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# The Book of Daniel - Number One-Hundred and Fifty-Seven

Unraveling the Prophetic Symbolism of Cyrus in the Book of Daniel

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

March 25, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- Verse one of Daniel chapter ten indicates the third year of Cyrus, yet Daniel lived only until Cyrus’s first year, posing a chronological puzzle.
- Cyrus symbolizes the first angel’s message and embodies key elements of all three angels of Revelation fourteen.
- The everlasting gospel’s three steps—fear God, give Him glory, the hour of judgment—manifest in Daniel’s trials and experiences.
- Cyrus’s reign signifies the pivotal moments of the empowerment of the first angel’s message in 1798 and the great disappointment of 1844.
- The article links Cyrus to biblical prophecies and historical events, emphasizing his role as a harbinger of reformatory movements.
- Cyrus’s significance extends to the signs preceding 1798, marking the end of spiritual captivity and heralding Christ’s imminent return.
- The article connects Cyrus’s symbolism to the mourning period of Daniel chapter ten, signifying the crucial event of the resurrection of Moses and Elijah.

In verse one, of chapter ten, we are informed that it was the third year of Cyrus, but in chapter one, we are informed that Daniel only lived, or continued until the first year of Cyrus.

> And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. Daniel 1:21.

For two years Cyrus had essentially co-ruled with Darius the Mede, thus it was his third year, but it was also his first year.

> In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. Daniel 10:1.

Prophetically Cyrus is introduced in Daniel’s first and last visions. Daniel chapter one, as already set forth in prior articles, represents the first angel of Revelation chapter fourteen. When the first angel is identified in prophecy it possesses all the prophetic characteristics of all three angels of Revelation fourteen. The three steps of the everlasting gospel represented in the first angel, are “fear God,” “give Him glory,” for “the hour of His judgment is come.”

Because Daniel and the three worthies “feared God,” they chose to reject the diet of Babylon, and remain vegetarians. In the visual test that followed, Daniel and the three worthies “glorified God” in their healthy appearance in contrast with those who ate the Babylonian diet. After three years, the “hour of judgment” arrived when Nebuchadnezzar tested them and found them to be ten times wiser than all the Babylonian wise men.

The three steps of the everlasting gospel are also represented in the final chapter of Daniel as the process whereby the increase of knowledge purifies, makes white and tries those who are held accountable to the light that is unsealed at the time of the end. In the first chapter of Daniel as in the last, the three steps of the first angel, which includes all three angels, is identified. Because chapter one is the everlasting gospel of the first angel, chapter two of Daniel represents the second angel of Revelation fourteen, where the test of the image of the beast or the image of Christ is represented, as it was in the second test in the three steps of chapter one.

Because chapters one and two of Daniel represent the first and second angels of Revelation fourteen, chapter three and the test on the Plain of Dura, represents the third angel’s message, with its warning to not receive the mark of the beast. In chapter one of Daniel, Cyrus’ first year is mentioned, and in chapter ten, which is Daniel’s last vision, Cyrus is represented by his third year, but we know that third year is his first year, for Daniel only continued until the first year of Cyrus.

Cyrus is therefore a symbol of a first year that contains three years. He is a symbol of the first angel’s message. Cyrus’ first year is mentioned in the last verse of Daniel’s first vision, and then again in the first verse of Daniel’s last vision. It is important to recognize the prophetic symbolism of Cyrus, and we are first identifying that he represents the first angel’s message. This can be prophetically ascertained by the fact that Daniel identifies his third year, as his first, but more importantly it is identified by the first decree which he proclaimed.

The struggle that Gabriel was having with the kings of Persia in chapter ten, was in regard to bringing Cyrus to the point where he would follow through and proclaim the first of three decrees, which would allow the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. The third decree would mark the beginning of the twenty-three hundred year prophecy, which ended when the third angel arrived on October 22, 1844. The third decree represented the third angel, and therefore the first decree of Cyrus, represented the arrival of the first angel in 1798. Cyrus represents the first angel, and for this reason, in the book of Daniel his first year represented three years.

Cyrus therefore represents the “time of the end,” for it was when the first angel (Cyrus), arrived in 1798, that the “time of the end” arrived and the book of Daniel was unsealed. The name Cyrus is believed to be derived from the Old Persian word “Kūruš,” which means “sun,” combined with the Elamite word “kursh,” meaning “throne,” indicating a connection to royal authority or kingship. Isaiah addresses these characteristics of Cyrus as well.

> That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. Isaiah 44:28–45:6.

Cyrus typified Christ, for he was the Lord’s “anointed” and was called God’s “shepherd,” who builds Jerusalem and lays the foundation of the temple. He is the one involved with the opening of the closed gates, as Christ is He who opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens. And Cyrus is given “the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places.” Cyrus fulfills several waymarks upon the line of reformatory movements.

He marks the time of the end, when the first angel arrives, when the book of Daniel is unsealed and there is then an increase of knowledge that comes from “the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places.” Those “treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,” make up the “foundation” that is “built,” and the “temple,” that is to be “laid”. Christ, who was typified by Cyrus, is the Lord’s “anointed,” as Christ was anointed at His baptism. Cyrus is therefore not only the arrival of the first angel, he is also the second angel that empowers the first angel when it descends, as the Holy Spirit descended when Christ was anointed. On October 22, 1844 Christ opened the door or “gate” into the Most Holy Place, which was a gate that had been shut. Cyrus also marks the arrival of the third angel.

Cyrus is the first angel, and the first angel possesses all the elements of all three angels. Cyrus is the time of the end in 1798, when the first angel arrived. Cyrus represents August 11, 1840 when the message of the first angel was empowered (anointed). He represents the work of laying the foundations, as represented by the production of the 1843 chart in May of 1842. He represents the building of the temple, as the two classes were separated at the first disappointment on April 19, 1844, and he represents the second separation at the great disappointment of October 22, 1844.

All the waymarks of the reform movement of the Millerites were typified by Cyrus, and therefore those waymarks are also typifying the waymarks of the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. The Millerite movement was preceded by the signs which Christ identified would precede the history of the Millerites.

> “Prophecy not only foretells the manner and object of Christ’s coming, but presents tokens by which men are to know when it is near. Said Jesus: ‘There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.’ Luke 21:25. ‘The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.’ Mark 13:24–26. The revelator thus describes the first of the signs to precede the second advent: ‘There was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.’ Revelation 6:12.

> “These signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded.” The Great Controversy, 304.

The signs which announced the Second Coming began shortly before 1798, in 1755. 1798 was the conclusion of the captivity of spiritual Israel in spiritual Babylon, which Sister White teaches was typified by the literal captivity of literal Israel in literal Babylon, that concluded at the end of the seventy years of captivity, when Cyrus entered through the open gates and took Babylon, and slew Belshazzar.

> “Today the church of God is free to carry forward to completion the divine plan for the salvation of a lost race. For many centuries God’s people suffered a restriction of their liberties. The preaching of the gospel in its purity was prohibited, and the severest of penalties were visited upon those who dared disobey the mandates of men. As a consequence, the Lord’s great moral vineyard was almost wholly unoccupied. The people were deprived of the light of God’s word. The darkness of error and superstition threatened to blot out a knowledge of true religion. God’s church on earth was as verily in captivity during this long period of relentless persecution as were the children of Israel held captive in Babylon during the period of the exile.” Prophets and Kings, 714.

The end of the seventy years in Babylon typified 1798, and there were signs that preceded 1798, that announced that Christ’s return was imminent.

> “The advent of the army of Cyrus before the walls of Babylon was to the Jews a sign that their deliverance from captivity was drawing nigh. More than a century before the birth of Cyrus, Inspiration had mentioned him by name, and had caused a record to be made of the actual work he should do in taking the city of Babylon unawares, and in preparing the way for the release of the children of the captivity.” Prophets and Kings, 551.

Cyrus also typified the signs which preceded 1798. The historians are rather vague about the rule of Darius and Cyrus, but God’s Word is clear. The Medo-Persian Empire followed the Empire of Babylon, and the first king of Medo-Persia was Darius, though it was his nephew Cyrus that was the general that took Babylon, the night of Belshazzar’s last party. Cyrus and Darius both typify the time of the end of the seventy-year captivity, that represents the time of the end in 1798, and that also typifies the time of the end in 1989.

The time of the end in the history of Moses was marked by the births of Aaron and Moses, three years apart. That history typified most perfectly the history of Christ, and the time of the end in that history was marked by the birth of John, and six months later the birth of his cousin Jesus. The time of the end has two waymarks, and Darius and Cyrus both mark the end of the captivity of seventy years, that typified the end of the captivity of twelve hundred and sixty years. The deadly wound of the papal beast in 1798, was followed the next year by the death of the one who had rode upon and reigned over that beast. In 1989 Reagan and Bush the first, were both presidents.

Cyrus marks the signs that announce the coming time of the end, and he marks the time of the end. He marks the increase of knowledge, and the empowerment of the first message when an angel descends, and he marks the work that is then taken up in laying the foundations, the work of building the temple, and the arrival of the third angel when the Messenger of the Covenant suddenly comes to His temple.

> In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel. Daniel 10:1–4.

The symbols of Cyrus and Belteshazzar represent a specific prophetic history in the last days. The symbol of Belteshazzar informs us that the people being represented are the one hundred and forty-four thousand, who are the final generation of covenant people. They are placed in the prophetic history represented by Cyrus, which represents the history which preceded 1798, and 1989, and September 11, 2001, for Cyrus represents all of those waymarks. He also represents the disappointment of July 18, 2020, and even the soon coming Sunday law in the United States. The key to ascertaining where Daniel’s last vision is prophetically placed is ascertained by what Daniel knows.

In verse one Daniel (Belteshazzar), has understanding of both the “thing” and also the “vision”. The “thing,” is the Hebrew word “dabar,” meaning “word”, and it is used by Gabriel to represent the “chazon” vision of the twenty-five hundred and twenty years (“seven times”). The “vision” in verse one, which Daniel understands, is the “mareh” vision of the twenty-three hundred years. God’s covenant people of the last days did not understand the “seven times,” at the time of the end in 1989. They did not understand the “seven times,” until after September 11, 2001, so Daniel must be in the time of the prophetic reform movement represented by Cyrus after September 11, 2001, for Daniel, representing the final prophetic movement, understands both the “thing,” and the “vision”.

Daniel is identified as being in a twenty-one day period of mourning. “In those days” of mourning Daniel, came to understand the “thing,” and he also had understanding of the “vision.” The truth represented by the “thing” was revealed to Daniel in the days of mourning. God’s people are represented as “mourning” in the reform lines just prior to the Midnight Cry. The mourning is represented by Martha and Mary mourning for Lazarus, just prior to the Triumphal Entry. It was illustrated by the discouragement after the first disappointment in Millerite history as expressed by Jeremiah.

> Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Jeremiah 15:16–18.

Jeremiah did not “rejoice,” which the citizens of Sodom and Egypt did in Revelation chapter eleven, at the death of the two witnesses. To “not rejoice,” is to mourn. Belteshazzar’s mourning identifies the mourning that is associated with the death of the two witnesses. On July 18, 2020, and November 3, 2020, the two witnesses of the true Protestant horn and Republican horns of the earth beast were slain in the streets of Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. When our Lord was crucified, His disciples began to mourn. Those two witnesses were represented in Revelation chapter eleven, as Moses and Elijah.

There are five references to Christ as Michael in the Scriptures, three in the book of Daniel, one in the book of Jude and another in the book of Revelation. In chapter ten, which we are now considering, Michael is mentioned twice, in verses thirteen and twenty-one, and then again in chapter twelve, verse one. He is identified in Revelation twelve, verse seven. In Jude, Michael is identified as resurrecting Moses, who in Revelation chapter eleven, is one of the witnesses that is dead in the street.

> I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 5–9.

In the book of Jude, in the context of both Sodom and Egypt, which represents the great city where Moses and Elijah are slain in Revelation chapter eleven; Christ, represented by Michael, resurrects the body of Moses. Moses and Elijah had been dead for three and a half symbolic days in Revelation chapter eleven, and the days of mourning for Belteshazzar end when Michael comes down out of heaven. Line upon line, Daniel chapter ten verses one through four, are identifying the period of mourning that concludes when the two witnesses are resurrected by Michael.

We shall continue this study in the next article.

> “The Father chose Moses and Elijah to be his messengers to Christ, and glorify him with the light of Heaven, and commune with him concerning his coming agony, because they had lived upon earth as men; they had experienced human sorrow and suffering, and could sympathize with the trial of Jesus, in his earthly life. Elijah, in his position as a prophet to Israel, had represented Christ, and his work had been, in a degree, similar to that of the Saviour. And Moses, as the leader of Israel, had stood in the place of Christ, communing with him and following his directions; therefore, these two, of all the hosts that gathered around the throne of God, were fittest to minister to the Son of God.

> “When Moses, enraged at the unbelief of the children of Israel, smote the rock in wrath and furnished them the water for which they called, he took the glory to himself; for his mind was so engrossed with the ingratitude and waywardness of Israel that he failed to honor God and magnify his name, in performing the act which He had commanded him to do. It was the plan of the Almighty to frequently bring the children of Israel into straight places, and then, in their great necessity, to deliver them by his power, that they might recognize his special regard for them, and glorify his name. But Moses, in yielding to the natural impulses of his heart, appropriated to himself the honor due to God, fell under the power of Satan, and was forbidden to enter the promised land. Had Moses remained steadfast, the Lord would have brought him to the promised land, and would then have translated him to Heaven without his seeing death.

> “As it was, Moses passed through death, but the Son of God came down from Heaven and resurrected him before his body had seen corruption. Though Satan contended with Michael for the body of Moses, and claimed it as his rightful prey, he could not prevail against the Son of God, and Moses, with a resurrected and glorified body, was borne to the courts of Heaven, and was now one of the honored two, commissioned by the Father to wait upon his Son.

> “By permitting themselves to be so overcome by sleep, the disciples had lost the conversation between the Heavenly messengers and the glorified Redeemer. But as they suddenly awake from profound slumber, and behold the sublime vision before them, they are filled with rapture and awe. As they look upon the radiant form of their beloved Master, they are obliged to shield their eyes with their hands, not being able otherwise to endure the inexpressible glory that clothes his person, and which emits beams of light like those of the sun. For a brief space the disciples behold their Lord glorified and exalted before their eyes, and honored by the radiant beings whom they recognize as the favored ones of God.” The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 2, 329, 330.

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