about which Daniel explained to the king. Then we go into Daniel 7 and 8 to get the additional prophecies that were given to Daniel. These prophecies tell the story of Daniel’s time until Jesus’ return. It may become clearer as we get to chapters 10, 11, and 12 in the book of Daniel. This I will come back to eventually.