Daniel 9:20-27

Last Time

We Saw One of the Great Prayers of Confession in the Scriptures

Daniel Saw Some Signs that Seemed to Point to a Prophecy in Jeremiah

A Prophecy Which Said that God Would Punish Babylon and Bring Judah Back Home After 70 Years in Exile

So He Prepared Himself for Prayer to God

He Glorified God, Confessed His and Israel’s Sins to God, and Asked God to Show Mercy for His Glory’s Sake

This Lesson Starts Immediately After the Prayer Ends

Daniel 9:20-27

This Passage is Infamously Very Difficult to Interpret

Mainly the Last 4 Verses

It has Been Causing Trouble Since Before the Time of the Church Fathers

Jerome Even Said, “I realize that this question has been argued over in various ways by men of greatest learning, and that each of them has expressed his views according to the capacity of his own genius.”

If People Have Been Struggling with this Passage for 2,000 Years, then We Aren’t Going to Solve Every Detail of it Tonight

But the Good Thing is, We Don’t Have to Understand Every Detail to Understand the Main Point

The Main Point is This:

Sin is Our Greatest Problem and God Has a Plan to Rescue Us

Many Have Used this Passage to Teach Wild Ideas About Future Events

It is About Future Events from Daniel’s Perspective, But Not Ours

It’s About What God Did Through Jesus to Defeat Sin and Reconcile Us Back to Him

And About the Future of Israel and the Temple from Daniel’s Perspective

Daniel Prayed for God to Restore Israel

God is Going to Answer Daniel’s Prayer

And His Answer is Both Disturbing and Wonderful

Daniel 9:20–23 (NASB)

Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before YHWH my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,

while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.

He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.”

As Daniel is Praying, the Angel, Gabriel, Shows Up

A Command was Given in Heaven for Gabriel to Come Give Daniel Insight and Understanding Concerning His Request to God

Why was Gabriel Commanded to Do This?

Because Daniel was Highly Esteemed By God

“Highly Esteemed” = A Desirable, Precious, and Valuable Treasure

If God Felt so Strongly About One of His Faithful Under the Old Covenant…

Don’t You Know He Feels the Same of His Faithful Children in Christ Today

Here’s What Gabriel was Commanded to Tell Daniel:

Daniel 9:24–27 (NASB)

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.

So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Gabrial Said that 70 7’s (Weeks) Were Required to Accomplish 6 Goals Related to the Jews and Jerusalem

Not Referring to Literal Weeks

Many People Believe that it is Referring to 490 Years (70 x 7 = 490)

If Gabriel is Referring to 490 Years for All 6 of These Goals Related to the Jews and Jerusalem to Be Accomplished…

We are Still Left with Many Problems

No Matter Where You Place the 490 Year Period, Things Still Don’t Match Up Quite Right

So According to My Current Study and Understanding…

The 70 Weeks (490 Years) are Not to Be Understood as a Literal Number of Years But as Symbolic of God’s Absolutely Perfect Timing

7 and 70 Represented Perfection and Completeness

Jeremiah Prophesied 70 Years of Exile to Judah (Symbolic as Well?)

And Notice What God Told the People in Leviticus 26:17-18

Leviticus 26:17–18 (NASB)

‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.’

It Would Take 70 7’s for Restoration and Salvation to Come

The 6 Goals that Would Be Accomplished in the 70 Weeks (God’s Perfect Timing) Are:

To Finish the Transgression

To Put an End to Sin

To Make Atonement for Iniquity

To Bring in Everlasting Righteousness

To Seal Up (Confirm) Vision and Prophet

To Anoint a Most Holy Place

Gabriel Then Divides the 70 Weeks into 3 Periods of Time

One of 7 Weeks

One of 62 Weeks

Then One Final Week

The 1st Period Would Extend “From the Issuing of a Decree to Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem Until Messiah (The Anointed One) the Prince” has Come

The 2nd Period Would Include the Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Then After the 2nd Period the Messiah will Be Cut Off

And “the People of the Prince Who is to Come” Will Destroy Jerusalem and the Temple

This Would Come with a Flood, War, and Desolations

Then “He” (?) Will Make a Strong Covenant with the Many for the Final Week (v.27)

He Will Put a Stop to Sacrifice and Offerings

“And on the Wing of Abominations Will Come One Who Makes Desolate, Even Until a Complete Destruction…is Poured Out on the One Who Makes Desolate.”

Then We Read, “In the Third Year of Cyrus King of Persia…”

The Chapter Just Ends Immediately

And We are Left Scratching Our Heads

There are Many Questions We Must Ask About this Passage, Including:

Who’s Decree/Word to Restore Jerusalem is Being Referred to in v.25?

There Were Several Decrees that Led to the Jews Getting to Go Back Home

Who is the Messiah Mentioned in vs.25-26?

“Messiah” Refers to Several People/Positions in the OT

2 Different Messiah’s Seem to Be Referred to Here

Who are the People of the Prince Who Destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in vs.26?

Messiah is Called the Prince and the Destroyer is Also Called the Prince

Who is the “He” and What is the “Firm Covenant to Stop Sacrifices” in vs. 27?

What Does “on the Wing of Abominations will Come One Who Makes Desolate” in vs.27 Mean?

I’m Not Going to Pretend that I Have All the Details Completely Figured Out

But I Do Believe We Can Know What this Very Difficult Prophecy is Referring to

And it is Absolutely Amazing!

First, We Need to Remember that the Purpose of OT Prophecy was to Point Us to Jesus

1 Peter 1:10–12 (NASB)

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

The Prophets Wanted to Know the Person and Time that the Spirit was Predicting Through Them

Who and When the Christ Would Suffer and the Glory that Would Follow

But Ultimately it Remained a Mystery

That is Until Jesus Came and the Good News of His Kingdom was Preached

With that in Mind, Let’s Look at the Prophecy One More Time

(Slide of Daniel 9:24)

Jesus is the Only Person Capable of Accomplishing All of the Goals that Were to Take Place in the 70 Weeks

He Finished Transgression

He Put an End to Sin

He Made Atonement for Iniquity

He Brought in Everlasting Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:18–21 (NASB)

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

(Slide of Daniel 9:24)

He Sealed Up/Confirmed Vision and Prophecy

Luke 24:44 (NASB)

Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

(Slide of Daniel 9:24)

He Anointed the Most Holy Place

The Most Holy Place was Where God’s Presence Dwelt in the Tabernacle/Temple

Paul Said Christians are the New Most Holy Place Where God’s Spirit Dwells in 1 Corinthians 6:19

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NASB)

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

(Slide of Daniel 9:26)

Jesus is the Messiah Who Will Be Cut Off in His Death on the Cross

And After His Death, the People of the Prince Will Destroy Jerusalem and the Temple

The Last 2 Verses Refer to 70 A.D. When General Titus (the Prince) and His Army (the People) Were Used By God to Bring Judgement Upon Israel for Their Rejection and Murder of the Messiah

Jesus Warned His Disciples of this Future Day in Matthew 24, Calling it “the Abomination of Desolation Spoken of By Daniel” (v.15)

Most Christians in Jerusalem Left a Few Years Before Jerusalem’s Fall to a Town Called Pella

(Slide of Daniel 9:27)

I Believe the One Who Makes a Firm Covenant and Puts a Stop to Sacrifice and Offering is Jesus

He Fulfilled the Old Covenant's Sacrificial System and Established a New Covenant Where He is the Perpetual Sacrifice for His People

Then in the Abomination of Desolation, the Sacrificial System was Physically Stopped by the Destruction of the Temple

God Used the Romans to Destroy the Jewish Nation and System…

But God Has Also Decreed a that They Too Will Be Destroyed

This Difficult Chapter Isn’t So Scary When You Back Up and Look at the Forest Instead of Focusing on the Trees

Daniel Prayed for God’s Mercy and Restoration

God Informed Daniel that Restoration is Coming on a Grander Scale than Anyone Ever Could Have Imagined

Transgression Will Be Restrained

Sin Will Be Defeated

Iniquity Will Be Atoned For

Righteousness Will Be Everlasting

Prophecies Will Be Fulfilled

And God Will Anoint a New Most Holy Place Inside of His People

But These Wonderful Blessings Will Be Accompanied By Horrible Destruction

Restoration Will Come for God’s People, But Not in the Way the Nation of Israel Expected

Application

Would I Have Fled?

The Christians of the 1st Century Believed Jesus’ Words that Destruction was Coming

They Trusted Him and So They Remained Watchful for Any Signs of the Destruction

When Those Signs Appeared, They Fled as Their King Told Them to Do

Here’s My Question to Myself:

Would I Have Fled?

Would I Have Remained Vigilant?

Or Would it Have Caught Me Off Guard?

Would I Have Been One of the Many Slaughtered in the Street or Nailed to a Cross?

It’s Easy to Answer that Question

How Am I Living Right Now?

Do I Trust Jesus’ Words When He Says He is Coming Again in Flaming Fire to Destroy His Adversaries?

Am I Remaining Vigilant, Not for Signs, But for Wickedness that Needs to Be Removed from My Life?

If Jesus Were to Return in 5 Minutes, Would He Find Me Ready for His Appearance?

Or Would He Find Me as an Adversary Who Hasn’t Truly Given My Life to Him?

Jesus is Bringing Renewal and Restoration

But Along with it is Coming Destruction

Are You Making Yourself Ready for that Day?