A Sanctified Life
 
        O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake; O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.  Daniel 9:19
 
    Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible will manifest a spirit of humility.  Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty of holiness, and they set their own unworthiness in contrast with the purity and exalted perfection of the Infinite One.
 
    The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification.  His long life was filled up with noble service for his Master.  He was a man "greatly beloved" (Daniel 10:11) of Heaven.  Yet instead of claiming to the pure and holy, this beloved prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel as he pleaded before God in behalf of his people.  "We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mercies."  "We have sinned, we have done wickedly."  He declares, "I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people."  And when at a later time the Son of God appeared, to give him instruction, Daniel says: "My comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength" (Daniel 9:18, 15, 20; 10:8). (The Great Controversy, 470)
 
Reflection:  There can be no self-exaltation, no boastful claim to freedom from sin, on the part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary's cross.  They feel that it was their sin which caused the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God, and this thought will lead them to self-abasement.  Those who live nearest to Jesus discern most clearly the frailty and sinfulness of humility, and their only hope is in the merit of a crucified and risen Savior. (The Great Controversy, 471)

Daniel's Prayer
 
        And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.  Daniel 9:3
 
    "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name" (Verses 4-9, 16-19).
 
    Heaven was bending low to hear the earnest supplication of the prophet.  Even before he had finished his plea for pardon and restoration, the mighty Gabriel again appeared to him, and called his attention to the vision he had seen prior to the fall of Babylon and the death of Belshazzar.  And then the angel outlined before him in detail the period of the seventy weeks, which was to begin at the time of "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" (Verse 25).
 
    Daniel's prayer had been offered "in the first year of Darius" (verse 1), the Median monarch whose general, Cyrus, had wrested from Babylon the scepter of universal rule.  The reign of Darius was honored of God.  To him was sent the angel Gabriel, "to confirm and to strengthen him" (Daniel 11:1).  Upon his death, within about two years of the fall of Babylon, Cyrus succeed to the throne, and the beginning of his reign marked the completion of the seventy years since the first company of Hebrews had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar from their Judean home to Babylon. (Prophets and Kings, 556)
 
Reflection:  The prayer of Daniel, found in chapter nine, is the longest prayer recorded in the Old Testament.  We generally think of Daniel as the prophet of prophecy, but Daniel was also very much the prophet of prayer.  Each one of us has the privilege, as did Daniel, of a prayer life.  There is a fountain of life in earnest and honest prayer.

Cleansing of the Sanctuary
 
        And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.  Daniel 8:14
 
    But the most important question remains to be answered: What is the cleansing of the sanctuary?...
 
    The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ.  Paul states, as the reason why this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of blood is no remission....
 
    The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divisions; the priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a year the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the most holy, for the cleansing of the sanctuary.  Day by day the repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and, placing his hand upon the victim's head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice....
 
    Such was the work that went on, day by day, throughout the year.  The sins of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary, and a special work became necessary for their removal.  God commanded that an atonement be made for each of the sacred apartments....
 
    Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the priest entered the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary.  The work there performed completed the yearly round of ministration. (The Great Controversy, 417-419)
 
Reflection:  The Day of Atonement was a very solemn day; each Israelite was to make himself right with God and his fellow man.  Both the individual and the sanctuary were to be cleansed from sin.  We are living in the very last days of this earth's history.  Let's get serious about our walk with God.

The Little Horn
 
        And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of time.  Daniel 7:25
 
    Says Daniel, of the little horn, the papacy: "He shall think to change times and the law" (Daniel 7:25, R.V.).  And Paul styled the same power the "man of sin," who was to exalt himself above God.  One prophecy is a complement of the other.  Only by changing God's law could the papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made.  Such an act of obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God.
 
    The papacy has attempted to change the law of God.  The second commandment, forbidding image worship, has been dropped from the law, and the fourth commandment has been so changed as to authorize the observance of the first instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath.  But papists urge, as a reason for omitting the second commandment, that it is unnecessary, being included in the first, and that they are giving the law exactly as God designed it to be understood.  This cannot be the change foretold by the prophet.  An intentional, deliberate change is presented: "He shall think to change the times and the law."  The change in the fourth commandment exactly fulfills the prophecy. (The Great Controversy, 446)
 
Reflection:  By claiming the authority to change God's law, the papal power sets itself above God.  God's Law stands firm.  No organization or person has the right to change what God has put in order.

The Judgment
 
        A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.  Daniel 7:10
 
    Thus was presented to the prophet's vision the great and solemn day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in review before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered "according to his works."   The Ancient of Days is God the Father.  Says the psalmist: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God" (Psalm 90:2).  It is He, the source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgment.  And holy angels as ministers and witnesses, in number "ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousand of thousands," attend this great tribunal.
 
    The books of record in heaven, in which the names and the deeds of men are registered, are to determine the decisions of the judgment.  Says the prophet Daniel: "The judgment was set, and the books were opened."  The revelator, describing the same scene, adds: "Another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Revelation 20:12). (Great Controversy, 479, 480)
 
Reflection:  What a glorious scene!  The Father, the Ancient of Days, enters the Most Holy Place, and the judgment is set.  Then angels escort Jesus to the Father, and the judgment begins.  The Father presides over the judgment, but Jesus, the Son of man, executes the judgment.

Successful Business
 
        So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.  Daniel 6:28
 
    The experience of Daniel as a statesman in the kingdoms of Babylon and Medo-Persia reveals the truth that a businessman is not necessarily a designing, policy man, but that he may be a man instructed by God at every step.  Daniel, the prime minister of the greatest of earthly kingdoms, was at the same time a prophet of God, receiving the light of heavenly inspiration.  A man of like passions as ourselves, the pen of inspiration describes him as without fault.  His business transactions, when subjected to the closest scrutiny of his enemies, were found to be without one flaw.  He was an example of what every businessman may become when his heart is converted and consecrated, and when his motives are right in the sight of God.
 
    Strict compliance with the requirements of Heaven brings temporal as well as spiritual blessings.  Unwavering in his allegiance to God, unyielding in his mastery of self, Daniel, by his noble dignity and unswerving integrity, while yet a young man, won the "favor and tender love" of the heathen officer in whose charge he had been placed (Daniel 1:9).  The same characteristics marked his afterlife. (Prophets and Kings, 546)
 
Reflection:  If all who claim they are Christians would not complain at their work, be on time, go the extra mile, never cheat on their hours at work, etc., then all Christians would be the most sought-after people in the world.  Let us be real Christians in all we do.  When people see you as a true follower of Jesus, they will be inexplicably drawn to you.  Let us all learn to walk the walk and not just talk the walk.

 Protection in Trials
 
        Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.  Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.  Daniel 6:16
 
    God did not prevent Daniel's enemies from casting him into the lions' den; He permitted evil angels and wicked men thus far to accomplish their purpose; but it was that He might make the deliverance of His servant more marked, and the defeat of the enemies of truth and righteousness more complete.  "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee" (Psalm 76:10), the psalmist has testified.  Through the courage of this one man who chose to follow right rather than policy, Satan was to be defeated, and the name of God was to be exalted and honored.
 
    Early the next morning King Darius hastened to the den and "cried with a lamentable voice,...O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?"
 
    The voice of the prophet replied: "O king, live forever.  My God hath sent His angel,  and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt" (Prophets and Kings, 543, 544)
 
Reflection:  In the end, the wicked do not prosper.  Truth is eternal, but all that is evil is short lived.

Without Fault
 
        Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.  Daniel 6:4
 
    Unwavering in allegiance to God, unyielding in the mastery of himself, Daniel's noble dignity and courteous deference won for him in his youth the 'favor and love' of the heathen officers in whose charge he was.  The same characteristics marked his life.  Speedily he rose to the position of prime minister of the kingdom.  Throughout the reign of successive monarchs, the downfall of the nation, and the establishment of a rival kingdom, such were his wisdom and statesmanship, so perfect his tact, his courtesy, and his genuine goodness of heart, combined with fidelity to principle, that even his enemies were forced to the confession that "they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful" (Daniel 6:4).
 
    While Daniel clung to God with unwavering trust, the spirit of prophetic power came upon him.  While honored by men with the responsibilities of the court and the secrets of the kingdom, he was honored by God as His ambassador, and taught to read the mysteries of ages to come.  Heathen monarchs, through association with Heaven's representative, were constrained to acknowledge the God of Daniel.  "Of a truth it is," declared Nebuchadnezzar, "that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets." (Education, 55, 56)
 
Reflection:  Instead of avoiding the wrath of his enemies by obeying the unjust edict, Daniel prayed for strength to endure the inevitable consequences.  Let us boldly do that which is right, as did Daniel.

Weighed and Found Wanting
 
        TEKEL: Thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting.  Daniel 5:27
 
    The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state--men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above.  Before the Flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out;  but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their careless pleasure-loving life and mocked the warnings of impending judgment.  "So," says the Saviour, "shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:39).  Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy's offer to guilty men.
 
    "Watch ye therefore:...lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping" (Mark 13:35, 36).  Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world.  While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornment--it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence: "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting" (Daniel 5:2). (The Great Controversy, 491)
 
Reflection:  No one knows when probation will close.  What we do know is that when it does, there will be no more chances.  Let us not stray from the One who saves mightily.