Daniel 11.35-The Prophecy of the Testing of the Faith of Some Jews and Their Purification Through Their Persecution By Antiochus Epiphanes IV
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday June 24, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:35-The Prophecy of the Testing of the Faith of Some Jews and Their Purification Through Their Persecution By Antiochus Epiphanes IV
Lesson # 352
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:35.
Daniel 11:35 “Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.” (NASB95)
“Some of those who have insight” refers to those individuals in Israel during the time of the persecution of the despicable king ruling the north who were characterized or marked by wisdom as a result of understanding the Word of God.
“Will fall” refers to some Jews who are wise in Israel being killed by the army of the despicable king ruling the north.
“In order to refine” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “in order to” and its object is the qal active infinitive construct form of the verb ṣā·rǎp̄ (צָרַף) (tsaw-raf´), “refine.”
The verb ṣā·rǎp̄ is in the qal stem and means “to test” and is used of some of those who are wise in Israel having their faith in the God of Israel tested.
The preposition lĕ is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb śā∙ḵǎl and governs it and is functioning as a marker of purpose indicating that some of those who are wise in Israel will be killed by the despicable king ruling the north “in order to” or “for the purpose of” testing their faith in the God of Israel.
“Purge and make them pure” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), which is not translated and its object is the third person masculine plural pronominal suffix hē·mā(h) (־הֵמָה) (haym´-maw), “them” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), which is not translated and its object is the verb bā·rǎr (בָּרַר) (baw-rar´), “purge” which is followed by the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), which is not translated and its object is the verb lā·ḇǎn (לָבַן) (law-ban´), “make pure.”
The third person masculine plural pronominal suffix hē·mā(h) means “them” and is referring to some of those who are wise in Israel who will resist the decrees of the despicable king ruling the north and remain faithful to the God of Israel by obeying the 613 commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.
The verb bā·rǎr means “to purify” since it pertains to freeing from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish or defilement.
Here the word indicates that God’s purpose for permitting some of the wise in Israel to be killed by the despicable king ruling the north is to purify them in the sense of perfecting them meaning that there death will result in the perfection of their sanctification.
Their deaths will result in their no longer having a sin nature which made them sinners by nature and practice and will purify them in the sense that they will no longer be sinners by nature and practice any longer but will be perfected.
The preposition lĕ is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb bā·rǎr and governs it and is functioning as a marker of purpose indicating that some of those who are wise in Israel will be killed by the despicable king ruling the north “in order to” or “for the purpose of” purifying them.
The verb lā·ḇǎn is in the piel stem and is used in a figurative sense of making something or someone white with the associative meaning of pureness or innocence.
Here it refers to the death of some of the wise in Israel as making them white in the sense that they will no longer possess a sin nature as a result of their death and will thus no longer be sinners by practice.
Thus, they will be pure as a result of their deaths and morally innocent before a holy God.
The preposition lĕ is prefixed to the infinitive construct form of this verb lā·ḇǎn and governs it and is functioning as a marker of purpose indicating that some of those who are wise in Israel will be killed by the despicable king ruling the north “in order to” or “for the purpose of” making them white.
The conjunction wa is used to join the verbs bā·rǎr and lā·ḇǎn in order to communicate one idea, which is called “hendiadys.”
Therefore, these two words express one idea, namely the perfection of some of the wise in Israel who will be killed by the despicable king ruling the north.
This figure emphasizes that God will permit their martyrdom in order to perfect them meaning to remove from them the bodies containing the sin nature which resulted in their being sinners by practice.
“Until the end time” is composed of the preposition ʿǎḏ (עַד) (ad), “until” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun ʿēṯ (עֵת) (ayth), “the time” which is followed by the masculine singular noun qēṣ (קֵץ) (kates), “end.”
The noun ʿēṯ means “time” in the sense of a period of time and the construct state of the word means that it is governing the noun qēṣ expressing a genitive relation with this word, which means “end” referring to a point of time marking the completion of a period of time.
The genitive relation between the two words is attributive meaning that qēṣ describes the construct term ʿēṯ like an attributive adjective, thus, this phrase means “end time.”
The noun ʿēṯ is the object of the preposition ʿǎḏ, which indicates that something occurs during the time indicated by its object.
This would indicate that God’s purpose for permitting some of the wise in Israel to be killed by the despicable king ruling north was to test them as well as to purify, yes to make them white “during the end time.”
“Because it is still to come at the appointed time” is composed of the conjunction kî (כִּי) (kee), “because” and then we have the adverb of time ʿôḏ (עוֹד) (ode), “still” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), “at” and its object is the articular masculine singular form of the noun mô·ʿēḏ (מוֹעֵד) (mo-ade´), “appointed time.”
The conjunction kî is not functioning as a marker of cause but rather it is functioning as an emphatic marker meaning it is introducing a statement which advances upon and intensifies the previous prophecy.
Therefore, the advancement and intensification is that the angel goes from telling Daniel that the perfection or resurrection of these believers who are killed by the despicable king ruling the north will not only be during the end time but this resurrection is sovereignly determined by God.
The adverb ʿôḏ is a constituent adverb which has to do with duration or continuation in a temporal sense and is used as a temporal marker signifying a continuation or duration up to a future point of time.
Here it means “eventually” indicating that those who are wise in Israel who were killed by the despicable king ruling the north will “eventually” be perfected in a resurrection body during the end time.
The noun mô·ʿēḏ means “appointed time” referring to a particular point of time related to other points of time with emphasis that this time has a purpose designated by an authority.
The articular construction of this noun should be translated with the demonstrative pronoun “this” since it is pointing back to the prepositional phrase “during the end time.”
The noun mô·ʿēḏ is also the object of the preposition lĕ, which means “at” since it is used in a temporally terminative sense indicating that the resurrection of those martyred by the king ruling the north will take place at the time sovereignly determined by God.
Daniel 11:35 “Now, some of those who are wise will be killed in order to test them as well as to purify, yes in order to make them white during the end time. Indeed, it will eventually take place at this appointed time.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:35 completes the prophecy regarding Antiochus Epiphanes IV and provides Daniel and the reader God’s purpose for permitting the deaths of some of those who are wise in Israel who will be killed by this wicked king.
“Some of those who are wise will be killed” refers to those who are wise in Israel during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV who will be killed by this wicked king for resisting his decrees and remaining faithful to the God of Israel by obeying the 613 commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.
It implies that not all those who are wise will be killed but only some of these individuals and refers to the underserved suffering which is ultimately designed by God to bless them with a resurrection body and rewards for faithful service.
“In order to test them” refers to the wise individuals having their faith in the God of Israel tested through undeserved suffering.
This testing of their faith will result in their receiving rewards from the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:2, 12).
In Daniel 11:35, the purpose clause “to purify, yes in order to make them white during the end time” refers to the perfection of these faithful believers who are killed by Antiochus Epiphanes IV.
It refers to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ since it will be at this time that they along with all Old Testament saints will receive their resurrection bodies.
This clause indicates that God’s purpose for permitting some of the wise in Israel to be killed by Antiochus Epiphanes IV was to purify them in the sense of perfecting them meaning that there death will result in the perfection of their sanctification.
Their deaths will result in their no longer having a sin nature which made them sinners by nature and practice and will purify them in the sense that they will no longer be sinners by nature and practice any longer but will be perfected.
So the angel is therefore, not speaking of the death of Antiochus Epiphanes IV when the persecution of the Jews will end but rather he is prophesying about the resurrection of those Jews at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ who will die under this persecution.
The Old Testament associated confident expectation of resurrection with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Daniel 12:1-3; Revelation 20:1-7).
In Daniel 11:35, the emphatic clause “indeed, it will eventually take place at this appointed time” indicates that the resurrection of those martyred by Antiochus Epiphanes IV will take place at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and this is sovereignly determined by God.