THEY ARE 'DASHED TO PIECES'

Daniel, we recall, received these angelic messages on the bank of "the great river" Hiddekel, also known as the Tigris. (Daniel 10:4) Here he now sees three angelic creatures and says:  "I saw, I Daniel, and, look! there were two others standing, on on the bank here of the stream and the other on the bank there of the stream.  Then one said to the man clothed in linen, who was up above the waters of the stream:  'How long will it be to the end of the wonderful things?' " (Daniel 12:5, 6) The question the angel raised here may again remind us of "the holy ones of the Supreme One." At the beginning of   "the time of the end," in 1914, they were greatly concerned with the question of how long it would be until God's promises were fulfilled.  That they are the focus of this prophecy becomes apparent in the answer to this question. 

Daniel's account continues:  "And I began to hear the man clothed with the linen, who was up above the waters of the stream, as he proceeded to raise his right hand and his left hand to the heavens and to swear by the One who is alive for time indefinite: 'It will be for an appointed time, appointed times and a half. And as soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces, all these things will come to their finish.' " (Daniel 12:7)  This is a solemn matter.  The angel raises both hands in an oath, perhaps so that this gesture is visible to the two angels on opposites sides of the broad river. He thereby emphasizes the absolute certainty of the fulfillment of this prophecy.  When, though, are these appointed times? The answer is not as difficult to find as you might think it is. 

This prophecy is remarkably similar to two other prophecies.  One, which we considered in Chapter 9 of this publication, is found at Daniel 7:25; the other, at Revelation 11:3, 7, 9. Note some of the parallels.  Each is set during the time of the end.  Both prophecies concern holy servants of God, showing them to be persecuted and even temporarily unable to carry out their public preaching activity.  Each prophecy shows that God's servants revive and then resume their work, foiling their persecutors. And each prophecy mentions the duration of this time of hardship for the holy ones.  Both prophecies in Daniel (7:25 and 12:7) refer to 'a time, times, and a half a time.'  Scholars generally recognize this to mean three and a half times. Revelation refers to the same period as 42 months, or 1,260 days.  (Revelation 11:2, 3) This confirms that the three and a half times in Daniel refer to three and a half years of 360 days each. But when did these 1,260 days begin? The prophecy is quite explicit as to when the 1, 260 days  would end-when there is "a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces."  In the middle of 1918, leading members of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, including its president, J.F.Rutherford, were convicted on false charges, sentenced to long terms of confinement, and imprisoned.  God's holy ones did indeed see their work 'dashed to pieces,' their power broken.  Counting back three and a half years from mid-1918 brings us to the end of  1914.  At that time the little band of anointed ones were bracing themselves for the onslaught of persecution.  World War I had broken out, and opposition to their work was mounting.  For the year 1915, they even based their year text on this question that Christ asked his followers:  "Are ye able to drink  of my cup?"  (Matthew 20:22, King James Version)  As predicted at Revelation 11:3, the 1,260-day period that ensued was a mournful time for the anointed-it was as if they were prophesying in sackcloth.  Persecution worsened.  Some of them were imprisoned, others were mobbed, and still others were tortured.  Many were disheartened by the death of the Society's first president, C.T. Russell,m in 1916.  What, though, was to happen after this dark time concluded with the killing of these holy ones as a preaching organization?

The parallel prophecy found at Revelation 11:3, 9, 11 shows that after the "two witnesses" are killed, they lie dead for only a short period of time-three and a half days-until they are revived. Similarly, the prophecy in Daniel chapter 12 shows that the holy ones would not remain silent but had more work ahead of them. 

Next time: THEY ARE 'CLEANSED, WHITENED, AND REFINED'

From the book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999