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It is evident that Israel is passing: dominion is leaving them and is being transferred
for the time being to the Gentiles. This is emphasized by such statements as Dan. 1: 2:
"And the Lord gave . . . . . into his hand", or Jer. 25: 1: "The fourth year of Jehoiakim
. . . . . that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar." The times of the Gentiles had therefore
begun. And so with Zedekiah the glory departs, and Ezek. 21: reveals the condition of
things that will obtain "until He come":--
"And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall
have an end, thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this
shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn,
overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until He come Whose right it is, and I will
give it Him" (21: 25-27).
Daniel's prophecies are occupied with this period of overturning, of the exalting of the
base and abasing of the high. "This shall not be the same", saith the Lord--"This shall
not be this" as the Hebrew reads, i.e., Nebuchadnezzar's dominion and dynasty would not
be a real continuance of the throne of David. It would be in character rather a rule and
dominion of wild beasts. The words: "It shall be no more, until He come" leave us in no
doubt that the throne thus vacated shall be occupied by none other than the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself.
The times of the Gentiles are characterized by one great feature, marked by the Lord
in Luke 21: 24: "And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." The kingdoms that succeeded Babylon may have been
larger or smaller, more powerful or weaker, more autocratic or less so, but the one
essential characteristic of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Turkey, and the present
mandatory power, is the Gentile domination of Jerusalem. That is the great
distinguishing feature, and will only be removed when "He comes Whose right it is".
#3.
Historic foreshadowings (1:, 3:, 6:).
pp. 73 - 78
While the prophetic section of Daniel necessarily makes the great appeal of the book,
lovers of the Word remember that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is
profitable", so that the narrative portions, giving details of the lives and experiences of
Daniel and his friends, must have their place in the book and its witness. Let us therefore
seek to gather the lesson of chapter 1:
We have already seen that the times of the Gentiles began with the fourth year of
Jehoiakim, for that is said to be the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 25: 1). We see
also that a new dispensation must have begun when we compare Dan. 1: 1, 2 with
I Sam. 5::--