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DANIEL

Daniel 9:20-27

Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9 as we continue our study through the Word of God. In our last study we saw Daniel in fervent prayer for the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. He recognized that the years of captivity in Babylon were almost completed. And Daniel was a student of the Word of God, he read the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he said in Jeremiah 29:10-14, "For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive."

And as Daniel called upon God in prayer, confessing his sins and the sins of the nation of Israel, we can see the burden that was upon this man’s heart. As he concludes his prayer he reaches a climax as he pours his heart out before God and we can see that as the verbs he uses get more intense. He said "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name." Daniel 9:19. This is where we are at as we pick up our study this evening in Daniel chapter 9 beginning in verse 20.

DANIEL 9

VERSES 20-23

1. Daniel, still interceding for the people of God and the city of Jerusalem, is now interrupted by a messenger from God whose name is Gabriel. While Daniel’s prayer was still on his lips God was there with an answer for him. It is as God said in Isaiah 65:24, "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." Don’t ever think that God is not ready to answer our prayer, I think many times God is just waiting for us to come to Him with our request so He can bless us. And God will give to us just what we need in our life, and many times God will answer immediately as He did here with Daniel and other times we must wait upon Him to speak to our hearts in what we should do.

2. We read of Gabriel reaching Daniel at the time of the evening sacrifice. This sacrifice occurred at the altar of the temple in Jerusalem at 3:00 PM in the afternoon. Now this offering was one of the two daily sacrifices that was required by God. The first occurred in the morning and the second in the evening hours. We are told of this requirement in Numbers 28:3-4, which says "And you shall say to them, 'This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs in their first year without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening." And so it was during the time of the evening sacrifice when Gabriel appears with the answer to Daniel’s prayer. And we will see shortly how that prayer is answered far beyond anything Daniel could ask or think!

3. It is interesting to me that Daniel would even mention the evening sacrifice. You see, he was still in Babylon and the sacrifice had taken place in Jerusalem, at the temple. Secondly, the sacrifices had ceased to be performed for several decades, since the temple was destroyed and the city was laid in ruin by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in 586 BC. As you read Daniel’s prayer you will notice that his thoughts did not focus on the captivity but the release of the Jewish people back to their homeland. Daniel’s mind and heart were back in Jerusalem and he knew that during this time of the day, in the temple, sacrifices were being lifted up to God. Here is a man who was focused on God and he focused himself back to the land for which he longed for, in accordance to what the Word of God said. And so not only was Daniel’s heart stirred by thinking back on Jerusalem and that God promised to bring them home again, but those Jews who read these words would also be stirred!

4. And so as Daniel is praying, Gabriel comes alongside to help him to understand the fate of the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem.

VERSE 24

1. Here is the key to understanding Daniel chapter 9. The focus of Daniel’s prayer has been the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, not the church! Thus, the answer to Daniel’s prayer is going to be focused on the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, not the church! It seems so simple and yet many people mess this up and in doing so they not only will be confused in regards to Daniel chapter 9, but also in understanding end time prophecy!

2. Daniel is told that the time period of this prophecy is "seventy weeks." The Hebrew word for "weeks" is SHABUA and it speaks of sevens. Thus, seventy, sevens are determined upon the Jews and upon the city of Jerusalem. And the implication from the text, as Daniel was just reading of the 70 years of captivity, is that these are speaking of seventy seven year periods or 490 years which will make up the time frame of this prophecy. And remember, the focus is "Your people," the Jews, and "Your holy city," Jerusalem.

3. Now what will the end of these 490 years bring to the nation of Israel? We are told of 6 events that will be accomplished which are directly related to Israel and God’s program for them. And keep in mind that these events have not been completely fulfilled as yet, and you will see this as we go through these things.

A. TO FINISH THE TRANSGRESSION

God will bring to an end Israel’s rebellion against Him, for we read in Ezekiel 39:23-29, "‘The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name– after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid...

...When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their own land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD."

That means that Israel will turn back to God and repent of their ways and will recognize Jesus as their Messiah for Jesus told the nation of Israel, "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’" Matthew 23:29. Yes the Jews will recognize Jesus as their Messiah and weep for what they have done to Him as we shall see shortly.

Has this taken place? Well, yes for those Jews who have turned to Jesus but for the nation as a whole, I think we can safely say no. But by the end of the tribulation period and the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ we will see this come to pass. Remember the 490 years will bring this to a completion.

B. TO MAKE AN END OF SINS

We have said before that the word "sin" comes from a word that means "to miss the mark." God’s standard is perfection and we fall far short of that mark. For the nation of Israel it too speaks of missing the mark with their immorality and idolatry and yet we are told that God will put an end to their sins or seal them up. We read in Romans 11:26-27, "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’"

Has this happened yet? Well, in a way yes. Jesus’ death on the cross not only paid the penalty for our sins but for the whole world, including the Jews. But, like much of the world, the Jews have rejected their Messiah and are still dead in their trespasses and sins. But for all who repent and come to Christ, including the Jews, their sins are forgiven. When will we see this completed in regards to the nation of Israel? This too will take place at the end of the tribulation period and the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ.

C. TO MAKE RECONCILIATION FOR INIQUITY

This of course was accomplished at the cross of Calvary by Jesus Christ but will not be fully recognized until He returns. We read in II Corinthians 5:18-19, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

The nation of Israel will not fully recognize this until they call upon the one they pierced, Jesus Christ, which will be during the tribulation period and will reach it’s complete fulfillment during the millennial kingdom and the close of the tribulation period. Listen to what Zechariah 12:10-14 says about this event, "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves."

As God pours out His Spirit on the nation of Israel and they recognize what they have done, that they have crucified their Messiah, maybe not by their own hands but by their rejection of Him, it causes the nation to mourn over what they have done. And not only the nation as a whole, but individually they saw what they have done and are mourning over it. In fact this time of mourning is linked to the day when godly king Josiah, the last hope of the fading Southern Kingdom of Judah, was slain by Pharaoh Necho II in the plain of Megiddo. We see the repentance of kings, (David), and of the prophets, (Nathan), and of the priests, (Levi). We also see the individuality and thus instead of just an outward conformity to events we see a sincere mourning over their condition and what they have done.

In Hosea 5:15-6:1 we may have the prayer of the nation of Israel as they call upon God once again. We read "‘I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; he has stricken, but He will bind us up." This is saying that God at one time left His place. When did He do that? When He became flesh and dwelt among us. And then we see that He will leave this "place," the earth, till Israel acknowledges their sin. What was their sin? And note that "sin" is in the singular and not the plural form. Their sin was the rejection of Jesus Christ as their Messiah. The prerequisite to His return is their repentance and their seeking the one whom they have pierced! Once again this will reach its complete fulfillment at the end of the tribulation period.

D. TO BRING IN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS

Every day we can turn on the news, read the newspapers or even witness for ourselves the wickedness of this world. We can clearly say that righteousness is far from the people of this world. In fact Isaiah calls our righteousness "filthy rags" which has been cleaned up for us a bit, it is even worse than that! You see, our righteousness is in Christ and one day Israel will recognize this and the earth will be filled with the righteousness of Christ as He rules and reigns in the kingdom age. Jeremiah 23:5-6 tells us "‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’"

And in Ezekiel 43:4-9 we read "And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.’" With the Lord dwelling amongst the people, righteousness will permeate the land! And again we see this spoken towards Israel, although it will encompass all people living during the kingdom age.

E. TO SEAL UP VISION AND PROPHECY

Some feel this speaks of the fulfillment of all that is written in the Word of God. When the new heavens and the new earth are created we see an end of this world and the beginning of a new one with Christ dwelling amongst us. But again we must relate this to Israel and even though this idea has a lot of merit to it, I don’t believe this is what God is saying to us.

This speaks of bringing to a close all visions and prophecies which will occur when Christ sits on the throne of David to rule as king. God will be with us and thus we will no longer need prophecy or visions. And the reason is simple, as I said, the Lord is with us, He will speak to us directly!

F. TO ANOINT THE MOST HOLY

This will be fulfilled when Jesus Christ comes into the millennial temple as king. In Ezekiel chapter 37 we read "They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever...My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." Ezekiel 37:23-25, 27-28.

4. Thus, at the end of this 490 years these six events will be completed. This is the scope of the prophecy or an overview of verses 25-27. Now we are going to move into more specifics about the things that will take place during that period of time. We have seen the culmination of these events and now we will look into what will be taking place in between. And you will be surprised at how much information is packed into these 3 verses.

VERSE 25

1. Before we can actually get into this prophecy we must glean a couple of very important facts from this verse. First, we are to "know" and "understand" this prophecy. God not did make this so hard to understand that we would not be able to glean what this is all about. He did not hide this from us and, in fact, He held the nation of Israel responsible for not knowing this prophecy as we shall see in a few minutes here.

2. The second key point is the starting point of this command. If you get everything else right but mess up on the starting point you will come up with the wrong conclusion. The starting point, we are told, begins with the command to "restore and build Jerusalem." Notice that it says noting about the temple but only the city itself. That is what we need to be looking for in the Scriptures as our starting point for this prophecy.

3. The time frame is seven weeks and sixty two weeks or specifically, as we said earlier, 49 years and 434 years. What we will see at the end of this 483 year period is the ushering in of the "Messiah the King" or the MESHIACH NAGID. This prophecy is based on a 360 day year, and that would come to 173,880 days. If we can find the starting point, we then could count off the 173,880 days and come to this event.

4. If we look at the Scripture we can find four starting points, but only one is correct and you will see why. And we will look at the other 3 first before we get to the correct one so you can clearly see why we say they are wrong. And keep in mind the rebuilding of the city is the key.

A. In Ezra chapter 1 we see a decree by Cyrus, king of Persia, to rebuild the temple in around 536 BC. But this is not speaking of the streets and the walls of the city but only the temple and thus this is not the starting point.

B. In Ezra chapter 6 we see a decree by Darius, king of Persia to again rebuild the temple around 520 BC and thus, this too is not the starting point.

C. In Ezra chapter 7 we see a decree by king Artaxerxes Longimanus to restore the articles of the temple around 447 BC and again this is not the starting point.

D. But in Nehemiah chapter 2 we see king Artaxerxes Longimanus give the command to Nehemiah to rebuild the streets and the walls. This is the starting point which we are told occurred in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes reign.

In the 1990 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica it states that Artaxerxes ascended to the throne of the Medo-Persian empire in July 465 BC. So if the command was given in the twentieth year of his reign that would put the year the command was given at 445 BC. Now according to Hebrew tradition, when the day of the month is not specified, then it is taken to be the first day of that month. So the day of the decree by Artaxerxes was the first day of the Hebrew month Nisan 445 BC, which corresponds to the fourteenth day of March. Thus, our starting date is March 14, 445 BC.

5. Why the separation of the 49 years and the 434 years? It was during those 49 years that the city walls and streets were rebuilt and Daniel gives us a hint of what those times would be like. He says that "the streets and walls shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times."

Nehemiah took on this enormous task of rebuilding, and besides the physical work, there was the opposition from the enemy. Thus, we read in Nehemiah 4:16-23, "So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, ‘The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.’ So we labored in the work, and half of the men held the spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. At the same time I also said to the people, ‘Let each man and his servant stay at night in Jerusalem, that they may be our guard by night and a working party by day.’ So neither I, my brethren, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me took off our clothes, except that everyone took them off for washing."

Some 200 years before Nehemiah started rebuilding the walls, Daniel had predicted how the people would have one hand on their weapons and the other doing the construction. Daniel told them that the walls would be built in "troublesome times" and they were!

6. Now lets go back to the starting date of March 14, 445 BC and count off the 173,880 days to come to our end point, which will bring us to the Messiah. Here is how we do it:

MARCH 14, 445 BC

TO

MARCH 14, 32 AD

IS 476 YEARS

(FROM 1 BC TO 1 AD IS ONE YEAR. THERE IS NO YEAR FOR ZERO)

476 YEARS TIMES 365 DAYS PER YEAR = 173, 740 DAYS

ADD FOR LEAP YEARS = 116 DAYS*

MARCH 14 TO APRIL 6 = 24 DAYS

TOTAL = 173,880 DAYS!

* 1 day for every 4 years, (476 years divided by 4, 1 leap year for every four years, gives us an additional 119 days), subtract 3 years, for centennial years are not leap years, although every 400th year is a leap year, giving us 116 days in leap years.

Now lets look at this a little closer. 173,880 days from our starting point of March 14, 445 BC, given by Artaxerxes Longimanus, until the Messiah the King comes. Now the birth of Christ occurred in 3 BC, but He was not brought into the world as king. And it is interesting as you read the Gospels and see when the crowds wanted to make Jesus king, that Jesus retreated from them, which sounds kind of strange. For instance, in John 6:15 we are told, "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." Why did He do that? Because His time had not yet come yet!

But there is one place where Jesus sets things up so He can be proclaimed as king. It was during the week of Passover when the city was packed with people and we see Jesus come riding into Jerusalem, down the Mount of Olives, on the back of a donkey, as Zechariah told us would occur. And in Luke 19:35-38 we are told of this event, "Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’"

The crowds were singing Psalm 118:26 which is to herald the Messiah. And the Pharisees recognized exactly what was happening and they knew that they themselves could not control the crowd, so they went to Jesus, the one who was being heralded as the Messiah. And they brought this to the attention of Jesus, that the people were blaspheming the true God by what they were doing. And I love the response of Jesus, "...‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’" Why would that happen if the crowds were silent? Because this was the day that was predicted over 500 years before His birth, that God would ride through Jerusalem as the Messiah their King!

What was the date that this took place? We call it Palm Sunday, and it was 173,880 days after the command by king Artaxerxes, April 6, 32 AD as Jesus, the MESHIACH NAGID had come!

7. Now don’t think Christians have just come up with this date, for Jesus held the nation of Israel responsible for not recognizing this date in which the Messiah was to come. We read in Luke 19:41-44, "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’"

Blindness had come upon the nation of Israel because they did not recognize what day it was. They were not aware that the Messiah had come and was with them and thus they were accountable for not knowing prophecy! Understand this, no man, as cleaver as he may be, could arrange such a plan, only God can!

VERSE 26

1. After this period of time there is a break between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel. It is after the 483 years that the Messiah was to be "cut off." It comes from the Hebrew word KARAT which means "to kill, to destroy, or the execution of a criminal." Literally it speaks of a person who is being punished with death by piercing! You see, Jesus was executed for a capitol crime. By the Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin, it was blasphemy. And for the Romans, it was for the insurrection He caused against the Roman empire. Both of these capital crimes are punishable by death.

2. "But not for Himself" speaks that He was not guilty of these crimes that were laid at His feet. He was innocent. It is as Peter said "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." I Peter 3:18. And as Daniel tells us, the Messiah was cut off without receiving His kingdom.

3. Then Daniel speaks of "the people of the prince who is to come." The "people" are the Romans, who in 70 AD under the Roman general, Titus Vespasian, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the second temple. The historian Josephus dramatically records for us that the city was burned to the ground and millions of Jews were killed, cannibalized or starved to death. The end of the nation was to come with a dispersion of the Jews. And that is what took place!

4. Now the "prince who is to come" is not speaking of Christ but of the Antichrist who will come out of the revived Roman empire. And we will read more about him in verse 27.

5. The break between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel is known as the "church age" or the "age of grace" where the Holy Spirit is drawing out a bride for Christ. God in all His grace and mercy towards us has allowed this period to go on for some 2,000 years, but this age will come to an end and then the 70th week of Daniel will begin. You see, God deals with the church and Israel separately. So before the 70th week of Daniel begins, that last 7 year period of time known as the tribulation period, the church will be with the Lord!

VERSE 27

1. The Antichrist will enforce A specific treaty or covenant with THE many, which is a idiom for the nation of Israel. This treaty is the beginning of the seventieth week of Daniel as the Antichrist comes on the scene to solve not only the problems in the Middle East, but the world. And Paul tells us in I Thessalonians "For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." I Thessalonians 5:3.

2. This man that comes on the scene is an imposter but the Jews will herald him as their Messiah. You see, the Jews are looking for their Messiah to come, there is a sign opposite the Wailing Wail in Jerusalem that says "PREPARE, MESSIAH IS COMING!" And they are not looking for God to become flesh and free them, but they are looking for a man, much like Moses, to deliver them. This man will be the Antichrist. Jesus even warned them when He said, "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive." And this man will deceive the people into trusting him.

3. What is the treaty or this covenant that Daniel is speaking of in which the Antichrist sets into motion? I believe it deals with the rebuilding of the temple and the starting up again of the daily sacrifices in the temple. And we have the plans drawn up, the articles of the temple are made, the priests are being trained, and they could put this structure together in just a few months! They are all set to go, only the Muslims will not let them build it on the temple mount, the site of Solomon’s temple, for they claim this as their holy site!

4. As Great as this man of peace may seem, at the end of the 3½ year mark of the 7 year tribulation period, he comes into the rebuilt temple and demands to be worshiped as god! The word "sacrifice" or ZEBAH speaks of a bloody sacrifice, while "offering" or MINHAH speaks of a non-bloody sacrifice or a grain sacrifice. So to stop this activity means that the temple must be rebuilt. And Paul tells us how this man puts an end to the worship of God that will be going on in the temple. He says "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." II Thessalonians 2:3-4. These things will come to pass!

5. Learning prophecy is great and I do love to study it, but if all you do is learn and don’t put to use what you have learned, it is useless! We need to use the opportunities that God has given to us, and be wise in the days we are living in. Listen to this example that deals with seizing the opportunity:

"An ancient Greek statue depicted a man with wings on his feet, a large lock of hair in front of his head, and no hair at all on the back. Beneath was the inscription; ‘Who made thee? Lysippus made me. What is thy name? My name is opportunity. Why has thou wings on they feet? That I may fly swiftly. Why has thou a great fore lock? That men may seize me when I come. Why are thou bald in back? That when I am gone by, none can lay hold of me.’"