Seventy "Sevens" and Our Incredible God

Daniel • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Looking at characteristics of God; helping correct false views and an overemphasis on end times; at the same time not avoiding looking out for the end times

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In 2004, Pixar released a beloved animated movie called the Incredibles (hard to believe that was 2004!)

In it, a family of superheroes are trying to live a quiet, suburban life after superheroes are deemed illegal, but are forced into action to save the world with their superpowers.

For instance, the dad Mr. Incredible is known for his great strength and durability.

The mom, Elastigirl, can stretch her body, arms and legs, thus the name Elastigirl.

Violet, the daughter, had the ability to produce force-fields and turn invisible.

Dash, the son, has the ability to move at great speed, thus the name Dash.

Jack, Jack, the baby, has a strange variety of superpowers that the family is still learning about as he can teleport, have laser vision, change shapes, fly, and more--this baby is the most incredible of the superheroes!

All of us would love to have incredible superpowers.

As incredible as these imaginary superpowers are—they still don’t compare to the kind of superpowers that our God has.

In the book of Daniel, we have seen really an incredible array of power and characteristics our God has.

and in this passage particular just read—Daniel 9:20-27, we see it again.

Proposition: This passage is a reminder that though we would love to have superpowers—we serve a God who has the greatest superpowers possible.

By the way—warning—this passage is controversial, confusing, and debated.

I love it.

So we must approach it with humility, BUT all Scripture is inspired by God including this one, so we must learn from it.

OS: We see 3 Incredible Traits of God. 3 Incredible Superpowers.

which will encourage you for those who are discouraged this morning, and let’s face it, all of us need encouraged.

and also if you are skeptic or a non-believer or not sure—this passage will help paint a picture of the kind of God who wants to have a relationship with you.

Trait #1: Our God answers Prayers. (in other words—Our God is an answer-er. (vs. 20-27)

What do I mean?

This almost gets lost in the reading of this passage.

look at vs. 23. the Angel Gabriel talking.

Daniel 9:23 NIV

23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:

God sent the angel Gabriel to give Daniel an answer to his prayer.

The first 19 verses of this chapter, which we looked at last week, is a long prayer from Daniel to God on behalf of his people.

It is a prayer of praise.

It is a prayer of confession of sin.

It is a prayer asking God to move.

because remember—God’s people are in exile and captivity under Babylon.

And God had prophesied through Jeremiah that they would be in captivity for 70 years to Babylon because the people had abandoned God. Well, now that Babylon has fallen, and it has been 70 years, and there is a new empire in town. Daniel prays for God to forgive them and restore his people to prominence and to the land.

And God hears and he answers.

Application: Now, we need to remember that God hears our prayers!

He does—if you are crying out to God lately—He hears.

And not only does He hear—He answers!

Some of us it is tempting to give up on prayer—what’s the point? Does God really care? Is he really there? Can He do something about it?

And this passage says loudly—Yes—to all of that! In the midst of 70 long years of waiting, God answers their prayers!

We pray to and worship a God who hears and who answers prayer!

vs. 23—the angel calls Daniel—highly esteemed. While we may think Daniel is special, an incredible superhero of the OT, you and I if you are united to Jesus Christ, are highly esteemed, too. because God the Father loves his Beloved Son Jesus Christ, and if you are a believer, you are in Christ, united to Christ, when God sees you HE sees his Son, and He loves to give good gifts to his children through prayer.

However—the answer that Daniel gets is the not the answer he expected.

Sometimes God will tell us yes, but He can also say no, or wait. or hold on. or yes, but...

He is answering—even if it is not the answer we want...

so we can relate to Daniel...

God is telling Daniel—yes—the 70 years are up that your people served in Babylon, but let me tell you—if you really want to be restored, if you really want to have sin forgiven…it’s not going to be fulfilled after just 70 years—it is going to take 70 sevens. and God unfolds a plan of the future..

It’s like God is telling Daniel, you don’t realize what you are asking. If I am really going to answer your prayer, then I have a much bigger timetable that is bigger than you, bigger than your people, bigger than Babylon or Persia…or bigger than politics and Republicans or Democrats...

We serve an incredible God!

which takes me to my 2nd incredible trait of God. Not only does He hear and answers prayers...

response — prayer time

Trait #2: Our God sees and controls the future, even if we do not understand it (vs. 24-27).

As part of God’s answer to Daniel, God lays out a divine timeline of the future of what He is going to do.

and to make this timeline harder, we are not precisely sure if the numbers of this timeline are literal—exact, or symbolic.

but let’s say they are exact for a second—do some math with me.

Look at vs. 24

Daniel 9:24 NIV

24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

vs. 24 — Seventy “sevens” --- so what do you get when you multiply 70 x 7 ? Answer = 490!

now look at vs. 25

Daniel 9:25 NIV

25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

some more math.

this 70 x 7 or 490 is split into different sections--

7 sevens would be 7 times 7 = 49

62 sevens would be 62 times 7 = 434

if you add 49 and 434 together — you get 483. Leaving one 7, the final seven.

So the answer, the timeline and timetable God gives is this period of time in the future for Daniel’s people—it is 70 x 7 and broken down into chunks of 7 sevens, 62 sevens, and a final 7.

And look at the future—that God tells Daniel. Some of this we can discern.

Daniel 9:25 NIV

so for the first 7 sevens, and 62 sevens which is really 69 sevens—God is telling Daniel two things...

God is telling Daniel—that Jerusalem the city, which had been devastated and destroyed by the Babylonians—that a decree would go out for it to be rebuilt and restored. it will be rebuilt—but it won’t be easy.

and also God is telling Daniel that an Anointed One a Ruler will come, which it seems to make the most sense that this refers to Jesus Christ the Messiah who would come.

because look at 9:26

Daniel 9:26 NIV

this Anointed One—would be Jesus.

Now, when you try to take these numbers (the 7 sevens and 62 sevens) and match them up exactly to history—it gets challenging.

For instance the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem—that could have taken place in 538 BC (which is this chapter) when the Persian king allowed them to go back and rebuild the temple. We read about that in the book of Ezra. but some say that is not the official date because the king told them to rebuild the temple and not the city, so another date that is thrown out there is 458 BC when a future Persian king would allow Nehemiah and the Jews to return and rebuild the city and walls of Jerusalem.

and some calculate the time based on a Jewish calendar year which is different than our year.

confused yet?

Now, when I was younger-I used to love trying to match Biblical prophecy with charts and timelines—I loved it. it was fascinating!

but the fact that well known and trustworthy Biblical scholars disagree as when this exactly starts—leads me to think we need some humility.

In fact, I wonder—remember this is what we called “apocalyptic” type of Scripture. Scripture is filled with poetry, stories, speeches, law, and apocalyptic. and you have to read each one according to that genre.

For instance, if I read poetry and read God is a rock—I don’t literally think He is a rock, and every rock I see must be God. “I better not step on it—b/c that rock is God.” No it’s poetry.

same with apocalyptic—this 490 years—it actually reminds me of Peter. When Peter asked Jesus—how many times should I forgive my brother—7 times, Lord? That’s a lot of times—and Jesus says—not 7 times, but 70 times 7. And certainly Jesus’ answer is not literal—so that on the 491st time— “Ah hah, I don’t have to forgive you anymore!”

so many scholars see this 70 sevens—as a number symbolizing completeness—and since they are multiplied together—the ultimate completeness.

However you see these numbers—God is telling Daniel, “I hear your prayer and am answering it #1, but #2—my timetable is way different than yours. I am in control. I see and control and plan the future. And I got this—Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and a king will come. You want it all done now—but I have a bigger time TABLE and a greater plan than you can imagine! Trust me—because I have got this.”

illustration - with kids. sometimes we want to God to do everything on our timetable on our plan with our expectations now. But God says— “No trust me. If you could see the bigger plan, it would blow your mind.”

Often my kids — when Jamie and I ask them or tell them to do something—they will say, “Why?” Or “Why do we have to do this?” And I want to say, “so you are not spoiled rotten brats someday. so that you develop habits of discipline, responsibility, hard work.” but I can’t always tell them the reasons because I am 36 and you are 6, so trust me. if that is my perspective between me and my kids--

Well, imagine what God can say to us—Daniel did not understand, we do better this side of history, but in our relationship with God—there are some things we just don’t fully get—but no matter what you are going through—God is showing He’s got this. He is in control of the future, which seems uncertain. But He’s Got it...

We serve an incredible God, which takes me to #3.

response - prayer time too?

Trait #3: Our God sent the “Anointed One,” Jesus Christ to meet our deepest need (vs. 24-27).

look at vs. 24.

Daniel 9:24 NIV

Look at this list!

This is God’s purpose to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness

to bring in everlasting righteousness—everlasting is a long time when right, and God’s rule would reign.

to seal up vision and prophecy—that doesn’t mean to close it off but rather God is putting his stamp of approval on it.

and to anoint the MHP—which was the most inner part of the temple—the most sacred part where the Ark of the Covenant was, where God was said to dwell.

Daniel was praying for his people to be restored to the land, to go back to their city, to not be under foreign rule. He was praying for rescue.

And God’s like—you know Daniel, if you REALLY REALLY want rescued—then I need to put an end to sin, atone or pay for wickedness—to bring in everlasting righteousness.

so it’s going to take more Daniel than just going back to the land. It’s going to take a radical transformation.

The biggest problem that you have Daniel is not the Babylonians or the Persians—but it’s your sin problem.

and so in vs. 26

Daniel 9:26 NIV

this is God is sending an Anointed One who will be put to death and have nothing.

We know that that Anointed one—the one chosen by God is Jesus Christ His Son. He was cut off. He was put to death.

He had nothing—He literally died as a homeless man—as the soldiers gambled away the clothes of his back. If you are homeless Jesus can relate.

This Anointed One would die for us—taking our sin for us in our place—so that transgression could be finished, and sin put to end, an wickedness atoned for, and so that he could start (not finish) but start to bring in everlasting righteousness.

I mentioned the MHP—that was the most sacred part of the temple—where the High Priest would go in once a year to pay for the sins of the people—sprinkle blood. It was a terrifying thing—because of He did it wrong, God in his justice could strike him down.

Well on the cross, Jesus became the most MHP as his blood was shed and sprinkled to pay for our sin in our place, though he did not deserve it and we did. Hebrews says he entered the MHP on our behalf to pay for our sin.

Daniel, that’s what’s needed!

So God answered Daniel’s prayer—just not in the way he imagined or wanted—but it’s what He and all of us needed. that we serve an incredible God who sent an anointed one to die for us.

Now, up to this point, the text has been somewhat straightforward—let’s end by looking at the last confusing part.

let’s look at vs. 26-27

Daniel 9:26–27 NIV

26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

there are basically 2 main views that Biblical scholars support. and this takes humility to say this is hard to know what exactly is being talked about.

1 main view—sees a lot of this as future.

so vs. 26—Jesus died the Anointed One…and then the people of the ruler who will come—will destroy the city and the sanctuary—

that may have been when Rome came in in 70 AD and destroyed the city. Or this could be a reference to something that has not happened yet or a future world ruler antichrist

either way—there will be trials—wars, desolations.

and the key is identifying who this ruler is—the people of the ruler who will come.

and then vs. 27—in this future view sees this last 7 of the 70 sevens as a antichrist figure, a future world ruler, a man of lawlessness that 2 Thessalonians talks about or the beast or Revelation—

who will make a covenant particularly with God’s people, and in the middle of it, he will break it, and set up something that desecrates and blasphemes God. until God intervenes.

so in this view—it sees this overall passage—and prophecy as having several fulfillments:

it had an initial fulfillment in Daniel’s day

and then a longer fulfilment when Jesus came

and then it’s talking about the end times

so sometimes in prophecy and apocalyptic—the prophet may 3 like 3 peaks in the distance—and they kind of all seem close together—but when you get closer to each peak they are actually pretty far apart.

so if you believe this view—there is a gap between that 69th (seven) and the 70th seven. the 69 sevens have been fulfilled, but the 70th has not.

another main view—sees all of this as already been fulfilled—mainly in Jesus Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection.

so if you look at vs. 26-27 again

Daniel 9:26 NIV

the ruler is not some future antichrist or world ruler—but is a reference to Jesus Christ. and the people of Jesus actually destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple—because again they disobeyed God, they pursued other gods, and so Rome came in as a consequence in 70 AD and destroyed the city.

and during history—there have been continual wars, desolations, difficult times.

now let’s look at 9:27

Daniel 9:27 NIV

27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

if the ruler is Jesus—then vs. 27—the He is Jesus. Jesus confirmed a covenant with many for one seven.

We know in the NT—that before Jesus went to the cross—he had the Lord’s Supper and said this blood is the new covenant in my blood. On the cross, Jesus initiated a new contract or commitment or promise between God and man. Jesus through his death put to death the old covenant that Moses enacted with the priests, temples, and animal sacrifices because Jesus is the priest to end all priests, the temple to end all temples, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

Jesus confirmed a new covenant putting an end to sacrifice and offering.

back to vs. 27—that 2nd half—at the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation—until the end that is decreed is poured out on him—instead of being a future event with an antichrist—that could very well be describing the death of Jesus Christ. because we as sinful humans killed the perfect, beautiful son of God—a true abomination that led to their desolation—but this was all decreed by God—it was his plan.

so if you believe this, let me read vs. 24-27

Daniel 9:24 NIV

That’s a tall order Daniel to accomplish those things.

Daniel 9:25 NIV

so Daniel—Jerusalem would be rebuilt—and restored—but it’s not going to be easy.

and I am going to send a new ruler, an Anointed One—Jesus Christ. but his work would be unexpected

Daniel 9:26 NIV

so Jesus would die—he would be cut off—and eventually your city will be destroyed again—and the temple—which happened in 70 AD under Rome. hard times will continue to follow. the people brought this judgment on themselves because of their disobedience.

Daniel 9:27 NIV

Jesus established a new covenant with people—on the cross. He put an end to sacrifice and offering.

he experienced the abomination that causes desolation on the cross—this was decreed upon him.

Amen.

Now, I think you can tell I favor the 2nd view—but I am not against the 1st view either.

We need humility in this.

The point of this passage is not to divide—but to step back and see we serve an incredible God who:

hears and answers prayers

sees and is in control of the future, our future too

who sent His Son to take care of our ultimate need of sin

Amen—let’s praise Him.

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